Additional Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, who ordered a videography survey of Varanasi’s Gyanvapi complex in 2022, has once again reported receiving death threats, this time from international phone numbers. According to a report by Times of India, Justice Diwakar, who has been recently transferred to Bareilly where he has initiated suo motu action on the 2018 Bareilly riots case, has told the Uttar Pradesh police that he has been receiving “malicious calls and death threats from international numbers”. Justice Diwakar has ordered a summon of senior cleric Tauqeer Raza to face trial for being the alleged mastermind in the 2018 Bareilly riots case.
Justice Diwakar, in a letter to SSP Sushil Chandrabhan Ghule, said the threat calls from international numbers which he has been receiving are “deeply concerning”. After similar threat concerns were raised by the justice soon after the Gyanvapi judgment, the Allahabad High Court ordered Y-category security for him and his family but later downgraded to X-category.
At present, the security of Justice Diwakar includes two security personnel. The ToI report mentioned the judge’s aides saying the security is inadequate, as the two personnel lack weapons to counter terrorists armed with automatic guns and modern weaponry. In 2023, a Popular Front of India (PFI) member was arrested near Justice Diwakar’s Lucknow house. At that time, Shahjahanpur SSP Ashok Kumar Meena had deployed a gunman to guard the house of Justice Diwakar’s brother, who also serves as an additional district judge. However, the security cover was withdrawn due to the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
