Delhi Police finds ‘nothing objectionable’ in Markaz chief’s speeches linked to 2020 COVID FIR
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New Delhi: A probe by the Delhi Police Crime Branch has found no objectionable content in the speeches of Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, who was booked in March 2020 for allegedly instigating followers to defy COVID-19 restrictions during the outbreak.
According to a report in the Indian Express, the current investigating officer informed senior officials that speeches retrieved from Kandhalvi’s laptop and analysed by the forensic science laboratory contained “nothing objectionable.”
The case dates back to March 31, 2020, when an FIR was lodged against Kandhalvi and others under charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The FIR, filed by the then station house officer of Hazrat Nizamuddin police station, cited an audio recording circulating on WhatsApp in which Kandhalvi was allegedly heard urging followers to attend the Markaz gathering despite restrictions.
The development comes weeks after the Delhi High Court, on July 17, quashed chargesheets in 16 cases filed against 70 Indian nationals accused of sheltering foreigners who had attended the congregation.
In the aftermath of the March 2020 Markaz event, 952 foreign nationals from 36 countries were chargesheeted. Police had filed 48 chargesheets and 11 supplementary chargesheets in May and June of that year. While 44 foreign nationals opted to face trial, 908 others pleaded guilty and paid fines ranging between Rs 4,000 and Rs 10,000.
The congregation was held before the Union government issued guidelines on restrictions for public gatherings. However, as COVID-19 cases surged in late March 2020, the event was widely blamed in the media and by authorities for spreading the virus. On April 5, then health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal claimed that India’s COVID-19 case doubling rate was adversely affected by the congregation, sparking a wave of communal targeting of Muslims under the label of “corona jihad.”
Observers pointed out that just days before the Markaz gathering, over one lakh people had assembled in Ahmedabad to welcome then US president Donald Trump, raising questions about selective scapegoating.
A 2021 Pew Research Centre report later identified India as the country with the highest level of COVID-19-related hostilities directed against religious groups by both the state and sections of society.
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4 held for sexually assaulting woman, girl on moving bus after social media alert in UP's Agra
Agra (UP) (PTI): Four people were arrested, after a prompt response by police following a social media alert, for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman and a girl inside a moving bus here, officials said on Tuesday.
According to an official police statement, at 12:27 am on April 27, information was received on the social media platform X about an incident of sexual assault on a bus travelling from Kanpur to Ahmedabad, which was approaching Namner crossing in Agra.
Acting under the direction of Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar, the Agra Police social media team immediately alerted the Rakabganj police station within minutes and coordinated with the victims to confirm the incident and obtain the exact location, it stated.
Police teams launched intensive checking at Namner crossing and intercepted the bus as it reached the spot. The four accused involved in the incident were apprehended on the spot, and legal action was initiated against them, the statement said.
The police said the swift response and coordination between the social media team and field units ensured timely action, bringing relief to the victims and other passengers, who expressed gratitude towards the police, it added.
