Archives for 2021

Pramesh Jain

Telangana man arrested by NCB in major Alprazolam drug racket 150 grams Alprazolam and Rs.4.83 lakhs of proceeds of drug seized

In continuation of busting of major Alprazolam manufacturing and trafficking interstate network linked to Bidar and Karnataka and in Andhra Pradesh.

The NCB officials has arrested Baddigari Pandu Goud,Shadnagar,Mahbubnagar,Telengana and seized 150 gms of Alprazolam and Rs.4.83 from him after searching his house on Friday.

Senior officer said,He was running spurious liquor racket using Alprazolam chemical and selling it to the people who are mostly from lower income group and labour class.

During his interrogation it is found that,the accused had sourced the chemical from the main conspirator S Bhaskar . 

The NCB Bangalore during the raid in June seized  91.3 kgs of Alprazolam from his factory situated in industrial area in Bidar in June this year,Amit Ghawate ,Zonal Director,NCB,said .

Investigations so far revealed that the he was preparing spurious toddy by using alprazolam and other chemicals.

He is involved in the trade of spurious toddy for last eight years and during interrogation he has shared details of many such spurious toddy shops details which are involved in this racket. 

The NCB Hyderabad has also taken up this matter with other state agencies of Telangana for further investigation and action against this spurious toddy seller in the state of Telangana.

It is being found that this spurious toddy is prepared by adding many harmful chemical and further investigation is on.

Finally NCB acknowledges the dedicated efforts of Amit Ghawate,(Zonal Director,NCB Bangalore), Sumit Arya, Superintendent and other officers associated to the case at NCB,Hyderabad Sub Zonal Unit.

KOLKATA: The NHRC committee enquiring into alleged post-poll violence in West Bengal as per a Calcutta High Court order has said that a large number of complaints have been received from six districts of the state, while only three per cent of the total accused people are currently in jail.

Making a list of alleged notorious criminals in various districts, it noted the names of a state minister, a ruling party MLA and a former MLA among others.

The seven-member enquiry committee, which was formed by the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission on a direction by the Calcutta High Court, said that the percentage of accused arrested and that of accused who are still in custody is abysmally low, showing “inept performance of local police and there is no deterrence for criminal elements.”

It said that the data provided by the West Bengal director general of police reflects that, out of the 9,304 accused cited in FIRs, only 1,354 (14 per cent) have been arrested and, out of them, 1,086 (80 per cent) already secured bail.

“Thus, overall speaking, less than 3 per cent of the accused are in jail, while 97 per cent are out in the open, making a mockery of the whole system, the report said.

“It is quite evident that police is working under influence and in a biased manner and do not have the courage to take action against looming goons belonging to the ruling dispensation,” the seven-member NHRC committee report said in a scathing remark.

The report noted that the inspectors in-charge of police stations have not visited the places of many of the violent incidents, nor collected any evidence or recorded statements, “let alone registering FIRs.”

It said that out of the 311 spot enquiries conducted by the NHRC teams, in as many as 188 instances (60 per cent), FIRs have not been registered and that in 33 (27 per cent) of the remaining 123 cases, “police have resorted to dilution by using milder sections of law.”

The report said that when the NHRC operational teams visited these 311 places, additionally, 2,869 people approached them with petitions requesting enquiry and registration of cases.

“To summarize, for 123 cases registered by the police, there were another 3,057 (2869+ 188) number of complainants/ petitioners/victims, whose cases were either not registered by police or cases were diluted or police were not accessible to them and therefore, they wanted NHRC teams to enquire into their issues,” the report said.

If this is considered as a sample of the state of affairs in West Bengal, the extent of burking and minimisation of crime across the state can be well imagined, the committee said in its observation.

National Commission for Women (NCW) member Rajulben L Desai, who is a member of the NHRC committee, “during her visit to villages observed that people are not coming out of their houses because of the reason that if they make a complaint then the goons of TMC (Trinamool Congress) will further victimise their family members.”

The report said that Desai observed in this situation there is no rule of law in the state.

“There is need of good governance in the state of West Bengal for implementing the rights provided by Indian Constitution i.e, Right to live with dignity (Article 21) which includes right to residence and right to food, right to medical, legal aid and freedom of expression,” she observed, according to the report submitted before the high court.

Holding that the committee’s work was severely affected by prevalent fear among victims, the report said that it precluded many victims from mentioning their plight or the name of the perpetrators of crime or abettors.

Asserting that the “poor and common people have lost faith in police,” the report said that almost all the victims informed the inquiry committee and their teams that the police either did not respond to their phone calls or came and stood as mere spectators while goons went on a rampage from one place to another.

“The police were either negligent or complicit or under pressure not to take any action against the goons belonging to the ruling dispensation,” it said.

It said that the sanctioned and actual manpower in police stations is very low, given the large area and dense demography.

It is not sufficient to cover large scale incidents and carry out effective beat policing at beat/chowki level, the report said, adding that this shortage has been sought to be augmented by deployment of civic volunteers.

“The spate of violence shows a pernicious politico- bureaucratic-criminal nexus. Criminals indulged in violence against political rivals while the bureaucratic edifice was complicit in various degrees.”

“This is a deadly combination that has sinister implications for any State and will ultimately corrode the entire edifice. The presence of this nexus in a border State also has larger national security implications,” the committee said in its report.

Recommending ex-gratia payments to the victims, the NHRC committee said that the next of kin of deceased persons should be given Rs 5 lakh each, while survivors of sexual assault should be given Rs 2 lakh each.

Victims who suffered vandalisation/looting/destruction of their properties should be given Rs 1 lakh each.

Victims who suffered grievous injuries should be given Rs 1 lakh each and those who suffered a simple injury should be given Rs 50,000 each, the panel recommended.

The NHRC Thursday rejected as “baseless and factually incorrect” allegations that a report prepared by its committee probing the incidents of post-poll violence in West Bengal has been leaked by the rights panel.

The National Human Rights Commission said in a statement that the panel had submitted its report to the Calcutta High Court on July 13.

“The NHRC refutes allegations in a section of the media, regarding the leak of the report, relating to the post-poll violence in West Bengal,” the statement said.

Since the report is already available with all the concerned parties as per the directives of the court, “there is no question of leakage at the level of the NHRC,” the rights panel said.

The attribution regarding the alleged leak of the report to the NHRC is absolutely “baseless and factually incorrect,” the statement said.

The NHRC has already shared the copy of the report with the “advocates of the concerned parties in this matter in accordance with the directions of the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court”, it added.

The Commission had constituted the committee to inquire into the post-poll violence in the state as per the directions of the Calcutta High Court.

“On further directions of the court, the committee provided a copy of it, to its advocate in Calcutta, who shared with the advocates of all the concerned parties in the related multiple writ petitions,” the statement said.

“The matter being sub judice, the committee of the NHRC did not share its report to any entity other than those specified by the hon’ble court,” it added.

The committee, in the report placed before the Calcutta High Court, has recommended a CBI investigation into “grievous offences like murder and rape” and suggested that these cases be tried outside the state.

The report, however, drew the wrath of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who said the panel was pursuing “political vendetta” on behalf of the BJP by “leaking” its findings to the media.

CHANDIGARH: Ahead of a likely revamp in the Punjab Congress, a hectic political activity was at play here with CM Amarinder Singh and former state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu meeting party legislators.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh met more than 20 party leaders, including ministers, MLAs and MPs at his farmhouse in Mohali’s Siswan, sources said.

Sidhu, who may be declared the state party chief, met four ministers and at least six MLAs at the residence of Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa here, they said.

Those who were present in the meeting with Sidhu included ministers Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Charanjit Singh Channi, MLAs Pargat Singh, Kulbir Zira, Barinderjit Singh Pahra and Kuljit Nagra.

What transpired in the meeting, which lasted for two hours, could not be ascertained.

Meanwhile, the CM met ministers, including Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, Aruna Chaudhary, Sunder Shyam Arora, besides some MLAs and MPs at his residence.

The development assumes significance amid reports of likely revamp of the Punjab Congress unit and cabinet reshuffle.

There are also media reports that Sidhu is likely to be announced as the Punjab Congress chief by the party high command.

There is also talk of appointing two working presidents, a Dalit and a Hindu face.

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has been at loggerheads with Amarinder Singh as he had attacked him over the alleged delay in justice in the 2015 desecration cases.

The Congress leadership is working out a formula for Amarinder and Sidhu to work together.

The Congress had set up a three-member panel, headed by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, to resolve the infighting in the Punjab Congress.

Both Sidhu and Amarinder had met the three-member AICC panel.

The CM had then said any decision taken by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi would be acceptable to him and the party.

Meanwhile, deliberations to chalk out a peace formula between Amarinder and Sidhu continued on Thursday with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi meeting Harish Rawat, the party in-charge for the state.

Rawat, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge for Punjab affairs, said Singh will continue as the chief minister when the state goes to Assembly polls next year.

Sources said Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present during Rawat’s hour-long meeting with Sonia Gandhi at her residence here.

Amid speculation over Sidhu getting a bigger role in a revamp of the Congress unit in Punjab, Rawat said both the chief minister and the Amritsar East MLA have to work together and a formula is being worked out.

He made it clear that he had never said Sidhu will be made the Punjab Congress chief.

Reports claiming that the cricketer-turned-politician will be made the state party chief have irked Singh and he has complained to the Congress leadership about it, the sources said.

However, the chief minister’s camp said he has neither quit nor offered to quit and will lead the Congress to victory in the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls.

“We are working out a formula where both the chief minister and Sidhu could work together,” Rawat told reporters.

“Amarinder Singh will continue as the chief minister of Punjab and the party will go to polls with him in the top position,” he said.

Rawat, however, said the party president’s final approval on the Punjab unit revamp is awaited.

He said the Congress wants both leaders to work towards uniting the party and steering it to victory in the Assembly polls slated early next year.

Notably, both Singh and Sidhu have held parallel meetings in Chandigarh with their loyalists.

While the chief minister has met some party MPs, MLAs and ministers, Sidhu is learnt to have met Punjab ministers Sukhjinder Randhawa and Tript Rajinder Bajwa, and some MLAs close to him at Randhawa’s residence.

Sidhu and Singh have been at loggerheads with each other and have also made public statements against each other, prompting the party to set up a three-member panel headed by Mallikarjun Kharge to end factionalism.

The sources said Sidhu could land up with a bigger role in the party’s revamp in Punjab ahead of the Assembly polls as part of the peace formula.

The party leadership does not want Sidhu to quit the Congress ahead of the election and join another party.

The sources said the Punjab Congress could have two working presidents too, in a bid to accommodate all sections, regions, religions and castes.

The party will announce a major revamp in Punjab in the next few days, which may see a new PCC chief too.

Sonia Gandhi had earlier met Singh, and Sidhu had called on Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The chief minister has told reporters that any decision with regard to the party will be acceptable to all and shall be implemented.

Sidhu is also learnt to have told the Congress leadership that any decision taken by it will be accepted by him.

The cricketer-turned-politician is keen for a bigger role in the revamped organisation ahead of the Assembly polls.

The Congress leadership has met almost all senior leaders and legislators from Punjab and taken their views before initiating the changes in the organisation.

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Secretariat has issued notices to MPs Shishir Adhikari, Sunil Kumar Mandal and K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju under the anti-defection law, sources said Thursday.

The TMC and the YSR Congress had approached Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with complaints against the three MPs.

“The Lok Sabha Secretariat issues letter to Shishir Adhikari, Sunil Kumar Mandal and K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, all MPs, in response to petitions received under Anti-Defection Law. They have been asked to give their comments within 15 days of the receipt of letters,” a source said.

The Tenth Schedule, popularly called the anti-defection law, was inserted in the Constitution in 1985.

It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on the grounds of defection by the presiding officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.

A legislator is deemed to have defected if he either voluntarily gives up the membership of his party or disobeys the directives of the party leadership on a vote.

This implies that a legislator defying (abstaining or voting against) the party whip on any issue can lose his membership of the House.

The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.

The decision of the presiding officer can be challenged in court.