Muzaffarnagar: As many as 270 people have been booked in connection with the violence at Sherpur village of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh wherein eight people, including five policemen, were injured.
The violent episode unfolded after a team of police raided several Muslim houses in Sherpur on Friday after miscreants provided them false information of “cow slaughter”.
When the police did not find any suspicious item during the search, they started searching nearby houses which angered the people, who opposed the police action and started pelting them with stones.
“270 people, including the village head, have been charged with rioting, participating in unlawful assembly, damaging public property, attempt to murder and related offences,” Superintendent of Police (City) Rakesh Kumar Singh said.
Two police motorcycles were also set afire during the violent episode under Kotwali police station limits, Singh said.
Meanwhile, the sub-inspector of the police outpost concerned has been transfered while other personnel have also been moved out, the SP said.
In the wake of the violence, extra police force was deployed in the village to ease the tension.
(Agencies)
Mild tremors felt in parts of Karnataka, Goa
Bengaluru: Mild tremors were experienced in Hubballi and Dharwad districts of Karnataka around Saturday midnight.
People residing in apartments and multi-storey buildings said they felt tremors for more than five seconds around 11:45 pm on Saturday.
When they realised that it was an earthquake, many people ran out of their houses. Strong tremors were felt in various localities in Dharwad. But, there was no damage anywhere.
Officials stated that an earthquake of a magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale occurred at a depth of 10 kms with Koyna Dam in Satara district of Maharashtra as the epicenter.
But, senior geologists said that there is no authentic report on the magnitude of the earthquake and denied rumours that houses have developed cracks.
Mild tremors were experienced for a few seconds in several parts of Belagavi too.
In Goa
Earthquake of magnitude 4.8 on Richter scale at Koyana dam at 11.44pm sent mild tremors across Goa. The tremors were felt at Porvorim, Old Goa and Margao.
The centre of the earthquake is Koyana area of Satara district. The tremors were also felt in Sangli and Kolhapur.
(Agencies)
CBI searches Prannoy Roy’s home, NDTV calls it ‘witch-hunt’
New Delhi: The CBI today searched the residence of NDTV founder Prannoy Roy here and three other locations for allegedly causing losses to a private bank, a move termed by NDTV as a “witch-hunt” based on “same old” false accusations.
The agency has registered a case against Roy, his wife Radhika and RRPR Holdings for allegedly causing losses of Rs 48 crore to ICICI Bank, CBI sources said.
They said the agency was conducting searches at four places in the national capital and Dehradun.
“This morning, the CBI stepped up the concerted harassment of NDTV and its promoters based on the same old endless false accusations,” NDTV said in a statement.
It said NDTV and its promoters would fight tirelessly against this witch-hunt by multiple agencies.
“We will not succumb to these attempts to blatantly undermine democracy and free speech in India. We have one message to those who are trying to destroy the institutions of India and everything it stands for: we will fight for our country and overcome these forces,” it said.
(Agencies)
5-year-old sexually abused in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: A five-year-old girl was sexually assaulted, beaten up and dumped in a semi-conscious state on a roadside in the city after she went outside of her makeshift tent to relieve herself in the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.
According to the police, the incident occurred in K G Halli police station limits, and the girl was found by a policeman on beat patrol in the area. The girl was bleeding due to head injuries and was immediately rushed to the state-run Bowring hospital, officials added. She has suffered several injuries.
Doctors treating the girl suspect she has been sexually assaulted and said she is currently under shock.
“The girl was admitted at about 3.45 AM at our hospital. There are genital injuries like vaginal tear, her ring finger has been amputated and there is also a scalp injury which led to the bleeding,” Dr Manjunath told reporters.
He said the girl was in shock and a bit disoriented. Prima facie it appears she has been sexually assaulted, he said, adding the sex abuse cell would conduct further tests to ascertain this. Doctors said that she is out of danger and all her vital health parameters are stable. She is currently undergoing treatment at the paediatric intensive care unit of the hospital.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Bengaluru), Hemanth Nimbalkar, said a case has been registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and investigations are on.
He said three teams have been formed, including a technical team and a special team under the supervision of Ajay Hilory, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Bengaluru East).
Cops said they are waiting for the girl to regain consciousness to take her statement. They suspect that someone known to her or someone residing near her house might have committed the crime.
Minister for Bengaluru Development and Town Planning KJ George visited the girl at the hospital on Saturday afternoon. He called it a “heinous crime” and said the incident shames the entire society.
He said she would be provided the best medical treatment possible and police would investigate and take action against the culprits at the earliest.
(Agencies)
No wheelchair, woman drags ill husband for scanning in Shivamogga hospital
Shivamogga: In a bizarre incident,an elderly woman had to drag her ill husband along the floorto get his scanning done as she was allegedly not provided with a wheelchair at a government run-hospital here.
The video of the incident, where Amir Saab, aged about 75, is seen being dragged by his foot along the floor by his wife Fameeda, has sparked outrage with the government ordering an inquiry into it.
The incident occurred on May 31 afternoon, at the state government run McGann Hospital here.
According to the patient, his wife was not provided the wheel chair by hospital authorities, despite repeated requests.
“We were fed up after repeatedly asking for a wheelchair. No one gave it. So my wife dragged me outside. By thensomeone came. They raised their voice against hospital authoritiesand got us the wheelchair,” Amir Saab toldreporters.
He said he has got back pain after being dragged along the floor and also complained that doctors were not visiting “properly”.
Health department officials said Amir Saab was admitted on May 25 due to some lung problem, breathing issues and swelling in the body. The physician after conducting tests, had advised an abdomen scan on May 30, they said.
The “unfortunate” incident should not have occurred as there were adequate number of wheelchairs, the hospital officials said, adding, an inquiry would be held regarding the lapses.
Minister for Medical Education Sharan Prakash Patil, under whose department the hospital comes, has ordered aninquiry.
Stating that he was “surprised” by the incident, Patil said he would ask for the report and take action against those responsible.
Health Minister Ramesh Kumar said officials toldhim the patient’s family was “impatient” to wait for thewheelchair.
“But I told officials that such incidentsshould not have happened at a government hospital. So conduct aninquiry and submit a report, so that action can be takenagainst those responsible,” he said.
Kumar while apologising to the public for the incident, also appealed to them not to loose faith in government hospitals because of such stray incidents.
(Agencies)
UP police jeep kills woman, injures three others in bid to save cow
Lucknow: Saffron groups attacking civilians under the pretext of cattle protection is very common in Uttar Pradesh. But, this time a police jeep did not hesitate to ram into a group of human beings just to save a cow in the BJP ruled state.
A woman was killed and three people, including her grandchildren, were injured when they were hit by a police jeep whose driver was trying to save a cow.
The incident took place on Saturday in Harriya township when Usha Devi, 60, and the others were walking on the road.
The driver of the police’s Dial 100 jeep lost control of the vehicle in an effort to save a cow.
Usha Devi was killed on the spot. Three people, including her two granddaughters aged two and four, were admitted to the district hospital, police said.
A case has been registered against the driver of the vehicle.
(Agencies)
‘Cow vigilantes’ barge into Kerala House in Delhi to protest against beef fests
New Delhi: Members of a “cow vigilante” group allegedly barged into the Kerala House here Thursday to protest against the beef festivals organised recently in the south Indian state.
‘Beef fests’ were held in various parts of Kerala to protest against the Centre’s decision banning sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter, while some Youth Congress activists butchered a calf in full public view in the state where beef is widely consumed.
Police said around 12 to 14 people, claiming they belonged to ‘Bharathiya Gauraksha Kranti’, entered the Kerala House around 8 PM and started distributing cow milk.
Eyewitnesses claimed that the protesters blocked the main entrance of the Kerala House and also threatened the police who asked them if they had any permission to organise the protest.
They reportedly said they “do not need any permission” as they were working according to the “dharma”.
The police, however, maintained that it was a peaceful protest.
Kerala House Resident Commissioner Vishwas Mehta denied knowledge of any such incident. He said no such incident or protest had taken place until 6.30 PM.
Mehta also said he had already informed police authorities concerned about the chances of such protests in front of the House.
(PTI)
Complaint Filed Against Use of National Flag in Procession of Late Parvathamma Rajkumar
Bengaluru: A Bengaluru based lawyer has filed a private complaint at the 24th ACMM court in the city registering his objection against covering the dead body of renowned cine producer, wife of late Kannada actor Dr Rajkumar, Parvathamma Rajkumar by Indian national flag prior to her last rites.
Vijayanagar base lawyer Chethan stated in his complaint that, the use of national flag violates Rule 5 under the Rules of National Flag. The lawyer has also submitted his complaint to Bengaluru City Police Commissioner, Chief Secretary of Karnataka state and Home Secretary.
National flag was used during the procession of the dead body held before the funeral ceremony on Wednesday. The complainant has also stated that he doesn’t has any objection against state honor given to Parvathamma during her last rites.
(Agencies)
Guha hits out at Kohli, Dhoni, Dravid, Gavaskar in resignation letter
New Delhi: Indian cricket’s “superstar culture”, unaddressed conflict of interest issues and BCCI’s “insensitive” handling of coach Anil Kumble — noted historian Ramachandra Guha has opened a pandora’s box in his resignation letter to the Committee of Administrators.
Guha spared no one and questioned skipper Virat Kohli’s role in selection of coach, besides alleging conflict of interest on part of Sunil Gavaskar, Sourav Ganguly, and Rahul Dravid.
The letter also questioned the move to give former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni a Grade A Central Contract despite not playing all three formats.
In a seven-page letter, Guha has expressed his disgust to Rai for the “extremely insensitive and unprofessional manner” that the speculated Kohli-Kumble fallout was handled by BCCI CEO (Rahul Johri) and the BCCI office-bearers (Amitabh Chaudhary).
He accused the COA of “silence and inaction”, claiming that the panel was “unfortunately being complicit in this regard.”
In his parting shot, he recommended Javagal Srinath’s name as his replacement as a former cricketer in the Committee of Administrators.
While Guha, in his submission to Supreme Court cited personal reasons for quitting COA, his letter asks a lot of uncomfortable questions to the powers that be of Indian cricket.
Guha has directly questioned Kohli’s “veto power” on deciding matters like appointment of a coach and even the commentators’ panel. It also makes it clear that Kumble-Kohli rift is a reality.
He writes: “If indeed the captain and the Head Coach were not getting along, why was not this attended to as soon as the Australia series was over in late March? Why was it left until the last minutes, when a major international tournament was imminent, and when the uncertainty would undermine the morale and ability to focus of the coach, the captain and the team.”
“And surely giving senior players the impression that they may have a veto power over the coach is another example of superstar culture gone berserk? Such a veto power is not permitted to any other top level professional team in any other sport in any other country,” he categorically states.
In a veiled dig at Kohli, Guha writes that today, players are interfering in matters pertaining to appointment of coaches and commentators (Harsha Bhogle was removed for on-air criticism of Virat Kohli), tomorrow it may well be that they would like to have a say on office-bearers.
“Already, in a dismaying departure from international norms, current Indian players enjoy a veto power on who can be the members of the commentary team. If it is to be coaches next, then perhaps the selectors and even office-bearers will follow?”
Guha lambasted the superstar culture prevalent in the Indian cricketing set-up that has allowed Dhoni to retain a ‘Grade A’ contract when he has given up on Test cricket in 2014. “Unfortunately, this superstar syndrome has also distorted the system of Indian team contracts. As you will recall, I had pointed out that awarding M S Dhoni an ‘A’ contract when he had explicitly ruled himself out from all Test matches was indefensible on cricketing grounds, and sends absolutely the wrong message,” he wrote.
He was also severe on the likes of Rahul Dravid for having dual contracts with both the BCCI and IPL franchises. “No person under contract with an India team, or with the NCA, should be allowed to moonlight for an IPL team too,” he writes.
Taking an indirect dig at Dravid (India A coach), and R Sridhar (fielding coach), the former COA member questioned BCCI for allowing them to have IPL contracts with Delhi Daredevils (Dravid) and Kings XI Punjab (Sridhar).
An excerpt of the letter states: “The question of conflict of interest, which had laid unaddressed ever since the Committee began its work, and which I have been repeatedly flagging since I joined.
“For instance, the BCCI has accorded preferential treatment to some national coaches, by giving them ten month contracts for national duty, thus allowing them to work as IPL coaches/mentors for the remaining two months.”
“This was done in an ad-hoc and arbitrary manner; the more famous the former player-turned-coach, the more likely was the BCCI to allow him to draft his own contract that left loopholes that he exploited to dodge the conflict of interest issue,” Guha wrote with fingers clearly pointed at Dravid, someone whose reputation till date has been unquestionable.
Apart from taking on Kohli and Dravid, Guha also had strong reservations about Sunil Gavaksar’s business interests in Professional Management Group (PMG) and his firm managing a current player — Shikhar Dhawan. He, in fact, told Rai how he had apprised them of PMG signing up Dhawan’s endorsements.
“Sunil Gavaskar is head of a company which represents Indian cricketers while commenting on those cricketers as part of the BCCI TV commentary panel. This is a clear conflict of interest. Either he must step down/withdraw himself from PMG completely or stop being a commentator for BCCI.”
After Gavaskar, Guha then trained his gun on another former captain Sourav Ganguly, who is a TV pundit apart from being current president of the Cricket Association of Bengal.
“Conflict of interest is rampant in the State Associations as well. One famous former cricketer is contracted by media houses to comment on active players while serving as President of his State Association (read Ganguly).”
Guha urged Rai and his colleagues to take some “bold decisions” on which the credibility of the committee rests. “COA’s credibility and effectiveness hinges on our being able to take bold and correct decisions on such matters. The ‘superstar’ culture that afflicts the BCCI means that the more famous the player (former or present) the more leeway he is allowed in violating norms and procedures.
“Dhoni was captain of the Indian team while holding a stake in a firm that represented some current India players. (Referring to Rhiti Sports that had Suresh Raina, Karn Sharma, RP Singh in its rolls). This must stop – and only we can stop it,” he writes.
(Agencies)
Trump attacks India, China; pulls out of Paris climate deal
Washington: Coming down heavily on Indian and China, US President Donald Trump has pulled United States on Thursday out of the Paris Accord, a landmark international agreement struck to cut greenhouse gases. The President sited that the Paris climate agreement gave undue advantage to India and China at the cost of the Unite States’ interests.
“China will be allowed to build hundreds of additional coal plants. So we can’t build the plants, but they can, according to this agreement. India will be allowed to double its coal production by 2020. Think of it: India can double their coal production. We’re supposed to get rid of ours,” the President said, adding that the agreement “is less about the climate and more about other countries gaining a financial advantage over the U.S.”
According to Mr. Trump, the Paris agreement would lead to a redistribution of American wealth to other countries and transfer of American jobs abroad. His predecessor Barack Obama had argued that by promoting a global climate regime, the U.S would create wealth and jobs at home. He had showcased the Indian and Chinese endorsement of the Paris accord as a key diplomatic success of his presidency.
Turning that argument on its head, Mr. Trump said the agreement was “very unfair, at the highest level, to the United States.” “For example, under the agreement, China will be able to increase these emissions by a staggering number of years — 13. They can do whatever they want for 13 years. Not us. India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from developed countries,” Mr. Trump said.
Reiterating his campaign theme that America is being taken for a ride by all its partners, friends and foes, Mr. Trump said he would turn that around. “At what point does America get demeaned? At what point do they start laughing at us as a country? We want fair treatment for its citizens, and we want fair treatment for our taxpayers. We don’t want other leaders and other countries laughing at us anymore. And they won’t be. They won’t be,” he said.
The announcement concluded intense internal debate in the Trump administration and ignoring protests from American closest allies in Europe and Canada. Anticipating American withdrawal, European leaders who met the President at the G-7 summit recently had urged him to reconsider his move. Other than China and India, Mr. Trump picked on European leaders also for pointed criticism. “Foreign leaders in Europe, Asia, and across the world should not have more to say with respect to the U.S. economy than our own citizens and their elected representatives,” he said, adding, “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.”
“Thus, as of today, the United States will cease all implementation of the non-binding Paris Accord and the draconian financial and economic burdens the agreement imposes on our country,” the President said. Carbon reduction targets that American set under Paris commitment aimed to reduce emissions by 26-28% in a decade. America has stopped contributing to the Green Climate Fund set up under the Paris agreement to support developing countries meet their commitment. The Obama administration had committed $ 3 billion to the fund of which $1 billion has been transferred.
Mr. Obama condemned the decision. “It was steady, principled American leadership on the world stage that made that achievement possible,” he said of the Paris agreement. “.… And what made that leadership and ambition possible was America’s private innovation and public investment in growing industries like wind and solar — industries that created some of the fastest new streams of good-paying jobs in recent years, and contributed to the longest streak of job creation in our history,” the former President said.
“The nations that remain in the Paris Agreement will be the nations that reap the benefits in jobs and industries created,” Mr. Obama said, adding: “I believe the United States of America should be at the front of the pack. But even in the absence of American leadership; even as this Administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future; I’m confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got.”
(Agencies)