Archives for 2021

PATNA: The Patna divisional commissioner Sanjay Kumar Aggarwal has ordered directing all the owners of commercial and residential buildings to install the CCTV surveillance system by March 31.

There are around 1500 high-rise buildings of apartments in Patna besides other commercial and residential buildings. And all of these buildings are to be brought under the CCTV surveillance system for security reasons.

The order has been passed after an alarming increase in crimes in the city. The Patna commissioner has directed to install CCTV at identified important places apart from buildings and apartments ensuring monitoring of its functioning effectively.

In this regard, Divisional Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Aggarwal has instructed in the meeting of the Divisional Safety Committee that the apartments where CCTVs are not installed should be installed by March 31, and where CCTVs have already been installed, proper functioning must be ensured.

The most important decision taken by the commissioner is that the installation of CCTV cameras will have to be mentioned while getting clearance of the map of houses from the Patna Municipal Corporation.

“In Patna, it is now necessary to mention the CCTV point only while passing the map of the apartment / commercial complex in future, otherwise the map cannot be passed,” Aggarwal said.

The entire area covering the entrance of the apartment, exit door, stairway, near the lift, parking, location on each floor and outside at the gate have to be brought under CCTV camera surveillance.

The installation of CCTV cameras has been made mandatory at the entry and exit gates of all banks in Patna.  “For this, the DM and the SSP have directed to get it ensured in addition to the petrol pump, jewellery shops and the hospitals,” he said.

GHAZIABAD: Residents of three villages in Ghaziabad have boycotted and banned entry of their local MLA Nand Kishor Gurjar for “disrespecting” farmers, days after he was accused of intimidating protesters at the ongoing farmer’s agitation against new farm laws at Ghazipur.

Banners declaring opposition to the BJP MLA have come up in Banthla, Behta and Afzalpur Nistoli villages, where locals and panchayats have made the boycott announcements in the last few days.

Nand Kishor, however, has denied the allegations and claimed that Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, who is leading the protest at Ghazipur border, has falsely accused him and is “misleading” the country over the issue.

The MLA also offered to resign from the post if allegations about his presence at protest site are proved.

“Gaon Banthala Loni Vidhayak Nand Kishor Gurjar ka bahishkaar karta hai. Jo Kisanon ka apmaan karega, Banthla gaon use bardaasth nahin karega (Village Banthala boycotts Loni MLA Nand Kishor Gurjar. Banthala won’t tolerate anyone who disrespects farmers),” reads a banner hung at the Banthla village entry point.

A similar banner came up in Afzalpur Nistoli village on Monday, a day after the announcement in Banthla.

On January 31, elderly people at Behta too announced boycott of the local MLA after a panchayat and appealed to him to not visit the hamlet.

“Nand Kishor went to Rakesh Tikait’s event and spoke wrong things there. In view of this, the village, its society and the panchayat decided to boycott him. Please do not visit this village,” village’s panchayat member Mohan Singh Dhama announced.

Earlier, prominent Gurjar leader and former MLA Madan Bhaiyya had also lashed out at Nand Kishor for his alleged actions and extended his community’s support to the farmers’ “peaceful and non-political” protest.

“But ruckus created by one anti-national element has embarrassed the whole country and because of which the protesting farmers felt discouraged and demotivated despite being innocent,” he had said in a statement.

Journalists Mrinal Pande, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath and Anant Nath also approached the top court on Tuesday evening against the FIRs

NEW DELHI; Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai have moved the Supreme Court against multiple FIRs registered against them over their alleged “misleading” tweets on the violence during the farmers’ tractor rally here on Republic Day.

Journalists Mrinal Pande, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath and Anant Nath also approached the top court on Tuesday evening against the FIRs.

On January 30, Delhi Police had filed a case against Tharoor, Sardesai, The Caravan and others.

Earlier, Tharoor and six journalists were booked by the Noida Police for sedition, among other charges, over the violence during the farmers’ tractor rally in Delhi, officials had said.

Madhya Pradesh police has also filed a case against Tharoor and the six journalists over their alleged ”misleading” tweets on the violence during the farmers’ tractor rally in Delhi.

On January 26, thousands of protesting farmers had clashed with the police during the tractor rally called by farmer unions to highlight their demand for repeal of the Centre’s three farm laws.

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Chief Metropolitan Magistrate observed that the complainant, victims and witnesses are police personnel only hence there is no possibility that accused/ applicant can influence them.

NEW DELHI:  A Delhi court Tuesday granted bail to freelance journalist Mandeep Punia who was arrested by Delhi Police from farmers’ protest site at Singhu border.

The complainant, victims and witnesses were police personnel only, “hence, there is no possibility that accused/ applicant can able to influence any of the police officials”, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Satvir Singh Lamba said while granting the bail.

Punia was arrested by police on Sunday in an FIR registered under various sections including 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) of IPC.

The judge also noted in the order that the alleged scuffle incident of case was of around 6.30 PM, “however, the present FIR was registered at around 1.21 AM on the next day”.

He further said, “Admittedly, the accused is a freelance journalist. Moreso, no recovery is to be effected from the accused person and keeping the accused further in Judicial Custody would not serve any cogent purpose.”

He said it was well settled legal principle of law that “bail is a rule and jail is an exception”.

“Hence, considering the totality of facts and circumstances of the present case, submissions on behalf of both the parties as well as keeping in view the period of detention of the accused in judicial custody, he is admitted to bail on furnishing bail bond in a sum of Rs 25,000 along with one sound surety in the like amount,” the judge said.

The court also imposed various conditions on the accused, including that he will not leave the country without its prior permission.

“Accused shall not indulge into similar offence or any other offence in the event of release on bail. Accused shall not tamper with the evidences in any manner,” it said.

It further directed that the accused shall join the investigations as and when required by the investigating agency.

Punia has told the court that he was innocent and was falsely implicated in the case.

“The offences as alleged in the present FIR are not made out against the accused. The accused is a freelance journalist and was carrying out his duties along with another journalists at the protest site of Singhu Border, Delhi,” his lawyer had told the court on Monday.

It was further contended that another journalist was also apprehended by the police, but was released in the mid night.

“However, the accused was not released as he was not carrying any press ID card. Accused is a freelance journalist and used to write the articles and is a frequent contributor to the Caravan magazine,” the counsel said.

He further said that accused had roots in the society and that he will co-operate in the investigation, as per law.

Delhi police had opposed the bail application on the ground that the allegations against Punia were “grave and serious in nature“.

It said that the accused may again indulge in instigating the protestors and may create nuisance at the protest site with the group of different people and may hamper the investigation.

Punia was sent to 14-day judicial custody on Sunday.

The Shiv Sena has been supporting the farmers who are agitating at Delhi’s border points for over two months against the Centre’s three new farm laws.

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said he will visit farmers who are protesting at the Ghazipur border near Delhi, as per the instruction of Maharashtra Chief Minister and party head Uddhav Thackeray.

The Shiv Sena has been supporting the farmers who are agitating at Delhi’s border points for over two months against the Centre’s three new farm laws.

“The Maha Vikas Aghadi government took decisions in the interest of farmers. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray stood with farmers when they were in pain. Will visit the farmers protesting at Ghazipur border on his instruction,” Raut tweeted, adding he will reach there at 1 pm.

Farmers’ protest sites at Delhi’s borders turned into fortresses Monday as police beefed up security and strengthened barricades.

Workers under the watch of police personnel hooked iron rods between two rows of cement barriers on a flank of the main highway at the Singhu border to further restrict the movement of protesters.

Another portion of the highway at the Delhi-Haryana border is practically blocked now as a makeshift cement wall has come up there.

At Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, there are multi-layer barricades to stop the movement of vehicles.

Barbed wire has also been put up to keep off people on foot.

Protesters have been pouring in as the Bharatiya Kisan Union members and its leader Rakesh Tikait have stayed pitched at Ghazipur’s UP Gate, occupying a stretch of the Delhi-Meerut highway since November last year.

NEW DELHI: Less than three million foreign tourists visited India in 2020, a dip of around 75 per cent as compared to the previous year, due to travel restrictions imposed to control the coronavirus pandemic, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.

Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel said that while in 2019, the number of foreign tourist arrivals was 10.93 million, the number stood at 10.56 million in 2018.

It was in 2017 that foreign tourist arrivals crossed the 10 million-mark.

There were 10.4 million arrivals in that year, he said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

Last year, foreign tourist arrivals stood at 2.68 million and “no formal study has been instituted for assessment of loss of revenue in 2020”, Patel said.

“However, several rounds of discussions and brainstorming sessions with industry stakeholders indicate massive loss of revenue, foreign exchange and jobs. In view of the highly unorganised nature of the sector, the impact in numerical terms can only be ascertained in due course,” the minister said.

“With an aim to incentivize stakeholders in the tourism industry, the guidelines for the scheme of Market Development Assistance (MDA) for providing financial support to stakeholders for the promotion of domestic tourism have been modified to enhance the scope and reach of the scheme, so as to provide maximum benefits to the stakeholders,” Patel told the House.

In addition, promotional activities have been incorporated including online promotions and the extent of financial assistance permissible has been enhanced, he said.