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Accordingly, the petition has been withdrawn.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.
As many as 60 members of search teams carried out the extensive search on Tuesday in some 40 km in which a shocking fact came to the fore that in order to distill the illicit liquor from 'lahan', the water used was the one which came from the sewage of industrial units of Ludhiana city.
The case will come up for final hearing on July 5 after the summer break. Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain refuted the allegations of illegal detention and said not even a single officer was detained.
According to sources, Singh, a resident of Faridkot, was the person who had launched the attack on Monday. A rocket-propelled grenade or RPG was fired from the street that shattered the window panes of Punjab Police's intelligence headquarters in Mohali.
Lt Gen Aujla, an alumnus of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, was commissioned in December 1987 and has had an illustrious military career spanning 35 years during which he has held varied prestigious command, staff and instructional appointments.
The area around the Intelligence Bureau office has been sealed and investigation is in progress. A bomb disposal and forensic squads have been positioned at the spot. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann spoke to Director General of Police V.K. Bhawra and sought details about the incident.
