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Archives for July 2018

Odisha ex-MLA arrested from Kolkata spa, suspended from BJD

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Odisha’s former MLA Nabin Nanda was arrested during a raid at a Kolkata spa where a sex racket was being run, informed sources said on Monday.

The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has since suspended the former Dhenkanal legislator from the party.

Nabin’s lawyer Asim Kumar confirmed that Nanda was arrested on Saturday evening from the spa on Park Street under the Immoral Trafficking Act and was bailed out on Sunday.

As many as 18 persons, including nine sex workers, were arrested from the spa.

Nabin rubbished any connection with the sex racket and claimed he was detained after he entered the spa during an attempt to chase a pickpocket.

“The allegations regarding involvement in the sex racket and what has been propagated is completely fabricated. I was out for shopping around 7 p.m. on Saturday when my pocket was picked. I chased the miscreants and entered the spa and was caught by a police team that mistook me to be a client,” said the former MLA.

Volkswagen to invest 1 bn euros in Skoda India

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Skoda Auto India on Monday said that its parent Volkswagen Group will invest 1 billion euros in the company’s expansion plan for the Indian market.

The programme — India 2.0 — will be executed between 2019 and 2021.

It includes creation of an engineering and design centre, new products, increase in production and further localization of components.

Occultist, aide questioned in Delhi family deaths

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Police on Monday said an occultist and his accomplice were detained for questioning in the mysterious mass deaths of 11 members of a Delhi family on Sunday.

Police said it recovered handwritten notes in the prayer area of their two-storey house in Pant Nagar in Burari, revealing a possible mystical connection to the deaths.

All but one of the bodies were found hanging from the ceiling. Most of them were blindfolded, gagged and their hands tied behind the back.

The oldest, Narayan Devi, 77, was found on the floor with signs of strangulation.

The notes hinting at mysticism were found in a diary in the prayer area. The texts of pages discussed spirituality, salvation, rituals and few dates of last month.

Articles used for offering in worship such as ghee and grains were also recovered from the house.

The police suspect the role of an occultist or a godman behind the deaths.

“We are suspecting that the family may have died in a ritual which went wrong,” a police officer said.

The officer said the notes had instructions like: “Everyone should be blindfolded properly, nothing but zenith should be visible to the eyes.

“Worship the banyan tree for seven days at a stretch with devotion. If somebody comes home, then do it the next day. Choose Thursday and Sunday for this.

“If the elderly woman (Narayani Devi) can’t stand, she can lie down in another room.

“Use dim light for offering rituals. Offer the rituals between 12 and 1 a.m so that no one disturbs you.

“When you all were hanging during that period, god will miraculously appear and save you all at the moment.”

The police officer said almost every instruction in the note seemed to have been followed by the family for “obtaining salvation”.

One important rule was that the family was to avoid using mobile phones, he said.

It took the police a few hours to recover their mobile phones from the house.

Vivek Kumar, a neighbour, said the family used to hold religious rituals and prayed regularly every two hours in morning and evening the last few weeks.

The deceased found hanging were Narayan Devi’s two sons Bhavnesh Bhatia, 50, and Lalit Bhatia, 45, and two daughters Pratibha, 57, and Priyanka, 33, who got engaged last month.

Bhavesh’s wife Savita, 48, and their three children Nitu, 25, Monu, 23, and Dhruv, 15, were also found dead along with Lalit’s wife Tina, 42, and their son Shivam, 15.

The Bhatias ran a grocery store and a plywood outlet in the neighborhood.

Narayan Devi’s eldest son Dinesh Bhatia lives in Rajasthan’s Kota and another daughter Sujata lives in Panipat in Haryana.

Philippines city mayor who shamed drug suspects shot dead

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A controversial provincial city mayor in the Philippines known for parading drug suspects in public was shot dead during a flag-raising ceremony on Monday.

Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili was declared dead on arrival at a hospital from a single bullet wound to the chest, sustained as he and civil servants sang the national anthem during a ceremony in city hall in Batangas province southwest of Manila.

Police Superintendent Renato Mercado told CNN that a video showed scenes of panic seconds after the shot was fired. Halili was seen standing in a line with government employees as the flag was raised. Suddenly, a single shot rang out followed by screams and chaos.

The mayor’s security returned fire, according to state media Philippines News Agency (PNA), causing panic as government officials and staff ran for cover.

The police official said Halili was killed by a sniper.

Another investigator told a radio station that a high-powered rifle was used in the attack.

The mayor had gained prominence for implementing a “walk of shame” for drug suspects in 2016 where he paraded them for people to see and then in 2017 when he was linked by the government to illegal drugs.

Gerry Laresma, the government employee who shot the video, told PNA that Halili had received death threats because of his strong anti-crime push.

“We are shocked, we are saddened,” Vice Mayor Jhoanna Villamor, who was standing next to Halili, told radio station DZBB after the shooting.

Philippines National Police Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said a regional special task group had been convened to investigate the killing and that the suspect parades were being considered as a motive.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque condemned the killing, saying that Halili was an ally of Rodrigo Duterte and that justice would be served.

Opposition unity ‘impossible’ without Congress: Shiv Sena

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Despite having low numbers in Parliament and losing power in many states, the Congress is still the only party which enjoys national acceptance and no opposition unity is possible without it, the Shiv Sena said on Monday.

Commenting on the ongoing unity efforts among major opposition parties in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Sena said all the opposition parties were essentially regional forces, unlike the Congress which remains a “national force” by all reckoning.

“The real problem before the opposition parties is whether to accept Rahul Gandhi’s leadership or not as there are many aspirants for the post of Prime Minister among opposition leaders,” the Sena said in edits in its mouthpieces “Saamana” and “Dopahar Ka Saamana”.

Dwelling on the current political scenario, it said the secret of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s success was that it enjoyed a majority in Parliament, had huge wealth at its command, could “buy” anything with the added advantage of disunity in the opposition.

“In spite of all this, BJP’s failures are evident and there is anger among the people. All allies have abandoned it and now it has dawned on BJP that only the regional parties can help it sail through the 2019 elections,” the Sena said.

Asserting that “there is no alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi within the BJP”, which also suffers from a “trust” deficit, the Sena noted that the party had so far benefited only from the disarray in opposition ranks.

“In this scenario, if the BJP’s tally falls by over 100 seats, then will it get MPs from Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump or the UAE?

“In the past four years, people (in India) have gone against the BJP, but it has secured friendship of Putin and Trump… But how will this help in the elections?” the Sena wondered.

Criticising NCP President Sharad Pawar’s observations that an “opposition front may not be possible before the next elections”, the Sena said it appeared a part of “Pawar Pattern” to create scepticism and everyone was left speculating whether the “disciple” was speaking through the “guru” – a reference to Modi’s statement a few years ago in Pune that he considered Pawar his “political guru”.

Among the opposition parties, there were several contenders for the post of Prime Minister — Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, M.K. Stalin, N. Chandrababu Naidu, Naveen Patnaik, K. Chandrashekhar Rao and even the 85-year old former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda.

“The chariot is ready, and though the wheels are missing, several horses are already in the saddle… It is not even clear yet whether it will be named a Third Front or a Fourth Front,” said the Sena, which has decided to go it alone in all future elections.

However, what they (opposition) cannot ignore is the scare Rahul Gandhi gave to the BJP in both Gujarat and Karnataka Assembly elections. But now all the opposition parties also were in a quandary whether to accept his (Rahul’s) leadership or not.

“A strong opposition is essential for a powerful democracy… In the interest of democracy, the opposition parties must concede as soon as possible to Rahul Gandhi who has scared the BJP… And the BJP is known for breaking the opposition to grab power,” the Sena cautioned.

One held, JD-U leader detained after RTI activist’s murder.

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A village panchayat head was arrested on Monday while a JD-U leader and two others were detained after a RTI activist and his friend were shot dead by criminals in Bihar’s Jamui district, police said.

Hundreds of angry residents blocked a road, burnt tyres and shouted slogans against the state government to denounce the killings, disrupting traffic on National Highway 333.

Valmiki Yadav and his friend Karu Yadav were attacked by motorcycle-borne assailants near Bichwe village on Sunday evening.

Panchayat head Krishna Ravidas was arrested and Janata Dal-United block president Suresh Mahto and two others were detained for interrogation, said police officer Rampukar Singh.

“Prima facie, it seems to be a pre-planned conspiracy,” he said.

Valmiki Yadav is said to have exposed several rackets and financial irregularities in the public welfare schemes and developmental works in the district.

This is the third such crime in the last three months. A Right to Information (RTI) activist was shot dead in Vaishali district in April whereas another RTI activist was shot dead in East Champaran district last month.

Debt-ridden MP farmer commits suicide

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Mounting debt and crop losses led a farmer in Madhya Pradesh to commit suicide, officials said.

Brijmohan Patel, 40, from Gadaghat village in Hoshangabad district, drank pesticides on Sunday night, police told IANS. He was admitted to a hospital where he died late at night.

According to his relatives, Patel was troubled because he failed to repay the Rs 4 lakh loan he had taken due to poor yields.

Education should not be religion based: Dalai Lama

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Monday said the education system in the world should be based on common sense and scientific knowledge and not on religion.

The Dalai Lama was here to inaugurate the Happiness Curriculum of the Delhi government along with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

“What we need in the world today is an education of values, not based on any religion, but based on common sense and scientific knowledge,” he said.

Stressing that India is the only country that can bring together modern education and ancient Indian knowledge, the Dalai Lama said: “This is needed to deal with the destructive emotions in the world. So what is being started in Delhi schools can have an impact on the whole world.”

The curriculum, with a focus on meditation and mental exercise, is designed with the aim to make students not only good humans who will spread happiness but also relaxed professionals who will not indulge in corruption.

The daily Happiness Class of 45 minutes will include mindfulness practice, gratitude, morals and value-based stories and activities.

The curriculum has been launched for over 1,000 government schools and will help improve the lives of about eight lakh students studying between Nursery and Class 8.

Sisodia, who is also in-charge of the Education Department, said the levels of happiness and well being are going down while stress, anxiety and depression are increasing.

“It is going to be the most important development in the education system with focus on good mental health, character and resilience. It will address the ever-growing concern levels of happiness and well being.

“A child’s mental well being is important. Happier children learn more, cope better and are much more likely to make the most of their potential,” he added.

Kejriwal called it a “landmark day” which will “completely transform the modern education system”.

“This should have been done 100-150 years ago. We forgot the real meaning of education. Our education system only generates clerks and failed in making kids better humans,” he said.

CBI books MLA, two others in Tripura journalist’s killing

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The CBI has booked three tribal leaders, including an MLA, for the murder of television journalist Santanu Bhowmik in 2017, an official said.

The official said that the three were Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) legislator Dhirendra Debbarma and party leaders Balram Debbarma and Amit Debbarma along with 300-500 IPFT members.

The IPFT is a tribal party and an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It has eight MLAs in the 60-member Tripura Assembly and two Cabinet ministers in the BJP-led ministry led by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.

Miscreants allegedly owing allegiance to the IPFT had on September 20, 2017, murdered Bhowmik at Mandwai, 25 km from Agartala. Santanu, 27, was attacked with sharp weapons while covering a road blockade by the IPFT, which is demanding a separate tribal state.

IPFT Vice President Ananta Debbarma told IANS that the party will comment later.

A newspaper journalist, Sudip Dutta, was also shot dead inside the Tripura State Rifles 2nd Battalion headquarters at Ramchandra Nagar in West Tripura district on November 21.

The then Left Front government had set up two SITs to probe the two killings.

The SIT arrested four TSR personnel — including TSR 2nd Battalion Commandant Tapan Debbarma, who is a senior Tripura Police Service (TPS) officer and was waiting for IPS nomination regarding Dutta’s killing.

The trial in the Dutta murder case started last month in the West Tripura District Additional District and Session Judge’s court but it was stopped following orders by the Tripura High Court.

The BJP-led government told the High Court in May that it had referred the matter to the CBI.

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