Death of children below the age of five continues to steadily reduce in India, declining from nearly 22 per cent in 2012 to 18 per cent in 2017, which is now for the first time below the one million mark, the UN said in a new report.

“The under-five mortality rate of India at 39 per 1000 now equals that of the world, highlighting the much faster decline by India in the last five years as compared to the global decline. (Under-five mortality of India: 39 per 1,000 and global also is 39 per 1,000),” it said.

According to the report, the gender gap in child survival has reduced almost four-fold in the last five years, with under-five mortality of girl child now being 2.5 per cent higher, compared to nearly 10 per cent in 2012.

However, as per the report released by Unicef, the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Population Division and the World Bank Group, an estimated 6.3 million children under 15 years of age died in 2017 and the vast majority of these deaths — 5.4 million — occurred in the first five years of life, with newborns accounting for around half of the deaths.

“Without urgent action, 56 million children under five will die from now until 2030 – half of them newborns. We have made remarkable progress to save children since 1990, but millions are still dying because of who they are and where they are born. With simple solutions like medicines, clean water, electricity and vaccines, we can change that reality for every child,” said Laurence Chandy, Unicef Director of Data, Research and Policy, in a statement.

Globally in 2017, half of all deaths under five years of age took place in sub-Saharan Africa, and another 30 per cent in Southern Asia.

In sub-Saharan Africa, one in 13 children died before their fifth birthday. In high-income countries, that number was one in 185.

In 2017, 2.5 million newborns died in their first month. A baby born in sub-Saharan Africa or in Southern Asia was nine times more likely to die in the first month than a baby born in a high-income country.

As per the UN, most children under five die due to preventable or treatable causes such as complications during birth, pneumonia, diarrhoea, neonatal sepsis and malaria.

Under-five mortality rates among children in rural areas are, on average, 50 per cent higher than among children in urban areas. In addition, those born to uneducated mothers are more than twice as likely to die before turning five than those born to mothers with a secondary or higher education.

(IANS)

Fake Indian currency notes (FICN) of Rs 5-lakh face value was seized and one person arrested by the city police from central Kolkata on Monday, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, the city police’s Special Task Force (STF) personnel challenged a resident of Malda district, Mujibur Sk, in the Esplanade area and seized 250 fake notes of Rs 2,000 denomination from his possession.

The accused would be presented at a city court on Tuesday.

(IANS)

Vijay Mallya.
Many senior bank officials who had dealt with loans given to liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines may be named as accused in a CBI charge sheet which is likely to be filed within a month, sources said.

This would be first charge sheet in the case pertaining to loans of over Rs 6000 crore given to Kingfisher by a consortium of 17 banks led by State Bank of India which alone had an exposure of Rs 1600 crore.

The agency has already filed a charge sheet against Mallya last year in connection with a separate case related to Rs 900 crore pending loan given by IDBI bank in which senior officials of the bank were allegedly involved.

The CBI had registered two cases against Mallya related to the IDBI loans in 2015 and consortium loan in 2016.

Refusing to give names of the officials, the sources said the first phase of probe into loans given by a consortium of banks is almost complete and the charge sheet may be filed within a month while keeping the investigation open.

Both serving and retired senior officials of the banks including the State Bank of India who had handled Kingfisher Airlines loans may be named as accused in the charge sheet as the agency has gathered enough evidence against them on misuse of official position, they said.

The top brass of erstwhile Kingfisher airlines including Mallya, its CFO A Raghunathan and other former senior executives will also be named as accused in the case, they said.

They said the agency is also looking into the role of Finance Ministry officials who could have influenced the decision of the bankers but their role is still be evaluated.

During the probe, the agency has gathered enough evidence to show that Mallya allegedly diverted the loan funds from the purpose for which they were given, they said.

The agency in its FIR has alleged that State Bank of India and its consortium banks had advanced various credit facilities to Kingfisher Airlines Limited during the period between 2005 and 2010, they said.

During 2009-10, the company failed to meet its repayment commitments to the bank from which it had availed the credit facilities and Kingfisher Airlines did not keep its account with the consortium banks regular which became NPA, the FIR states.

The consortium banks, therefore, recalled the credit facilities and also invoked corporate guarantee of UBHL and personal guarantee of Mallya, it alleged.

Mallya deliberately did not repay the amount, outstanding dues payable by Kingfisher Airlines to consortium of banks, the sources said.

It is alleged that there was a conspiracy among group companies promoter and unknown others to cheat the lenders, they said.

SBI has an exposure of Rs 1,600 crore to the airline. Out of this, the bankers, which recalled the loan in February 2013, could recover only around Rs 1,100 crore after selling pledged shares of UB Group companies.

Other banks that have exposure to the airline include Punjab National Bank and IDBI Bank (Rs 800 crore each), Bank of India (Rs 650 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 550 crore), Central Bank of India (Rs 410 crore).

(PTI)

The Supreme Court on Monday asked social activist Swami Agnivesh to approach the High Court for a probe by the CBI or the NIA into attacks on him in Jharkhand and Delhi.

A bench of Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice L. Nageswara Rao also asked the social activist to approach the competent authority in the central government for security.

“We can’t prevent threats to ourselves, how can we prevent these to you? People threat us also,” the bench said when counsel Mehmood Pracha sought prevention of attacks on his client.

Pracha said that Agnivesh had been attacked twice — first in Jharkhand and then in Delhi — and that his safety should be ensured.

He urged the two FIRs be clubbed and the investigation be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation or the National Investigation Agency.

The counsel contended that Agnivesh doesn’t expect a fair police investigation and hence the probe should be transferred to the CBI.

The court replied: “How can it be a part of CBI jurisdiction? How can we assume that there won’t be a fair investigation?”

Agnivesh, 79, was abused and assaulted on July 17 in Jharkhand’s Pakur by a mob which, he claimed, comprised members of a BJP-affiliated youth group.

He was also shown black flags for making alleged anti-Hindu remarks earlier and provoking the tribals.

On August 17, Agnivesh was again abused and thrashed outside the BJP headquarters in Delhi when he went there to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose body was lying in state for the people to pay homage.

(IANS)

Four days after a CBSE topper from Haryana’s Rewari district was gang-raped, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police on Sunday arrested three persons, including one of the prime accused. SIT head Nazneen Bhasin, who is Superintendent of Police of Nuh district, identified the three as Nishu, Dr Sanjeev and Deendayal.

“It was Nishu who had planned the crime. After he and two others gang-raped the girl in a tubewell room owned by Deendayal, Nishu called Dr Sanjeev of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital to the tubewell to check her health. Dr Sanjeev was fully aware of the crime. Yet, he did not alert the police,’’ revealed Bhasin. “The link between Nishu and Sanjeev was established through mobile forensics,” she added.

During interrogation, Deendayal revealed that Nishu, army man Pankaj and Manish had taken his tubewell room’s key on Thursday, the day they committed the crime.

During interrogation, Deendayal revealed that Nishu, army man Pankaj and Manish had taken his tubewell room’s key on Thursday, the day they committed the crime.

“The SIT has so far questioned over 100 people. We are also expecting a report from the Forensic Science Lab,’’ Bhasin said, adding police teams have been raiding possible hideouts of the accused in Rewari, besides Rajasthan, Delhi and other places.

Meanwhile, the victim’s family refused to take a cheque of `2 lakh offered by Chief Judicial Magistrate Vivek Yadav under the Haryana Victim Compensation Scheme, 2013. Her mother said she wanted justice, not money.

The 19-year-old woman, a school topper hailing from Rewari who was even felicitated by the government, was abducted from a bus stop in Kanina town in neighbouring Mahendragarh district on Wednesday when on way to a coaching class, police said.

She was allegedly drugged and gang-raped at a room adjoining a tubewell in a field, they said.

Khattar, who had an event scheduled in Jalandhar in Punjab, cut short his visit and reached Chandigarh this afternoon, officials said.

Khattar summoned the Director General of Police (DGP) to review progress in the investigation.

The chief minister directed DGP Sandhu to ensure the arrest of all the accused at the earliest, they said.

Haryana CM Khattar cancels all his Punjab programmes, returns to Chandigarh to review Rewari rape case

Rewari Superintendent of Police Rajesh Duggal, who was accused of failing to ensure prompt action, was moved out and will be replaced by SP, chief minister’s security, Rahul Sharma, officials said.

Duggal will now lead a battalion of the Haryana Armed Police (HAP) in Hisar, they said.

The owner of the property where the crime took place, Deendayal, who was among those arrested, told police that the three key accused had taken the key to the room from him on the day of the incident.

The police alleged Deendayal may have known about the crime, but did not report it.

Meanwhile, raids continued in Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and other states to nab the two absconding key accused, a senior official, part of the investigation, said.

(PTI)

A soldier allegedly shot dead two of his colleagues before killing himself in the cantonment area of Dharamshala early on Monday, police said.

Jasbir Singh, a soldier of the 18 Sikh Regiment, shot dead two fellow soldiers, Hardeep Singh and Harpal Singh, at the Officer’s Mess around 2 a.m on Monday.

He then shot himself with his service INSAS rifle, police said.

All three died on the spot.

The Army and the local police are investigating the matter. The reason for the killings is yet to be ascertained.

Dharamshala is around 250 km from Chandigarh.

A 26-year-old man and his gang who used to come to Bengaluru from New Delhi to burgle houses were arrested here on Sunday.

From the CCTV footage from a burglary that took place two months ago, two suspects- Ashish and Harman were identified by the Jeevan Bhema Nagar police. Ashish was caught by a night watchman and confessed to the crime. This led to the arrest of Harman, a resident of New Delhi, who used to fly from there to Chennai and then would come to Bengaluru by car. He would travel back to his place by train or flight after the burglary. Police also confiscated 1.5 kg of gold and 2 kg of silver articles worth at least Rs 50 lakhs from them.

Harman also confessed to the police, saying that he would come to Bengaluru months in advance to plan their heist and that he would pose as a student and knock on doors of houses they used to burgle. He also confessed that he used to use several SIM cards to throw off the police and that their goods would be sold off at Chor Bazaars in the capital.

In a similar case in 2014, they were arrested but then were out on bail and they continued to burgle houses. Police say at least 20 cases involving this gang has been solved by the arrest and information provided by the gang.

(PTI)

There seems to be no shortage of bizarre incidents as seen in a recent incident, a woman constable was apprehended for hiring known criminals to chop off her lover’s arm.

The Bengaluru police were sent on a wild goose chase recently by one of their own, when a man, identified as 27-year-old Raveesh, was attacked by three unidentified men at around 6 pm on September 11. The men chopped off his forearm and made away with it and not knowing the identities of the attackers and without an apparent motive, the police were left baffled by the circumstances Now, however, they have sufficient reason to believe that Raveesh’s lover was the “mastermind” behind his attack.

The attack happened in the forest area off Lakshmi Narasimha Temple in Bannerghatta near Anekal when Raveesh, an electrical contractor, was with his lover Jayalakshmi, a woman constable with the VV Puram Traffic Police Station, according to police. There were even videos shot by passers-by after the attack, which showed Jayalakshmi screaming for someone to help Raveesh, which is why the police did not suspect her initially.

They first assumed that Raveesh’s business dealings or his relationship with Jayalakshmi was the reason behind the attack. However, inconsistencies in statements made by Jayalakshmi soon led the sleuths’ to suspect her. When going through her phone call records for further insight into the matter, they found that she was in contact with a known criminal identified as Shravanakumar alias Mental Vijji.

This gave the police another angle to the case and further investigations revealed that Jayalakshmi, who was married to another man, and Raveesh were in a relationship some years ago. They could not get married to each other as they belonged to different castes. However, when Raveesh found out that Jayalakshmi was considering divorcing her husband, he began to pursue her again.

Things went awry, however, when Jayalakshmi wanted to marry Raveesh, but he did not want to, which is what led to her plotting his attack, according to police. It was also learnt that Jayalakshmi had paid Rs 15,000 as an advance, out of the Rs 1.5 lakh that she was supposed to pay the attackers.

Jayalakshmi hired Kumar, a repeat offender, who along with his son Anand, hired Mental Vijji to aid with the assault. According to police, Jayalakshmi believed that Raveesh would have no other choice but to marry her if he lost his arm.

Police arrested Mental Vijji on Saturday morning and recovered Raveesh’s severed arm after taking the accused to the scene of the crime. Vijji was shot in the foot when he tried to escape by strangling a constable named Siddalingaswamy. The police have also arrested the others involved in the case.

Raveesh is currently receiving treatment for his injuries at a private hospital.

(PTI)

A shutdown was imposed in Telangana’s Miryalguda town on Saturday over the murder of a Dalit man in an apparent case of honour killing.

Shops and business establishments remained closed in the town in Nalgonda district, about 150 km from Hyderabad.

Dalit organisations took out rallies, demanding justice for the family of 23-year-old Pranay Kumar, who was hacked to death on Friday as he was coming out of a hospital along with his wife Amrutha Varshini, with whom he had an inter-caste marriage six months ago.

They were in love since their school days and had married against the wishes of the girl’s parents. Since then, he was facing threats to his life, according to informed sources.

Amrutha, who is five-months pregnant, told reporters that her father Maruthi Rao is behind the murder. She said he had been tracking their movements.

The police have reportedly arrested Rao, who allegedly hired a killer to murder Pranay. Amrutha’s uncle T. Shravan was also detained.

CCTV cameras near the hospital captured the gruesome crime. Scanning of CCTV images of the last few days by the police also revealed that the killer had conducted a recce of the area.

(IANS)

Two persons have been arrested in connection with the incident of a Delhi policeman’s son allegedly brutally thrashing a woman, a video of which has gone viral, police said Saturday.
The accused were identified as Ali Hasan (24) and Rajesh (30), they said.

Police said Mr Hasan is the owner of a call centre at Hastsal road, where the viral video was allegedly shot and the other accused, Rajesh, works as a peon at the same call centre.

The main accused, Rohit Tomar, 21, was arrested Friday after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted that the video has come to his notice and he has directed Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to take necessary action in the matter.

The cases against the main accused – one of criminal intimidation and molestation and the other of rape – were registered based on the version of two women, police said.

The first case was registered on Thursday at the Tilak Nagar police station in West Delhi following a complaint by Tomar’s woman friend alleging that he showed her a video in which he could be seen thrashing a woman, Deputy Commission of Police (DCP West) Monika Bhardwaj had said.

Rohit Tomar allegedly threatened her with the same kind of treatment if she did not follow his instructions.

The second case was registered at the Uttam Nagar police station after another woman, who was seen in the video, approached the police on Friday alleging that on September 2, Rohit had called her to his friend’s office in Uttam Nagar and raped her.

He will be arrested on production warrant from court for further investigation in the case in Uttam Nagar, a senior officer said.

In the video, Rohit is seen thrashing the woman when she threatened to file a police complaint against him. Apart from Tomar, one person is seen roaming around while another one filmed the incident.

The person filming it could be heard asking Rohit to stop beating the woman. But Rohit continued thrashing the woman and abusing her.

The woman, seen in the video shared widely on social media and shown on TV channels, told the police that Rohit called her to his friend’s office in Uttam Nagar and raped her, Anto Alphonse, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka), said Friday.

Rohit is the son of Ashok Kumar Tomar, an assistant sub-inspector with the Delhi Police in the central district. The accused was employed with a call centre till last month and is currently unemployed. He is a second year student of Delhi University, where he is pursuing BA (programme) through correspondence.

(PTI)