Archives for September 2022

T’PURAM/KOLLAM: Having drawn flak for excluding BJP-ruled Gujarat from Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress announced that its second phase would begin in the western state and end in Arunachal Pradesh in 2023.

“We’ll cover nearly 3,100km in 150 days in the second phase. This is the longest march undertaken by any political party in the world. Earlier it was the one undertaken by Chinese leader Mao Zedong. If the yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir turns successful, we’ll go ahead with the one from Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh,” AICC general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said in Kollam.

The Congress had faced criticism from the CPM for spending 18 days of the yatra in Kerala and a mere two days in Uttar Pradesh. But the party’s national leadership maintained that, as per their itinerary, the UP padayatra was scheduled for five days. The war of words on their respective Twitter handle saw them raising allegations and counter allegations.

NEW DELHI:  The CBI has taken over the probe into the mysterious death of Haryana BJP leader Sonali Phogat in Goa last month, officials said Thursday

The central probe agency re-registered the FIR of Goa Police on a reference from the Ministry of Home Affairs which was routed to it through the Department of Personnel and Training, they said.

Teams of the CBI along with CFSL experts will reach Goa to collect documents and interact with the local police officials and doctors who had examined the former TV anchor after she was brought to the hospital.

The sources said viscera samples will give a definitive clue about the causes of Phogat’s death.

The ministry had referred the case to the CBI after Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah requesting a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The home ministry recommended to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to get the case probed by the CBI, an official privy to the development said. The CBI functions under the administrative control of the DoPT.

Phogat, from Hisar in Haryana, was brought dead to a hospital in Goa in the intervening night of August 22-23

A former Tik Tok star and a contestant on the reality TV show “Big Boss”, 43-year-old Phogat had arrived in Goa with two of her male aides–Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh, a day before the incident.

In a CCTV footage of the restaurant that emerged after her death, she was seen dancing with Sangwan. The aide is also purportedly seen forcing her to drink water which she instantly spits out.

Another video shows Phogat being escorted out of the restaurant by her aides, now arrested in which she can be seen staggering and almost falling near the staircase on her way out.

Police had said Sangwan and Singh allegedly mixed some “obnoxious substance” in water and forced Phogat to drink it.

Phogat was administered methamphetamine, and some left-over drug was recovered from the restaurant’s washroom, Deputy Superintendent of Police Jivba Dalvi had said.

Police have so far arrested five people in connection with the case including the aides who accompanied her to Goa Sangwan and Singh, two alleged drug suppliers Dattaprasad Gaonkar and Rama Mandrekar and the owner of restaurant Edwin Nunes.

It is alleged that Gaonkar had provided drugs to Singh and Sangwan. Mandrekar had sold the drugs to Gaonkar.

The doctors said she had had a heart attack, but her brother alleged that Sagwan and Singh played a role in her death.

The arrests were made and a First Information Report for murder was registered after the autopsy report said there were multiple “blunt force injuries” on her body.

Police had said “economic interest” could be a motive behind her alleged killing.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala respects everyone in the State and does not allow itself to be divided or hatred to spread here and therefore, the Bharat Jodo Yatra is an extension of these ideas, said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday at the culmination of the fifth day of the yatra here.

Addressing thousands who had joined the yatra during the course of the day, Gandhi said, “Standing together, working together in harmony is natural and normal for the people of Kerala and you have shown this to the rest of the country.”

He further said the reason the State has a good education system and the “most compassionate nurses” is because “Kerala respects everyone in Kerala”.

“It does not allow itself to be divided nor does it allow hatred to spread in the State. So in a sense, Bharat Jodo Yatra is just an extension of the ideas that prevail in Kerala,” he added.

He also said the message Congress was trying to spread through the yatra was “not a new message”.

“It is quite an old message which is in the DNA of Kerala,” Gandhi said and also thanked the people for showing up in such large numbers for supporting the yatra.

The first day of Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Kerala, where the party has a significant cadre base and followers, saw a huge turnout which increased during the day as the journey progressed from Parassala to Nemom in the southernmost district of the State.

A large crowd of Congress members and workers as well as onlookers gathered at Parassala early in the morning, along with senior party leaders to welcome Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi as he commenced the Kerala leg of the 3,570-km long yatra from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu to Jammu and Kashmir.

The first phase of the day’s yatra ended after a three-hour long walk at Neyyattinkara and before the second phase resumed from 5 PM, Gandhi held interactions with students of GR Public School and also handloom workers of Balaramapuram here which is famous handloom garment manufacturing.

Gandhi listened to the weavers’ concerns like poor pay, lack of benefits from the government and rising cost of raw materials, and said he sees them not just as handloom workers but as those who are protecting a historical and traditional industry, a release issued by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee said.

While praising their work, he suggested that they come up with new designs and innovations and also offered all assistance, it said. 

The workers also presented him with a Congress symbol made by handloom. Gandhi, during the break from the yatra, also paid tribute at the memorial of social reformer Ayyankali.

“During the afternoon break of the 4th day of #BharatJodoYatra @RahulGandhi visited one of the most revered Smarakams in India. Sree Ayyankali was one of the greatest social reformers of 20th century who empowered millions of deprived and discriminated, and remains iconic,” AICC general secretary in charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh tweeted

In the coming days of the yatra, Gandhi would also be visiting the memorials of social reformers Chattampi Swamikal and Narayana Guru to pay tribute to them.

This was announced to reporters by senior Congress leaders when the yatra halted after the first leg of the day’s journey, where they also launched the Malayalam theme song of the yatra.

They also termed as “beyond expectations” the huge turnout of people who came to see and join the yatra as thousands joined the march and even more thronged both sides of the road the ‘yatris’ were passing through.

“We never intended to mobilise a crowd for the morning leg of the yatra.”It was only for the afternoon phase of the journey that the Congress workers were going to mobilise supporters to participate in the yatra. However, the response we got in the morning itself was beyond our expectations,” the Congress leaders told the reporters.

In the aerial visuals shown on Twitter handles of Bharat Jodo Yatra and various Congress leaders, it was a serpentine procession which looked hundreds of metres long.

In the second leg of the day’s journey, the turnout increased even further with the yatris shouting ‘Bharat Jodo’ and ‘jodo jodo’ slogans as they walked behind Gandhi.

Besides prominent persons, senior party leaders like Congress MPs like Shashi Tharoor, K C Venugopal and Digvijaya Singh, KPCC president K Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly V D Satheesan, also accompanied Gandhi in the yatra.

Occasionally, children too joined the Wayanad MP for brief periods in the yatra.

Gandhi also took a short break for snacks at a roadside eatery in the morning which turned out as a pleasant surprise for the shopowner who was seen beaming in photographs and videos tweeted by Congress leaders and on the Bharat Jodo Yatra Twitter handle.

Speaking to the reportes after the yatra halted at Neyyattinkara, Ramesh announced the launch of the around three-minute long Bharat Jodo Yatra theme song in Malayalam.

Gandhi’s sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, too, shared photographs of the yatra on her Facebook page and said that every section of society was excited about the Bharat Jodo Yatra which was evident from the participation and enthusiasm of farmers, labourers, youth, women, children and the elderly.

“The message of the people of the country is clear- inflation, unemployment, economic crisis and divisive politics should end,” she said in her Facebook post.

After entering Kerala from Parassala close to the Tamil Nadu border, Gandhi would travel 450 km to Nilambur in Malappuram over a 19-day period.

The yatra would cover 12 States and two Union territories, and a distance of 3,570 km from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu to Jammu and Kashmir over a period of 150 days. There would be mega rallies in 22 major cities.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The animal husbandry department (AHD) has identified 170 hotspots across 14 districts where more than 10 incidents of stray dog bites have been reported on an average every month. Thiruvananthapuram tops in the state with 28 hotspots, while Palakkad comes a close second with 26, said the data released by the department ahead of the government’s proposed mass vaccination drive and ABC (animal birth control) programme to rein in the stray dog menace in the state.

Idukki and Kasaragod districts are at the bottom of the list, with just one and three hotspots, respectively. The local self-government department will launch the statewide vaccination drive from September 20. AHD Minister J Chinchu Rani will chair a meeting on Thursday to finalise the plans.A senior AHD official said the hotspots would be given priority for the vaccination drives and ABC programme.

“We need to prioritise these localities to contain the situation. Many local bodies have already launched vaccination drives and efforts are on to find temporary shelters to segregate dangerous stray dogs,” said the official.

However, the state government might find implementation of its proposals challenging as everything has to be done as per the guidelines and norms of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), said the official, adding, “ABC centres in particular should be equipped with all the facilities mandated by AWBI. Ensuring it won’t be easy for local bodies.”

As per a survey by the AHD, there were around 2.89 lakh stray dogs and 9 lakh pet animals in the state in 2019. Experts said the number might have gone up by 20 to 25 per cent in the past three years. Though the local self-government department is planning to carry out the ABC aggressively, lack of infrastructure will pose a major challenge in its efforts. Kerala has just 37 ABC centres at present that are partially or fully functional. The department is planning to set up 76 ABC centres to cover all 152 blocks.“Vaccinating stray dogs will be especially challenging,” said Dr S Nandakumar, vice-president of the Kerala Chapter of Indian Veterinary Association. 

Animal rights activists unhappy with state govt

Nandakumar said the government is planning to rope in community dog feeders and animal lovers who are ready to volunteer for the purpose. “Catching stray dogs, especially dangerous ones, will be tough and the government is ready to pay volunteers to do it. ABC centres should have operation theatres with ACs,” he said.

He said a multi-pronged approach having the cooperation of political parties, NGOs and others is necessary. Animal rights activists are unhappy with the way the government is taking decisions, especially its proposal to approach the Supreme Court seeking approval to kill rabid stray dogs.

“Killing is never a solution. And what is the definition of aggressive/ferocious dogs? No court will approve the government’s plea to kill stray dogs,” said activist and former AWBI member M N Jayachandran. Criticising the government, he said the state animal welfare board had not met even once since the stray dog issue was reported.

Noida: Peeved over the alleged non-payment of his dues worth over Rs 2.50 lakh, a construction contractor set a builder’s luxury Mercedes car in Noida on fire, officials said on Wednesday.

Contractor Ranveer (40) has been arrested. The incident had taken place outside the builder’s home on Monday and the episode was caught on a CCTV camera, Deputy Commissioner of Police Harish Chander said.

A footage of the episode showed contactor Ranveer on a road outside builder Ayush Chauhan’s house in the Sadarpur area under the Sector 39 police station limits during the daylight incident two days ago.

Ranveer had reached there on a motorcycle and wearing a helmet.

The Mercedes car of the builder was parked on the road and the contractor, without removing his helmet, went near it, poured some flammable liquid on it and then set it on fire, the footage showed.

“The contractor was arrested on Wednesday. He claimed a financial dispute with the builder because of which the contractor said he took this step,” DCP Chander said.

Chauhan had on Tuesday filed a complaint against Ranveer at the local police station, leading to his arrest on Wednesday. He was booked under the Indian Penal Code Section 435 (mischief by fire with intent to cause damage).

Officials said the builder had been hiring the contractor for work since 2018-2019.

The builder allegedly owed over Rs 2.50 lakh to the contractor for some tile work and this had led to arguments between them recently, the officials said.

When asked about the contractor’s claims, the DCP told PTI, “Whether any payment was due or the money has been paid to the contractor is part of inquiry. We have not received any complaint from the contractor but if we get it, we will probe the matter.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said police could have opened fire on violent BJP protesters during its march to the state secretariat, but the government exercised maximum restraint.

Banerjee also alleged that the saffron party brought in goons armed with bombs in trains from outside the state to foment trouble during its Nabanna Abhijan’ on Tuesday.

“Many police personnel were brutally attacked by the participants of that rally… Police could have opened fire, but our administration showed maximum restraint,” she said during an administrative meeting at Nimtouri in Purba Medinipur district.

The CM said the protest march inconvenienced commuters and traders, barely a few weeks ahead of Durga Puja, Bengal’s biggest festival.

“We have nothing against democratic and peaceful protests. But, the BJP and its supporters resorted to violence, vandalism and arson. They torched properties and instilled fear among people.

We won’t allow this. Arrests are being made, and law will take its own course,” she said.