32-year-old held for attending hearing in undergarments, smoking and drinking

NEW DELHI: In a bizarre courtroom drama, a 32-year-old repeat offender turned a virtual hearing into a spectacleappearing half-dressed, puffing cigarettes, and downing alcohol on camera. Mohammad Imran, a history-sheeter with over 50 cases pending against him, claimed that he did it out of curiosity. He said that he turned to crime to fund his drug and alcohol addiction. He was released from jail in September 2021. A case was registered on September 22 at Cyber North police station on the complaint of Ahalmad of the court of Anshul Singhal of Tis Hazari. It was alleged that on September 16 and 17, an unknown person joined the video conferencing of the court proceedings using the name Akib Akhlak. During the proceedings, he appeared in his undergarments and was seen smoking and drinking. Despite repeated directions to leave, he continued to remain in the proceedings, DCP (North) Raja Banthia said. The devices used in the offence have been recovered, Banthia added. During investigation, it was found that the accused had been using fake email IDs, frequently changing addresses. Through local intelligence, it came to notice that the accused was residing at Gokulpuri. Imran said that he regularly attended his court trials. One day, someone outside the court showed him a video conferencing app and shared a court meeting ID, he claimed. Out of curiosity, he began joining the court proceedings.