Judge who ordered FIR against police in Sambhal firing case transferred
The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday issued an administrative order transferring 14 judicial officers, including Sambhal Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Vibhanshu Sudheer, who has been posted as Civil Judge (Senior Division) in Sultanpur.
The transfer comes days after CJM Sudheer passed an order directing the police to register a First Information Report (FIR) against several police officials in connection with the Sambhal violence of November 2024. Among those named in the order were then Sambhal Circle Officer Anuj Chaudhary, Sambhal Kotwali in-charge Anuj Kumar Tomar and 15 to 20 unidentified police personnel.
The case relates to allegations of police firing with intent to kill, in which a local youth, Alam, sustained grievous injuries. The application before the court stated that on November 24, 2024, at around 8.45 am, Alam was selling rusks and biscuits from a thela near Jama Masjid in Mohalla Kot, Sambhal, when police personnel allegedly opened fire on a crowd.
After examining the police report and medical records, the court noted that the victim had indeed suffered gunshot injuries, though the identity of the shooter was yet to be established. The CJM observed that the true facts of the incident could only be revealed through investigation and that it was unlikely a victim of an attempted murder would falsely implicate someone while sparing the actual offender.
“In such a situation, it is clear that if a heinous crime such as attempted murder is committed against someone, the victim will accuse the person who attempted to commit the crime,” the court observed.
In his 11-page order, CJM Sudheer also rejected the preliminary defence taken by the police that the firing was part of official duty. Referring to rulings of the Supreme Court of India, he held that opening fire on a person cannot be treated as discharge of official duty and therefore does not attract statutory protection.
The court further noted that the police report appeared “suspicious” and was inconsistent with the medical evidence, which specifically recorded a “gunshot wound” and mentioned “police firing in riot.” Holding that a prima facie cognisable offence was made out, the court said that only a full investigation could bring out the truth.
CJM Sudheer had allowed the application filed by Yameen, the father of the injured youth, under Section 173(4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), directing registration of the FIR against the concerned police officials.
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RR beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.
Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.
Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.
In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.
But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.
For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).
