Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for News & Politics / India

Ten persons get eight-year jail in hand chopping case

by

T J Joseph

Kochi: A special NIA court here on Friday sentenced 10 persons to eight years jail term in the sensational hand chopping case of T J Joseph, professor of Newman College in Thodupuzha in Idukki, in 2010.

The Special NIA court Judge P Sasidharan gave two years jail term to three persons — Abdul Lateef, Anwar Sadique and Riyas – over charges under Section 212 of IPC dealing with harbouring offenders.

The court also ordered that an amount of RS 8 lakh as restitution from the convicts be given to the victim.

Those who were sentenced to eight years in jail are Kalappura Veetil Jamal (44), K M Muhammed Shobin (28), Shamsuddin (37), Punnakal Shanavas (32), Kaipalli Veetil K A Pareedh (36), Yunus Aliyar (34), Ayyukudi Veetil Shejeer (32), K E Kasim, Paruthikaatukudi Jafar (33), and K K Ali (34). They were found guilty under various sections of the central law dealing with terror — the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Besides UAPA, the court has also found the 10 convicts guilty under various sections of Explosive Substances Act and IPC that deals with criminal conspiracy and attempt to murder.

Eighteen people were acquitted by the court citing lack of evidence against them in the case.

The 13 persons owing allegiance Popular Front of India (PFI) were convicted in the case in which the right hand of T J Joseph was chopped while he was returning home after attending a Sunday mass at a church in Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district on July 4, 2010.

The court in its judgment said the prosecution has proved beyond all reasonable doubts that eight of the accused along with some others entered into a criminal conspiracy to eliminate the professor by inflicting grievous injuries.

They did it out of enmity towards Joseph accusing him of hurting religious sentiments of a community through a question paper he set for his students.

The court, which began the trial of the case in July 2013, had examined over 300 prosecution witnesses, four defence witnesses, over 950 prosecution documents, nearly 30 defence documents, and over 200 material objects.

Thirty-seven persons were charge-sheeted by the NIA in the case. However, 31 only underwent trial as the remaining six, including first accused Savad were absconding.

Joseph, head of the Malayalam department in the college, was suspended from service following the controversy over framing of a ‘derogatory’ question paper in 2010. His family went through tough times after he became jobless. His wife Salomi, who stood by Joseph during his trying times, ended her life last year as the family was facing severe financial problems.

Within days of her death, the college took him back before his retirement on March 31, last year.

(Agencies)

One year on, no achievements on ground by Modi government, admits BJP MP

by

MODI-GOVERNMENT

New Delhi: BJP Member of Parliament from Ballia, Bharat Singh has dropped a bombshell in the parliamentary party meeting when he said that Narendra Modi-led government was talking about its achievements at the end of NDA’s one year in power but things were not that visible on the ground.

What was worrisome for the party leaders and Union Ministers was that this found resonance in the meeting and several MPs from U.P. thumped their desks.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present, but did not speak.

Road not constructed

Asking to be heard after BJP Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitley, Ananth Kumar and party’s organising secretary Ram Lal spoke about taking to the people the good work done by the NDA, Mr. Bharat Singh said not an inch of road had been constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna in Uttar Pradesh and MPs were not being heard.

“Hume bhi bolne ka mauka dijiye (Give us an opportunity to speak),’’ he reportedly said after the Ministers asked MPs to be present in the House as Constitutional Amendments Bills on GST and Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh were coming up.

Mr. Singh, who is a former president of the Banaras Hindu University, said MPs were “neither heard by Ministers in U.P. nor here [Centre].” His observation came at the fag end of the hour-long meeting which was then abruptly concluded.

Fellow party MPs endorse Bharat Singh’s views

Several BJP MPs confirmed the observations of Mr. Bharat Singh. They said more time should be given to MPs at the parliamentary party meeting to air their views.

A senior leader from Bihar expects the Prime Minister to address the grievance as he is “sensitive.’’ A Delhi MP said the problem has arisen because there are no District Vigilance and Monitoring Committees in place in States.

In a bid to counter the Opposition attack on the NDA on the Land Acquisition Bill and the delay in reaching compensation to rain and hail-hit farmers, MPs are under pressure to tell people about the achievements of the government and the welfare measures taken for the underprivileged sections and farmers such as the “Jan Kalyan Parva” starting from May 26 to June 1.

After achieving a target of over 10 crore members, the BJP now plans to have a mass contact programme, Mr. Ram Lal told MPs.

The party has issued a whip to its MPs in both Houses of Parliament till Friday.

Addressing the meeting, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gave details of the GST Bill saying that it was a revolutionary taxation reform which will curb leakage of revenue, end corruption, the burden of multiple taxation and harassment of common people.

Regarding the Bill to operationalise the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu told MPs that it was in the “national interest.”

“Our boundary will be secured, fencing will be done with Bangladesh and there will be no further infiltration. The road distance between India and Bangladesh will also be reduced and good ties will be maintained. We decided to accept the Congress suggestion of including Assam in the agreement,’’ he added.

(Agencies)

Salman Khan won't go to jail for now! 5-year sentence suspended by High Court

by

Salman Khan

Mumbai: In a huge relief to Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, the Bombay High Court today suspended his 5-year sentence in the 2002 hit-and-run case and granted him bail pending his appeal against conviction. The term of interim bail was to expire today.

“He has been on bail for a long time and his liberty was not curtailed. Normally, in such cases, the appeal is admitted and an accused is granted bail,” Justice Abhay Thipsay said, while staying his conviction and granting him bail.

The judge directed him to surrender before the trial court and furnish a fresh bail bond of Rs 30,000.

Thipsay had on May 6 granted 48-hour interim bail to the actor, hours after he was convicted and sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment by the trial court on the ground that he had not been supplied with a detailed order explaining the reasons for his conviction.

Here are the latest developments:

  1. The trial court had on Wednesday found Salman Khan guilty of drunkenly driving over a group of men sleeping on a pavement, killing one. It had sentenced him to five years in prison for culpable homicide.

  2. The actor had been exempted from appearing in court today. He had broken down in the sessions court on Wednesday when the trial court sentenced him.

  3. The 49-year-old actor had the same day moved the Bombay High Court, which had granted him interim or temporary bail till today.

  4. Salman Khan’s appeals are being argued in the High Court by senior lawyers Amit Desai and Shrikant Shivade. Today is the final working day of the High Court before it begins annual summer vacations till June 8.

  5. People protested outside the court, some in support of the actor, others holding up placards that said, “We are the city, we are not dogs,” a reference to tweets by Bollywood singer Abhijit and other members of the film fraternity that caused outrage.

  6. On Wednesday, Additional Sessions Judge DW Deshpande held Salman Khan guilty on all the prosecution’s seven charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash and drunken driving and driving without a valid licence.

  7. In a 240-page judgment, Judge Deshpande has said, “I find that it is established beyond reasonable doubt by prosecution that accused was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident,” rejecting the actor’s submission that his driver Ashok Singh was driving.

  8. He has also observed that Salman Khan “did not wait for police on the spot… Instead of visiting police station, the accused went to his house and till 10.30 a.m. he hided himself… If really the accused did not commit any wrong, he could have visited the police station immediately. (sic)”

  9. The judge has rebuked Salman Khan for not taking “any positive steps by visiting hospital to see the injured and provide medical aid to them” and said that the “well known cine actor” knew he must not drive without a license and after consuming liquor.

  10. In the early hours of September 28, 2002, Salman’s Toyota Land Cruiser ran over a group of men sleeping on the pavement in front of a bakery not far from the actor’s sea-facing home in Galaxy Apartments in upscale Bandra (West). One man died, four were injured.

(Agencies)

Gram Panchayat elections scheduled on May 29 and June 2

by

Gram Panchayat

Bengaluru: The State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday announced that elections to 5,844 gram panchayats (GPs) in the State will be held in two phases on May 29 and June 2.

The first phase of polling on May 29 will see 15 districts voting and the second phase on June 2 will have the remaining 15 districts voting. Counting of votes for both phases will be on June 5. The first phase of the election will be notified on May 11 and the second phase on May 15.

Out of a total of 6073 gram panchayats only 5,844 are going to polls since the terms of 229 gram panchayats are either scheduled to end only in August 2015 or notified for changes or under legal scrutiny.

The state government has made voting compulsory recently by amending the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act. While the amended law has received the assent of the Governor, the government has said there will be no penalty on those who violate the compulsory voting clause.

Elections will be held on a non-party basis and a total of 94,458 GP members will be elected by an electorate of 2.81 crore during the two phases of polling. Fifty per cent of the seats are reserved for women. Polling will not be held in 229 GPs as their tenure will end after August 2015.

During the first phase, on May 29, polling will be held in 15 districts—Mysuru, Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Kodagu, Mandya, Chamarajnagara, Udupi, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Haveri, Bagalkote, Uttara Kannada, Dharwad and Gadag.

During the second phase, on June 2, polling will be held in the remaining 15 districts—Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Shivamogga, Tumakuru, Bidar, Ballari, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur and Koppala.

(Agencies)

Rupee breaches 64 against dollar for first time in 20 months

by

BLACK-MONEY

The rupee breached the 64 per dollar mark to hit its lowest in 20 months on Thursday. It last traded around these levels in September, 2013.

At the day’s low, the rupee hit 64.25 per dollar, down 71 paise or over 1 per cent against Wednesday’s close of 63.54 per dollar. It is now on course to for a sixth straight day of fall.

Experts say sustained capital outflows in equities and bonds have pressured the rupee, which was the best-performing emerging market currency in 2014.

Foreign institutional investors have sold a total of around Rs 13,500 crore in the last 14 sessions (excluding the Sun Pharma-Daiichi deal). They have also been net sellers in the debt market too. FIIs seem to be pulling out money from India over tax notices demanding a Minimum Alternate Tax on capital gains made during previous years.

“I think the real reason is MAT, which has created a sort of fear in the minds of FIIs… The strangest part is the demand has been raised for last seven years, which has not made a good impression,” said currency expert AV Rajwade.

Increased demand for dollar from importers and banks also weighed on the rupee, forex dealers said.

Traders told Reuters that the uptick in non-deliverable forwards traded in Singapore was hitting sentiment for the rupee and prompting custodian banks to sell the currency. The one-month non-deliverable forex (NDF) was at 64.35/35 versus Wednesday’s close of 64.02.

Most emerging Asian currencies lost ground on Thursday as a global bond rout lifted government bond yields across the region.

As of 2:45 p.m., the rupee traded at 64.16 per dollar. The Sensex was down 205 points to 26,513, while the Nifty traded 72 points lower at 8,025.

(Agencies)

11 killed in West Bengal firecracker factory blast

by

Police said all the victims were staff members of the factory where the blast occurred shortly before 10 pm last night.

Firecracker Factory

Midnapore: At least 11 people were killed and four others injured in an explosion in a firecracker factory at Pingla in West Midnapore district, the police said on Thursday.

“So far 11 bodies were recovered. Four others were injured and hospitalised,” district Superintendent of Police Bharati Ghosh told PTI.

On the reason behind the blast, she said, “We are looking into it. Probably something went wrong during manufacturing of crackers.”

Police said all the victims were staff members of the firecracker factory where the blast occurred shortly before 10 pm last night. The fire has been put out.

(PTI)

Key posts vacant as government wants to 'grab' land from common people: Rahul Gandhi

by

Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Stepping up his attack on the Modi government, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today questioned why it was keeping the posts of RTI commissioner, Lokpal and Chief Vigilance Commissioner vacant.

Gandhi also reiterated his “suit-boot” barb, saying the government kept the posts vacant as it wanted to “grab” land from common people on behest of its “industrialist friends”.

“Our government fought for transparency. The appointments to the post of RTI commissioner, Lokpal and CVC are not being done by the government and the posts are lying vacant.

“That’s because the ‘suit-boot ki sarkar’ wants to grab land from the people on the behest of its few industrialist friends and give entire power to them,” he told reporters outside the Parliament.

His attack came on a day Congress President Sonia Gandhi accused the government of making a “blatant U-turn” on the issue of transparency and charged it with “deliberately” keeping the posts of Chief Information Commissioner, CVC and Lokpal vacant.

“Information delayed is information denied. This is simply not acceptable. Protecting wrongdoers cannot be part of any government ethos,” she said, recalling Modi’s promises of transparency and good governance.

(PTI)

Bengaluru: Lokayukta files FIRs against Yeddyurappa, Kumaraswamy

by

This Nov. 2007 photo shows Kumaraswamy and Yeddyurappa coming out of Raj Bhavan after meeting the then Governor Rameshwar Thakur. File Photo: Bhagya Prakash K, The Hindu

This Nov. 2007 photo shows Kumaraswamy and Yeddyurappa coming out of Raj Bhavan after meeting the then Governor Rameshwar Thakur. File Photo: Bhagya Prakash K, The Hindu

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Lokayukta Police has filed FIRs against former Chief Ministers B S Yeddyurappa and H D Kumaraswamy in a land denotificaton case, charging them under the Prevention of Corruption Act and several IPC provisions, including criminal conspiracy and cheating.

Both leaders have been accused of denotifying land at Matadahalli Layout in R T Nagar here, with Vimala, the mother-in-law of Kumaraswamy, and her son T S Channappa, also being named in the FIRs, Lokayukta Superintendent of Police Sonia Narang said here.

Sections 13 (i) (c) and (d) and 13 (ii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, pertaining to criminal misconduct by public servants have been invoked against Yeddyurappa and Kumaraswamy, Narang said.

Denotification is a process of returning government land acquired for a project to private parties.

The process gathered pace after Kumaraswamy put up the files, and the land was denotified by Yeddyurappa as Chief Minister in 2010, social activist Jayayakumar Hiremath, who is the complainant, charged.

JDS leader Kumaraswamy, predecessor to Yeddyurappa, had headed a BJP-JDS coalition government.

Yeddyurappa had denotified one acre and 11 guntas (1/40th of an acre) of land, which was originally owned by Thimmareddy, Nagappa and Muniswamappa, Hiremath charged.

He also alleged that Bangalore Development Authority had acquired the land for forming a layout Mathadahalli for which it issued the preliminary notification in 1976.

The land was taken into possession in 1988 after final notification and compensation paid to land losers subsequently, Hiremath said.

Besides these, charges under Sections 401 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 418 (cheating with knowledge that wrongful loss may ensue to person whose interest offender is bound to protect), 420 (cheating), and 120 B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code have also been slapped against them.

(PTI)

I still watch Salman Khan’s movies; No benefit for me if he is punished, says victim

by

abdullah-rauf-shaikh

Mumbai: “Compensation matters more than conviction,” say the victims of the 2002 hit-and-run case in which Bollywood star Salman Khan has been sentenced to five years in jail.

Abdullah Rauf Shaikh, who lost a leg in the accident, said, “Nobody came to visit me in the last 13 years. I am forced to do petty jobs to support my family and face a lot of problems.” “However, I have no hard feelings for him (Salman).

I still watch his movies,” he said, adding they were not pressurised by anyone. “Compensation matters more than conviction, my health and work suffered,” Shaikh said.

“If Salman is punished, I will not be benefited in any way as neither my leg will heal nor my problems would go away. Instead if they compensate us then we do not have any problem,” he said, recalling that he was 22 years old when he lost his leg in the incident.

The wife of Nurullah Mehboob Sharif, who died in the accident, said, “We were told we will get a compensation of Rs 10 lakh, but what will we do of that amount at this time of inflation.” She said that she would be benefited if her son gets a job.

(PTI)

SC orders Bengaluru civic body polls in three months

by

BBMP-BUILDING

Bengaluru: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Karnataka government to conduct elections to the Bengaluru civic body within three months.

Setting aside the Karnataka High Court’s April 24 ruling, which ordered that the civic polls be held in six months (by October), the apex court told the state election commission to conduct elections in 198 civic wards across the city by July 18, as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was superseded on April 18, four days before its five-year term was to lapse.

The top court’s ruling came on a bunch of petitions filed by the state election commission, NGO Namma Bengaluru Foundation, two former BJP corporators C.K. Ramamurthy and B. Somashekar and Rajya Sabha independent member Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

“The state government was using both its trifurcation proposal and dissolution of the civic body as a brazen excuse to delay the elections by six months,” Chandrasekhar said in a statement in Bengaluru.

The legislative assembly on April 20 passed by voice vote a bill to amend the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 2015 to bifurcate or trifurcate the BBMP.

Terming the apex court order a victory for democracy and the nine million denizens of Bengaluru, Chandrasekhar said the state government’s attempt to split the BBMP and delay its polls was against the constitutional provision of Article 243-U that mandates urban local bodies to conduct elections every five years.

The state government also assured the apex court of not splitting the BBMP till elections were held in the next three months.

The amended bill was, however, referred to a select committee of the state legislative council (upper house) by its chairman D.H. Shankaramurthy on April 27 as demanded by the opposition BJP and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) members.

The BBMP was expanded in 2007 by including seven city municipal councils and one town municipal council and 111 surrounding villages to increase civic wards to 198 from 100 earlier.

(With inputs from IANS)

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives