Guwahati National Award-winning filmmaker Luit Kumar Barman has filed a police complaint against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his controversial comments on Mahatma Gandhi.

Barman filed the complaint on Wednesday night at Hatigaon police station in Guwahati, alleging that Modi made a “highly derogatory statement” about the Father of the Nation.

The police said a preliminary investigation is on and no FIR was registered yet in this connection.

Prime Minister Modi in a TV interview to a TV channel said, “…Across the world, Mahatma Gandhi was a great person. Was it not our responsibility in these 75 years to ensure that the entire world knows Mahatma Gandhi. I am sorry to say that no one knows about him. The first time when the film ‘Gandhi’ was made, it was then that there was curiosity across the world as to who this person was. We have not done so…”

In his complaint, Barman said, “This is a highly derogatory statement and cannot be acceptable by a citizen of India. As a citizen, we can not accept insult to Mahatma Gandhi.”

No film is required to introduce him to the world, said Barman who produced the 2021 Assamese film ‘Boomba Ride’ which won the Rajat Kamal. 

“By comparing Mahatma Gandhi with a film, Narendra Modi has defamed Mahatma Gandhi along with the people of India. Therefore, I request you to take action against Narendra Modi under relevant section of law,” Barman said.

When contacted, Hatigaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge Bijay Duwara told PTI that no FIR has been registered and a “preliminary investigation” is going on.

Balasore (Odisha) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said renowned figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Albert Einstein drew inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi.

He made these remarks during a political gathering in Odisha’s Balasore district.

Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion that the world only learned of Mahatma Gandhi through the film ‘Gandhi,’ Rahul Gandhi criticised those affiliated with the RSS, suggesting their lack of understanding regarding Gandhi’s legacy.

“Whose training is done in ‘sakha’ of RSS, they are followers of Godse, they do not know anything about Gandhiji. They do not know about the history of Hindustan, truth and violence. This is expected that the PM will tell that the world does not know anything about Gandhiji,” he said.

He emphasised that people like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Einstein, along with various freedom movements, found inspiration in Gandhi’s principles.

“Martin Luther King Jr., Mandelaji, Einstein and many others took inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi. Different movements, freedom movements also took inspiration from Gandhiji. Children of India also get inspiration from Gandhiji,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi concluded by saying further comments on the matter were unnecessary.

“There is no need to make more comments (on the subject). Their world is in their sakha,” Rahul Gandhi said.

New Delhi: IndiGo has derostered two pilots and four cabin crew members of the Delhi-Varanasi flight that saw 176 passengers being evacuated after a bomb threat earlier this week, according to sources.

On May 28, following the bomb threat, which later turned out to be hoax, all the passengers were evacuated through emergency slides from the aircraft at the Delhi airport.

In a video clip of the evacuation that went viral on social media, a pilot was seen coming out of the aircraft through the emergency slide with a baggage. Under international norms, passengers and crew are not permitted to take their baggage at the time of evacuation as that will increase the time for evacuation.

The wet-leased aircraft was to operate the flight from the national capital to Varanasi on the morning of Tuesday (May 28).

One of the sources said the two pilots, who were from the lessor company, four IndiGo cabin crew members have been derostered.

Generally, under the wet lease arrangement, crew, insurance and other things related to the aircraft are taken care of by the lessor.

A source at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that the crew have been derostered.

Specific details regarding the derostering could not be immediately ascertained.

“Safety is our prime concern and our crew acted accordingly in the best interest of our customers safety. As with all safety & security events our flight safety team will be reviewing this as well,” an IndiGo spokesperson said in a statement.

The review pertains to multiple things that are being investigated by the flight safety team.

A senior commander, who has flown wide-body planes for many years, told PTI that during an emergency evacuation, passengers are not allowed to take their baggage and also footwear with heals should be avoided as they can puncture the emergency slides that are inflated.

Also, carrying the baggage will increase the time for evacuation. Under the international norms, a flight evacuation has to be completed in 90 seconds using the emergency exits.

A senior cabin crew of another carrier who was part of an emergency evacuation earlier told PTI that the basic instruction to passengers during the emergency evacuation is to leave everything behind.

Carrying baggage will not only delay the evacuation but could also puncture the inflated emergency slides. Crew members of the flight are also not permitted to carry their baggage, he said.

As per information available on website SKYbrary, aircraft manufacturers are required to demonstrate that an aircraft, in maximum density configuration, can be completely evacuated within 90 seconds using only half of the total number of emergency exits.

“Ninety seconds has been established as the maximum evacuation time because tests have shown that, in a post crash fire, conditions conducive to flashover are unlikely to occur within that time span.

“However, the experience of actual evacuations, especially unexpected ones from full aircraft where the abnormal situation occurs suddenly at or soon after landing, indicates that evacuation times usually exceed durations demonstrated for certification purposes,” it said.

SKYbrary is an electronic repository of information related to flight operations, air traffic management and aviation safety in general.

New Delhi: The Delhi government has moved the Supreme Court to seek a direction to Haryana to supply more water to the crisis-hit national capital, sources said on Friday.

The AAP government in Delhi has told the top court that the water demand in the city has risen significantly due to heatwave conditions, and neighbouring Haryana be directed to release extra water for a month, they said.

It is the responsibility of all to work towards fulfilling the water needs of Delhi, the city government said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday urged the BJP to ask its governments in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to provide water to the national capital for a month.

The national capital has been facing a severe water shortage and Water Minister Atishi has accused Haryana of not releasing Delhi’s share of water.

Dehradun: Forest fires have flared up again in various parts of Uttarakhand, with two major fire incidents in the Gauhari range of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve and the trek route to Nilkanth Mahadev temple in Rishikesh.

The blaze that broke out in Gauhari range of the reserve on Thursday evening affected around 1.5 hectares of forest cover, Rajaji Reserve Director Saket Badola said on Friday.

The fire in Gauhari range of the reserve has been brought under control but fire fighting continues in an area spread over one hectare in the forest near Pundrasu along the trek route to the Nilkanth Mahadev temple, Badola said.

The forests in Barahat, Mukhem, Dunda and Dharasu ranges besides Varunavat hills in the border district of Uttarkashi are also ablaze, Uttarkashi District Disaster Management Officer Devendra Patwal said.

Forest guards, Quick Response Teams, NDRF, SDRF, police and fire brigade personnel are busy dousing the flames in Uttarkashi district, he said.

After nearly a fortnight-long lull which saw a substantial decline in forest fire incidents, wildfires flared up on Thursday with fire incidents in 11 areas affecting more than 13 hectares of forest land across the state, additional chief conservator of forest Nishant Verma said.\

There have been 1,167 forest fire incidents this season in which nearly 1600 hectares of land have been affected, he said.

Forest fires in Uttarakhand have so far claimed six lives and left five persons injured, Verma said.

Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Friday reserved its judgment on the maintainability of cases related to the Krishna Janmasthan-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura.

Several cases have been filed seeking the “removal” of the Shahi Idgah mosque which stands adjacent to the Krishna temple, with litigants claiming that the Aurangazeb-era mosque was built after the demolition of the temple.

The Muslim side, however, argued that the suits are barred under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, and some other laws.

The Act prohibits the conversion of any place of worship and aims to maintain the religious character of such places as it existed on August 15, 1947.

The case is being heard by Justice Mayank Kumar Jain.

Bengaluru: In a move aimed at conveying a strong message regarding the seriousness of sexual assault allegations, the Karnataka police have opted to assign solely women police personnel to accompany Prajwal Revanna, accused in multiple rape cases, during public appearances. This decision comes in the wake of Prajwal’s recent arrest upon his return to India after fleeing the country following the accusations.

Earlier today, five women police officers, including a Superintendent of Police, were tasked with escorting Prajwal Revanna out of Bengaluru International Airport.

Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, faces allegations of raping three women, sexually harassing another, and illicitly recording sexual acts involving over 70 women.

After his detention, the Hassan MP was taken to the CID Headquarters at Carlton House on Palace road. According to sources, Prajwal demanded to be housed in a special cell in the headquarters, and cited his privileges as a Member of Parliament but the police denied his plea and lodged him in a regular cell without any additional amenities.

Furthermore, Prajwal will be transported in regular police vehicles, without any luxurious conveyances, to signify that he will not receive preferential treatment.

A top police official said that Prajwal will not be allowed to cover his face while being escorted in public by the SIT. “It is to send a message that Prajwal won’t be receiving any special treatment while in custody. The measure is also intended to extend solidarity with the survivors.”

Following his detention, Prajwal was taken to the CID Headquarters for further proceedings.