Evening NEWS
DIGEST
11 April 2018:23 Rajjab 1439:Vol:9, No:162
INDIA
Kathua chargesheet: In JK child gangrape,
rituals, a chilling invite and a police cover-up
New
Delhi: 8-year-old was gangraped thrice inside Devasthan or prayer hall, after
the mastermind had “performed rituals”. One of the rapists was called from
Meerut to “satisfy his lust”. The girl was confined using sedatives, then
strangled and hit on the head twice with a stone — “in order to make sure” she
was dead. But not before another accused, a police personnel, asked the others
to “wait because he wanted to rape” her one last time.And all this, to
“dislodge” a group of Bakherwal Muslim nomads from Rasana village in Kathua
near Jammu.These are just some of the chilling details in 18-page chargesheet
filed Monday by J&K Police’s Crime Branch against the 8 accused in the rape
and murder of the girl who went missing from near her house in Rasana on Jan.10
— her body was found 7 days later in the forests nearby.In the days that
followed, the chargesheet states, the accused paid Rs 1.5 lakh as a bribe to
local policemen who knew where the girl was kept and helped cover up the crime
initially.The killing had sparked outrage across J&K with Govt handing over the case to the Crime Branch
following protests from the Bakherwal community. The case took a communal turn
in Kathua, where an outfit called Hindu Ekta Manch was set up by politicians in
support of the accused. Among those who backed the Manch were Lal Singh and
Chander Prakash Ganga, 2 BJP ministers in CM Mehbooba Mufti’s Cabinet.According
to chargesheet, the mastermind behind the rape and murder is retired revenue
official Sanji Ram who is among the eight arrested, along with his son Vishal
Jangotra and nephew, believed to be a juvenile. Crime Branch had also arrested
SPOs Deepak Khajuria and Surinder Kumar, a Rasana resident Parvesh Kumar,
Assistant Sub Inspector Anand Dutta and Head Constable Tilak Raj in the case.
Dutta and Raj were arrested on charges of attempting to destroy
evidence.According to the chargesheet, the girl’s father Mohd Yousuf lodged a
complaint on Jan12 at Hiranagar station that his daughter who “had gone for
grazing horses in the nearby forest at about 1230 hrs on Jan.10” had not
returned. A FIR was lodged and police arrested Ram’s nephew, leading to
allegations of a cover-up by Bakherwal community. On Jan.22, the case was
transferred to Crime Branch.The chargesheet states that Ram masterminded the
conspiracy to kidnap and, later rape and kill the girl. It states that he made
SPO Khajuria and the juvenile a “part of the conspiracy and assigned them tasks
separately and individually”.indianexpress
Kathua chargesheet reveals gory details of how
8-year-old was raped, bludgeoned
Kathua rape, murder case was a plot to
dislodge Muslim Bakarwal community: J&K Police chargesheet
Raped, sedated, raped 'one last time':
Chilling details from Kathua chargesheet
Omar on Kathua rape-murder: ‘Act against on
BJP ministers who emboldened lawyers’
Srinagar: Hours after J&K Police
registered a case against lawyers who tried to prevent Crime Branch officials
from filing a chargesheet in the Kathua rape and murder case, National
Conference working president Omar Abdullah said that lawyers got emboldened by
actions of two ministers in PDP-BJP coalition Govt in the state and asked the Govt whether action will be taken against them.NC
also demanded transfer of the case from Kathua to any other court for a free
and fair trial in the backdrop of lawyers’ protests.indianexpress
Unnao alleged rape: BJP MLA holds grip on village, so girl who alleged rape has to hide
Unnao:The uproar over the death in custody of
the father of a 17-year-old girl who alleged she had been raped by BJP MLA
Kuldeep Singh Sengar saw UP police arrest Atul Singh, the MLA’s brother. On
Tuesday, he became the fifth person to be held — and sent to judicial custody —
in connection with the brutal assault on the girl’s father that led to his
death early Monday. Police also promised to question MLA as part of their
probe.But such is the clout of Sengar and his family, so complete their grip on
the village of Makhi, barely 15 km from Unnao, that the girl and her family
have refused to return home, saying they fear for their lives.“Following a
request made by the victim’s family, I have arranged accommodation for them in
Unnao,”DM said.Girl’s mother, who was waiting at the residence of DM, said: “We
will not return to the village until the situation is normal. MLA and his
associates must be planning something. No one in the village will dare support
us. No one will raise his voice against MLA and his family. They hold all
administrative posts in the village.”MLA’s wife, Sangeeta Singh Sengar, is Unnao
zila panchayat head while Atul Singh’s wife Archana Singh is village pradhan.indianexpress
Unnao rape case: SIT probe only about
custodial death, not gangrape
SIT of UP Police has begun investigating Unnao rape
case, and the custodial death of the rape victim’s father. SIT team visited the
victim's village on Wednesday and inquired about her and her family members.
But their inquiries were only about the custodial death, and not about the
gangrape.The police have arrested Atul Sengar, the brother of the accused BJP
MLA Kuldeep Sengar. Cases were filed under IPC Sections 323 (causing hurt) and
504 (intentional insult). Later, Section 302 for murder was added to his FIR.SIT
team, led by the ADG of Lucknow Zone, Rajiv Krishna, stayed with the family for
a long time. Later ADG Rajiv Krishna said, "We are investigating every
aspect. By the evening, interim report will be sent to the state Govt ."nationalheraldindia
Video: days before his custodial death, Unnao teen’s
father had named BJP MLA’S brother for assault
Rape survivor sends video to president, CJI against
Yogi govt’s move to withdraw case against ex-BJP MP, minister
Lucknow:While a teenage rape survivor from
Unnao district has been running from pillar to post in the Yogi Adityanath Govt
seeking arrest of the accused local BJP MLA Kuldip Singh Sengar, a 39-year-old
rape survivor from Badaun has sent both video message and written complaint to
the President of India and CJI against the Yogi Govt ’s move to withdraw the
rape case she had filed against former three-time BJP MP and union minister
Swami Chinamayanand in 2011.In the video message sent on Tuesday to President
Ram Nath Kovind, UP Governor Ram Naik
and Chief Justice of India Deepak Mishra, she has sought justice.“BJP’s slogan
is ‘Beti ke samman me, BJP maidan me’, but the same party is taking an
initiative to withdraw my case without even waiting for the court order. I have
submitted an affidavit in the court seeking an arrest warrant against the
accused,’ TOI has quoted the rape survivor woman as saying in the video. Rape case
against Chinmayanand was filed at Shahjahanpur Kotwali police station in 2011
and police had filed a charge-sheet against him next year. However, Swami,
three-time former BJP MP who was Union Home Minister for State in the Atal
Bihari Vajpayee Govt , managed to get a stay on his arrest from the Allahabad
High Court and the case is still pending there.caravandaily
Survivor sends video to President, UP
governor, CJI seeking justice
UP Wakf Board says Shah Jahan gave it Taj
ownership, SC asks for papers
Agra:UP Sunni Wakf Board, which is battling
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for ownership of Taj Mahal, was on Tuesday
asked by the Supreme Court to produce documents signed by Mughal emperor Shah
Jahan to prove its claim over the monument. The board has a week to produce the
signatures of the emperor who died in 1666, almost 18 years after the monument
he built in the memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, was
completed.Hearing a 2010 appeal filed by the ASI, the court directed the board
to produce documents in support of its claim that none other than Shah Jahan
declared the Taj a wakf property.“Who in India will believe it belongs to the
wakf board? These kind of issues must not waste the time of the Supreme Court,”
a bench led by CJI Dipak Misra told the board.Wakf is an endowment of land or
property by a Muslim for a religious, educational or charitable purpose.In
2010, ASI had petitioned the court against the wakf board’s July 2005 decision
ordering that the Taj be registered as the latter’s property. There is a stay
on the order.Appearing for the board, senior advocate VV Giri said Shah Jahan
executed a wakfnama in favour of the board, a submission challenged by ASI.
“Then you show us the original deed executed by Shah Jahan. Show us the
signature,” the bench shot back, granting a week’s time on Giri’s request.CJI
Misra, however, had a few questions for the board.“How did he (Shah Jahan) sign
the wakfnama? He was in jail and used to view the monument while in custody,”
the country’s top judge said.The bench also reminded the board that 17th
century monument and other heritage structures built by the Mughals passed on
to the British after the end of the Mughal rule. After Independence, the
monuments vested with Govt and were
being managed by ASI. ASI advocate ADN Rao said there was no wakfnama. HT
Wakf board’s Taj Mahal claim draws SC retort
Sohrabuddin encounter case: 2 witnesses deny
CBI’s abduction theory, say ‘10-12 days before Prajapati’s arrest, he was at
our home’
Mumbai: Denying their statement made before
CBI in 2011 in connection to the Sohrabuddin Shaikh alleged fake encounter
case, 2 prosecution witnesses on Tuesday told the court that Tulsiram Prajapati
— Sohrabuddin’s associate, who was allegedly killed in 2006 — had stayed at
their home in Bhilwara for “10 to 12 days” before he was arrested by the
Udaipur police in Rajasthan on Nov.29, 2005. CBI has claimed that Prajapati was
abducted along with Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausarbi from a luxury bus on
Nov.23, 2005 by policemen from Gujarat while they were on way to Sangli from
Hyderabad. Sohrabuddin was killed in a staged encounter on Nov.26, 2005 in
Gujarat, subsequent to which, Kausarbi was also killed. Prajapati, a witness to
the abduction, was killed on Dec.26, 2006, also in a staged encounter, the
agency had alleged.The witnesses on Tuesday contradicted CBI’s case that the
three were abducted at the same time from the bus by alleging that Prajapati
was then at their home. CBI had maintained that Prajapati was present in the
bus on Nov.23 before his arrest 6 days later.Special Public Prosecutor BP Raju,
however, did not declare the two witnesses hostile.On Tuesday, a father-son duo
from Rajasthan, deposed as prosecution witnesses 68 and 69. The father told the
court that he had built a house in Bhilwara in Rajasthan in 2004, where he
lived along with his wife and 2 sons. In 2005, he was transferred to Udaipur
and while he relocated, he visited his family every few weeks in Bhilwara.He
added that in March 2005, one room in their house was let out to a man claiming
to be Samir Prajapati, who started a vegetable business there. “In November
2005… it was the end of the month, I received a call in Udaipur from my wife.
She said that Samir has been arrested and that his real na-me was Tulsiram. The
police told her that he was wanted for murder,” witness told the court. Son,
who was present at the time of Prajapati’s arrest in Bhilwara in 2005, told the
court that towards the end of Nov.2005,Prajapati was residing at their home.
Defense advocate Wahab Khan asked the witness, “Was Prajapati at home for over
15 days?” witness promptly replied in the positive. The witness added that Prajapati
was home for over 15 days before his arrest in 2005.indianexpress
Prajapati alleged fake encounter case: Witness
fails to appear in court
“Modi govt responsible for my death”:
Maharashtra farmer commits suicide
A farmer in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra
committed suicide and has held Narendra Modi Govt responsible for his death. In his suicide
note, the farmer has mentioned the debt and wrote, “I am committing suicide due
to the loan burden and Modi Govt is
responsible for my suicide.”50-year-old farmer Shankar Bhaurao Chayare, a
father of three daughters, swallowed pesticide in his village Rajuwadi of Ghantanji
taluka, Yavatmal. According to reports, Chayare first tried to hang himself but
could not succeed in doing so, then he swallowed pesticide to give up his life.
Soon, he was rushed to the Govt medical
college at Yavatmal, but doctors declared him dead at 1.30pm on
Tuesday.Yavatmal district is infamous for most farmers suicide. In Sept.2017, a
farmer named Prakash Mangaonkar committed suicide after writing “Modi Sarkar”
and “Suicide of Debt” on 2 leaves which were found along his dead body. Chayare
urged state’s CM Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj
Ahir for looking after his family member.Following his death, villagers under
alleged leadership of activist Devanand Pawar surrounded the Ghatanji Police
Station and raised demand to file an FIR against Narendra Modi. The protestors
refused the post-mortem of deceased Chayare until the case is registered.Pawar
told Indian Express, “The villagers are determined not to allow post-mortem
till the offense is registered. A case of at least abetment to suicide can be
immediately registered since the farmer has nearly named Modi to be the man,
who has forced him to commit suicide. Don’t the police register such offenses
in general in cases where the abettor’s name is mentioned in the suicide note?”
TCN
Fascism, Aadhaar, Demonetisation and Justice
Loya: Arundhati Roy raises concerns about state of the country
Booker Prize awardee Arundhati Roy has raised
serious concerns about the ‘political dictatorship’ within the country and has
urged political thinkers to come together and think of a solution to prevent
the dark future staring at the country. “Today, we are living in a situation of
extreme communalisation. So, each time we are made to divide ourselves in all
sorts of way—along cast, gender, community, ethnicity, language,” said Roy during
the first state congress of the Civil Liberties Committee – Telangana on
Saturday, according to TOI.She was addressing a session called ‘Hindu fascism
and democratic rights’. She also came down heavily on the BJP’s demonetisation
move and termed it as “an act of fascism, of a kind that has never been done
before ever, anywhere”. TOI reports that the activist author also termed
Aadhaar as a new form of surveillance and spoke about how “every individual of
a whole nation” is being controlled by this new form of surveillance. She also
said that this is leading India on the path of “micro-fascism” and highlighted
the oppression of Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis. She also brought up the death
of Justice Loya under suspicious circumstances and believes that the Supreme
Court’s failure to take an action was unsettling. timesnownews
Manmohan Singh: Atrocities against minorities,
Dalits increasing; could harm democracy if unchecked
Chandigarh:Former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh has insisted that
atrocities against minorities and Dalits were on the rise in the country and
warned that such incidents could harm democracy if unchecked. Delivering the
first SB Rangnekar Memorial lecture at the Panjab University, his alma mater,
here, Singh also called for rejection of “divisive policies and politics”.“I
need not dwell long on the current deep concern that attempts are being made to
divide the Indian people on the basis of religion and caste, language and
culture. Atrocities against minorities and Dalits are increasing. If unchecked,
these tendencies can only harm our democracy. As a people, we must strongly
reject divisive policies and politics,” he said.The former PM , while
addressing the gathering on the topic: The Seventieth Anniversary of our
Independence – Strengthening the roots of our Democracy, also said a “dangerous
and false binary” of choosing between freedom and development was surfacing in
the country’s political discourse and that it must be rejected. He expressed
concern over the alleged attempts being made to divide people.indianexpress
CJI will decide allocation of cases,
constitution of benches: CJI led SC bench
rejects PIL
New Delhi;Dismissing a PIL seeking framing of
guidelines for allocation of cases and constitution of benches, the Supreme
Court on Wednesday said the CJI is “first among equals” and has the
constitutional authority to decide the same.
A bench comprising CJI Dipak
Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud dismissed a PIL seeking
framing of guidelines for rational and transparent allocation of cases and
constitution of benches to hear them.Referring to constitutional schemes,
Justice Chandrachud said, “the Chief Justice of India is first among equals and
has the authority to decide allocation of cases and setting up of benches”.A
week earlier, senior advocate and former law minister Shanti Bhushan had filed
PIL in the Supreme Court for clarification on the administrative authority of
CJI as the ‘master of roster’ and seeking laying down of principles and
procedures to be followed in preparing the roster for allocation of cases to
benches.indianexpress
Dismissing Petition as “Scandalous” CJI Led SC
Bench Rules: “Chief Justice Is an Institution Himself”
Supreme Court rebuts Centre’s arguments on
privacy infringement in Aadhaar case
New Delhi; Supreme Court has rebutted the
Centre’s defence that collection of biometric details has not infringed the
right to privacy of the citizens even if these were collected before the
enactment of a law on Aadhaar in 2016.While the Govt referred to verdicts in two earlier cases
relating to privacy and said the top court had then held that privacy was not a
fundamental right, the SC bench said the question of privacy was “irrelevant”
in these cases. A five-judge bench headed by CJI Dipak Misra has been
persistently asking the Centre what would be the status of the biometric
details collected between 2010 and 2016 as there was no enabling law empowering
UIDAI to collect personal details for Aadhaar registrations.PTI
NCERT to replace Left textbooks: Tripura CM
Agartala:Charging Tripura Board of Secondary
Education (TBSE) under the previous Left Govt of spreading Marxist propaganda over the last
two decades, BJP CM Biplab Kumar Deb
Tuesday said his Govt will soon
“introduce” NCERT syllabus in the state-run schools. He said the Govt is in the process of “setting up a committee”
to discuss adopting NCERT over the state board.Speaking at the first NITI Aayog
meet for the Northeast, Deb said he wants quality education and not quantity,
considering Tripura’s literacy ratio of 95 % , which is among the country’s
highest. In his speech at the Northeast forum, Deb emphasised the importance of
“education for all and health for all.”BJP swept Tripura polls last month and
ended 25 years of Communist rule in the state winning 43 of 59 seats.“When I
say education, I mean quality education and not just numbers.Communists only
wanted the people of Tripura to study Mao (Zedong) and forget our Hindu kings.
They removed Mahatma Gandhi from textbooks in Govt -run schools. I am going to
implement NCERT syllabus in all these schools which will also have chapters on
Tripura’s history,” he said.According to Deb, textbooks of Class IX-XII in
Tripura featured the Russian and French revolutions, while some had pages
devoted to the birth of cricket in England, Nazism and the rise of Adolf
Hitler.“Students were being taught Karl Marx and Hitler but nothing about
Indian freedom fighters,” he said. Officials also said that references to Rani
Laxmibai and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were also absent from textbooks as were
chapters on the Constitution.indianexpress
India’s membership to NSG: Delhi works on
Beijing to drop objections on n-club entry
New Delhi:Emboldened by its entry into three
of the four multilateral export control regimes over the last two years, India
on Tuesday once again reached out to China and tried to convince the
interlocutors in Beijing to lift their objections at Nuclear Suppliers Group
(NSG). Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security) Pankaj Sharma
met Beijing’s top interlocutor Wang Xun, who heads the disarmament division in
the Chinese Govt . Almost two years ago, in June 2016, Wang had blocked the
proposal to include India as a member of the elite export control group at a
plenary meeting in Seoul.Indian Express has learnt that the talks were “constructive”
and “forward-looking”.“There was a lot of candour in the conversation, and it
was in the right direction,” said a source, but did not disclose whether there
was a breakthrough.In a step forward, the Indian side indicated that both sides
emphasised the importance of “bilateral dialogue”. In an official statement
issued on Tuesday night, the Indian embassy in Beijing said, “Both sides
underlined the importance of the bilateral dialogue as an important mechanism
between the 2 countries for consultations on important issues…The delegations
exchanged views on various topics of mutual interest, including, developments
related to disarmament and non-proliferation at multilateral forums, nuclear
issues, role of science and technology in the context of international security
and disarmament as well as outer space.”indianexpress
UN should play its part on Kashmir issue,
Pakistan PM tells secretary general
Beijing:Pakistan PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday met UN
secretary general Antonio Guterres in China and urged the world body to play
its part in stopping “Indian atrocities” in Kashmir and accused New Delhi of
“unprovoked ceasefire violations”, which he warned can dangerously escalate the
situation along the LoC.According to an official statement from the Pakistan PM
’s Office, Abbasi met Guterres on the sidelines of BOAO Forum for Asia being
held in the southern Chinese city of Boao.Abbasi expressed “grave concern” at
the “deteriorating situation” in Kashmir, the statement said.He informed the
secretary general about the use of pellet guns by Indian forces, it said.
“Pakistan seeks a just and peaceful resolution of the dispute, in accordance
with UN Security Council Resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri
people,” Abbasi said.Abbasi also told Guterres about the “deliberate and
unprovoked ceasefire violations” by India along LoC and the Working Boundary,
resulting in the death of civilians, the statement said.“The situation can
escalate dangerously if the Indian side does not put a stop to repeated
violations,” he warned.PTI
J-K encounter: Army man killed, 4 civilians
die in ensuing clashes
Srinagar: 4 civilians were killed and 20
injured as protesters clashed with security personnel in Kulgam district of J&K
today while an encounter was on with
militants that left one soldier dead and two others wounded, police said.As the
news of civilian deaths spread, protests broke out in several areas of north
Kashmir including Baramulla, Bandipora and Sopore towns and several security
personnel including the station house officer of Baramulla were injured in
stone-pelting by protestors, a police official said.Security forces had
launched a cordon and search operation in Khudwani area of the district during
the night following information about presence of militants there, the official
said. Three soldiers were injured in the initial exchange of fire with the
militants out of which Sapper Sada Gunakara Rao (24), a resident of Andhra
Pradesh, succumbed to injuries at 92 Base hospital of the Army here.A group of
people from Khudwani and adjoining areas started pelting stones on security
personnel during the encounter today in order to facilitate the escape of the
ultras, the official said, adding 24 civilians were injured in the ensuing
violence, four of whom died.PTI
Yasin Malik arrested,separatists call for
protest strike in JK
Srinagar;JKLF Chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik
was detained on Wednesday when he carried out a protest march against civilian
killings in Kulgam district.Leaders of the separatist conglomerate, including
Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, meanwhile
called for a shutdown in the Kashmir Valley on Thursday and Friday.Addressing a
hurriedly called press conference at the JKLF office here, Geelani and Mirwaiz
Umer — who spoke to the media over telephone — and Malik alleged that the
Indian Govt was engaged in an operation
to “wipe out” the people of Kashmir.Mirwaiz Umer said the Modi Govt could go to any extent to ensure that Kashmir
becomes a focal point during the 2019 general elections in India.IANS
Should consent be mandatory under Hindu
Marriage Act? SC refuses to intervene, grants security to Karnataka woman
New Delhi:Rejecting her plea seeking striking
down of certain provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act on the grounds that the
consent of the bride or the groom has not been made mandatory in the law, the
Supreme Court on Wednesday asked Centre to grant security to a Karnataka woman
who claimed that her parents had forcibly married her off.26-year-old Karnataka
woman, who is presently in Delhi and being assisted by Delhi Commission for Women
(DCW), had walked away from her husband claiming that her parents had forcibly
married her off. The marriage reportedly took place a fortnight ago.During the
hearing, the apex court bench comprising CJI Dipak Misra and Justices A M
Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said that it would treat this petition as a
Habeas Corpus plea and would not deal with the constitutionality of certain
provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act.indianexpress
Rahul Gandhi praises wedding of 2015 IAS
toppers; calls marriage an ‘inspiration amid communal hatred’
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday
praised 2015 batch IAS toppers Tina Dabi and second-rank holder Athar Shafi on
Twitter, congratulating the two on their wedding. Gandhi said the couple should
be an inspiration for the youth of India amid the ‘growing intolerance and
communal hatred’.“Congratulations Tina Dabi & Athar Amir-ul-Shafi, IAS
toppers, batch of 2015, on your wedding! May your love grow from strength to
strength and may you be an inspiration to all Indians in this age of growing
intolerance and communal hatred. God bless you,” Gandhi tweeted.indianexpress
Ambedkar said use of violence to get relief
from our pain was justified, but same couldn’t be used in our own rule: RSS
chief
Ahmedabad:“After the country’s independence,
Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar had told Constituent Assembly that the use of violence to
get relief from our pain was justified but the same couldn’t be used in our own
rule,” RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said.Bhagwat was speaking at Pandit Deendayal
Auditorium after launching a website on the life of freedom fighter Sardarsinh
Rana, a contemporary of Mahatma Gandhi.Citing the example of freedom fighters
like Chandrashekhar Azad who “showed bravery with their weapons”, Bhagwat said
that “there are people in this country who say that they were terrorists. This
is unfortunate…”indianexpress
Mecca Masjid blast case verdict on April 16,
security to be ramped up
Hyderabad: 11 years after a powerful pipe bomb
ripped through Mecca Masjid during Friday prayers killing 9 persons, judgment
day has arrived. Special NIA courtcum-fourth additional metropolitan sessions
court will pronounce a verdict on April 16.The judge said the verdict will be
out after the conclusion of final arguments between defence counsel and public
prosecutor. Police are making elaborate security arrangements on the court premises
to prevent any untoward incidents.TOI
Terror groups use social media for
coordination: Rajnath
Hyderabad: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh
today said terrorist groups were using social media networks for spreading
their ideology and coordination."Terrorists pose a threat not only to a
country but to entire mankind. Today terrorism poses new challenges. You must
have seen that it is continuously changing its face." "Where
terrorists indulge in barbaric and cruel acts, there social media networks have
become a platform for contact points, coordination and made easy to spread
their ideology," Singh said at the inauguration of NSG Regional Hub
here."Barring J&K, our security forces were successful in containing terrorist
activities. Even in J&K, army and other security forces achieved successes
during the past few years," he added.Lauding the efforts of NSG in
tackling terror activities, Home Minister said, the morale of terrorists was
down due to the constant efforts of security forces.PTI
Assam’s Silchar burns with communal clashes
over social media messages
Following the communal clashes that erupted in
Silchar in Assam’s Cachar district on Sunday, April 8, authorities deployed two
platoons of the CRPF and two platoons of the BSF on Monday. According to
police, the clashes spread on Monday after pictures of the injured went viral
on social media. In the wake of these rumours, an autorickshaw was set ablaze
by some unidentified people at around 11pm in the Rangikhari point area, police
said.In the last two days, the entire town has come down as clashes broke out
in different parts of the Assam. Another incident of communal clash broke out
at Kalibari Char area of Silchar on Sunday night when two parties first pelted
stones at each other and vandalised houses. Reports said there had been cases
of stone pelting in the past too, but the situation became worst on Sunday
night, which eventually took a shape of a brutal clash. It all happened in the
area, barely 700 metres from the Silchar Police station, close to the Barak
river.According to a report in HT, more than 10 people were severely injured in
Sunday’s clashes. Three of them – Noor Islam Laskar, his wife Zamira Begum
Laskar and daughter Ayesha Laskar – are
from the Kalibari Char area and are recovering at the Silchar Medical College,
the police said.According to Cachar SP Rakesh Roushan, two people have been
detained for the Monday night incident. Several have been questioned and the
situation is now under control. “The situation in the area has been tense since
last year when a Hindu girl eloped with a Muslim boy,” Roushan said referring
to June 2017 incident which led to a communal clash in the town. While the
authorities and members of both the communities had a peace meeting, the local
media also tried to lower the heat saying that the messages on social media are
just a political agenda and urged people to stop reacting on such
messages.NewsX
My comparison between Burka and Trishul was
ill-chosen, chastisement I received for it is merited: guha
New Delhi: More than two weeks after his
article Liberals, sadly wherein he had compared Burka with Trishul created a
storm in the media and social media and he received perhaps harshest criticism
of his life, not by just common people, but also by academicians, writers and
scholars, historian Ramchandra Guha on Tuesday admitted that “My comparison
(between Burka and Trishul) was ill-chosen, and chastisement I received for it
is merited.”In his new article Burdens of the past, published on 10th April in
the same The Indian Express where his last controversial article was published
on 24th March, Guha says: “…I have caused controversy by terming the burka
“reactionary” and “antediluvian”, and by comparing (not equating) it to the
trishul. Apart from (at last count) 14 responses in this newspaper, there has
been an array of critical commentary in social media and in other newspapers
and websites.”“My comparison was ill-chosen, and the chastisement I received
for it is merited. I also agree that the headscarf and the skull-cap are akin
to the turban and the vibhooti, markers of religious identity that should not
offend anyone when displayed in public,” he writes.In the 24th March article,
Guha had written: “Many people, this writer among them, object to Hindus
flaunting saffron robes and trishuls at rallies. While a burka may not be a
weapon, in a symbolic sense it is akin to a trishul. It represents the most
reactionary, antediluvian aspects of the faith. To object to its display in
public is a mark not of intolerance, but of liberalism and emancipation.”In the
new article, after admitting his comparison between Burka and Trishul was
ill-chosen, Guha, however, wrote that he agrees entirely with Dr BR Ambedkar
that “the burka is a mark of suppression, of women from men, and also of
separation, of Muslims from non-Muslims. If you hide your face from me, how can
we be partners in a shared political project? The burka is deeply inimical to
fraternity, a quality that Ambedkar emphasised was vital to the creation of a
democratic society.”Caravan Daily
Adani’s Jharkhand Plant an Attempt to Prop up
Struggling Australia Project: Report
New Delhi: Adani Group’s Godda power project
in Jharkhand may be a “financially unviable prop” due to the high price of
Australian coal that it plans to use and the fact that its electricity will be
too expensive for Bangladesh – which intends to buy power from the project
under a long-term contract – according to a new report by the Institute for
Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a well-known US-based energy
research body.The initial pact signed by the two sides apparently allows
project developer Adani Power to pass on full fuel cost to electricity buyer
(Bangladesh).Significantly, Adani’s mega power plant in Mundra, Gujarat too has
become unviable due to the high cost of imported coal. After the Supreme Court
rejected compensatory tariff for the project last year, the plant’s enterprise
value has fallen drastically, rendering the investment dud. Adani group plans
to ship coal from its Australian mine to fire the 1,600 MW Godda project in
Jharkhand, which is currently under implementation. According to the IEEFA
report, the delivered cost of coal supply for the project is estimated at
$90-100 a tonne, which is on the higher side for the Indian power market.More
crucially, the Godda power proposal appears to be an attempt by the Adani Group
to prop up its struggling Carmichael coal project in Australia, while locking
Bangladesh into an expensive, long-term and emissions-intensive source of
electricity for decades to come, says the report.thewire
Zuckerberg’s Facebook will do “everything” to
ensure “fair polls” in India
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that the
social networking giant would “do everything possible” to ensure fair polling
in India and other countries, amid widespread allegations over the company’s
alleged role in influencing the American presidential vote in 2016. The
assurance by Zuckerberg came at a US Senate hearing on Tuesday."2018 is an
important year for the whole world. Several countries like India, Pakistan will
have elections. We'll do everything possible to ensure these elections are
safe," Zuckerberg said in the joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and
Commerce Committees in Washington.nationalheraldindia
Karnataka election 2018: Muslims want Cong to
give community one seat in each district
Bengaluru: A group of Muslim leaders from
Karnataka on Tuesday demanded that the Congress party reserve at least one
constituency in each district of the state for Muslim candidates.Banking on the
sizeable 12% Muslim population in these constituencies, a group led by former
MP K Rahman Khan held a meeting with the party’s central election committee
members in New Delhi to convince senior leaders as to why Muslims should get a
better deal this time.“The high voter turnout from Muslim strongholds could be
a game-changer for Congress. We are demanding tickets from our community from
those areas where our candidates are in a position to win,” said a Congress
leader. They also reeled out statistics to suggest Muslim candidates can win 28
seats in the state, provided they are given a chance to contest.The committee
interacted with select Dalit leaders from the state, who sought more tickets
for Madigas. Dalit community in Karnataka is divided broadly into Holeyas, the
right-wing faction, and Madigas, the left-leaning side, who have dealt with
worst caste atrocities.timesofindia
Case against Dainik Jagran’s ‘biased’ coverage
in Delhi assembly
Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on
Tuesday referred to the Privileges Committee a case against Hindi daily Dainik
Jagran for “insulting” the Vidhan Sabha in its reports and for “biased”
coverage of the House proceedings.AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj brought up the
issue in the House saying: “This newspaper has been misleading the people with
its biased coverage of the House proceedings. They have been insulting the Assembly.”The
party's rebel MLA Kapil Mishra objected to this and asked for a discussion.As
the Speaker and various MLAs objected to his stand, Mishra said he would
complain to Lt Governor Anil Baijal about it.ians
Kumar Vishwas removed from Rajasthan role, AAP
appoints his successor
AAP on Wednesday removed Kumar Vishwas from
his role as the party’s Rajasthan in-charge role. The party made the
announcement in a special press conference in New Delhi. AAP leader Asutosh
said, “Rajasthan’s responsibility has now been handed over to Deepak Bajpai so
that he can strengthen the organisation by staying in the state. He will also
prepare the strategy for the elections. He will also speak to senior
functionaries of the party to decide on the strategy and finalise the list of
candidates.”jantakareporter
Delhi: Maulana claims harassment on bus, says
he was asked to utter religious slogan
New Delhi;A 29-year-old Muslim man has claimed
that he was harassed on a bus here by two men who asked him to utter a
religious slogan and roughed him up.In his complaint to the police, Maulana
Aftab Alam, who teaches at a mosque here, said he was also asked about his
nationality by the 2 men.A case has been registered on the complaint of the
victim and efforts are on to nab the accused persons, a senior police officer
said.Alam, who is a resident of JJ Colony in Bawana, said in his complaint that
he was heading home from Shahbad Dairy, outer Delhi, when the incident took
place on the night of April 8."The two men of Prahladpur village, aged
around 35-40, asked me whether I was an Indian. When I said yes I am an Indian,
they asked me to say jai mata di, which I did, but they started roughing me
up," Alam said in the complaint.Later, the two men got down at the
Prahaladpur bus stand. Alam did not know the duo, the police officer said.PTI
UP Madrasa teaches Sanskrit alongside Urdu
Gorakhpur: India is a land of linguistic
diversity with each region and community having its own language and dialects,
and UP , which is the largest state in terms of population, is the centre of
languages like Hindi, Sanskrit and Urdu. Although, languages find themselves
restricted to regions, communities and sections in the state, this seems to be
changing now.An initiative has been taken up by Gorakhpur's Darul Uloom
Husainia Madrasa where students are being taught Sanskrit in addition to Hindi,
English and Urdu.Deccan Chronicle
WORLD
257 killed in Algeria military plane crash
At least 257 people have been killed after a
military plane crashed near the Boufarik airbase outside the Algerian capital,
Algiers, according to Algerian state TV.The plane, an Ilyushin Il-76, mostly
carried soldiers when it went down shortly after takeoff on Wednesday morning,
state TV reported.Algeria's defence ministry was quoted as saying that 247
passengers and 10 crew members were among the dead following the crash. Ennahar
TV quoted an Algerian ruling party official as saying that 26 people onboard
were members of the Polisario Front, a separatist movement in West Sahara - a
territory also claimed by Morocco.Algerie24, a local news website, said the
plane was heading to the western Algerian city of Bechar.Images posted on an
Algerian website showed thick smoke billowing from the site of the crash, as
several people rushed to help. aljazeera
Trump tells Russia to 'get ready' for Syria
missile attacks
US President Donald Trump told Russia in an
early morning tweet to prepare for "nice and new and 'smart!'"
missile attacks in Syria after an alleged gas attack on the last rebel
stronghold in the country.The tweet came after the Russian ambassador to Lebanon
said in an interview on Tuesday with Hezbollah-owned al-Manar TV that "if
there is a US missile attack, we - in line with both Putin and Russia's chief
of staff's remarks - will shoot down US rockets and even the sources that
launched the missiles".Trump further chided Russia for its support of
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Wednesday's tweet, saying it
"shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and
enjoys it!"The warnings come as the US and several European countries threatened
to use military action against the Syrian Govt and its main ally, Russia, in response to a
suspected chemical weapons attack on the rebel-held town of Douma. aljazeera
Russia threatens to shoot down any US missiles
fired at Syria
Russia's ambassador to Lebanon Alexander
Zasypkin has said that his country would respond to any US missiles fired at
neighbouring Syria by shooting them down and targeting their launch sites.In an
interview with Hezbollah-owned al-Manar TV on Tuesday, Zasypkin said that
"if there is a US missile attack, we - in line with both Putin and
Russia's chief of staff's remarks - will shoot down US rockets and even the
sources that launched the missiles."Russian envoy was referring to
comments made by the Russian chief of staff, General Valery Gerasimov, who in
March warned that Moscow would shoot down missiles fired towards Syria and
would target their launch sites if the attacks threatened members of the
Russian army.Gerasimov said his country would use its weapons against the US if
it decided to attack Syrian bases in response to a chemical attack, and if US
action endangered Russian army personnel in the country.aljazeera
Syria puts forces 'on alert' amid threat of US
military action
Syrian Govt has put its forces on "high alert"
amid the looming threat of a US military response following Saturday's
suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town near Damascus.DPA
reported on Tuesday that the Syrian army had put all military positions on
alert, including airports and all bases, for 72 hours.It said the alert
included all army positions and bases in the southern province of Sweida,
Aleppo province, Latakia and Deir Az Zor province. Separately, the pro-Govt Al Masdar news website reported that the
Russian Navy's Black Sea fleet had also been placed on high alert after a US warship
reportedly left Cyprus for Syrian waters.aljazeera
UN deadlock as rival resolutions on Syria
attack probe fail
Rival draft resolutions by the US and Russia
to set up a new expert body to probe chemical weapons attacks in Syria have
both failed to pass at the United Nations Security Council. The votes on
Tuesday came amid an escalating war of words between Washington and Moscow and
a looming threat of Western military action following a suspected gas attack on
the Syrian rebel-held town of Douma on Saturday.Russia first vetoed a
US-drafted text to create a mechanism that would have the authority to assign
blame for chemical attacks in the war-torn country. 12 council members voted in
favour, while Bolivia joined Russia in voting against, and China abstained.In
order to pass, a resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the
five permanent members: Russia, China, France, Britain or the US.aljazeera
Syria chemical attack: 500 patients had
chemical attack symptoms, says WHO
Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO) said
an estimated 500 people went to health facilities with “signs and symptoms
consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals” after the attack on the rebel-held
town of Douma in Syria at the weekend.It also demanded “unhindered access” to
Douma in Syria. The Syrian Govt denies
any use of chemical weapons, the Guardian reported.“WHO demands immediate
unhindered access to the area to provide care to those affected, to assess the
health impacts and to deliver a comprehensive public health response,” Peter
Salama, the agency’s Deputy Director General for emergency preparedness and
response, said in a statement issued in Geneva.IANS
Anger erupts over video of Palestinian shot by
Israeli sniper
Palestinian officials and human rights
activists have sharply criticised Israeli support for the actions of Israeli
snipers filmed celebrating after shooting a Palestinian standing inside the
Gaza Strip.In the video clip, which was first posted on Monday and has been
widely shared on social media, the soldiers are heard discussing opening fire
on what appeared to be Palestinians posing no immediate threat, nor engaging in
any hostile acts near the fence.A shooter then appeared to open fire on one,
knocking the person to the ground.aljazeera
Myanmar jails soldiers involved in Rohingya
massacre
Seven Myanmar soldiers have been sentenced to
prison for their involvement in the massacre of 10 Rohingya men in Rakhine
State last September, the army said.The military said in a statement that seven
soldiers were "sentenced to 10 years with hard labour at a prison in a
remote area" for "contributing and participating in murder".It
added that legal proceedings against the police personnel and civilians
"involved in the crime" are still under way.aljazeera
Deaths of UK homeless people more than double
in 5 years
The number of homeless people recorded dying
on streets or in temporary accommodation has more than doubled over the last
five years in the UK, the Guardian can reveal.With people found dead in
supermarket car parks, church graveyards and crowded hostels, the number of
deaths has risen year on year, from 31 in 2013 to 70 in 2017. At least 230
people have died over that period.The figures compiled by the Guardian, which
include an average of more than one death a week in 2017, are likely to be a
substantial underestimate, as no part of the UK govt records homeless death
statistics at a national level, and local authorities are not required to count
rough sleeper deaths.According to the Guardian’s figures, the average age of a
rough sleeper at death was 43, nearly half the UK life expectancy. Around 90%
of those who died in the last 5 years were men, when the gender was
provided.Experts have put the rise down to a rapidly increasing homeless
population, rising rents, welfare cuts and lack of social housing, and have
called for the Govt to take urgent
action to address the root causes of poverty.theguardian
Adulterated alcohol kills 82 in Indonesia
Indonesian authorities said on Wednesday that
the number of people dead from consuming homemade adulterated alcohol on Java
island has increased to 82 and seven suspects have been arrested in relation to
the incident.Deputy Chief of National Police Muhammad Syafruddin said in a
Jakarta press conference that 51 people died in West Java province since Friday
when the affected were taken to hospitals, Efe news reported.The other 31 dead
were from the metropolitan area of the provincial capital Bandung, according to
Jakarta police spokesperson Argo Yuwono.IANS
Trump: US-Qatar ties 'work extremely well'
US President Donald Trump has praised his
country's ties with Qatar as he welcomed the Qatari emir to the White House for
talks on a number of issues, including the months-long Gulf diplomatic
crisis.Speaking to reporters alongside Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,
Trump said on Tuesday that the US and Qatar "have been great friends in so
many ways" and "are working very well together"."We are
working on unity in that part of the Middle East and I think it's working out
very well; there are lot of good things happening," added the US president.aljazeera
FLASH: VIEWS & NEWS
Israel has killed Palestinian child every
three days for 18 yrs, reveals shocking statistic
Kutch, Kathua and Unnao: Crimes against women
rising under BJP?Priyanka Chaturvedi
Why does BJP say ‘Beti Bachao’ and then do
‘Balatkari Bachao’ – over and over again?KAVITA KRISHNAN
Kathua and Unnao: Handling of these two rapes
makes a mockery of Nirbhaya protests:HARNIDH KAUR
Bihar: Silence in NDA after attack on Minister
Upendra Kushwaha: SOROOR AHMED
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Anwarulhaq (Released at: 8:27 PM)
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