Man jailed for threatening British Indian ex-minister Priti Patel
London (PTI): A 65-year-old man has been jailed for five months for mailing a threatening letter to former Home Secretary Priti Patel after admitting to sending a grossly offensive letter to the Indian-origin ex-minister at a hearing.
Pooneeraj Canakiah was sentenced by the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London last week.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in England said the letter, which was addressed to Patel and had the words "personal letter" handwritten upon it, was opened by a member of her staff on January 22 last year when she was still the Home Secretary.
Patel did not see the letter personally, and forensic testing was used to trace the writer.
"The content of the letter was grossly offensive and abusive. Canakiah thought that he would not be caught, however, forensic analysis proved that he wrote the letter," said Senior Crown Prosecutor Lauren Doshi, from the Complex Casework Unit of the Crown Prosecution Service in London South.
"This conviction and sentence sends a clear message, that threats of this nature are taken very seriously and will not be tolerated. The CPS will not hesitate to prosecute such offences whenever our legal test is met," she said.
The forensic tests revealed that a letter to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) had been written by Canakiah on top of the paper used for the letter to Patel.
Analysis of indentations in the paper revealed Canakiah's name and address, and further analysis of the handwriting on the envelope and letter proved that he was the author.
When interviewed by the police, Canakiah a healthcare sector worker from east London denied having written the letter but eventually pleaded guilty to one offence of sending a letter conveying an indecent or offensive message in March last year.
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BJP workers protest Bengaluru event on Umar Khalid, taken into preventive custody
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP workers, led by former Bengaluru Mayor M Gautham Kumar, staged a protest outside the heavily fortified BIC in the city on Tuesday ahead of an event.
The editors of the book “Umar Khalid and His World” have planned a reading of excerpts from the book at the venue, followed by a discussion involving several “historians and intellectuals”.
The BJP activists raised slogans demanding the cancellation of the event. They attempted to enter the venue by breaking through the barricades put up by the police.
Police personnel deployed at the spot took the BJP workers into preventive custody.
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The party had on Monday petitioned Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh seeking cancellation of the event organised in support of activist Umar Khalid.
A delegation of BJP leaders led by Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan met the commissioner and submitted a memorandum in this regard.
Khalid is currently in jail in connection with allegations of conspiracy in the 2020 Delhi riots.
In a post on ‘X’ earlier in the day, the Karnataka BJP alleged that while courts are still hearing cases related to anti-national activities, the Congress-backed ecosystem is busy glorifying individuals who aim to divide Bharat.
“Why is Bengaluru being turned into a hub for celebrating such elements? Is this the ‘cultural contribution’ the Siddaramaiah government wants to promote? Our city is a land of innovators and patriots, not a playground for the ‘Tukde Tukde’ (divisive) narrative,” it alleged.
The Supreme Court on April 20 dismissed Khalid’s plea seeking review of a verdict denying him bail, observing that there are reasonable grounds to believe the allegations against him in connection with the conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.
The court had earlier said there was a prima facie case against Khalid and Sharjeel Imam (another accused) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), noting that prosecution material suggests their involvement in the “planning, mobilisation, and strategic direction” of the riots.
The February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi broke out during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), leaving 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
