Gyanvapi judge claims ‘receiving death threats from international numbers’: Report

Gyanvapi mosque, which sits beside the Kashi Vishwanath temple, is seen from a distance in Varanasi.

Additional sessions judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar has told the Uttar Pradesh police that he was getting “malicious calls and death threats from international numbers”.

The judge, who is known for ordering a videography survey of Varanasi’s Gyanvapi complex in 2022, has requested for an investigation into the threats.

Diwakar, writing a letter to the SSP Sushil Chandrabhan Ghule this week, said that he was receiving threatening calls from international numbers “which is deeply concerning”, TOI reported.

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Earlier, after similar concerns were raised by the judge following the Gyanvapi judgment, the Allahabad High Court had sanctioned Y-category security for him and his family, but later downgraded to X-category.

Diwakar’s present security arrangement consists of two security personnel. One of his aides mentioned that this security is inadequate, as the two personnel lack weapons to counter terrorists armed with automatic guns and modern weaponry, reported TOI.

In 2022, Diwakar had said: “An atmosphere of fear was created by making this civil case into an extraordinary case. The fear is so much that my family is always concerned about my safety and I am concerned about their safety. Concerns about safety are repeatedly expressed by my wife when I am out of the house.”

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Last year, a Popular Front of India (PFI) member was arrested near Diwakar’s Lucknow house. At that time, Shahjahanpur SSP Ashok Kumar Meena had assigned a gunner to guard the house of Justice Diwakar’s brother, who also serves as an additional district judge.

However, the security detail was withdrawn due to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Having recently been transferred to Bareilly, Justice Diwakar took suo motu action on the 2018 Bareilly riots case, summoning senior cleric Tauqeer Raza to stand trial as the alleged mastermind.

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