Man jailed for threatening British Indian ex-minister Priti Patel
London (PTI): A 65-year-old man has been jailed for five months for mailing a threatening letter to former Home Secretary Priti Patel after admitting to sending a grossly offensive letter to the Indian-origin ex-minister at a hearing.
Pooneeraj Canakiah was sentenced by the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London last week.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in England said the letter, which was addressed to Patel and had the words "personal letter" handwritten upon it, was opened by a member of her staff on January 22 last year when she was still the Home Secretary.
Patel did not see the letter personally, and forensic testing was used to trace the writer.
"The content of the letter was grossly offensive and abusive. Canakiah thought that he would not be caught, however, forensic analysis proved that he wrote the letter," said Senior Crown Prosecutor Lauren Doshi, from the Complex Casework Unit of the Crown Prosecution Service in London South.
"This conviction and sentence sends a clear message, that threats of this nature are taken very seriously and will not be tolerated. The CPS will not hesitate to prosecute such offences whenever our legal test is met," she said.
The forensic tests revealed that a letter to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) had been written by Canakiah on top of the paper used for the letter to Patel.
Analysis of indentations in the paper revealed Canakiah's name and address, and further analysis of the handwriting on the envelope and letter proved that he was the author.
When interviewed by the police, Canakiah a healthcare sector worker from east London denied having written the letter but eventually pleaded guilty to one offence of sending a letter conveying an indecent or offensive message in March last year.
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Suvendu Adhikari says Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel taught Gaza”
Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has sparked controversy after stating that Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel has taught Gaza.”
Adhikari made the remark while speaking to reporters outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata on Friday, December 26. “These people must be taught a lesson, just like Israel taught Gaza. Our 100 crore Hindus and the government working in the interest of Hindus must teach them a lesson just as we taught Pakistan a lesson in Operation Sindoor,” he said.
The statement came amid protests being held outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission since December 22, following the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old garment factory worker in Bangladesh. Das was killed on December 18 in the Mymensingh district, where his body was allegedly hung from a tree and set on fire in public view.
Adhikari was part of a five-member delegation that met senior officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission on Friday. Speaking after the meeting, he claimed that the diplomats had “no answer to most of his questions” related to the killing and the situation of minorities in Bangladesh.
Reacting to his comments, the All India Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of promoting hate and intolerance. In a post on X, the party described Adhikari’s remarks as hate speech and alleged that they amounted to a call for violence, while also questioning the absence of legal action against him.
Adhikari’s statement has added to political tensions in West Bengal and raised concerns over inflammatory rhetoric linked to sensitive international and communal issues.
The @BJP4India’s Bengal ‘face’ wants a Gaza like operation against Bangladesh. Dog whistles that the @narendramodi government is for ‘Hindus’ only. Do you concur with this @narendramodi @DrSJaishankar ? Dirty politics of Divide and Rule won’t work in Bengal, @SuvenduWB pic.twitter.com/vLWm9b3AXb
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) December 27, 2025
