The Evening Wrap: Will file fresh affidavit on speeches at Delhi event, say police

The Delhi Police beat a tactful retreat in the Supreme Court by promising a “better” affidavit than the one filed that said speeches made at a Hindu Yuva Vahini event did not amount to hate and the gathering was made of people motivated to “save the ethics of their community.” A Bench led by Justice A. M. Khanwilkar expressed incredulity at the tone of the affidavit, asking the police whether it had really applied its mind while figuring out what it wanted to say in an affidavit filed under oath in the Supreme Court. “The affidavit has been filed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP)... Have you understood the nuances of the case?” the court asked. The police affidavit came in response to a petition filed by retired High Court judge Anjana Prakash and journalist Qurban Ali, who described speeches made at events held both in Delhi and Haridwar as an “open call for genocide of Muslims in order to achieve ethnic cleansing.” One of the speeches under the spotlight is that of Sudarshan News TV Editor Suresh Chavhanke at the Delhi event in December last year. The Delhi Police affidavit had dismissed notions of hate being spewed out. Instead, the police reasoned that the speeches had been about “empowering one’s religion to prepare itself to face the evils that could endanger its existence, which is not even remotely connected to a call for genocide of any particular religion.” “None of the words spoken during the events in any manner whatsoever overtly and explicitly described Indian Muslims as usurpers of territory, and as predators of land, livelihoods and of Hindu women, and nothing was said or done which could create an environment of paranoia amongst any religion, caste or creed,” the affidavit, filed through Esha Pandey, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South-east Delhi, had submitted. In fact, the police advised the petitioners to practise tolerance to the views of others. It said the fundamental freedom of speech could not be suppressed unless it threatened “community interests.” On Friday, senior advocate Kapil Sibal asked in court whether the Delhi Police was of the opinion that a call to “kill” was reasonable as long as it saved the “ethics of the community.” If that is the case, Your Lordships may have to decide the constitutionality of these ‘ethics’...” Sibal submitted. Justice Khanwilkar asked Additional Solicitor-General K.M. Nataraj, appearing for the police, if any senior officers had verified the contents of the affidavit before it was filed in court. Do you want to take another look?” Justice Khanwilkar asked the law officer. Nataraj agreed to the suggestion. “We will have a relook and file a fresh affidavit,” he replied. The petitioners in the case had alleged that the events in Haridwar and Delhi in December 2021 had witnessed hate speeches delivered with “the apparent objective of declaring war against a significant section of the Indian citizenry.” They had sought an independent, credible and impartial investigation. Two Ukrainians detained in Assam for travelling without valid papers The Government Railway Police have detained two Ukrainian nationals in southern Assam’s Karimganj district for travelling without valid papers. The police said Chrisinsky Volodimir, 39, and Nazari Voznyuk, 21, were detained at the Badarpur Railway Station onboard the New Delhi-bound Tripura Sundari Express. The train had come from Agartala. Karimganj Superintendent of Police, Padmanabh Baruah said the duo was travelling to Delhi. “They claimed to have lost their travel documents. We contacted the Ukrainian embassy to verify records. Till such time, they will remain detained,” he said. The two had told the police they moved out of Ukraine before the Russian invasion. “They could not explain how they entered Tripura. There are gaps in their statements,” Baruah said. He said the police would register a case against the duo for illegally entering India if the Ukrainian embassy does not provide the records by Friday night. “We will produce them in a court and seek their custody,” he added. Multi-tier security activated in Samba ahead of PM Modi’s visit A multi-tier security setup has been put in place for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Samba on Sunday, officials said, hours after two suspected Pakistani terrorists were killed during an encounter in Jammu. An alert has also been sounded along the border and a high degree of vigilance is being maintained at vital installations in Jammu and Kashmir in view of the visit, they said. Their remarks came after an attempt by banned terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) to carry out a suicide attack ahead of the PM’s visit was foiled as two suspected Pakistani terrorists were killed in the encounter in Jammu. A CISF officer also died during the gunfight. “A multi-tier security setup has been put in place in Samba and adjoining areas as a part of foolproof security,” a senior official told PTI. The venue of the public function has been made out of bounds for the general public and a three-tier security arrangement has been made after conducting a full-fledged anti-sabotage checking, officials said. The administration has been making arrangements for the participation of one lakh people in the programme. The officials said checkpoints have been raised on all the roads leading to the venue, and vehicles and people using highways and peripheral roads in the area are being thoroughly checked and frisked. They said they have made elaborate deployments and carried out area-domination in view of the visit. Alertness in border areas has been raised and vigilance on vital installations in the region enhanced by various security agencies, they said. Security establishment carried out several drills on Friday including landing of choppers and movement of vehicles, they said. Sources said there are inputs about a greater threat perception this time. Intercepts have also been received about possible threats, they said, adding one group terrorist was neutralised on Friday. This will be Modi’s first visit to Jammu and Kashmir other than his trip to borders post since the abrogation of the special status of J&K in August 2019. Modi is expected to launch industrial investments worth ₹70,000 crore and inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for some developmental projects, including two power projects. India, U.K. decide to deepen defence, trade ties In the backdrop of the rapid geopolitical turmoil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson on Friday agreed on a new and expanded India-U.K. defence partnership and vowed to seal an ambitious free trade agreement by the end of the year. After his wide-ranging talks with Mr. Modi on the second and final day of his India visit, Johnson said the UK is creating an Open General Export Licence (OGEL) for India to “reduce bureaucracy and slashing delivery times” for defence procurement. The British prime minister said both sides agreed to work together to meet new threats across land, sea, air space and cyber domains and that the UK will partner with India on new fighter jet technology as well as in the maritime sphere to detect and respond to threats in the oceans. In Brief Russian actions in Ukraine, which have included summary executions of civilians and levelling of civilian infrastructure, may amount to war crimes, the U.N. said on Friday. “Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, actions that may amount to war crimes,” Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Friday. UNHCR chief Michelle Bachelet said that “over these eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not merely been ignored but seemingly tossed aside.” Evening Wrap will return tomorrow [logo] The Evening Wrap 22 APRIL 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Will file fresh affidavit on speeches at Delhi event, say police The [Delhi Police beat a tactful retreat in the Supreme Court]( by promising a “better” affidavit [than the one filed that said speeches made at a Hindu Yuva Vahini event]( did not amount to hate and the gathering was made of people motivated to “save the ethics of their community.” A Bench led by Justice A. M. Khanwilkar expressed incredulity at the tone of the affidavit, asking the police whether it had really applied its mind while figuring out what it wanted to say in an affidavit filed under oath in the Supreme Court. “The affidavit has been filed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP)... Have you understood the nuances of the case?” the court asked. [Partcipants at the Hindu Mahapanchayat event in Burari, New Delhi on April 3, 2022. ] The police affidavit came in response to a petition filed by retired High Court judge Anjana Prakash and journalist Qurban Ali, who described speeches made at events held both in Delhi and [Haridwar]( as an “open call for genocide of Muslims in order to achieve ethnic cleansing.” One of the speeches under the spotlight is that of [Sudarshan News TV Editor Suresh Chavhanke]( at the Delhi event in December last year. The Delhi Police affidavit had dismissed notions of hate being spewed out. Instead, the police reasoned that the speeches had been about “empowering one’s religion to prepare itself to face the evils that could endanger its existence, which is not even remotely connected to a call for genocide of any particular religion.” “None of the words spoken during the events in any manner whatsoever overtly and explicitly described Indian Muslims as usurpers of territory, and as predators of land, livelihoods and of Hindu women, and nothing was said or done which could create an environment of paranoia amongst any religion, caste or creed,” the affidavit, filed through Esha Pandey, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South-east Delhi, had submitted. In fact, the police advised the petitioners to practise tolerance to the views of others. It said the fundamental freedom of speech could not be suppressed unless it threatened “community interests.” On Friday, senior advocate Kapil Sibal asked in court whether the Delhi Police was of the opinion that a call to “kill” was reasonable as long as it saved the “ethics of the community.” If that is the case, Your Lordships may have to decide the constitutionality of these ‘ethics’...” Sibal submitted. Justice Khanwilkar asked Additional Solicitor-General K.M. Nataraj, appearing for the police, if any senior officers had verified the contents of the affidavit before it was filed in court. Do you want to take another look?” Justice Khanwilkar asked the law officer. Nataraj agreed to the suggestion. “We will have a relook and file a fresh affidavit,” he replied. The petitioners in the case had alleged that the events in Haridwar and Delhi in December 2021 had witnessed hate speeches delivered with “the apparent objective of declaring war against a significant section of the Indian citizenry.” They had sought an independent, credible and impartial investigation. Two Ukrainians detained in Assam for travelling without valid papers The Government Railway Police have [detained two Ukrainian nationals in southern Assam’s Karimganj district]( for travelling without valid papers. The police said Chrisinsky Volodimir, 39, and Nazari Voznyuk, 21, were detained at the Badarpur Railway Station onboard the New Delhi-bound Tripura Sundari Express. The train had come from Agartala. Karimganj Superintendent of Police, Padmanabh Baruah said the duo was travelling to Delhi. “They claimed to have lost their travel documents. We contacted the Ukrainian embassy to verify records. Till such time, they will remain detained,” he said. The two had told the police they moved out of Ukraine before the Russian invasion. “They could not explain how they entered Tripura. There are gaps in their statements,” Baruah said. He said the police would register a case against the duo for illegally entering India if the Ukrainian embassy does not provide the records by Friday night. “We will produce them in a court and seek their custody,” he added. Multi-tier security activated in Samba ahead of PM Modi’s visit [A multi-tier security setup has been put in place]( for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Samba on Sunday, officials said, hours after [two suspected Pakistani terrorists were killed]( during an encounter in Jammu. An alert has also been sounded along the border and a high degree of vigilance is being maintained at vital installations in Jammu and Kashmir in view of the visit, they said. [Security personnel stand in guard during a search operation at a market area in Srinagar on April 22, 2022. ] Their remarks came after an attempt by banned terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) to carry out a suicide attack ahead of the PM’s visit was foiled as two suspected Pakistani terrorists were killed in the encounter in Jammu. A CISF officer also died during the gunfight. “A multi-tier security setup has been put in place in Samba and adjoining areas as a part of foolproof security,” a senior official told PTI. The venue of the public function has been made out of bounds for the general public and a three-tier security arrangement has been made after conducting a full-fledged anti-sabotage checking, officials said. The administration has been making arrangements for the participation of one lakh people in the programme. The officials said checkpoints have been raised on all the roads leading to the venue, and vehicles and people using highways and peripheral roads in the area are being thoroughly checked and frisked. They said they have made elaborate deployments and carried out area-domination in view of the visit. Alertness in border areas has been raised and vigilance on vital installations in the region enhanced by various security agencies, they said. Security establishment carried out several drills on Friday including landing of choppers and movement of vehicles, they said. Sources said there are inputs about a greater threat perception this time. Intercepts have also been received about possible threats, they said, adding one group terrorist was neutralised on Friday. This will be Modi’s first visit to Jammu and Kashmir other than his trip to borders post since the abrogation of the special status of J&K in August 2019. Modi is expected to launch industrial investments worth ₹70,000 crore and inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for some developmental projects, including two power projects. India, U.K. decide to deepen defence, trade ties In the backdrop of the rapid geopolitical turmoil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson on Friday [agreed on a new and expanded India-U.K. defence partnership]( and vowed to seal an ambitious free trade agreement by the end of the year. After his wide-ranging talks with Mr. Modi on the second and final day of his India visit, Johnson said the UK is creating an Open General Export Licence (OGEL) for India to “reduce bureaucracy and slashing delivery times” for defence procurement. The British prime minister said both sides agreed to work together to meet new threats across land, sea, air space and cyber domains and that the UK will partner with India on new fighter jet technology as well as in the maritime sphere to detect and respond to threats in the oceans. In Brief Russian actions in Ukraine, which have included summary executions of civilians and levelling of civilian infrastructure, [may amount to war crimes, the U.N. said]( on Friday. “Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, actions that may amount to war crimes,” Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Friday. UNHCR chief Michelle Bachelet said that “over these eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not merely been ignored but seemingly tossed aside.” Evening Wrap will return tomorrow  Today’s Top Picks [[This age of inflation] This age of inflation]( [[The finisher thrived at the ‘death’, yet again] The finisher thrived at the ‘death’, yet again]( [[‘Jersey’ review: Shahid Kapoor’s film has its heart in the right place] ‘Jersey’ review: Shahid Kapoor’s film has its heart in the right place]( [[Earth Day: the history and impact of the environmental movement] Earth Day: the history and impact of the environmental movement]( Copyright @ 2021, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](