Archives for July 2024

Sheikh Abdul Rashid

 A court here on Tuesday granted two-hour custody parole to Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid to take oath as a Lok Sabha MP on July 5, subject to some conditions.

Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, was elected from Baramulla seat as an independent candidate defeating National Conference leader Omar Abdullah in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

He was arrested in a 2017 Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case.

Rashid had moved the court seeking interim bail, or custody parole in the alterative, to take oath and perform his parliamentary functions.

Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh allowed custody parole for two hours on July 5 to enable him to take oath, subject to a few conditions. These included a custody parole of two hours or till the conclusion of proceedings, whichever was later. The designated time of two hours excluded travel time.

It said Rashid’s wife and children were allowed to be present, on production of identity cards, during the making and subscribing of the oath and that he was not allowed access to a phone and internet.

The court also said he shall not speak to or address the media on any issue, nor would he interact with anyone except the officials concerned.

His family was directed to not take photos of the ceremony or post them on social media, the court said.

On Monday, the NIA’s counsel did not oppose Rashid’s plea and said his oath taking should be subject to some conditions like not speaking to the media and completing all formalities within a day.

Rashid has been in jail since 2019 after he was charged by the NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged involvement in a terror funding case. He is currently lodged in Tihar jail.

The former MLA’s name cropped up during the investigation of Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, who the NIA had arrested for allegedly funding terrorist groups and separatists in the Kashmir valley.

The NIA had filed a charge sheet against several individuals, including Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin in the case. Malik was awarded life imprisonment by a trial court in 2022 after he pleaded guilty to the charges.

Madikeri: Amid heavy rains, elephant attacks have been reported across several parts of the district, affecting daily lives of the people here. Elephants are reportedly entering the rural areas in herds and damaging plantations and vehicles.

The herd of tuskers are roaming across the forest and plantations in search of food. People have reported incidents where Elephants suddenly appear on main roads attacking vehicles. Devayya, a resident of Naladi village, whose auto rickshaw was parked near his house was mangled during the tusker movement at night.

In Cheyandane village, plantations of Harish and Sajan were damaged, the tusker herd reportedly destroyed coffee, coconut and betel nut plantations. According to locals, deforestation took place at a larger scale in the Cheyandane area.

In another such incident, the herd entered the banana plantations of Raghukumar of Attur Village in Suntikoppa, destroying the whole crop. The herd which had come in search of food completely razed the banana plantation.

Locals claimed that despite efforts from the forest department, elephants continue to destroy plantations. Elephants which disappear during the day reappear in the plantations during the night. Locals have also reported elephant sightings on the Suntikoppa, Anekadu, and Kushalnagar highways, forcing motorists to proceed with caution.

Meanwhile, Farmers have expressed concern that if the government does not implement a permanent plan to prevent elephant attacks, the agriculture sector in the district may suffer a significant blow. Additionally, they have also demanded that the forest minister and forest officials not just hold meetings but initiate action and understand the seriousness of the problem.

Bengaluru: Central Crime Branch (CCB) police have seized fake branded dress materials, which were being sold as original, worth 1.38 crores from a shop in Bengaluru and have arrested the proprietor on Tuesday.

The accused is identified as Narasimharaju (38) who had his shop at the BEML layout which falls under Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station limits. The shop was stocked with fakes of all major brands including Nike, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, Under Armour and Zara. The customers were made to believe that they were purchasing original items.

Economic offences wing of the CCB raided the shop based on credible inputs. A case has been registered in the Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station under the copyrights act in this regard and an investigation is in progress.

 As many as five children have died at a shelter home here over the last three days while 31 other inmates have been hospitalised, prompting the Madhya Pradesh government to order a high-level inquiry.

While the exact reasons for the deaths were yet to be ascertained, food poisoning could be among the causes, a doctor said.

More than 204 children, including orphans and those suffering from mental ailments, were housed at `Bal Ashram’ shelter home of Shri Yugpurush Dham, NGO, in Malharganj police station limits, an official said.

A sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) was transferred after a video showing him laughing during a probe into the deaths surfaced on social media.

While Shubh (8) died on Sunday after suffering from seizures, Karan (12), Akash (7), Chhota Govind (5) and Rani (11) died over the last two days, officials said.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Alok Kumar Sharma said the exact cause of deaths will be known once post-mortem reports arrive.

A total of 31 children are admitted to the Government Chacha Nehru Children’s Hospital at present.

Hospital superintendent Dr Preeti Malpani said the children started vomiting and suffering from diarrhea after dinner on Monday night.

“At first glance, it seems their health deteriorated due to food poisoning,” she said.

Indore district collector Ashish Singh visited the hospital.

“According to the doctors, it appears to be a case of food poisoning. A team led by the additional district magistrate and including doctors and officials of the food department has been sent to Bal Ashram for investigation,” Singh said.

Following the uproar caused by the death of children, a joint team of various departments of the administration reached Bal Ashram and started an investigation.

Additional district magistrate Rajendra Singh Raghuvanshi said a detailed investigation of the shelter was underway.

“Appropriate action will be taken if the investigation finds any negligence on the part of its directors,” he said.

A team from the food department also collected samples of food and foodstuffs from the ashram and sent them for testing.

The management of Shri Yugpurush Dham has written to the Child Welfare Committee, claiming that ten of its inmates have “blood infection”. The administration has not yet verified the claim, it was stated.

Meanwhile, a video showing sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Omnarayan Singh Badkul purportedly laughing and joking during the investigation surfaced on social media, drawing strong reactions.

Eyewitnesses said that Badkul was allegedly seen laughing and joking with the principal of the ashram and other officials.

Subsequently, district magistrate Ashish Singh removed Badkul from the post of SDM and posted him at the district election office, sources said.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, in a post on X, condoled the deaths.

“The news of the untimely death of 4 innocent children of Indore’s orphanage is heartbreaking. I pray to Baba Mahakal to grant peace to the departed souls and speedy recovery of all the seriously ill children,” he stated.

The death of a fifth child was confirmed after the CM posted the message.

A high-level committee has been formed to investigate this tragic incident and the Malharganj SDM has been removed from his post for his insensitive behaviour, he added in the post.

Bengaluru: Anti-narcotics wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB), sleuths from Vidyaranyapura, Konanakunte and V V Puram police stations arrested four individuals for drug peddling and seized narcotic substances worth 18.8 lakhs in separate raids across the city on Tuesday.

Two of the accused, Cyril (23) from Ghana and Immanuel (27) from Nigeria, were arrested in Vidyaranyapura police station limits. A cache of drugs worth 12 lakhs including MDMA crystals, ecstasy pills and cocaine were seized from them along with a two-wheeler and other items.

Primary investigations revealed that the accused, who were in India on student and working visas, purchased the drugs from their countrymen residing in Goa, Mumbai and New Delhi for cheaper rates and sold them in Bengaluru, sources stated.

Konanakunte police have arrested an individual named Vikas (23) for selling drugs on the road behind Doddakallasandra Lake in Narayana Nagar. Drugs worth 1.8 lakhs including 2.02 kg marijuana and 10.6 kg poppy straw has been confiscated from him.

In a separate raid, V V Puram police arrested Rasik Kumar (22), a resident of West Bengal, for selling marijuana. An electronic weighing machine and 3.9 kg marijuana worth 5 lakhs were seized from him, police stated.

The accused identified as Vidyasagar alias Sagar, Vineet Poojary, Abhilash, Avinash have been accused of assaulting the Home guard and making derogatory remarks against him.

The incident occurred on the evening of June 30, when Santosh Kumar was on duty at Someshwara Beach. He noticed the members of the gang playing in the water and warned them of the dangers posed by the gushing waves during the rainy season, instructing them to come to the shore.

Angered by the warning, the group verbally abused Santosh and threatened him. It has been alleged that accused Vidyasagar alias Sagar grabbed Santosh’s uniform and physically assaulted him, and the others reportedly pushed him. Acting on Santosh’s complaint, the Ullal police have registered a case and made the arrests.

The death toll in the stampede at a religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras has risen to 121, a senior official said on Wednesday.

According to the Office of the Relief Commissioner, the number of people injured in Tuesday’s incident stands at 28. Of the total fatalities, 19 are yet to be identified, it said.

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday registered an FIR against the organisers of the religious congregation. On Tuesday Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh put the death toll at 116.

Barring seven children and a man, all the casualties were women. The victims were part of the crowd of thousands that had gathered near Phulrai village in the Sikandrarau area for the ‘satsang’ by religious preacher Bhole Baba.

The stampede took place at around 3.30 pm when Baba was leaving the venue

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday lodged an FIR against the organisers of the religious congregation in Hathras where 121 people died in a stampede, accusing them of hiding evidence and flouting conditions with 2.5 lakh people gathering for the event in which only 80,000 were permitted.

However, the congregation or ‘satsang’ conductor Jagat Guru Saakar Vishwahari has not been named in the FIR though his name is in the complaint.

The FIR alleged that the organisers hid the actual number of devotees coming to the ‘satsang’ while seeking permission, did not cooperate in traffic management and hid evidence after the stampede, which broke out after people gathered there stopped to collect mud from the way the baba’s vehicle was passing.

The FIR apparently gave a clean chit to the police and administration, saying they did whatever possible from the available resources.

‘Mukhya sevadar’ Devprakash Madhukar and other organisers have been named in the first information report (FIR) filed at the Sikandara Rao police station late Tuesday, a senior officer told PTI.

The FIR has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 223 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by the public servant), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence), the officer said.

In his FIR, complainant Brijesh Pandey said the ‘satsang’ programe of the baba was organised between Fulrai and Mugalgarhi on GT road in Sikandarrau area by Devprakash Madhukar and others on Tuesday.

The organisers sought permission for about 80,000 people for which police and administration made arrangements.

However, over 2.5 lakh people gathered in the event. By not following the conditions of the permission, GT road witnessed traffic jam and police and administration officials were working to clear it, the FIR said.

Meanwhile, the baba, who was the main speaker of the satsang came out at about 2 pm in his vehicle and devotees starting collecting mud from there.

Due to the heavy rush of devotees, those who were lying down (for taking the mud) started getting trampled.

Those running out from the spot were stopped by stick-wielding helpers of the baba standing on the other side of a three-feet deep field filled with water and slush due to which women, children and men got crushed, it said.

Despite the pressure of the crowd, the police and administration officials did everything possible and sent the injured from the available resources to hospitals, the FIR said and added that the organisers and ‘sevadars’ did not cooperate.

The organisers tried to hide the actual number of people coming to the event by hiding evidence and throwing slippers and other belongings of the devotees in crops in nearby fields, the FIR said.

Bengaluru: India’s first solar mission Aditya-L1 spacecraft completed its first halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 point on Tuesday, ISRO said.

The space agency said its station-keeping manoeuvre on Tuesday ensured its seamless transition into the second halo orbit.

The Aditya-L1 mission, which is an Indian solar observatory at Lagrangian point L1, was launched on September 2, 2023 and was inserted in its targeted halo orbit on January 6, 2024.

According to ISRO, Aditya-L1 spacecraft in the halo orbit takes 178 days to complete a revolution around the L1 point.

During its travel in the halo orbit, Aditya-L1 spacecraft will be subjected to various perturbing forces that will cause it to depart from the targeted orbit, the space agency said.

“Aditya-L1 underwent two station-keeping manoeuvres on February 22 and June 7, respectively, to maintain this orbit. Today’s third station-keeping manoeuvre has ensured that its travel continued in the second halo orbit path around L1,” ISRO said.

The agency explained that Aditya L1’s journey around Sun-Earth L1 Lagrangian point involves modeling of complex dynamics.

The understanding of various perturbing forces acting on the spacecraft helped in determining the trajectory accurately and planning precise orbit manoeuvres, it added.

“With today’s manoeuvre, the state-of-the-art flight dynamics software developed in-house at URSC-ISRO for the Aditya-L1 missions stands fully validated,” ISRO said.