Babri Masjid demolition case: Special CBI court issues summons to Kalyan Singh
Lucknow: A special CBI court here has issued summons to former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and BJP leader Kalyan Singh, directing him to appear before it on September 27 in connection with the Babri Masjid demolition case.
The court is conducting the trial of accused persons, including BJP leaders L K Advani, M M Joshi, Uma Bharti and others for allegedly conspiring to demolish the mosque at the disputed Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya.
Taking note of the information given by the members of the Bar association that Singh's term as Rajasthan governor expired in the first week of this month, special judge S K Yadav on Saturday passed the order on a pending application that the CBI had moved on September 9.
After serving a full five-year term as governor, the 87-year-old leader, who was the Uttar Pradesh chief minister when the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992, rejoined the BJP on September 9.
The court had taken up the application and asked the CBI to produce papers that the term of Singh as the governor has expired. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had then sought time to produce the papers, saying it did not receive any documents from its headquarters.
On the information given by the members of bar association, the court issued the summons to Singh for appearing before it on Friday.
Moving the application, the CBI pleaded that Singh was chargesheeted in 1993. It further pleaded that the Supreme Court had in April 2017 said Singh could not be brought in as an accused to face trial due to the constitutional immunity granted to governors under Article 361 of the Constitution.
The top court had, however, allowed the CBI to move for summoning of Singh as an accused as soon as he ceased to be the governor.
All the accused are on bail in the case, the trial of which is being conducted on a day-to-day basis, on the directions of the apex court.
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Two held in UP's Bijnor for contact with Pakistan linked Dubai handler
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Bijnor (PTI): Two men were arrested in this Uttar Pradesh district on Friday for allegedly being in touch with a Pakistan-linked handler based in Dubai, police said.
Circle Officer, Najibabad, Anjani Kumar Chaturvedi said Uvaid Malik and Jalal Haider were arrested following inputs on their alleged links with Aqib, a resident of Meerut currently staying in Dubai.
According to police, Aqib had earlier come into the spotlight after a video surfaced on Instagram purportedly showing him displaying an AK-47 rifle and explosives.
During interrogation, the arrested men allegedly told police that Aqib used to incite youngsters against Hindus and encourage anti-national activities, the officer said, adding that detailed questioning of the accused is underway.
On April 6, Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Jha said the video first surfaced in November last year. Aqib, a native of Sathla village in the Mawana area of Meerut, was allegedly seen in the video brandishing weapons.
Following the viral clip, a case was registered at the Nangal police station by sub-inspector Vinod Kumar. However, the then station house officer and investigating officer Satyendra Singh had recorded Aqib's statement and filed a final report, stating that the weapons seen in the video were toys, effectively giving him a clean chit.
Police said fresh developments have now revealed Aqib's suspicious links and the probe has been handed over to the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS).
The SP said action has been taken against the officials concerned, with the then SHO and investigating officer suspended and Circle Officer Nitesh Pratap Singh removed from his post.
