On Tuesday (9th April), the Calcutta HC pulled up West Bengal Chief Secretary BP Gopalika over the delay in sanctioning prosecution in the ‘cash for jobs’ scam. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the case and has sought the court’s intervention to grant prosecution sanction against the accused who were former TMC ministers, and MLAs. The court rapped the Chief Secretary asking, “Is there any ‘level playing field’ for prosecution agencies in West Bengal?”
The division bench comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Gaurang Kanth is jointly hearing the bail prayers of Former Minister Partha Chatterjee and other Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs. They highlighted that on 3rd April, the court had issued a clear order directing the Chief Secretary to submit a report highlighting the time frame in which he will grant sanction in this case. Despite the order, the bench noted that he did not clarify his stand. On the contrary, he sought more time to decide this matter citing the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Coming down heavily on the government counsel, the bench remarked, “Are you an agent or a lawyer? This is the way you submit? Your duty is to haul him up. How do general elections stand in the way of the administration of criminal justice? Have you stopped investigating crimes? Within 7 days you take a decision. These people [CBI] cannot wait (for) your luxury, We indicated that the Chief Secy should not get influenced by those who have no power over him. Sanction is an independent decision. He is not governed by anyone.”
Expressing displeasure over the delay, the Court said that it was more troubled to note that the CBI officers, who have invested their time and energy to investigate these cases, were now awaiting only the sanction.
Justice Bagchi said, “Today, we feel if this is the situation, how far is West Bengal a neutral field for trials.. this is something which even the prosecuting agencies need to consider. If this is a circumstance in which a prosecuting agency has to prosecute, will the agency be able to have a level playing field?”
The Court opined that it respects the Chief Secretary’s standing to take such a decision that may make him unpopular to the political executive of the state, however, adding that it was his duty.
It noted, “Everyone of us is required to take independent, strong and perhaps unpalatable decisions, but that is what the rule of law is. We cannot allow this. What is troubling us is that these people who have investigated have their hands tied because a decision on sanction is not taken.”
The Calcutta HC castigates the TMC government for standing with the accused
The Calcutta HC further expressed displeasure with the state government for standing with the accused persons in the scam.
The court observed, “At least the State of West Bengal shall not stand up for this sort of indifference. These accused may be officers or former ministers of some party, it does not matter. We all need to uphold the rule of law and everyone has to be made accountable for their deeds. We are seeing this sanctioning situation has become extra-ordinary in this case.”
In its order, the bench stated that the Chief Secretary failed to apply his mind to the matter and submitted a ‘laconic’ report. It added that he failed to consider the magnitude of responsibility to submit the sanction within a time frame.
The court further remarked, “We are left to wonder why the highest civil servant of the State has not discharged his bounden statutory duties in a prompt manner, resulting in an undesirable hiatus to the progress of the prosecution in cases involving deep-rooted corruption in the high offices of this State.”
Notably, the School Jobs for Cash Scam or recruitment scam pertains to illegal recruitments made in the primary and secondary schools across the State, during the recruitment process of 2016. The accused in the case include many high-ranking TMC politicians including former education minister Partha Chatterjee and other Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs – Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha. They are behind bars along with suspended TMC leaders like Santanu Kundu and Kuntal Ghosh.
The court concluded the recent hearing by noting that they had been most indulgent with the state Chief Secretary and consequently gave him a last chance to decide on the matter by the 23rd of April.
On 10th April, during the bail hearing of anti-Hindu Delhi Riots accused Umar Khalid in Karkardooma Court, Delhi, the public prosecutor said a false narrative is being set in media and on social media to influence the judiciary by media houses, activists and NGOs to influence judiciary in favour of Khalid. Yesterday, the prosecutor categorically pointed out that when Khalid was not in jail, he was using media and social media to set a narrative. He would make posts on social media and use his influential contacts to set the narrative especially when there would be bail hearings of the Delhi Riots accused.
SPP said that now, a false narrative is being run to influence judiciary – like SQR Ilyas in his interview with TheWire.
OTHER NAMES TAKEN IN COURT: 1. Teesta 2. Aakar Patel 3. Amnesty 4. Azhar Khan 5. Kaushik Raj 6. Swati Chaturvedi
On the 9th of April during the hearing, Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad revealed WhatsApp chats between Umar Khalid and several influential individuals like Swara Bhaskar, Sushant Singh, AltNews, Yogendra Yadav, Sanjukta Basu, Pooka Bhatt and others to demonstrate how he was creating a false narrative in his favour to influence the judiciary in his favour.
He had also give the example of SQR Ilyasi’s interview with The Wire’s Arfa Khanum Sherwani where he gave several false and misleading statements. Notably, during the interview, Ilyasi mentioned 14 adjournments at the Supreme Court for Khalid’s bail hearings but conveniently skipped the part that out of 14, seven adjournments were sought by Khalid.
This interview was played in court to demonstrate how the narrative is being gamed in order to influence the judicial process.
Today, the SPP said that while Umar Khalid was out of jail, he was using influential persons to change the narrative in his favour. However, now, while he is in jail, the narrative is being poisoned by others on social media and the media to influence the judicial process in his case.
The prosecutor took several names like Teesta Setalvad, Aakar Patel, Amnesty International, Azhar Khan, Kaushik Raj and Swati Chaturvedi who have been helping in setting the narrative. The prosecutor further mentioned that these individuals and entities run hashtags in his support and present a false narrative of the case.
Following the detention of a major hawala operator at Chennai airport, officers of the Income Tax Department have purportedly uncovered a conspiracy by a “prominent political party” to bring Rs 200 crore through hawala transactions for distribution during the Lok Sabha election.
As reported by The Hindu, Vinoth Kumar Joseph, an Indian national, was intercepted on Sunday (7th April) at Chennai International Airport after being deported from Malaysia. Reports say that during the probe the officials found that Joseph was part of a huge Hawala network that operates from Dubai and Malaysia to move illicit funds from Dubai to India.
The Income Tax Department officials also confiscated a mobile phone, iPad, and laptop from Joseph and recorded Joseph’s statement.
According to authorities in the IT Department, “It has been found through WhatsApp conversations on his mobile phone that he was planning to bring money from Dubai to Chennai through hawala for a prominent Tamil Nadu-based political party.”
According to Vinoth Kumar Joseph’s recent WhatsApp chats with a Dubai-based person by the name of Selvam, Rs 200 crore was supposed to be sent from Dubai in connection to the parliamentary elections.
Reportedly, a person named Appu, also known as Vinayagavelan, was a close associate of Joseph. Appu aka Vinayagavelan is reportedly involved in the election campaign for a well-known politician.
The other people or organisations who appeared to be involved in helping the hawala transactions are Monika Virola based in Dubai, Al Manar Diamonds, and Suresh based in Malaysia. Further investigation into the matter is underway. The IT officials, reports say, have not ruled out the possibility of the Enforcement Directorate joining the probe.
On Wednesday (10th April), former Indian cricketer and coach Ravi Shastri posted a picture of himself in a bathrobe on his social media handle. Ravi Shastri’s new post has surprised his fans who are praising the former coach of the Indian men’s cricket team.
In the caption of his post, the stylish former cricketer wrote, “I am hottie, I am naughty, I am sixty.”
In the picture shared by Ravi Shastri, he is seen wearing a blue bathrobe. 61-year-old Ravi Shastri is currently working as a commentator and expert in IPL 2024. The photo posted by Ravi Shastri went viral in no time. With more than 5 lakh views, more than 20 thousand likes, 2200 plus shares and more than a thousand comments, the picture of the former Indian cricketer became a social media sensation within a few hours.
As if this was not enough, Ravi Shastri posted another picture in the same attire. In the caption of this photo, he wrote, “Does this photo qualify as a thirst trap?” This photo got more than 360000 views, more than 9000 likes, over 500 reshares and almost 500 comments. Some of his fans mistakenly believed it was his birthday and began congratulating him on the occasion. However, he was born on 27th May 1962, so today is not his birthday.
In the caption of the third photo, Ravi Shastri wrote, “Your girl doesn’t need to see my face to know it’s me.” In this photo, he is hiding his face with a towel.
After this post by Ravi Shastri, former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag also posted a commercial advertisement for Make My Trip in which both Virender Sehwag ad Ravi Shastri are seen endorsing app. Interestingly, the latest series of advertisements by the ‘Make My Trip’ are made in such a way that the face of the celebrity is not revealed. Actor Jackie Shroff and director Prabhu Deva are already seen in two such advertisements. In the caption of the post, Virender Sehwag wrote, “Ravi bhai was saying ‘let’s also take off the bathrobe’.
Ravi Shastri took over as the head coach of the Indian team in 2017. Rahul Dravid became the head coach of the Indian team after the T20 World Cup 2021. From 1981 to 1992, Shastri played 80 Tests and 150 ODIs, in which he scored a total of 7000 international runs and 272 international wickets. After playing his last international match in 1992, Shastri made his debut as a TV commentator in 1995. Since then, he has been in the role of commentator barring his stint as the coach of the Indian cricket team.
On 9th April, Delhi Karkardooma Court heard the prosecution’s arguments in anti-Hindu Delhi Riots 2020 accused Umar Khalid’s bail plea. During the arguments, the prosecution specified how Khalid has a habit of setting a narrative in media and on social media. Giving examples of the conversations he had with celebrities, journalists and activists including Pooja Bhatt, Zeeshan Ayyub, Swara Bhaskar, Yogendra Yadav, Alt News and others, the prosecution explained how links and ideas sent by Khalid were shared and promoted by them on social media and in media. One of the names and conversations that caught the eye was of Rasika Agashe, wife of Zeeshan Ayyub. Interestingly, Rasika wholeheartedly gave her support to Khalid as a ‘Hindu woman’.
As per the prosecution, Khalid had a conversation with Rasika where he said, “The sword is hanging on my neck”, and he was only a phone call away from an arrest. Replying to him, Rasika said that he had “ek hindu aurat ki duaen (Prayers of a Hindu woman)” and prayed to Allah that everything would be alright. She assured me she was only a phone call away, and Khalid said he knew he could count on her and Zeeshan. He also urged her to amplify the matter the next day from noon with the hashtag “StandWithJamia”.
Upon investigation, we found a post done by Rasika on 23rd May 2020 that used the hashtag #StandWithJamia just as Khalid had instructed her to do.
Source: X
Who is Rasika Agashe?
Rasika is a Marathi theatre personality and a National School of Drama alumni. She is the wife of actor Zeeshan Ayyub who is also an NSD alumni. Rasika was Zeeshan’s senior at NSD. After completing their course at the drama school, they got married and later shifted to Mumbai. Rasika’s role in the 2023 series Scoop directed by Hansal Mehta became a topic of discussion as her role as jail matron was one of the most hated characters in the series.
Apart from acting careers, both husband and wife have played their roles as “activists” for years propagating the left-liberal agendas, protesting against CAA and NRC, and calling for the release of the likes of Umar Khalid, Dr Kafeel and more. As her chats with Khalid were discussed in the Sessions court during the latter’s bail plea, we dig out Rasika’s profile on social media to understand her role in propagating specific agendas.
In December 2019, Rasika Agashe published a post on Twitter (now X) questioning BJP supporters why people were criticised for protesting against CAA. She also questioned if people were blinded by what happened in UP. The post was published on 29th December. By then, violence at Jamia Millia Islamia University had happened and there was a riot-like situation in UP against CAA which was curbed by the state government.
Source: X
Days before the post, she had targeted Delhi Police for using force to curb violence at Jamia.
Source: X
There are several posts before the Delhi Riots where Rasika tried to target Hindus. In one of the posts from January, she invoked her “Hindu” identity to guilt-trip Hindus. She targeted those who support ABVP, BJP and RSS and questioned if the people of India want Hindu Rashtra. She conveniently propagated that Dalits are not Hindus and claimed she belonged to a family where children were sent to RSS Shakhas. She further claimed she was taught how the Mughals did wrong in the country. In a way, she propagated what she was taught was wrong.
Source: Facebook
In another post from January, she named several activists and celebrities along with students, professors etc who were against CAA and questioned if they were against CAA and NRC, why people who support it were not thinking about it. She again involved “Hindu Rashtra” in her post to specifically target Hindus.
Source: Facebook
In another post, she claimed Hindu and Hindutva are different things. The same old rhetoric was used to support anti-CAA protests.
Source: Facebook
How much she loved to use her “Hindu identity” for propaganda is clear from her profile. Notably, in December 2019, she was seen writing a placard “I am Hindu and I am Ashamed” in Hindi while being at an anti-CAA protest site.
Source: Facebook
Earlier, she wrote that it should be Hindus’ responsibility to protest against CAA and not of Muslims.
Source: Facebook
In February 2020, days before the anti-Hindu Delhi Riots 2020, she again ranted over people being criticised for protesting against CAA and NRC. She wrote, “I condemn all the violence.. from prehistoric times till today.. all kinds of crimes, terrorism, religious, sexual cast based discrimination..exodus, attacks on minorities, death of all innocent souls..all kind of violence.. can I talk about CAA and NRC now?”
Source: Facebook
In September 2015, she talked about meat ban in specifically BJP-ruled states. She questioned if non-veg would be compulsory on Eid. Notably, in September 2015, there were reports of a meat ban in some states during the Jain festival in some states. The ban in Mumbai was challenged and stayed by the Bombay High Court. The order was upheld by the Supreme Court. Her post, interestingly came days after the Supreme Court’s verdict. It is unclear if she talked about the same ban or something else altogether due to discrepancies in the dates. However, her post clearly showed that she wanted to make it a “Hindu-Muslim” issue.
Source: Facebook
Rasika’s support for Umar Khalid pre-dates anti-CAA protests
Interestingly, Rasika has been “idolising” Umar Khalid long before the anti-CAA protests. In 2018, following an alleged attack on Umar Khalid, she wrote a poem about feeling blessed that the pistol jammed.
Source: Facebook
In January 2020, she shared a post by Umar Khalid calling for the release of Dr Kafeel Khan. Kafeel made to headlines after several children died in a hospital in Uttar Pradesh in 2017. He was accused of negligence at that time and suspended from his job. Later, he consistently spoke against the government and during anti-CAA protests became a vocal supporter of the “cause”. The post that was discussed in the court was about Dr Kafeel.
Source: Facebook
A similar post was shared in February 2020 as well.
Source: Facebook
The propaganda continued in March. Interestingly, if we look at the dates, they were almost one month apart showing how Umar Khalid was actively setting a narrative on social media, a concern raised by the prosecution in the court on 9th April.
Source: Facebook
Rasika’s consistent support for Umar Khalid after his arrest
After Umar Khalid was arrested by police in the Delhi Riots case, Rasika extended her support consistently to date. She published posts, shared posts and participated in “cultural events” demanding release of Umar Khalid. In September 2020, she expressed her “fear” and “stood by Umar Khalid”.
Source: Facebook
In January 2022, Rasika Agashe wrote a note for Khalid after reading about his jail diary while calling for his release.
Source: Facebook
In January 2022, she called for the release of Umar Khalid and “all political prisoners”.
Source: Facebook
In September 2022, she shared info on a solidarity meeting for the release of Umar Khalid and others. The list of speakers included Aishe Ghosh, Former Justice Anjana Prakash and others.
Source: Facebook
In June 2023, Rasika Agashe again called for release of Umar Khalid.
Source: Facebook
In September 2023, she participated in a cultural evening in solidarity with Umar Khalid marking his three years since his arrest.
Source: Facebook
Interestingly, this particular event was on the same date Khalid’s bail plea was scheduled to be heard in the Supreme Court.
Source: Supreme Court of India.
Rasika Agashe also participated in online events organised by those who run Umar Khalid’s page on Facebook.
Source: Facebook
Rasika and her husband Zeeshan were active during anti-CAA protests. They not only shared posts at the request of Khalid but also propagated for his release. Zeeshan Ayyub, who has appeared in several films, TV series and web series, made headlines for the wrong reasons many times. When we searched his timeline, one particular post drew attention. Notably, on 24th February 2020, when the anti-Hindu Delhi Riots of 2020 were going on, he said on Twitter (now X), “Why it feels like those who support CAA are talking about bloodshed and killing along with CAA!!??” Ayyub tried to divert the blame for riots to those who were in support of CAA while it was the other way around.
Source: X
Notably, he also used social media to give out messages to gather at protest sites. In January 2020, he published a short video on Facebook asking people from Jamia and Okhla to gather at Shaheen Bagh as police reached there in two buses.
In September 2020, he made an Instagram post calling for release of Khalid.
Source: Instagram
A month later, he posted a video in support of Khalid where he called the Delhi Riots accused “peace-loving and non-violent”.
In short, Zeeshan used every possible platform, let it be media or social media to propagate against CAA and support the likes of Umar Khalid.
Apart from his activist activities, Zeeshan has been surrounded by controversies on several occasions. One of the most talked about controversies was the derogatory portrayal of Bhagwan Shiv in the web series Tandav which was later removed following the protests by the public and police complaints.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday came to the defence of Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai after “joker” jibe by DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran and said “insulting words” were used against the BJP leader.
He also said that the remarks reflected the character of the ruling party in the state and that “arrogance is against the great culture of Tamil Nadu”.
Addressing an election rally in Mettupalayam in Coimbatore, the Prime Minister said those practising family politics stop young leaders from moving forward.
“DMK is a party that is immersed in the arrogance of power. When a senior leader of DMK was asked about our young leader Annamalai, he said in arrogance ‘who is he, who is that’ and used insulting words. This arrogance is against Tamil Nadu’s great culture. The people of Tamil Nadu will never like this arrogance,” PM Modi said.
“For a former police officer, for a youth coming from a backward class, for someone who works so much at the ground level, the words that have been used by DMK, these are its real character. Those who do family politics stop young leaders from moving forward,” he added.
In an interview with India Today, Dayanidhi Maran, a former union minister, sought to dismiss the challenge posed by Annamalai in the Lok Sabha polls.
“Who’s that? Oh, the joker, you are talking about the joker…Are you overestimating, he is a lame-duck,” Maran said.
He was asked a question about the “fear of Annamali” and if he is the rising star of the BJP.
Annamalai is fighting the Lok Sabha polls from Coimbatore. DMK has fielded Ganapathy P Rajkumar against him.
Maran is contesting Lok Sabha polls from Chennai Central.
All 39 seats in Tamil Nadu will vote in a single phase on April 19 in Lok Sabha polls that will be held in seven phases. Votes will be counted on June 4. In 2019, the DMK-led alliance swept the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, winning 38 of 39 seats. (ANI)
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
In a major political development in Delhi politics, Delhi Minister Raaj Kumar Anand tendered his resignation from his post and also quit the Aam Aadmi Party, saying that AAP is neck deep into corruption. He asserted that he couldn’t soil his name in the misdeeds committed by the party leaders and charged AAP with not giving “representation to the Dalit and the backward communities”. Notably, Anand held around seven portfolios in the Arvind Kejriwal cabinet.
While announcing his resignation and quitting the party, Anand attacked the Aam Aadmi Party accusing it of corruption. He said, “The party has become embroiled in corruption, now I cannot stay in this party.”
Addressing a press conference, Raaj Kumar Anand said, “I am dejected. I joined politics when Arvind Kejriwal promised to reform politics. But with displeasure, I have to submit that politics didn’t change rather the politicians changed. AAP which came into existence from an anti-corruption movement is today embroiled in corruption.”
Announcing his resignation from both the government and the party, he said, “It has become impossible for me to continue working as part of this government. I tender my resignation from this party, this government and the post of its minister because I do not want my name to be added in such corrupt actions. I do not believe that we have the moral right to continue in government any longer.”
Watch: After Resigning from the AAP party, Raaj Kumar Anand said, "The party has become embroiled in corruption, now I cannot stay in this party." https://t.co/FZWKKkCr8kpic.twitter.com/T383ABIOZf
He accused AAP of being anti-Dalit and anti-OBC communities. Anand said, “Arvind Kejriwal claims to work on the ideals of BR Ambedkar and has erected portraits of Ambedkar in every government office but when it comes to following those ideals, he fails to adhere to them.”
He added that the Aam Aadmi Party refrains from giving representation to the SC and OBC communities and has not sent any members from these communities to the Rajya Sabha.
Anand sent his resignation to AAP general secretary organisation Sandeep Pathak. The minister submitted his resignation at a time when Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is in judicial custody in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case.
Raaj Kumar Anand was the minister of 7 portfolios in the Delhi government, which are Gurudwara Elections, SC & ST, Social Welfare, Cooperative, Land & Building, Labour, and Employment.
Notably, Raaj Kumar Anand himself is under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in an alleged money laundering case relating to unaccounted business investments in hawala payments sent to China in 2023. The ED had conducted searches at his residence in November last in relation to the case, along with several places. The agency had said that evidence relating to unaccounted business investments and hawala payments sent to China in 2023 was recovered from some of his key employees during the searches.
It is alleged that Anand made hawala payments to China and evaded customs duty amounting to about Rs 7 crore on various imports.
It is pertinent to note that currently several AAP leaders and Ministers are under the scanner of probing agencies including the Jal Board scam and Delhi Liquor Policy scam case among others. In the ongoing probe in the Delhi Liquor policy scam case, the senior leadership of the party including party National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain are behind bars while Sanjay Singh was recently granted bail in this matter.
Ahimsa Vishwa Bharati and World Peace Centre founder Jain Acharya Lokesh has been honoured with the American Presidential Award at Capitol Hill in Washington. He is the first Indian monk to be honoured with the American Presidential Award.
As part of the honour, he was honoured with the Presidential Award, Golden Shield, Certificate of Honor and a citation bearing the signature of President Biden. The certificate and citation were read by US Congressman Brad Sherman, according to the statement released by Ahimsa Vishwa Bharati.
While appreciating the humanitarian work of Jain Acharya Lokesh, US President Joe Biden, in his signed citation, said, “I congratulate you for your contribution to the public good and congratulate you for your service to this great nation and humanity.”
Praising Acharya Lokesh’s global peace efforts, Biden wrote, “By sharing your time and passion, you are helping to find solutions to the challenges we face. Solutions we need more than ever. We live in a moment that needs hope, light, and love. You are providing all three through your service.”
Biden further stated, “On behalf of the American people, I deeply commend you for your volunteer leadership and the American people have confidence that you will continue to serve humanity in the same way in the future.”
After receiving the award, Jain Acharya Lokesh in his speech called it a matter of pride to be honoured with the American Presidential Award, according to the statement. However, he noted that the award has increased even more responsibility.
He said that this honour is an honour of Indian culture, spiritual values, Jain principles of Lord Mahavir, according to the statement released by Ahimsa Vishwa Bharati.
He further said, “It is my honour that on the basis of these values, I have been dedicated to the interest and welfare of mankind for the last 40 years and will try to live up to everyone’s expectations in the future also.”
While expressing gratitude to Biden, Jain Acharya Lokesh expressed hope that India and the US will continue to work together for the upliftment of mankind.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday (10th April) stopped the West Bengal Police from detaining NIA officials in a case booked for allegedly violating women’s modesty while arresting two TMC leaders in a 2022 blast case. The police have filed a FIR against NIA officials for alleged molestation in the Bhupatinagar incident, following a complaint from the wife of an arrested TMC leader.
On Saturday (6th April), one of the officials was hurt in a mob attack as they returned from Bhupatinagar in East Midnapore district, where they had arrested two people in connection with an inquiry into a bomb that killed three people there in December 2022. However, the next day on 7 April, East Midnapore Police registered an FIR against NIA and CRPF officers who were attacked by the mob, citing a complaint filed by a woman. The complainant alleged that NIA officials molested her by breaking the doors of their houses late at night.
Hearing a plea filed by NIA seeking protection against action by West Bengal Police, the high court came down heavily on the state police for filing the FIR against the NIA officers. The court noted that NIA officials went to conduct a raid strictly in terms of the law, adding that the law does not require the NIA to obtain permission from state police.
Justice Jai Sengupta questioned the role of state police in the matter, questioning how the NIA officers, who were victims of mob violence, were booked under stringent provisions based on the complaint of the wife of one of the persons arrested by the NIA.
However, the HC stated that the police can interview NIA officials via video conferencing if required, but they can’t arrest NIA officials named in the case.
The High Court also noted that the police must issue a prior notice of 72 hours if they intend to question the NIA officials. The Court further came down heavily on the West Bengal police stating that the FIR filed against the NIA officials contained several bits of malafide information against the NIA officials.
The Court questioned the imposition of section 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) in the FIR filed against NIA officials by the wife of an arrested TMC leader. The Court pondered how section 325 was imposed against the NIA officials when there was no mention of ‘grievous injury’ in the complaint. The court noted that the medical report mentions only minor scratches and pain and does not mention grievous hurt.
“It is astounding that FIR was registered under Section 325 by the state police,” the court said.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a court petition on Tuesday (9th April), seeking the dismissal of a FIR against its employees who conducted a raid in West Bengal’s Bhupatinagar as part of the agency’s investigation into a blast case. The appeal also requested temporary protection from any coercive action by state police against NIA officers.
The court asked state police to submit the case diary and listed the case for April 29.
Meanwhile, the NIA has also registered a case against the attackers at the Bhupatinagar police station.
The West Bengal Police on Tuesday (9th April) summoned the NIA official who was injured in the attack to appear before the investigating officer at the Bhupatinagar police station on 11th April.
The investigating officer at Bhupatinagar police station also asked the NIA to bring the vehicle that was damaged during the incident on Saturday so that they could conduct a forensic examination on it. In addition, the police officer called three locals from Bhupatinagar for questioning.
The attack on the NIA team occurred almost three months after villagers and locals assaulted a team of Enforcement Department (ED) police on 5th January when they attempted to raid the residence of now-arrested TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh in connection with the suspected ration fraud.
India did not interfere in Canada elections in 2019 and 2021, Canadian officials have said rejecting the allegations made by the Canadian intelligence agencies.
Canadian officials who have been investigating the allegations of foreign interference into the Canadian elections stated in a report that no evidence has been found showing any meddling by India to influence the polls.
“I do not believe that during the 2021 election we saw evidence of the Government of India using those tools in the campaign,” an official part of the investigation said.
Moreover, the panel has mentioned China’s involvement in influencing the Canadian elections in 2019 and 2021.
The Canadian media reported that according to the declassified top-secret briefing report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), India was identified as a “potential threat” to Canadian elections along with China.
As per reports, the probe panel including former Deputy Foreign Minister, Marta Morgan and Former Cabinet Secretary, Janice Charette highlighted the absence of Indian government tactics in the campaign.
“We know that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) clandestinely and deceptively interfered in both the elections,” the commission said.
“In both cases, these FI (foreign interference) activities were pragmatic in nature and focused primarily on supporting those viewed to be either ‘pro-PRC’ or ‘neutral’ on issues of interest to the PRC government,” it said.
The CSIS had recently suggested that both India and Pakistan had tried to interfere in the Canadian elections following which the Opposition were unhappy about China’s possible role.
A commission was then set up by the Trudeau government. Justin Trudeau is scheduled to testify on Wednesday, 10th April, local time.
India has denied the allegations long before. “We have seen media reports about the Canadian commission inquiring into …We strongly reject all such baseless allegations of Indian interference in Canadian elections. It is not the government of India’s policy to interfere in the democratic processes of other countries. In fact, quite on the contrary, it is Canada which has been interfering in our internal affairs,” External Affairs Ministry (EAM) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
Canada has strained its ties with New Delhi over similar allegations of foreign interference including alleged involvement in the role of the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
