The Evening Wrap: CBI makes first arrests in NEET-UG paper leak case

The CBI has made first arrests in the NEET-UG paper leak case, taking into custody two persons from Patna, officials said on June 27. Manish Kumar and Ashutosh Kumar allegedly provided safe premises to the aspirants before the examination where they were given leaked papers and answer keys, the officials said. The CBI has registered six FIRs in the NEET paper leak case. The NEET-UG is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. This year’s examination was conducted on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 abroad. Over 23 lakh candidates appeared for the test. The first CBI FIR was registered on June 23, a day after the Ministry announced it would hand over the probe into the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the exam to the Central agency. The demand for a CBI probe was raised by a section of protesting students. Sengol finds prominence in Parliament amid political controversy; Samajwadi Party calls it ‘Raja ka Danda’ The ‘Sengol’ found its prominence in Parliament on Thursday amid the ongoing political controversy ignited by Samajwadi Party (SP) Member of Parliament (MP) R. K. Chaudhary’s recent comments calling it a symbol of monarchy. “The Constitution is the symbol of democracy. The BJP government, under PM Modi, installed the Sengol in Parliament. ‘Sengol’ means ‘Raj-Dand’ or ‘Raja ka Danda’. After ending the princely order, the country became independent. Will the country be run by ‘Raja ka danda’ or the Constitution? I demand that Sengol be removed from Parliament to save the Constitution,” said Chaudhary. BJP leader C. R. Kesavan called Chaudhary’s comments outrageous and outlandish. “R. K. Chaudhary’s remarks are outrageous and outlandish. He insulted the millions of devotees. He has also undermined the sanctity of the Parliament. He has also abused the office of the President. But what better can you expect from a Samajwadi Party MP,” he said. Union Minister Anupriya Patel asked what were the SP’s MPs doing when the Sengol was being established in the House. “When Sengol was established, the Samajwadi Party was in the House even then, what were its MPs doing at that time?” she said. Union Minister B. L. Verma said that SP leaders should look at the constitution and parliamentary traditions. “Samajwadi Party MPs who are saying this first, should know the parliamentary traditions and then speak. And they are talking about removing something that is a symbol of self-respect. I think that somewhere they should look at the constitution and parliamentary traditions,” he said. RJD MP Misa Bharti said that the Sengol should be removed because it is a democratic country. “It should be removed because it is a democratic country. The Sengol should be kept in the museum where people can come and see it,” Bharti said. Meanwhile, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav defended Chaudhary, suggesting that the remark might be a reminder for the Prime Minister. “When the Sengol was installed, the PM bowed before it. He might have forgotten this while taking the oath. Maybe our MP’s remark was to remind him of that,” Yadav stated. Congress expresses displeasure to Speaker on Emergency resolution Expressing its displeasure on Speaker Om Birla bringing in a resolution against imposition of Emergency, Congress has said making a political reference, that too on the day of assuming office, was “deeply shocking“ and “unprecedented in the annals of history of Parliament.” “Making of such a political reference from the Chair is unprecedented in the annals of history of Parliament. This coming from the Chair as one of the ‘first duties’ from a newly elected Speaker assumes even graver proportions,” the party’s general secretary K.C. Venugopal has written in a letter to Birla. The party’s views were conveyed to the Speaker in person too, by Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. On June 26, 2024, when Om Birla was re-elected the Speaker of Lok Sabha, he read out a resolution in the House on the 1975 Emergency. The resolution blamed Congress for “suppressing the rights of the people” and “attacking the principles of democracy”. When Gandhi and INDIA bloc leaders met Speaker Om Birla as “a courtesy call” after the President’s address, it is learnt that he voiced his displeasure saying it was “clearly a political reference” and could have been avoided. Gandhi was accompanied by Dharmendra Yadav of Samajwadi Party, DMK’s Kanimozhi, NCP (SP)‘s Supriya Sule, and TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee, besides others. “In the course of the discussion, Opposition leaders told the Speaker that resolution on Emergency was avoidable,” Venugopal told reporters. He also wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker about the resolution on Emergency being read out by the Chair. “I am writing this in the context of a very grave matter impacting upon the very credibility of institution of Parliament. Yesterday that is 26 June 2024, at the time of offering felicitations on your election as Speaker Lok Sabha, there was a general camaraderie in the House as such occasions generate. However, what followed thereafter, which is reference from the Chair after your acceptance speech, in regard to declaration of Emergency half a century ago, is deeply shocking.” “Making of such a political reference from the Chair is unprecedented in the annals of history of Parliament. This coming from the Chair as one of the ‘first duties’ from a newly-elected Speaker assumes even graver proportions,” he added. “I, on behalf of Indian National Congress, express our profound concern and anguish over this travesty of Parliamentary traditions,” Venugopal said in his letter. AAP MPs protest arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, boycott President Murmu’s address The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs held a protest against the arrest of Delhi CM and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, on Parliament premises ahead of President Droupadi Murmu’s address on June 27. The party MPs were seen holding placards that read, “Stop misusing ED and CBI”, and “Dictatorship will not work”. AAP leader Sandeep Pathak also said that the party MPs would boycott the President’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament. This will be the first Presidential address after the formation of the third National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. Following the President’s address, a motion of thanks will be moved in both the Houses of Parliament, which will be discussed by the members. Pathak said that the President and the Constitution are supreme and when dictatorship is done in the name of justice, it is important to raise voices. “Today we will protest in the Rajya Sabha against the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and we will boycott the President’s address,” he said. When asked whether other parties of the INDIA bloc will also protest in the Rajya Sabha, Pathak said, “We did not have a discussion with the remaining parties of the INDIA alliance regarding this but our party will boycott the President’s address”. Meanwhile, the Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi on June 26 sent Kejriwal to three days CBI remand in connection with the Excise policy case. Vacation Judge Amitabh Rawat after taking note of all the submissions of both sides, allowed Arvind Kejriwal to be on CBI remand till June 29, 2024. During the remand period, the court allowed Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal to meet him for 30 minutes and his lawyer to meet him every day for 30 minutes. The court has also allowed him to carry his prescribed medicines during the remand period. During the hearing, Arvind Kejriwal himself addressed the court and said, “CBI is claiming that I have made a statement against Manish Sisodia, which is completely false. Manish Sisodia is innocent, Aam Aadmi Party is innocent and I am also innocent. Statements are being given in the media to defame us.” He also added, “They are tarnishing our image in the media by using unnamed sources. They plan to make it headline news that Kejriwal has shifted all the blame to Manish Sisodia.” However, the Court said,” I have read your statement... you have not said this.” The Delhi High Court on June 25 stayed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s bail order passed by the trial court, saying that the trial court should have at least recorded its satisfaction with the fulfilment of twin conditions of Section 45 of the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before passing the impugned order. Plea in Supreme Court to stay implementation of new criminal laws A petition was moved in the Supreme Court on June 27 seeking a stay on the implementation and operation of three new criminal laws, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, scheduled to come into effect from July 1. The writ petition filed by Anjale Patel and Chhaya Mishra, represented by advocates Sanjeev Malhotra and Kunwar Sidharth, has urged the apex court to constitute an expert committee immediately to assess viability of the three new laws which overhauls the criminal procedure and justice system and replaces the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code Of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act. The plea highlighted that the three laws were passed without detailed debate or effective discussion in the Parliament as a large number of Members from the Opposition were suspended. “The passing of the Bills in the Parliament was irregular as many Members of Parliament were suspended. There was very little people’s participation in the passage of the Bills,” the petition submitted. The petition, extensively referred to reports in The Hindu, about the suspension of 146 Opposition MPs from the Parliament. It quoted representations from the Tamil Nadu and West Bengal Chief Ministers to the Home Minister, objecting to the new laws. It contended that the new laws were ambiguous, anti-bail, provided extensive powers to the police and even “inhumane” at some points like the revival of handcuffs during arrest. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which replaces the IPC, does not define terms like ‘gang’, ‘mobile organised crime groups’, etc. The petition pointed out that BNS protects persons with mental illness from prosecution. However, the definition of mental illness excludes mental retardation. This would mean persons with mental retardation are liable to be prosecuted. Again, a new offence replaces sedition for acts which endanger the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. Terrorism is also an offence under the BNS. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023, which replaces CrPC, allows 15 days of police custody, either to be taken all at once or in a staggered manner. “BNSS further empowers the police to seek custody in tranches for an extended period which may be at any time during the initial 40 or 60 days… A serious concern with this provision is that the investigating agency will be able to negate the bail granted to an accused by seeking custody in tranches. The prolongation of the period during which police custody can be sought also creates a problem as there is no criteria or guideline for exercise of such a power,” the petition argued. The petition also pointed out that BNSS has left Section 144 CrPC (Executive Magistrate’s power to pass prohibitory orders) intact, thus failing to depart from the colonial legacy. “Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita Bill, 2023 falls far short of the proclaimed ‘decolonisation’ as it continues to give power to the police to suppress the rights of citizens and make a ‘Police State’ just like the colonial period,” it pointed out. The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, which takes over from the Evidence Act, has classified electronic records as primary evidence. The Evidence Act had categorised them as secondary evidence. It has further expanded electronic evidence to include information stored in semiconductor memory or any communication devices (smartphones, laptops). While the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 provides for the admissibility of such records, there are no safeguards provided to ensure that they are not tampered with during the search and seizure or investigation process,” the petition said. No rule of law left in Uttar Pradesh in seven years of BJP regime: Akhilesh Yadav Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on June 27 that in the past seven years, there is no rule of law left in Uttar Pradesh in the BJP regime. “The Chief Minister may claim to modernise the police force, but in reality, it is nothing more than a sham. How can the BJP Government, which destroyed the state-of-the-art police response system set up during the Samajwadi Government out of vengeance, be expected to make the police force technically smart, efficient and capable?” “The Chief Minister’s claim of crime control has been proven false. The BJP Government has failed on every front,” Yadav said in a statement. He said there is no rule of law left in U.P. under the BJP regime. Yadav’s reaction came on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s statement earlier in the day that the rule of law is fundamental to good governance and the State police has excelled in maintaining it. Adityanath said this while flagging off the upgraded police response vehicles (PRVs) in the second phase of UP-112 from his official residence here. Yadav said the law and order situation in the State is in shambles, criminals are running amok, bullets are being fired in broad daylight and murders are being committed. “Anarchy is at its peak. The BJP Government has failed to maintain law and order. The BJP workers and leaders are hell-bent on anarchy. Recently, bullets were fired openly between two factions in Bareilly. The public is troubled by the injustice and atrocities of the BJP Government. There is anger among the people,” the Lok Sabha MP said. Alleging that after the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is hell-bent on taking revenge on the people, he said the government has no control over the police. Yadav said under the Samajwadi Government, the police were modernised to improve the law and order situation. The police was equipped with new technology. Dial 100 service was started on the lines of New York Police. Thousands of modern vehicles were given to the police department, the former chief minister claimed. “The police has become a predator instead of a protector of the public. Innocents are being tortured. People are dying in police stations. Criminals and BJP leaders are flouting the law and order,” he added. BJP minority morcha leader booked for rape, murder of minor; party expels him Uttarakhand police have booked a BJP minority morcha leader in connection with rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl in Haridwar. A nominated member of the Other Backward Classes Commission of BJP, Aditya Raj Saini, the main accused, has also been expelled from the party after the incident came to light. According to the police, the girl had gone missing on Sunday. The family called on her mobile phone which was picked by the BJP leader who told the family that the girl was with him. After that the phone was switched off, the victim’s mother said in her complaint to the police. The minor’s body was found along the highway in the Bahadrabad area on Tuesday. Her mother alleged that she was gangraped by the BJP leader and his accomplice, Amir Saini, before being murdered. “On the complaint of victim’s mother, we have booked the two men for gang rape, murder and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code along with Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” Superintendent of Police (SP) City, S.K. Singh, told The Hindu. The officer confirmed that no arrest has been made in the case so far and interrogation with the people associated with the case is going-on. In Brief: The Criminal Investigation Department filed a charge sheet against former chief minister and BJP leader B. S. Yediyurappa, charging him under Section 8 (sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and Section 354A (sexual harassment) and 214 (offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender) of the Indian Penal Code, on Thursday. The victim in the case is a 17-year-old girl, who had gone to meet the former chief minister along with her mother at his residence on February 2, 2024, seeking his help to speed up probe into a past rape case. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 27 June 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( NEET-UG paper leak case: In first arrests, CBI nabs two from Patna The [CBI has made first arrests in the NEET-UG paper leak case]( taking into custody two persons from Patna, officials said on June 27. Manish Kumar and Ashutosh Kumar allegedly provided safe premises to the aspirants before the examination where they were given leaked papers and answer keys, the officials said. The CBI has registered six FIRs in the NEET paper leak case. The NEET-UG is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. This year’s examination was conducted on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 abroad. Over 23 lakh candidates appeared for the test. The first CBI FIR was registered on June 23, a day after the Ministry announced it would hand over the probe into the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the exam to the Central agency. The demand for a CBI probe was raised by a section of protesting students. Sengol finds prominence in Parliament amid political controversy; Samajwadi Party calls it ‘Raja ka Danda’ The [‘Sengol’ found its prominence in Parliament]( on Thursday amid the ongoing political controversy ignited by Samajwadi Party (SP) Member of Parliament (MP) R. K. Chaudhary’s recent comments calling it a symbol of monarchy. “The Constitution is the symbol of democracy. The BJP government, under PM Modi, installed the Sengol in Parliament. ‘Sengol’ means ‘Raj-Dand’ or ‘Raja ka Danda’. After ending the princely order, the country became independent. Will the country be run by ‘Raja ka danda’ or the Constitution? I demand that Sengol be removed from Parliament to save the Constitution,” said Chaudhary. BJP leader C. R. Kesavan called Chaudhary’s comments outrageous and outlandish. “R. K. Chaudhary’s remarks are outrageous and outlandish. He insulted the millions of devotees. He has also undermined the sanctity of the Parliament. He has also abused the office of the President. But what better can you expect from a Samajwadi Party MP,” he said. Union Minister Anupriya Patel asked what were the SP’s MPs doing when the Sengol was being established in the House. “When Sengol was established, the Samajwadi Party was in the House even then, what were its MPs doing at that time?” she said. Union Minister B. L. Verma said that SP leaders should look at the constitution and parliamentary traditions. “Samajwadi Party MPs who are saying this first, should know the parliamentary traditions and then speak. And they are talking about removing something that is a symbol of self-respect. I think that somewhere they should look at the constitution and parliamentary traditions,” he said. RJD MP Misa Bharti said that the Sengol should be removed because it is a democratic country. “It should be removed because it is a democratic country. The Sengol should be kept in the museum where people can come and see it,” Bharti said. Meanwhile, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav defended Chaudhary, suggesting that the remark might be a reminder for the Prime Minister. “When the Sengol was installed, the PM bowed before it. He might have forgotten this while taking the oath. Maybe our MP’s remark was to remind him of that,” Yadav stated. Congress expresses displeasure to Speaker on Emergency resolution [Expressing its displeasure on Speaker Om Birla]( bringing in a resolution against imposition of Emergency, Congress has said making a political reference, that too on the day of assuming office, was “deeply shocking“ and “unprecedented in the annals of history of Parliament.” “Making of such a political reference from the Chair is unprecedented in the annals of history of Parliament. This coming from the Chair as one of the ‘first duties’ from a newly elected Speaker assumes even graver proportions,” the party’s general secretary K.C. Venugopal has written in a letter to Birla. The party’s views were conveyed to the Speaker in person too, by Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. On June 26, 2024, when Om Birla was re-elected the Speaker of Lok Sabha, he read out a resolution in the House on the 1975 Emergency. The resolution blamed Congress for “suppressing the rights of the people” and “attacking the principles of democracy”. When Gandhi and INDIA bloc leaders met Speaker Om Birla as “a courtesy call” after the President’s address, it is learnt that he voiced his displeasure saying it was “clearly a political reference” and could have been avoided. Gandhi was accompanied by Dharmendra Yadav of Samajwadi Party, DMK’s Kanimozhi, NCP (SP)‘s Supriya Sule, and TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee, besides others. “In the course of the discussion, Opposition leaders told the Speaker that resolution on Emergency was avoidable,” Venugopal told reporters. He also wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker about the resolution on Emergency being read out by the Chair. “I am writing this in the context of a very grave matter impacting upon the very credibility of institution of Parliament. Yesterday that is 26 June 2024, at the time of offering felicitations on your election as Speaker Lok Sabha, there was a general camaraderie in the House as such occasions generate. However, what followed thereafter, which is reference from the Chair after your acceptance speech, in regard to declaration of Emergency half a century ago, is deeply shocking.” “Making of such a political reference from the Chair is unprecedented in the annals of history of Parliament. This coming from the Chair as one of the ‘first duties’ from a newly-elected Speaker assumes even graver proportions,” he added. “I, on behalf of Indian National Congress, express our profound concern and anguish over this travesty of Parliamentary traditions,” Venugopal said in his letter. AAP MPs protest arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, boycott President Murmu’s address The [Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs held a protest against the arrest of Delhi CM]( and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, on Parliament premises ahead of President Droupadi Murmu’s address on June 27. The party MPs were seen holding placards that read, “Stop misusing ED and CBI”, and “Dictatorship will not work”. AAP leader Sandeep Pathak also said that the party MPs would boycott the President’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament. This will be the first Presidential address after the formation of the third National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. Following the President’s address, a motion of thanks will be moved in both the Houses of Parliament, which will be discussed by the members. Pathak said that the President and the Constitution are supreme and when dictatorship is done in the name of justice, it is important to raise voices. “Today we will protest in the Rajya Sabha against the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and we will boycott the President’s address,” he said. When asked whether other parties of the INDIA bloc will also protest in the Rajya Sabha, Pathak said, “We did not have a discussion with the remaining parties of the INDIA alliance regarding this but our party will boycott the President’s address”. Meanwhile, the Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi on June 26 sent Kejriwal to three days CBI remand in connection with the Excise policy case. Vacation Judge Amitabh Rawat after taking note of all the submissions of both sides, allowed Arvind Kejriwal to be on CBI remand till June 29, 2024. During the remand period, the court allowed Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal to meet him for 30 minutes and his lawyer to meet him every day for 30 minutes. The court has also allowed him to carry his prescribed medicines during the remand period. During the hearing, Arvind Kejriwal himself addressed the court and said, “CBI is claiming that I have made a statement against Manish Sisodia, which is completely false. Manish Sisodia is innocent, Aam Aadmi Party is innocent and I am also innocent. Statements are being given in the media to defame us.” He also added, “They are tarnishing our image in the media by using unnamed sources. They plan to make it headline news that Kejriwal has shifted all the blame to Manish Sisodia.” However, the Court said,” I have read your statement... you have not said this.” The Delhi High Court on June 25 stayed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s bail order passed by the trial court, saying that the trial court should have at least recorded its satisfaction with the fulfilment of twin conditions of Section 45 of the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before passing the impugned order. Plea in Supreme Court to stay implementation of new criminal laws A [petition was moved in the Supreme Court]( on June 27 seeking a stay on the implementation and operation of three new criminal laws, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, scheduled to come into effect from July 1. The writ petition filed by Anjale Patel and Chhaya Mishra, represented by advocates Sanjeev Malhotra and Kunwar Sidharth, has urged the apex court to constitute an expert committee immediately to assess viability of the three new laws which overhauls the criminal procedure and justice system and replaces the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code Of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act. The plea highlighted that the three laws were passed without detailed debate or effective discussion in the Parliament as a large number of Members from the Opposition were suspended. “The passing of the Bills in the Parliament was irregular as many Members of Parliament were suspended. There was very little people’s participation in the passage of the Bills,” the petition submitted. The petition, extensively referred to reports in The Hindu, about the suspension of 146 Opposition MPs from the Parliament. It quoted representations from the Tamil Nadu and West Bengal Chief Ministers to the Home Minister, objecting to the new laws. It contended that the new laws were ambiguous, anti-bail, provided extensive powers to the police and even “inhumane” at some points like the revival of handcuffs during arrest. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which replaces the IPC, does not define terms like ‘gang’, ‘mobile organised crime groups’, etc. The petition pointed out that BNS protects persons with mental illness from prosecution. However, the definition of mental illness excludes mental retardation. This would mean persons with mental retardation are liable to be prosecuted. Again, a new offence replaces sedition for acts which endanger the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. Terrorism is also an offence under the BNS. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023, which replaces CrPC, allows 15 days of police custody, either to be taken all at once or in a staggered manner. “BNSS further empowers the police to seek custody in tranches for an extended period which may be at any time during the initial 40 or 60 days… A serious concern with this provision is that the investigating agency will be able to negate the bail granted to an accused by seeking custody in tranches. The prolongation of the period during which police custody can be sought also creates a problem as there is no criteria or guideline for exercise of such a power,” the petition argued. The petition also pointed out that BNSS has left Section 144 CrPC (Executive Magistrate’s power to pass prohibitory orders) intact, thus failing to depart from the colonial legacy. “Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita Bill, 2023 falls far short of the proclaimed ‘decolonisation’ as it continues to give power to the police to suppress the rights of citizens and make a ‘Police State’ just like the colonial period,” it pointed out. The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, which takes over from the Evidence Act, has classified electronic records as primary evidence. The Evidence Act had categorised them as secondary evidence. It has further expanded electronic evidence to include information stored in semiconductor memory or any communication devices (smartphones, laptops). While the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 provides for the admissibility of such records, there are no safeguards provided to ensure that they are not tampered with during the search and seizure or investigation process,” the petition said. No rule of law left in Uttar Pradesh in seven years of BJP regime: Akhilesh Yadav Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on June 27 that in the past seven years, there is [no rule of law left in Uttar Pradesh]( in the BJP regime. “The Chief Minister may claim to modernise the police force, but in reality, it is nothing more than a sham. How can the BJP Government, which destroyed the state-of-the-art police response system set up during the Samajwadi Government out of vengeance, be expected to make the police force technically smart, efficient and capable?” “The Chief Minister’s claim of crime control has been proven false. The BJP Government has failed on every front,” Yadav said in a statement. He said there is no rule of law left in U.P. under the BJP regime. Yadav’s reaction came on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s statement earlier in the day that the rule of law is fundamental to good governance and the State police has excelled in maintaining it. Adityanath said this while flagging off the upgraded police response vehicles (PRVs) in the second phase of UP-112 from his official residence here. Yadav said the law and order situation in the State is in shambles, criminals are running amok, bullets are being fired in broad daylight and murders are being committed. “Anarchy is at its peak. The BJP Government has failed to maintain law and order. The BJP workers and leaders are hell-bent on anarchy. Recently, bullets were fired openly between two factions in Bareilly. The public is troubled by the injustice and atrocities of the BJP Government. There is anger among the people,” the Lok Sabha MP said. Alleging that after the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is hell-bent on taking revenge on the people, he said the government has no control over the police. Yadav said under the Samajwadi Government, the police were modernised to improve the law and order situation. The police was equipped with new technology. Dial 100 service was started on the lines of New York Police. Thousands of modern vehicles were given to the police department, the former chief minister claimed. “The police has become a predator instead of a protector of the public. Innocents are being tortured. People are dying in police stations. Criminals and BJP leaders are flouting the law and order,” he added. BJP minority morcha leader booked for rape, murder of minor; party expels him [Uttarakhand police have booked a BJP minority morcha leader in connection with rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl in Haridwar](. A nominated member of the Other Backward Classes Commission of BJP, Aditya Raj Saini, the main accused, has also been expelled from the party after the incident came to light. According to the police, the girl had gone missing on Sunday. The family called on her mobile phone which was picked by the BJP leader who told the family that the girl was with him. After that the phone was switched off, the victim’s mother said in her complaint to the police. The minor’s body was found along the highway in the Bahadrabad area on Tuesday. Her mother alleged that she was gangraped by the BJP leader and his accomplice, Amir Saini, before being murdered. “On the complaint of victim’s mother, we have booked the two men for gang rape, murder and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code along with Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” Superintendent of Police (SP) City, S.K. Singh, told The Hindu. The officer confirmed that no arrest has been made in the case so far and interrogation with the people associated with the case is going-on. In Brief: The [Criminal Investigation Department filed a charge sheet against former chief minister and BJP leader B. S. Yediyurappa]( charging him under Section 8 (sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and Section 354A (sexual harassment) and 214 (offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender) of the Indian Penal Code, on Thursday. The victim in the case is a 17-year-old girl, who had gone to meet the former chief minister along with her mother at his residence on February 2, 2024, seeking his help to speed up probe into a past rape case. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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