Mathura Court junks STF's plea to interrogate Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan again
Mathura, Aug 18: A Mathura court has dismissed the UP STF's plea to interrogate Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, facing terror charges, about some incriminating document found in his Delhi residence.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Anil Kumar Pandey rejected the Special Task Force plea, saying that the accused cannot be allowed to be interrogated again after the chargesheet in the case has already been filed.
Kappan is presently lodged in judicial custody in a terror case, involving instigating unrest and funding it after the death of a Hathras woman, set ablaze after her rape and brutalisation.
The prosecution's request at a stage when the charge-sheet has already been submitted in the court cannot be accepted and merits rejection, ADSJ Pandey said in his order on Monday.
In its plea to the court, the STF had said Kappan's Delhi residence was raided on November 11 last year, during which a booklet of the outlawed terror outfit SIMMI with some handwritten remarks on its was found.
The booklet had been sent to the Agra forensic laboratory for matching Kappan's handwriting to that on the book but the laboratory in its report on June 21 this year has said the two handwritings did not match, the STF's plea said.
Accordingly, the accused needed to be interrogated about the booklet and the handwritten remarks on it, it said.
Defence counsel Madhuban Datt Chaturvedi said the STF had sought to interrogate Kappan on an issue forming part of a previously conducted and concluded probe.
It was not about any matter for further or additional investigation, he said.
After filing the charge-sheet in the court, the investigation on any point conducted earlier, cannot be allowed under section 173 (8) of the Criminal Procedure Code, he said.
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Defamatory post against Dharmasthala Veerendra Heggade: Case registered against Girish Mattannavar
Belthangady: A case has been registered at Dharmasthala police station against Girish Mattannavar over a complaint regarding alleged defamatory posts on social media against Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala.
The complaint was filed by Subrahmanya Prasad, a resident of Dharmasthala.
The complainant stated that Mattannavar posted content on Instagram making allegations against Dr. Heggade and allegedly affecting his reputation.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which is related to spreading false information, rumours, or alarming news, on April 18, and the investigation is in progress.
Following information about Mattannavar’s appearance at the SIT office on May 7, a police officer from Dharmasthala police station issued a notice directing him to appear at the station within a week.
