RSS defamation case: Cong chief pleads ‘ not guilty’
A local Maharashtra court on Tuesday decided to put to trial Congress president Rahul Gandhi who pleaded “not guilty” in a defamation case filed against him by an RSS worker in a Bhiwandi for his alleged remarks linking the Hindutva organisation with Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in 1948.
Before framing charges under Section 499 ( defamation) and Section 500 ( punishment) of the IPC against Mr Gandhi, Bhiwandi civil judge A. I. Shaikh read out the charges and the complaint filed by RSS worker Rajesh Kunte.
After reading out the complaint, the judge asked Mr Gandhi, “Do you accept the charges?”
To this, Mr Gandhi replied, “I plead not guilty.”
Mr Kunte had filed the case in 2014 after watching Mr Gandhi’s speech at an election rally in which he had claimed that the RSS was behind the killing of Mahatma Gandhi. In 2016, Mr Gandhi was granted bail by the Bhiwandi court.
Emerging from the court, Mr Gandhi said if need be, he would be present in the court again. “Let them ( the BJP and the RSS) slap as many cases as they want on me. Ours is a fight of ideology. We will fight them and win,” Mr Gandhi told reporters outside the court.
The next hearing will be on August 10. A person found guilty of defamation under Section 500 faces simple imprisonment for a term that may extend to two years.
The court on Tuesday also accepted Mr Gandhi’s application to run a summons trial in the case. On May 2, Mr Gandhi’s lawyer Narayan
Let them ( the BJP and the RSS) slap as many cases as they want against me. Ours is a fight of ideology. We will fight them and win — Rahul Gandhi, Cong chief
In a major breakthrough, the Chhattisgarh police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested the information technology ( IT) cell chief and spokesman of outlawed CPI ( Maoist) in Bastar Vikalp.
Bastar range inspector general police Vivekanand Sinha made the announcement in Bastar in Chhattisgarh.
The arrested Maoist leader was known in the circle of Left- wing insurgency as Vikalp aka Azad aka Abhay.
Vikalp whose real name was believed to be Abhay Devdas hailed from Bengaluru in Karnataka.
He was reportedly arrested after he landed in India from his foreign tour on May 31 this year, police sources said.
Vikalpa, said to be a key member of international Maoist outfit, Coordination Committee of Maoist Party and Organisation of South Asia, acting as a link between Left- wing insurgents abroad and India. He had travelled at least 15 countries in 2013- 17 for the purpose, Bastar police said.
He was a key member of propaganda wing of CPI ( Maoist).