A Mathura court on Monday extended the judicial custody of four alleged members of Popular Front of India (PFI) who were arrested on October 5, 2019, when they were on their way to meet the Hathras gang rape and murder victim.
Atiq ur Rehman, Masood Ahmed, Alam and Siddique Kappan were booked under several sections of the IPC, including of sedition, sections 17, 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and 65/72 of the IT Act.
Rejecting their default bail application under section 167 (2) of CrPC on their completing 90 days in custody, Additional District and Sessions Judge Anil Kumar Pandey accepted the plea of the prosecution lawyer and extended the investigation period from 90 to 180 days.
Citing the application of U.P. Special Task Force, Mr. Pandey said the prosecution wanted more time to deliberate on the sensitive material found in the laptop and mobiles of the accused and to question them on their links with members of SIMI and PFI.
He said if the court was satisfied with the report of the public prosecutor, the period of the investigation could be increased from 90 to 180 days under section 43D (2) of UAPA, 1967.
The STF said it would also interrogate Campus Front of India secretary K.A. Rauf Sherif who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case and is lodged in Kakkanad district jail. The information gathered from him would be verified with the four men.
‘Not satisfied’
Defence lawyer Madhuvan Dutt Chaturvedi told The Hindu they were not satisfied with the order as “our objections on jurisdiction of court, empowerment of STF and legal position of prosecutor have not been discussed therein. Neither is the compelling necessity to extend the limit mentioned in it”. He said they would challenge the order in the Allahabad High Court. “The entire proceeding is going beyond the law,” he argued.
