Uttar Pradesh police hunts for judge instead of accused in bizarre mix-up
Firozabad: In a strange goof-up, an Uttar Pradesh police official in Firozabad launched a hunt for a judge after writing down her name in place of the accused man on the proclamation order in a theft case.
The confusion came to light last month when Sub-Inspector Banwarilal, who was assigned to deliver a court notice to theft suspect Rajkumar, informed the chief judicial magistrate, Nagma Khan, that the accused “Nagma Khan" could not be found at her house, even after a thorough search.
“When I served the attached non-bailable warrant (NBW), a thorough search was carried out at the mentioned address. However, no accused person by that name was found living there. Therefore, I request you to kindly give further orders," the cop told the court.
In her March 24 order, Magistrate Khan said it was "quite bizarre" that Banwarilal had "little to no idea of what was sent by this court, who exactly sent it and against whom".
"Without giving an inch of attention to the process, he first carelessly mentions the proclamation as an NBW and he then just wrote the name of the presiding officer quite blindly," she asserted.
The Magistrate further observed that the developments made it clear that Banwarilal “made zero efforts to pay heed" to the court orders, which showed “neglect and carelessness" in his duties as a police official.
She directed senior police officials, including the Uttar Pradesh Police chief, to take action against Banwarilal to ensure that “such careless acts" are not repeated.
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Shashi Tharoor calls for regulation and taxation instead of banning online gaming
New Delhi(PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday criticised the government’s move to ban online money gaming, warning that such a step would only push the industry underground and strengthen criminal networks.
He also said he had not studied the three Constitution amendment bills seeking to provide a framework for the removal of prime ministers, Union ministers, chief ministers and state ministers detained on serious criminal charges in any detail.
“On the face of it, it is difficult to say it has any problem, but obviously if anyone does something wrong they should not be a minister anyway. I don’t know if there is any other motive,” he remarked.
Discussing the bill seeking to prohibit and regulate online gaming introduced in the Lok Sabha, he said, "I had written a very long article on the argument that by banning online gaming we are simply driving it underground, whereas it could be a useful source of revenue for the government if we legalise it, regulate it and tax it."
He added that many countries have studied the issue in detail and concluded that regulation and taxation can generate funds for social causes, while bans merely enrich “criminal mafias”.
In a post on X, Tharoor recalled that he had “gone on record in 2018 urging the government to legalise, regulate and tax online gaming, rather than drive it underground by banning it, which will merely enhance the profits of the mafia”.
“It’s a pity that the government seems to have derived no lessons from the experience of other countries that have considered this issue,” he wrote.
He added that the bill should at least have been referred to a parliamentary committee “to consider all the pros and cons before rushing it into law”.
The proposed bill prohibits online money gaming and its advertisements, prescribing imprisonment or fines, or both, for violators. It differentiates such games from eSports and online social games, while calling for their promotion.
1/2 I went on record in 2018 urging the government to legalise, regulate and tax online gaming, rather than drive it underground by banning it, which will merely enhance the profits of the mafia. https://t.co/KYi2aTxDQQ
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 20, 2025
