Evening NEWS
DIGEST
12
Oct.2017: 21 Muharram 1439:Vol:9, No:18
Hindu, Muslim Marriage laws not in consonance
with Prohibition of Child Marriage Act: SC
New Delhi:Highlighting the inconsistencies in
various laws, the Supreme Court has also touched upon separate marriage laws
for Hindus and Muslims and said the provisions make a “mockery” of the
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA). Under the Dissolution of Muslim
Marriages Act, 1939, if a minor girl under the age of 15 years is married under
Muslim law, she can obtain a decree of dissolution of marriage before she
attains the age of 18 years provided that the marriage has not been
consummated.“This provision deals with girls below the age of 15 years who are
got married. Such a girl is required to repudiate her marriage before she
attains majority and she can only repudiate the marriage, if the marriage has
not been consummated.This virtually makes mockery of PCMA,”a bench of Justices
MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta said. Elaborating on the anomaly, the bench said even
in a marriage which is void under PCMA, the girl will have to obtain a decree
for dissolution of her marriage, that too before she attains the age of
majority and only if the marriage has not been consummated. The bench dealt with
another anomalous situation and said that if the husband has forcible sex with
such a girl, the marriage is consummated and the girl child is deprived of her
right to get the marriage annulled.While dealing with provisions of Hindu
Marriage Act, 1955, the bench said, a Hindu girl can file a petition for
divorce on the ground that her marriage, whether consummated or not, was
solemnised before she attained the age of 15 years and she has refused to
accept her marriage after attaining the age of 15 years but before attaining
the age of 18 years.“This is also not in consonance with the provisions of
PCMA, according to which marriage of a child bride below the age of 15 years is
void and there is no question of seeking a divorce. A void marriage is no marriage,”
it said.The bench also highlighted another anomaly in the Hindu Marriage Act
saying that a child bride, who is above 15 years under PCMA, can apply for
annulment of marriage up to the age of 20 years.“…Under Section 13(2)(iv) of
the Hindu Marriage Act, a child bride under the age of 15 years must repudiate
the marriage after attaining the age of 15 years but before she attains the age
of 18 years, i.e. even before she attains majority. The question that remains
unanswered is who will represent or help this child, who has been forced to
marry, to approach the Courts,” the bench said. The top court said it is
obvious that while making amendments to various laws, some laws are “forgotten”
and consequential amendments are not made in those laws.It said that after the
PCMA was enacted both the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Dissolution of
Muslim Marriages and Divorce Act, 1939 should also have been suitably amended,
but this has not been done.“In my opinion, PCMA is a secular Act applicable to
all. It being a special Act dealing with children, the provisions of this Act
will prevail over the provisions of both the Hindu Marriage Act and the Muslim
Marriages and Divorce Act, in so far as children are concerned,” Justice Gupta
said.PTI
Men may face 10 yr-RI, lifer for sex with
minor wives
Centre wanted IPC Section 375 that allows man
to have sex with his below 18-yr wife to stay: The Hindu
New Delhi:Centre wanted IPC Section that
allowed a man to have sex with his wife aged below 15 to stay.IPC Section was read
down by the Supreme Court.There were deliberations on striking down exception 2
to Section 375 (rape) of IPC in MHA and the Women and Child Development
Ministry after an NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) moved the court. NGO run by
Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi wanted the SC to examine the conflict of
Section 375 IPC with Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act as the
latter specifies that sexual intercourse with children aged below 18 amounted
to rape.In its response to the WCD Ministry, the nodal Ministry for such
subjects, the Home Ministry had said, “marriage of minors is an old custom in
India, practised by all social groups, however,MHA will abide by SC
directions.”MHA under UPA govt in 2014 had filed a counter-affidavit against
striking down provision.NDA Govt adopted UPA’s affidavit and supported the IPC
provision. The affidavit said, “It is true that the minimum age of marriage of
a female is 18 years and punishment has been provided in the Prohibition of
Child Marriage Act, 2006 to discourage child marriages. However,it is also a
fact that a large section of the Indian society, which is living in rural
areas, continues to follow such practices as part of their tradition. As per
data collected in National Family Health Survey-III, 46% of women between 18-29
years in India were married before the age of 18. It is also estimated that
there are 23 million child brides in the country. Hence criminalising the
consummation of a marriage union with a serious offence such as rape would not
be appropriate and practical.”
‘Progressive’ Uniform Civil Code draft handed
over to law panel chief: indianexpress
New Delhi:A draft of a potential Uniform Civil
Code, termed the ‘Progressive Uniform Civil Code’ (PUCC) was presented to the
Chairman of the Law Commission, Justice (retd) BS Chauhan by a group of eminent
citizens from various walks of life.Soli Sorabjee, a senior advocate of the
Supreme Court, who was the Attorney General under the previous NDA Govt , wrote
a letter to Justice Chauhan in support of the initiative. He said that “Law
Commission should obviate any apprehension that anything uniform, would be
majoritarian.Besides its recommendations need to be far-sighted and
progressive.”8 eminent citizens, including scholars, a retired senior army
officer, Magsasay award winning activist and a classical singer, writers and a
legal luminary have lent their weight to a draft that purports to provide
“equal rights in marriage, divorce, child custody, guardianship, inheritance
and succession”, that too “irrespective of their gender, sex and sexuality,
religious or cultural traditions or beliefs.” It sets out at the onset to bring
about progressive uniform laws, “in line with globally accepted values of human
rights”.The signatories include TM Krishna (singer and artiste), S Irfan Habib
(historian), Mukul Kesavan (writer), Dushyant (lawyer), Maj Gen S Vombetkere
(retd), Nilanjana Roy (writer), Gul Panag (actor) and Bezwada Wilson (Safai Karamchari
Andolan).Krishna said;“The idea of a UCC has been floated by people for
sometime now. But under the present political dispensation there has been a
conscious attempt to use it to create a Hindu majoritarian country. The targets
of such an agenda are the minorities, which include religious, sexual and
socially marginalised citizens of India whom they want to homogenise as per
upper-caste Hindu norms. This needs to be challenged with robustness. We have
therefore proposed a UCC that is progressive, forward thinking and creative. It
looks at the wonderful possibilities that exist in such an idea.”Magsaysay
Award winners,TM Krishna, Bezwada Wilson and lawyer Dushyant met the Chairman
of the Commission on Wednesday to submit a draft proposal to him for his
perusal.This draft, defines marriage as “a legal union” between straight and
gay couples. If brought into force, Triple Talaq, unequal rights of men and
women to parental property, polygamy, and unequal privileges like Hindu
Undivided Family, which allows for special tax concessions to Hindus would go.
Allow gay marriages, give couples police
protection if needed, suggests draft Uniform Civil Code
Police, NIA so worried about ‘indoctrination’
of Hindu Women? The Wire
New Delhi: The “indoctrination” of Hindu women
by Muslim men is apparently very high up on the list of things the police is
worrying about these days. According to an Indian Express report, that, along
with illegal immigration and Pakistan-based terror groups like
Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, tops the agenda for the annual DGPs
conference to be held near Gwalior.The 3-day event, to be held in the first
week of Dec.at Tekanpur BSF academy, will be attended by Prime Ministry
Narendra Modi, home ministry officials told the newspaper. Cases of inter-community
marriages in Kerala are likely to be taken up in light of the NIA’s remarks in
the Hadiya case. The agency had said that the inter-faith marriage was not an
isolated case and was part of a “pattern”.Meanwhile, an NDTV report says that
NIA has now decided to probe 90 inter-faith marriages in the state. In 23 of
these cases, an NIA official told the channel, the investigators hoped to be
able to link the individuals concerned to the PFI. NIA, Indian Express
reported, has also questioned 2 Hindu women who converted to Islam in relation
to the Hadiya case. They have reportedly said they were lured to convert to
Islam, but not forced to do so. A senior NIA official told the paper the 2
women, both named Athira, were questioned in Kochi last week. “They claimed
that they were lured to convert to Islam but no one forced them. We are corroborating
their statements,”NIA official said.However, activists are less than convinced
by NIA and police’s motivations in this case. J. Devika, a teacher and
researcher at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, told The
Wire, “The whole ‘love jihad‘ discourse, if you look at it without the blinkers
of Islamophobia, especially for Kerala, you will see that it has too many holes
in it. Too many cases don’t fit into that nice, neat mould they’ve created – of
a women being lured by a man who is part of an organised racket of men being
paid to do this. There’s no evidence of this in most cases. And the cases that
have become controversial, including Hadiya’s, the conversion didn’t involve
men, they happened independently.”Manisha Sethi, a teacher at Jamia Milia,
agreed. “These (NIA enquiry and DGP conference agenda) are symptomatic of the
systematic and relentless criminalisation of Muslims through law. The anti-terror
laws have successfully created a suspect community and so wide and all
embracing is its ambit, that even the most intimate relations can be reduced to
the terrorism frame.”
Annual DGP conference: Indoctrination of Hindu
women, illegal migrants high on agenda
Aarushi-Hemraj murder case: Rajesh, Nupur
Talwar acquitted by Allahabad High Court
New Delhi: Allahabad High Court today
acquitted Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, who were convicted by a special CBI court
for murdering their daughter Aarushi Talwar and domestic help Hemraj Banjade in
2008. Talwars had appealed against a special CBI court’s 2013 ruling that held
them guilty for the twin murders and sentenced them to life imprisonment. A
division bench of the high court, comprising justices B K Narayana and AK
Mishra, had previously reserved its judgment on September 7 and fixed today as
the date for the verdict. The couple has been lodged in Dasna jail,
Ghaziabad.Aarushi was found with her throat slit and her head bludgeoned on May
16, 2008. She was 14 at the time. The Noida Police initially suspected Hemraj
for the murder, but a day later found his body on the terrace of the house. On
further investigations, the police held Nupur and Rajesh, both dentists, as
prime suspects in what they suspected was a case of honour killing. They also
found that the murders were done with “surgical precision.” indianexpress
Jay Shah row: PM’s anti-corruption slogans are
‘eyewash’, says Congress
Jammu;Using issue of BJP chief Amit Shah’s son
Jay Shah, the Congress alleged that PM Narendra Modi’s anti-corruption slogans are an
“eyewash” and questioned how he would safeguard the country if he “fails to
notice a scandal”.Congress spokesperson Ajoy Kumar, while demanding a probe
into certain allegations against a company owned by Jay Shah, said PM is faced with a “test”. He also demanded
resignation of Amit Shah as BJP chief.“He (PM) should immediately announce a
probe into the (alleged) increase of fortunes of Jay Shah’s businesses,” Kumar
told reporters in Jammu.Alleging that Modi’s anti-corruption slogans were an
“eyewash”, the Congress spokesman said, “If he (PM) has failed to notice a
scandal, what is expected of such a PM and how will he safeguard the country?” He said
the PM has been maintaining “a studied
silence on every scam”.PTI
Ramdev got huge discounts on land deals after
BJP came to power at Centre: Report
New Delhi: A media report has claimed that
since BJP-led NDA Govt has come to power
at the Centre, our very own ‘Yoga Guru’ Baba Ramdev has been aided with
discounts in land acquisition amounting to as high as $46 million.The yoga guru
is one of the most instantly recognizable figures in India. His company's
traditional foods and health supplements are among the country's fastest-growing
brands.In 2014, he tapped his following as a TV yoga celebrity mobilizing
voters for BJP. In return, leading BJP figures have endorsed Ramdev's vision
for India.Since 2014 Ramdev's company has received more than $46 million in
discounts for land acquisitions in the BJP ruled states, news agency Reuters
said in its report.It is a partnership that reveals the inner workings of
influence and money in Modi's India.Ramdev's business has boomed since the BJP
came to power. Revenues at his consumer goods enterprise are soaring. From
about $156 million in the financial year ending March 2013 to more than $322
million in the year to March 2015.In early May, Ramdev had said that
Patanjali’s revenues in the financial year 2017 had jumped to about $1.6 billion.Since
NDA Govt took office in May 2014,
Patanjali has acquired almost 2,000 acres of land. During the rule of the
previous Congress-led Govt the firm had been selling large tracts of its land
holdings.Two of the four acquisitions exceeding 100 acres were in states
controlled by BJP. A third was in an area where the governing party was in the
process of partnering with the BJP.In BJP-controlled states, Patanjali received
a discount on the land purchased at 77% off market prices.In Nov 2016,
Patanjali recieved 36% discount on 148 acres land in Bandipura, Assam.In Oct
and Dec 2014, 1200 acres of land were given at 100% discount in Chirang,
Assam.In another BJP ruled state Maharashtra, Patanjali received 78% discount
on 234 acres of land in Sept 2016. Patanjali also recieved 25% discount on 300
acres of land in Greater Noida, UP a non BJP ruled state in Nov 2016.In Jan
2017 Patanjali trust was granted access to 52,000 acres of land to develop food
Park in Panchkula.India Samvad
7th Pay Commission: 8 lakh teachers to receive
pay hike of up to 28 % on current salary
New Delhi:Govt gave the biggest Diwali bonanza for about 8
lakh teachers and other equivalent academic staff in higher educational
institutions. Union Cabinet cleared revised pay scales for about 7.58 lakh
teachers and academic staff of higher educational institutions following the
implementation of the 7th Pay Commission. The approved pay scales would be applicable
from Jan.2016, Govt said in a press
statement. The annual Central financial liability on account of this measure
would be about Rs 9,800 crore.The cabinet decision will benefit 7.58 lakh
teachers and equivalent academic staff in the 106 universities and colleges
which are funded by the University Grants Commission and the union HRD ministry
and also 329 universities which are funded by state Govt s and 12,912 Govt and private aided colleges affiliated to state
public universities. "In addition, the revised pay package will cover
teachers of 119 Centrally Funded Technical Institutions viz. IITs, IISc, IIMs,
IISERs, IIITs, NITIE," the statement said. "The implementation of the
pay revision will enhance the teachers' pay in the range of Rs 10,400 and Rs
49,800 as against the extant entry pay due to the implementation of the 6th Pay
Commission for the pay of teachers. This revision would register an entry pay
growth in the range of 22 % to 28 % ,"
the Govt said. For state Govt funded institutions, the revised pay scales
will require adoption by the respective state govts. businesstoday
India worse than Nepal, Bangladesh in tackling
hunger; down 3 ranks at global level: Report
With more than a 5th (21%) of its
children wasted — low weight for height — India ranks 100 of 119 countries in
the 2017 Global Hunger Index (GHI), down three places from 97 last year. Only
in three other countries — Djibouti, Sri Lanka and South Sudan — are more than
20% of children wasted.India ties with Djibouti and Rwanda for the 100th rank,
and with a score of 31.4 of 100 (with 0 being best and 100 the worst), India’s
2017 GHI falls at the high end of the “serious” category. Published by the
International Food Policy Research Institute, with Concern Worldwide,Irish aid
agency, and Welthungerhilfe, German private aid organisation, GHI tracks hunger
worldwide, focussing on countries where hunger is an urgent issue.HT
Himachal elections: Voting on Nov.9, counting
on Dec.18
New Delhi: Elections to 68-seat Himachal
Pradesh Assembly will be held on Nov. 9 and counting will begin on Dec.18, the
Elections Commission of India announced today. Announcing the dates, Chief
Election Commissioner AK Joti said the polling process for Himachal Pradesh
will begin with the issue of election notification on Oct 16, and the last date
for filing nomination is Oct 23.On the question of when elections would be held
in Gujarat, CEC Joti said it will be organised prior to Dec. 18. He said the
poll schedule was planned such that the Himachal result does not impact voting
in Gujarat.The model code of conduct for Himachal comes into effect
immediately, he said. Also, bulk SMSes
and voice messages on phone will come in the purview of election
advertisements, Joti added.And the height of the voting compartment has been
increased to 30 inches. “We will have VVPATs along with EVMs; Commission has
issued instructions to increase the height of the voting compartment to 30
inches,” he said. indianexpress
Congress sweeps Nanded civic polls
MUMBAI: Congress today made a clean sweep in
the Nanded-Waghala municipal corporation elections, winning 49 of the 54 seats
for which results were declared.Results for 54 seats, out of total 81, have
been declared so far.Nanded is Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan’s
home turf and it saw an aggressive campaign, with BJP making all efforts to
wrest control of the civic body.The campaign for the polls witnessed a bitter
war of words among the Congress, BJP and Shiv Sena.Of the results declared so
far, BJP has won three, while Shiv Sena is placed a distant third, winning a
solitary seat. The results indicate a rout of the AIMIM, which had around a
dozen corporators in the outgoing body.Congress has 41 members in the outgoing
civic body, followed by 14 corporators of the Shiv Sena, 11 of AIMIM and NCP’s
10.PTI
BJP wins all 4 civic body bypolls in
Maharashtra
BJP has won all the 4 municipal corporation
by-elections in the state.The by-elections for the four seats in Mumbai, Pune,
Kolhapur and Nagpur civic bodies were held on Wednesday.Of the 4, one seat in
Kolhapur Municipal Corporation was bagged by an outfit, which has a tie-up with
BJP at the local level.PTI
RSS clarifies: No plan to admit women into
shakhas
New Delhi:RSS has rubbished media reports that
the organisation will consider admitting women into its shakhas (congregation).Terming
them as “deliberately concocted baseless reports”, the ideological parent
organisation of the BJP clarified that one of its top leader, Manmohan Vaidya,
only said that the outfit works exclusively with men in shakhas, and through
them it connects with their families.“Shakha work among women is being
conducted by Rashtra Sevika Samiti. In all programs & campaign in society
women also are participating. Women create an atmosphere of cooperation in
families to support RSS,” the RSS tweeted. indianexpress
Malegaon blast case: Accused Sameer Kulkarni
gets bail
Mumbai:A sessions court in Mumbai granted bail
to Sameer Kulkarni on Wednesday, arrested for his alleged involvement in the
2008 Malegaon blast case.The court granted Kulkarni bail on a bond of Rs 50,000
on the grounds of parity, as several other accused in the case including Lt Col
Prasad Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and retired Army Major Ramesh
Upadhyay, have already been given bail.Six persons were killed and nearly 100
injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded in Malegaon town of
Nashik district in 2008. Kulkarni, a printing press employee from Bhopal, was
arrested soon after the blast.According to the prosecution, he is alleged to
have arranged chemicals used in the blast. It was also alleged that Kulkarni had
been to Indore and Nashik to attend meetings in which the conspiracy was
hatched.PTI
At Jaisalmer shelter,no food for Muslims
forced out of village
Barmer:Forced to leave their village in
western Rajasthan following alleged threats from upper caste Hindu villagers,
about 20 Muslim families are now staring at another crisis.The district
administration, which arranged a temporary shelter for them in Jaisalmer, has
failed to provide them food for last two days. Lack of facilities at the
shelter has left them, especially women and children, in the lurch.Around 150
members of these 20 families do not want to return to their homes in Dantal,
around 700 kms from Jaipur. They have urged the district administration to
shift them to another safer location. The families left their village following
a string of events that began with the killing of a Muslim folk singer,
allegedly by a Hindu priest and his brothers. The priest, Ramesh Suthar, who is
a traditional occultist, has been arrested on charges of while his brothers are
absconding.Suthar is accused of killing 45-year-old Aamad Khan for his “poor
singing” during a Navratri function at the village temple on September 27.
Khan’s body was found outside his house the next day. Rajputs allegedly
threatened Khan’s family against going to police to report the killing. Khan’s
family quietly buried the body. hindustantimes
Muslim families flee after Hindu’s murder near
Hardwar
All 17 Muslim families have left the Murgi
Farm area near Haridwar after the murder of a taxi driver, who reportedly had
an affair with a Muslim girl.19-year-old girl’s father and brother have been
arrested for the murder of Lakshman Singh Kalura (32), who was found dead with
his legs crushed along railway tracks close to Railwala town, 13 km from
Haridwar.Tehri Farm, where Kalura lived, and Murgi Farm, where he went to meet
the girl, are both in Raiwala town.According to Raiwala SHO Ashish Gusain,
Kalura went to Murgi Farm on the night of Oct 3 to meet the girl. Girl’s father, who had
reportedly tried to end the affair earlier, dissuaded Kalura from meeting his
daughter that day. There was allegedly an argument between the 2 and Kalura’s
body was found later that night, Gusain said. Raiwala remains tense and Section
144 is in force for about a week now.On Oct 6,after messages related to the
killing circulated on social media, which Gusain said were fake and were spread
to ignite communal discord, at least four shops owned by Muslims were
vandalised by a mob in Kankhal, 15 km from Raiwala.The same day, a makeshift
shop and a wooden cart owned by Muslims were set ablaze in Rishikesh, 13 km
from Raiwala, by unidentified persons.To avoid backlash, other Muslims in Murgi
Farm also started leaving the area on Oct.4. Police are guarding the area to
avoid vandalism of their property by miscreants.“Most of the Muslim families
residing in the Murgi Farm locality were from Sikroda (60 km from Raiwala).
They’ve returned to Sikroda after the incident,” Gusain said. indianexpress
UP: Section 144 clamped in Ballia over
violence after motorbike rams cyclist
Ballia: A petty dispute snowballed into a
conflict in Ballia district of UP on Thursday.Chaos ensued in Ratsar market
after a motorbike collided with a bicycle. Soon after violence broke out
between 2 groups, Section 144 clamped in the area. Incidents of arson were also
reported from the area. Reportedly 20 people have been arrested by the Ballia
Police. Market here has been shut and situation remains tense.On Wednesday,
violence broke out in Rastar town. Sources said that the violence was outcome
of a clash between two groups on Tuesday. Locals rued that the situation went
out of hand due to delay in action by the police.Several shops were looted in
the market and nearly four shops were set ablaze by rioters. Sources said that
today both groups resorted to stone pelting at each other.SP suspended Rastar
SHO Surendranath Sinha for inaction in wake of the violence.On Wednesday,
evening a 17-year-old youth was returning home on his bicycle when speeding
motorbike driven by another rammed his bicycle. After the youth on the bicycle
suffered injuries, the duo got into a heated argument. However, locals
intervened and settled the dispute between the duo.Sources said that moments
later 17-year-old youth was attacked by a group of people in the market. His
family informed the police and rushed him to the nearest hospital.On Thursday,
locals took the youth and protested on the street near Rastar market. The
locals blocked the road. The protest soon turned violent as two groups
confronted each other and resorted to stone pelting.The situation continues to
remain tense in Ballia.IndiaToday
Minor road accident turned into communal
violence in Ballia: East UP new Hindutva laboratory? Tarique Anwar
BRD Medical College: 69 children dead in 4
days
Lucknow:About 2 months after deaths of
children at BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur created a national uproar, the number of deaths at the hospital continue
to remain high. 19 children have died at the hospital in the last 24 hours — 13
newborn deaths, and 6 others suffering from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES),
according to BRD Medical College principal P K Singh. 69 deaths have been
reported at the hospital in the 4 days since Oct.7.In the second week of
August, 60 deaths were reported over 5 days. “Most of these deaths are in NICU
due to various reasons — such as pneumonia, septicemia, asphyxia, etc,” college
principal said. He said a large number of newborns in critical condition are
coming to the hospital from far-off places.“There are 118 children admitted at
NICU at present, of which 13 died due to different medical reasons,” Singh
said. “There are 333 patients admitted in the pediatric ward.” Of these 333
patients, 109 children are suffering from AES, he said.According to hospital
records, the number of patients admitted varied between 333 and 360 over the last
four days, and the number of deaths varied from 12 to 20 each day.indian
express
69 Children Die at BRD Medical College in 4
Days
Wife of Key Witness in Ramgarh Lynching Killed
in "Accident" Outside Court, After Alleged Threats
New Delhi: Alimuddin Ansari was lynched by a
mob in a market at Ramgarh in Jharkhand in broad daylight. On the suspicion of
carrying beef in his vehicle, Ansari was beaten to death, the entire incident
captured on video that was then shared by the assailants and their supporters
on the social media. 2 and a half months later, just as the court was hearing
the case, the wife of a key witness in the case Jalil Ansari was killed and
Alimuddin Ansari’s son injured in an “accident” just about a km away from the
court room. This was after they said they had received death threats in the
court room itself, where they were asked not to depose. The 2 were on a
motorcycle going to the residence of the witness to collect his identity card.
According to eyewitnesses to this incident, they were followed and hit from behind
with the woman dying on the spot, and Alimuddin Ansari’s son now in hospital
with injuries.Local activists said that the family had been receiving threats
for all these weeks, more so from July when a few of the suspects named in FIR
on the lynching had been arrested. Local BJP leader Nityanand Mahato and
Santosh Singh were arrested initially for the murder, with another accused of
the 12 named Chhotu Rana surrendering in the Ramgarh court.Alimuddin Ansari’s
relatives told reporters subsequently that he had been killed in full view of
the shopkeepers and tea stall owners in the busy market place. But that no one
had intervened to try and stop the killing. A special court was set up to try
the case, that has already left one witness dead. The family has been feeling
the pressure since, with local Bajrang Dal and BJP members warning them against
deposing. The family is convinced of foul play and has filed a written
complaint with the police on this: The relatives and local activists insist
that this was not an “accident” but a “deliberate murder” to threaten and
intimidate the witnesses. Just before the 2 left to collect the documents, they
were asked not to testify according to local activists who were with them in
the court premises. The atmosphere of threat and abuse had intensified over the
past few weeks, with Ansari’s family feeling the pressure.Jalil Ansari, grieved
and sobbing, was in court waiting for his wife to return when he was told that
she had met with a fatal accident.Jalil Ansari, an eyewitness to the lynching,
has said that both he and his wife were threatened with dire consequences just
before she left to get his identity papers. Maryam Khatoon, wife of Alimuddin
Ansari said that family was living under deep fear.The Citizen
Ansari, eye witness (Alimuddin lynching) threatened
in court even as wife killed in suspicious hit & run
After school bags,booklets, now buses in UP turn
saffron
New Delhi: Following the distribution of
saffron school bags and booklets, UP CM Adityanath on Wednesday flagged of a
fleet of 50 buses painted saffron, according to reports.The buses will provide
better connectivity to rural areas of the state. The stage for the inauguration
was decorated with saffron-coloured curtains and the buses with
saffron-coloured balloons, reported the Indian Express.The bus service, called
Sankalp, to be run by UP State Road Corporation, is to connect interior areas
of the state, where BJP Govt is planning
to build “gaurav paths,”or link roads to villages of martyred soldiers, HT
reported.The project is part of the Govt ’s plan to provide public transport to
40,000 villages in the next four years, and is going to start with Varanasi,
Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Allahabad, Bareilly and Moradabad. Currently around 1,500
buses under the Sankalp scheme provide transport to 16,000 villages.Over the
last few months,UP Govt has been handing out saffron-coloured certificates,
including to sportspersons in August and for state’s Crop Loan Redemption
Scheme as well, reported Indian Express. Basic Education Dept had distributed
saffron school bags in Govt primary
schools, to replace ones carrying former CM Akhilesh Yadav’s photograph.The Wire
Conduct survey to identify foreign nationals
staying illegally in UP: Adityanath
Lucknow:UP CM Yogi
Adityanath has directed police officials to launch a survey to identify foreign
nationals staying illegally in the state. CM also said that an intensive campaign should be
conducted to check infiltration of suspicious elements from states sharing
borders with UP .“A statewide survey of foreign nationals, who are staying
illegally in the state should be conducted, and they should be sent out,” an
official UP Govt statement said quoting Adityanath. CM issued the directions at a meeting to review
the law and order situation in the state on Wednesday.“There is no place for
criminals in the state, and they should be forced to leave the state.
Inefficient and insensitive police station in-charges should be identified, and
they should be shown the door,” he said.PTI
Pandey’s discharge plea: Court directs Ishrat
Jahan’s mother to file reply
Ahmedabad: special CBI court has granted one
last chance to Shamima Kauser, mother of Ishrat Jahan, to file her reply on an
application moved by ex-DGP P P Pandey, who has sought discharge from the
trial. The court has concluded the hearing advanced by the CBI and Pandey’s
lawyer last month. The court adjourned the hearing till Nov 7, with a warning that it won’t give further
chance for filing a reply. Later her lawyer told the court that reply will be
filed by the next date. Indianexpress
Delhi HC sets aside JNU disciplinary action
against Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and 13 others
In a significant decision, Delhi HC today set
aside disciplinary action taken by JNU against 15 of its students, including
ex-JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar, in connection with a controversial event on
Feb.9 last year in the varsity. Justice V K Rao has asked JNU to hear the
matter afresh after allowing the students to inspect the records and hearing
them. The court told JNU's appellate authority to pass a reasoned order within
6 weeks of hearing the students, who also included Umar Khalid and Anirban
Bhattacharya, that the varsity did not give them due opportunity to defend
themselves against the charge of indiscipline. The students in their pleas had
also challenged their punishment, which ranges from rustication for a few
semesters to withdrawal of hostel facilities. dnaindia
JK:Separatist Andrabi in ‘Beti Bachao, Beti
Padhao’ poster
Srinagar: Kashmir’s hardline separatist woman
leader is a role model on a poster for PM Narendra Modi’s signature “Beti
Bachao, Beti Padhao”, a social campaign for girls to arrest the skewed child
sex ratio in the country.The Govt poster
has the image of a burka-clad Asiya Andrabi, founding leader of
Dukhtaran-e-Millat, who is behind bars since May this year.It also features CM Mehbooba Mufti, Mother Teresa and ex-PM Indira Gandhi, among others. Besides, poster
shows a wrong photograph of Kashmir’s first IPS officer, Ruweda Salam.It was
unveiled at an event organised by the state tourism department at Kokernag in
south Kashmir on Wednesday, which senior ministers and bureaucrats
attended.Andrabi is a hardcore pro-Pakistan separatist leader and her image in
a Govt campaign generated curiosity and
criticism.BJP, which rules the state with coalition partner PDP of CM Mufti,
demanded an inquiry. Party spokesman Sunil Sethi demanded action against people
responsible for the “goof-up”.According to a circular issued by the deputy
commissioner of Anantnag late on Wednesday, child development project officer
Shameema Akhter was suspended. Akhter said that the poster was made by the
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), and Andrabi’s name and image was
used “only in her capacity as a religious leader”.ICDS minister Asiya Naqash
said she was not aware of the mistake and didn’t attend the function at
Kokernag.HT
BJP Fumes As Sajad Lone's Ministry Features
Separatist Andrabi As Woman Achiever
'Braid-chopping' sparks fear and unrest in
Kashmir
Srinagar: A wave of fear has gripped Kashmir after
a series of "braid-chopping" attacks that have resulted in protests
across the region.At least 200 women in Kashmir have reported being attacked by
masked assailants in the last 2 months.The women claimed the attackers sprayed
chemicals on their faces and left them unconscious. Upon waking up, they found
their hair had been chopped off.On Sunday, masked attackers cut off a woman's
braid in Srinagar, sparking angry protests.35-year-old victim said she was
attacked after she responded to someone knocking at the gate of her house. Her
husband - an auto-rickshaw driver - was not home at that time."One of the
masked attackers grabbed me by my hair from behind and sprayed something on my face,"victim,
Gulshan, said."I screamed loudly before fainting. I assumed it was my
husband, but."Gulshan was unable to finish off her sentence. She started
shivering amid inconsolable sobs, sitting on her bed as she relayed Sunday's
events.Hussain Ahmed, a neighbour, was the first to respond to Gulshan's
screams."I saw her face had some sort of liquid on it and her eyes were
fluttering," Ahmed said."We tried contacting the police several
times. Nobody answered our calls or came for help."Pro-independence
groups, who oversaw protests on Monday, see a Govt hand behind the increase in
these attacks."Govt wants to instil fear and divert attention from the
main issue which is unabated killings and other human rights violations
committed by the Indian troops in Kashmir,"Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said.AlJazeera
‘Pak wants peaceful relations with
‘belligerent’ India’
Karachi:Pakistan genuinely wants to have
peaceful ties with its neighbours, including a “belligerent” India, the
country’s Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said, underlining that it
takes “two to tango”.Gen. Bajwa also said that the region surrounding Pakistan
remains captive due to “historical baggage” and “negative competition”.With a
belligerent India on our East and an unstable Afghanistan on our West, the
region remains captive due to historical baggage and negative competition,”
Gen. Bajwa said.He said there is a need for comprehensive effort to pursue the
National Action Plan and remove vulnerabilities well before they turn into
threats.PTI
5 lions attack gaushala in Gujarat, maul 15 cows
A pride of five or more lions went on a
killing spree in a village of Amreli district, mauling as many as 15 cows
within just 45 minutes. The incident happened in Juni Vaghaniya village near
Bagasara town on Monday night as lions attacked cows and calves one after
another in Bhaktidham gaushala.The gaushala is managed by Ramdev Pir temple and
there are nearly 300 cows and calves there. "We suspect there were at
least five lions. They somehow entered the gaushala at around 8.30pm and went
on a killing spree till around 9.15pm," said Kalu Rupareliya, a resident
of the village.INDIATIMES
WORLD
Hamas, Fatah reach deal on employees, Rafah
Crossing
Details have emerged of the agreement reached
between Hamas and Fatah, facilitated by the Egyptian authorities and held at
the headquarters of the Egyptian Public Intelligence. With respect to the issue
of Gaza-based employees, there is an agreement that the legal committee – who
will assess progress in resolving outstanding issues such as salaries and
reappointing employees – will work for a period of 120 days. Payments to staff
in Gaza will be disbursed only when the legal committee has completed its work,
and after they have been integrated into the Palestinian National Authority’s
payroll on a security protection basis.The total number of Gaza civilian staff
and civilian authority personnel is 30, and five new recruits will be employed
to fill in the gaps and vacancies in the education and health sector. Staff in
the health sector and the educational sector will be invited to return to their
work prior to the division in 2007 in accordance with the needs of the
ministries.Rafah crossing, meanwhile, will be under Egyptian security
supervision and there will be follow-up from Major General Hammam Abuzayd, as
well as Palestinian National Authority Director General in charge of crossings.Fatah
and Hamas delegations agreed that Samir Abu-Bee-Al-Sharif will manage the Rafah
crossing.With respect to a Govt of national unity, it is agreed that each
minister will re-establish ministry’s structure in accordance with the
administrative structure and integrate senior staff with new staff. It has been
agreed that General Mohamed Mansour will be responsible for the
re-establishment of the police and national security service.As for public
freedoms – the right to gather, travel, associate and freedom of expression –
the two sides agree to activate the 2011 Cairo public freedoms committee to
report to Egypt on any violations or prosecutions in the West Bank and Gaza. With
respect to the measures taken against Gaza there is agreement that the Fatah
delegation, after its departure from Cairo tomorrow, will ask President Mahmoud
Abbas to issue a decision to renounce all punitive actions taken since March
this year, in particular the supply of medicine, patient transfers and
decision-making. These actions will be taken by Mahmoud Abbas before inviting
factions to the Cairo meeting at the end of the month. There is also an
agreement to increase the electricity supply of Egyptian and Israeli gas. middleeastmonitor
Hamas: Deal reached with Palestinian rival
Fatah
US withdraws from UNESCO over ‘anti-Israel
bias’
Washington: The US announced Thursday that it
will withdraw from the UN Scientific and Cultural Organization, accusing the
body of “anti-Israel bias.”State Dept spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Washington
would establish an “observer mission” to replace its representation at the
Paris-based agency.The US was angered in 2011 when UNESCO members granted
Palestine full membership of the body, despite opposition from its ally Israel.
Washington opposes any move by UN bodies to recognize the Palestinians as a
state, believing that this must await a negotiated Middle East peace deal.But
US President Donald Trump’s administration is also reviewing many of its
multilateral commitments, pursuing what he calls an “America First” foreign policy.Nauert
said the State Dept had notified UNESCO’s outgoing Director-General Irina
Bokova of their decision earlier Thursday.“This decision was not taken lightly,
and reflects US concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for
fundamental reform in the organization, and continuing anti-Israel bias at
UNESCO,”she said. “US indicated to the director-general its desire to remain
engaged with UNESCO as a non-member observer state in order to contribute US
views, perspectives and expertise on some of the important issues undertaken by
the organization, including the protection of world heritage, advocating for
press freedoms and promoting scientific collaboration and education.”AFP
US withdraws from UNESCO
40,000 Israeli settlers storm into Ibrahimi
Mosque
An estimated 40,000 Israeli settlers have
stormed into the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron over the past two days as they mark
the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the Palestinian Information Centre has reported.
Israeli occupying forces imposed a curfew on the indigenous Palestinian
residents of the occupied West Bank city and closed off numerous roads leading
to the mosque in order to allow settlers to enter freely.Some 22,500 Jewish
settlers performed religious rituals at the Muslim holy site on Monday, with a
further 22,000 storming the building yesterday. Extent of the incursion is
unprecedented, but such events are increasingly common. middleeastmonitor
Would-be Egyptian Prez candidate says Sisi’s
popularity has waned: middleeastmonitor
An Egyptian politician and would-be
presidential candidate has said that he hopes to gain at least 10 million votes
if not an outright victory in the 2018 polls. Mohamed Anwar Sadat is an ex parliamentarian
who was dismissed by his peers in Feb. over the alleged leaking to foreign
embassies of a bill on civil society. He is the nephew of the former president
who was assassinated in 1981.Sadat told Anadolu that by running for president
he will not be playing a cosmetic role or legitimising the electoral process.
“Alternation of power is the future, and the era of a president with 97or 99% [of
vote] has ended,” he explained.The popularity of President Abdel Fattah
Al-Sisi, who is expected to run for a second term, is not as high as it was
when he first came to power in 2014, Sadat claimed. “It is my right, as it is
that of others, to take part in a fair competition as long as we meet the
conditions [required for candidacy],”he pointed out.The circumstances
surrounding the elections determine whether he and other possible candidates
decide whether to stand for office. Such circumstances, he suggested, are
related to the impartiality of the electoral commission as well as the
objectivity of the media and state institutions. Another factor, he said, is
the ability of a candidate’s electoral campaign to get their message across without
obstacles.
Russia offers to mediate talks between Saudi
and Iran
Russia has offered to mediate talks between
Saudi Arabia and Iran, a senior official in Moscow has said. Deputy Foreign
Minister Mikhail Bogdanov made his comment when he was asked if Russia has ever
offered to mediate talks between the rival states.He said that several attempts
have been made. “However, we do not impose our intermediary role,” Bogdanov
explained. “Much depends on these 2 countries understanding and, we hope, their
cooperation, especially in the fight against terrorism.”Iran has set several
conditions for resuming diplomatic ties with Saudi, including an end to the
Kingdom’s military operations in Yemen through its Arab coalition. According to
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasimi, 2 countries have planned
visits by delegations from both countries to inspect diplomatic premises but
they have not yet taken place.He said that to improve relations between them,
Saudi Arabia “must end its irrational behaviour towards Iran and region’s
countries” and end its “aggression against the oppressed people of Yemen.” middleeastmonitor
‘UAE plans to invade Qatar using mercenaries’
Qatar’s ex-Deputy PM has revealed details of a
plan funded by UAE to invade his country using mercenaries from American
security service company formerly known as Blackwater. Abdullah Bin Hamas
Al-Attiyah noted that the plan still hasn’t received the green light from
Washington.Al-Attiyah told Spain’s ABC paper that thousands of mercenaries from
Blackwater — now called Academi — are undergoing training in UAE. “Plans for
the invasion led by the Emirati authorities were underway before the
announcement of the economic and diplomatic siege on Qatar by Saudi, Egypt, UAE
and Bahrain,” he explained.According to the Spanish paper, the White House was
supposed to approve the plan, but it did not get the final “green light” from
US President Donald Trump. There was no immediate comment from UAE regarding
the accusation.Huff Post paper quoted unnamed official sources saying that the
foreign mercenaries are being training in the Emirati military base in Liwa.
The same sources also noted that Blackwater has trained 15,000 other
mercenaries, mostly from Colombia and South America. middleeastmonitor
Qatari opposition figures to announce 'Govt-in-exile':report
Qatari exiles, some with Saudi business
interests, are set to declare the formation of a Qatari Govt -in-exile to push
for regime change in Doha, a source briefed on the declaration has told Middle
East Eye.The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said a number of exiled Qataris,
already known publicly as opponents of the ruling emir Tamim bin Hamad
al-Thani, were preparing to announce the establishment of an opposition Govt ,
possibly on Saturday.Qatar has been isolated in the Gulf since June when
neighbouring Arab states broke off diplomatic relations and imposed a
blockade.Since then, a number of events have been held featuring Qatari
dissidents calling for a change of Govt in the country and the creation of a
constitutional monarchy, as well as an end to what they label Qatari
"terrorism" funding.Sultan Bin Suhaim al-Thani, member of ruling
Thani tribe who has previously condemned Qatar's "embrace" of
terrorist organisations, said on Twitter on 4 Oct that there would be a "historic
decision" the following week."I learnt from the Gulf crisis that calm
precedes the storm, and next week will see a historic decision for the
crisis," he wrote. "Remember this tweet very well."He also
tweeted a hashtag referring to "Movement of 13 Oct in Qatar".MEE
understands that the prince is one of two figures leading the new initiative,
the other one being Abdullah bin Ali al-Thani, another dissident Qatari royal
who has been publicly highly critical of current Qatari administration.Abdullah
is the brother of Sheikh Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani, who ruled Qatar until 1972
when he was overthrown by current emir Tamim's grandfather.MiddleEastEye
Bangladesh bans Islamic charities from giving
aid to Rohingya refugees
Bangladesh has banned 3 Islamic charities from
working with Rohingya refugees, a lawmaker said Thursday. Mahjabeen Khaled, an
MP from the ruling Awami League, said the international charities Muslim Aid
and Islamic Relief, and Bangladesh-based Allama Fazlullah Foundation, had been
blacklisted from the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar district.Khaled, who
sits on the parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs, said no
specific allegations had been levelled at the charities.But authorities were
“scrutinising and screening” all aid agencies wanting to contribute to the
massive relief effort in Cox’s Bazar, where more than half a million refugees
had fled to squalid camps since August.“We want to monitor who is giving aid,
and why, for security reasons. Who are funding them, and what they are going to
do with the money?”Khaled told AFP.“They (Rohingya) are vulnerable.A lot can be
done with this Rohingya people. We want to be careful,” she said, adding it
would be “easy” to lure the refugees to militancy.Bangladesh has heavily
curtailed access to the Rohingya camps in recent years, but eased restrictions
last month after nearly a million new refugees poured across the border.Khaled
said Muslim Aid had also been banned from working in the refugee camps in 2012,
when tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled a separate surge of violence in
neighbouring Myanmar. kashmirnarrator
Bangladesh bans 3 NGOs from providing aid for
Rohingya
Rohingya not native: Myanmar army chief
Rohingya are not native to Myanmar and were
brought by British colonialists, the country's powerful army chief told the US
ambassador.Senior General Min Aung Hlaing gave his most extensive account of
the Rohingya refugee crisis in the meeting with American Ambassador Scot
Marciel, according to a report posted on his Facebook page on Thursday.Min Aung
Hlaing, referring to Rohingya by the term "Bengali", which they
regard as derogatory, said British colonialists were responsible for the
problem."The Bengalis were not taken into the country by Myanmar but by
the colonialists," he told Marciel, according to the account of the
meeting posted today."They are not the natives and the records prove that
they were not even called Rohingya but just Bengalis during the colonial
period."aljazeera
Rohingya: Mother says soldiers 'threw my baby
into a fire'
Hundreds of women stood in the river, held at
gunpoint, ordered not to move.A pack of soldiers stepped toward a petite young
woman with light brown eyes and delicate cheekbones. Her name was Rajuma, and
she was standing chest-high in the water, clutching her baby son, while her
village in Burma burned down behind her.“You,” the soldiers said, pointing at
her.She froze.“You!”She squeezed her baby tighter.In the next violent blur of
moments, the soldiers clubbed Rajuma in the face, tore her screaming child out
of her arms and hurled him into a fire. She was then dragged into a house and
gang-raped. By the time the day was over, she was running through a field naked
and covered in blood. Alone, she had lost her son, her mother, her two sisters
and her younger brother, all wiped out in front of her eyes, she says.Rajuma is
a Rohingya Muslim, one of the most persecuted ethnic groups on earth, and she
now spends her days drifting through a refugee camp in Bangladesh in a daze.She
relayed her story to me during a recent reporting trip I made to the camps,
where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya like her have rushed for safety. Her
deeply disturbing account of what happened in her village, in late August, was
corroborated by dozens of other survivors, whom I spoke with at length, and by
human rights groups gathering evidence of atrocities.Survivors said they saw Govt
soldiers stabbing babies, cutting off
boys’ heads, gang-raping girls, shooting 40-millimetre grenades into houses,
burning entire families to death, and rounding up dozens of unarmed male
villagers and summarily executing them.Much of the violence was flamboyantly
brutal, intimate and personal — the kind that is detonated by a long, bitter
history of ethnic hatred.“People were holding the soldiers’ feet, begging for
their lives,” Rajuma said. “But they didn’t stop, they just kicked them off and
killed them, they chopped people, they shot people, they raped us,they left us
senseless.”Human rights investigators said that Burma's military killed over1000
civilians in the state of Rakhine, and possibly as many as 5,000, though it
will be hard to ever know because Burma is not allowing the UN or anyone else
into the affected areas.The Independent
Myanmar blocks UN investigators from areas of
reported atrocities
Iraq orders arrest of Kurd Referendum panel
members
An Iraqi court has issued arrest warrants
against the president and members of the Kurdistan Region’s High Electoral and
Referendum Commission which oversaw the referendum on separation from Iraq.A
spokesman for the high judicial council, Judge Abdulstar Bayraqdar, said “Rusafa
Investigation Court has issued an arrest warrant for the head and members of
the commission who supervised referendum in Kurdistan Region”.
Kurd fighters in Iraq briefly block roads to
Mosul
Kurdish Peshmerga forces blocked roads from
Iraqi Kurdistan to the country's 2nd city Mosul for several hours in
response to Iraqi troop movements, a senior Kurdish military official said."2
main roads connecting Erbil and Dohuk to Mosul were cut off on Thursday with
sand embankments as a precautionary measure after we detected an increase in
deployments and movements of Iraqi forces near the frontline with the
Peshmerga," official told AFP..The move came after Kurdish authorities
said late on Wednesday they feared Iraqi Govt forces and allied paramilitary
units were preparing to launch an assault on the autonomous northern region. aljazeera
FLASH:
VIEWS & NEWS
‘I still don’t understand my crime’: UP
teenager Zakir jailed for Facebook posts in April seeks answers
PM Modi faces criticism as India loses
‘fastest-growing major economy’ tag:Bloomberg
$6,900 paid to Israeli soldier who killed injured
Palestinian
With Modi in crisis, project Yogi goes national:
Swati Chaturvedi
Coach overcrowded,100 escaped: HC on commuting
death sentence of 11 convicts to life imprisonment
As violence against Dalits mounts in Gujarat,
it is worth recalling India of Ambedkar’s dreams:Sukhadeo Thorat
Sorry Minister Saheb, I Will Continue to Treat
Poor Patients from Bihar or Anywhere Else:Shah Alam Khan
4000% Increase In Loans To Amit Shah’s Son,
Jay Shah: Cronyism Or Deserving?nowbreaking.in
http://nowbreaking.in/india/4000-increase-in-loans-to-amit-shahs-son-jay-shah-cronyism-or-deserving/
Compiled and edited by
Anwarulhaq (Released at: 7:59 PM)
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment