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SC reserves verdict on Zakia Jafri plea challenging SIT ‘clean chit’

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The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the plea of Zakia Jafri, wife of Congress leader Ehsan Jafri who was killed during the violence at Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad in 2002, challenging SIT’s clean chit to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others during the riots in the state.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the SIT, told the bench headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar that the top court should endorse the decision taken by the Gujarat High Court on Jafri’s plea. He added that it will become an endless exercise, being pushed by some motives of social activist Teesta Setalvad — the second petitioner in the petition.

Concluding the arguments, Rohatgi submitted before the bench, also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and CT Ravikumar that nobody had “raised a finger” against it on the probe in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

After hearing detailed arguments in the matter, the bench reserved its verdict on Jafri’s petition challenging the 2017 Gujarat High Court order rejecting her plea against the SIT decision.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the petitioners, cited work done by Setalvad’s organisations and added that to paint somebody “anti-Gujarat” is unfair. He said this is yet another occasion when the majesty of the law is being tested and he is not keen on targeting anybody and emphasized that it was SIT’s task to find out who the offenders are, if any offence has been committed.

He said the matter can be closed, if nobody did it and all this happened without anybody doing it, against the backdrop of the material before the court. “But if you feel that offences have been committed then who is responsible is a matter of investigation,” Sibal said.

The SIT gave a clean chit to Modi and in 2017, the Gujarat High Court, upheld the clean chit. Zakia Jafri moved the top court challenging the Gujarat High Court order.

During the hearing in the matter, Rohatgi had contended that allegations have become wilder over the years, and emphasised that SIT diligently investigated each and every allegation, and made recommendations for prosecution of many who had earlier been left out. He had submitted that allegations about a larger conspiracy, were found to be based on the statements of three “tainted” police officers — R.B. Sreekumar, Rahul Sharma, and Sanjiv Bhatt.

Crime

Actor Ajaz Khan’s Wife Fallon Guliwala Granted Bail in Drugs Case

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Mumbai: Fallon Guliwala, wife of actor Ajaz Khan, who was arrested in November 2024 after narcotics were recovered from her residence, has been granted bail by a special court in Mumbai.

Guliwala had been in custody for over four months. The court has imposed certain conditions for her bail, including the submission of her passport, a restriction on travel, and mandatory attendance before the investigating officer three times a week until the chargesheet is filed.

Her lawyer, Ayaz Khan, argued that she was unaware of the recovered items and that she was not the only occupant of the premises. He also mentioned that the CCTV system was turned off during the raid, and no videography or photography was conducted.

Special Public Prosecutor Vibhavari Pathak opposed the bail plea, stating that a prima facie case existed against Guliwala.

Considering that the seizure process had already been completed, the court granted bail but with strict conditions.

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Crime

Kunal Kamra issued third summons by Mumbai Police, asked to appear for questioning today

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Mumbai, April 5: Stand up comedian Kunal Kamra has been issued a third summons by Mumbai’s Khar Police, asking him to appear for questioning on Saturday.

This summons follows two previous attempts by the police to call Kamra in for investigation, but the comedian failed to show up for either of the earlier summons.

Kamra is under investigation for an alleged controversial comment that was understood to be an indirect swipe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The video, which aired following Kamra’s performance at the Habitat Comedy Club in Khar, saw the comedian using a modified version of a popular Bollywood song from ‘Dil To Pagal Hai.’ “Meri nazar se tum dekho toh, gaddar nazar wo aaye. Haaye,” Kunal Kamra said during his show which was understood to be a jibe at Shinde.

The comments, were perceived to be made in the context of the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis, which led to the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government, resulted in multiple FIRs being filed against Kamra.

Following the release of Kamra’s video on March 23, Shiv Sena workers, angered by his remarks, vandalised the Unicontinental Hotel in Khar where Kamra had recorded the video. This incident led to the arrest of 12 Shinde supporters, who were later granted bail.

In response to the summons, Kamra had earlier stated he was unavailable in Mumbai due to prior commitments and offered to appear for questioning on April 2.

However, the police did not accept his request for a delayed appearance.

Kamra’s lawyer, V. Suresh, had expressed concerns about Kamra’s safety, claiming he had received threats from certain Maharashtra Cabinet ministers.

Mumbai’s Khar Police Station is investigating the matter, with two FIRs already filed against Kamra for derogatory remarks. In addition, three more FIRs filed against him in different parts of Maharashtra have been combined into the Mumbai investigation.

The police have confirmed that Kamra is not currently in contact with the Khar police station. Kamra has been granted protection from arrest until April 7 by the Madras High Court, but the latest summons indicate that the investigation is moving forward despite his earlier refusals to comply.

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Crime

Mumbai Five members of Lawrence Bishnoi gang arrested, Mumbai Crime Branch gives a shock to Bishnoi gang

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Mumbai: Mumbai Crime Branch has claimed to have arrested five shooters of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi gang in a major operation. 5 revolvers and 21 live cartridges have been recovered from the possession of these shooters. Mumbai Police is also interrogating these shooters. Police arrested the attackers before they could execute the incident and averted the incident. Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested these five from Andheri area. They had come here with the intention of carrying out a major vandalism incident, but the police foiled the incident before that.

The arrested accused include Vikas Thakur, Samit Dilawar, Devendra Rupesh Saxena, Shreya Suresh Yadav, Vivek Gupta. Vikas Thakur is a resident of Versova Andheri, Samit Mukesh Kumar Dilawar is a resident of Sonipat, Haryana, Devendra Rupesh Saxena is a resident of Madhya Pradesh, Shreya Suresh Yadav is a resident of Jagdishpur, Bihar and Vivek Kumar Gupta is a resident of Rampur, Rajasthan.

Weapons have been recovered from their possession and the Crime Branch has registered a case against them under Section 3 and 25 of the BNS, Section 55 and 61 (2) and Maharashtra Police Act. The Crime Branch is investigating where the accused brought the weapons from.

After the shooting of Salman Khan, Lawrence Bishnoi gang is trying to become active in Mumbai, but due to the strict action of Mumbai Crime Branch, the back of the gang has been broken and now the Crime Branch has given a big blow to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and arrested five of its members. The Crime Branch is further investigating the matter.

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