Religious conversion case: SC gives interim bail to UP's SHUATS university VC
New Delhi, Mar 4: The Supreme Court on Monday granted interim bail to Rajendra Bihari Lal, vice chancellor of Uttar Pradesh's Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), in a case of alleged illegal religious conversion.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued notice to the UP government on his plea challenging the Allahabad High Court.
The top court noted that the high court is not hearing the bail plea filed by Lal who has been in custody since December 31 last year.
"Issue notice, in the meantime, by way of ad interim order, we grant interim bail to the petitioner," the bench said while adding that the quantum of bail bond shall not exceed Rs 25,000.
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Lal, submitted that the petitioner was arrested despite the apex court's order.
The Uttar Pradesh police had earlier told the apex court that Lal and other accused are the "main perpetrators" of a mass religious conversion programme which involves foreign funds from about 20 countries.
The police had said Vinod Bihari Lal, among the other accused in the case, was actually a "notorious criminal" involved in 38 cases of various natures, including cheating and murder, across the state in the last two decades.
An FIR was registered under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act against Lal and others.
It was alleged in the police complaint that about 90 Hindus congregated at the Evangelical Church of India in Hariharganj, Fatehpur, for the purpose of their conversion to Christianity and were put under undue influence, coercion, and lured through fraud and the promise of easy money.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bengaluru police arrest 6 from TN's Coimbatore in dacoity case
Bengaluru (PTI): Six persons were arrested from Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district in connection with a dacoity case here, police said on Sunday.
The police seized two two-wheelers, four mobile phones, and two laptops worth Rs 3 lakh from the accused.
The accused allegedly trespassed into a house here and threatened the occupants with deadly weapons, earlier this month.
According to police, the complainant, a resident of Pavamana Nagar within the limits of Konanakunte Police Station, submitted a complaint on April 18. He was a college student, originally from Kerala. He, along with six other students, resided in the house and all were pursuing studies at the same college.
On the night of April 17, around late hours, six unknown persons aged between 20-25 years unlawfully entered the house. They assaulted the occupants with their hands and a knife, causing bleeding injuries, threatened them, and robbed them of Rs 10,000 cash, four mobile phones, two laptops, and a two-wheeler, they said, adding that based on the complaint, a dacoity case was registered.
During the investigation, the police conducted inquiries from various angles and gathered credible information through informants. the an official release said, adding, the accused were later picked up from Coimbatore.
The police recovered the stolen laptops, mobile phones, a two-wheeler belonging to the complainant, and another one used in the commission of the offence, they said.
"Upon interrogation, all six accused confessed to their involvement in the offence."
The six accused were produced before a court, which remanded them to judicial custody, they added.
