NEWS
DIGEST, Afternoon
20 Nov. 2018:11 Rabiul-I 1440:
Vol: 11, No:59
INDIA
CBI director Verma hearing in SC: CJI Gogoi
furious over 'leaked' reports in The Wire; Fali Nariman clarifies that
published stories weren't classified
The Supreme Court adjourned the hearing in CBI
director Alok Verma's case to 29 Nov.citing leakage of CVC (Central Vigilance
Committee) report which was submitted to the SC last week. Verma submitted his
response to CVC report, which is probing corruption charges against him, after
the top court granted him additional time to make the submission.On Tuesday,
however, adjourning the hearing to 29 November, Chief Justice of India Ranjan
Gogoi handed over a report published in The Wire to Fali Nariman, one of
Verma's lawyers, which had contents of Verma's response which was supposed to
be in sealed cover, reports said. Bar and Bench reported that Gogoi was
"deeply upset" about the leak.The Wire issued a clarification,
claiming that the reports were on Verma's responses to questions CVC put to
him."We expressed that highest degree of confidentiality should be
maintained and this litigant takes the papers and shares it with everyone. Our
respect for this institution is not shared by anyone for some strange
reason," said CJI Gogoi.Nariman also clarified reiterating that the
reports published by The Wire about response to CVC and it was published before
the Supreme Court order. "We did not give the article to you as a counsel
for Alok Verma", Gogoi was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.After the
Supreme Court deferred the matter to 29 Nov, Nariman asked the apex court again
to give some time before the bench rises to make some clarifications. A fresh
hearing began soon after where Nariman told Gogoi that the articles by The Wire
were about responses to CVC and it "was published before the SC
order".As Gogoi lost his temper over secretive contents of Alok Verma's
response to the apex court were leaked, Nariman has responded saying, "What
do we do with everyone snooping around and trying to get some
information?" The SC, which was to give its ruling on Centre's order
divesting Verma of his power, expressed strong displeasure over the leak of the
sidelined CBI director's confidential reply in the media and adjourned the
hearing. Gogoi was agitated with Nariman over the mentioning on Monday seeking
additional time to file reply. Nariman said that mentioning by Gopal
Sankaranarayanan on Monday was "unauthorised" and he was not even
informed. He got to know from media.firstpost
Bribery case: SC annoyed over leak of exiled
CBI Director Verma’s confidential reply
Disclosure of List of wilful defaulters:
Information officer to CIC: Can unwritten protocols override written law?
New Delhi :After issuing a 67-page order
virtually lambasting RBI and PMO for not making public the list of wilful
defaulters, outgoing Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu has written to
Chief Information Commissioner RK Mathur.Acharyulu’s missive comes as response
to several points raised by him “on Nov.8” regarding Acharyulu’s tough stance
on non-disclosure of names of wilful bank defaulters.Making it clear he held
CIC’s charge against him for “speaking to the media” as violative of the spirit
of the right to know and in general public interest, Acharyulu has written,
“Can unwritten protocols override written text of law and Supreme Court’s
judgment? CIC should have taken all steps to enforce its orders, including
filing of a complaint for contempt of court in such cases…For the record,
defaulters include those who did not pay back Rs 9.5 lakh crore of public money
to Indian banks as on June 2017, those 9000 account holders who wilfully did
not pay back Rs 1.1 lakh crore of public money to Indian banks by 30th Sept.,
2017.”Acharyulu wrote he took the spirit of the apex court’s questions to imply
that there must be transparency, and names of high-net worth individuals not
returning large sums of public money should be made public. Acharyulu writes
that Mathur told him, “When substantial part of RTI appeal deals with subject/s
allotted to other Information Commissioner/s, it should be sent to the other
IC/s. Not sending is violation of unwritten protocol.”indianexpress
RBI board meeting ends in tentative truce with
central bank agreeing to ease liquidity
New Delhi: The board of RBI has agreed to ease
liquidity for the financial sector and increase credit to small businesses, 2
sources present at the meeting said. The move comes in response to pressure
from Modi’s Govt which faces a general election by next May and is concerned
that low farm prices and difficulties small businesses face in borrowing, may
hurt its prospects with voters.Some more contentious issues were kicked down
the road to be discussed by newly formed committees, the sources said. The Govt
has been pressuring the RBI to reduce capital ratios for banks to speed up
loans to small businesses, a key vote bank for Modi. There are five key state
elections in the next few weeks and a general election due by May.“The meeting
happened in a very cordial environment. Most of the issues were resolved in an
amicable manner,” a board member, who attended the meeting, told Reuters.“A
panel will be formed to work out a framework to determine the reserves
requirements of the RBI and transfer surplus funds to the government,” the
board member said. A litany of demands from top finance ministry officials
prompted warnings from RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya last month that
undermining central bank independence could be “catastrophic,” triggering a
public feud between the bank and the government.Reuters
Govt and RBI break the ice as central bank
agrees to help ease lending to small business
6 killed, 18 injured in explosion at Pulgaon
Army depot in Maharashtra’s Wardha
Nagpur:At least 6 people were killed and 18
injured in a massive explosion at Pulgaon-based Central Ammunition Depot (CAD)
in Wardha district, around 120 kms from Nagpur on Tuesday morning.This is the 2nd
major blast in the depot in the last 2
years. In May 2016, 13 persons were killed in a major fire in the depot while
disposing explosives.Defence PRO Nagpur confirmed that the blast occurred when
the employees of the depot were disposing unused explosives in a military
firing range area of Pulgaon. “Today morning at 7.10 am while carrying out the
demolition of old explosives by the staff of ordnance factory Khamaria,
Jabalpur there was an accident. The demolition was being carried out in the
demolition land under the jurisdiction of central arms depot, Pulgaon. While
carrying out the demolition there was an accident (sic) ,” said junior captain
BB Pande, Defence PRO Nagpur.“Officials of ordnance factory Khamaria, Jabalpur
and of ordnance factory Chandrapur are rushing to the spot,” he added.The
deceased are yet to be identified.HT
Amritsar blast: Police detain Sikh
‘activists’, radical bodies call it ‘witch hunt’
Members of radical Sikh groups have alleged
that the Punjab Police have detained youths of the community in connection with
the grenade blast in Amritsar that left three dead on Sunday.“Police raids on.
Witch hunting started. Police have raided houses of Sikh Youth Punjab president
Paramjit Singh Mand and Dal Khalsa member from Amritsar Gurjant Singh. Mand was
not present in the house whereas police have taken Gurjant into custody,”reads
a Facebook post by Dal Khalsa spokesman Kanwarpal Singh.Kanwarpal claimed 2
Sikh activists were detained by the police.In response to the post, two more
Sikh activists said the police have raided their house as well. “Police had came
to pick me. I was not in good health. So I am called at the police station at
11 am,” said Paramjit Singh Akali, a Sikh activist. Ranjit Singh Damdami
Taksal, associated with a faction of Sikh Student Federation, said, “3 police
vehicles came to my house this morning. I am called at the police station at
around 11 am.”IGP, Border Range, SPS Parmar said, “Yes, certain people have
been summoned for interrogation related to the blast. He, however, dod not
reveal the number of such people.Police had detained three members of Satikar
Committee, active in Amritsar, on Sunday and Monday.indianexpress
Satisfied with probe, 1978 conflict an old
issue says Nirankari Mission regional
head: indianexpress
Nirankari Mission Monday said that they were
satisfied with the ongoing police investigation into the Amritsar attack. While
avoiding any reference to the past trouble between the sect and the Sikhs, the
regional in-charge of the Mission, Joginder Kaur, also refused to comment on
the state government’s claim about separatist terror forces being
involved.Responding to a question, she said, “1978 conflict is an old thing
now. We have no enmity with anyone.”Joginder Kaur met the injured at Guru Nank
Dev Hospital along with CM Amarinder Singh. She was accompanied by zonal in-charge
of the Mission, Sukhdev Singh.However, Kaur said, “We are not able to
understand the reason behind the attack because we don’t have bad relations
with any individual or group. We do not comment against followers of any
religion. We have no enmity with anyone. If anybody has problem with us or our
style of preaching, we don’t know why would that be. We are satisfied with
ongoing probe.”
Amit Shah benefited from Sohrabuddin case: ex
CBI officer deposes
Mumbai:Amitabh Thakur, ex SP in CBI, Gandhinagar,
and chief investigating officer in the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin
Sheikh in November 2005, said then Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah had
benefited politically and monetarily from the case. Thakur was deposing before
a CBI court here on Monday.Apart from Shah, former DIG of ATS D.G. Vanzara,
former SP (Udaipur) Dinesh M.N., former SP (Ahmedabad) Rajkumar Pandiyan, and
former DCP(Ahmedabad) Abhay Chudasama had benefited politically, Thakur said.He
said hah benefited financially as he was paid ₹70 lakh by the Patel brothers,
owners of Popular Builders in Ahmedabad.They were warned that if they did not
pay the money, there would be dire consequences. He said Vanzara benefited
monetarily as well, as he was paid ₹60 lakhs by the Patel brothers.He also said
that none of the police officers facing trial in the case had any “political or
monetary benefit from the encounter.” He also agreed that there were no
political motives for the current accused to kill Sohrabuddin. He also
mentioned that all the 20 accused were acting under the directions of their
superiors Vanzara, Pandiyan, Dinesh and
Chudasma, and all of these had been discharged in the case.Thakur denied that
he was asked by Director of CBI Ashwani Kumar to implicate all 22 accused in case.
Thakur also denied that he and his superior DIG P Khantaswamy, was asked by Kumar,
to implicate all 20 accused in the case for political mileage. He said that no
material existed about 92 currency notes allegedly found on Sohrabuddin’s body
and no investigation was conducted regarding it.thehindu
Sohrabuddin case: 22 accused didn’t have a
motive to kill him, says chief investigating officer
In Court, UP Govt. has recognized Babri Masjid
as a mosque, not temple: Advocate Zafaryab Jilani
Saharanpur: National Chairman Babri Masjid
Action Committee, Secretary Personal Law Board, spokesman of Babri Masjid legal
Committee and founder member & Board member of Milli council Zafaryab
Jilani advocate claimed that UP Govt has accepted Babri Masjid as a mosque and
not temple since the idols were kept in the masjid in 1949. He was answering a
question posed by media persons following a board meeting of Milli
Council.According to Roznama Rashtriya Sahara, the then DM of Faizabad also
accepted the same and the same has been mentioned in the police FIR. It is
present in the record of the Court. He said in 1950 when it was the Govt of
Vallabh Bhai Patel in UP, the Govt in its reply in the court had accepted that
the structure was never a temple, the puja was never done there. Not only this,
Nirmohi Akhara, which is a party in the case, has claimed the chabotra near the
Babri Masjid as Ram Mandir. It has not made any claim on the structure of Babri
Masjid.Jilani said the same is mentioned in the High Court verdict of
2010.siasat
First asking Subramanian to ‘get out’ of
Ayodhya dispute case, now Amit Shah ‘wants’ Sri Sri to stop his mediation
efforts: Janta Kar Eporter
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of Art of
Living, has been actively trying to seek an out-of-court settlement for the
Ayodhya dispute. The spiritual had said that this was needed to avoid possible
violence as he feared that the Supreme Court’s judgement on the religiously
sensitive issue may not be acceptable to the aggrieved party and this could
result in violence.However, in a shocking revelation, it has emerged that BJP
President Amit Shah has reportedly expressed his displeasure on Sri Sri’s attempts
to found an amicable solution to the land dispute in Ayodhya. A senior
official, close to BJP leadership, told Janta Ka Reporter on the condition of
anonymity, “He (Amit Shah) is not happy that Sri Sri is trying to achieve a
solution to Ayodhya dispute amicably. He is worried that if Sri Sri indeed
succeeds in achieving a consensus on the matter, our party will miss out on a
crucial election agenda for 2019.”The Ayodhya dispute is currently under the
consideration of the Supreme Court, which recently announced that it will
constitute a new bench in January to start hearing the matter. The bench headed
by CJI Ranjan Gogoi also made it clear that the matter did not need a priority
hearing and the top court will only the new date for hearing in
Jan.jantakareporter
Won’t allow RSS to turn Sabarimala into
another Ayodhya:Kerala CM
Sabarimala:Kerala’s CM Pinarayi Vijayan said today
he will not allow RSS to turn the Sabarimala temple into another Ayodhya,
referring to the disputed religious site in the UP town.“I will not allow the Sangh Parivar to
make Sabarimala into another Ayodhya. There is a concerted bid to defame the
state citing Sabarimala,” Vijayan said.“BJP leaders and ministers are queuing
up before Sabarimala to exploit the issue. The Govt will not allow anyone to
fan trouble in Sabarimala,” he said.The CM justified the action taken by the police on
Sunday against protesting devotees, saying their intervention helped ease the
situation at the shrine to Lord Ayyappa. The present security arrangements at
the hilltop shrine will continue to check troublemakers, he added.Police
arrested more than 70 devotees late on Sunday for flouting prohibitory orders
outside the Sabarimala temple. The situation at the hilltop shrine was peaceful
on Tuesday after Sunday night’s incident.HT
MP, Rajasthan record worst rates of crimes
against SCs
New Delhi;With massive protests by Scheduled
Castes/ Schedule Tribes (SC/ ST) groups and the counter-protests by dominant
caste outfits this year set to play a decisive role in the upcoming MP and
Rajasthan polls, data on caste atrocities shows that these two states fare
worst when it comes to crime rates against Dalit and Adivasi populations.As per
latest data (2016) by the National Crime Records Bureau, Madhya Pradesh ranked
one and Rajasthan was at number two in terms of atrocities against Scheduled
Castes, based on the crime rate. In terms of crimes against STs, these two
states are in the top five with Rajasthan and MP at the fourth and fifth place,
respectively.In April, the two states saw mass mobilisation by SC/ ST groups in
the wake of changes to the Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) Act by the Supreme
Court. Union govt was forced to step in and ensure passage of a Bill in
Parliament that restored stringent provisions of the original legislation. This
sparked off a show of might by General Category anti-reservation groups,
especially in these two states, alleging “widespread misuse” of the SC/ST
Act.However, data shows that a majority of the cases were registered for
serious incidents of caste atrocities like crimes against women and
murder.indianexpress
BJP got voters’ names deleted from electoral
rolls as last resort to avoid defeat:Kejriwal
New Delhi :AAP convener and Delhi CM Arvind
Kejriwal Monday accused the BJP of getting voters’ names deleted from electoral
rolls in Delhi as a “last resort” to avoid defeat in the next Lok Sabha
elections. Hitting back at AAP, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said it was
expressing “hopelessness” by mounting an attack on Election Commission over
alleged deletion of names of 15 lakh voters. Kejriwal’s attack on the BJP came
a day after his party leader Raghav Chadha termed the EC’s inquiry into the
alleged deletion of names from the voters’ list in Tughlaqabad as “farcical”. EC
had conducted a door-to-door survey in Lal Kuan and Harikesh Nagar areas of the
Tughlaqabad Assembly segment to verify AAP’s claims that “over one lakh votes
were deleted in South Delhi since the last assembly elections in 2015”. “BJP is
losing. This seems to be the last resort of BJP.They have got lakhs of names
deleted from voter lists. Hope EC wud take immediate action (sic),” Kejriwal
said in a tweet.In a letter to CEC OP Rawat, Chadha demanded a fresh inquiry
into the alleged deletion of names.PTI
Sushma Swaraj says won’t contest next
election, cites health reasons
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has
announced that she will not be contesting the upcoming elections in 2019.A
Member of Parliament from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, Swaraj made this
announcement at a press meet in Indore on Tuesday morning. Talking about it,
Swaraj said that though it is the party (BJP) that will decide, she has made up
her mind to “not contest the next elections”. The senior BJP leader said that
she had informed the party about her decision.Swaraj cited health reasons for
not contesting the next elections.HT
Triple talaq non-issue, empower us through
education: Muslim women in Rajasthan
Jaipur: After the landslide victory in UP
elections last year, BJP had claimed that many Muslim women had supported the
party after it brought a bill in Parliament criminalising the practice of
instant triple talaq.But Muslim women in Rajasthan say it won’t get the party
any electoral dividend in the state which votes on 7 Dec. Across the Jaipur,
Sikar and Jhunjhunu region, women from the minority community call triple talaq
a non-issue even as they demand better education and implementation of various Govt
schemes.“In the name of triple talaq, the Govt is targeting Muslim women. If
the Govt instead makes education till Class 12 mandatory for girls, triple
talaq will automatically become a non-issue.Because an educated girl will
decide her own future,” said Sabera Mirza, a resident of Katrathal village,
Sikar. According to Census 2011, Muslims in Rajasthan constitute 9 % of the state’s total population of 6.86 crore.
The general refrain among Muslim women in the region is that the Govt should
not tinker with Sharia laws.Shabana Parvez, a resident of Jaipur’s Ramganj
Bazaar, a Muslim dominated locality, said triple talaq is “a personal matter
and should be kept within the family. And families should discuss and sort
issues.”“At least Congress never attempted to interfere with Sharia,” said
Parvez.Jaipur-based Yasmeen Farooqui, member of All India Muslim Personal Law
Board, said govt is trying to cover up other issues, like farmers’ distress and
poor law and order, by raking up the concern of triple talaq.“If you really
want to help Muslim women, then raise issues related to their health,
education, safety and equal pay at work. Bringing ordinance to criminalise
instant triple talaq is not going to help Muslim woman,”said Farooqui.theprint
'All Pleas Fell on Deaf Ears': After
Resigning, BJP MP from Ladakh Writes to Modi
Srinagar: After resigning from BJP’s basic
membership and renouncing his seat from Ladakh, former BJP leader Thupstan
Chhewang has written to PM s Narendra Modi. The letter serves to remind him
that the ‘unfulfilled’ promises of development – key to winning them the Ladakh
seat for the first time in 2014 – today sound like “empty rhetoric” to the
region’s electorate. In a strongly-worded letter, Chhewang charges Modi-led Govt
with doing nothing for Ladakh during its four years of rule at the Centre.
Despite repeated pleas to the central leadership, national executive council
and even to Modi himself, 2014 election promises remained unfulfilled. “…what
could you [PM] tell the people now? What was achieved five years ago was on the
strength of slogans, which to the electorate at large would sound like empty
rhetoric at this juncture,” reads the two-page letter addressed to the PM ,
which also brings to the fore the rampant lobbyism and bickering within the
party’s state unit. A copy of the letter has also been sent to BJP president
Amit Shah.72 year old Chhewang announced his resignation from the party and
parliament on November 14. Though at the time citing “health grounds” as the
reason, in his letter to Modi, he clarifies his position as a representative
had increasingly became “morally and political untenable” after the party
exhibited little concern for fulfilling its electoral assurances.thewire
Angry, betrayed Ladakh seeks apology from BJP
chief Amit Shah, PM Modi
J&K Police collect data on Rohingya
Muslims
Jammu:J&K Police has started collecting
personal details of all Rohingya Muslims living in the state to identify how,
from where and when they came to India, and travelled further on to
J&K.IGP, Jammu zone, S D Singh Jamwal, said this is being done on
instructions from the Central govt to identify these people and maintain
records. Asked whether it has to do something with their deportation, Jamwal
said, “It may be a process for that.” Written in Burmese language, with English
translations, these “personal date forms’’ were circulated by the police in
some Rohingya settlements in Jammu city on Sunday as well.Each settler from
Myanmar has been asked to fill up these forms, furnishing personal details of
not only self but of parents, spouse and siblings, too.7-page form seeks
details such as the applicant’s name, parentage, occupation or present address,
colour of his/her eyes and hair, other name, and special particulars.
Applicants are asked to furnish passport-sized photograph, besides details about
place of birth, height, national identity card, address in Myanmar, education,
spouse’s current occupation, address and even of school and university where he
or she studied, among several others.indianexpress
J&K: On day of ninth abduction, slain Shopian
teen’s video emerges; ‘Admits’ being informer
Srinagar:Suspected militants abducted another
civilian in Shopian district of south Kashmir on Monday evening, making the
youth the ninth person to be abducted from the district since Thursday
evening.The man, said to be in his early twenties, was identified as Parvaiz
Ahmad Wani, a resident of Batamuran village. The police had no information
about his whereabouts and were still collating information when this report was
filed late evening. 2 of the 8 people abducted earlier were killed. Parvaiz’s
abduction comes on a day a video was released online, reportedly by militants,
that shows a teen who was abducted and killed on Saturday, purportedly
“admitting” that he was an “informer” for security forces in the Valley.The
body of Huzaif Ashraf, with his throat slit, was found in Hermain village of
Shopian on Saturday. A resident of Manzgam in Kulgam district, Huzaif was a
baker and ran a shop in Saidpora Payeen of Shopian. He was abducted along with
two others from Saidpora Payeen. 2 others were released. “They (security
forces) came to my shop and I was asked to become an informer and (was told) I
will be paid for that. But I said that I don’t want to be an informer,” he
purportedly said in the video, which was circulated on social media on
Monday.indianexpress
J&K:1 soldier, 4 militants killed in
encounter
Srinagar:4 militants and one soldier were
killed in an ongoing encounter in J&K 's Shopian on Tuesday."4
militants have been killed so far. One soldier also died. The operation is on
in Nadigam in Shopian," said an Army spokesman.A joint team of the army’s
34 RR, 23 PARA and the police's special operation group cordoned off Nadigam
around 2am. "There were specific inputs about the presence of
militants," said a police official.The hiding militants opened fire at the
approaching search party of the security forces, triggering an encounter.Slain militants
and their affiliation could not be established immediately. Internet service
was suspended in the district soon after the gunfight broke.Meanwhile, a youth
abducted by militants on Monday evening in Shopian has been released.thehindu
AMU issues notices to drama club members,
cancels play over ‘erroneous poster’
Lucknow: AMU on Monday issued showcause
notices to the president and secretary of its drama club for putting up posters
allegedly carrying a map of India without Kashmir and the North East. A notice
has also been issued to an employee of the university, who allegedly prepared
the controversial poster.‘Jis Lahore Na Vekhiya’, the play for which the
posters had been put up, was cancelled hours before it was was to be staged at
the university’s Kennedy auditorium Sunday after an uproar over the issue.BJP’s
Brij Chhetra vice-president Manvendra Pratap Singh claimed to have intimated
AMU proctor Mohsin Khan and the additional district magistrate about the
posters. Written by noted Hindi writer Asghar Wajahat in the 1980s, the play,
‘Jis Lahore Na Vekhiya’, is set in 1947. AMU’s public relations in-charge M
Shafey Kidwai said the plot revolves around the Mirzas, a Muslim family which
migrated from Lucknow to Lahore and are allotted a haveli which was evacuated
by a Hindu family. When they arrive in Lahore, they find an elderly Hindu woman
living in the haveli, claiming its ownership and refusing to leave. Muslim
family gradually settles in the haveli along with the Hindu woman and drops the
idea of evicting her.“After coming to know about the poster, AMU cancelled the
play and also removed the posters and hoardings from campus. Action will be
taken after receiving replies to the notices issued to the drama club
president, secretary and the employee,” said Kidwai, adding that the play was
“anti-partition” and “anti-communal”.President of the drama club is an
assistant professor of the university, said Kidwai.indianexpress
HC grants time to UIDAI to file response on
plea raising concern over Aadhaar data security
New Delhi:The Delhi High Court on Monday
granted four more weeks to UIDAI to file its response on a plea raising
concerns about Aadhaar data security and privacy of individuals, in the wake of
reported leak of personal information of people from UIDAI database.A bench of
justices S Ravindra Bhat and Prateek Jalan listed the matter for further
hearing on February 14 next year after giving more time to UIDAI to respond to
the petition.The court had earlier issued notice and sought reply of the
authorities on the plea which also urged the court to direct the Centre to
either allow people to opt out of the system or delete the entire existing
UIDAI data in view of alleged security breaches. During the day’s hearing,
UIDAI’s counsel sought some time to place its reply which was allowed by the
court.HT
Muzaffarpur sexual abuse case: Ex-Bihar
minister Manju Verma, missing for weeks, surrenders
Patna;Former Bihar minister Manju Verma,
wanted in connection with the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse scandal,
has surrendered before a court in Begusarai.Verma had been evading arrest since
she was charged with an Arms Act case after illegal arms were found in her
house during a CBI raid in connection with the sex scandal. Bihar Govt had
earlier told the Supreme Court that Verma, who resigned in the wake of the
shelter home sexual abuse scandal, could not be traced by police, enraging the
judges, who then summoned the state DGP.An FIR was registered against Verma and
her husband under the arms act in August following the recovery of 50
cartridges from their Begusarai residence, owned by the former minister’s
in-laws, during a raid by the CBI in the case.HT
Muzaffarnagar riot's rape survivor
‘threatened’ to settle case
7 Muslim women had filed rape cases after the
2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. 5 years later, only Aafreen’s* case remains in the
court, and she says the cost of her fight for justice is wearing her down.The
Quint, in the following two articles, Muzaffarnagar Riots:‘Deal’ That Saved 32
Alleged Rapists and How Courts and Kin Failed 5 Muslim Rape Survivors in
Muzaffarnagar, had exposed how 5 other rape survivors from the Muzaffarnagar
riots had agreed to a compromise. The deals were struck with payments to the
survivors, and the women had kept silent in the name of societal harmony,
letting 22 men off the hook for alleged rape.Aafreen has held on to her fight
even though the other women gave up. But the recent visit of the relatives of
the rape accused has scared the family although they were not at their Kandhla
home when the visitors arrived.The Quint spoke to Nizami*, Aafreen’s neighbour
in Kandhla who had spoken to the rape accused’s relatives when they had come
asking for information. He said the Jats (the rape accused) had come to strike
a compromise in the rape case and told him: “'They are your neighbours, your
relatives (implying closeness). If possible, orchestrate a compromise somehow.
If there are payments that need to be made, then we will do that as
well’.”Aafreen and her husband were among the 60,000 people who were displaced
after the communal Muzaffarnagar riots. After losing their home, the family
moved to Kandhla in UP the same year.
They had hoped to start afresh, but the family has struggled since. Aafreen’s
husband said that returning to Lakh village in Muzaffarnagar was not a choice.
He had left everything behind to “never look back again.”“Since the riots in
Lakh village, I never looked back again as the situation was tense. Going back
was a long shot, we didn't even think about it. Now Kandhla is our home and
this is where we will stay. But even after coming here, they (rape accused) are
putting pressure on us. Where do we go from here?,” he told The Quint.thequint
Concealing earlier marriage while entering
into contract of marriage amounts to fraud: Kerala HC
The Kerala High Court has observed that
concealment of a vital fact about earlier marriage while entering into a contract
of marriage by itself amounts to fraud and the marriage can be declared as null
and void.The bench of Justice AM Shaffique and Justice AM Babu was considering
a man’s appeal against family court order dismissing his suit seeking a
declaration that his marriage solemnized as per Muslim religious law is null
and void. His case was that his wife was married to another person in the year
1989 as per Muslim law and they lived together as husband and wife. He also
submitted that there was no divorce in accordance with Muslim law and without
informing him about the earlier marriage and concealing the same her father and
brothers had proposed their marriage and the nikah was conducted.The family
court had dismissed the suit on the ground that there was a divorce between the
earlier couple and thus the present marriage is valid.The bench quoting some
precedents in this regard, said when a Muslim marriage is treated as a
contract, if there is non-disclosure of vital fact or information or if there
is deceit or misrepresentation or fraud in the matter relating to the
essentials of a marriage, the said marriage will become voidable at the option
of the person who suffers the deceit, fraud misrepresentation or non-disclosure
as the case may be.Referring to the evidence on record, the bench observed that
the contention that earlier marriage was not informed to the plaintiff stands
proved.livelaw.in
Home Ministry notice to 1,775 NGOs for not
filing foreign funding statements
New Delhi : Union Home Ministry has issued
showcause notices to 1,775 NGOs, including Infosys Foundation, Skoda Auto
India, University of Rajasthan and Madras Christian College, for not filing
annual income and expenditure statement on foreign funding for up to 6 years.In
its notice, the ministry said the entities or associations have not submitted
online their income and expenditure statement, receipts and payment account,
balance sheet for up to 6 consecutive financial years 2011-12 to 2016-17 despite
repeated notices served on them.The ministry warned that if the entities and
organisations fail to submit the returns for the said period by Dec. 1, 2018,
“appropriate action” will be taken under FCRA.Showcause notice was also served
to Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust, Mumbai, Loyola College Society,Vijayawada,
Guru Harkrishan Education Society, Chandigarh and Allahabad Agricultural
Institute. Young Men’s Christian Association, Kutch, Midas Trust, Mumbai, Mewat
Educational and Development Society, Haryana, North East Institute of Fashion
Technology, Guwahati, and Jamia Islamia Ashraf Ul Ullom Arabic Education Public
Charitable Trust, Visakhapatnam, were also among those served the
notice.indianexpress
With sticks in their hands, woman Jain monks
in Surat train thrice a week for self defence
Surat:“Hold the stick tightly, your hands a
feet apart from each other. Your right foot should be in front, the left
behind. Now, wave the stick in the air in a circle and try to hit in the front.
Repeat this ten times.”Chanchala Tokravat, president of Rashtriya Sevika
Samiti’s physical training, instructs a group of 40 Jain Sadhvis at the
Kailashnagar Jain Upashray (monk’s residences) in Surat. Samiti is RSS’s women
wing, and Tokravat has been teaching self defence to Jain Sadhvis.The training
sessions that began Monday have been initiated after increasing incidents of
sexual harassment against the female monks. The last reported case was from
Gopipura area in Surat where a sadhvi was allegedly “touched” by a 22-year old
son of priest of a Jain temple while she was sleeping with fellow monks at a
Jain Upashray.“Through this (training) female monks will be well trained in self
defence so that they could protect themselves in any uncertain situation,” a
Jain sadhvi who has been a monk for 50 years said.indianexpress
WORLD
Report: Saudi royals turn on king's favourite
son after Khashoggi’s killing
Members of Saudi Arabia's ruling family are
agitating to prevent Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) from becoming king
after the international uproar over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi,
sources close to the royal court told Reuters.Senior US officials, meanwhile,
have indicated to Saudi advisers in recent weeks they would support Prince
Ahmed bin Abdulaziz - who was deputy interior minister for nearly 40 years - as
a potential successor to King Salman, according to Saudi sources with direct
knowledge of consultations. Amid international outrage over Khashoggi's murder,
dozens of princes and cousins from powerful branches of the Al Saud family want
to see a change in the line of succession, but will not act while King Salman -crown
prince's father - is still alive, sources said.They recognise the king is
unlikely to turn against his favourite son, the report added.Rather, they are
discussing the possibility with other family members that after the king's death,
Prince Ahmed, 76, uncle of the crown prince, could take the throne, according
to the sources.Prince Ahmed, King Salman's only surviving full brother, would
have the support of family members, the security apparatus, and some Western
powers, one of the Saudi sources said.Prince Ahmed returned to Riyadh in
October after 2 months abroad.During the trip, he appeared to criticise Saudi
leadership while responding to protesters outside a London residence chanting
for the downfall of the Al Saud dynasty. He was one of only three people on the
Allegiance Council, made up of the ruling family's senior members, who opposed
MBS becoming crown prince in 2017, Saudi sources said at the time.Neither
Prince Ahmed nor his representatives could be reached for comment. Officials in
Riyadh did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment on
succession issues.House of Saud is made up of hundreds of princes.Unlike
typical European monarchies,there is no automatic succession from father to
eldest son. Instead, the kingdom's tribal traditions dictate the king and
senior family members from each branch select the heir they consider fittest to
lead. Saudi sources said they were confident Prince Ahmed would not change or
reverse any of the social or economic reforms enacted by the crown prince,
would honour existing military procurement contracts, and would restore the
unity of the family.However, one senior US official said White House is in no
hurry to distance itself from MBS despite pressure from legislators and CIA's
assessment he ordered Khashoggi's murder, though that could change once Trump
gets a definitive report on the killing from the intelligence community. aljazeera
Pompeo handed Riyadh a plan to shield MBS from
Khashoggi fallout: Source
Saudi Arabia's king and crown prince are
shielding themselves from the Jamal Khashoggi murder scandal by using a roadmap
drawn up by US Secretary of State, a senior Saudi source has told Middle East
Eye.Mike Pompeo delivered the plan in person during a meeting with Saudi King
Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, last month in Riyadh,
said the source, who is familiar with Pompeo's talks with the Saudi leaders.The
plan includes an option to pin the Saudi journalist’s murder on an innocent
member of the ruling al-Saud family in order to insulate those at the very top,
the source told MEE.That person has not yet been chosen, the source said, and
Saudi leaders are reserving the use of that plan in case the pressure on bin
Salman, also known as MBS, becomes too much.“We would not be surprised if that
happens,” the source told MEE. US State Dept.denied Saudi source's allegations,
and called them "a complete misrepresentation of the secretary’s
diplomatic mission to Saudi"."We’ve spoken publicly about our goals:
to impress upon Saudi leadership the seriousness to which US Govt attaches to a
prompt and complete accounting of the murder of Jamal Kashoggi,” State Dept
spokesperson Heather Nauert said. According to the source, Pompeo outlined his
plan on 16 October, when he jetted over to Riyadh to meet with King Salman and
MBS as international scrutiny on the Khashoggi case intensified.At the time of
Pompeo's trip to Riyadh, top US officials - including US President Donald Trump
- had said very little about what happened to Khashoggi, who had been living in
self-imposed exile in US at the time of his disappearance. Pompeo’s plan for
the Saudi leadership included several steps, the Saudi source said.When Pompeo
declared on 18 October that Saudi Arabia should be given “a few more days” to
complete its investigation into the case, he was giving them time to begin
implementing his plan, source said.middleeasteye
Saudi King Backs Crown Prince Son Amid Furore
Over Khashoggi's Murder
Saudi FM: Turkey not blaming MBS over
Khashoggi's killing
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister rejected media
reports that the CIA believes the country's crown prince ordered the killing of
journalist Jamal Khashoggi and said Turkish statements on the matter is not
targeting Mohammed bin Salman."We in the kingdom know that such
allegations about the crown prince have no basis in truth and we categorically
reject them, whether through leaks or not," Adel al-Jubeir said."They
are leaks that have not been officially announced, and I have noticed that they
are based on an assessment, not conclusive evidence," he added.aljazeera
Turkey did not bug Saudi consulate;Turkish
defence minister
Turkey's defence minister Hulusi Akar has
repeated claims that Turkey did not obtain the recordings of Jamal Khashoggi's
murder by bugging the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.In a wide-ranging interview
at the Halifax Security forum in Canada, Turkey's former NATO commander told BBC
that Turkey did no "surveillance" of the consulate. “There was no
surveillance within the consulate [and] we will not reveal the source of the
recordings,” Akar told the BBC. middleeasteye
Renewed fighting breaks out in Yemen's
Hodeidah amid UN push for peace talks
Intense fighting has broken out in Yemen's
port city of Hodeidah, shattering a lull in violence that had raised hopes for
a ceasefire between a Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebel fighters.Coalition
warplanes conducted more than 10 air strikes on Houthi positions late on
Monday, as battles could be heard in the city's "July 7" district, 4kms
from the port, residents told Reuters .The renewed fighting was the worst since
forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed Govt halted an offensive on the Houthi-held
port city last week amid pressure from the United Nations and Western countries
to end the devastating conflict." Fighting is escalating and we can
clearly hear machine guns and mortar fire. This is one of the worst nights we
have experienced," Hodeidah resident Mustafa Abdo told Reuters. Clashes late
on Monday were concentrated in the eastern part of Hodeidah, from which Houthi
rebels fired artillery, sources loyal to Saudi-backed Govt said.middleeasteye
Global online company Airbnb to remove
listings from illegal Israeli settlements
Global online rental marketplace Airbnb says
it will remove its listings in the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied
West Bank, in a move that comes after years of pressure from Palestinian and
human rights groups.The decision on Monday will lead to about 200 listings
being removed from the popular accommodations website, which allows home-owners
to rent out rooms, apartments and houses to people."We concluded that we
should remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that
are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians," a
statement on the Airbnb website said.The removal of the listings will take
place in the coming days, a spokesperson for Airbnb told the Reuters. The
company said it came to the conclusion based on an internal framework used to
judge how it handles listings in occupied territories around the
world.aljazeera
Defence for Children International Palestine:
Israeli army killed 52 Palestinian children since beginning of 2018
According to Defence for Children
International Palestine (DCIP), since the beginning of the year, the Israeli
Occupation Forces have killed 52 children in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 46
of whom in the Gaza Strip.The international movement said in a statement on
Monday that among the children the occupation forces have killed, 18 were
injured in the head, nine in the chest, seven in the abdomen, and five in the
neck.The movement added that the rest of the injuries were in different areas
of the body (because of shrapnel), “which indicates that the Israeli soldiers
are intentionally shooting at the upper areas of the victims’ bodies in order
to kill them.”It stressed that the Israeli Occupation Forces are still using
excessive force and live bullets against Palestinian children by intentionally
targeting them.middleeastmonitor
UNICEF: 80% of Iraq’s children face violence
80% of Iraq’s children experience violence at
home or in school, UNICEF announced. “A majority of Iraq’s poor children don’t
receive any form of Govt assistance, affecting their chances to complete their
education,” UNICEF said in its first-ever comprehensive survey on children’s
wellbeing in Iraq.“Conflict and inequality remain defining features of
childhood in Iraq,” the organisation added.While almost 92% of Iraqi children are enrolled in primary
school, UNICEF pointed out, over half of children from poorer backgrounds
complete their primary education. “The gap widens in the upper secondary
school, where less than a quarter of poor children graduate, compared to
three-quarters of children from wealthier backgrounds.”middleeastmonitor
US Muslim Lawmaker-elect Seeks End to
18-year-old Ban on Hijab in Congress
Washington: A Muslim congresswoman-elect has
co-authored changes to a longstanding rule banning the wearing of head
coverings on the US House floor, an effort supported by the nation's largest
Muslim rights group.Ilhan Omar, a Somali refugee who was one of the first two
Muslim women elected to Congress earlier this month, has joined Democratic
leaders in drafting an update to a 181-year-old rule to allow for religious
exemptions for headwear like the Muslim hijab, Jewish yarmulkes or Sikh turban.
The change is part of a rules package introduced by top Democrats including
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that is expected to be approved in January,
when Democrats take majority control of the chamber. "No one puts a scarf
on my head but me. It's my choice -- one protected by the first
amendment," Omar posted Saturday on Twitter. "And this is not the
last ban I'm going to work to lift," added the Minnesota
representative-to-be. The proposal earned the backing of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations."We support the effort to update this anachronistic policy and
to bring the House of Representatives into conformity with the Constitution and
its existing protection of religious freedom," said CAIR national
executive director Nihad Awad. AFP
Gunman kills 3 in Chicago hospital shooting
A gunman at a Chicago hospital killed a police
officer and two others before dying in the shooting, while to the west of the
country in Denver one person was shot and killed on a street corner and three
others were wounded. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said the four
dead in the shooting at Mercy Hospital & Medical Center included two
hospital employees, a Chicago police officer, and the suspected
gunman.aljazeera
FLASH: VIEWS &
NEWS
Why CBI Official's Petition is Bad News for Modi,
Doval:The Wire
Friction is good, but RBI-Govt relationship
needs to be managed:Haseeb A Drabu
Hindutva Cohort Be Warned, Muslim Votes can
Impact 101 LS Seats:Mayank Mishra
Kathua rape and murder case: Deepika Rajawat
episode throws spotlight on ignored issue of victim's right to representation
in trials: Neerad Pandharipande
How the Arab thinker Al-Farabi drew on Plato
to shape the Muslim world’s ideas about censorship:Rashmee Roshan Lall, Aeon
RBI Stands Its Ground Against Centre, but the
Big Business Elephant Still Hasn’t Left the Room: M.K. Venu
Compiled and edited by
Anwarulhaq (Released at: 3:53 PM)
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