Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, who allowed a videographic survey of the disputed ‘Gyanvapi Masjid’ structure, has expressed concerns about his safety after receiving “malicious calls and death threats from international numbers”. Judge RK Diwakar has also demanded a probe into the threats against him.
Earlier, following a similar threat concern voiced by the judge shortly after the Gyanvapi decision in 2022, the Allahabad High Court ordered Y-category protection for him and his family, which eventually switched to X-category.
In a letter to the SSP, the judge stated last week that he has been receiving malicious calls from international numbers, “which is deeply concerning.” He stated that he also voiced his concerns to Bareilly SSP Sushil Chandrabhan Ghule. Judge Diwakar’s friend told TOI that security is insufficient since the two personnel deployed are not equipped with weapons to combat terrorists who carry automatic guns and advanced weaponry.
Justice Diwakar, who was recently transferred to Bareilly, took suo motu action in the 2010 Bareilly riots case and summoned controversial Maulana Tauqeer Raza for trial as the alleged mastermind. On 5th March this year, Additional Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar had said that communal riots in India happen because politicians engage in appeasement of a particular religious community. ADJ Ravi Kumar Diwakar made this statement while summoning radical Islamist cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan in the 2010 Bareilly riot case.
Last year, a Popular Front of India (PFI) agent was apprehended outside the judge’s residence in Lucknow. Shahjahanpur SSP Ashok Kumar Meena then posted a gunner at the residence of Justice Diwakar’s brother, who also serves as an additional district judge. However, the security cover was removed due to the Lok Sabha elections.
Back in 2022, Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar had expressed concerns about his safety after he allowed a videographic survey of the disputed Gyanvapi structure. He said that an atmosphere of fear is being created and that he is worried about his family’s safety as well. “The fear is so much that my family is always concerned about my safety and I am concerned about their safety”, he said.
