Alwar lynching probe, high-level enquiry set up

Agencies
July 23, 2018

Jaipur, Jul 23: The Rajasthan police on Monday set up a high-level committee to probe the allegations of delay against the Alwar police in taking Akbar Khan to a hospital after he was allegedly lynched by a group of people of suspicion of cow smuggling.

"Allegations of delay in taking Khan to the hospital and policemen crossing their limits have come to fore. A four-member committee of senior police officials is in Alwar to enquire into the matter," state Director General of Police (DGP) O P Galhotra said.

It will also be probed whether the 28-year-old Akbar, alias Rakbar Khan, became a victim of police beating on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. Appropriate action would be taken if any lapses were found in the enquiry report, the DGP said.

The committee comprises special DGP (law and order) N R K Reddy, Additional DGP (CID-Crime Branch) P K Singh, Inspector General (Jaipur Range) Hemant Priyadarshi and state nodal officer (cow vigilance) Mahendra Singh Chaudhary, Galhotra informed in a statement here.

The inquiry is in addition to the overall probe that has been handed over to additional SP rank officer. While two persons, Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh, were arrested on Saturday, the third accused, Naresh Singh, was arrested yesterday and they are under police custody for five days, police said.

"There are certain allegations that the local police had beaten Khan and delayed in taking him to the hospital which is being looked into," SP (Alwar) Rajendra Singh said.

It is alleged that when Akbar was thrashed by a group of people on suspicion of being a cow smuggler in Lalawandi village in Alwar, it took over two-and-a-half hours for the police to take the victim to the Ramgarh Community Healthcare Centre, which is nearly 4 km away from the scene of the crime.

Akbar, along with his friend Aslam, were taking cows to their villages in Haryana through a forest area in Ramgarh area of Alwar, where they caught by a group of people. Aslam had managed to flee from there.

As per the FIR lodged with Ramgarh police station on Saturday, Naval Kishore Sharma, the chief of VHP's "Gau Raksha" cell in Ramgarh, had informed the police at 12.41 am (on Saturday) about the incident.

Police reached the spot at around 1.15 am. Akbar's statement was recorded and he was taken to the police station. As per the CHC entry register, a body of a 28-year-old male was brought at 4.00 am.

Questioning the role of the police, local Ramgarh MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja has demanded a judicial inquiry to find out if Rakbar was lynched by a mob or beaten to death by police.

Following the allegation, the probe into the alleged lynching incident was handed over to Additional SP (Crime and Vigilance), Jaipur Range, on Sunday.

"The investigation will be carried out in a fair and transparent manner," IG, Jaipur Range, Hemant Priyadarshi had said.

Meanwhile, the police investigation has revealed the past police record of the victim. On December 30, 2014, Nauganwa police station in Alwar had registered a case against Rakbar under sections 5 (prohibits the export of bovine animals for slaughter) and 8 (penalty for contravention of Section 5) of the Rajasthan Bovine Animal Act, after allegedly retrieving two cows from him. Nauganwa police station SHO Mohan Singh said a challan was filed in the 2014 case.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

Mumbai, Aug 5: A day after the Bihar government requested for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, the Centre has accepted the state’s request. 

The CBI, which falls under the Union Home Ministry, will now take over the probe. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Wednesday stated in the apex court that the Centre has accepted the request floated by the Nitish Kumar government recommending a CBI inquiry.

A bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy observed that truth behind the 34-year-old Rajput's death should come out. "Truth should come out so far as actor's death is concerned," the SC bench said as reported by news agency.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is also hearing a petition filed by model-actress Rhea Chakraborty who was in a relationship with the deceased actor. In her plea, she sought the transfer of an FIR lodged in Patna by Rajput's father, K K Singh, who had accused her of abetting his suicide.

The 34-year-old actor was found hanging from the ceiling of his apartment in suburban Bandra in Mumbai on June 14.

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Agencies
February 13,2020

New Delhi, Feb 13: The BJP's Amit Shah today said statements like "goli maaro" and "Indo-Pak match" should not have been made by BJP leaders ahead of the Delhi elections.

The BJP may have suffered in the elections because of hate statements made by party leaders, he said, reported news agency Press Trust of India.

The party, he said, had distanced itself from such remarks.

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Agencies
July 20,2020

Mumbai, Jul 20: The Bombay High Court on Monday asked the NIA and the Maharashtra government to inform it about the health condition of poet Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoists links case, and if his family could be allowed to see him "from a reasonable distance".

The directions came after Rao's lawyer told the court that the activist was "almost on his deathbed".

Rao, 81, is currently admitted in the Nanavati Hospital here. He tested positive for coronavirus earlier this month and is also suffering from several other ailments.

A division bench of Justices S S Shinde and S P Tavade asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the state to inform the court about Rao's health condition and clarify by July 22 whether his family members could be permitted to see him.

Rao's lawyer Sudeep Pasbola told the court that the activist was "almost on his deathbed" and that if he were to die, it should be in the presence of his family.

"His condition is very serious. He hit his head against the hospital bed while he was at the J J hospital and sustained severe injuries. Besides COVID-19, he suffers from several ailments, he is hallucinating and is delirious," Pasbola said.

"His days are numbered and if he is to die, at least let him die in the presence of his family members," the lawyer said while seeking that Rao be granted bail. Pasbola said Rao was in no condition to cause any prejudice to the probe in the case and even the NIA could not dispute this fact.

The bench, however, asked if Rao was in such a critical condition, wouldn't it be counterproductive to move him out of the hospital, and take him to any other place? "Also, if he has COVID-19, then how can he meet his family?" the court asked.

To this, Pasbola said if permitted, Rao's family could take precautions, and see him from a distance. The state's counsel, Deepak Thakare, told the high court that it could arrange for video-conferencing facilities for Rao's family.

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, who appeared for the NIA, said as far as he knew, "COVID-19 patients could not be permitted to meet anyone". He also said Rao had been admitted to "one of the best multi-speciality hospitals in the city," and that he was being taken care of in accordance with guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

"We are providing the best treatment to him, all his medical needs are being attended to and we are following ICMR guidelines in treating him for COVID-19," Singh said. The court, while seeking details from the NIA and the state, said, "Can his family members see him from a reasonable distance in the hospital?"

Rao earlier filed two pleas in HC through his lawyer. One was to direct the state to produce all his medical reports from the state-run J J Hospital, where he was admitted in May but discharged hurriedly on June 2 and sent back to Taloja jail in neighbouring Navi Mumbai.

The other plea sought bail on health grounds.

The same bench also heard a petition filed by Rao's co-accused in the case, activists Vernon Gonsalves and Anand Teltumbde, seeking that they be tested for COVID-19 as they had been in close contact with Rao in the jail.

The court directed the prison authorities and the NIA to respond to the plea by July 23. "The prayer in the petition is limited. You (authorities) carry out the test for COVID-19 and see. If they are negative then good," the court said.

It noted that they (Gonsalves and Teltumbde) are lodged in the Taloja jail where there have been cases of inmates testing positive for coronavirus. Besides, the hearing on the plea of activist Sudha Bharadwaj, also an accused in the case, seeking bail on health grounds was adjourned after the court found the Byculla women prison superintendent's report on her health to be "illegible".

Her plea will also be heard on July 23.

Bharadwaj has been in jail since September 2018. She applied for bail on health grounds after an inmate at the Byculla prison tested positive for coronavirus last month.

Rao and nine other activists were arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, which was initially probed by the Pune Police and later transferred to the NIA.

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