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Panels in 23 High Courts linking litigants to volunteers for free legal aid: Arjun Ram Meghwal

New Delhi, Dec 4 (IANS) As part of ‘Nyaya Bandhu’ (Pro Bono Legal Services) programme, panels have been made functional at 23 High Courts to link persons eligible to avail free legal aid with volunteer lawyers, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, in reply to a question, said, “As on November 30, 9,776 Pro Bono Advocates have registered on Nyaya Bandhu Portal.”

“In order to bolster the culture of Pro Bono among young legal minds, Pro Bono Club sub-scheme has been operationalised across 109 law schools in the country,” he said.

The Government launched the Nyaya Bandhu programme in 2017, intending to advance the culture of voluntary service by legal professionals and create a framework for the dispensation of offering pro bono legal services across the country, he said.

It links the persons eligible to avail free legal aid under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987, with the pro bono lawyers. The programme was integrated into a citizen-centric scheme named Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice in India (DISHA) for the period of five years (2021-2026), he said.

One of the key objectives under the Nyaya Bandhu (Pro Bono Legal Services) programme is to register advocates who voluntarily offer their time and services for case registration and assistance in the court, said Meghwal.

In addition, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been established under the Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987, to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of society, including beneficiaries covered under Section 12 of the LSA Act, said the MoS.

He said that for this purpose, the Legal Services Institutions have been set up from the Taluk Court level to the Supreme Court. However, NALSA and Legal Services Institutions are not involved in those cases where Pro bono services are rendered by advocates on their own.

–IANS

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Police recreate Ketan Agarwal murder scene at Lohagad Fort; fibre dummy thrown into 300-ft gorge

New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) Pune Rural Police on Wednesday recreated the crime scene in the Ketan Agarwal murder case at Lohagad Fort in Maharashtra as part of their ongoing investigation.

During the exercise, investigators threw a fibre dummy matching the victim’s height and weight into a gorge more than 300 feet deep to reconstruct the sequence of events. Exclusive visuals of the exercise have been accessed by IANS.

On Tuesday, the police conducted a ‘gait analysis’ of the second accused, Chetan Chaudhary.

Siya Goyal and Chetan Babulal Chaudhary are accused of murdering her fiancé, 26-year-old real estate businessman Ketan Agarwal, at Lohagad Fort on June 18.

This procedure aimed to determine exactly how and where Chetan Chaudhary moved on the day of the incident.

The police also recovered the trousers Chetan was wearing on the day the crime occurred.

Meanwhile, a Maharashtra court on Monday granted Pune Rural Police five more days of custody of Siya Goyal and Chetan Babulal Chaudhary.

The accused were produced before the Vadgaon Maval court on Monday after the expiry of their initial police remand.

Seeking an extension, investigators informed the court that several crucial aspects of the probe remain incomplete. Police had said they needed to recreate the crime scene with both accused present, trace Chetan’s movements after the incident, examine phone conversations exchanged following the murder, and recover evidence linked to the destruction of Ketan’s passport.

According to investigators, Siya had allegedly torn and burnt the passport after stealing it during a stop at a food mall while the family was travelling to Mumbai airport for a planned pre-wedding trip to Bali.

The Bali visit was cancelled after Ketan discovered his passport was missing at the airport. Police believe the passport was deliberately removed to prevent the couple from travelling together. Earlier, the driver who ferried the group claimed Siya had returned to the parked vehicle alone during the journey, allegedly taking some belongings from inside.

Meanwhile, an old video of Ketan Agarwal dancing with his and his fiancée Siya’s parents at a family function in Pune has also emerged. The video dated May 7, a little over a month before Ketan Agarwal was killed, shows the 26-year-old celebrating and rejoicing with the relatives. The video has been posted on Instagram by singer Reetu Sharma, who performed at the said family function.

Reetu Sharma shared two videos on her Instagram account on Tuesday night. The first video shows Ketan’s father, Vishal Agarwal, and Siya’s parents — Pravin Goyal and Pooja Goyal — standing close to each other along with other relatives. Ketan’s father sings the famous Bollywood song “Yamma Yamma” along with the singer Sharma.

Everyone sways to the lyrics: “Bas aaj ki raat hai Zindagi. Kal hum kaha tum kahan (Life is all that is tonight. Who knows where we will be tomorrow).”

Seconds later, Ketan is seen dancing with Siya’s father, Pravin, to “Main nikla gaddi leke” from the film ‘Gadar’. They seem happy together.

–IANS

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NIA arrests one more absconding accused in Bihar AK-47 rifle recovery case

New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a joint operation with Bihar Special Task Force (STF) arrested one more absconding accused in a case pertaining to the recovery of an AK-47 rifle and live ammunition in 2024, an official said on Sunday.

Karamullah, son of Abdul Gaffar and resident of Saran district in Bihar, was arrested on Saturday, the NIA said.

The NIA added that Karamullah had conspired with other co-accused persons to smuggle sophisticated prohibited-bore weapons from Nagaland to Bihar, with the intention of disrupting public peace and safety and endangering national security.

The case was initially registered dated May 7, 2024, pertaining to the recovery of one AK-47 rifle with lens and live ammunition from Murghatiya Bridge at Muzaffarpur by Fakuli Police Station, and the arrest of four accused persons.

“After completion of investigation, the NIA filed its first supplementary chargesheet against four accused persons, namely Vikash Kumar, Satyam Kumar, Devmani Rai and Ahmad Ansari, under Section 120B of the IPC and Sections 13 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, on May 8, 2025,” the NIA said.

“The second supplementary chargesheet was filed against one accused, namely Manjoor Khan, under Section 120B of the IPC, Sections 25(1AA), 26 and 35 of the Arms Act, and Sections 13 and 18 of the UA(P) Act, on February 20, 2026,” the NIA added.

The third supplementary chargesheet was filed against one accused, Kundan Kumar alias Kundan Bhagat, under Section 120B of the IPC, Sections 25(1AA), 26 and 35 of the Arms Act, and Sections 13 and 18 of the UA(P) Act, on April 15.

In case filed immediately, accused Bhairaw Tripathi, son of Jagat Narayan Tripathi and a resident of Sahebganj in Muzaffarpur, was recently arrested from Muzaffarpur on August 19.

–IANS

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