The Delhi High Court on Tuesday will hear bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and other accused in the UAPA case related to February 2020 Delhi riots. A Bench comprising Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur are scheduled to hear the cases. Khalid, Imam and others were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the IPC for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The violence erupted during the protests against the CAA and NRC. The accused persons sought bail from the court on the grounds, including their prolonged incarceration and parity with co-accused who were granted bail. Most accused persons, including Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and Khalid Saifi, filed their bail applications in 2022 with different benches hearing the cases from time to time. Will KTR appear before ED in Formula E case? A day after high drama unfolded when Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and former Telangana minister K T Rama Rao appeared before the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Telangana Police in connection with the Formula E case, all eyes will be on him as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned him in connection with the same case. On Monday, Rao was denied the company of his lawyer, prompting him to submit his statement outside the office. Rao reached the ACB headquarters shortly after 10 am and was barred from entering the premises by the police, who objected to the presence of his lawyer. The BRS leader, also known as KTR, spoke to the police officials while seated in his car. He handed over his written statement intended for submission to an ACB official, outside the office and returned without appearing before the officials. "I am a law-abiding citizen. I am here, respecting the Anti-Corruption Bureau and its notice issued to me. I will also ensure that I will give all the information that they want. But (I will give) in the presence of my lawyer because they are, they were in the past, created a situation where things which were not said by our leader have reportedly been said. The ACB on December 19 registered a case against Rama Rao over alleged payments, some of it in foreign currency without approvals, to conduct the race in 2023 during the previous regime. The case was registered under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC dealing with criminal misappropriation, criminal misconduct, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy that allegedly resulted in loss to the government exchequer to the tune of about Rs 55 crore. Though the race was supposed to be held in February 2024 as well, it was cancelled after the Congress government assumed office in December 2023. Amit Shah to launch Bharatpol Union Home Minister Amit Shah will launch 'Bharatpol' portal developed by the CBI on Tuesday that will allow state police and other central law enforcement agencies real-time information sharing for faster access to international police assistance through Interpol. The central probe agency has designed the new cutting-edge online platform that will allow police forces of states and Union Territories and central agencies to seamlessly send their requests seeking information from Interpol on fugitives holed abroad or other affairs, officials said. The need to develop rapid and real-time international assistance in criminal investigations was felt due to the growing footprint of transnational crimes including cyber-crime, financial crimes, online radicalization, organised crimes, drug trafficking, human trafficking etc, a statement from the Home Ministry said. The Central Bureau of Investigation is the National Central Bureau of India solely responsible for Interpol-related affairs. Vice-President Dhankhar in Karnataka Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar will visit Dharmasthala in Karnataka on Tuesday and will inaugurate the Mega Queue Complex and launch the 2024-25 Jnanadeepa programme at Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala, his office said on Monday. – With PTI inputs
