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11-year-old girl gang-raped by 22 for 7 months in Chennai; 18 men including security guards arrested

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In a shocking news, an 11-year-old girl with a hearing disorder was allegedly gang-raped by at least 22 men in Chennai for over 7 months. Police have today arrested 18 men including the security men, lift operator and water suppliers of the society and are searching for others in connection with the case.

An 11-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted over a period of 7 months at various places inside her apartment campus in Chennai,” Police said.

According to police, the Class VII girl was allegedly sedated with injections, drug-laced soft drinks before sexually assaulting her and was videographed. The accused reportedly blackmailed the child for a prolonged period with the threat of releasing the videos and sexually exploited her for months.

Police said the matter came to light after the victim, narrated the sequence of incidents to her elder sister, who later brought this to the notice of their parents, following which a complaint was lodged.

According to the source, the girl told police that elevator operator Ravi Kumar, 66, first sexually assaulted her in an unoccupied flat in the complex. Three days later two men from outside the complex also raped her and videotaped the incident. Other men later joined in Rajiv to sexually assault the child repeatedly.

“The girl’s father was away at work through most of the day. Her mother, a homemaker, did not think anything was amiss when the girl came home late from school. She assumed that her daughter was playing with friends in the complex,” reported a police officer as saying.
The identified suspects include security guards Murugesh, 54, Palani, 40, Abishek, 23, Sugumaran, 60, Prakash, 58, and Umapathy, 42; elevator operators Ravi Kumar, Paramasivam, 60, Dheenadayalan, 50, Srinivasan, 45, and Babu, 36; plumbers Jaiganesh, 23, Raja, 32, Surya, 23, Suresh, 32; an electrician Jayaraman, 26; a housekeeping employee, Rajasekar, 40; and a gardener, Gunasekar, 55.

Maneka has ordered to states Inspect all child-care homes run by Missionaries

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Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has ordered all the states to get the child-care homes run by the Mother Teresa-founded Missionaries of Charity (MoC) inspected immediately, after cases of alleged illegal adoptions carried out by the homes came to light recently.

Gandhi also directed the states to ensure that all the child-care institutions (CCIs) were registered and linked to the country’s apex adoption body within a month.

According to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, registration of CCIs and their linking with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is mandatory, but some orphanages have challenged the validity of the clause, an official in the Women and Child Development Ministry said.

Taking cognizance of the cases of alleged illegal adoptions carried out by the MoC in Jharkhand, Gandhi has ordered all the states to get the child-care homes run by the organization inspected immediately, the ministry said in a statement.

A shelter home run by the MoC in Ranchi has allegedly been involved in “selling” three children and “giving away” another one. Approximately 2,300 CCIs have been linked to CARA since December last year, while about 4,000 more are still pending for linkage.

Gandhi has expressed displeasure over the fact that the children in the 2,300 institutions linked to CARA are yet to be brought under an adoption system. According to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), 2,32,937 children are currently under the care of CCIs — both registered and unregistered — in the country.

Big I-T crackdown in Tamil Nadu: Rs 163-cr cash, 100-kg bullion recovered; DMK points fingers at CM Palaniswami

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A whopping Rs 163 crore and 100 kg bullion have been recovered in what is being seen as one of the biggest seizures till date by the Income Tax Department. The searches were launched yesterday at the premises of M/s SPK and Company, a road construction firm in Tamil Nadu, which is working on state government projects.

“About Rs 163 crore cash, which is suspected to be unaccounted, and bullion and gold jewellery weighing about 100 kg have been seized so far. The raids are still going on,” an I-T department official told news agency Press Trust of India.

MK Stalin-led DMK has alleged that the said firm, SPK and Company, is run by the kin of Chief Minister Palaniswami. As per DMK’s complaint, filed with the state vigilance department in June, the company is run by a benami of the chief minister and was awarded six-laning of the Vandalur-Walajabad road. As per officials, the said seizure was probably the biggest so far in raid operations anywhere in the country.

The investigations were conducted through the Chennai wing of the I-T department. As per an I-T official, the department found “evidence of suspected tax evasion by the firm and its associates” that were believed to have political links.

The search operation will continue further. So far, a total of 22 premises — 17 in Chennai, four in Aruppukottai (Virudhunagar district) and one in Katpadi (Vellore) — have been searched.

The agency officials said that the seized cash was kept in big travel bags and parked cars. Dozens of gold biscuits were also seized by the agency. The department has also seized a number of documents and computer hardware.

PTI

Veteran actress Rita Bhaduri dead; film, TV celebs bid adieu

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Veteran actress Rita Bhaduri, whose film and television career spanned five decades, died here on Tuesday. The industry bid her a tearful adieu and remembered her as a warm and jovial person, who was one of the “finest” talents to emerge out of FTII.

Rita, 62, died at the Sujay Hospital in Vile Parle. She was fighting a weak kidney and was on dialysis twice a week.

“She died at around 1.30 a.m. and her family members took her body from the hospital at around 4,” a source from the hospital where she was admitted for over a week told IANS.

Zama Habib, producer and writer of the actress’ show “Nimki Mukhiya”, said he had sensed she was critical.

“We were at the hospital last night (Monday). Her condition was not good,” Habib told IANS.

In “Nimki Mukhiya”, she was seen as a Imarti Devi, the grandmother of the house. The shoot for Tuesday was cancelled due to the actress’ demise.

What’s going to happen to Rita’s character on the show?

“The last time she shot for the show was almost 15 days back. We were waiting for her to recover. Today is her funeral. We will see what can be done,” said Habib, who described her as a “gem of a person”.

Rita’s cremation was held on Tuesday afternoon. Fraternity members Satish Shah, Tiku Talsania, Jaya Bhattacharya, Shishir Sharma, Paritosh and Abhay Bhargav attended the funeral.

Shishir was one of the first to share condolences on social media.

“We deeply regret to inform you that Rita Bhaduri has departed for her journey beyond… Extremely sad. Lost a wonderful human being… A mother to many of us. Will miss u Ma,” he wrote.

Satish, who shared the screen space with her in “Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai”, said she was a lovely and warm person.

“People who are here today (at the funeral) are the ones who really cared for her. May her soul rest in peace,” he added.

They paid their last respects to Rita with garlands and some touched her feet.

Jaya said: “Ritaji was such a beautiful person. She had inner strength. You won’t believe it, but she was shooting till now. In fact, while shooting with our production, she would come from dialysis and shoot. She never complained and never made any fuss about anything… And she would need dialysis twice a week. May God rest her soul.”

Rita, a noted alumnus of the famed Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, began her career during the 1960s. She played important supporting parts in movies like “Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa”, “Kya Kehna”, “Dil Vil Pyar Vyar” and “Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon”. She also featured in Gujarati movies.

On the TV front, her credits include popular shows like “Hasratein”, “Sarabhai vs Sarabhai”, “Khichdi”, “Ek Nayi Pehchaan”, “Amanat”, “Ek Mahal Ho Sapnon Ka” and “Kumkum”. She was particularly popular for playing roles of a mother or grandmother.

While for Shabana Azmi, Rita was her friend and closest competitor at FTII, Anil Kapoor says she was one of the “finest actresses that FTII gave us”.

“I had the honour of working with her in ‘Ghar Ho to Aisa’, ‘Beta’ and ‘Viraasat’ and I’m really saddened to hear about her passing. She will be dearly missed by her friends, family and fans,” Anil said.

Actor Anupam Kher said: “Rita Bhaduri was affectionate, helpful, jovial, bright and full of life. It is sad and unfortunate that we sum up a person only when he or she is gone. I wish we met more often. We have lost a very fine actress and a brand ambassador/alumni of FTII.”

Actress Shiwani Chakraborty of “Nimki Mukhiya” said: “For the past two months, she was not keeping well. I will really miss her. More than a co-actor, she was a great human being. I learnt a lot of things from her. She was just like a family member to me.”

Actress Garima Singh, who played her daughter-in-law in the show, said: “We used to share the same room. So we used to talk about lots of things. She was a very positive person.”

Rahul does not love anyone but power: BJP

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Launching a sharp attack on Rahul Gandhi, the BJP on Tuesday said that contrary to his claim in a tweet, the Congress President does not love anyone but power.

The Bharatiya Janata Party also alleged that there was a competition between AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi and the Congress to “usurp” the legacy of “divide and rule”.

“Rahul Gandhi has claimed in a tweet that he loves all living beings. The fact is that he doesn’t love any living being but only a non-living thing called the throne of power,” BJP spokesman Sambit Patra said at a press conference here.

He said when Gandhi says that Congress is the party of the Muslims, it is a breach of trust of the “last person in the last queue with whom Rahul Gandhi claims to be standing with”.

“You say you are with the last person in the queue, which is the ideology of Deen Dayal Upadhyay, but the Congress for so many years was not with this last person in the queue. So the last man is now also not with you,” Patra said.

“You cheated the last man for 70 years and now when you say that the Congress is a party of Muslims, it is also a breach of trust of the last person in the queue or the most marginalized,” he added.

A few hours earlier, Rahul Gandhi had said: “I stand with the last person in the line. The exploited, marginalized and the persecuted. Their religion, caste or beliefs matter little to me. I seek out those in pain and embrace them. I erase hatred and fear. I love all living beings. I am the Congress.”

The tweet, not directed at any individual or a party, apparently came in response to the BJP’s unabated criticism over his reported remark that the Congress was a party of Muslims.

Reacting to Gandhi’s tweet, Patra said: “There is a sense of competition between Rahul Gandhi and Asaduddin Owaisi as to who would usurp the ideology of (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah to a complete extent.”

“Owaisi has asked the percentage of the Muslims in the army and paramilitary forces. They are trying to divide the army and trying to bring religion into the army,” Patra said.

“Congress leader Veerappa Moily seems to second Owaisi by saying that Muslims are indeed underrepresented in the army. BJP rejects the politics of division and believes in ‘sabka sath, sabka vikas’,” he said.

Modi seeks opposition’s cooperation in Parliament session

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sought the cooperation of all opposition parties for the smooth conduct of Parliament’s monsoon session, saying that raising of issues by the opposition afforded the government an opportunity to reconsider its position and move forward.

Modi, speaking at an all-party meeting held a day before the start of the monsoon session, said it was the expectations and hope of the people that Parliament should run smoothly and there should be a discussion on various issues.

The monsoon session is slated to end on August 10.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said that the meeting was held in a very cordial atmosphere.

He said the Congress and other opposition parties assured that they will cooperate fully in the smooth functioning of the two houses.

Kumar said that Modi, who spoke in the end, told the leaders that if they raised issues in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, it will benefit the country.

“If the house runs, it is a win-win situation for the ruling party, the opposition and the people. When the opposition raises issues, ask questions, and discusses, it provides the government an opportunity to reconsider and move ahead,” Kumar quoted Modi as saying.

He said Modi told the opposition leaders that every effort should be made for the smooth functioning of Parliament.

Kumar said the government was prepared to address all issues raised by the opposition. The government had apprised the opposition leaders of its legislative agenda for the session.

Opposition leaders said that they will raise a number of issues, including mob lynchings, problems of farmers and alleged attempts to curtail reservation for weaker sections in universities.

Swami Agnivesh beaten up in Jharkhand, 20 detained

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Social activist Swami Agnivesh was taken to hospital with injuries on Tuesday after suspected Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) activists thrashed him at Pakur in Jharkhand while shouting “Jai Shri Ram” slogans.

Police said the 78-year-old saffron robed activist was pounced upon as he stepped out of his hotel to take part in the 195th Damin Mahotsav at Littpara. Pakur is located around 360 km from Ranchi.

“I am against any sort of violence. I am known as a peace-loving person. I don’t know why I was attacked,” a visibly shaken Agnivesh told NDTV.

Agnivesh was flanked by tribals who were holding bows and arrows when the mob attacked him.

Even as he kept asking what they wanted, the attackers thrashed him. Agnivesh fell on the ground but the beating continued. His aides did their best to save him.

“They punched, kicked and dragged me on the ground. They also used cuss words,” he told NDTV.

Agnivesh said there were no policemen around. Local reporters had told him that the BJP youth wing’s workers were outside his hotel to protest against his visit but he was completely taken aback by the violence, he said.

“I offered to hold a dialogue with them. But nobody came to speak to me. I was going to a sammelan (seminar) with my tribal friends when they launched an attack… Without any warning, they pounced on me,” Agnivesh said.

The activist likened the attack to mob lynchings that have been reported in several states in the past one year.

An injured Agnivesh, who was in pain, was later taken to a hospital.

(IANS)

Congress to raise lynching, women’s safety in monsoon session

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The Congress party on Tuesday said it will raise the issues of mob lynching and women’s safety besides many other important matters in Parliament’s monsoon session which begins on Wednesday.

“To make this session a success, we will support the government. We hope we will be allowed to highlight important issues of the country,” senior Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge said at a press conference here.

He said that in Monday’s all-party meeting, it was decided that the opposition would raise some important issues in the session.

“We have come to a conclusion that this government has failed to keep its promises in the last four years,” Kharge said.

Slamming the government over rise in mob lynching cases, the Congress Lok Sabha member said: “Lynching, cow vigilantism and felicitating lynchers has become a norm across the country. We want to discuss this issue during this session.”

He maintained that the Narendra Modi government has failed on every front. It has not been able to fulfil the promises they made in their manifesto like providing employment to the youth and many others, Kharge pointed out.

“We want to know from the government how many jobs were created and how much investments we received (in the last four years.”

Referring to the Thomson Reuters report, the Congress leader said: “After the latest report on woman safety in India, we believe it is an important issue and needs to be discussed.”

“We also want to discuss the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, to strengthen and restore it. The government is trying to abolish reservation in appointments to the vacant faculty positions in the universities. We will be raising this issue as well,” he said.

The opposition parties would also be raising the issue of Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank, which received about Rs 745 crore within first five days after demonetisation was executed.

“The Congress as a responsible party wants Parliament to function,” he underlined.

India accounts for 1/5th of global deaths from floods

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India accounts for one-fifth of global deaths due to floods, according to government data that lends perspective to a new World Bank study that says climate change will lower the standards of living of nearly half of the countrys population by 2050.

As many as 107,487 people died due to heavy rains and floods across India over 64 years between 1953 and 2017, according to Central Water Commission data presented to the Rajya Sabha on March 19. Damage to crops, houses and public utilities was reported to be Rs 365,860 crore — or as much as three per cent of the country’s current GDP — the data shows.

“The main reasons of floods have been assessed as high intensity rainfall in short duration, poor or inadequate drainage capacity, unplanned reservoir regulation and failure of flood control structures,” according to a reply to the Rajya Sabha.

With heavy rains sweeping western India, many cities such as Mangaluru, Mumbai and Junagarh have flooded during the 2018 monsoon season. Over 30 people died in floods that inundated 58 villages.

“Temperatures have been rising across the [South Asia] region, and are projected to continue increasing for the next several decades under all plausible climate scenarios,” the World Bank study, published on June 28, said.

These changes will result in more frequent flooding, greater water demand and increased heat-related medical issues.

South Asian cities such as Kolkata, Mumbai, Dhaka and Karachi — that are home to over 50 million people — face a substantial risk of flood-related damage over the next century, the report said.

India is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change. It has increased the frequency of downpours as well as the gaps between rainy days during the monsoon, as IndiaSpend reported earlier.

As India’s climate warms, extreme weather, such as intense rain and floods, is predicted to worsen.

The new World Bank study mentioned above said the worst affected states by 2050 would be Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Seven of the 10 most affected districts will belong to Vidarbha, Maharashtra.

India could see a six-fold increase in population exposed to the risk of severe floods by 2040 — to 25 million people from 3.7 million facing this risk between 1971 and 2004, based on a study published in Science Advances, a peer-reviewed journal.

“India is highly vulnerable to floods,” according to the National Disaster Management Authority, a government body. “Out of the total geographical area of 329 million hectares (mha), more than 40 mha is flood prone.”

Over 1,600 people die every year due to floods, affecting nearly 32 million people. More than 92,000 cattles are lost every year, seven million hectares of land is affected, and damage is over Rs 5,600 crore.

“High losses from floods reflect India’s inadequacy to cope with the current variability in climate, let alone future climate change,” Ashvani Kumar Gosain, professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, told IndiaSpend earlier.

States that are flood-prone include West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.

“Intense rains during the monsoon season cause rivers like Brahmaputra, Ganga and Yamuna to swell their banks, which in turn floods the adjacent areas,” according to this reply to the Lok Sabha on April 4.

There are 226 flood forecasting stations across 20 states, two Union territories and 19 river basins to monitor floods in the country. The government plans to expand the network to 325 stations by March 2020.

Minor widow killed by brother-in-law

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A minor widow has been done to death in the national capital allegedly by her brother-in-law and two others, two months after her husband committed suicide, police said on Tuesday.

After the death of her husband, the 16-year-old had started living with her parents. Two days prior to her killing, she had gone to her maternal grandparents in Badarpur, where the incident took place, according to the police.

On Monday evening, she was found unconscious with stab marks on her body, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said.

“She was immediately shifted to Apollo Hospital where she was declared dead,” Biswal said.

Her grandparents told the police that the victim’s brother-in-law, Amit, along with two others, came and stabbed the girl with a knife and fled.

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