- Joined
- Nov 17, 2017
- Messages
- 12,324
- Reactions
Shining India
- Thread starter Khafee
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2017
- Messages
- 12,324
- Reactions
Babri Masjid demolition case: LK Advani, all other accused acquitted by special court
ANI, IANSSeptember 30, 2020 | Last updated on at 11.58 pm
In its judgement pronounced today, the court said that the demolition was not pre-planned.
All accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case have been acquitted by the Special CBI court in Lucknow on Wednesday.In its judgement pronounced today, the court said that the demolition was not pre-planned.
Earlier today, 26 of the 32 accused had arrived at the court premises to hear the court's verdict.
While six others, including senior BJP leader LK Advani, had taken part in it through video conferencing.
There were 49 accused in the case out of which 17 have passed away. Therefore, the court pronounced its judgement on the rest 32 accused, who had been asked to be physically present in the court.
However, owing to Covid-19, senior citizens and those who are unwell among the accused are likely to be exempted from personally appearing in the court.
Latest updates:
Rajnath Singh welcomes court's verdict
"I welcome the verdict by Special CBI Court, Lucknow acquitting all 32 accused. It proves that justice triumphed however late it may be," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted.
Ravi Shankar Prasad meets LK Advani
Minutes after the Babri verdict was pronounced, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad arrived at the residence of BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani. Advani was among the 32 who were acquitted by the court on Wednesday. He attended the court proceeding via video conference.
Babri Mosque demolition not pre-planned: Court
As CBI Judge SK Yadav began reading the 2,000-page order, the court observed that evidences against the accused were not strong enough and the Babri Mosque demolition incident was not pre-planned.
Advani, Joshi acquitted of conspiracy charges
A special CBI court acquitted all 32 accused, including BJP veterans LK Advani, MM Joshi and Uma Bharti, of criminal conspiracy charges around 28 years after Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya.
All 32 accused acquitted by CBI court
Special Judge S.K. Yadav begins proceedings:
All 27 accused present in court
All 26 accused, except LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Nritya Gopal Das, Kalyan Singh and Satish Pradhan are present in the court room.
Vehicular movement in vicinity of court minimised
Wooden barricades were erected near most of the cross sections in the vicinity of the court building, and movement of buses from the Kaisarbagh bus stand diverted, PTI reported.
17 accused died during course of trial
There were 49 accused in the case out of which 17 have passed away. Therefore, the court will pronounce its judgement on the rest 32 accused, who have been asked to be physically present in the court. However, owing to Covid-19, senior citizens and those who are unwell among the accused are likely to be exempted from personally appearing in the court.
A meeting over the security details for today had been held a day earlier in which it was decided that the accused and their advocates would enter the court premises through gate number 3. However, due to security reasons or for any other reasons, if there is a need to enter the premises through vehicles then gate number 6 can be used. The police department has been deputed to look after the arrangements of security in the court premises today.
Some of the high-profile personalities in the case include senior BJP leaders such as Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharati, Kalyan Singh, among others. Apart from them, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Champat Rai, and others are also accused.
What the Babri demolition case is all about?
The Babri demolition case has lost much its steam after the Supreme Court, on November 9, 2019, allowed construction of Ram temple at the disputed site where the mosque once stood in Ayodhya, settling the land dispute.
Majority of the accused leaders in the demolition case have already pleaded innocence and blamed the then Congress government for falsely implicating them in the case due to political reasons.
According to legal experts, if convicted, veteran leaders like L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar, Sadhvi Rithambhara, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Champat Rai Bansal, Ram Vilas Vedanti, Dharmadas and Satish Pradhan would face maximum imprisonment up to five years for conspiracy.
If former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj and then Ayodhya district magistrate R.N. Srivastava are convicted, they may get maximum three years of jail term.
The remaining accused, including BJP MPs Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and Lallu Singh and 17 others, are also facing charges under Section 395 (committing dacoity) which may invite life imprisonment if the court records their conviction.
"All the accused can move the high court to challenge the verdict," said a senior lawyer.
Special judge Surendra Kumar Yadav, on May 30, 2017, had framed charges against Advani, Joshi, Bharti, Katiyar and Rithambhara for conspiracy under Section 120 B of IPC read with sections 147, 149, 153(a), 153(b) and 505(1)(b) of IPC.
Mahant Nritya Gopal, Ram Vilas Vedanti, Dharmadas and Satish Pradhan are facing charges under Section 295 of IPC in addition to Sections 147, 149, 153(a), 153(b) and 505(1)(b).
The CBI and defence lawyers have filed separately as many as 850 pages in their written arguments.
Interestingly, Wednesday's verdict is the last in the service period of special judge S.K. Yadav, whose tenure was extended by the Supreme Court as he retired on September 30, 2019, till delivery of the verdict by September 30, 2020.
It may be recalled that exactly 10 years ago, on September 30, 2010 -- a three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court had delivered the verdict in the Ayodhya title suit, which was later challenged in Supreme Court.
The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992, but the case moved at a snail's pace due to judicial delays.
The trial only began in 2010, and proceeded at a slow pace till the Supreme Court ordered day-to-day hearings on April 19, 2017, and said that the judge hearing the case, S.K. Yadav, would not be transferred.
Meanwhile, the defence lawyers representing the accused too have their paperwork ready - whether the accused are convicted or acquitted, the defence will have to move bail pleas.
"In case there is an acquittal, we will have to move bail under 437 CrPC by furnishing a personal bond for each person. In case they are convicted, then we will move bail on the same day before the same court so that they are not sent to judicial custody," a defence lawyer, who did not wish to be named, said.
Over the years, the Ayodhya case has seen several witnesses narrating how the Babri Masjid was demolished using axes, heard audios of kar sevaks raising slogans, seen evidence on video and arguments by the defence.
The case centres on the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid by a mob which believed it was built on the birthplace of Hindu deity Lord Ram. The demolition triggered communal riots around India that killed around 1,800 people, according to official figures.
The case is different from the land dispute at the heart of the stand-off, which was settled by the Supreme Court in November 2019 in favour of a Ram Janmabhoomi temple, the foundation stone for which was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5.
Following the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992, the police filed two FIRs.
The first - number 197/92 - was registered against lakhs of unnamed kar sevaks (volunteers) who had climbed atop the mosque to smash it with hammers and axes.
The second FIR - number 198/92 - was filed against eight people, namely Advani, Joshi, Bharti and Vinay Katiyar of the BJP, and the Vishva Hindu Parishad's Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, Vishnu Hari Dalmia and Sadhvi Rithambhara. Of these, Dalmia, Kishore and Singhal have died.
Forty-seven more FIRs were filed for the attacks on journalists on the day of the demolition, after the mosque had been brought down.
The first problem that arose was the division of cases between the CBI and the UP Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
FIR 197 against the kar sevaks was handed over to the CBI, while FIR 198, against the BJP and VHP leaders, was handed over to the CID.
It was only on August 27, 1993 that the CBI was handed over all the cases by the UP government.
On October 5, 1993, the CBI filed its first chargesheet against 40 people, including the eight leaders. After two years of investigation, the CBI filed a supplementary chargesheet on January 10, 1996, alleging a larger conspiracy and a planned attack on the Babri Masjid.
The CBI then included the charge of criminal conspiracy, Section 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code, against nine more people, including Shiv Sena leaders Bal Thackeray and Moreshwar Save.
In 1997, a Lucknow magistrate ordered the framing of charges (including criminal conspiracy) against the 48 accused. But 34 of them moved the Allahabad High Court appealing for revision, and were granted a stay.
For four years, nothing moved, because of the high court's stay order.
Then, on February 21, 2001, the Allahabad High Court ordered that the criminal conspiracy charge against Advani, Joshi, Bharti, Kalyan Singh and others be dropped.
Less than three month later, on May 4, 2001, the special court in Lucknow bifurcated FIRs 197 and 198 again, and stated that while 21 accused will be tried in Rae Bareli, the other 27 will be tried in Lucknow.
The CBI then moved the high court to review its decision to drop the criminal conspiracy charge, but its petition was dismissed.
On June 16, the CBI wrote to the UP government for a fresh notification to resume trial.
In July 2003, the CBI withdrew the criminal conspiracy charge against Advani and filed a fresh chargesheet in the Rae Bareli court. But in July 2005, the high court re-framed the charge of 'inciting hate' against Advani.
Until 2010, the two cases were being argued in the two separate courts.
In 2011, the CBI finally approached the Supreme Court, which decided to transfer the Rae Bareli part of the trial to Lucknow as well.
For the next seven years, several review petitions were filed in the courts against the charges framed, which led to a further delay.
It was only after the Supreme Court stepped in on April 19, 2017 that Advani and others were brought back into the criminal conspiracy case.
The apex court called the high court's order "erroneous", and also pulled up the CBI for not appealing against the order earlier.
There were over 30,000-40,000 witnesses to the demolition, and oral evidence is said to have played an important role in the trial. Oral evidence includes all the statements given by witnesses to the police while the investigation was on.
The CBI, during the investigation, drew up a list of 1,026 witnesses, which includes mostly journalists and policemen, and relied on oral evidence to establish the criminal conspiracy case against the eight BJP and VHP leaders as well.
The oral evidence also includes speeches that were made by these leaders when Advani's rath yatra for a Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya began in 1990. These show that the idea to demolish the mosque was conceived in 1990, which proves conspiracy.
The CBI made extra efforts to track most witnesses. Since 2010, several CBI teams have travelled the length and breadth of the country to issue summons asking them to depose in court. The CBI has produced a total of 351 witnesses and nearly 600 documents as evidence before the special court.
Documentary evidence too is set to play an important role in the case, including news reports of the incident, as well as photographs and videos shot at the site on December 6, 1992.
On November 9, 2019, the Supreme Court, while awarding the disputed site to Hindu claimants, noted that the demolition was "an egregious violation of the rule of law".
It now remains to be seen whether the SC's noting that the act of demolition was a "violation" impacts the judgment.
The prosecution has said in its final arguments that since the demolition is an act of violation, the accused who conspired must be punished, while the defence has cited the SC's final comments that the land belongs to the Hindu claimants.
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2017
- Messages
- 12,324
- Reactions
India gang-rape case shocks world
AFP/Bool Garhi, IndiaFiled on September 30, 2020
A demonstrator is detained by police during a protest after the death of a rape victim, on Rajpath near India Gate, in New Delhi, India, September 30, 2020 (Reuters)
"I wasn't even allowed to see the body of my daughter one final time before they burned it," her mother said.
Indian police were accused Wednesday of cremating the body a teenaged "untouchable" Dalit woman against her family's wishes after she died following an alleged gang-rape by four upper-caste men -- the latest sexual assault to shock the country.
The 19-year-old from India's marginalised Dalit community was left paralysed following a brutal attack two weeks ago in fields outside a village in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
She was found lying in a pool of blood after going missing while collect fodder outside her home village of Bool Gahri.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was later taken to hospital in New Delhi, around 200 kilometres (120 miles) away, but died Tuesday from her injuries.
The assault comes months after four men were hanged for the brutal 2012 gang rape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi, a case that came to symbolise the nation's problems with sexual violence.
The latest attack sparked anger that was further fuelled Wednesday after the woman's family accused police of cremating her body in the dead of night -- against their wishes and religious custom -- raising doubts about their commitment to a proper investigation.
"I wasn't even allowed to see the body of my daughter one final time before they burned it," her mother told reporters Wednesday.
Four men have been arrested in connection with the attack -- all aged in their 20s and 30s -- with an Indian newspaper reporting one was from a wealthy landowning family feared by the community.
He "creates trouble but no one ever says anything," the Indian Express quoted a villager as saying.
"He drinks, harasses women. Everyone is scared of the family."
- 'Caste supremacy' -
Police chief Vikrant Vir insisted the woman's cremation took place with the family's consent, but added: "We did not want any outsider to create law and order disturbances."The All India Progressive Women's Association said the police action "reeks of caste supremacy".
India's 200 million "untouchable" Dalits have long faced discrimination and abuse, and campaigners say attacks on them have increased during the coronavirus pandemic.
The attack has sparked uproar and lit up social media in India, with politicians, Bollywood personalities, cricket stars and rights activists voicing anger.
"When will this stop? Our laws & their enforcement must be so strict that the mere thought of punishment makes rapists shudder with fear! Hang the culprits," tweeted Bollywood megastar Akshay Kumar.
Nearly 90 rape cases were recorded every day last year, according to data released Tuesday by the National Crime Records Bureau, but vastly more assaults are thought to go unreported.
On Wednesday several dozen protesters were detained outside the heavily barricaded Uttar Pradesh government offices.
"We are getting reports of rape cases non-stop, this isn't the first one," protester Jaideep told AFP.
"In this one there was so much pressure from the upper castes that the police didn't register a case for eight days."
In Bool Gahri Wednesday, there was a heavy police presence with barricades and police at every corner as dozens of TV crews scrambled to interview relatives and locals.
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2017
- Messages
- 12,324
- Reactions
India's coronavirus infections surge to 6.23 million
ReutersFiled on September 30, 2020
Deaths from coronavirus infections rose by 1,179 in the last 24 hours to 97,497, the ministry said.
India's coronavirus case tally surged to 6.23 million after it reported 80,472 new infections in the last 24 hours, data from the health ministry showed on Wednesday.Deaths from coronavirus infections rose by 1,179 in the last 24 hours to 97,497, the ministry said.
The south Asian nation, which is second only to the United States in terms of total cases, has a scope for higher infections with a large chunk of the population still unexposed to the virus, a survey showed on Tuesday.
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2017
- Messages
- 12,324
- Reactions
Burdened by debt and unable to eke out a living, many farmers in India turn to suicide
India's farming community averaging 28 suicides a daySalimah Shivji · CBC News · Posted: Mar 30, 2021
Kiran Kaur, 25, stands on the three acres that her family owns in Mansa, in India's Punjab region. The fields yield a meagre profit and she says that drove her father to take his own life five years ago. (Salimah Shivji/CBC)
Kiran Kaur surveys her family's paltry plot of land in Mansa, in the northern Indian state of Punjab, and gestures dismissively at the three acres of wheat that will soon yield to cotton plants, which bring in little profit.
"Cotton is a complete failure for us," she said. Prices are low, and the cost of producing the fibre is far too high.
It's what drove her father, Gurnam Singh, to take his own life nearly five years ago on the same plot of land that defeated him, driving the family to the edge of economic ruin, she says.
"Life is still very tough without him here," Kaur, 25, told CBC News. "But that first year after his death almost destroyed me and my family.
"I dropped my studies and sat at home. The world blacked out for me. I have no recollection of the 10 days that followed his death."
Many in Punjab grow water-intensive crops such as cotton, wheat and rice, which has pushed farmers to invest heavily in irrigation and pesticides to protect crops, often depleting their savings and adding to debt. (Salimah Shivji/CBC)
What fills Kaur with guilt is that she didn't see it coming. Her father was one of her best friends, and yet, he kept the crippling debt he was struggling to manage hidden from her and the family.
"When he died, things were falling apart," acknowledged Shinderpal Kaur, Kiran's mother.
She knew about the massive loans her husband had taken out to pay for their eldest daughter's wedding and to cover medical treatment for Kiran. Even so, the notion that her husband would kill himself never entered her mind.
"I never thought [the suicide crisis] would hit me," Shinderpal said. "Not in my wildest dreams."
The crisis is deeply felt in Mansa, one of the poorest districts in Punjab, which is often referred to as the country's breadbasket, because of its rich soil and rice fields.
Kiran’s mother, Shinderpal Kaur, foreground, said the years without her husband have been excruciatingly difficult, as she worries about whether the cotton and wheat crops they are growing will be enough to cover the family’s bills. (Glen Kugelstadt/CBC)
Nearly every village here has had a string of suicides over the past few decades, but the problem goes beyond the district and even the state.
Bankruptcy, debt major factors
As in the rest of the world, the agriculture sector in India is hit disproportionately hard by suicide. Sixty per cent of the country's population works in agriculture.The latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau shows more than 10,000 farmers and agricultural labourers killed themselves in 2019 — that's 7.4 per cent of India's total suicide victims. (As a comparison, students also made up 7.4 per cent while civil servants accounted for 1.2 per cent.)
That means an average of 28 suicides in India's farming community every day.
While there's rarely just one factor that leads to suicide, the root causes for the suicides among India's farmers highlighted in the government's data are mainly linked to despair over their livelihoods. That ranges from bankruptcy and debt to farming-related issues and crop failure.
The crisis is spread across two dozen of India's states, with the highest number of agricultural suicides in the densely populated Maharashtra state. But it is particularly acute in Punjab, where farmer suicides have increased more than tenfold in the past five years.
The state was transformed in the mid-1960s by the Green Revolution, when the government introduced subsidies to encourage farmers to grow high-yielding rice and wheat varieties that eventually led to the country becoming self-sufficient in those grains.
But over the years, problems started to accumulate. All those water-intensive paddy fields led to the depletion of the area's groundwater. Many farmers poured money into digging deeper wells and into pesticides to protect their crops, but their costs spiralled, leading to crushing debt for many.
'A social phenomenon'
Decades in the making, it's such a deep-rooted crisis that many farmers take their own lives by consuming a pesticide called Sulfas. In Haryana state, the phrase "consuming Sulfas" has become shorthand for suicide."It's become a social phenomenon," said Vikas Rawal, an economics professor specializing in agrarian distress at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University. He noted that references to Sulfas have also turned up in songs dealing with the plight of India's farmers.
"It's a loss-making enterprise, but these farmers don't have anything else to do, so they just keep doing it," Rawal said. Jobs are scarce, and many people are also reluctant to give up even the smallest plot of land their families own to work for someone else. Rawal said they end up having few options but to descend further into debt.
He said up to 90 per cent of India's farmers can't cover the basic costs of fertilizer, seeds, pesticide and other equipment.
"Your cost of production has gone up and then you've been made to compete with the world," Rawal said, especially with the majority of India's farmers tilling tiny plots of land.
"That has squeezed incomes of farmers so much that basically they're being forced to commit suicide."
'We never had a happy day'
Kiran Kaur's family in Mansa has been especially hard hit. Her father was one of three brothers out of four who took their own lives, leaving behind three widows and their young children.Kiran's aunt Malkeet lost her husband to suicide 17 years ago, when their two sons were eight and 10 years old. The years since have been difficult, she said, wiping away tears, with a nephew taking care of the fields because her children were too young.
Gurmeet Kaur, Kiran's aunt, lost her husband to suicide two years ago, after struggling daily to turn a profit on their small farm. 'We never had a happy day,' she told CBC. (Glen Kugelstadt/CBC)
Malkeet Kaur’s husband killed himself 17 years ago in Mansa, leaving behind his widow, two young boys and persistent worries about repaying loans. (Salimah Shivji/CBC)
It took five years before anyone explained to Malkeet how to apply for her government-issued widow's pension. Once she got it, it only came intermittently, disappearing inexplicably for years at a time before being re-introduced.
The pension is the equivalent of $12 Cdn a month.
"It's a pittance and makes little difference anyway," Malkeet Kaur said wryly.
Another of Kiran's aunts, Gurmeet Kaur, sat staring into the distance during our interview, clearly still mourning her husband, Gumdoor. He took his life two years ago, on New Year's Day.
"We never had a happy day," Gurmeet told CBC. "The daily struggle basically destroys you.
"We used to think we were doing all this work for our children. But once the father dies, the children are burdened."
She also said she felt betrayed by nature when bad weather led to crop failure.
No national prevention strategy
India's suicide rate was 12.7 per 100,000 as of 2019, according to the WHO, but experts have said the actual numbers are likely far higher than the official figures because of the stigma in a country where trying to take your own life is still listed as a crime in the penal code.The country also lacks a national suicide prevention strategy, although some initiatives are folded into India's mental health plan. In 2016, the Modi government introduced a crop failure insurance program in an attempt to address a spate of farmer suicides following a lengthy drought.
The fact that India, like nearly every other economy, has been hobbled by the coronavirus pandemic and strict lockdowns has drastically compounded the suicide problem, according to Rawal.
He also fears the potential impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new farm laws, which have prompted months of protests, has also driven up suicide rates.
In September, India abruptly transformed the way the country's massive agricultural sector works, passing new laws that reduce the role of the government in grain markets in an attempt to modernize the industry. It's a move the farmers fear will push prices down and further ruin livelihoods.
"Having fought for so long to survive ... [they] just don't see this government giving a damn about it," Rawal said. "That's forced some people to actually take their lives there in the protest sites or when they went back home."
It's estimated several hundred farmers have died at the three large protest camps currently surrounding India's capital, New Delhi, but it's unclear how many of those killed themselves.
Tens of thousands of India's farmers have been camped out for months at several sites bordering India’s capital, New Delhi, in protest of the government's new laws, which farmers fear will crush livelihoods. (Salimah Shivji/CBC)
As a result of the severe backlash, the proposed laws are now on hold, but tens of thousands of farmers are still camped out in protest, pushing for a complete repeal of the legislation.
'There needs to be reform'
The standoff is in its fourth month even though both sides know the system as it stands is unsustainable, said Harish Damodaran, agriculture editor at the daily newspaper The Indian Express."Everyone agrees that there needs to be reform … that this cannot be sustained forever," Damodaran said. "Even the farmers themselves."
But he said the Modi government's error was not moving slowly and prioritizing financial incentives for India's farmers to diversify the crops they grow.
"It has to be done very sensibly, very carefully, very sensitively. No reform is possible without consulting the stakeholders," Damodaran said.
Many farmers across India are struggling with high debt to keep their farms going. More than 10,000 farmers or agricultural labourers took their own lives in 2019. (Salimah Shivji/CBC)
The protesting farmers see the so-called black laws as a path to allowing large corporations in and a means to decimate the traditional "mandi" system, which guarantees a minimum price for their produce.
"We're not going to leave until we get what we came here for," said Surinder Singh, who has a small farm in Punjab, while sitting near his chai stand at Singhu, the largest protest site surrounding Delhi.
"We know we'll be here for the long haul, years if needed," Singh said. He said the harvest will continue to be done by others at home, allowing the protesters to stay put.
"We will win this war," he said.
Helping widows 'to be heard'
Even with the regulated minimum price for rice and wheat in some areas, many farmers are barely making ends meet. The fact it could disappear is a devastating thought for many at the protests.Many don't trust the Indian government, which has promised it will not get rid of the floor price. Kiran feels that fear whenever she walks around the protest camp.
She often visits a community kitchen set up by a rotating group of widows at the Singhu camp. On one recent visit, the women were making rotis for other protesters, loudly joking that India's prime minister should come visit and speak to them directly to truly understand the life of an Indian farmer.
Kiran Kaur joins a group of widows making roti at the Singhu protest site, set up by farmers bordering the Indian capital. It’s part of the work Kaur does to support families left behind by suicide. (Salimah Shivji/CBC)
After the loss of her father, Kiran started an organization to help widows in her home state. She now buses around Punjab, meeting widows and their families to explain the services available to them, and to emotionally support those "teetering on the brink" and contemplating suicide.
She sees it as another way to honour what her father would have wanted for her.
"The government does not care," Kiran said. "Nobody wants to talk to or listen to the widows or the families of suicide victims."
Hearing the stories, day after day, of widows struggling is not easy, but it gives Kiran strength. "It furthers my resolve to fight for them, to help them be heard."
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2017
- Messages
- 12,324
- Reactions
22 Indian security members killed in Maoist attack - govt official
April 4, 2021Updated an hour ago
By Saurabh Sharma, Jatindra Dash, Rupam Jain
3 Min Read
(Reuters) -At least 22 members of Indian security forces were killed in a central Indian state by Maoist fighters, in one of the bloodiest attacks by the extreme left-wing insurgent group this year, officials said on Sunday.
Security personnel belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force’s elite CoBRA unit, the District Reserve Guard, and the Special Task Force were attacked on Saturday in the tribal-dominated Chhattisgarh state during an anti-insurgency operation.
“We can confirm that 22 of Indian force members have been killed by Maoist fighters,” said a senior government official in Raipur, the capital of mineral-rich Chhattisgarh.
They were killed in firing that lasted for four hours in the border district of Sukma, 540 kms (340 miles) south of Raipur.
Om Prakash Pal, a senior police official in Raipur, said combing operations to trace one missing security force member were being conducted.
The death toll was the heaviest for Indian security forces battling the far-left guerrillas since 2017.
Home Minister Amit Shah said the government will not tolerate such bloodshed and “a befitting response will be given to prevent such attacks.”
The Maoists, also known as Naxals, have waged an armed insurgency against the government for decades. Leaders of the hardline leftist militant group say they are fighting on behalf of the poorest, who have not benefited from a long economic boom in Asia’s third-largest economy.
Since 1967 the group seen as the greatest threat to the country’s internal security have asserted control over vast swathes of land in central and eastern India, establishing a so-called “red corridor”.
The militant group operate from thick forests, and their operations against the Indian administration and forces are shrouded in secrecy. The group has not claimed responsibility for the latest attack.
Hours after the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter that the “sacrifices of the brave martyrs will never be forgotten. May the injured recover at the earliest.”
Last month, five policemen were killed and several others were injured in a blast in what police said was a Maoist strike targeting a bus carrying more than 20 security personnel.
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2017
- Messages
- 12,324
- Reactions
Cookie Monster
THINK TANK
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2019
- Messages
- 440
- Reactions
- Country
-
- Location
-
Despicable mindset
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2017
- Messages
- 12,324
- Reactions
Covid-19: Woman molested in Bihar hospital in front of sick husband
PatnaMay 11, 2021
(Reuters)
The hospital has suspended the attendant.
A woman whose husband and mother were in an ICU in a hospital in Bhagalpur in Bihar battling Covid-19 had to face the ignominy of being molested by an attendant at the facility.
A 10-minute video, which has gone viral on social media, has her narrate her ordeal to the media. “A hospital attendant at Bhagalpur pulled my dupatta (scarf) and put his hand on my waist promising he will take care of my husband who was admitted at the hospital for treatment of lung infection,” says the woman. “I kept mum as my husband and mother too were admitted in the hospital.”
Tragically, her husband was not given adequate oxygen and after battling for a fortnight he died in a Patna hospital.
A resident of Noida near Delhi, she and her husband had visited Bihar for a family gathering. Her husband fell ill on April 9 but turned negative for coronavirus twice. Her mother, too, was hospitalised and kept in the ICU, but doctors and other staff including attendants at the local hospital would hardly bother about them, she said.
She specifically mentioned Jyoti Kumar, an attendant at the hospital. “I asked him for clean bedsheets for my husband and he said he would help,” said the woman. “When I was talking to my husband, he yanked my dupatta from behind. He was smiling with his hand on my waist.”
Worried about her husband and mother, she could not do anything at that moment. After she spoke of the incident, the Bihar government initiated a probe and the hospital suspended Jyoti Kumar.
The woman also had terrible experiences at two other hospitals in Mayaganj and Patna, where her pleas for oxygen for her husband were ignored by the staff. At Patna, the oxygen was cut off and she was forced to buy it in the black market, she bemoaned.
TomCat
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2019
- Messages
- 1,688
- Reactions
- Country
-
- Location
-
The cow dung cakes found in a suitcase that arrived on an Air India flight at the Dulles Washington airport in the US. Photo: US Customs and Border Protection
New Delhi: After discovering cow dung cakes in the baggage of a passenger from India at an international airport in the suburb of Washington DC, the US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) agency has asked travellers not to transport the waste product.
In a press release, the USCBP said that cow dung cakes from India are prohibited in the US as they are considered to be potential carriers of the highly contagious Foot and Mouth Disease that affects hoofed animals.
The cow dung cakes were found in a suitcase that was left behind after passengers from an Air India flight cleared CBP’s inspection station on April 4.
“That is not a typo. CBP agriculture specialists found two cow dung cakes in a suitcase that was left behind after passengers from an Air India flight cleared CBP’s inspection station on April 4,” a media release said on May 10.
Though the press release did not contain any information on why the cow dung cakes were being transported, news reports suggested that it may have been due to the false belief that dung offers protection against COVID-19. In India, doctors recently had to issue a warningagainst the practice of using cow dung in the belief it will ward off COVID-19, saying there is no scientific evidence for its effectiveness and that it risks spreading other diseases.
“Foot and mouth disease [FMD] is one of the animal diseases that livestock owners dread most, has grave economic consequences, and it is a critical threat focus of Customs and Border Protection’s agriculture protection mission,” said Keith Fleming, acting director of field operations for CBP’s Baltimore Field Office.
FMD causes illness in cows, pigs, sheep, goats, deer, and other animals with divided hooves. It does not affect horses, dogs, or cats, according to the US’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
FMD is a worldwide concern as it can spread quickly and cause significant economic losses to farmers. A single detection of a case of FMD will likely stop international livestock trade completely until authorities can eradicate the disease threat.
The US eradicated the disease in its livestock populations in 1929.
The CBP release said that though cow dung is reported to be a vital energy and cooking source in some parts of the world and is also reportedly used as a skin detoxifier, an antimicrobial and as fertilizer, it is prohibited in the US.
“Despite these alleged benefits, cow dung from India is prohibited due to the potential introduction of Foot and Mouth Disease,” the CBP said.
According to Vice News, sales of cow dung cakes have been rising steadily in the US, with supermarkets such as Walmart and e-commerce stores such as Amazon selling them.
Source :https://science.thewire.in/health/u...g-luggage-passenger-india-foot-mouth-disease/
New Delhi: After discovering cow dung cakes in the baggage of a passenger from India at an international airport in the suburb of Washington DC, the US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) agency has asked travellers not to transport the waste product.
In a press release, the USCBP said that cow dung cakes from India are prohibited in the US as they are considered to be potential carriers of the highly contagious Foot and Mouth Disease that affects hoofed animals.
The cow dung cakes were found in a suitcase that was left behind after passengers from an Air India flight cleared CBP’s inspection station on April 4.
“That is not a typo. CBP agriculture specialists found two cow dung cakes in a suitcase that was left behind after passengers from an Air India flight cleared CBP’s inspection station on April 4,” a media release said on May 10.
Though the press release did not contain any information on why the cow dung cakes were being transported, news reports suggested that it may have been due to the false belief that dung offers protection against COVID-19. In India, doctors recently had to issue a warningagainst the practice of using cow dung in the belief it will ward off COVID-19, saying there is no scientific evidence for its effectiveness and that it risks spreading other diseases.
“Foot and mouth disease [FMD] is one of the animal diseases that livestock owners dread most, has grave economic consequences, and it is a critical threat focus of Customs and Border Protection’s agriculture protection mission,” said Keith Fleming, acting director of field operations for CBP’s Baltimore Field Office.
FMD causes illness in cows, pigs, sheep, goats, deer, and other animals with divided hooves. It does not affect horses, dogs, or cats, according to the US’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
FMD is a worldwide concern as it can spread quickly and cause significant economic losses to farmers. A single detection of a case of FMD will likely stop international livestock trade completely until authorities can eradicate the disease threat.
The US eradicated the disease in its livestock populations in 1929.
The CBP release said that though cow dung is reported to be a vital energy and cooking source in some parts of the world and is also reportedly used as a skin detoxifier, an antimicrobial and as fertilizer, it is prohibited in the US.
“Despite these alleged benefits, cow dung from India is prohibited due to the potential introduction of Foot and Mouth Disease,” the CBP said.
According to Vice News, sales of cow dung cakes have been rising steadily in the US, with supermarkets such as Walmart and e-commerce stores such as Amazon selling them.
Source :https://science.thewire.in/health/u...g-luggage-passenger-india-foot-mouth-disease/
Stupid Indians! Why do they want to import cow dung cakes from India when they are available for cheap in New Jersey? 
American “product” is much better than the Indian one. No?
m.republicworld.com
American “product” is much better than the Indian one. No?
Cow dung cakes now available in New Jersey at Rs.215, Netizens react
A New Jersey grocery store is now selling cow dung cakes for just Rs.215 and instantly triggered hilarious reactions from the netizens
m.republicworld.com
Last edited:
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2017
- Messages
- 12,324
- Reactions
Covid-19: After black fungus, white fungus infection reported in India
May 20, 2021
Four cases of white fungal infection have been reported from Patna in Bihar, and one of the infected patients is a famous doctor from Patna, the reports said.
White fungus infection is more dangerous than black fungus because it affects lungs as well as other parts of the body, including nails, skin, stomach, kidney, brain, private parts and mouth, according to a report in the DNA.
Doctors say that white fungus also infect the lungs and an infection similar to Covid-19 is detected when a high-resolution CT scan is performed on the infected patient, DNA reported.
Doctors have issued a warning saying that unlike the black fungus, white fungus infection spreads more easily to vital organs, though there's little evidence as to what exactly makes this new infection more threatening.
A report in the Times of India said that as with black fungus infection, the risk of catching the new disease is the highest for those with frail immunity, suffering from pre-existing medical issues, including diabetes, and/or using steroids. Those put on high oxygen support are also at risk.
The report said a white fungus infection may be risky for pregnant women and children. Hence, proper emphasis should be laid on sanitisation since molds can be directly inhaled by a suspected patient.
May 20, 2021
White fungus affects lungs as well as other parts of the body, such as nails, skin, stomach, kidney, brain, etc.
Even as a black fungus endemic looms over the coronavirus-ravaged India, there's another threat which is baffling medical experts. According to Indian media reports, cases linked to white fungus infection, considered to be more dangerous than black fungus, have been traced in Bihar.Four cases of white fungal infection have been reported from Patna in Bihar, and one of the infected patients is a famous doctor from Patna, the reports said.
White fungus infection is more dangerous than black fungus because it affects lungs as well as other parts of the body, including nails, skin, stomach, kidney, brain, private parts and mouth, according to a report in the DNA.
Doctors say that white fungus also infect the lungs and an infection similar to Covid-19 is detected when a high-resolution CT scan is performed on the infected patient, DNA reported.
Doctors have issued a warning saying that unlike the black fungus, white fungus infection spreads more easily to vital organs, though there's little evidence as to what exactly makes this new infection more threatening.
A report in the Times of India said that as with black fungus infection, the risk of catching the new disease is the highest for those with frail immunity, suffering from pre-existing medical issues, including diabetes, and/or using steroids. Those put on high oxygen support are also at risk.
The report said a white fungus infection may be risky for pregnant women and children. Hence, proper emphasis should be laid on sanitisation since molds can be directly inhaled by a suspected patient.
BATMAN
THINK TANK
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2017
- Messages
- 1,892
- Reactions
- Country
-
- Location
-
In mideast, people should avoid visiting restaurants employing Indians. Avoid buildings, where Indians are habiting and while working with Indians, keep distance.
Counter-Errorist
THINK TANK
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2019
- Messages
- 1,105
- Reactions
- Country
-
- Location
-
Uttarakhand Govt Orders FIR Against Labs for Fake COVID Tests During Kumbh
The magnitude of the 'scam' is yet to be known. Various accounts put fake tests ranging from 1 lakh to 4 lakh.
Hindu devotees take a holy dip in the Ganges River during Shahi Snan at "Kumbh Mela", or the Pitcher Festival, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Haridwar, India, April 14, 2021. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis
New Delhi: The Uttarakhand government has ordered the Haridwar district administration to file an FIR (first information report) against private labs accused of conducting fake COVID tests during Kumbh Mela, held in the state between April 1 and 30.
A preliminary investigation carried out by the chief controlling officer (CCO) of Covid cases Abhishek Tripathi last week had revealed that as many as 1 lakh fake tests had been performed by 22 private labs roped in by the state government mainly from Delhi and Haryana.
Citing ANI report, NDTV quoted state government’s spokesperson Subodh Uniyal as saying, “Uttarakhand government has ordered the Haridwar district administration to register FIR in Covid testing scam during Mahakumbh. An order issued to file a case against labs from Delhi and Haryana, which conducted testing at five places in Haridwar during Kumbh Mela.”
Also read: COVID-19: How Fake Tests, Fudged Data Helped Paint a Kinder Picture for Kumbh Mela
Apparently, this was done by private labs by issuing fake Covid test reports in the name of random people on the basis of their identity cards and phone numbers. The issue of fake Covid tests came to light when a devotee who attended Mahakumbh had received an SMS on his mobile number stating that his samples had been collected, and soon he was sent a COVID negative report. However, neither were his samples collected nor was his test done. Then, he lodged a complaint with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
“The complainant had claimed before the ICMR that when he went to attend the Mahakumbh, he had received an SMS that his samples have been collected for the test along with a proper valid ID number. However, he gave no samples. The ICMR, citing the complaint, asked the health department to verify it after which COVID-19 CCO conducted the inquiry,” Hindustan Times had quoted a senior Uttarakhand health official as saying.
Reportedly, the labs did so to meet the daily testing target of 50,000 tests set by the Uttarakhand high court. According to PTI, about 2,600 devotees had tested positive out of the nearly two lakh tests conducted by medical personnel during the religious gathering.
The true extent of the ‘scam’ is yet to be known. According to one account, as many as 400,000 tests conducted during Kumbh are turned out to be fake.
Soon after the issue came to light, payment to all labs which had been assigned the responsibility of conducting tests – RT-PCR and rapid antigen – during the Kumbh has been withheld for the time being due to the ongoing investigation, Haridwar district magistrate C. Ravishankar had said at the time.
Nearly 70 lakh devotees are believed to have participated in the mass religious gathering even as COVID-19 cases were surging in the country due to a deadly second wave. Despite criticism from several quarters against mass gathering, Kumbh Mela had been given a go-ahead both by the Uttarakhand government and Centre, only to be bracktracked later.
Uttarakhand Govt Orders FIR Against Labs for Fake COVID Tests During Kumbh
The magnitude of the 'scam' is yet to be known. Various accounts put fake tests ranging from 1 lakh to 4 lakh.
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2017
- Messages
- 12,324
- Reactions
Forget minorities, even animals are not safe in India.
www.nst.com.my
www.opindia.com
www.google.com
Pregnant goat dies after being gang-raped by eight men in India | New Straits Times
KUALA LUMPUR: A pregnant goat is believed to have been raped by eight drunken men in Haryana, India on July 25.
www.nst.com.my
4 cases of dog rape in Mumbai in past few months: All you need to know
There has been a gradual rise in the crimes against animals, especially dog rape in Mumbai, who are subjected to bestiality. | OpIndia News
www.opindia.com
Almost 5 lakh animals became victims of crimes in last 10 years in India: Report
As many as 5 lakh animals became victims of crimes by humans over the past decade in India, a recently released report by two animal rights groups has said.
www.google.com