MEERUT: Following threats linked to judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar‘s 2022 verdict ordering a survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi to determine if a temple existed underneath, an NIA court‘s special judge has requested increased security for him.
Three weeks after an FIR was filed against Adnan Khan for allegedly threatening additional sessions judge Diwakar, NIA court special judge Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi has written to the registrar general of the Allahabad high court seeking more protection for judge Diwakar.
Special judge Tripathi’s letter, accessed by TOI, says, “Investigations have revealed that Islamic fundamentalists are plotting to kill judge Diwakar… This is a sensitive issue. If the activities of Adnan are not curbed, it could lead to an untoward incident.”
Judge Diwakar, now an additional sessions judge in Bareilly, also wrote to the UP chief secretary, expressing concerns about his current security. “On 13 May 2022, after the Allahabad HC’s order, my family and I were provided security, but the current level seems inadequate. It is clear that the Islamic fundamentalists are brainwashing members of the minority community and turning them against me by labelling me a kafir to get me killed. Hence this letter is being forwarded to provide adequate security to me and my family.”
On 25 April this year, judge Diwakar informed Bareilly police that he was receiving threatening international calls. His current security detail includes two personnel, “inadequately equipped for a potential terrorist attack,” according to a judge’s associate. “They are not even equipped with adequate modern weapons in case of a terrorist attack,” the associate said.
On 3 June, the UP ATS investigation officer filed an FIR against Adnan Khan under several IPC sections and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Khan allegedly used his Instagram account to issue threats against judge Diwakar, encouraging violence against him.
“Adnan Khan runs an Instagram account through which a threat has been issued to judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, who is hearing the Gyanvapi mosque case in Varanasi,” the FIR by ATS officer Prabhakar Ojha said.
Threats against judge Diwakar have persisted since June 2022, when Varanasi police investigated a threatening letter from the Islamic Aagaz Movement‘s president, which mentioned his family and the Prime Minister in offensive terms, leading to enhanced security measures for him.