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Future of Bengal’s Pegasus panel uncertain after SC sets up committee

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With the Supreme Court appointing an independent expert technical committee to examine allegations that the government used Israeli spyware, Pegasus, the future of the two-member commission, formed by the West Bengal government three months before, to probe the issue is unclear.

Though the state commission is yet to come out with an official statement, a section of legal experts believes that after the formation of the committee by the apex court, it has lost its relevance.

The two-member commission comprising former Supreme Court judge, Justice Madan B. Lokur, and former Calcutta High Court Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya, met on Thursday to decide their future course of action but declined to speak anything on the issue.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had set up the commission of inquiry into the alleged surveillance of phones using the Pegasus spyware developed by the Israeli cyber-intelligence company NSO Group. It was look into the alleged breach of privacy of several individuals – journalists, activists, businesspersons, police officials, politicians – both in the government and the opposition.

According to the notification issued by the West Bengal government, the commission will “enquire into and report on inter alia the reported interception and the possession, storage and use of such information collected through such interception, in the hands of state actors and non-state actors”.

The commission, set up under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, was given powers of a civil court, while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. This means that it had powers to summon and enforce the attendance of any person from any part of India and examine him or her on oath, and receive evidence, and it can order requisition of any public record or copy from any court or office.

Under Section 5 of the Act, the commission also has the power to require any person, subject to any privilege which may be claimed by that person under any law for the time being in force, to furnish information on such points or matters that, in the opinion of the commission, may be useful for, or relevant to, the subject matter of the inquiry.

According to political experts, Banerjee’s move to form the commission was an effort to force the Centre to react. Though both the Central and state governments can set up such commissions of inquiry, states are restricted by subject matters that they are empowered to legislate upon.

According to the legal provisions, it matters who orders an inquiry first. If the Central government set up the commission first, then states cannot set up a parallel commission on the same subject matter without the approval of the Centre. But if a state has appointed a commission, then the Centre can appoint another on the same subject if it is of the opinion that the scope of the inquiry should be extended to two or more states.

However, a section of the legal experts believe that the state commission cannot run simultaneously with the committee formed by the Supreme Court.

“The state cannot form this kind of commission legally but the state government has formed the commission under the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1952. The committee the Supreme Court has formed is not under the Act, but it is on the basis of powers vested on the Supreme Court,” former Supreme Court judge Asok Kumar Ganguly said.

“The committee has been formed under Article 142 of the Constitution. If this committee functions, then I cannot understand how the illegal (according to me) commission formed by the state can function. This is not tenable under the Constitution of India,” he added.

However, Trinamool Congress MP and Supreme Court lawyer Kalyan Banerjee contended: “The two can function simultaneously. There is no problem in the functioning of the two commissions.”

Crime

Man arrested in Delhi for trying to reactivate Baba Siddique’s mobile phone number

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CRIME

Mumbai, July 7: Mumbai Police have arrested a man from Delhi for allegedly attempting to fraudulently take control of a mobile number belonging to late NCP leader Baba Siddique, which is linked to his family’s businesses.

The accused, identified as Vivek Sabrawal, was apprehended in the Burari area of Delhi and brought to Mumbai for further investigation.

According to officials, Sabrawal tried to reactivate Siddique’s phone number on a new SIM card with the intention of using it for cyber fraud. Police said the accused has a history of cybercrime, with prior cases registered against him.

He was out on bail in one such matter when he attempted this latest fraudulent act.

A case has been registered under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including provisions related to cheating, attempted offences, forgery, fabrication of records, and using forged electronic documents as genuine.

Authorities suspect that Sabrawal aimed to misuse the number for financial or digital scams.

The matter came to light after Siddique’s daughter, Arshiya Siddique, filed an FIR at Bandra Police Station in Mumbai. She reported that an unknown individual had fraudulently attempted to become the “authorised signatory” for her late father’s mobile number, which remains active and is associated with the family’s business interests, including Zears Business India LLP and a food venture she runs under the name Flavour Food Venture.

Police said the fraudster had created a fake email ID in the name of Shahzeen Siddique, Baba Siddique’s wife, and used it to contact Vodafone to enquire about the status of the authorised signatory on the mobile number.

In a more disturbing development, the individual accessed Shahzeen Siddique’s personal documents — including Aadhaar, PAN card, GST details, and the company’s letterhead — to support the fraudulent request.

Using these forged details, the accused submitted a request to Vodafone to update the signatory, listing fake identities such as Michael Sharma, Tarun Kumar, Avinash Arora, and Sumit Sharma.

On June 25, Vodafone responded to the request by CC’ing Shahzeen Siddique’s real email ID, which immediately alerted the family that an unauthorised application had been made using forged credentials.

Alarmed by the development, the Siddique family approached the police. While Sabrawal has been arrested for his involvement in the SIM card reactivation attempt, investigations are ongoing to determine whether there are additional suspects involved in the attempted fraud.

The complainant has urged Mumbai Police to trace the origin of the fake email ID and analyse the call data records (CDR) associated with the number listed in the request, citing fears of a possible connection with individuals involved in Baba Siddique’s sudden demise.

Mumbai Police have said further action will follow based on electronic and forensic analysis of the digital evidence, and more arrests may be made if links to a broader conspiracy are established.

Baba Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister, was shot dead in the Bandra area of Mumbai on October 12, 2024.

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Crime

Awami League slams Yunus administration for rising rape incidents in Bangladesh

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CRIME

Dhaka, July 7: In a span of nine days, 24 women, including an infant, were raped in Muhammad Yunus-led Bangladesh, according to the Awami League, which added that over 281,000 complaints have piled up and are still “unresolved.”

“In just 9 days, 24 women were raped. Among them, a child was raped by a 60-year-old man. These numbers are horrifying, but each number hides a lifetime of pain and trauma,” said the Awami League on Sunday.

According to the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s party, “Rapists aren’t strangers — they’re police officers, teachers, politicians, and many roam free, protected by silence and a broken system.”

“Under Yunus’s illegal rule, Bangladesh is no longer a safe place for women. Every day, women are raped while the state stays silent. When survivors seek justice, they’re humiliated again — by police questions, invasive medical exams, courtroom cruelty, and society’s blaming gaze. In court, survivors are shamed for their clothes and character. Cases drag on for years. Social media adds more wounds, as victims’ images spread while rapists remain anonymous,” the Awami League stated.

“Laws alone won’t save us. We need a social revolution. Women must rise, confront, and demand justice. Men must stand with them. Silence is complicity. As long as leaders like Muhammad Yunus remain in power, nothing will change,” it added.

Calling a Bangladeshi woman’s body “a battlefield,” the party said, “Until the state takes responsibility, this bleeding won’t stop. We must challenge the state — or women will never be safe.”

Recently, the Awami League revealed the statistics mentioned that only in June, 63 incidents of rapes were reported, including 17 gang rapes, seven survivors were women/girls with disabilities, while 19 children and 23 teenage girls were raped.

Additionally, 39 cases of sexual harassment and 51 physical assaults on women were reported.

“These aren’t just statistics. They are devastating proof that women and girls in Bangladesh live in constant fear,” said the party.

Last week, addressing a press briefing in Dhaka, Sharmeen S. Murshid, Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Advisor of Bangladesh under the interim government, described the rising incidents of violence against women and children in the country as a “pandemic-level crisis.”

The advisor revealed that over the past 10–11 months, 281,000 complaints have been received by the ministry’s toll-free hotline.

“Violence is being committed in families, workplaces, public spaces, and online. Despite Section 14 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act and the High Court’s directives, victims’ photos are still being published in the media,” Bangladesh’s leading daily, The Dhaka Tribune, quoted the Advisor as saying.

“Though I am a human rights activist, I now support the death penalty for these criminals. The level of violence has exceeded our tolerance,” Sharmeen added.

Bangladesh has been gripped by protest movements, a deteriorating law and order situation and an increasing number of incidents of violence against women since the ouster of Hasina in August 2024, when the Yunus-led administration took the helm.

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Crime

NIA nabs 2 human traffickers from Delhi, HP for role in sending over 100 youths to US via ‘donkey route’

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New Delhi, July 5: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested two human traffickers from different locations in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. The duo, accused of sending more than 100 youths to the United States using the notorious ‘donkey route’ were nabbed after extensive searches.

The accused were identified as Sunny Donker, a resident of Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) and Shubham Sandhal, a resident of Punjab who was currently residing in the national Capital.

Both are said to be associates of Gagandeep Singh alias Goldy, arrested earlier in March.

Gagandeep was arrested over a victim’s complaint who was illegally trafficked to the US using the infamous ‘donkey route’ and was deported back to India in February, this year.

Goldy, a resident of Tilak Nagar in Delhi, was subsequently chargesheeted by the NIA.

As per the findings of the law enforcement agency, Gagandeep Singh used to take around Rs 45 lakh from each victim on the pretext of sending them to US on a valid visa.

He would then illegally send them on an arduous journey via multiple countries, including Spain, El-Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico.

He had sent more than 100 victims illegally to the US, in this manner before being arrested.

Sunny was the main associate of Gagandeep Singh and played a key role in facilitating the journey of the victims on the ‘donkey route’.

Also, the victims were physically and mentally harassed on the way by agents to extract more money.

Shubham Sandhal operated as key hawala conduit, who transferred funds to agents in Latin America. Gagandeep used him to transfer part of the money taken from the victims to the agents based in Latin America.

The NIA, took over the case from Punjab Police in March this year. As the investigation proceeds, it continues to unravel dark secrets of the human trafficking racket.

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