VIJAYAWADA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested two more persons for making derogatory comments and issuing threats on social media to high court and its judges, taking the total count of arrested persons to seven.
The latest arrests came days after the Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana made some observations during the hearing of a petition, seeking protection of judges in view of the murder of a judge at Dhanbad in Jharkhand.
The latest arrested accused — Pattapu Aadarsh and Lavanuru Samba Siva Reddy — were produced before a judge in Guntur in AP on Sunday.
The CBI took over the investigation after the Andhra Pradesh high court transferred the case from the Crime Investigation Department (CID) to it. The CID had registered 12 FIRs after a complaint was lodged by the high court registrar-general. However, the CID has failed to make any headway in the case and the high court transferred case to the central agency.
On November 11, 2020, the CBI registered a case against 16 persons under sections 153(A), 504, 505(2) and 506 of IPC and section 67 of IT Act. Nearly eight months after registration of the case, the CBI made first arrest in the case on July 9, 2021. So far, the CBI has traced 13 out of 16 accused and three of them were found to be living outside the country. Out of the 13 traced, the CBI examined 11 persons and arrested five of them so far.
The CBI said in a statement issued on Sunday said that the evidence against remaining traced persons is being evaluated for further necessary legal action. The CBI said several incriminating documents have been recovered during the searches conducted in the premises of the accused.
One accused using a passport under different name
They have also found that one of the accused has been using a passport with a name different from his real identity.
With regard to the larger conspiracy to malign the judiciary, the CBI has said that they have examined certain persons including an MP and an ex-MLA. It has said that the role of other persons who were not named in the FIR is also being examined pertaining to the conspiracy angle. The CBI has further said that the investigation is still underway and are also taking the support of Interpol to collect evidence from abroad.
