Dharmasthala mass burial case: Retired Justice Gopal Gowda demands SIT under judicial supervision
Bengaluru: Retired Supreme Court Justice Gopal Gowda has demanded the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the supervision of a sitting or retired High Court/Supreme Court judge to probe the shocking allegations of mass rapes, murders, and body disposals in Dharmasthala village of Belthangady taluk, Dakshina Kannada district.
Addressing the media at the Press Club in Bengaluru on Thursday, Justice Gowda said the complainant, who has recorded his statement before a magistrate, is still facing police pressure. He alleged that investigators are coercing the whistleblower to mark burial sites on a blank sheet of paper and that crucial information is being leaked to private individuals.
He expressed concern that despite the complainant informing both police and the court about the location of the buried remains, the police have not visited the site. “This raises serious doubts about the intention behind the current investigation,” he said.
Justice Gowda urged the state to immediately remove the current team and form a new SIT headed by a police officer of ADGP rank, monitored by a sitting or retired judge of the higher judiciary. He also warned that the Home Minister and Director General of Police would be held responsible if any harm comes to the complainant or his legal counsel, who he said are receiving threats.
Senior advocate C.S. Dwarakanath, who was also present, pointed out that under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the complainant’s statement is legally admissible evidence. He said the fact that these sensitive statements are being leaked is a grave concern. “We’ve already written to the Home Minister urging him to take immediate steps to stop these leaks,” he added.
Other lawyers present at the press conference included Balu, Dr. C.S. Dwarakanath, Umapati, and Sudha Katwa.
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Bangladesh court sentences Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in corruption cases
Dhaka (PTI): A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in two separate corruption cases related to alleged irregularities in allocations of land in a government housing project.
Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-4 Judge Rabiul Alam handed down the verdicts, sentencing Hasina to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment — five years in each case, state-run BSS news agency reported.
The court sentenced 78-year-old Hasina, her nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq, and her nieces, Tulip Rizwana Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq, and others in the cases over alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol.
The judgment was pronounced at around 12.30 pm.
Tulip Siddiq was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment — two years in each case — while Radwan Mujib Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq were each sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment in both cases.
Rajuk member Mohammad Khurshid Alam, the only accused to surrender before the court, was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment in each case, totalling two years.
The court also fined all convicted persons Tk1 lakh each and ordered them to serve an additional six months in prison in default of payment.
Hasina has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the face of the massive protests. She was earlier declared a fugitive by the court.
The cases were filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over alleged abuse of power in the allocation of two 10-katha plots.
According to the prosecution, the accused manipulated the allocation process and violated existing rules and regulations of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk).
