Delhi riots: ED custody of suspended AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain extended by 3 days
New Delhi: A Delhi court Monday extended by three days the ED custody of suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in a money laundering case related to the communal violence in northeast Delhi in February.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) was probing the allegation that Hussain and his linked persons laundered about Rs 1.10 crore funds, by using purported shell or dummy companies, to fuel the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the riots.
Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat allowed the ED's application for Hussain's custodial interrogation considering the period of interrogation already done.
The ED had sought Hussain's custody for nine days, saying as he was still needed to be confronted with other voluminous record and substantial number of persons were yet to be confronted with him.
"Considering the period of interrogation already done and as per the record, the further police custody remand of the accused Tahir Hussain is given for another period of three days from today. The Jail Superintendent shall immediately hand over the custody of the accused to the concerned investigating officer of the ED. The accused shall be handed over to the Jail authorities by September 10," the court said in its order.
It directed officials to medically examine Hussain every 24 hours.
It permitted Hussain's counsel to confer with him for a period not exceeding half an hour at the beginning of the ED custody.
"The concerned officials shall ensure that they remain outside the audible range during the period. Needless to state that the accused and his counsel shall follow the necessary distancing protocols in view of the outbreak of COVID-19," the court said.
During the hearing, Senior advocate K K Manan and advocate Uditi Bali, appearing for Hussain, opposed the application saying the 15 days period for grant of ED custody has to begin from the date of arrest, August 20, and thus, further extension of remand was not permissible in law.
Central Government Standing Counsel Amit Mahajan, appearing for ED, said the 15 days remand has to begin when his application was considered and allowed.
Mahajan argued that the probe agency had obtained Hussain's physical custody on August 31 after the Jail authorities handed him over to the probe agency after performing the COVID-19 test.
ED's Special Public Prosecutors N K Matta said further custody of Hussain was required as he was still needed to be confronted with other voluminous record and substantial number of persons were yet to be confronted with him.
Complete and comprehensive investigation could not be completed within the custody remand granted by the court earlier, Matta said.
ED had earlier told the court that Hussain was allegedly involved in money laundering and various other fraudulent acts of cheating, falsification and forgery of documents, and criminal conspiracy.
Matta had said the ED has seized several incriminating documents and digital devices after conducting searches at various premises.
"Statements of several persons have been recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and WhatsApp chats, bogus invoices and other incriminating documents have been recovered," the public prosecutor had said.
ED further alleged that Hussain had entered into a criminal conspiracy by fraudulently transferring money from the accounts of many companies.
The money so obtained are allegedly proceeds of crime which were then used for committing various other scheduled offences, the agency had claimed.
Manan had claimed that Hussain was a victim of circumstances and was not required for custodial interrogation as he faced the threat of torture.
Hussain was arrested in connection with the riots in northeast Delhi in February. He has also been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a conspiracy case related to the riots.
He was also arrested in connection with the alleged murder of IB official Ankit Sharma during the riots.
Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
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Karnataka Lokayukta to register case, probe Bowring wall collapse
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Lokayukta Justice B S Patil on Thursday took serious note of the compound wall collapse at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in the city that killed seven people, and announced registration of a case on its own while warning of action against officials found responsible.
The Lokayukta, who visited the site and conducted an inspection, expressed strong displeasure over the incident and questioned the inaction of authorities, even as police and emergency teams had earlier rushed to the spot to rescue victims trapped under the debris following heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
“I will now register a suo motu case. This is not just about this one incident — such incidents must not occur anywhere in the state or the city in the future,” Justice Patil told reporters.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed as rain-battered victims had taken shelter near it, according to police. The victims included people from Kerala who were in the city on a study tour.
Calling for systemic accountability, the Lokayukta said, “Dilapidated buildings and weakened compound walls, especially in areas with public access, must first be identified. They must either be repaired, demolished, or rebuilt.”
He added that responsibility would be fixed on officials of the BBMP and the concerned departments.
Justice Patil said that hearings would be conducted and preventive action initiated, while also probing those responsible for it, how the incident could have been prevented, and why it was not prevented.
A Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) team and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team also inspected the site, while police cordoned off Kovil Street to facilitate the probe.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the government had initiated measures following the rain-related incidents and stressed preparedness.
“Since last night we have initiated measures regarding the rains. When it rains heavily, we must be prepared, and we are working towards that,” he told reporters here.
On the wall collapse, Shivakumar said, “I will not directly blame any officials. It was an old wall, and trees had grown alongside it. Due to that pressure, it collapsed.”
The Deputy CM said instructions had been issued to identify such vulnerable structures and clear areas around them, including relocating street vendors.
Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said a technical assessment had been ordered.
“This is a very serious matter. Innocent people have been affected. We are issuing directions to the engineers to find out why this compound wall collapsed and to assess its structural strength,” he told reporters after inspecting the spot.
The Minister noted that the wall was ‘very old’ and required thorough examination to prevent recurrence.
Speaking to reporters, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked the Karnataka government to take precautions to ensure that incidents like the collapse of the Bengaluru government hospital compound wall, which caused loss of life, should not repeat.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad said the collapse raised questions about construction and maintenance practices.
“If a wall collapses within 25 years of its construction, it needs to be examined -- whether there was any technical issue, or if anything was altered inside, weakening it. All this can only come out through a technical investigation,” he said.
The Congress MLA also called for wider structural audits across the city, stating that all such structures, whether private or government, must be audited.
He urged citizens to support victims, saying it was a collective responsibility in times of crisis.
