London-based doctor moves Bombay HC against Look Out Circular, FIR
Bombay High Court
Mumbai: UK-based doctor and YouTuber Sangram Patil filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court on Tuesday, challenging the Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against him by the Mumbai Police. The LOC barred him from leaving India amid an investigation into alleged objectionable social media posts targeting BJP leaders.
The doctor, identified as Dr Sangram Patil, a British citizen of Indian origin and native of Jalgaon, arrived in India on January 10 and was initially stopped at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, where he was questioned for around 15 hours. He was again detained on January 16 while attempting to fly to Manchester, with authorities refusing to allow him to leave the country. On Wednesday, January 21, he faced another six-hour interrogation.
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A crime branch officer confirmed that the doctor had approached the Bombay High Court. “The petition seeks quashing of the First Information Report and cancellation of the LOC,” the officer said, adding that the matter is expected to come up for hearing soon, reports Hindustan Times.
Speaking to the Indian Express, the doctor said, “While they had summoned me on Thursday, I requested that they record my statement on Wednesday. They questioned me regarding the device from which I uploaded the post and sought access to my social media accounts. Nowhere have I denied that the post was uploaded by me.” He added, “One of the posts mentioned in the FIR was originally posted by a page called Shehar Vikas Aghadi. I do not know who runs that page, but the person deleted the post. I have approached the Bombay High Court for relief.”
The FIR against the doctor was registered at the NM Joshi Marg police station on December 18, following a complaint by a social media coordinator of the Maharashtra BJP. The complainant stated that he came across an objectionable post online, raised the matter with party leaders, and then approached the police.
According to a police officer, the LOC was issued after the doctor’s earlier appearance before the police on January 15. During that session, he submitted a written statement but allegedly refused to respond to a detailed questionnaire. The police have also sought information from Facebook regarding the identity of the person running the Shehar Vikas Aghadi account.
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The investigation into the matter is currently ongoing, while the Bombay High Court is expected to hear the doctor’s plea challenging the LOC in the coming days.
