New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby on Saturday condemned the move by the Uttar Pradesh government to withdraw charges against all those accused in the 2015 mob lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Greater Noida's Dadri, a case that had sparked nationwide outrage.

Baby took to X and called it a "double engine of murderers!"

"A decade after the horrific mob lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq, the Uttar Pradesh government is now reportedly seeking to withdraw charges against all the accused, including the son of BJP leader Sanjay Rana," Baby said.

"Strongly condemn this move, which is tantamount to giving state approval for hate crimes and murder. The UP government should immediately desist from attempts to exonerate these dangerous criminals," he said.

The Uttar Pradesh government has moved to withdraw charges against all those accused in the 2015 mob lynching, Additional District Government Counsel Bhag Singh Bhati told PTI on Saturday.

Akhlaq (52), a resident of the Bisada village in Greater Noida, was dragged out of his home and beaten to death by a mob on September 28, 2015, after announcements over a loudspeaker allegedly claimed he had slaughtered a cow and stored beef in his refrigerator. His son, Danish, sustained serious injuries while trying to save him.

Akhlaq's wife Ikraman lodged an FIR the same night at the Jarcha police station, naming 10 people and accusing four to five unidentified men as well. The case is currently pending before the district court in Surajpur, Greater Noida, a decade after the incident.

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Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday. 

The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said. 

A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said. 

Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.

Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.

Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.

Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.

Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.

The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.

According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet. 

"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.