Pannu video case: one gets bail

Gurvinder Singh, alias Baba Panesar, the first person to be arrested for allegedly uploading the video clip of the assault on Punjab-cadre IAS officer KS Pannu in Uttarakhand, was granted bail on Monday.

Gurvinder Singh, alias Baba Panesar, the first person to be arrested for allegedly uploading the video clip of the assault on Punjab-cadre IAS officer KS Pannu in Uttarakhand, was granted bail on Monday.

HT Image

Gurvinder, who was arrested on June 30, was remanded in judicial custody on July 4.The 45-year-old Ludhiana resident was booked under sections 66-A of the Information Technology (IT) Act and sections 295-A, 298, 500 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Though all five suspects were remanded in judicial custody after being produced in the court on Monday afternoon, the chief judicial magistrate granted bail to Gurvinder later in the evening.

Speaking to HT, Gurvinder's advocate Karamvir Singh said, "My client did not upload the video.Section 295-A (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult religion of any class) of the IPC and Section 66-A (punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service etc.) do not apply to him."

He said his client had to spend nearly 10 days in jail for doing nothing wrong as neither the IP address traced belonged to him nor could he access the internet on his mobile phone.

The other suspects Gursewak Singh, Baljinder Singh Kankwal, Sukhwinder Singh and Darshan Singh are still in judicial custody.