India land of many religions; Muslim policemen allowed to maintain trim, tidy beard: Madras HC
Chennai: The Madras High Court has ruled that Muslim policemen in Tamil Nadu are allowed to maintain trimmed and tidy beards while on duty, as per the 1957 Madras Police Gazette.
Justice L Victoria Gowri stressed on India's diverse religious landscape, stating that the police department cannot penalize Muslim officers for following their religious practices.
"The said norms (of the Madras Police Gazette) throw light on the fact that Muslims are permitted to maintain trim and tidy beard even while on duty. India being a land of diverse religions and customs, the beauty and uniqueness of the land vest in the diversity of the citizen's beliefs and culture. Despite the department of the police of the Government of Tamil Nadu warrants strict discipline, the duty of upkeeping discipline in the department does not permit the respondents to initiate punishment on employees belonging to the minority communities, particularly Muslims for maintaining a beard which they do throughout their lives by following the commandments of Prophet Mohammed," the June 5 order said.
The decision came after a police constable was punished for appearing with a beard post his pilgrimage to Mecca. The constable had been on a 31-day leave for the pilgrimage and sought an extension due to a leg infection. The Assistant Commissioner denied the leave extension and questioned his bearded appearance.
In 2019, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) issued charges against the constable for maintaining a beard and for not reporting back to duty after his 31-day leave. Consequently, his salary increment was halted for three years. The constable appealed, and the punishment was later reduced to a two-year halt without cumulative effect.
The High Court found the punishment disproportionate and quashed the Commissioner's penal order, directing a fresh order within eight weeks.
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Bank account in Ramgarh tracked for fraudulent fund transactions across 24 states, 4 arrested
Ramgarh (Jharkhand) (PTI): Jharkhand police on Thursday said it has unearthed a network of interstate cyber frauds and arrested four miscreants for fraudulent transactions through a bank account in Ramgarh district after complaints of 274 suspected transactions in 24 states.
The states where complaints for fraudulent transactions were registered included Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
The action followed inputs received through 'Samanvaya portal', a centralised, web-based platform launched by the Union Home Ministry to curb cybercrime.
"We arrested four cyber miscreants after a current account with Kuju (Ramgarh) branch of the State Bank of India was found to have registered suspected financial transactions in 24 states with the help of the Pratibimba portal of the Home Ministry through the Samanvaya portal," Ramgarh Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Lunayat said.
During the probe, police found that the account was opened under the MSME Udyam Registration scheme in the name of Shree Ganesh Enterprises, he said.
The account had been linked to as many as 274 complaints from different states related to cyber fraud and illegal fund transfers.
The registered proprietors of the enterprise were identified as Rahul Gupta (37), Ravi Kumar Verma (34), and Ajay Sharma (33), all residents of Ramgarh district, a statement from the Ramgarh police said.
During interrogation, Rahul Gupta and Ravi Kumar Verma revealed that they had opened multiple current accounts at the behest of Ritesh Agrawal alias Munna (40) and Sonu Kumar Jha (34).
They admitted receiving Rs 1.2 lakh in exchange for facilitating the opening of these accounts.
"The accused further confessed to sharing OTPs, activating mobile banking services, and handing over control of the accounts to the main operators through WhatsApp and Telegram groups. These accounts were then allegedly used to route fraudulent transactions.
Police said mobile data analysis of the accused led to the recovery of crucial digital evidence, including details of SIM cards, bank accounts, passbooks, ATM cards, QR code scanners, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards shared through messaging platforms.
A total of four accused have been arrested so far and sent to judicial custody.
A case has been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Further investigation is underway, the police said.
