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2 arrested for threatening MP judge who convicted 14 in cow vigilante verdict
Police identified the two as Pankaj Kumar Mishra, 37, a resident of Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, and Anuj Awasthi, 30, of Raebareli
Two men have been arrested by the Madhya Pradesh police on charges of issuing death threats and making communal remarks against additional district judge (ADJ) Tabassum Khan after she sentenced 14 men to life for killing a man on suspicion of cattle smuggling.
Police identified the two as Pankaj Kumar Mishra, 37, a resident of Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, and Anuj Awasthi, 30, of Raebareli. Mishra was picked up by the police in Mumbai, while Awasthi was traced to Raebareli.
Narmadapuram district superintendent of police (SP) Sai Krishna Thota said the two had threatened Khan for her verdict and made communal remarks against her in their videos following the verdict. A case under sections 302 (uttering words or gestures with intent to hurt religious feelings) and 196 (promoting enmity between communities) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita had been filed earlier, along with provisions of the Information Technology Act.
“The accused confessed to posting the video for views and shares. They have been sent to jail,” Thota said.
To be sure, a confession or disclosure statement made by any person before a police officer is not admissible as evidence in court unless corroborated by other evidence.
The threats surfaced after Khan, on June 12, sentenced 14 men to life imprisonment in a lynching case after finding them guilty of murder, attempted murder, rioting and wrongful restraint.
The case dates back to August 3, 2022, when a truck carrying 30 cattle to a fair in Amravati, Maharashtra, was stopped near Barakhad village in Seoni Malwa. The convicts were part of a group that assaulted the three occupants with sticks and iron rods, killing one person, identified as Nazir Ahmed. Police said the attack was carried out by villagers and self-styled cow vigilantes. A video clip of the attack also turned up on social media.
On June 30, the Narmadapuram police finally registered the first information report against two unidentified persons for allegedly issuing death threats and making communal remarks against the judge over the June 12 verdict.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court bench at Jabalpur also took note of threats issued against the judge over her verdict, ordered the police to provide her with protection and sought affidavits from the state’s top civil servants, including the director general of police.
At its hearing on Thursday, the bench of justices Anand Pathak and BP Sharma was informed of the arrests and the implementation of the court directive to provide additional security for Khan.
