Bulandshahr violence: Sedition charge dropped against 38 people accused, claims lawyer
Bulandshahr (UP), Mar 5: A court here has dropped the sedition charge against 38 people accused of violence in Bulandshahr in which a police inspector and a civilian were killed, their lawyer claimed on Tuesday.
A total of 38 people, including local BJP and Bajrang Dal leaders, were arrested for the violence that broke out in Siyana tehsil of Bulandshahr on December 3, leading to the killing of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and villager Sumit Singh.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe the case and it filed a charge sheet in the court of the chief judicial magistrate on March 2, almost three months after the incident.
The court took cognisance of the report on Tuesday.
"During the argument, the court pointed out that the police does not have a requisite permission for pressing IPC section 124A (sedition) against the accused," defence lawyer Bruno Bhushan said.
"The police needs to have permission from the Centre or the state government if charging anyone with sedition, the lawyer claimed.
Bhushan, also a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), cited Section 196 in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) prosecution for offences against the state and criminal conspiracy to commit such offence to argue that a court cannot take cognizance of a sedition charge without the police having approval of the government.
The police, however, maintained no charge had been dropped and they were awaiting permission from the state government.
"We are awaiting permission... no charge (sedition) has been dropped, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Bulandshahr City, Atul Kumar Srivastava told PTI. Circle Officer, Siyana, Raghvendra Mishra said: "We have already requested for permission (for pressing sedition charge) and the approval at times takes time because the agency concerned also conducts its inspections before granting permission."
After the December 3 violence, an FIR was lodged at the Siyana Police Station against around 80 people, including 27 named and 50-60 unidentified, for murder, murder attempt, rioting, sedition, damaging public property, among other charges.
Those arrested include Bajrang Dal's Bulandshahr unit convenor Yogesh Raj, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha's Siyana unit head Shikhar Agarwal, Army jawan Jitender Malik, and Kalua, who first attacked the inspector, surrounded by five to six men.
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AI reshaping music, filmmaking in Kannada cinema
Bengaluru: Artificial Intelligence is slowly changing the way music and creativity are produced in the Kannada film industry, raising concerns among musicians, singers and technicians, The New Indian Express reported on Sunday.
Music composer, actor and director V Manohar reportedly said, AI is being used to write lyrics, especially in low-budget movies. Once lyrics are generated, AI can suggest thousands of tunes. It even asks whether the voice should be male or female. With one click, a complete song is ready.
“If this continues, singers and musicians will have less or no work in the coming days. But it may not succeed either. A few years ago, dubbing was allowed and people could watch movies in any language they preferred. But not many took to it as they wanted to watch a movie in the original,” TNIE quoted him as saying.
According to the report, Filmmaker Avinash U Shetty, a National Award winner, said resistance to new technology is not new. Those who resisted shifting from analogue to digital films years ago have now embraced it. The industry is now using only 10% of the AI potential. If it is scaled up, it can do unimaginable things. What we consider bad now, may not be after five years.
Highlighting the cost advantage, Sangamesh, an independent creator reportedly said, he made a three-minute video using AI for just Rs 4,500. Earlier, the same work would have cost nearly Rs 15 lakh. I finished the entire project in three days. The only expense was the AI software subscription, he said.
These days, it has become difficult to differentiate between the real and AI. AI is creating artistes. Scenes like war, big fights and dance can be shot with a lesser number of artistes. Then with the aid of visual effects and AI, you can achieve what you have in mind, he said.
Actor-director D P Raghuram felt that while AI has made an impact on music, it lacks emotional depth. Cinema earlier involved hard work and strong emotional connections. AI can help improve our work, but creativity should remain human, he reportedly said.
As per the report, earlier, Kannada cinema employed hundreds of junior artistes, who not only earned wages but also shared meals on sets and formed lasting bonds with stars like Dr Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh. Today, filmmakers fear that increasing dependence on AI could reduce such human connections, turning creativity into just another automated process.
