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Hate speech case: Delhi HC issues notice on Sharjeel Imam’s bail plea

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The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice on a bail plea by former JNU student-activist Sharjeel Imam challenging an earlier court order which had rejected the plea.

The case relates to his alleged inflammatory speeches in Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh and Jamia area in Delhi during Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in 2019.

A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and A.K. Mendiratta, while hearing the submissions of Imam’s counsel Tanveer Ahmed Mir, asked what the special judge had said in the earlier order which rejected the bail plea.

During the course of the hearing, the bench noted that sedition requires specific calls for violence, saying there has to be a conscious act propagating and promoting violence. Mir argued that the FIR has taken out three lines from the speech and led to believe that he was inciting violence.

Observing the earlier court order, the bench said, “He has dealt with nothing. All these offences are less than 7 years.”

To the charges of Delhi Police, the bench asked if he was a flight risk, whether he would tamper with evidence and who the witnesses were?

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on March 24.

Imam has approached the High Court against the orders of the lower court which rejected his bail application.

Additional sessions judge Amitabh Rawat on January 24 had framed the charges under sections 124A (sedition), 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence), 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and 505 of IPC, which deals with statements related to public order.

According to the police, Imam made the alleged inflammatory speeches in Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi on December 13, 2019, and in Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh on January 16, 2020. He has been in judicial custody since January 28, 2020, and is presently lodged in the Tihar Jail in Delhi.

“He is accused of delivering seditious speeches and inciting a particular section of the community to indulge in unlawful activities, detrimental to sovereignty and integrity of the nation,” the charge sheet said.

“In the garb of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, he exhorted people of a particular community to block the highways leading to the major cities and resort to ‘Chakka Jam’, thereby disrupting normal life,” it read.

Crime

Security forces release sketches, photos of terrorists who carried out Pahalgam attack

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Srinagar, April 23: Security forces on Wednesday released a photograph and sketches of terrorists suspected to be responsible for the Pahalgam attack in which 26 civilians were killed and several others were injured on Tuesday.

Three terrorists suspected to have carried out the dastardly attack have been identified as Asif Fuji, Suleman Shah and Abu Talha.

The attackers, believed to be members of The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), opened fire on tourists at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam area, 6 kms away from Pahalgam town.

Security forces said at least five to six terrorists, wearing camouflage outfits and kurta pyjamas, came to Baisaran meadow from the dense pine forest surrounding the Baisaran meadow and opened fire with AK-47 rifles.

The group included Pakistani terrorists, who infiltrated the Valley just days before the attack, Intelligence sources said.

Intelligence agencies have identified Saifullah Kasuri, alias Khalid, a top LeT commander, as the mastermind behind the massacre.

Security forces have launched a massive anti-terror operation and deployed helicopters to spot the terrorists who took advantage of the forest cover to flee the spot.

Preliminary forensic analysis and testimonies of survivors indicate that the terrorists used military grade weapons and advanced communication devices, which indicates definite external logistical support.

The probe also found that the terrorists wore body cams and helmet-mounted cameras to record the entire sequence of events.

The attackers came with full preparation and had stocked up dry fruits and medicines.

Sources said the terrorists also did a recce of Pahalgam with the help of some locals.

Eyewitnesses said that while two terrorists spoke in Pashto (indicating Pakistani origin), two of them were locals (Adil and Asif). The local terrorists are from Bijbhera and Tral.

The precision and planning of the attack also points to the involvement of trained handlers and not local amateurs.

According to Intelligence sources, digital footprints of the attackers were traced to safe houses in Muzaffarabad and Karachi, strengthening cross-border terror link evidence.

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Crime

WBSSC recruitment: Calcutta HC to hear contempt petition against Bengal govt today

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Kolkata, April 23: The Calcutta High Court will hear the contempt petition against the West Bengal government in connection with the cash for job case on Wednesday.

The Calcutta High Court’s divisional bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi will hear the contempt petition against the state government for failing to implement the Supreme Court’s order.

The state government is supposed to tell the court why it is taking so long to implement the Supreme Court’s order.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is also supposed to clarify to the same division bench on why their investigating officials have not yet completed the process of interrogation of those candidates who have already been identified as “tainted”.

Notably, the job losers’ protest in front of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) office continued for the third day on Wednesday. They are seeking the publication of lists segregating “genuine” and “tainted” candidates.

In a major development, the protesters allowed WBSSC chairman Siddhartha Majumdar, stuck in his office for the last 45 hours as all the entry and exit gates of the commission’s office were blocked since the beginning of their protests, to leave the office on Wednesday morning.

Last year, the bench had cancelled 25,753 teaching and non-teaching jobs, which is the entire panel of WBSSC for 2016. The state government approached the Supreme Court challenging the order.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court division bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld the order of the Calcutta High Court last year and also accepted the observation that the entire panel had to be cancelled because of the state government and the commission’s failure to segregate the “genuine” candidates from the “tainted” ones.

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Crime

Woman murdered by slitting her throat in Mumbai, police searching for accused

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Mumbai, April 22: A woman has been murdered by slitting her throat in Vikhroli area of ​​Mumbai. Vikhroli police have registered a case against an unknown person and started searching for the accused.

According to Mumbai Police, the deceased woman has been identified as Suman (36). She lived with her husband in Vikhroli East area. The murder was revealed when the woman’s husband returned home around 5:30 am on Tuesday after doing night duty. He found his wife lying in a pool of blood in the house.

After this, he immediately informed about the murder by calling the main control room of Mumbai Police. On receiving the information, Vikhroli police reached the spot and started investigating the case. Dog squad, fingerprint experts and forensic lab teams also reached the spot to search for the accused. In the preliminary investigation, the reason for the murder and the identity of the accused have not been clear yet.

Vikhroli police has started an in-depth investigation into the case and claimed to arrest the accused soon.

Let us tell you that recently a woman was strangled to death by unknown people in Thane district of Maharashtra. After the murder, the body of the woman was thrown by the accused on the roadside. According to the police, the age of the deceased woman was said to be between 35 to 40. The body of the woman was found in Thakurgaon area of ​​​​Bhiwandi. However, the dead woman could not be identified immediately.

Initial investigation revealed that the woman died due to strangulation. An FIR of murder was registered at Kongaon police station. An officer had told that who is the woman? Police investigation is being done to find out who committed the murder. Further action will be taken after the investigation.

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