Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for 2015

Archives for 2015

Survivors, families of 1987 massacre seek justice

by

Hashimpura Massacre

New Delhi: Survivors and families of the 42 Muslim men massacred in 1987 at Hashimpura in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday voiced anguish after a court freed all the accused, calling it a “massacre of justice”.

On March 21, a Delhi court acquitted 16 Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel of the charges of murder, attempt to murder and more over lack of evidence.

“This decision is like a massacre of justice. We are against such a verdict where all the accused are acquitted after 28 years. We cannot accept it and will move the higher court for justice,” said Zulfiqar Nasir, one of the five men who miraculously survived the massacre.

Nasir and others spoke at a panel discussion on “Justice for Hashimpura” where they expressed unhappiness over the judgement and narrated their anguish.

“As many as 42 people never returned. They were killed by the PAC and thrown into the canal. My brother Kamaruddien, who was 21 then, was among the 42,” said an emotional Riyajuddin.

Narrating his tale of woe, Nasir, who still lives in Hashimpura locality in Meerut, recalled how lucky he was to survive.

“I was in Class 10 then and at home when the army ordered us to open the doors. They then went to the rooftop and rounded up people on the roads,” he said.

“After that they shortlisted the healthy and young men from among women, children and the elderly. We were then handed over to the PAC.”

The PAC took them in a truck to a canal at Muradnagar.

“They shot a man, Yasin, and threw him into the canal. They did this to everyone in the truck. I was lucky to survive even after a gunshot hit me below my right armpit,” he said.

Nasir managed to reach a ‘dhaba’ and got help.

Another survivor, Babudeen, said they suffered for no fault of theirs and still justice had been denied to them.

“We want justice. How can a court let the criminals go scot free citing lack of evidence? People were killed… Evidence is there but it has been overlooked,” added a tearful Mohammad Naeem, another survivor.

The victims’ lawyer, Vrinda Grover, said: “At each stage a fair, rigorous and impartial investigation was systematically thwarted. The material pieces of evidence were either not collected or destroyed.”

According to Rajinder Sachar, the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties conducted an inquiry but the government didn’t take it seriously.

“The report was submitted to then Uttar Pradesh chief minister but it was not acknowledged,” said Sachar, adding the victims should appeal to the higher court for justice.

“Human right violation has certainly taken place. The victims and their family members should be given compensation,” he added.

(Agencies)

Queen, Haider win big at 62nd National Film Awards

by

Queen-Kangana-Ranaut

New Delhi: Kangana Ranaut won the best actress award for her powerful performance in “Queen” at the 62nd National Film Awards where Bollywood movies “Haider” and “Mary Kom” bagged key honours while Chaitanya Tamhane’s “Court” was named the best feature film.

Ranaut, 28, who celebrated her birthday yesterday, got a belated present by winning her career’s second National award in the movie about a girl who goes on a foreign honeymoon alone after being ditched by her fiance just before marriage. She had won her first National award, as best supporting actress, for “Fashion” in 2010.

The Vikas Bahl-directed coming-of-age film was also named the best Hindi feature film.

Vijay was declared the best actor for his poignant portrayal of a woman trapped in a man’s body in Kannada film “Nanu Avanalla Avalu” (I am not a he, but she).

“Court”, which focuses on the flaws in the Indian judicial system, has been winning critical acclaim nationally and internationally. The award is expected to give a major boost to the movie ahead of its theatrical release on April 17.

Shahid Kapoor-starrer “Haider”, a Kashmir-set modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, won five honours. Its helmer Vishal Bhardwaj was named the best music director but lost out the best director award to Bengali filmmaker Srijit Mukherji (‘Chotushkone’).

Bhardwaj was also named for best dialogues in the movie while Sukhwinder Singh clinched the best male playback singer for the song “Bismil”. Its other two wins were in the categories of choreography and costume design.

“Chotushkone”, a film about four directors’ attempt to make four short stories, won two more awards — best cinematography and screenplay (original).

Priyanka Chopra-led biopic “Mary Kom” was named the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment.

Four held in Navi Mumbai church attack case

by

Navi Mumbai church attack

Navi Mumbai: Three days after the attack on a church here, police today claimed to have cracked the case with the arrest of four persons.

“Four persons have been arrested in connection with the attack on the Saint George Catholic church,” Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner K L Prasad told PTI.

The IPS officer, however, refused to share further details at the moment.

Under fire from the opposition, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis yesterday had set a 48 hour deadline to police to nab the culprits.

The Opposition members had yesterday walked out of the Assembly in protest against the incident.

Police had announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the accused.

Fadnavis is likely to make a statement in the House later today.

According to Khandeshwar police, the attack was carried out by two masked persons, who were riding pillion on a motorcycle at around 1.30 AM on Saturday when they hurled stones at the Saint George Catholic church located near a bridge in New Panvel.

In the incident, the covering glass outside the statue of Saint George got damaged.

The trio, comprising the biker and the two pillion riders, were covering their faces, a police official said.

An offence has been registered against the unidentified men under sections 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 427 (mischief) of the IPC, police said.

The church was built in 2007 and can accommodate over 800 people for prayer.

(PTI)

Amitav Ghosh among 10 finalists for International Booker prize

by

Amitav Ghosh

London: Amitav Ghosh today emerged as the only Indian author among 10 finalists for this year’s Man Booker International Prize for his contribution to the English language writing.

Kolkata-born, 58-year-old Ghosh had narrowly missed out on the Booker Prize back in 2008 when he was shortlisted for his work ‘Sea of Poppies’.

The international version of the popular literary prize, to be held in London on May 19, is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language.

The winner is chosen solely at the discretion of the judging panel and there are no submissions from publishers.

“This is a most interesting and enlightening list of finalists,” said Jonathan Taylor, Chairman of the Booker Prize Foundation.

“For the first time authors included in the list are from 10 countries with six new nationalities,” said Taylor.

The finalists were announced at the University of Cape Town in South Africa by writer and academic Professor Marina Warner, chair of the five-person judging panel.

They are from Libya, Mozambique, Guadeloupe, Hungary, South Africa and Congo and the proportion of writers translated into English is greater than ever before at 80 per cent.

It brings attention to writers from far and wide, so many of whom are in translation.

The others on the list include from Argentina, Lebanon, Guadeloupe, Mozambique, the United States of America, Libya, Hungary, Republic of Congo and South Africa.

“The judges have had an exhilarating experience reading for this prize we have ranged across the world and entered the vision of writers who offer an extraordinary variety of experiences,” said Prof Marina Warner, chair of the judging panel.

The awards comes with a 60,000 pounds cheque and can be won only once in an author’s lifetime.

In addition, there is a separate award for translation and, if applicable and in accordance with the rules of the separate prize for translation, the winner may choose a translator of his or her work into English to receive a prize of 15,000 pounds.

(PTI)

Israel spied on Iran talks, gave intel to US lawmakers to kill deal: Report

by

US officials angered, reports Wall Street Journal, that Israelis used captured information from high-level negotiations to thwart chances of nuclear agreement

U.S. President Barack Obama listens to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 3, 2014. (Photo by AFP)

U.S. President Barack Obama listens to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 3, 2014. (Photo by AFP)

by Jon Queally, Common Dreams

The Israeli government secretly spied on high-level talks between the U.S., Iran, and other countries and attempted to sabotage the ongoing nuclear negotiations by serving captured information back to U.S. lawmakers opposed to a deal, the Wall Street Journal is reporting on Tuesday.

According to the WSJ:

Soon after the U.S. and other major powers entered negotiations last year to curtail Iran’s nuclear program, senior White House officials learned Israel was spying on the closed-door talks.

The spying operation was part of a broader campaign by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to penetrate the negotiations and then help build a case against the emerging terms of the deal, current and former U.S. officials said. In addition to eavesdropping, Israel acquired information from confidential U.S. briefings, informants and diplomatic contacts in Europe, the officials said.

The espionage didn’t upset the White House as much as Israel’s sharing of inside information with U.S. lawmakers and others to drain support from a high-stakes deal intended to limit Iran’s nuclear program, current and former officials said.

“It is one thing for the U.S. and Israel to spy on each other. It is another thing for Israel to steal U.S. secrets and play them back to U.S. legislators to undermine U.S. diplomacy,” said a senior U.S. official briefed on the matter.

Israeli officials on Tuesday quickly denied specific aspects of the reporting. “These allegations are utterly false,” a senior official in the Israeli Prime Minister’s office told CNN. “The state of Israel does not conduct espionage against the United States or Israel’s other allies.”

Officials made similar claims to the WSJ, but the newspaper stood by its reporting which it said was based on interviews with more than a dozen current and former U.S. and Israeli diplomats, intelligence officials, policy makers, and lawmakers.

That the U.S. and Israel routinely spy on one another is no secret. As theWSJ notes, citing remarks from U.S. officials, the “U.S. expends more counterintelligence resources fending off Israeli spy operations than any other close ally.”

But in this case, as noted, it was the act of supplying U.S. lawmakers with Israeli captured intelligence on the talks that appears to have most irked the White House and other officials.

According to the WSJ, “Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer met with U.S. lawmakers and shared details on the Iran negotiations to warn about the terms of the deal” as a way to undermine the talks.

Mr. Dermer started lobbying U.S. lawmakers just before the U.S. and other powers signed an interim agreement with Iran in November 2013. Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Dermer went to Congress after seeing they had little influence on the White House.

Before the interim deal was made public, Mr. Dermer gave lawmakers Israel’s analysis: The U.S. offer would dramatically undermine economic sanctions on Iran, according to congressional officials who took part.

After learning about the briefings, the White House dispatched senior officials to counter Mr. Dermer. The officials told lawmakers that Israel’s analysis exaggerated the sanctions relief by as much as 10 times, meeting participants said.

Despite repeated attempts by the Israeli government and their allies in the U.S. Congress to derail nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 nations, those talks continue to make progress as foreign ministers remain under active negotiations in Switzerland this week.

An interview with Pahlaj Nihlani the new chairman of Central Board Of Film Certification

by

“The Film Industry Should See The Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) As A Friend, Not As A Hostile Force.” – Pahlaj Nihalani

Pahlaj Nihalani. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Pahlaj Nihalani. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Pahlaj Nihalani, the reputed filmmaker, needs no special introduction as far as his filmmaking repertoire is concerned. But of late he has come in for a lot of flak since the time he has been appointed as the chairperson of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC). On this account Pahlaj Nihalani averred in clarification, “Maybe some people don’t like that I have restored transparency in the censor board. I can’t comment on what someone in the censor board thinks to be right or wrong. All I can tell very categorically is that I have been working within the Information & Broadcasting Ministry & Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) guidelines.” Even otherwise 2 members of the Censor Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) Ashoke Pandit & Dr. Chandraprakash Diwedi have leveled serious charges of autocratic functioning against Pahlaj Nihalani. Both of them have expressed their dissatisfaction by categorically stating that the Government is not pleased with the cuss – word ban by Censor Board, can take action. Here in this free wheeling interactive session Pahlaj Nihalani clarifies his stance.

One of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) board member Ashoke Pandit has leveled some very serious charges against you. Do you think it was right on the part of Ashoke Pandit to go public with his grievances?

Frankly speaking I can’t comment on what someone in the censor board thinks what is right or what is wrong. All I can tell you very categorically is that I have been working within the Information & Broadcasting Ministry & Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) guidelines. Maybe so far the censor board has been functioning in a different way. And now some people don’t like the fact that I have restored discipline & transparency in the workings of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) and its  circular banning cuss words put on hold.

The protesters in the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) say that your style of working is tyrannical?

But It is my duty to do my job to the best of my abilities. As long as I am the chairperson of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) I won’t compromise on my work and I won’t buckle under pressure just because some people are uncomfortable with my style & way of working.

Do you think it was right of Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) board members to go public with their grievances?

I don’t want to comment on any individual. But if anyone chooses to go public with the grievances against a Governmental organization, then he or she is working against the interests of the Government. It’s therefore ethically & legally wrong of them.

Has the Information & Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore been informed about the revolt within the censor board?

If I answer that I would be doing exactly what these other board members are doing. Let me just say that the Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore is a very smart & an intelligent person. He knows exactly what people are doing and those who are going against the guidelines are definitely brought to his notice. For instance Central Board Of Film Certification’s – CBFC rifts (spilt) in the open.

Ashoke Pandit also claims that you see every film on your own and decide what is to be done?

Firstly, as the chairperson I have a right to either watch films personally as and how I want, or depute someone from the censor board to watch it. If so far, my predecessors have not been watching films personally, they were in the wrong. If I am doing the right thing now, if I am clearing as many as 5 films in 1 day, why are some members of the censor board getting jittery?

Your working method has diminished the chances of corrupt practices?

For the 1st time in the existence of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC), I scheduled 5 films to be watched by the Revising Committee on the same day. Never before has the censor board watched more than 1 film on any given day. Is that not a good thing? We went out of the way of our schedule by censoring ‘NH10’ as we didn’t want to delay their 13th Mar, 2015 release.

Both disgruntled board members Ashoke Pandit & Dr. Chandraprakash Diwedi have accused you of being unfair to NH10?

Unfair? After seeing the film audiences are laughing at such accusations. We have gone out of our way to retain the violent flavor of the film. We have censored the film according to the script’s demand. That’s how every film will be censored. We only changed the dialogues a bit. I am a producer & a director myself. I know what cuts can be made without affecting the narrative. I wonder how Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) board members commented on the picture without seeing it.

Even the film’s producers including Anushka Sharma have been voicing protests against the CBFC?

After the film was censored the producers & the directors said they were satisfied with the cuts. They had appealed to us not to cut certain scenes. All of us 9 members conceded to their appeal for the sake of their creativity. We will deal with every film on an individual basis. ‘NH10’ needed the violence. The social message is quite clear and very strong here. The producers were happy. I don’t know if some of the Central Board Of Film Certification  (CBFC) board members are unhappy.

Are you saying that Ashoke Pandit & Dr. Chandraprakash Diwedi have commented on your censoring of ‘NH10’ without seeing the film?

If they had seen the film they wouldn’t have said what they had to. I don’t know what they are talking about. From the day I have taken over as chairperson of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) they have ganged up against me. Without the permission from the Information & Broadcasting ministry they have been publicly commenting on the internal workings of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC).

What would you say in your defense?

I don’t have to defend myself against such absurd charges. From the day I took over as the chairperson of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) I have respected the opinion of each & every member of my censor board. I value their opinion. They have toiled hard to clear the backlog of films to be censored. We have cleared all applications for censorship till 4th Mar, 2014. Even the promotional clippings will now be cleared within 24 hours. The film industry should see the CBFC as a friend, not as a hostile force.

How do you plan to deal with the revolt?

By doing my duty and working honestly. I am not bothered with the naysayers. My work will speak for itself. As for the protesters, they are violating the rules of the Information & Broadcasting ministry by working against the interest of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC). The Ministry will decide what to do with them.

US soldier admits killing unarmed Afghans for sport

by

Jeremy Morlock, 23, tells US military court he was part of a ‘kill team’ that faked combat situations to murder Afghan civilians

US Army Specialist Jeremy Morlock, who admitted being part of the 'kill team' that murdered unarmed Afghans. Photograph: Reuters

US Army Specialist Jeremy Morlock, who admitted being part of the ‘kill team’ that murdered unarmed Afghans. Photograph: Reuters

by Paul Harris, The Guardian

An American soldier has pleaded guilty to being part of a “kill team” who deliberately murdered Afghan civilians for sport last year.

Army Specialist Jeremy Morlock, 23, told a military court he had helped to kill three unarmed Afghans. “The plan was to kill people, sir,” he told an army judge in Fort Lea, near Seattle, after his plea.

The case has caused outraged headlines around the world. In a series of videotaped confessions to investigators, some of which have been broadcast on American television, Morlock detailed how he and other members of his Stryker brigade set up and faked combat situations so that they could kill civilians who posed no threat to them. Four other soldiers are still to come to trial over the incidents.

The case is a PR disaster for America’s military and has been compared to the notorious incidents of torture that emerged from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. This week the German magazine Der Spiegel published three pictures that showed American soldiers, including Morlock, posing with the corpse of a young Afghan boy as if it were a hunting trophy.

Some soldiers apparently kept body parts of their victims, including a skull, as souvenirs. In a statement issued in response to the publication of the photos the US army apologised to the families of the dead. “[The photos are] repugnant to us as human beings and contrary to the standards and values of the United States army,” the statement said.

Morlock has told investigators that the murders took place between January and May last year and were instigated by an officer in his unit, Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs. He described how elaborate plans were made to pick out civilian targets, kill them and then make their deaths look like they were insurgents. In his confession Morlock described shooting a victim as Gibbs tossed a grenade at him. “We identify a guy. Gibbs makes a comment, like, you know, you guys wanna wax this guy or not,” Morlock said in the confession.

Morlock now stands to be sentenced to at least 24 years in jail but with eligibility for parole after seven years. That has come about because Morlock struck a plea bargain that will see a lighter sentence in return for testifying against his fellow soldiers.

Plane with 148 on board crashes in southern France

by

Germanwings flight with at least 142 passengers and crew of six goes down in the Alps region, French sources say.

Germanwings Flight 4U9525 was on its way from Barcelona to Dusseldorf when it went down in southern France [Flightradar24.com]

Germanwings Flight 4U9525 was on its way from Barcelona to Dusseldorf when it went down in southern France [Flightradar24.com]

by Al Jazeera

An Airbus plane operated by GermanWings with at least 142 passengers, two pilots and four flight attendants on board has crashed in the French Alps region.

In a live briefing on Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande said it was unlikely that there were survivors, adding that the area of the crash was remote.

Hollande said it was probable that a number of the victims were German. It was not clear whether anyone on the ground had been hurt, he said.

“It’s a tragedy on our soil,” Hollande said.

Hollande “extended all his support” to German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a phone call, the French presidency said in a statement, while the German ambassador to France said she would visit the crash site in the southern Alps within hours.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in a statement that at least 45 Spanish passengers were believed to be onboard the plane.

‘A loud noise, then nothing’

The owner of a nearby camping site said he heard the plane come down. “There was a loud noise and then suddenly nothing. At first I thought it came from fighter jets that often hold drills in the area,” Pierre Polizzi told Al Jazeera.

“The plane crashed just 2km from here, high on a mountain,” Polizzi, owner of Camping Rioclar, said.

Eric Ciotti, the head of the regional council, said search-and-rescue teams were headed to the crash site at Meolans-Revels.

French TV reported that 240 local firefighters and three police squadrons were mobilised for the rescue effort.

La Provence , a regional newspaper, cited French civil aviation authorities for the number of people on board.

The airliner went down near Digne-Les-Bains in Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence.

Al Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland, reporting from Paris, said the mountainous terrain where the plane went down could complicate the rescue effort.

A French security source confirmed that the aircraft belonged to GermanWings, an affiliate of German airline Lufthansa, and was travelling between Barcelona and Dusseldorf.

The single-aisle A320 typically seats 150 to 180 people.

Germanwings, a low-cost airline, said it would hold a news conference at 1400 GMT at Cologne-Bonn airport in western Germany.

A map on Flightaware.com showed that the plane fell off the radar in the southern French Alps [Al Jazeera]

Karnataka: HC tells govt to improve infrastructure in prisons

by

prison-jail-hands-bar

Bengaluru: In response to a public interest petition, that questioned the lack of facilities to convicts incarcerated in prisons in the State, a division bench of Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice Ram Mohan Reddy, on Monday, directed the State government to come up with long-term solutions and frame guidelines and policies to improve the infrastructure in prisons.

They also directed the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority to help the prisoners get access to legal aid. The bench said there must be a designated room for prisoners to discuss their cases with their lawyers.

The bench reminded the government of its duty to ensure sufficient remuneration was paid to inmates for the work they do and make them more productive. It said yoga must be introduced in prisons.

No Infrastructure

The petition had highlighted the lack of infrastructure in prisons such as shortage of sleeping berths, lack of bathrooms and toilets, insufficient bedding and accommodation. The government counsel said prisons were overcrowded and the government was “making every effort” to shift some of the prisons to ease the burden.

(Agencies)

CBI Chennai office likely to handle DK Ravi's case

by

D-K-Ravi

Bengaluru: The Chennai office of the CBI has a homicide and burglary squad which is likely to handle the case of DK Ravi once referred by the state government to the CBI HQ through the MHA, which may take another couple of days. This is subject to the headquarters not appointing any special team for the purpose, sources said.  “But given the heat generated by Ravi’s death, a special team handling the matter cannot be ruled out,” they added.

“Normally, in such cases, the case will be either handed over to the CBI office nearest to the place of crime, or a special team will be formed,” police sources familiar with the way the CBI works said. The nearest CBI office in Bengaluru is headed by an officer of the rank of superintendent of police but this chapter specializes only in ‘anti-corruption and banking frauds’ and officials are not well equipped to investigate cases like the one on hand, the sources pointed out.

A fresh line of inquiry?

CBI sleuths will start afresh from the scene of crime and parallel question officials from the CID and city police, and forensic science laboratory experts who have handled the case till now, sources said. Advocates say they can register a case of murder under section 302 and start the investigation from that angle till they reach a conclusion.

Investigating officials will collect all material evidence, documents, statements and related things from the CID and local police. The video CD of the postmortem will also be taken by the CBI.

If required, the CBI may go in for another postmortem, send viscera samples to special labs in Delhi and Hyderabad. Ravi’s call detail records (CDR) for the past six months have been already taken by the CID and if needed, the CBI will get more CDR, sources said.

The investigators will also keep an eye open for any tampering or destruction of evidence, if any, during the course of investigation by local authorities.

(Agencies)

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives