Security concern: Jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi withdraws plea from Delhi HC
Darpan News Desk IANS, 01 Jun, 2022 11:49 AM
New Delhi, June 1 (IANS) Jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, named as a suspect in the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, on Wednesday withdrew from Delhi High Court his plea seeking protection amid apprehension of "fake encounter" by Punjab police for "political mileage".
The matter came up for hearing before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
As the hearing began, Bishnoi's counsel Adv. Vishal Chopra sought liberty for withdrawal of the plea.
On the other hand, Advocate Sanjay Lao appearing for the Delhi Police, stated that the plea was not maintainable anyway.
Accordingly, the petition has been withdrawn.
Now, Bishnoi will approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court with the plea.
The gangster had moved the high court after a NIA court of Patiala House Court junked his plea on Monday. In the plea, he sought a direction to the Delhi Police and the Tihar Jail authorities to ensure all necessary security arrangements for him.
The petitioner sought the court's direction to Central Jail Authorities to give prior intimation to his counsels before his custody is given to any other state police on any production warrant. He should be duly handcuffed, shackled and video-graphed during the production warrant and on transit remand if any warrant is produced by the Punjab police for the safety of his life, the plea stated.
The Punjab police has alleged that Bishnoi was involved in the murder of Sidhu Moosewala.
The accused is entitled to a fair and true investigation and a fair trial and the prosecution is expected to play a balanced role in the trial of a crime. The investigation should be judicious, fair, transparent and expeditious and the investigating authority should ensure the safety of any accused person, his plea said.
"Fair trial includes fair investigation as envisaged by Articles 20 and 21 of the Constitution of India. The role of the police is to be for the protection of life, liberty and property of citizens, that investigation of offences being one of its foremost duties. That the aim of the investigation is ultimately to search for truth and to bring the offender to book," the plea read.
Currently lodged in Tihar jail in a MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) case, Bishnoi is allegedly involved in more than five dozen criminal cases lodged against him in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab. He had once threatened to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan.
As per reports, Goldy Brar, a Canada-based gangster and Lawrence Bishnoi have claimed responsibility for the murder of Moosewala. Singer-turned-actor-politician Sidhu Moosewala, 29, was shot dead by gangsters close to his ancestral village in Mansa in Punjab in broad daylight on Sunday.
The killing of the rapper has sparked a huge political controversy and the Punjab Government is at the receiving end.
The operation was launched by the DRI after it developed specific intelligence, over a period of several months, that two Indian boats would be sailing from the coast of Tamil Nadu and would receive narcotics in huge quantity somewhere in the Arabian Sea.
On December 27, 1988, the cricketer-turned-politician and one of his friends, Rupinder Singh Sandhu, had on December 27, 1988, hit Gurnam Singh, 65, on his head near the Sheranwala Gate crossing in Patiala.
Chairing a high-level meeting here, Mann said his government would be fulfilling one of the major poll promises with setting up of these clinics both in urban and rural areas in a phased manner on the pattern of Delhi.
The commission asked the Divisional Commissioner (Ferozepur division), the Deputy Commissioner of Sri Muktsar Sahib), the Inspector General of Police (Faridkot range) and the Senior Superintendent of Police to investigate the case and to submit the report within seven days.
Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday congratulated former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar for joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying that the "right man is in the right party". He said more leaders are likely to desert the sinking ship of the Congress in the coming days.
The Chief Minister also sought a compensation of Rs 500 per quintal for low yield of wheat in the state. He said due to intense heat during this summer season, the wheat grains in Punjab have been damaged, adding it is the high time that farmers must be compensated for this damage by giving compensation.
