Delhi Police registered an FIR against Delhi-based advocate Mehmood Pracha where he and his associates have been accused of allegedly abusing and intimidating the police team that searched his office premises for 15 hours straight on 24 and 25 December.
The FIR has been registered by the police’s Counter Intelligence Unit under Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) of the Indian Penal Code, The Indian Express reported.
The Quint reached out to Pracha’s office regarding the FIR. His legal firm, Legal Axis, is handling several cases of victims of the Delhi riots including UAPA accused Gulfisha Fatima’s case.
“I have not been intimated about such an FIR yet. We had called the police first on 24 December and raised our complaint for an FIR to be registered against them. My complaint against them was regarding cheating, impersonation, hacking and taking material from my computer in an unauthorised fashion. However, our complaint has not been converted into an FIR, but due to the forces involved in this affair there will be not one, but hundreds of FIRs registered against me to hide the truth from coming out.”
The police was granted a search warrant from the court on 22 December and started the search around 12 noon on 24 December. The Special Cell's search warrant issued on 22 December to the investigating officer of FIR 212/2020 reads: "Whereas information has been laid before me of the commission of offences punishable under Section 182, 193, 420, 468, 471, 472, 473, 120B and it has been made to appear to me that incriminating data comprising false complaint and meta data of outbox of email account which was used to send incriminating documents are essential to the investigation of FIR 212/20 of Police Station Special Cell, New Delhi."
The special cell team was present for 15 hours. During this time, Pracha claims he and his colleagues were manhandled. The search culminated in him moving court on 25 December to ask for a copy of the videography of the search. Pracha told the court that he was threatened by the investigating officer and one Mr Rajiv with a false case against him.
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