Umar Khalid challenges UAPA provisions in Supreme Court
New Delhi: Umar Khalid, the former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) scholar and activist currently incarcerated in connection with the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case, has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
A bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi, on Friday, tagged Khalid's petition with earlier petitions that challenge the constitutionality of UAPA provisions. Khalid, who has been in custody for over three years since September 2020, awaits trial under the UAPA for his alleged involvement in the larger conspiracy related to the communal violence that erupted in Delhi in February 2020.
During the hearing, Justice Bose queried Khalid's lawyer, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, asking why multiple writ petitions were filed instead of consolidating them into one. Sibal explained that the matter was of constitutional significance, and multiple incidents necessitated multiple petitions. He argued that having multiple petitions allowed them to demonstrate the widespread impact of the issues raised.
Responding to Sibal, Justice Bose acknowledged the importance of the case and noted that a single petition addressing crucial issues would be duly heard.
In addition to the UAPA challenge, Khalid has also filed a bail petition related to the case, which is scheduled for a hearing on November 1.
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Bank account in Ramgarh tracked for fraudulent fund transactions across 24 states, 4 arrested
Ramgarh (Jharkhand) (PTI): Jharkhand police on Thursday said it has unearthed a network of interstate cyber frauds and arrested four miscreants for fraudulent transactions through a bank account in Ramgarh district after complaints of 274 suspected transactions in 24 states.
The states where complaints for fraudulent transactions were registered included Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
The action followed inputs received through 'Samanvaya portal', a centralised, web-based platform launched by the Union Home Ministry to curb cybercrime.
"We arrested four cyber miscreants after a current account with Kuju (Ramgarh) branch of the State Bank of India was found to have registered suspected financial transactions in 24 states with the help of the Pratibimba portal of the Home Ministry through the Samanvaya portal," Ramgarh Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Lunayat said.
During the probe, police found that the account was opened under the MSME Udyam Registration scheme in the name of Shree Ganesh Enterprises, he said.
The account had been linked to as many as 274 complaints from different states related to cyber fraud and illegal fund transfers.
The registered proprietors of the enterprise were identified as Rahul Gupta (37), Ravi Kumar Verma (34), and Ajay Sharma (33), all residents of Ramgarh district, a statement from the Ramgarh police said.
During interrogation, Rahul Gupta and Ravi Kumar Verma revealed that they had opened multiple current accounts at the behest of Ritesh Agrawal alias Munna (40) and Sonu Kumar Jha (34).
They admitted receiving Rs 1.2 lakh in exchange for facilitating the opening of these accounts.
"The accused further confessed to sharing OTPs, activating mobile banking services, and handing over control of the accounts to the main operators through WhatsApp and Telegram groups. These accounts were then allegedly used to route fraudulent transactions.
Police said mobile data analysis of the accused led to the recovery of crucial digital evidence, including details of SIM cards, bank accounts, passbooks, ATM cards, QR code scanners, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards shared through messaging platforms.
A total of four accused have been arrested so far and sent to judicial custody.
A case has been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Further investigation is underway, the police said.
