Archives for November 2020

New Delhi: The Delhi police on Sunday filed a supplementary charge sheet in a court here against former JNU student leader Umar Khalid and JNU student Sharjeel Imam in a case related to the alleged larger conspiracy in the communal violence in northeast Delhi in February.

The charge sheet was filed before Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat against Khalid, Imam and one Faizan Khan under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sections related to criminal conspiracy, murder, rioting, sedition, unlawful assembly and promoting enmity on the grounds of religion, language, caste, etc of the Indian Penal Code, according to sources.

The offences entail a maximum punishment of death penalty.

The 930-page supplementary charge sheet was filed under sections 13 (unlawful activities), 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for terrorist act) and 18 (conspiracy) of the UAPA.

The accused have been charged under IPC sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy) read with sections 109 (abetment), 114 (abettor present when offence is committed) 124A (sedition), 147 and 148 (rioting).

The three have also been charged under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 353 (assault to deter public servant), 395 (dacoity), 419 (cheating), 420 (cheating), 427 (mischief), 435 (mischief by fire), 436 (mischief by fire), 452 (house trespass), 454 (house breaking), 468 (forgery), 471 (using forged document as genuine) and 34 (common intention) of IPC and under relevant sections of the Arms Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Properties Act, the sources said.

While Khalid and Imam are currently in judicial custody in the case, Khan had been granted bail by the Delhi High Court.

The main charge sheet was filed in September against Pinjra Tod members and JNU students Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal, Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha and student activist Gulfisha Fatima.

Others who were charge-sheeted included former Congress Councillor Ishrat Jahan, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, Meeran Haider and Shifa-Ur-Rehman, suspended AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain, activist Khalid Saifi, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Salim Malik, Mohd Salim Khan and Athar Khan.

Communal violence had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after clashes between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.

Mumbai: TV actor Leena Acharya, who featured on shows like “Class of 2020” and “Seth Ji”, passed away following a kidney ailment, according to actor Rohan Mehraa. She was in her late 30s.

Mehraa, who co-starred with Acharya in “Class of 2020”, told PTI that the actor breathed her last in Delhi on Saturday.

Actor Ayush Anand, who worked with Acharya on “Perfect Pati” in 2018-2019, said the actor never mentioned about her kidney ailment.

“It was only yesterday when I had a word with her brother I got to know that she was suffering from kidney issues since the past few years and was living on just one kidney that too donated by her mother,” Anand told PTI.

Mehraa shared a picture on Instagram from the filming of the ALTBalaji show with Acharya.

“Rest in peace, Ma’m. Last year, this time, we were shooting for ‘Class of 2020.’ Will miss you (sic),” the actor captioned the post. Describing Acharya as a jovial person, Anand said she was extremely passionate about her work.

“She never mentioned about this (illness) on set and was always smiling, keeping the environment on set positive,” he added.

Acharya also featured on shows like “Aap Ke Aa Jane Se” and “Meri Hanikarak Biwi”.

DHARMAPURI: After a struggle of nearly 15 hours, forest staff on Thursday rescued a wild elephant which had fallen into 60 feet deep open well near Marandahalli in Dharmapuri district. 

District Forest Officer Rajkumar tSaid that the elephant had been tranquilised and lifted out of the open well with a crane on Thursday evening. It had been examined by a team of veterinarians for injuries. Once conscious, the animal would be released to the Dharmapuri-Krishnagiri border forest later in the night, he said.

The female elephant aged between 20-25 years, was part of a group of three jumbos that had roamed into the forest area close to Palacode, part of a routine migratory route along the elephant corridor. However, the female elephant ventured close to a human habitation near Panchamapalli and fell into the open well, which was not protected by a wall, in the early hours of Thursday.

On learning the news, Palacode forest ranger Selvam and Rajkumar rushed to the spot and began rescue operations along with fire and rescue personnel. “The open well is approximately 60 feet deep and the elephant has likely received minor injuries. Based on its movements, veterinary doctor Prakash confirmed that the elephant is in good condition. We had fed the elephant fruits and ensured that it received ample water. Food was provided by lowering a bucket using a crane,” Rajkumar explained.

As the well was in the middle of a coconut grove, officials said that they could not dig a trench to rescue the elephant — it would have been time-consuming, and falling trees would have hindered the efforts. Further, they said the well was very narrow giving them little wriggle room, although the water had been pumped out. Officials finally decided to tranquilise the jumbo, standing knee-deep in sludge, and lift her out with a crane. The manoeuvre proved successful in the end. 

However, Rajkumar warned that such open wells posed a danger not only to wild animals but to people as well. “There are thousands of open wells in Dharmapuri, which are unsecured with no border walls or any safety barricades. On a whole, efforts should be taken to at least construct walls around the wells,” he said. Regarding open wells located near forest areas, he said the department would undertake a massive sensitisation drive across the district, urging farmers to protect wildlife by constructing walls or setting up fences around the wells.