Judge handling Gyanvapi survey alleges receiving international calls

Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track Court I) Ravi Kumar Diwakar, who had passed an order to conduct a videography survey of Varanasi’s Gyanvapi complex in 2022, has complained of getting calls from international numbers, police said on Thursday.

Bareilly Senior Superintendent of Police Ghule Sushil Chandrabhan said that he has received a letter from Judge Diwakar. In the letter, Judge Diwakar said that he had been getting calls from international numbers, causing deep concerns following which he approached the police.

Judge Diwakar told the police that he received a call from an international number on April 15 at 9.45 pm but he did not answer it. The calls have continued since then, even though he never answers them, the SSP said.

The cyber cell and the Kotwali police have been instructed to investigate the matter, he said. Judge Diwakar is known for his strong verdicts. In Bareilly, he gave death sentences to eight people. He also initiated a suo motu action on the 2018 Bareilly riots case and summoned the alleged mastermind, cleric Tauqeer Raza to face trial.