Shamnad Basheer may have died of suffocation: Police
Bengaluru, Aug 9: A day after legal scholar Shamnad Basheer was found dead in his car in Karnataka, police on Friday said he may have died due to suffocation, discounting the possibility of any foul play.
Basheer, an alumnus of the National Law School of India University here and the Oxford University, was found dead by police in his car in an open area, a short distance from the road, on the outskirts of the district headquarters town of Chikkamagaluru on Thursday.
"He had parked and locked his car from inside and the cause of death is either suffocation or carbon monoxide poisoning because he must have switched on his heater, because after some time it led to short-circuit," Chikkamagaluru Superintendent of Police Harish Pandey told PTI.
The police are waiting for the autopsy report to determine the cause of the death of the 43-year-old, the founder of Increased Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education, an NGO serving to make legal education accessible to underprivileged children.
He was also a specialist in Intellectual Property law.
Basheer, a recipient of the Infosys Science Foundation prize and also known for his contributions in reforms in and spreading of legal education, was reportedly missing for the past three to four days.
Police had launched a vigorous search on Thursday after his family members lodged a missing complaint.
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P&H High Court denies anticipatory bail to man accused of replacing national flag with saffron flag
Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to Vikas Tomar, who is accused of removing the national flag from a mosque in Gurugram’s Uton village and replacing it with a saffron flag.
Justice Manisha Batra, presiding over the case Vikas Tomar @ Vikash Tomar v. State of Haryana, observed that the allegations against the petitioner were not vague but specific, and supported by conversations between him and other co-accused.
“The gravity of the offence and its potential impact on public order and communal peace cannot be overlooked at this stage,” the Court noted. It further stated that no exceptional circumstances had been presented that would justify granting pre-arrest bail, especially given the “serious communal and constitutional implications” of the alleged conduct.
According to the prosecution, a complaint was filed on July 7 in Bilaspur, Gurugram, reporting that anti-social elements had replaced the national flag atop a mosque with a saffron flag. Audio and video evidence were submitted along with the complaint. Two other accused were initially arrested under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 2 of the Prevention of Insult to National Honours Act, 1971, but were granted bail the same day.
The Sessions Court had earlier denied anticipatory bail to Tomar on July 15, with Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Chauhan observing that such acts threaten the social fabric in a diverse country like India. He remarked, “Any person of ordinary prudence and slightest of patriotism in his heart would not have dared to commit such a crime.”
Tomar's counsel argued before the High Court that he was not named in the FIR and had no role in the alleged incident. However, opposing counsel representing the State and the complainant contended that Tomar aimed to provoke communal unrest in the region.
Justice Batra, after considering the arguments, concluded that custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary. “No ground for grant of anticipatory bail is made out,” the Court held.
Advocate Abhimanyu Singh appeared for the petitioner, while Additional Advocate General Apoorv Garg represented the State of Haryana. Advocate Rosi appeared for the complainant.
The bail plea was dismissed.
