Bijnor was among the Uttar Pradesh districts where violence broke out on Friday over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

BIJNOR: An IAS aspirant was among those killed in the anti-CAA protest that claimed two lives in last week’s violence in Uttar Pradesh.

While the UP DGP O.P. Singh maintains that ‘not a single bullet was fired’ during the unrest, the Bijnor police for the first time has admitted to have opened fire in self-defence during the protests.

Bijnor was among the Uttar Pradesh districts where violence broke out on Friday over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Bijnor Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Tyagi told a news channel, “When one of our constables moved ahead to take back the gun that was snatched away by the protesters, a member of the crowd opened fire at him. He had a narrow escape. In retaliatory and self-defence firing, one person was shot at. His friends had taken him away. His name is Suleman and he died. One more protester, Anis, died in firing from the crowd.”

Suleman, 20, was preparing for his civil services entrance exam and that he had nothing to do with the protests.

“My brother had gone to offer namaaz. He was returning home after the namaaz to eat something. He had fever for the last couple of days. He did not go to the mosque near our home. He went to another mosque. When he stepped out, there was lathi-charge and tear-gassing by the police. The police picked him up and shot at him,” said Suleman’s brother Shoaib Malik.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had visited Bijnor on Sunday and had met the families of Suleman and Anis.

The families claim the police intimidated them after the incident and warned them not to speak to anyone about the incident.

Eighteen people have died in the state, many of them from bullet injuries, but the state police has maintained that it has not fired a single bullet at protesters anywhere.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, for the first time, makes religion the test of citizenship in India. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries to get citizenship if they come to India because of religious persecution.

Elated with the recent trends, the Opposition camp has started blaming the ruling BJP of neglecting people of this state due to which they were given a befitting reply.

RANCHI: The JMM-Congress alliance is moving towards a clear majority as per the current trends of the counting of Jharkhand Assembly elections. 

The advantage seems to be with the JMM-Congress combine.

Elated with the recent trends, the Opposition camp has started blaming the ruling BJP of neglecting people of this state due to which they were given a befitting reply.

“BJP considered people of this State as a burden due to which they were saying that they have put a double engine government as it was a liability to them. The double engine is put only to pull extra burden,” said State Congress Working President Rajesh Takur. 

He, however, hinted of taking other regional parties together even if they succeed in securing a majority in the state.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 71.15 then fell to 71.17 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 5 paise over its previous closing.

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee opened on a flat note and fell 5 paise to 71.17 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday tracking muted opening in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 71.15 then fell to 71.17 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 5 paise over its previous closing.

The Indian rupee on Friday had closed at 71.12 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.32 per cent to USD 65.93 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, as they purchased shares worth Rs 338.86 crore on Friday, as per provisional data.

Domestic bourses opened on a cautious note on Monday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 22.14 points down at 41,659.40 and Nifty lower by 10.75 points at 12,261.05.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.04 per cent to 97.65.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.58 per cent in morning trade.

Meanwhile, on the global front, Beijing will lower import tariffs on over 850 products, including frozen pork, from January next year, the finance ministry said on Monday, which may help ease the pressure on the country’s depleted pork supply.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also appealed to people to join them at Rajghat in ‘this fight for saving’ the Constitution.

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday urged students and youths to join him at Rajghat to protest against the “hate and violence unleashed by Modi-Shah” and show that they will not allow India to be “destroyed by hatred”.

“Dear Students and Youth of India, It’s not good enough just to feel India. At times like these, it’s critical to show that you’re India and won’t allow India to be destroyed by hatred.”

“Join me today at 3 PM at Raj Ghat, to protest against the hate and violence unleashed on India by Modi-Shah,” he said on Twitter.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also appealed to people to join them at Rajghat in “this fight for saving” the Constitution.

“This country is a collective bond, a collective dream. We have nurtured this land with Labour.”

“We have to save the country from the politics of divide and rule. Let us join at 3 PM at Bapu’s memorial at Rajghat and be a part of Constitution recitation,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in a tweet in Hindi.

Parts of the state are still under prohibitory orders and internet has been unplugged and so far 879 people have been arrested and the police have filed 131 cases.

MUZAFFARNAGAR: More than 67 shops in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar have been sealed as the state government has started the exercise to identify protesters involved in the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act stir.

The shops reportedly belong to those who were involved in violent protests and the government spokesman said that the shops would be seized if their involvement was confirmed during investigations.

The crackdown by the state administration comes after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath promised to recover the losses from those involved in violence by imposing fines or attaching their properties.

“There has been violence and public and private property has been destroyed in several districts in the state and we will deal with it strictly. All properties of those involved in damaging public assets will be seized and auctioned to compensate for the losses,” Yogi Adityanath had said.

He said that most of the offenders were being identified through the CCTV footage and video recordings of the incidents.

It is not known yet how the owners of the shops in Muzaffarnagar were identified as offenders by the administration. “The mob had gathered outside these shops and we are still investigating who are responsible for the violence,” said Abhishek Yadav, Senior Supeintedent of Police (SSP) Muzaffarnagar.

Muzaffarnagar had witnessed violence on Friday, along with 12 other districts in the state. The violence had started in the afternoon, soon after Friday prayers.

Around 10 bikes and several cars were torched and public property was vandalised. Around 30 people were injured, 12 of them police officers.

Parts of the state are still under prohibitory orders and internet has been unplugged. So far 879 people have been arrested and the police have filed 131 cases.

Since the Yogi Adityanath government came to power in 2017 in Uttar Pradesh, his government had sought closure in over 100 cases related to the Muzaffarnagar riots that took place in 2013. The government has sought permission from courts to close at least 74 of these 100 cases, but all of these are pending decisions.

In Lucknow and Sambhal, the process of sealing property is yet to begin though the district magistrate has set up a four-member committee to complete the process within 30 days.

The NCP chief questioned why only migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given citizenship under the amended law and not the Sri Lankan Tamils.

PUNE: NCP president Sharad Pawar slammed the NDA government on Saturday, saying the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens were “ploys to divert” attention from serious issues plaguing the country.

“CAA and NRC are ploys to divert people’s attention from serious issues that the country is facing,” he told reporters here.

“Not just minorities, but those who care for the country’s unity and progress are opposing CAA and NRC. The new citizenship law will disturb and hurt religious and social unity and harmony of the country,” he said.

He questioned why only migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given citizenship under the amended law and not the Sri Lankan Tamils.

Eight states, including Bihar, ruled by an NDA ally, have refused to implement the law and Maharashtra should also take a similar stand, Pawar said in response to a query.

“The CAA may be a central act, but the implementation will be done by the state agencies. But do the states have resources and machinery to do so,” he asked.

The former Union minister also sought an SIT probe, headed by a retired judge, into Pune police’s action against activists in the Elgar Parishad case.

Priyanka said the government wants every Indian to stand in line to prove one’s citizenship in the same manner in which they did after note ban.

NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday joined the students protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and a proposed countrywide National Register of Citizens (NRC) at the India Gate, saying the measures are “anti-poor”.

She said the government wants every Indian to stand in line to prove one’s citizenship in the same manner in which they did after note ban.

Priyanka Gandhi was accompanied by her daughter Miraya at the protest.

This is the second time the Congress leader protested at the India Gate this week against the law.

She earlier protested in a sit-in at the India Gate in support of Jamia students who were allegedly attacked by the police on Sunday.

“This is basically anti-poor. The most affected will be the poor. If someone has to take out old documents about their land, will they be able to do that? Will your grandparents be able to show?  In what state are they putting the country into. The way they put the entire country in line after note ban (demonetisation), they are now wanting to put the entire country in line the same way. Who will be affected by this. The rich will show their passports, but the poor will suffer,” she told reporters after joining the students protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed NRC at the India Gate.

Priyanka Gandhi also said that she had come to show solidarity with the protesters.

She also said demonstrations should be held peacefully as in a democracy everyone has the right to protest.

A top government official said that it was ‘premature’ to talk about NRC but added that documents like voter ID, Aadhaar and passport do not prove citizenship.

NEW DELHI: Top government officials on Friday clarified that Aadhaar, voter ID card and passport are not citizenship documents.

The officials were asked about documents required to prove citizenship for NRC.

The clarification comes a day after a “government document” emerged on social media, indicating that voter IDs be treated as proof of citizenship.

The document, reportedly attributed to government sources, lists 13 questions and answers to clear the air around Citizenship Amendment Act and possible countrywide NRC and is titled, “Here are the real facts on Citizenship Amendment Act”.

A top government official said that it was “pre-mature” to talk about NRC but added that documents like voter ID, Aadhaar and passport do not prove citizenship.

“These are either travel documents or documents to show residency in India,” the official said.  

Later, the Union Home Ministry put out tweets aimed at dispelling doubts about CAA.

The MHA spokesperson said, “Citizenship of India may be proved by giving any document relating to the date of birth or place of birth or both. Such a list is likely to include a lot of common documents to ensure that no citizen is unduly harassed or put to inconvenience.”

Another tweet said illiterate citizens not having any documents, will be allowed to produce witnesses or local proofs supported by members of the community.

“A well laid out procedure will be followed. #CAA2019,” the tweet said.

Earlier in the day, the government official said the Home Ministry in consultation with the Law Ministry is preparing the rules for implementation of CAA.

“No one will get Indian citizenship automatically. One has to prove eligibility,” the official said. “There is no intention to throw people out. People are over-worried. Law has sufficient safeguard,” the official said.

He added that the law provides for a national identity card under Section 14A of the Act.

‘States cannot halt NPR, CAA, NRC’

On a day Kerala announced that it won’t let Centre carry out National Population Register exercise just as West Bengal, the Centre said the states do not have the option of refusing NPR. A top government official said it was beyond the control of states to stop implementation of CAA, NRC or NPR.

On implementation of CAA, the official said there is a provision for notifying a separate authority. “Earlier, we had delegated this power to the collector, but we can now look afresh… A central government official is likely to be notified,” an official said.

He also pointed out that NPR was also out of the ambit of the states.

NEW DELHI: The family members of the Unnao rape survivor on Friday expressed disappointment with the court verdict awarding life sentence to accused BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and said they had hoped for the death penalty.

“Kuldeep Sengar should have been awarded a death sentence so that we could have got full justice. We would have been satisfied only then as that would have ensured our security,” said the girl’s sister.

“If anyone goes on to fight against these powerful people, should their family members be killed? This is not justice,”  survivor’s sister further said.   

“We are scared even when Sengar is in jail. Once he comes out, he will eliminate us,” she said.

“There should be strict punishment like this in such crimes, especially against powerful persons, so that no one even thinks of doing something like this with anybody’s daughter, sister or wife,” she added.

Saying that the family’s fight for justice was not over yet, the survivor’s sister said, “We can see justice being done. We hope that like this, we get justice in the rest four cases pending in the court.”

On July 28, the rape survivor’s car was hit by a truck. Two of her aunts were killed in the accident and she and her lawyer were severely injured. The girl was air-lifted to Delhi and was admitted in AIIMS for several weeks.

Her family had alleged that it was not an accident but attempt to murder Sengar was behind it.

The father of the rape survivor was framed in a case of illegal firearms possession and arrested on April 3, 2018.

He died in judicial custody six days later.

The trial in the other four cases — framing of the rape survivor’s father in the illegal firearms case, his death in judicial custody, the conspiracy of Sengar with others in the accident case and the separate rape case of the survivor by three others — are going on in the court.