kochi l saturday l may 11, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late city EDITION Delhi court to frame charges against Brij Bhushan Singh The BJP MP and former chief of the Wrestling Federation of India is an accused in a sexual harassment case filed by female wrestlers ‘Sufficient evidence against accused’ Co-accused Tomar also to be charged Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot ordered framing of charges against Singh under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. “There is sufficient evidence to frame charges against the accused,” the judge said in her order on Friday ■ Six wrestlers had filed complaint against Singh and the Delhi Police filed the chargesheet on June 15. The court, however, discharged Singh in a complaint filed by the sixth victim, citing lack of evidence to support the charges ■ The court also ordered framing of charges against co-accused and ex-WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar for the offence of criminal intimidation May 21 When the court will officially frame charges against Brij Bhushan Singh CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Kejri gets 21 days to hit campaign trail Justice at last as two SC grants him interim bail till June 1; says it took a holistic and libertarian position in view of the general elections S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi In a major relief to jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Supreme Court on Friday granted him interim bail till June 1 to participate in the general election campaigns, while imposing certain conditions on him. He was in Tihar jail since March 21 for alleged money laundering tied to the Delhi excise policy scam. In its eight-page order, a two-judge bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna directed Kejriwal to surrender on June 2. Hours later, Kejriwal stepped out of Tihar and thanked the judges for their liberal order. “We have to save the country from dictatorship, I will fight with all my might but need the support of 140 crore people,” he told the media. While rejecting the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) stiff opposition to the bail, the court said, “Arvind Kejriwal is the Chief Minister of Delhi and a leader of one of the national parties. No doubt, serious accusations have been made, but he has not been convicted. He does not have any criminal antecedents. He is not a threat to the society . The investig ation in the present case has remained pending since August 2022.” Four commandments 1 Kejriwal can’t visit the office of the Chief Minister and the Delhi Secretariat Arvind Kejriwal addresses supporters after coming out of Tihar Jail | Express While the ED argued that the grant of interim bail would amount to placing politicians in a beneficial position com- 2 Shall not sign official files unless it is required and necessary for obtaining clearance/ approval of L-G pared to ordinary citizens, the bench said, “courts always take into consideration the peculiarities associated with the person in question and the surrounding circumstances. In fact, to ignore the same would be iniquitous and wrong.” The bench noted that the legality and validity of the arrest itself is under challenge before them and that they are yet to take the call. 3 Kejriwal must not make any comment on his role in the present case 4 CM must not interact with any witness and/or have access to any official files connected with the case “The situation cannot be compared with harvesting of crops or plea to look after business affairs. In this background, once the matter is sub judice and the questions relating to legality of arrest are under consideration, a more holistic and libertarian view is justified, in the background that the 18th Lok Sabha General Elections are being held,” the order said. ED not a super investigating agency, says Kerala HC What the court said Justice Gopinath P said, “ED’s duty is to attach or recover any property suspected to have been acquired with the proceeds of crime in the case of any offence listed in the schedule of the law. ED is not a super CBI or whatever it is.” The court made the observation while hearing a petition filed by AAP state president, alleging lethargic attitude by ED in probing the 2021 Kodakara case. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi The Kerala High Court on Friday orally observed that the enforcement directorate (ED) is not a ‘super investigating agency’, and its main responsibility is to trace the assets derived from the proceeds of crime, provisionally attach the property and ensure the prosecu- tion of offenders. The court made the observation when ED’s counsel submitted that as an investigating agency, it has to look into all the aspects of the 2021 Kodakara black money case, in which accusations were raised against some BJP leaders. The HC was considering a petition filed by the state president of AAP alleging lethargic , attitude by ED in probing the case. “The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) can be invoked only when the FIR is registered for a scheduled offence. The state police will register the FIR under those of- 62-year-old turns up at prison 21 years after jumping parole E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram flying arrow Only two centimetres separated the top two throwers in the Doha Diamond League on Friday. Czech Jakub Vadlejch (inset) topped the charts with 88.38m. Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra managed 88.36m in his last throw | AP EXPRESS READ 12 Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh encounter Raipur: Security forces on Friday gunned down 12 Maoists during an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, taking the number of Left-wing extremists eliminated so far this year in the state to 103. Two security personnel were also injured in an IED blast triggered by the Naxalites during the operation, police said. EC raps Kharge letter on voter turnout data New Delhi: Taking strong exception to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge writing to leaders of the INDIA bloc over the voter turnout data, the Election Commission on Friday accused him of obstructing the Lok Sabha elections and trying to push ‘a biased narrative’ under the guise of seeking clarifications. P9 18 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express When a man in his early 60s, accompanied by his son-in-law, arrived at the office of the superintendent of the Poojappura Central Prison on Thursday afternoon, officials thought they were visitors. However, they were in for a shock when the duo informed them of the purpose of the visit. As it turned out, the elderly man, who identified himself as Thankachan, had jumped parole 21 years ago, and had returned to the prison now to surrender! A native of Thodupuzha, Thankachan had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 2000 in a murder case. After serving three years in jail, he was granted a 30-day ordinary leave from Poojappura prison. The short time he spent outside was enough for Thankachan to make up his mind and abscond, instead of returning to the four walls of the prison. The turning up of the man, who is 62, caught every prison official by surprise. “We have seen people, who were absconding for 12 years, being brought back by policemen. This was the first time we saw a man wilfully turning up at the prison, that too after being on the run for 21 years,” said superintendent ● More on P4 D Sathyaraj. Huge holes on Varkala Cliff trigger panic S h a i n u M o h a n @ T’Puram Huge holes have been detected on the iconic Varkala Cliff, triggering safety concerns in one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state. It took a truck load of sand to fill the two craters formed on the 6.1km-long red laterite cliff, already under threat of erosion. The formation of the two “very deep” holes is part of the total degeneration of the cliff caused by severe sea erosion, wave attack, widespread illegal constructions and lack of proper sewage system. The Varkala Cliff was declared a Geo Heritage Site by the Geological Survey of India in 2014. “We found very deep holes on the cliff, near the Nature Care Hospital, four days back, and we swiftly unloaded one truck of sand to fill them to avoid accidents and landslides,” said Sanjay Sahadevan, advisor to Varkala Tourism Development As- One of the huge holes spotted on Varkala Cliff sociation. The association has sent a letter to Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas on the incident. According to sources, tourism authorities have decided to take up the issue with the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) so that emergency measures could be initiated to protect the ● More on P4 cliff. fences mentioned as predicate offences in the PMLA and its jurisdiction will end after registering an FIR. ED’s job is limited to two enactments, one is the Foreign Exchange Management Act and the other is PMLA. What is their responsibility? They are not an investigating agency in that sense,” said Jus● More on P4 tice Gopinath P. sentenced to life for Dabholkar’s murder S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai Close to 11 years after rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar was shot dead in Pune, a special session court on Friday sentenced two of the accused to life imprisonment while acquitting three others, including a l l e g e d ke y c o n s p i r a t o r Dr Virendrasinh Tawde. All five accused were linked to the Sanatan Sanstha. Apart from Dr Tawde, an ENT surgeon, Mumbai-based lawyer Sanjeev Punalekar and his aide Vikram Bhave were acquitted for lack of evidence. Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar, who allegedly shot dead Dabholkar, were convicted. Rationalist, anti-superstition activist and founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, Dr Dabholkar was 67 when he was shot dead by two bike-borne assailants on the VR Shinde bridge in Pune on August 20, 2013. The shocking murder was initially probed by the Pune City Police and was handed over the CBI in 2014. While Dr Tawade was chargesheeted in September 2016, Andure and Kalaskar Dr Narendra Dabholkar Questions about plot, mastermind unanswered Dabholkar’s son Dr Hamid said, “At one level, we are satisfied that the two assailants have been sentenced to life. But questions about the mastermind and overarching conspiracy behind the murder remain unanswered.” were chargesheeted in February 2019. The chargesheeting of Punalekar and Bhave happened in November 2019. The accused were booked under Indian Penal Code sections 34 (common intention), 120 B (conspiracy), 302 (murder), relevant sections of the Arms Act, and Section 16 (terrorism) of the UAPA. The court blamed the competent officer’s negligence for the failure to prove the charges under UAPA.
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