Action Taken Report sought on Khattar's remarks against farmers
Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Nov, 2021 01:53 PM
New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) A Delhi court on Thursday directed Delhi Police to file an Action Taken Report (ATR) on a petition seeking an FIR against Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for his alleged controversial remarks against the protesting farmers.
On the case filed at the Rouse Avenue Court by petitioner, Advocate Amit Sahni, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sachin Gupta directed the Delhi Police to file the Status Report/Action Taken Report (if any) by Crime Branch.
Sahni had filed the complaint seeking registration of an FIR against Khattar on the basis of a controversial video that went viral.
The court will hear the matter further on December 6.
According to the petition, the video was recorded during a meeting of Khattar with workers belonging to the BJP's Kisan Morcha at his residence in Chandigarh.
"The content of the video make it abundantly clear that the accused has committed offence under sections 109, 153, 153A and 505 IPC by wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony and making statements conducing to public mischief under section 109, 153, 153A, 505 IPC," the plea stated.
The petitioner said, "No one is above the law and the law applies to everyone equally, regardless of anyone's rank or position."
Farmers have been protesting at different sites since November 26 last year against the three new farm laws: Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
The minister and his son are accused in the October 3 incident in which nine persons, including four farmers, were mowed down by SUVs. The minister's son Ashish Mishra has already been arrested.
It's likely that Sidhu will put forth the list of demands in the Punjab government as he is upset with the appointments in the government. He has resigned from the post of state president, but it has not been accepted yet by Sonia Gandhi. The meeting gains significance as it comes ahead of the CWC meeting.
The civil secretariat houses the top offices of the government, including those of the Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha and his advisors. Police tried to intervene to restrain the mourners from carrying out the sit-in outside the civil secretariat.
"My son will go to the police tomorrow and assist the probe. He has not escaped anywhere," Mishra said on his arrival in Lucknow. He said that his son was very much in their house in Lakhimpur.
Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday proceeded on indefinite fast in support of his demand for action against Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra and main accused in Sunday's violence in which nine persons, including four farmers, were killed.
Following a tipoff, the DRI sleuths swooped on the port on October 4 and detected the huge narcotics contraband, valued at Rs 125 crore, among boxes of a cooking oil container arriving from Iran and are now probing the possibility of a bigger drug smuggling racket with international ramifications for India and other countries.
