Man gets 2 years in jail for hoax call warning threat to lives of PM Modi, UP CM Yogi

The Esplanade magistrate court on March 28 found Kamran Khan, a resident of Chunabhatti, guilty under section 505 (2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) and 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

The court also noted that the accused had earlier made a similar call claiming threat to life of the Uttar Pradesh CM and hence was a repeat offender.

While the accused’s lawyer claimed that he was mentally challenged, the court said that no evidence was given to prove it and said that the accused cannot get away by taking the defence of mental imbalance.

It said that since his arrest, the accused has been behind bars and was produced before the court from time to time but had never made any submissions about him being mentally challenged.

A complaint was filed at Azad Maidan police after a call was received in the Mumbai police’s main control room on November 20, 2023.
The complainant, a police personnel on duty in the control room, told the court during trial that they received a call at around 7.14 pm.

The caller spoke in Hindi and said that there was a threat to the lives of Modi and Adityanath, and claimed that he was offered Rs 5 crore by a person linked to fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim to assassinate these leaders.

Khan was arrested based on call details in November, 2023.

The accused had submitted that his voice samples were not verified to see if they match the caller. The court relied on witness statements including of police personnel on duty at the control room and the recording of the call.