Archives for September 2024

Shivamogga: The Bhadravati Forest Department has arrested four individuals on charges of hunting a Sambar deer. The arrested individuals include Shiva (28) and Venkatesh (60) from Gondi village in Bhadravati taluk, and Manjappa (45) and Vinod (19) from Chaudikatte Bhairapura village in Chikkamagaluru.

The accused are reported to have hunted and butchered the Sambar deer near Chaudikatte in the Umblebailu range of Bhadravati taluk, discarding its head in a nearby lake. Following an investigation, the Bhadravati Forest Department staff arrested the suspects and placed them in judicial custody.

The operation was conducted under the guidance of Bhadravathi DCF Ashish Reddy, with participation from Channagiri ACF Ratnaprabha, Umblebailu RFO Giddaswamy, DRFO Pawan, Beet Forest Sanju, and other Forest Department staff.

Chhatra Samaj leader Sayan Lahiri

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the West Bengal government’s plea challenging the Calcutta High Court’s order granting bail to one of the organisers of the August 27 march to the state secretariat to protest against a trainee woman doctor’s rape and murder.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said “prima facie” a case for bail was made out in the case.

The Calcutta High Court on Friday granted bail to Paschim Banga Chhtra Samaj leader Sayan Lahiri. Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj, an unregistered student group, was one of the two organisations that gave the call for the August 27 ‘Nabanna Abhijan’.

Lahiri was arrested on August 27 evening for playing an active role in leading the rally which, the police said, turned violent, causing destruction of public and private property and attacks on police officers.

Acting on a plea by Lahiri’s mother Anjali seeking quashing of proceedings against him and grant of bail, the Calcutta High Court had on Friday ordered his release from police custody by 2 pm on Saturday.

The Kolkata Police released Lahiri from its custody on Saturday.

A woman post-graduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered at the West Bengal government-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital earlier this month, triggering nationwide outrage.

Tejashwi Yadav

Patna : Alleging that the NDA governments at the Centre and in Bihar were against caste census and reservation, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday asserted that such an enumeration was “like an X-ray”, ascertaining population of various caste groups and their socio-economic conditions.

Addressing party workers while leading a dharna at the RJD office in Patna, Yadav sought to know from the JD(U) its stand on the demand for inclusion of the hiked quota for deprived castes in Bihar in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.

“The Mahagathbandhan administration in Bihar last year urged the Centre to incorporate the hike in reservation from 50 to 65 per cent in state government jobs and educational institutions in the Ninth Schedule. But they did not do it. The NDA governments at the Centre as well as in the state are against reservation for the deprived section of the society and also against caste census,” he said.

“I must say that caste census is like an X-ray that will ascertain the population of various caste groups and socio-economic conditions of the impoverished sections of the country,” he added.

Yadav’s RJD organised dharnas across the state, demanding the inclusion of the hiked quota in the Ninth Schedule and the implementation of a nationwide caste census.

The Ninth Schedule of the Constitution is a list of central and state laws that cannot be challenged in courts.

“I simply ask one question to the JD (U) leaders, they must tell people whether they are in favour of putting it in the Ninth Schedule or not. If yes, then why are they not doing it when they are part of the NDA? And if not, they must say it. Why is the CM maintaining a stoic silence over the issue? What happened to him?” asked Yadav.

“BJP wants the son of a garbage collector to clean drains. All the veteran socialist leaders, from time to time, talked about the caste census. Our great leaders always talked about the reservation and talked about those sections that are at the bottom of the society, whether Dalits, tribals or socially marginalised people,” he added.

Yadav also accused the BJP and its allies of celebrating when “Bihar was denied special category status”.

“JD(U) leaders were happy when Bihar was not given the special category status. They are not interested in the overall development of Bihar at all,” he alleged.

Reacting to Yadav’s comments, JD(U) spokesperson Sanjay Kumar Jha said the chief minister ensured that a caste survey took place in the state.

“He took all affirmative actions regarding it. The opposition leaders in Bihar are people who did not even provide reservation in panchayats when they were in power,” he said.

Patna: Due to heavy rain and water logging over tracks at many places locations under South Western Railway’s (SWR) jurisdiction, the East Central Railway on Monday cancelled several trains on Monday.

A statement issued by Sharswati Chandra, Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO) of East Central Railway on Monday said, “Due to heavy rain and water logging over tracks at several locations in the SWR, the ECR cancelled Sangha Mitra Express (from Danapur to Bengaluru-12296) and Danapur-Bengaluru special train (06510) which was scheduled to depart from Danapur on September 4.”

“Two more trains have also been cancelled due track breach following heavy rains at Rayanapadu railway station in SWR. These trains include: Bengaluru-Danapur (12295), Bengaluru-Danapur special (06509),” said the CPRO.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar in the Swati Maliwal assault case.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan directed that Kumar will not be reinstated as a personal assistant to Kejriwal or given any official assignment in the chief minister’s office.

The top court also restrained Kumar from entering the chief minister’s residence till all witnesses have been examined.

Kumar allegedly assaulted Maliwal, a Rajya Sabha MP, on May 13 at Kejriwal’s official residence.

An FIR was registered against Kumar on May 16 under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to criminal intimidation, assault or using criminal force on a woman with the intent to disrobe, and attempt to commit culpable homicide. He was arrested on May 18.

While denying him bail, the high court had said the accused enjoys “considerable influence” and no ground has been made out to grant him the relief. It cannot be ruled out that witnesses may be influenced or evidence tampered with in case the petitioner is released on bail, it had said.

Bengaluru: An FIR has been registered by the Bengaluru Police against a Bangladeshi journalist and a woman staffer of an Indian news portal for allegedly spreading fake news and misinformation about Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, both senior Congress leaders.

The case was registered at the High Grounds police station against the journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhaury and Aditi – working with the news portal, for sharing his claims on its social media handle, they said.

According to the complainant Srinivas G, associated with the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), the Bangladeshi journalist allegedly shared a post on his X handle linking Sonia Gandhi to a foreign spy agency.

He alleged Choudhary did so with an intention to malign the public image of the Gandhi family and that the journalist had shared such a post to create enmity between two religions.

Srinivas charged Choudhury with having made certain claims about Rahul Gandhi.

“Based on the complaint we received, we have filed an FIR against the two for allegedly spreading misinformation about the Gandhi family. Case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony and 353 (2) (publishing or circulating false information to create hatred on the basis of religion etc),” a senior police officer said.

An investigation is underway and accordingly action will be taken in the case, he said.