Khushi Doshi
Published on: March 21, 2022 at 14:14 IST
The Allahabad High Court recently refused Bail to a man accused of organising a bogus lottery to defraud Indian people and funnelling the proceeds to handlers in Pakistan.
The Bench of Justice Krishan Pahal concluded that, while the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act had not been begun against the bail-applicant, Prakash, the situation concerned national security and so, it was not a proper case for Bail.
Essentially, the Bail applicant was charged under Sections 420, 467, 468, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code after it was discovered during a police investigation that he was in contact with Pakistani individuals involved in a scheme of operating phone lotteries in India.
Following that, the Bail Applicant and another guy were detained, and 30 ATM cards, a driving licence, Rs.2500/- cash, three mobile phones, and one Samsung tablet were confiscated from his possession.
The State’s attorney objected to his Bail request, claiming that it had been proven that various account details and cash deposit receipts had been transferred to Pakistan over Whatsapp.
He also referenced to testimony from other people who were tricked by the applicant’s and co-accused Dhiruddin Chaudhary’s link with Pakistani nationals.
It was also claimed that the evidence gathered during the investigation categorically establishes the offences and the activity of the accused applicant with the handlers based in Pakistan, and that a charge-sheet against the applicant had been filed for the offences u/s 420, 467, 468, 471, and 120-B IPC, and that further investigation of the case is ongoing.
Finally, the Court was informed that data analysis of cell numbers had revealed the contents of the Whatsapp talking and audio clips with the handlers based in Pakistan, and that 81 bank deposit receipts had been given to the Pakistani handlers as evidence of deposit.
Also read:
Offences under the Information Technology Act, 2000
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967