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I was beaten up, injured in court before police, says Kanhaiya

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kanhaiya-kumar-jnu

New Delhi: JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar has told a Supreme Court-appointed lawyers’ probe panel that he was beaten up, pushed to the ground and injured by men in lawyers’ robes before the police, when he was brought to the Patiala House court premises on February 17.

“When the police brought me inside the court’s gate, a mob of men in lawyers’ robes attacked me. It appeared as if they were ready to attack and they were calling others also. I was assaulted.

“The police escorting me tried to save me but the police officials were also beaten up,” he said while narrating the sequence of events to the lawyers’ panel in a video shown on television channels today.

The panel of six advocates — Kapil Sibal, Rajeev Dhavan, Dushyant Dave, A D N Rao, Ajit Kumar Sinha and Haren Raval, had visited the Patiala House courts premises on February 17 after the apex court was informed that Kanhaiya was beaten up during his production before the magistrate.

In another instance when he was attacked, the police, who were there, did not do anything, he said.

After Kanhaiya narrated the incident to the panel inside the courtroom, Sibal called DCP Jatin Narwal and enquired from him about it.

“How did you allow the attack to take place inside court premises? Your men were there. What were they doing? How he (man who attacked Kanhaiya outside the gate of the courtroom) was allowed to come inside,” the panel members asked the DCP.

Responding to it, Narwal said, “he came with the escort party and entered the room adjacent to the courtroom.”

The panel members then called other police officials and asked them about the incident and they replied that the person who attacked Kanhaiya had claimed that he was his lawyer.

Kanhaiya told the panel that when he was assaulted, he fell down and sustained injuries and at that time he could not see what the police was doing.

To this, Sibal asked the DCP, “that means police was there and they did nothing.”

The student leader told the panel that the person, who had attacked him, had come to the adjacent courtroom and he had told his teacher about it.

“I told my teacher that this man was assaulting me and then the police asked that person    about his identity. He in turn questioned the policeman and asked him to show his I- card. That person left the place in front of the police and the police did nothing. He could have been apprehended there itself. I had told the police that this man had assaulted me,” he said.

On February 17, a bunch of rowdy lawyers had launched a brazen attack on Kanhaiya, journalists and others and also indulged in stone-pelting and hurling abuses on the panel of senior lawyers.

The panel members then asked Kanhaiya as to whether he could identify the policemen who were present there and the man who assaulted him.

He replied, “I can identify. I had told the police that this man had assaulted me and I want to file a complaint against him. He was the first person who had assaulted me at the gate.”

At this juncture, the panel members told the DCP, “His safety is your responsibility. Do not give excuses. This is unbelievable. You are now under Supreme Court’s order and not B S Bassi’s order.”

Kanhaiya told the panel that the persons who attacked him were “highly politically motivated persons.”

He said he had narrated the incident to the magistrate during the hearing.

“I told the judge that on the first day when I was brought to the court, there was no attack and everything was normal. I am a PhD student of JNU and I am being called a traitor…I have full faith in the Constitution of India,” he said.

His lawyers then told the panel members that magistrate had asked Kanhaiya to give a statement in writing.

On being asked by the panel as to whether he was attacked inside the courtroom where the hearing took place, the student leader said “No. Not inside the courtroom.”

The team of senior advocates, after taking stock of the situation at Patiala House Court, informed the apex court that there was serious threat to safety of Kanhaiya who was beaten and pushed by unknown persons in the court.

Kanhaiya is arrested in a sedition case for allegedly raising anti-India slogans inside the JNU campus of February 9.

(Agencies)

Siddaramaiah to declare luxury watch as state asset

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Siddaramaiah-watch

Bengaluru: Under attack from the Opposition over his luxurious watch, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddarmaiah on Thursday said he would declare it as a state asset and hand it over to the government.

“About the expensive watch I was wearing, which has been discussed almost everyday and reported in the media, I have this much to say that I will be declaring it as a state asset and deposit it with state secretariat,” he told reporters here.

(Agencies)

Railway blankets washed once in two months: Minister

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Railways

New Delhi: Ever wondered why the blankets provided by the Indian railways during train journey stink at times? It may be because these are washed only once every two months.

Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha told the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour today that while bedsheets, bed roll and pillow covers are washed every day, the blankets are washed every two months.

His reply came to questions raised by various members of the Upper House regarding the quality and hygiene of laundry and linen supplied by the Indian Railways on trains.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari quipped that the earlier system of passengers bringing their own linen and pillows for train journeys seems to be better.

He was supported by a Congress MP who asked the Minister if this would be allowed.

In response, Sinha said it was a “good advice” and the Railways will not have a problem if passengers want to adopt the earlier practice.

The Minister pointed out that while they have 41 mechanised laundries, plans are underway to increase their number by 25 more in the next two years so that these can serve about 85 percent of the passengers who use Railway linen and bed sheets.

He pointed out that in places which are not covered by the mechanised laundries, the job has been outsourced.

(PTI)

Rohith Vemula death case: Doctor exposes Smriti Irani’s lie

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rohith-vemula

Hyderabad: The duty doctor at the University of Hyderabad health centre today appeared to contradict the claim of HRD Minister Smriti Irani that no doctor was allowed near the body of research scholar Rohith Vemula on the day he had died either to revive him or remove him to hospital.

Dr M Rajshree, the doctor on duty that fateful day when Rohith had allegedly committed suicide on Jan 17, said today she was the one who examined the body and had declared him dead.

She said the body of Rohit was lying on a cot and police had reached 15 minutes after she had gone to the hostel room on the day he had died after she got information at around 7.20 PM that one of the students had attempted suicide.

During a debate in the Lok Sabha yesterday on the controversies surrounding the Hyderabad University and the JNU, Irani had said nobody allowed a doctor near Rohith either to revive him or take him to the hospital.

“Nobody allowed a doctor near him. The police has reported that no one attempt was made to revive this child, not one attempt was made to take him to a doctor. Instead what was done was that his body was used as a political tool, hidden. No police was allowed till 6.30, the next morning. It is not me the Telangana police is saying this,” she had said.

Narrating the sequence of events today, Dr Jajshree said she rushed to NRS Hostel after she got information at around 7.20 pm on January 17 that one of the students attempted suicide in one of the rooms.

“The body was rigid and cold. I did the examination of the body. I found the body on a cot. The body with protruding tongue was rigid and cold. I checked for BP, for heartbeat. Then I came to the conclusion that he was dead. His body was cold. “It took 10 to 15 minutes. Then I declared him dead and informed the security officer. I saw police personnel 10 or 15 minutes after I reached the spot ” Rajshree told PTI.

She also said she was not prevented from examining the body by anyone.
Rohit Vemula’s suicide triggered a massive outrage and opposition parties launched a scathing attack on the Central Government and demanded action against Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, whose letters to Irani, were blamed for Rohith’s suicide, and Irani herself. The HRD Ministry appointed a judicial commission to look into the issue.

“The police started Panchanama. They checked the laptop and phone and collected suicide note. Rigor mortis of a body starts only after two hours. That is the minimum time for a body to stiffen. That’s what I told the police that it the death occurred before two hours,” she said.

When contacted, Dr Ravindra Kumar, Chief Medical Officer, said the duty doctor submitted a report in which he was declared dead.

(Agencies)

Opposition seek Smriti Irani’s apology on ‘objectionable’ comments in RS

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smriti irani

New Delhi: Opposition parties today sought an apology from HRD minister Smriti Irani for reading out in Rajya Sabha “objectionable” comments made outside against a god, as she defended herself saying she was asked for proof of her statements against JNU students.

BJP members also hit back at the Congress saying the opposition party was raising the issue due to the criticism of its Vice President Rahul Gandhi over his visit to JNU.

As the House met for the day, Deputy Leader of Congress in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma raised a point of order saying the Constitution and rules do not permit anything to be raised in the House which is blasphemous and can hurt religious sentiments.

Irani, he said, had read out “insulting” comments made against Goddess Durga “verbatim” in the House hurting sentiments and sought a ruling from the Chair as to whether such comments made outside Parliament against any religious figure or a deity can be read out inside the House.

Members of other opposition parties also agreed with K C Tyagi of JD(U) demanding that Irani should unconditionally apologise for the comments read out by her.

Irani, however, remained unfazed by the criticism and asserted that she herself was a “practising hindu and a Durga worshipper”.

The HRD minister also insisted that she had read out the comments from authenticated documents from JNU as she was repeatedly being asked to explain what was the evidence against students accused of anti-national acts, which some parties were giving respectability to.

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad then said it is a “very serious issue” and the “minister should apologise for what she said yesterday.”

Azad said there were campaigns against many religious figures but all this cannot be raised in the House.

Coming to his colleague’s defence, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi attacked Congress and other opposition parties saying it had become a pattern for them to seek a Short Duration Discussion, a couple of Calling Attention Motions and an apology in every session while showing no interest in legislative business.

He also said that Congress was raising the issue as its Vice President was criticised for supporting those indulging in activities against the nation.

As the two sides indulged in heated exchanges, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said there has been a tradition that nothing blasphemous or anything against any community will be raised in the House. He assured members that he would go through the records and expunge anything blasphemous.

(Agencies)

There are doubts over Afzal Guru’s role in Parliament attack: Chidambaram

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P Chidambaram

New Delhi: Former Union Minister P Chidambaram who held the home and finance portfolios in the UPA government on Thursday sparked controversy that Afzal Guru’s role in 2001 Parliament attack was doubtful. Almost three years after Afzal Guru was hanged, Congress leader P Chidambaram is concerned to hold an ‘honest opinion’ and raised his doubts against the capital punishment of 2001 Parliament attack convict, report said.

Former Home Minister P Chidambaram was responding to a question on whether Afzal Guru’s execution ordered by the Supreme Court was appropriate. According to Chidambaram, Afzal Guru’s case was not correctly decided and there are possibility to hold an honest opinion in that matter. Chidambaram was quoted in an interview conducted by Economic Times.

Chidambaram was further quoted by ET where he said, “An independent person can hold an opinion that the case was not decided correctly”.

The comments of Chidambaram came in the backdrop of JNU incident in which three of its students are arrested on sedition charges and for commemorating Afzal Guru at the campus. Following the incident at JNU campus a nationwide debate is in motion. Those who hold a different opinion against the capital punishment of Afzal Guru are termed as anti-national.

However Chidambaram said that, “It is wrong to project anyone as an anti-national who holds that opinion”.

From 2008 to 2011 P Chidambaram, was home minister of India. In 2013 when Sushilkumar Shinde was home minister Afzal Guru was executed. Chidambaram raised doubt of extend of Afzal Guru’s involvement in 2001 Parliament Attack.

The Afzal Guru’s execution is a hot topic in India especially after JNU students were arrested on charges of sedition when the student union had organised a event on February 9, for commemorating Afzal Guru.

(Agencies)

Karnataka Urdu Academy chairperson Dr Fouzia Choudhary passes away

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Fouzia Choudhary

Bengaluru: Chairperson of Karnataka Urdu Academy, Dr Fouzia Choudhary (52) collapsed on the dais at a programme here on Wednesday evening February 24. She was declared dead at the hospital.

Dr Choudhary was delivering a presidential address in the library hall of the academy at Kannada Bhavana on J C Road. At around 5.30 pm, midway-way through her speech, she fell to the ground, and was rushed to St Martha’s Hospital in an ambulance.

Dr Choudhary was from Timmapura village in Yadagiri district. She was appointed as chairperson of Karnataka Urdu Academy on June 2, 2014. She laid emphasis on Urdu literature, and towards giving a boost to Urdu. She had done her Ph.D in Urdu literature from Gulbarga University.

She is survived by her husband and three daughters.

Sanjay Dutt walks free, salutes tricolour

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sanjay_dutt

Pune: Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt today walked free out of the Yerawada prison here after completing his prison term, putting behind his turbulent past as a convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case.

Clad in blue shirt and jeans, a smiling Dutt was escorted out of the imposing jail gates this morning after completing formalities and got into a car that drove him straight to Lohegaon Airport here to take a chartered flight to Mumbai.

The 56-year-old on screen ‘Khalnayak’ saluted the tri-colour fluttering on top of the jail building as he carried a bag containing his belongings and his inmate file with him.

Dutt’s wife Maanyata and noted film maker Rajkumar Hirani accompanied him on way to the city airport. The “Munnabhai” of the celluloid, saluted the soil outside the prison before his got into the waiting car, juggling a khaki bag and a green coloured file.

Sanjay spent 42 months, a remainder of the his five year sentence in the Yerawada prison. His stay was mired in various controversies relating to his frequent paroles and furlough which the detractors said was granted to him as special favours due to his celebrity status.

Prison authorities and his lawyers, however, refuted the allegations, saying his remission of 144 days and his parole leave was in accordance with jail manual and prescribed rules.

The Bollywood star was arrested on April 19, 1993, for possession and destruction of an AK-56 rifle, which was a part of cache of arms and explosives which landed in India prior to the serial blasts of March 1993.

During the investigation and the marathon trial, he spent 18 months in jail. On July 31, 2007, the TADA court in Mumbai sentenced him to six years’ rigorous imprisonment under the Arms Act and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000.

In 2013, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling but reduced the sentence to five years following which he surrendered to serve the rest of his sentence. According to jail officials, Dutt was given work of making paper bags in his cell.

The actor, embroiled in heated debates over his frequent parole and furlough leave in many quarters, regularly participated in the programmes on internal circuit jail radio, jail sources said.

During his imprisonment, he was granted parole of 90 days in December 2013 and again for 30 days later.

(Agencies)

Rail Budget: No changes in passenger fares, freight

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rail-budget-prabhu

New Delhi: The Railway Budget for 2016-17 today spared passengers and goods movement from any increase in tariffs while it announced introduction of three new superfast trains and creation of dedicated north-south, east-west and east coast freight corridors by 2019.

Presenting his second Budget in the Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu promised rationalising of the tariff structure by undertaking a review to evolve competitive rates vis-a-vis other modes of transport and to expand the freight basket as a means of additional revenue mobilisation.

Unlike last year when he tweaked freight rates, Prabhu made no changes either in passenger fares or freight rates.

The three new superfast trains announced by him include ‘Humsafar’ which will be a fully air-conditioned 3AC service with option of meals. ‘Tejas’ will showcase the future of train travel in India with speeds up to 130 km per hour with onboard services such as entertainment, local cuisine and wifi.

The two trains will ensure cost recovery through tariff and non-tariff measures while ‘Uday’ will be an overnight double-decker along with ‘Utkrishit’ double-decker air-conditioned yatri express on the busiest routes.

For improving quality of travel for unreserved passenger, a superfast ‘Antyodya’ express service would be introduced. ‘Deen Dayalu’ unreserved coaches with portable water and higher number of mobile charging points would also be introduced.

He also announced setting up of a Rail Development Authority to enable fair pricing of services, promote competition, protect customer interest and determine efficiency standards. The draft Bill in this regard will be ready after holding extensive stakeholder consultations.

Outlining the Budget estimates for the coming year, the Minister put the plan size at Rs 1.21 lakh crore. The focus will be on capital expenditure with a mix of various sources of funding in order to ensure the projects are given assured funding.

Gross traffic receipts for the coming fiscal have been fixed at Rs 1.84 lakh crore with passenger earning growth pegged at 12.4 per cent and earning target budgeted at Rs 51,012 crore.

The freight traffic is pegged at an incremental tariff of 50 million tons, anticipating a healthier growth in the core sector of the economy.

Goods earning is accordingly proposed at Rs 1.17 lakh crore. Earnings on account of other coaching and sundries have been projected at Rs 6,185 crore and Rs 9,590 crore respectively.

Pension outgo has been budgeted at Rs 45,500 crore in the coming year. Revenue generation has been targeted at Rs 1.84 lakh crore. Financial performance for the current year has reflected a savings of Rs 8,720 crore, neutralising most of the revenue shortfall.

Operating ratio has been targeted at 92 per cent for the coming year as against 90 per cent in 2015-16, restricting the growth of ordinary expenses by 11.16 per cent after building in impact of 7th Pay Commission recommendation, planned reduction in diesel and electricity consumption.

The three new freight corridors of North-South will connect Delhi and Chennai, East-West connecting Kharagpur to Mumbai and East Coast from Kharagpur to Vijawada.

“It is proposed to put these three projects on high priority to ensure structuring, award and implementation in a time-bound manner through innovative financing schemes including PPP,” Prabhu said in his more than hour long speech.

Before the current financial year ends on March 31, almost all contracts for civil engineering work would have been awarded.

Contracts worth Rs 24,000 crore have been awarded since he assumed office against Rs 13,000 crore worth of contracts in the last six years.

Presenting his “vision”, Prabhu promised that by 2020 long-felt desires of the common man will be fulfilled.

The objectives include reserved accommodation on trains on demand, time-tabled freight trains, high-end technology to improve safety record, elimination of all unmanned level crossings, improved punctuality and higher speed of freight trains and zero direct discharge of human waste.

As part of improving customer interface, the Budget proposed interaction and feedback through social media and dedicated IVRS system and making travel comfortable by generating over 65,000 additional berths and installing 2,500 water vending machines.

Wi-Fi facility has been provided at 100 station and 400 more will be covered in the coming year.

As part of safety measures, 350 manned level crossings and 1000 unmanned level crossings have been closed. 820 road over bridges and rail under bridges have been completed in the current year and work is going on in 1,350 of them.

As a passenger-friendly measure, IRCTC will manage catering services in catering and stalls at stations in a phased manner. It will explore the possibility of making catering services operational, adding 10 more IRCTC operated base kitchens.

As part of improving customer interface, work is underway on installation of a high-tech centralised network of 20,000 screens across 2000 stations for enabling real-time flow of information to passengers and also unlock huge advertising potential.

Provision of passenger amenities and beautification of stations will be taken on priority in pilgrim centres like Ajmer, Amritsar, Bihar Sharif, Chengannur, Dwarka, Gaya, Haridwar, Mathura, Nagapattinam, Nanded, Nasik, Pali, Parasnath, Pri, Tirupati, Vailankanni, Varanasi and Vasco. The Railway also intends to run ‘astha’ circuit trains to connect pilgrim centres.

(Agencies)

Arrest the attackers of Soni Sori immediately; Provide adequate security to her children: Women India Movement

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Soni Sori

New Delhi: Women India Movement leader Shahira Banu came down heavily on the Chattisgarh Govt. for not doing enough in arresting the culprits who brutally attacked the tribal activist Soni Sori by throwing acid on her face. It is unfortunate that the Chattisgarh police couldn’t arrest the criminals who assaulted the Adivasi activist Soni Sori by smearing black chemical liquid on her face on last Saturday, said Shahira.

In a press statement, Shahira Banu said, Soni Sori has been actively raising her voice against the “fake encounters and the high-handedness” of the forces. The barbarous acid attack on the Adivasi activist is aimed at silencing and terrorizing women in general and activists in particular. Acid violence is a horrendous crime and this is a grave violation of human rights against the women in Indian society.

She said, at least 5 acid attack cases on women are reported every week and we see that the government does not provide adequate safe and secure environment for women in the country. That is why such offences are being witnessed day by day. It is unbearable to imagine the plight of women who are victimized by such heinous crimes.

Women India Movement strongly condemns the atrocities on women and demand from the government that required measures be taken to control crimes against women. The government is responsible first and foremost for such flagitious incidents and that the government needs to come out with an integrative approach in finding solutions to such issues, said the WIM leader.

Shahira demanded that police the case involving acid attack on Soni Sori, who is presently undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital Delhi, be investigated thoroughly by specially trained gender sensitive police officers. The activist must be compensated adequately so as to ensure her proper treatment and her school going children could be taken care of. She also expressed concern about the safety of the activists’ children who could also be vulnerable to attack by the criminals.

The WIM leader further demanded from the government that the production, distribution and storage of toxic acids be controlled and regulated strictly to avoid such offences in future.

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