Four Muslim men arrested at Garba program in Indore released on bond
Indore, Oct 12: Four Muslim men, arrested after activists of the Bajrang Dal objected to their presence at a Garba dance event organized at a private college here, were released on Tuesday after they furnished bonds, an official said.
Their family members questioned the rationale behind the arrests. Two of them were students of the same college and serving as volunteers during the event, family members said.
Sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Parag Jain ordered the release of Adnan Shah, Mohammad Umar, Abdul Qadir and Syed Saqib after they furnished bonds of Rs 50,000 each, a district official said.
The four were arrested on Sunday under section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences) from the campus of a college located in Gandhi Nagar.
Abdul Hamid Shah, Adnan's father, told PTI that his son was a student of second year B.Com.
"He was serving there as a volunteer and was handling light and sound system during the program, Shah said.
Displaying the identity card issued by the college and invitation to the program, he asked, On what basis my son was sent to jail under CrPC 151? We feel it was done under political pressure.
Abdul Aleem, Qadir's elder brother, too said he was handling garba arrangements as a volunteer.
But additional superintendent of police Prashant Choube said these men had a dispute with some others during the program, so they were arrested as a precautionary measure under section 151.
Eyewitnesses said that Bajrang Dal activists had created a ruckus objecting to the presence of members of the Muslim community at the event, following which police took four persons to the police station.
Bajrang Dal's local coordinator Tarun Devda in a complaint filed with Gandhi Nagar police station alleged that the district administration had given permission to the organizers to invite only 800 persons, but they turned it into a commercial event by selling tickets, and between 2,000 to 3,000 people were in attendance.
Devda also claimed that by inviting a large number of Muslim youths to a Garba program organized during the holy festival of Navratra, the college was encouraging them to take part in such events.
On Devda's complaint, a case under IPC section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) was also registered against Akshay Tiwari, a member of the college management, police said.
Elsewhere, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Monday put up posters in Ratlam `prohibiting' the entry of "non-Hindus" at Garba dance pandals to avoid the repeat of "controversial incidents" of the last year.
It had put up such posters in 56 pandals with the consent of respective organizers, said an office-bearer of the right-wing outfit.
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Delhi court sentences Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia, associate to life imprisonment
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has sentenced Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia and his associate to life imprisonment under MCOCA provisions, but refused the death penalty saying the offences did not fall under the category of 'rarest of the rare cases'.
Additional Sessions Judge Vandana Jain sentenced Gulia and Dhirpal alias Kana to rigorous imprisonment for life under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
In an order dated December 13, the judge said, "Death sentence can only be awarded in 'rarest of the rare cases' wherein the murder is committed in an extremely inhumane, barbarous, grotesque or dastardly manner as to arouse umbrage of the community at large."
The judge said that on weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, it could be concluded that the present case did not fall under the category, and so, the death penalty could not be imposed upon the convicts.
"Thus, both the convicts are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs 3 lakh each, for committing the offence under Section 3 of MCOCA," she said.
The public prosecutor, seeking the death penalty for both the accused, submitted that they were involved in several unlawful activities while they were on bail in other cases.
He argued that the accused had shown no respect for the law and acted without any fear of legal consequences, and therefore did not deserve any leniency from the court.
The court noted that both convicts were involved in offences of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery, house trespass, and criminal intimidation. Besides, they had misused the liberty of interim bail granted to them by absconding.
It said, "The terror of the convicts was such that it created fear psychosis in the mind of the general public, and they lost complete faith in the law enforcement agencies and chose to accede to the illegal demands of convicts. Despite suffering losses, they could not gather the courage to depose against them."
The court noted that Gulia was involved in at least 18 criminal cases, while Dhirpal had links to 10 serious offences.
It underlined that MCOCA had been enacted "keeping in view the fact that organised crime had come up as a serious threat to society, as it knew no territorial boundaries and is fuelled by illegal wealth generated by committing the offence of extortion, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom, collection of protection money, murder, etc."
Both accused persons had been convicted on December 10 in a case registered at Najafgarh police station. The police filed a chargesheet under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) and 4 (punishment for possessing unaccountable wealth on behalf of member of organised crime syndicate) of MCOCA.
