J-K: Executive magistrate orders FIR against 10 PDP leaders for violating Covid norms
Srinagar, Jan 8: An executive magistrate in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district has directed police to register an FIR against 10 PDP leaders for allegedly violating Covid protocols at an event to mark party founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's death anniversary, officials said on Saturday.
Reacting to the development, Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti said it appears that Covid norms apply only to her party and not to the BJP, which held a protest in Kashmir on Friday.
The PDP also shared on Twitter a video purportedly showing the Anantnag deputy commissioner dancing without a face mask at a New Year's Eve gathering. Others present at the event are also seen without masks.
Executive Magistrate of Bijbehara tehsil has issued directions to the station house officer of the concerned police station to register an FIR against 10 PDP leaders for violating Covid-appropriate behaviour during a rally at Sayeed's graveyard on Friday, the officials said.
These leaders include Sartaj Madni, Sayeed's brother-in-law who is a former deputy speaker of the legislative assembly, and former minister Abdul Rehman Veeri, they said.
Hitting out at the administration over the order, Mehbooba tweeted, "Covid 19 restrictions apply only to PDP. Not to BJP's protest in Kashmir yesterday, PMs rally in Punjab or the mass poojas attended by hundreds of people to pray for his safety. Talks volumes about J&K admin's brazen bias against my party."
Mehbooba was also part of Friday's gathering but was not named in the order of the executive magistrate.
Later, the PDP posted on its Twitter handle the video purportedly showing the deputy commissioner of Anantnag dancing at a gathering where no one is wearing face masks.
"Here DC Anantnag dancing on New Years eve without a mask where crowd ran into thousands but when it comes to PDP, COVID-19 suddenly resurfaces and turns political," the party said.
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Court allows 5-day police custody of Bibhav Kumar in Swati Maliwal assault case
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court allowed five-day custodial interrogation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar in the Swati Maliwal assault case, sing the police remand was a "necessity" in the matter.
Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Goyal was hearing the application of Delhi Police which was represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava. The police had sought seven day custody.
It is alleged that Kumar, who is Kejriwal's personal assistant, assaulted AAP MP Swati Maliwal at the CM's residence on May 13.
"Considering the submissions made on behalf of both the parties, I find there is a necessity of police custody remand in the present case. Accordingly, the application moved by the investigating officer (IO) is partly allowed and the accused is remanded to police custody for five days," the court said in its order passed around 12:45 AM Sunday.
It noted the prosecution's submissions about the need to take Kumar to Mumbai and other parts of the national capital to collect evidence, which was not possible without the accused's custody.
"Admittedly, the case is at a nascent stage. Allegations made in the FIR are corroborated in her (Maliwal's) statement recorded by the magistrate on oath and further, it is again corroborated in the medico-legal case (MLC) of the victim or complainant," the court said.
The magistrate also observed, "I am aware of the view of constitutional courts that the opportunity must be given to the investigating agency to complete the investigation in order to reach the truth of the matter but at the same time the rights of the accused are also to be protected."
Asking the Investigating Officer to take Kumar into formal custody, the court directed his medical examination every 24 hours and said the investigating agency would not subject the accused to "any torture."
It also allowed Kumar to meet his advocate and wife for half an hour each during the police custody.
Kumar's application for providing requisite medicines was also allowed.
The proceedings which commenced around 9: 15 PM Saturday saw initial arguments by Srivastava following which the magistrate said, "I find force in the arguments of the APP (Additional Public Prosecutor) that there were sufficient grounds to arrest the accused without notice."
The prosecutor made several arguments, including those mentioned in the remand application and also that the "means or weapon" by which Kumar assaulted Maliwal had to be recovered.
The vehement counter-arguments by Kumar's counsels continued for more than one-and-a-half hours. One of his counsels, Rajiv Mohan, claimed that Maliwal had lodged the FIR "belatedly after deliberation and concoction."
The Delhi Police arrested Kumar earlier on Saturday and his anticipatory bail plea was subsequently observed as becoming "infructuous" by a Delhi court.
