Archives for January 2020

Kolkata: The Railways claimed to have suffered losses of properties worth Rs 84 crore in violence related to protests against CAA and NRC in West Bengal from December 13 to 15, according to reports filed by it before the Calcutta High Court.

The Eastern Railway said in an affidavit before a division bench comprising Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan and Justice A Banerjee on Friday that it suffered the brunt of the protests with losses amounting to Rs 72.2 crore, with the maximum being in the Sealdah division, which suffered damages worth Rs 46 crore.

The Malda division of ER suffered losses worth nearly Rs 24.5 crore, while the Howrah division’s losses were more than Rs one crore, it said in an affidavit before the court on Friday in connection with a PIL seeking compensation to people and the railways for losses suffered in violence during the anti-CAA and anti-NRC protests.

The South Eastern Railway, in a separate affidavit, said that it suffered losses to its properties worth Rs 12.75 crore, including to trains, stations and tracks.

The matter will be taken up for hearing again four weeks hence, the court directed.

Kannauj (UP): Around 2O people were feared killed on Friday in a massive fire that broke out following a collision between a private sleeper bus and a truck near Chiloi village under Chhibramau police station area here, said police.

Some 20 people are feared to have died in the incident while 21 have been rushed to hospital, Kannauj Superintendent of Police Amrendra Prasad singh said.

Ten to 12 among the injured 21 jumped from the burning bus to save their lives, the SP said, adding the exact number of casualties will be known only later.

There were around 45 passengers in the bus which was on its way to Jaipur from Farrukhabad at the time of incident, police said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has rushed his ministerial colleague Ram Naresh Agnihotri to the spot and sought a report from the DM Kannauj about the incident.

The chief minister announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of those who lost their lives and Rs 50,000 to the injured. It is a very unfortunate incident, the CM said, extending his condolences to the bereaved families.

Kanpur’s range Inspector General of Police Mohit Agarwal said 21 people have been rescued and admitted to hospital and efforts are on to contact family members of the victims.

There are chances of casualties in the incident, police said. The blaze has been controlled and rescue operations are on, Agarwal said.

Uttar Pradesh police chief O P Singh in Lucknow said it appears that the diesel tank exploded under the impact of collision and the bus burst into flames. Our first priority is to rescue passengers safely and senior officers are present at the spot, DGP Singh said.

Chief Minister Adityanath has asked the DM and SP to rush to the spot and provide all possible medical attention and help to the passengers of the bus.

New Delhi: The Centre on Friday announced that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will come into force from January 10.

In a gazette notification, the Union home ministry said the act under which non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given Indian citizenship, will come into force from January 10.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of the section 1 of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (47 of 2019), the Central government hereby appoints the 10th day of January, 2020, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force,” the notification said.

The CAA was passed by parliament on December 11.

According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.

There have been widespread protests against the act in different parts of the country.

Those who are opposed to the legislation are saying that it is for the first time that India will grant citizenship on the basis of religion which violates the basic tenets of the country’s constitution.

However, the government and ruling BJP has been defending the act saying that the minority groups from the three countries have no other option but to come India when they face religious persecution there.

The home ministry, however, is yet to frame the rules for the act.

Ahmedabad: The BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy said on Friday that the country’s economy was in “dire times”, and “tax terrorism” should be ended to encourage investors.

He also said that every university should have police personnel on the campus, and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which is in news for a recent incident of violence, should be “closed for two years”.

“The economy is in dire times, everything is going downwards, if the trend continues, banks will close down, NBFCs will close down and (it will) lead to disaster.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a programme at Indus University.

“The measures that can be taken are…first Income Tax needs to be abolished. The tax terrorism in our country needs to be reined in so that people start investing and do not fear taxman,” he said.

“The problem we are facing at present is lack of demand, we have a good supply. So the government needs to print notes and put it in the hands of people to boost demand.

Government needs to build roads, big six-lane, eight-lane roads,” he added.

Asked about the recent violence at JNU in Delhi, Swamy said for the safety of students, every university should have police presence on the campus as in the United States.

“In universities like JNU we should have not only police but CRPF and BSF too,” he said.

JNU should be closed for two years and it’s “good students” should be shifted to other universities like Delhi University, the MP, known for making controversial statements, added.

Bantwal: At least seven people were booked by Bantwal Police for allegedly organizing protest without intimation or permission from local police. Booked people include the Khateeb of Nandavar Masjid, President of the Masjid and Gram Panchayath President.

Nandavar Juma Masjid President Basheer, Khateeb of the Masjid Abdul Majeed Darimi, Gram Panchayath President Mohammed Shareef Nandavar, former President of Masjid Majeed, Arif Nandavar, Mustafa and Abubaker have been named in the FIR in the case.

The said people have been booked for allegedly organizing protest outside Nandavar Juma Masjid on Friday afternoon without intimation or police permission while also causing inconvenience to the vehicles on road and passerby.

Bantwal Town Police registered a suo motto case in this regard naming seven people, further investigations into the matter are underway.

Sharma, Singh, Pawan Gupta, and Akshay Kumar Singh are to be executed together at Tihar jail.

NEW DELHI:  Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh, two of the four men sentenced to death in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, filed curative petitions in the apex court in what is being seen as their last legal option to escape the noose. Sharma, through his lawyer A P Singh, had approached the top court two days after a Delhi court declared that the four rapists will be hanged on January 22. Hours later,  Singha also filed a curative petition. 

Sharma, Singh, Pawan Gupta, and Akshay Kumar Singh are to be executed together at Tihar jail. All four had reportedly broke down in jail after the death warrant was confirmed. “To eliminate systemic and political bias against the petitioner, it is imperative that this case be reheard in open court by the senior-most judges of this Hon’ble Court without the Damocles sword of an execution warrant hanging over the proceedings (sic),” the plea stated. The Supreme Court has already turned down review petitions against the death sentence from three of the convicts.

In his curative plea, Vinay said his young age has been erroneously rejected as a mitigating circumstance. “The petitioner’s socio-economic circumstances, number of family dependants including ailing parents, good conduct in jail and probability of reformation have not been adequately considered leading to gross miscarriage of justice,” the plea said.

It said the judgment has relied on factors such as “collective conscience of society” and “public opinion” in deciding the sentence to be imposed on him and others. “The impugned judgment is bad in law as subsequent SC judgments have definitely changed the law on death sentence in India allowing several convicts similarly placed as him to have their death sentence commuted to life imprisonment,” the plea said.

Support for Deepika Padukone has also come from other states, with Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh waiving entertainment tax on the screening of her film

Lucknow:  Bollywood star Deepika Padukone visited JNU campus on Tuesday

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has arranged a special screening of Deepika Padukone’s new film – ‘Chhapaak‘ – for party workers in Lucknow today. The move is aimed at expressing support for Ms Padukone who has been criticised on social media after her Tuesday evening visit to Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, where she stood in solidarity with students injured in last week’s vicious mob attack that left 34 people injured, including the JNU students’ union leader Aishe Ghosh and several faculty members.

‘Chhapaak‘, which also marks Ms Padukone’s debut as a film producer, is directed by Meghna Gulzar and is based on the real life story of Laxmi Agarwal, a Delhi woman who was an acid attack victim.

“We are also watching the film because our president Akhilesh Yadav has always been concerned about the problems of acid attack survivors. He (Mr Yadav) had set up the Sheroes Hangout cafe in Lucknow for acid attack survivors,” a senior party leader was quoted by news agency IANS.

Ms Padukone celebrated her birthday – January 5 – at the cafe with acid attack survivors.

UP Congress has also expressed support, with party leader Shailendra Tiwari putting up posters of the film around the city and calling on people to go and watch the film.

Two days after a mob of around 70 to 100 goons – wearing masks and wielding iron rods, sledgehammers and glass bottles – barged onto the JNU campus and went on a brutal and unchecked rampage, Deepika Padukone made a surprise visit to the university.

The ‘Padmaavat‘ star reached the JNU campus at 7.30 pm on Tuesday, attended a public meeting for 15 minutes and left after speaking to a few members of the students’ union.

The move by Ms Padukone, one of Bollywood’s top stars, stood out amid conspicuous silence by film industry A-listers on student protests and the demonstrations across the country against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act.

Her decision instantly polarised opinion on social media, where she was both praised for her courage and targeted by trolls.

BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga posted a photo of Ms Padukone, standing in silence behind the injured Ms Ghosh, with an appeal to boycott her movies; ‘Chhapaak‘ released in theatres today.

Support for Ms Padukone has also come pouring in from other states, with Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (both Congress-ruled states) waiving entertainment tax on the screening of her film.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath tweeted: “Deepika Padukone’s film on acid attack survivor, Chhapaak is releasing across the country on January 10. I declare it tax-free in Madhya Pradesh”.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced a similar move and also urged people to watch the movie with their families. “The film spreads awareness among people against heinous crime like acid attack on women in society. You all should go to watch the movie along with your families,” he said.