By our Correspondent
Last updated: Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:02:06 GMT
Cuttack (Orissa): In a significant development, the High Court has admitted a petition of Gayatri Panda, a suspended women employee of the Legislative Assembly who had brought sexual harassment allegations on former Assembly Speaker Maheswar Mohanty.
Panda has urged the HC to quash the August 7, 2007 order of Orissa Human Rights Commission (OHRC) in which the Commission had given "clean chit" to the political leader saying there was no credible evidence against the former speaker.
Admitting Panda’s petition, HC Bench of Justices I. M. Qudussi and Justice B.P. Ray issued notices to the former Speaker, State Women Commissioner, OHRC, represented through its secretary and to the State government to file counters to the petition. more
Friday, December 26, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Orissa High Court acquittal in rape case “borders on the absurd”
J. Venkatesan
Conclusion contrary to law; name of victim revealed flouting order; apex court
It’s non-application of mind: Bench
Matter remitted back for disposal afresh
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed all trial courts and High Courts not to disclose in their judgments the names of rape victims.
Revealing the names will amount to judicial indiscipline, said a Bench consisting of Justices Arijit Pasayat and Mukundakam Sharma.
‘Judicial indiscipline’
Notwithstanding a series of decisions by the apex Court that the name of a rape victim should not be indicated in the judgment, the Orissa High Court did the reverse.
“This speaks volumes of judicial indiscipline.”
The Bench faulted the High Court also for acquitting a convict on the absurd reasoning that the victim was a healthy tribal woman capable of resisting rape and that there was only one eyewitness.
Trial court order reversed
The High Court acquitted Sukru Gouda, reversing a trial court order convicting him of raping the woman on September 4, 1993.
The High Court said: “Admittedly she was an able-bodied tribal lady, capable of taking care of herself. It was natural that she would have resisted to the best of her ability if sexual intercourse was being committed on her against her consent.”
Baffling
Allowing the appeal by the State of Orissa against this judgment, the apex court said: “A bare reading of the High Court’s order shows a complete non-application of mind. Some of the conclusions are clearly contrary to the law as laid down by this court. The conclusions are not only confusing but border on the absurd. It baffles us as to why the High Court says that ‘law is well settled that it is not possible for a single man to commit sexual intercourse with a healthy adult female in full possession of her senses against her will’.”
‘Not fathomable’
The Bench said the basis on which High Court came to this conclusion was not fathomable.
“To say the least, the conclusion is not only contrary to law laid down by this court, but also shows scant regard for law declared by this court.”
Accused ignores notice
It remitted the matter back to the High Court to hear the appeal afresh for disposal, as the accused-respondent (Sukru Gouda) had not appeared before the court in spite of notice, keeping in view the correct legal principles. more
Conclusion contrary to law; name of victim revealed flouting order; apex court
It’s non-application of mind: Bench
Matter remitted back for disposal afresh
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed all trial courts and High Courts not to disclose in their judgments the names of rape victims.
Revealing the names will amount to judicial indiscipline, said a Bench consisting of Justices Arijit Pasayat and Mukundakam Sharma.
‘Judicial indiscipline’
Notwithstanding a series of decisions by the apex Court that the name of a rape victim should not be indicated in the judgment, the Orissa High Court did the reverse.
“This speaks volumes of judicial indiscipline.”
The Bench faulted the High Court also for acquitting a convict on the absurd reasoning that the victim was a healthy tribal woman capable of resisting rape and that there was only one eyewitness.
Trial court order reversed
The High Court acquitted Sukru Gouda, reversing a trial court order convicting him of raping the woman on September 4, 1993.
The High Court said: “Admittedly she was an able-bodied tribal lady, capable of taking care of herself. It was natural that she would have resisted to the best of her ability if sexual intercourse was being committed on her against her consent.”
Baffling
Allowing the appeal by the State of Orissa against this judgment, the apex court said: “A bare reading of the High Court’s order shows a complete non-application of mind. Some of the conclusions are clearly contrary to the law as laid down by this court. The conclusions are not only confusing but border on the absurd. It baffles us as to why the High Court says that ‘law is well settled that it is not possible for a single man to commit sexual intercourse with a healthy adult female in full possession of her senses against her will’.”
‘Not fathomable’
The Bench said the basis on which High Court came to this conclusion was not fathomable.
“To say the least, the conclusion is not only contrary to law laid down by this court, but also shows scant regard for law declared by this court.”
Accused ignores notice
It remitted the matter back to the High Court to hear the appeal afresh for disposal, as the accused-respondent (Sukru Gouda) had not appeared before the court in spite of notice, keeping in view the correct legal principles. more
Friday, November 21, 2008
"Don't convert this court into police station," SC to Yuva Shakti
SC no to PIL for invoking MCOCA against Raj Thackeray
New Delhi, Nov 21: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a petition seeking registration of a criminal case under MCOCA against MNS chief Raj Thackeray for the his party's hate campaign and violence against north Indians and non-Marathis in Maharashtra.
"It is not our duty to pass orders for registering cases," said a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, warning an NGO against filing petitions for registration of cases under MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act).
"Don't convert this court into police station," the Bench, also comprising Justice P Sathasivan, said, expressing its displeasure against the NGO, , for filing the petition.
"How can we pass such type of directions," the Bench said referring to the petition in which the NGO had also sought that liability should be put on MNS and its chief for the damage caused to public property during the violence.
The PIL had also sought a direction to the Election Commission for de-recognising MNS as a political party.
Advocate Rakesh Kumar Singh said that the NGO was approaching the apex court as the fall out of the violence was not restricted to Maharashtra but had also spread to other parts of the country.
He submitted that how can the apex court be silent when a political party was encouraging and spearheading violence against citizens, many of whom were students going to Maharashtra to appear in competitive examinations.
Bureau Report
New Delhi, Nov 21: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a petition seeking registration of a criminal case under MCOCA against MNS chief Raj Thackeray for the his party's hate campaign and violence against north Indians and non-Marathis in Maharashtra.
"It is not our duty to pass orders for registering cases," said a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, warning an NGO against filing petitions for registration of cases under MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act).
"Don't convert this court into police station," the Bench, also comprising Justice P Sathasivan, said, expressing its displeasure against the NGO, , for filing the petition.
"How can we pass such type of directions," the Bench said referring to the petition in which the NGO had also sought that liability should be put on MNS and its chief for the damage caused to public property during the violence.
The PIL had also sought a direction to the Election Commission for de-recognising MNS as a political party.
Advocate Rakesh Kumar Singh said that the NGO was approaching the apex court as the fall out of the violence was not restricted to Maharashtra but had also spread to other parts of the country.
He submitted that how can the apex court be silent when a political party was encouraging and spearheading violence against citizens, many of whom were students going to Maharashtra to appear in competitive examinations.
Bureau Report
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
SC asserts the judiciary’s primacy over the executive
Apex court collegium puts its foot down
J. Venkatesan| Refuses to reconsider elevation of 3 judges |
New Delhi: Asserting the judiciary’s primacy over the executive in the appointment of judges, the Supreme Court collegium, headed by the Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan, on Tuesday refused to reconsider its decision on elevation of three High Court Chief Justices as apex court judges.
The collegium reiterated its earlier recommendation on the elevation of the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court A.K. Ganguly, the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court R.M. Lodha and the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court H.L. Dattu and sent back the file to the Union Law Ministry for being sent to President Pratibha Patil.
The recommendations were sent to the Law Ministry in the middle of October for forwarding the names to the President through the Prime Minister’s Office.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) fights Indian guest workers' cause
Leading US rights body fights Indian guest workers' cause
Tue, Nov 18 08:51 PM
New York, Nov 18 (IANS) A leading US rights body has joined a class-action lawsuit against the federal government, filed early this year on behalf of about 500 Indians, alleging they were trafficked into the US through the H-2B guest worker programme.
The guest workers, who were brought from India to work in shipyards after Hurricane Katrina, were misleadingly recruited, exploited and mistreated, alleged in a statement Monday.
The federal government has fallen short of its responsibility to protect the rights of guest workers in this country, it alleged.
One of the most active civil-rights activist groups in this country, ACLU has charged that these workers were given dishonest assurances of becoming lawful permanent US residents and subjected to squalid living conditions, fraudulent payment practices and threats of serious harm upon their arrival.
Observing that immigrant guest workers are among the most vulnerable groups of workers, Chandra Bhatnagar, staff attorney with the ACLU Human Rights Program and co-counsel in the case, demanded that the government must take immediate action to stop sanctioning worker abuse and fix this dangerous system.
'Often paying exorbitant sums of money to deceitful and abusive recruiters in their home countries, these guest workers are subject to the control of a single 'employer-sponsor' once they've arrived in the US, with no safeguards in place to protect even the limited rights guaranteed by law,' he alleged.
The class action lawsuit was filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in March 2008 by Southern Poverty Law Center, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Louisiana Justice Institute and the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice.
It came after a campaign early this year spearheaded by the Alliance of Guest Workers for Dignity, a project of the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice.
The lawsuit complains that recruiting agents hired by Signal International, the marine industry company, held guest workers' passports and visas; coerced them into paying extraordinary fees for recruitment, immigration processing and travel, and threatened the workers with serious legal and physical harm if they did not work under the Signal-restricted guest worker visa.
The complaint also charges that once in the US, the men were required to live in Signal's guarded, overcrowded labour camps, subjected to psychological abuse and defrauded out of adequate payment for their work.
Signal has denied the charges.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Primacy of executive, a dangerous move - by Anil Divan
The Hindu Wednesday, Oct 22, 2008 Opinion - Leader Page Articles
...............
Crisis in the higher judiciary
The Ghaziabad Provident Fund Scam was followed by Rs.15 lakh in cash being sent by a law officer to a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court now allegedly meant for another woman judge.
Justice Soumitra Sen, a serving judge of the Calcutta High Court has been identified by the Chief Justice of India as fit for impeachment. A few years ago, Justice Shamit Mukherjee of the Delhi High Court was accidentally discovered to be indulging in dubious transactions when phones of certain other officials were under surveillance by the police.
The reputation of the higher judiciary is at a low ebb. To quote from the author’s article “Judging the judges” ( December 5, 2002), “Unless vigorous in-house action is taken by the judiciary to repair the damage, public opinion will call for legislative intervention by Parliament. A legislative mechanism unless properly framed may be subversive of judicial independence … Every adversity is an opportunity”.
There is well-intentioned and legitimate criticism of the collegium system as now functioning. The present system of appointment requires radical restructuring — but the reform must be in the right direction. Reviving a failed system is a recipe for disaster. The final word in appointments to the higher judiciary can never be safely entrusted to fractious coalition governments — weak on governance, soft on terrorism and high on corruption. Each coalition partner will demand its quotas on the High Bench as well as the High Courts — on occasions threatening withdrawal of support. An increasing politicisation of the judges indebted to political factions is not a result “devoutly to be wished.”
In our dissatisfaction with the present system, let the family silver not be stolen by the executive. Let the Bar and civil society give a clear response to the Law Minister that under no circumstances can the old system of primacy of the executive be restored.
The way forward is a transparent, accountable and open merit system, but that is another call.
read it all
...............
Crisis in the higher judiciary
The Ghaziabad Provident Fund Scam was followed by Rs.15 lakh in cash being sent by a law officer to a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court now allegedly meant for another woman judge.
Justice Soumitra Sen, a serving judge of the Calcutta High Court has been identified by the Chief Justice of India as fit for impeachment. A few years ago, Justice Shamit Mukherjee of the Delhi High Court was accidentally discovered to be indulging in dubious transactions when phones of certain other officials were under surveillance by the police.
The reputation of the higher judiciary is at a low ebb. To quote from the author’s article “Judging the judges” ( December 5, 2002), “Unless vigorous in-house action is taken by the judiciary to repair the damage, public opinion will call for legislative intervention by Parliament. A legislative mechanism unless properly framed may be subversive of judicial independence … Every adversity is an opportunity”.
There is well-intentioned and legitimate criticism of the collegium system as now functioning. The present system of appointment requires radical restructuring — but the reform must be in the right direction. Reviving a failed system is a recipe for disaster. The final word in appointments to the higher judiciary can never be safely entrusted to fractious coalition governments — weak on governance, soft on terrorism and high on corruption. Each coalition partner will demand its quotas on the High Bench as well as the High Courts — on occasions threatening withdrawal of support. An increasing politicisation of the judges indebted to political factions is not a result “devoutly to be wished.”
In our dissatisfaction with the present system, let the family silver not be stolen by the executive. Let the Bar and civil society give a clear response to the Law Minister that under no circumstances can the old system of primacy of the executive be restored.
The way forward is a transparent, accountable and open merit system, but that is another call.
read it all
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
SC refuses to stay Nanavati report
Godhra train fire: SC refuses to stay Nanavati report
26 Sep 2008, 1334 hrs IST,PTI
:
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the circulation of Justice G T Nanavati report relating to the Godhra carnage in Gujarat. ( Watch )
A petition seeking a stay on the report was mentioned before a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan which posted its hearing for October 13.
The NGO, Citizen for Justice and Peace, approached the apex court contending that a report by Justice U C Banerjee Committee on the same carnage has been stayed and a similar step should be taken for the Justice Nanavati Commission report which was tabled in the Gujarat assembly on Wednesday.
More
26 Sep 2008, 1334 hrs IST,PTI
:
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the circulation of Justice G T Nanavati report relating to the Godhra carnage in Gujarat. ( Watch )
A petition seeking a stay on the report was mentioned before a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan which posted its hearing for October 13.
The NGO, Citizen for Justice and Peace, approached the apex court contending that a report by Justice U C Banerjee Committee on the same carnage has been stayed and a similar step should be taken for the Justice Nanavati Commission report which was tabled in the Gujarat assembly on Wednesday.
More
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
35 Sitting Judges to be questioned by CBI for Fraud
 |
24 Sep 2008, 0347 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN |
NEW DELHI: A "willing" CBI was tasked on Monday by the Supreme Court to pinpoint the "black sheep" from among 35 sitting judges — one in SC, 11 in HCs and 23 in district courts — suspected to have played a role in the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 23 crore from the provident fund accounts of class IV court employees in the Ghaziabad judiciary. The urgency to weed out the corrupt from judiciary was evident from the detailed order passed by a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat, V S Sirpurkar and G S Singhvi, which set a three-month deadline for CBI to file its first status report on the investigation not only into the scam but also all dealings relating to it. |
Monday, September 22, 2008
Jamia Milia Islamia to take care of the arrested students
Indian Express > Delhi >
Jamia to provide legal help to two arrested students
Hamari Jamatia
Posted: Sep 23, 2008 at 0913 hrs IST
New Delhi, September 22 In an unexpected turn of events, Jamia Milia Islamia on Monday evening decided to provide legal help to its two students arrested for alleged connection in Saturday’s serial blasts across the Capital.
Mohammad Shakeel, a second-year MA student, and Zia-Ur-Rehman (third year BA) were arrested on Sunday.
Jamia Vice-Chancellor Mushirul Hasan told Newsline in the evening that he would take steps to look into the “well being” of his students.
Jamia’s media coordinator Rakhshanda Jalil told Newsline, “The university has now decided to provide legal help to the two students caught on Sunday.” Since the two are students of Jamia, “the university feels it is a responsibility to safeguard them until they are proven guilty.”: Sep 23, 2008 at 0913 hrs IST
New Delhi, September 22 In an unexpected turn of events, Jamia Milia Islamia on Monday evening decided to provide legal help to its two students arrested for alleged connection in Saturday’s serial blasts across the Capital.
Mohammad Shakeel, a second-year MA student, and Zia-Ur-Rehman (third year BA) were arrested on Sunday.
Jamia Vice-Chancellor Mushirul Hasan told Newsline in the evening that he would take steps to look into the “well being” of his students.
Jamia’s media coordinator Rakhshanda Jalil told Newsline, “The university has now decided to provide legal help to the two students caught on Sunday.” Since the two are students of Jamia, “the university feels it is a responsibility to safeguard them until they are proven guilty.”
Link
Jamia to provide legal help to two arrested students
Hamari Jamatia
Posted: Sep 23, 2008 at 0913 hrs IST
New Delhi, September 22 In an unexpected turn of events, Jamia Milia Islamia on Monday evening decided to provide legal help to its two students arrested for alleged connection in Saturday’s serial blasts across the Capital.
Mohammad Shakeel, a second-year MA student, and Zia-Ur-Rehman (third year BA) were arrested on Sunday.
Jamia Vice-Chancellor Mushirul Hasan told Newsline in the evening that he would take steps to look into the “well being” of his students.
Jamia’s media coordinator Rakhshanda Jalil told Newsline, “The university has now decided to provide legal help to the two students caught on Sunday.” Since the two are students of Jamia, “the university feels it is a responsibility to safeguard them until they are proven guilty.”: Sep 23, 2008 at 0913 hrs IST
New Delhi, September 22 In an unexpected turn of events, Jamia Milia Islamia on Monday evening decided to provide legal help to its two students arrested for alleged connection in Saturday’s serial blasts across the Capital.
Mohammad Shakeel, a second-year MA student, and Zia-Ur-Rehman (third year BA) were arrested on Sunday.
Jamia Vice-Chancellor Mushirul Hasan told Newsline in the evening that he would take steps to look into the “well being” of his students.
Jamia’s media coordinator Rakhshanda Jalil told Newsline, “The university has now decided to provide legal help to the two students caught on Sunday.” Since the two are students of Jamia, “the university feels it is a responsibility to safeguard them until they are proven guilty.”
Link
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Ex-Punjab CJ wanted judge moved out in 'interest of justice'
Fri, Sep 12 02:32 AM
"In the interest of justice, he should be transferred," this is what former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice V K Jain wrote - barely weeks before his retirement on August 1 - to Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan, recommending that Justice Mehtab Singh Gill be moved out.
In his 12-page letter, Justice Jain questioned the judicial propriety of Justice Gill opting to be administrative judge of Ludhiana when he was aware that a property case involving his son, advocate Amandeep Singh Gill, was pending in Ludhiana.Read
"In the interest of justice, he should be transferred," this is what former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice V K Jain wrote - barely weeks before his retirement on August 1 - to Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan, recommending that Justice Mehtab Singh Gill be moved out.
In his 12-page letter, Justice Jain questioned the judicial propriety of Justice Gill opting to be administrative judge of Ludhiana when he was aware that a property case involving his son, advocate Amandeep Singh Gill, was pending in Ludhiana.Read
Monday, September 8, 2008
Impeachment of Judges
Govt to move impeachment motion against HC judge Sen
9 Sep, 2008, 0344 hrs IST, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: With Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan recommending removal of Calcutta High Court judge Soumitra Sen on charges of financial misconduct, Union law minister H R Bhardwaj on Monday said the UPA government would soon move an impeachment motion against the judge in Parliament. The CJI had sent his recommendation to the prime minister last month after Justice Sen refused to step down despite being found guilty of misappropriating Rs 32 lakh from the receiver’s account to his personal account. Read more
Failed Impeachment of Justice V Ramaswami in 1993
With 196 votes for, no votes against, and 205 abstentions (by the ruling Congress and allies) in a House with 401 members present and voting, the motion to impeach Justice V Ramaswami of the Supreme Court failed on May 11, 1993. The Constitution requires a motion for the removal of a judge to be carried by a special majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of each House present and voting and an absolute majority of its total membership. Read more
9 Sep, 2008, 0344 hrs IST, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: With Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan recommending removal of Calcutta High Court judge Soumitra Sen on charges of financial misconduct, Union law minister H R Bhardwaj on Monday said the UPA government would soon move an impeachment motion against the judge in Parliament. The CJI had sent his recommendation to the prime minister last month after Justice Sen refused to step down despite being found guilty of misappropriating Rs 32 lakh from the receiver’s account to his personal account. Read more
Failed Impeachment of Justice V Ramaswami in 1993
With 196 votes for, no votes against, and 205 abstentions (by the ruling Congress and allies) in a House with 401 members present and voting, the motion to impeach Justice V Ramaswami of the Supreme Court failed on May 11, 1993. The Constitution requires a motion for the removal of a judge to be carried by a special majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of each House present and voting and an absolute majority of its total membership. Read more
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Woman charged in death of eviscerated pregnant teen - CNN.com
Woman charged in death of eviscerated pregnant teen - CNN.com
PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- A Pennsylvania woman has been charged in the slaying of an 18-year-old woman who was found with her uterus cut open and her fetus removed, authorities said Sunday.
Andrea Curry-Demus is charged with homicide in the death of a woman whose uterus was cut open.
Andrea Curry-Demus is charged with homicide in the death of a woman whose uterus was cut open.
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1 of 3
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Andrea Curry-Demus, 38, of Wilkinsburg was charged Sunday with criminal homicide kidnapping and unlawful restraint in connection with last week's death of Kia Johnson, Allegheny County police Superintendent Charles Moffatt said.
Police found Johnson's body in Curry-Demus' apartment Friday, two days after Curry-Demus arrived at a hospital with a newborn and falsely claimed that the baby was hers, authorities said. Police have not confirmed whether the infant belonged to Johnson, whose family reported her missing last week.
Johnson's eviscerated body -- which police said they found after receiving calls about a foul odor coming from the apartment -- "was in a state of moderate decomposition," and she had been dead about two days, Medical Examiner Karl Williams said. The cause of death hasn't been determined, he said.
The woman's hands and feet were bound by duct tape, police said. A placenta was found at the scene, Williams told reporters.
Authorities said they used dental records to confirm Johnson's identity.
Drugs were found at the apartment, and authorities are awaiting toxicology results to determine whether she was sedated, Williams said. It's unclear whether Johnson was alive when her infant was taken, he added.
Wilkinsburg Police Chief Ophelia Coleman said Johnson's body was not found earlier because Curry-Demus' sister led investigators to another apartment. The sister has not been charged, Coleman said.
Police said Curry-Demus arrived by ambulance at a local hospital with a newborn boy Wednesday, claiming that she had just given birth. Hospital personnel determined that she hadn't given birth, so they contacted police, authorities said.
According to a criminal complaint, Curry-Demus told Detective Rich Grande that she purchased the baby from a woman named Tina for $1,000. Curry-Demus told Grande she had suffered a miscarriage in June and "did not want her mother to get upset," according to the complaint.
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According to the complaint, Curry-Demus said Tina showed up with her newborn wrapped in a towel and left. Curry-Demus said she called medics because the baby was still "dirty from birth," the complaint said.
The baby is in good condition, a hospital spokeswoman said, and will be released to child welfare workers when he is ready.
Curry-Demus was charged Thursday with endangering the welfare of a child, a felony, and dealing in infant children, a misdemeanor, after she brought the newborn to the hospital, authorities said. Video Watch Andrea Curry-Demus being taken into custody »
Moffatt said investigators don't know how long Curry-Demus and Johnson knew each other. Investigators have reason to believe that the two recently were visiting inmates at the Allegheny County Jail at the same time.
"We don't know if they met there," Moffatt said.
Friends and relatives said Curry-Demus had told them she was pregnant for months, even having a baby shower.
"I went to the baby shower and her wedding," Ivee Blunt said. "I had no idea something like this could happen. I'm totally shocked. And she was so nice and kind. It's just unbelievable."
But sister-in-law Stephanie Epps said Curry-Demus would never allow her to touch her stomach.
"Pregnant women do things like that," Epps said. "They're happy because they're pregnant. But she would never do none of that."
Being led out of the Wilkinsburg Police Department, Curry-Demus told reporters, "I didn't do nothing," according to WTAE.
According to court records obtained by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Curry-Demus became pregnant at 12 and miscarried four months later. She had a second miscarriage in 1990, when she was 21, the paper said.
Only a few months after the second miscarriage, Curry-Demus befriended a woman who had just given birth but later attacked her with a knife and tried to steal the baby, the paper said, citing the court records. The woman's husband intervened, the newspaper reported, and she fled.
The next day, she went to a hospital and befriended a woman who had brought her 3-week-old daughter to the hospital to be treated for meningitis, the Tribune-Review said. When the woman went home for the night, Curry-Demus left the hospital with the baby. It was found at her home, unharmed, the following day.
In 1991, according to the records, she pleaded guilty to various charges stemming from both incidents and was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison, the newspaper reported. She was paroled in August 1998 and ordered to serve 10 years of probation, the paper said.
The newspaper reported, citing court records, that Curry-Demus was examined by psychiatrists at the Allegheny County Jail before her sentencing and was diagnosed with severe depression, personality disorders and auditory hallucinations. She told doctors she spent a lot of time thinking about her miscarriages and "kept hearing babies cry," the Tribune-Review said.
Wilkinsburg is just east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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This year, a Kansas woman was sentenced to death in the 2004 killing of a Missouri woman whose baby was cut from her womb.
Lisa Montgomery was convicted in October in the death of Bobbie Jo Stinnett, 23, who was found strangled in her Skidmore, Missouri, home. Stinnett's womb was cut open, and her unborn child was missing. Montgomery was found days later at home in Kansas, where she was attempting to pass the baby off as her own.
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PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- A Pennsylvania woman has been charged in the slaying of an 18-year-old woman who was found with her uterus cut open and her fetus removed, authorities said Sunday.
Andrea Curry-Demus is charged with homicide in the death of a woman whose uterus was cut open.
Andrea Curry-Demus is charged with homicide in the death of a woman whose uterus was cut open.
Click to view previous image
1 of 3
Click to view next image
Andrea Curry-Demus, 38, of Wilkinsburg was charged Sunday with criminal homicide kidnapping and unlawful restraint in connection with last week's death of Kia Johnson, Allegheny County police Superintendent Charles Moffatt said.
Police found Johnson's body in Curry-Demus' apartment Friday, two days after Curry-Demus arrived at a hospital with a newborn and falsely claimed that the baby was hers, authorities said. Police have not confirmed whether the infant belonged to Johnson, whose family reported her missing last week.
Johnson's eviscerated body -- which police said they found after receiving calls about a foul odor coming from the apartment -- "was in a state of moderate decomposition," and she had been dead about two days, Medical Examiner Karl Williams said. The cause of death hasn't been determined, he said.
The woman's hands and feet were bound by duct tape, police said. A placenta was found at the scene, Williams told reporters.
Authorities said they used dental records to confirm Johnson's identity.
Drugs were found at the apartment, and authorities are awaiting toxicology results to determine whether she was sedated, Williams said. It's unclear whether Johnson was alive when her infant was taken, he added.
Wilkinsburg Police Chief Ophelia Coleman said Johnson's body was not found earlier because Curry-Demus' sister led investigators to another apartment. The sister has not been charged, Coleman said.
Police said Curry-Demus arrived by ambulance at a local hospital with a newborn boy Wednesday, claiming that she had just given birth. Hospital personnel determined that she hadn't given birth, so they contacted police, authorities said.
According to a criminal complaint, Curry-Demus told Detective Rich Grande that she purchased the baby from a woman named Tina for $1,000. Curry-Demus told Grande she had suffered a miscarriage in June and "did not want her mother to get upset," according to the complaint.
Don't Miss
* WTAE: Autopsy provides clues
* Corpse in Pennsylvania baby mystery identified
According to the complaint, Curry-Demus said Tina showed up with her newborn wrapped in a towel and left. Curry-Demus said she called medics because the baby was still "dirty from birth," the complaint said.
The baby is in good condition, a hospital spokeswoman said, and will be released to child welfare workers when he is ready.
Curry-Demus was charged Thursday with endangering the welfare of a child, a felony, and dealing in infant children, a misdemeanor, after she brought the newborn to the hospital, authorities said. Video Watch Andrea Curry-Demus being taken into custody »
Moffatt said investigators don't know how long Curry-Demus and Johnson knew each other. Investigators have reason to believe that the two recently were visiting inmates at the Allegheny County Jail at the same time.
"We don't know if they met there," Moffatt said.
Friends and relatives said Curry-Demus had told them she was pregnant for months, even having a baby shower.
"I went to the baby shower and her wedding," Ivee Blunt said. "I had no idea something like this could happen. I'm totally shocked. And she was so nice and kind. It's just unbelievable."
But sister-in-law Stephanie Epps said Curry-Demus would never allow her to touch her stomach.
"Pregnant women do things like that," Epps said. "They're happy because they're pregnant. But she would never do none of that."
Being led out of the Wilkinsburg Police Department, Curry-Demus told reporters, "I didn't do nothing," according to WTAE.
According to court records obtained by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Curry-Demus became pregnant at 12 and miscarried four months later. She had a second miscarriage in 1990, when she was 21, the paper said.
Only a few months after the second miscarriage, Curry-Demus befriended a woman who had just given birth but later attacked her with a knife and tried to steal the baby, the paper said, citing the court records. The woman's husband intervened, the newspaper reported, and she fled.
The next day, she went to a hospital and befriended a woman who had brought her 3-week-old daughter to the hospital to be treated for meningitis, the Tribune-Review said. When the woman went home for the night, Curry-Demus left the hospital with the baby. It was found at her home, unharmed, the following day.
In 1991, according to the records, she pleaded guilty to various charges stemming from both incidents and was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison, the newspaper reported. She was paroled in August 1998 and ordered to serve 10 years of probation, the paper said.
The newspaper reported, citing court records, that Curry-Demus was examined by psychiatrists at the Allegheny County Jail before her sentencing and was diagnosed with severe depression, personality disorders and auditory hallucinations. She told doctors she spent a lot of time thinking about her miscarriages and "kept hearing babies cry," the Tribune-Review said.
Wilkinsburg is just east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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This year, a Kansas woman was sentenced to death in the 2004 killing of a Missouri woman whose baby was cut from her womb.
Lisa Montgomery was convicted in October in the death of Bobbie Jo Stinnett, 23, who was found strangled in her Skidmore, Missouri, home. Stinnett's womb was cut open, and her unborn child was missing. Montgomery was found days later at home in Kansas, where she was attempting to pass the baby off as her own.
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Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Aarushi murder: The narco-test that cracked the case
Aarushi murder: The narco-test that cracked the case
Vicky Nanjappa in Bengaluru
July 11, 2008 19:54 IST
Finally, the Central Bureau of Investigation appears to have located some clarity in the Aarushi Talwar-Hemraj murder case after groping in the dark for almost a month.
While the scientific tests conducted on suspects Krishna and Rajkumar in Bengaluru recently helped the CBI obtain vital clues, it was the narco-analysis test conducted on Vijay Mandal alias Shambhu, a domestic help of one of Dr Rajesh Talwar's neighbours, that went a long way in helping the agency crack the case. Dr Rajesh Talwar, Aarushi's father, was released on bail on Friday after being initially named the prime accused in the case by the Noida police.
Rajkumar confirms revenge was motive
Shambhu's name first cropped up when Krishna was subjected to a narco-analysis test in Bengaluru around two weeks back. Although Krishna did not pin-point exactly who Shambhu was, the CBI discovered who he was.
The CBI brought him to Bengaluru and subjected him to a narco-analysis test a few days before Rajkumar's test. During his test, the CBI secured a clear picture on who committed the murder and the motive. Shambhu said Krishna had a problem with Dr Talwar as the dentist had shouted at him at the clinic three days before the murder. He, like Krishna and Rajkumar, mentioned that the main motive was to take revenge against Dr Talwar. He further stated that Krishna slit Aarushi's throat with a khukri. Hemraj was killed after he developed cold feet and threatened to expose the others.
How and why Aarushi & Hemraj were murdered
Rajkumar, in his narco-analysis test, confirmed what Shambhu told interrogators during the test.
Meanwhile the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad, has sent its report to the CBI regarding the T-shirt belonging to Rajkumar. Sources told rediff.com that the report states that the bloodstains, which were found on the T-shirt, were not Rajkumar's.
The CBI will now take blood samples of the accused as well as the deceased and get it compared to one found on the T-shirt.
Vicky Nanjappa in Bengaluru
July 11, 2008 19:54 IST
Finally, the Central Bureau of Investigation appears to have located some clarity in the Aarushi Talwar-Hemraj murder case after groping in the dark for almost a month.
While the scientific tests conducted on suspects Krishna and Rajkumar in Bengaluru recently helped the CBI obtain vital clues, it was the narco-analysis test conducted on Vijay Mandal alias Shambhu, a domestic help of one of Dr Rajesh Talwar's neighbours, that went a long way in helping the agency crack the case. Dr Rajesh Talwar, Aarushi's father, was released on bail on Friday after being initially named the prime accused in the case by the Noida police.
Rajkumar confirms revenge was motive
Shambhu's name first cropped up when Krishna was subjected to a narco-analysis test in Bengaluru around two weeks back. Although Krishna did not pin-point exactly who Shambhu was, the CBI discovered who he was.
The CBI brought him to Bengaluru and subjected him to a narco-analysis test a few days before Rajkumar's test. During his test, the CBI secured a clear picture on who committed the murder and the motive. Shambhu said Krishna had a problem with Dr Talwar as the dentist had shouted at him at the clinic three days before the murder. He, like Krishna and Rajkumar, mentioned that the main motive was to take revenge against Dr Talwar. He further stated that Krishna slit Aarushi's throat with a khukri. Hemraj was killed after he developed cold feet and threatened to expose the others.
How and why Aarushi & Hemraj were murdered
Rajkumar, in his narco-analysis test, confirmed what Shambhu told interrogators during the test.
Meanwhile the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad, has sent its report to the CBI regarding the T-shirt belonging to Rajkumar. Sources told rediff.com that the report states that the bloodstains, which were found on the T-shirt, were not Rajkumar's.
The CBI will now take blood samples of the accused as well as the deceased and get it compared to one found on the T-shirt.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Goa villagers file petition against SEZs land allotment
Thursday,10 July 2008 20:13 hrs IST
Goa villagers file petition against SEZs land allotment
- Panaji: Goa villagers have approached the Goa bench of Bombay High Court appealing against the Special Economic Zones(SEZs) land allotment by State government-run Goa Industrial Development Corporation(GIDC).
The villagers, in their petition before the court, have termed the land allotment as "fraudulent".
The villagers from Keri, Sancoale and Verna, have filed a petition challenging GIDC's decision to allot land to these SEZs in their villages, on 95-year-lease basis.
The petition mostly concerns three notified SEZs-- Meditab Specialities Pvt Ltd, K Raheja and Peninsula Pharma Research Pvt Ltd.
The petition has also questioned land allotment in seven SEZs including these three. The villagers have complained that the land was allotted without involving public in the land allotment process.
"In some case, the land was allotted as quick as within seven days of the application," Colin Gonsalves, a lawyer representing the villagers, said.
GIDC which faced severe criticism for allotment of the land, has already issued showcause notice to all the seven SEZ promoters.
GIDC officials said that they have decided to revoke the land allotment acting on the directives of the government.
"We have issued showcause notices and final step to revoke the land will be decided after the meet by board of directors" a senior official said.
Also, SEZ issue is a hotly debated issue in the state with Digamer Kamat-led government taking anti-SEZ stand bowing to the pressures of the masses
Goa villagers file petition against SEZs land allotment
- Panaji: Goa villagers have approached the Goa bench of Bombay High Court appealing against the Special Economic Zones(SEZs) land allotment by State government-run Goa Industrial Development Corporation(GIDC).
The villagers, in their petition before the court, have termed the land allotment as "fraudulent".
The villagers from Keri, Sancoale and Verna, have filed a petition challenging GIDC's decision to allot land to these SEZs in their villages, on 95-year-lease basis.
The petition mostly concerns three notified SEZs-- Meditab Specialities Pvt Ltd, K Raheja and Peninsula Pharma Research Pvt Ltd.
The petition has also questioned land allotment in seven SEZs including these three. The villagers have complained that the land was allotted without involving public in the land allotment process.
"In some case, the land was allotted as quick as within seven days of the application," Colin Gonsalves, a lawyer representing the villagers, said.
GIDC which faced severe criticism for allotment of the land, has already issued showcause notice to all the seven SEZ promoters.
GIDC officials said that they have decided to revoke the land allotment acting on the directives of the government.
"We have issued showcause notices and final step to revoke the land will be decided after the meet by board of directors" a senior official said.
Also, SEZ issue is a hotly debated issue in the state with Digamer Kamat-led government taking anti-SEZ stand bowing to the pressures of the masses
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
US woman gets 4 years jail for killing Indian
The Hindustan Times - Indian Newspapers in English Language from three editions
US woman gets 4 years jail for killing Indian
Press Trust Of India
Washington, July 08, 2008
A US woman, whose car accidently ran over an Indian student last year, has been sentenced to four years in jail by an Ohio court.
The 27-year-old Hankinson crossed a red light, struck another car with her sports utility vehicle and spun up onto the sidewalk, pushing the victim into the Hocking River on June 30 last year, police said.
Abhishek Singh (22), who hailed from Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh in India, was a graduate student at Ohio University.
As part of her sentence, Hankinson has agreed to pay $15,465 in restitution to the deceased's family while walking across the bridge.
However, his body was found the next day in the Hocking River.
In a plea deal with prosecutors, she also has had driver's license suspended for eight years, besides admitting that she was drunk at the time of the incident.
US woman gets 4 years jail for killing Indian
Press Trust Of India
Washington, July 08, 2008
A US woman, whose car accidently ran over an Indian student last year, has been sentenced to four years in jail by an Ohio court.
The 27-year-old Hankinson crossed a red light, struck another car with her sports utility vehicle and spun up onto the sidewalk, pushing the victim into the Hocking River on June 30 last year, police said.
Abhishek Singh (22), who hailed from Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh in India, was a graduate student at Ohio University.
As part of her sentence, Hankinson has agreed to pay $15,465 in restitution to the deceased's family while walking across the bridge.
However, his body was found the next day in the Hocking River.
In a plea deal with prosecutors, she also has had driver's license suspended for eight years, besides admitting that she was drunk at the time of the incident.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Social activist Lalit Mehta killed by Jharkhand contractors?
Frontline
Volume 25 - Issue 14 :: Jul. 05-18, 2008
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU • Contents
CRIME
Murder and worse
VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN
in Ranchi
The killing of Lalit Mehta raises disturbing questions about the future of the fight against corruption that hampers development.
“WE know the killers of Lalit Mehta and they will be brought to justice. We will make the perpetrators of heinous crimes such as murder pay with their lives. We have started the process for this and it will soon culminate in strong and decisive action.” So says a leaflet circulated by the Communist Party of India (Maoist) on June 22 in Chattarpur and adjoining areas of Palamau district in Jharkhand. It even names a few Palamau-based contractors who were involved in public works under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) as suspects in the conspiracy to kill the social activist Lalit Mehta. The leaflet further states that Mehta and his associates were on the verge of exposing the rampant corruption practised by the contractors and their colleagues in NREGS activities in the district. This, it asserts, was the primary reason for the killing of Mehta in the third week of May.
The leaflet did indeed create a flutter, not just in Chattarpur, where the mutilated body of Lalit Mehta was found on May 14, and its adjoining areas but also in Ranchi, the State capital.
Senior officials in the State administration and the police as well as a number of social activists are a worried lot. They had not expected the extremist CPI (Maoist) – or naxalites, as the party is referred to in common parlance – to take an active interest in the Lalit Mehta case. Especially since the paths of Mehta and the CPI (Maoist) were different.
Mehta, a 36-year-old engineer-turned-social-activist, was involved in activities that sought to advance rural employment, basic health facilities, right to food, and child rights. His organisational involvement was essentially with foundations that had a Gandhian orientation and outlook. Mehta was a full-time activist of the Right to Food Campaign and the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan; he was also the secretary of the Vikas Sahyog Kendra (VSK), a non-governmental organisation based in Palamau. The VSK, among other things, was involved in the social audit of NREGS in different parts of the district and sought to ensure better and transparent implementation of the prestigious programme of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The NREGS audit was guided by the noted development economist and activist Jean Dreze.
The faltering of government and police officials in the murder investigation could have provoked the naxalites to take an active interest in the matter. The investigation by the local police was, right from the beginning, indolent and raised suspicions that it was designed to protect the culprits. When Mehta’s body was found near the Kandra jungles of Chattarpur, his bike, Rs.12,000 in cash, his mobile phone and other documents were reported missing.
The first reaction from the police, even before they started a formal probe, was to highlight the loss of cash and other valuables and portray the murder as a consequence of robbery. The fact that the murder took place just a day after a team of NREGS volunteers from Delhi and elsewhere arrived in Chainpur and Chhattarpur blocks of Palamau district was not considered at all by the local police. This anomaly was pointed out by many social activists including Manoj Kumar Singh, president of the VSK and a long-time associate of Lalit Mehta.
Even when it was taken into consideration later, the reactions from the local administration and the police were strange. The district administration, in its first official report on the murder dated May 31, rejected the linkage between the timing of the murder and the NREGS social audit by Mehta and his associates.
The report, which was filed by Palamau District Commissioner Nagendra Prasad Singh and Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar Verma, accused Dreze of orchestrating a campaign to malign the district administration. It claimed that Dreze and his team of social auditors were “creating an environment to paint the Palamau administration, along with the Jharkhand government, as deeply entrenched in corruption and suggesting that works under NREGS in all districts of Jharkhand, including Palamau, are being done only on paper.”
The report also slammed a social audit, done by Dreze and his team, that specifically pointed out to irregularity and corruption by two officials of the Chattarpur block as an allegation “without substance”. It said that Dreze and his team “took advantage of semi-literate tribal workers” and got them to “sign on a complaint” that the two officials had taken a bribe of Rs.4,500 in two instalments.
According to the report, the “substancelessness” of the charge was established through an inquiry conducted by district officials. It claims that it was found out during the inquiry that the workers had got proper wages but Dreze and company misled the complainants who were semi-literate. The report, referring to statements by Mehta’s brothers and wife, suggested that the motive to murder Mehta could well have been monetary gain since “Lalit Mehta played an important role in large sums of monetary transactions” involving the VSK.
“Obviously,” pointed out Manoj Kumar Singh while talking to Frontline, “there was a deliberate attempt to sidetrack the investigation and take its focus away from the real culprits.” However, he added, the attempt had been defeated to a large extent through committed action by a number of social activists and politicians.
The report of the district administration evoked widespread condemnation and many social activists – including Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India and senior journalist Prabash Joshi – came together under the auspices of the Daman Bhrashtachar Virodhi Samiti and initiated an agitation in Palamau. Pressure was exerted in New Delhi, too, by a delegation of about 100 social activists who met Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
The Minister endorsed the value of social audits and made it clear that his Ministry was committed to protecting people and organisations associated with them.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, too, took note of the events and said in a message that the killing of Mehta “was engineered by vested interests that were apprehensive of Lalit’s exposing their corrupt practices”.
All these pressures at the high level forced the Jharkhand government to change tack. Chief Minister Madhu Koda recommended a CBI inquiry on June 18. He admitted that this move was necessary because the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the State police and the Palamau district administration had not been able to make much headway in the case. “Though the CID probe, which I had earlier ordered, was following the case very closely, I chose to go for the CBI inquiry as a section of people had started suspecting the role of the State police,” Koda said.
Lalit Mehta’s friends, relatives and associates perceived the announcement of the CBI inquiry as a kind of victory in their struggles and expected a speedy investigation.
However, the intimidating message from the naxalites – four days after the announcement of the CBI probe – has added a new dimension to the sequence of events. The consequences of this involvement are not predictable. There are apprehensions that the atmosphere could be further vitiated by this.
In the meantime, VSK activists, in association with their colleagues who have come from outside the district and even from outside the State, have resumed the social audit that Lalit Mehta had to leave unfinished. “This is our tribute to a dear colleague and it would continue irrespective of the challenges that come in various forms and shapes,” Manoj Kumar Singh told Frontline. He added that there was an environment of fear and tension, constantly created by the nexus of local contractors, middlemen, bureaucrats and politicians in activities relating to the NREGS and food supply under the Public Distribution System (PDS). The VSK and its fraternal organisations are determined not to succumb to any form of intimidation that might come up against them while working in these areas. Clearly, Lalit Mehta’s spirit is very much alive among his activist colleagues.
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Send this article to Friends by E-Mail
Subscribe | Contact Us | Archives | Contents
(Letters to the Editor should carry the full postal address) Home | The Hindu | Business Line | Sportstar | Publications | eBooks | Images Copyright © 2008, Frontline.
Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited
without the written consent of Frontline
Volume 25 - Issue 14 :: Jul. 05-18, 2008
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU • Contents
CRIME
Murder and worse
VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN
in Ranchi
The killing of Lalit Mehta raises disturbing questions about the future of the fight against corruption that hampers development.
“WE know the killers of Lalit Mehta and they will be brought to justice. We will make the perpetrators of heinous crimes such as murder pay with their lives. We have started the process for this and it will soon culminate in strong and decisive action.” So says a leaflet circulated by the Communist Party of India (Maoist) on June 22 in Chattarpur and adjoining areas of Palamau district in Jharkhand. It even names a few Palamau-based contractors who were involved in public works under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) as suspects in the conspiracy to kill the social activist Lalit Mehta. The leaflet further states that Mehta and his associates were on the verge of exposing the rampant corruption practised by the contractors and their colleagues in NREGS activities in the district. This, it asserts, was the primary reason for the killing of Mehta in the third week of May.
The leaflet did indeed create a flutter, not just in Chattarpur, where the mutilated body of Lalit Mehta was found on May 14, and its adjoining areas but also in Ranchi, the State capital.
Senior officials in the State administration and the police as well as a number of social activists are a worried lot. They had not expected the extremist CPI (Maoist) – or naxalites, as the party is referred to in common parlance – to take an active interest in the Lalit Mehta case. Especially since the paths of Mehta and the CPI (Maoist) were different.
Mehta, a 36-year-old engineer-turned-social-activist, was involved in activities that sought to advance rural employment, basic health facilities, right to food, and child rights. His organisational involvement was essentially with foundations that had a Gandhian orientation and outlook. Mehta was a full-time activist of the Right to Food Campaign and the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan; he was also the secretary of the Vikas Sahyog Kendra (VSK), a non-governmental organisation based in Palamau. The VSK, among other things, was involved in the social audit of NREGS in different parts of the district and sought to ensure better and transparent implementation of the prestigious programme of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The NREGS audit was guided by the noted development economist and activist Jean Dreze.
The faltering of government and police officials in the murder investigation could have provoked the naxalites to take an active interest in the matter. The investigation by the local police was, right from the beginning, indolent and raised suspicions that it was designed to protect the culprits. When Mehta’s body was found near the Kandra jungles of Chattarpur, his bike, Rs.12,000 in cash, his mobile phone and other documents were reported missing.
The first reaction from the police, even before they started a formal probe, was to highlight the loss of cash and other valuables and portray the murder as a consequence of robbery. The fact that the murder took place just a day after a team of NREGS volunteers from Delhi and elsewhere arrived in Chainpur and Chhattarpur blocks of Palamau district was not considered at all by the local police. This anomaly was pointed out by many social activists including Manoj Kumar Singh, president of the VSK and a long-time associate of Lalit Mehta.
Even when it was taken into consideration later, the reactions from the local administration and the police were strange. The district administration, in its first official report on the murder dated May 31, rejected the linkage between the timing of the murder and the NREGS social audit by Mehta and his associates.
The report, which was filed by Palamau District Commissioner Nagendra Prasad Singh and Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar Verma, accused Dreze of orchestrating a campaign to malign the district administration. It claimed that Dreze and his team of social auditors were “creating an environment to paint the Palamau administration, along with the Jharkhand government, as deeply entrenched in corruption and suggesting that works under NREGS in all districts of Jharkhand, including Palamau, are being done only on paper.”
The report also slammed a social audit, done by Dreze and his team, that specifically pointed out to irregularity and corruption by two officials of the Chattarpur block as an allegation “without substance”. It said that Dreze and his team “took advantage of semi-literate tribal workers” and got them to “sign on a complaint” that the two officials had taken a bribe of Rs.4,500 in two instalments.
According to the report, the “substancelessness” of the charge was established through an inquiry conducted by district officials. It claims that it was found out during the inquiry that the workers had got proper wages but Dreze and company misled the complainants who were semi-literate. The report, referring to statements by Mehta’s brothers and wife, suggested that the motive to murder Mehta could well have been monetary gain since “Lalit Mehta played an important role in large sums of monetary transactions” involving the VSK.
“Obviously,” pointed out Manoj Kumar Singh while talking to Frontline, “there was a deliberate attempt to sidetrack the investigation and take its focus away from the real culprits.” However, he added, the attempt had been defeated to a large extent through committed action by a number of social activists and politicians.
The report of the district administration evoked widespread condemnation and many social activists – including Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India and senior journalist Prabash Joshi – came together under the auspices of the Daman Bhrashtachar Virodhi Samiti and initiated an agitation in Palamau. Pressure was exerted in New Delhi, too, by a delegation of about 100 social activists who met Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
The Minister endorsed the value of social audits and made it clear that his Ministry was committed to protecting people and organisations associated with them.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, too, took note of the events and said in a message that the killing of Mehta “was engineered by vested interests that were apprehensive of Lalit’s exposing their corrupt practices”.
All these pressures at the high level forced the Jharkhand government to change tack. Chief Minister Madhu Koda recommended a CBI inquiry on June 18. He admitted that this move was necessary because the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the State police and the Palamau district administration had not been able to make much headway in the case. “Though the CID probe, which I had earlier ordered, was following the case very closely, I chose to go for the CBI inquiry as a section of people had started suspecting the role of the State police,” Koda said.
Lalit Mehta’s friends, relatives and associates perceived the announcement of the CBI inquiry as a kind of victory in their struggles and expected a speedy investigation.
However, the intimidating message from the naxalites – four days after the announcement of the CBI probe – has added a new dimension to the sequence of events. The consequences of this involvement are not predictable. There are apprehensions that the atmosphere could be further vitiated by this.
In the meantime, VSK activists, in association with their colleagues who have come from outside the district and even from outside the State, have resumed the social audit that Lalit Mehta had to leave unfinished. “This is our tribute to a dear colleague and it would continue irrespective of the challenges that come in various forms and shapes,” Manoj Kumar Singh told Frontline. He added that there was an environment of fear and tension, constantly created by the nexus of local contractors, middlemen, bureaucrats and politicians in activities relating to the NREGS and food supply under the Public Distribution System (PDS). The VSK and its fraternal organisations are determined not to succumb to any form of intimidation that might come up against them while working in these areas. Clearly, Lalit Mehta’s spirit is very much alive among his activist colleagues.
Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail
Subscribe | Contact Us | Archives | Contents
(Letters to the Editor should carry the full postal address) Home | The Hindu | Business Line | Sportstar | Publications | eBooks | Images Copyright © 2008, Frontline.
Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited
without the written consent of Frontline
Monday, June 30, 2008
Jail Time for Millionaire in Teen Sex Scandal
Jail Time for Millionaire in Teen Sex Scandal
Palm Beach Financier Jeffrey Epstein Reported to Jail This Morning
By VIC WALTER and MADDY SAUER
June 30, 2008
Almost two years after being charged with solicitation, the Palm Beach financier and former friend of President Bill Clinton was booked today after pleading guilty to the charge and an additional charge of procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution.
Jeffrey Epstein
Former math teacher, now wealthy financier, Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to solicitation and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution.
55-year old Jeffrey Epstein, a former math teacher, still faces civil lawsuits that accuse him of sexually assaulting high school students as young as 15 years old.
Epstein was booked and processed this morning, according to the Palm Beach County sheriff's office. He is now at a county jail where he will remain for the next 18 months.
After his jail time, Epstein will be placed under house arrest for one year and will have a lifelong obligation to register as a sex offender, according to a report in the Palm Beach Post. The Post is also reporting that Epstein must submit to an HIV test within 48 hours and that the results will be provided to the victims or their parents.
in's office released this comment earlier today. "Mr. Epstein fully resolved his case this morning in Palm Beach County state court. Mr. Epstein accepted responsibility for the charges, relating to conduct that occurred several years ago. By agreement, he will begin serving his sentence immediately."
Epstein was charged back in July 2006 after a lengthy probe by the Palm Beach police department. Despite only being charged with solicitation at the time, the allegations in the official police affidavit were much more serious and included charges that he repeatedly paid young, and some underage girls, to come to his house, massage him, and on a few occasions have sex with him.
Read the Probable Cause Affidavit Alleging "Unlawful Sexual Activity with a Minor" by Jeffrey Epstein.
Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter was so angered at the time that he sent a letter to the parents of the girls he said he believed were victims of sex crimes saying, "I do not feel that justice has been sufficiently served."
Epstein, once a math teacher at an elite private school in New York, became rich as a financial adviser to the wealthy. His friendship with former President Clinton began after Clinton left office. Epstein lent his private 727 jet to Clinton for his 2002 trip to Africa. Epstein ha
Palm Beach Financier Jeffrey Epstein Reported to Jail This Morning
By VIC WALTER and MADDY SAUER
June 30, 2008
Almost two years after being charged with solicitation, the Palm Beach financier and former friend of President Bill Clinton was booked today after pleading guilty to the charge and an additional charge of procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution.
Jeffrey Epstein
Former math teacher, now wealthy financier, Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to solicitation and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution.
55-year old Jeffrey Epstein, a former math teacher, still faces civil lawsuits that accuse him of sexually assaulting high school students as young as 15 years old.
Epstein was booked and processed this morning, according to the Palm Beach County sheriff's office. He is now at a county jail where he will remain for the next 18 months.
After his jail time, Epstein will be placed under house arrest for one year and will have a lifelong obligation to register as a sex offender, according to a report in the Palm Beach Post. The Post is also reporting that Epstein must submit to an HIV test within 48 hours and that the results will be provided to the victims or their parents.
in's office released this comment earlier today. "Mr. Epstein fully resolved his case this morning in Palm Beach County state court. Mr. Epstein accepted responsibility for the charges, relating to conduct that occurred several years ago. By agreement, he will begin serving his sentence immediately."
Epstein was charged back in July 2006 after a lengthy probe by the Palm Beach police department. Despite only being charged with solicitation at the time, the allegations in the official police affidavit were much more serious and included charges that he repeatedly paid young, and some underage girls, to come to his house, massage him, and on a few occasions have sex with him.
Read the Probable Cause Affidavit Alleging "Unlawful Sexual Activity with a Minor" by Jeffrey Epstein.
Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter was so angered at the time that he sent a letter to the parents of the girls he said he believed were victims of sex crimes saying, "I do not feel that justice has been sufficiently served."
Epstein, once a math teacher at an elite private school in New York, became rich as a financial adviser to the wealthy. His friendship with former President Clinton began after Clinton left office. Epstein lent his private 727 jet to Clinton for his 2002 trip to Africa. Epstein ha
Friday, June 27, 2008
ABC News: After 36 Years in Solitary, Judge Says Conviction Should Be Overturned
ABC News: After 36 Years in Solitary, Judge Says Conviction Should Be Overturned: "After 36 Years in Solitary, Prisoner's Conviction Could Be Overturned
Judge Wants Ex-Black Panther's Murder Conviction Tossed, State Disagrees
By MEGAN CHUCHMACH
June 27, 2008
An ongoing legal battle in Louisiana could result in the overturning of a murder conviction that sent a prisoner there to solitary confinement for 36 years. A judge recently recommended that the murder conviction of former Black Panther Albert Woodfox, now 61, be overturned. The State of Louisiana disagrees.
albert
Ex-Black Panther Albert Woodfox, now 61, spent 36 years in solitary confinement. Now a judge is recommending his murder conviction be overturned.
(Courtesy State of Louisianna )
In her report, Magistrate Judge Christine Noland said that Woodfox's attorneys were ineffective and had been unable to cross-examine the state's lead witness 'regarding the promises made to him in exchange for his testimony because such information was still being suppressed by the State at the time of the 1973 trial.'
Earlier this week, the State of Louisiana filed an objection denying allegations that it suppressed information that would have discredited its lead witness, a convicted rapist imprisoned at the time, and that Woodfox's attorneys at his second trial in 1998 failed to r"
Judge Wants Ex-Black Panther's Murder Conviction Tossed, State Disagrees
By MEGAN CHUCHMACH
June 27, 2008
An ongoing legal battle in Louisiana could result in the overturning of a murder conviction that sent a prisoner there to solitary confinement for 36 years. A judge recently recommended that the murder conviction of former Black Panther Albert Woodfox, now 61, be overturned. The State of Louisiana disagrees.
albert
Ex-Black Panther Albert Woodfox, now 61, spent 36 years in solitary confinement. Now a judge is recommending his murder conviction be overturned.
(Courtesy State of Louisianna )
In her report, Magistrate Judge Christine Noland said that Woodfox's attorneys were ineffective and had been unable to cross-examine the state's lead witness 'regarding the promises made to him in exchange for his testimony because such information was still being suppressed by the State at the time of the 1973 trial.'
Earlier this week, the State of Louisiana filed an objection denying allegations that it suppressed information that would have discredited its lead witness, a convicted rapist imprisoned at the time, and that Woodfox's attorneys at his second trial in 1998 failed to r"
Romanian girl permitted abortion
Romanian girl permitted abortion
A pregnant woman (generic image)
Late-term abortions are outlawed in Romania
An 11-year-old Romanian girl who is 21 weeks pregnant after being raped by an uncle will be able to have an abortion, even though it is forbidden by law.
A government committee said the procedure should go ahead due to the exceptional circumstances of her case.
Romania's abortion limit is 14 weeks. It had been suggested the girl might have to go to the UK for the abortion.
Some 20 Christian Orthodox groups had threatened to press charges if the girl was allowed to abort the foetus.
In a letter to the government committee, the girl said she wanted to be able "to go to school and to play".
"If I can't do this my life will be a nightmare," she said, according to a text read out by government committee member Vlad Iliescu.
Another committee member, Theodora Bertzi said the decision was made focusing on "the rights of this child who was subjected to rape and incest".
Family decision
The girl was raped by a 19-year-old uncle who has since disappeared.
Her family only discovered she was pregnant when they took her to the doctor because she seemed sick.
While some pro-life Christian Orthodox groups had urged the family to keep the child, and offered to raise it in a church institution, the Romanian Orthodox Church said any decision on abortion should be left to the family.
The girl's parents had said they wanted to travel to a country where such a late-term abortion was legal.
In Romania abortion is only normally allowed beyond 14 weeks if the mother's life is deemed to be at risk. In Britain, they can be carried out up to 24 weeks in some circumstances.
A Romanian living in the UK had offered to cover the costs of a termination there.
A pregnant woman (generic image)
Late-term abortions are outlawed in Romania
An 11-year-old Romanian girl who is 21 weeks pregnant after being raped by an uncle will be able to have an abortion, even though it is forbidden by law.
A government committee said the procedure should go ahead due to the exceptional circumstances of her case.
Romania's abortion limit is 14 weeks. It had been suggested the girl might have to go to the UK for the abortion.
Some 20 Christian Orthodox groups had threatened to press charges if the girl was allowed to abort the foetus.
In a letter to the government committee, the girl said she wanted to be able "to go to school and to play".
"If I can't do this my life will be a nightmare," she said, according to a text read out by government committee member Vlad Iliescu.
Another committee member, Theodora Bertzi said the decision was made focusing on "the rights of this child who was subjected to rape and incest".
Family decision
The girl was raped by a 19-year-old uncle who has since disappeared.
Her family only discovered she was pregnant when they took her to the doctor because she seemed sick.
While some pro-life Christian Orthodox groups had urged the family to keep the child, and offered to raise it in a church institution, the Romanian Orthodox Church said any decision on abortion should be left to the family.
The girl's parents had said they wanted to travel to a country where such a late-term abortion was legal.
In Romania abortion is only normally allowed beyond 14 weeks if the mother's life is deemed to be at risk. In Britain, they can be carried out up to 24 weeks in some circumstances.
A Romanian living in the UK had offered to cover the costs of a termination there.
Murder defendant apologizes for causing SoCal commuter rail derailment deaths
Defendant 'Sorry' for SoCal Commuter Rail Deaths
By LINDA DEUTSCH AP Special Correspondent
LOS ANGELES May 27, 2008 (AP)
The Associated Press
A murder defendant apologized Tuesday for causing a commuter train disaster that killed 11 people, testifying that he was trying to kill himself and never meant to harm anyone else.
n
Juan Alvarez, 29, gazes towards the ceiling after his conviction of 11 counts of first-degree... Expand
Juan Alvarez, 29, gazes towards the ceiling after his conviction of 11 counts of first-degree murder, Thursday, June 26, 2008 in Los Angeles. Alvarez claimed he was attempting suicide when he triggered a 2005 rail disaster and could face the death penalty. Two commuter trains collided into a tangled mass of smoking wreckage littered with victims after Juan Alvarez left a gasoline-drenched sport-utility vehicle on railroad tracks, Jan. 26, 2005 in Glendale, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Collapse
(Bob Chamberlin/AP Photo)
On the witness stand, Juan Alvarez, 29, asked for forgiveness from families of those killed in the January 2005 disaster involving two Metrolink trains. Some relatives of the dead were present as Alvarez testified.
Alvarez said he poured gas over himself and his Jeep, took out a lighter and then decided he did not want to burn himself to death because it would be too painful. He said he then drove onto railroad tracks northeast of Los Angeles in Glendale, hoping a train would smash into his vehicle and kill him quickly.
Prosecutors allege that Alvarez had made not a suicide attempt, but a bid for attention from his wife. He had fled the Jeep by the time a Metrolink train hit the vehicle, then struck a parked freight train and was struck by another Metrolink train going the other way. About 180 people were injured.
Alvarez has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of murder and one count of arson. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
Alvarez said after he decided not to kill himself, he tried but couldn't move the SUV. He said he saw the train's bright lights before jumping out of the vehicle.
"I feel terrible and I ask for forgiveness," Alvarez said. "I know some of the family members are here today. I'm very sorry for what happened. I never meant to hurt any of your loved ones. That could have been my mom or dad."
Alvarez said several times that he did not think anyone else would be hurt and had no idea that the train could derail.
Alvarez testified he had made other suicide attempts, once laying down on a road waiting for a car to run over him and twice stabbing himself.
Deputy District Attorney Cathryn Brougham said in opening statements last month that Alvarez had threatened to kill his wife and staged the accident to get her attention. She said he succeeded because after he was jailed on murder charges his wife withdrew a restraining order and visited him regularly.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
By LINDA DEUTSCH AP Special Correspondent
LOS ANGELES May 27, 2008 (AP)
The Associated Press
A murder defendant apologized Tuesday for causing a commuter train disaster that killed 11 people, testifying that he was trying to kill himself and never meant to harm anyone else.
n
Juan Alvarez, 29, gazes towards the ceiling after his conviction of 11 counts of first-degree... Expand
Juan Alvarez, 29, gazes towards the ceiling after his conviction of 11 counts of first-degree murder, Thursday, June 26, 2008 in Los Angeles. Alvarez claimed he was attempting suicide when he triggered a 2005 rail disaster and could face the death penalty. Two commuter trains collided into a tangled mass of smoking wreckage littered with victims after Juan Alvarez left a gasoline-drenched sport-utility vehicle on railroad tracks, Jan. 26, 2005 in Glendale, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Collapse
(Bob Chamberlin/AP Photo)
On the witness stand, Juan Alvarez, 29, asked for forgiveness from families of those killed in the January 2005 disaster involving two Metrolink trains. Some relatives of the dead were present as Alvarez testified.
Alvarez said he poured gas over himself and his Jeep, took out a lighter and then decided he did not want to burn himself to death because it would be too painful. He said he then drove onto railroad tracks northeast of Los Angeles in Glendale, hoping a train would smash into his vehicle and kill him quickly.
Prosecutors allege that Alvarez had made not a suicide attempt, but a bid for attention from his wife. He had fled the Jeep by the time a Metrolink train hit the vehicle, then struck a parked freight train and was struck by another Metrolink train going the other way. About 180 people were injured.
Alvarez has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of murder and one count of arson. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
Alvarez said after he decided not to kill himself, he tried but couldn't move the SUV. He said he saw the train's bright lights before jumping out of the vehicle.
"I feel terrible and I ask for forgiveness," Alvarez said. "I know some of the family members are here today. I'm very sorry for what happened. I never meant to hurt any of your loved ones. That could have been my mom or dad."
Alvarez said several times that he did not think anyone else would be hurt and had no idea that the train could derail.
Alvarez testified he had made other suicide attempts, once laying down on a road waiting for a car to run over him and twice stabbing himself.
Deputy District Attorney Cathryn Brougham said in opening statements last month that Alvarez had threatened to kill his wife and staged the accident to get her attention. She said he succeeded because after he was jailed on murder charges his wife withdrew a restraining order and visited him regularly.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Court dismisses case on emergency landing and fines Rs. 10,000
Blue Star
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Court dismisses case on emergency landing
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has taken serious view of people using courts to settle scores with individuals or an organisation by filing suits under the garb of Public Interest Litigations.
The court dismissed such a petition filed by a former Indian airlines pilot and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him. P.N. Sharma’s PIL sought directions to Indian airlines to review the emergency landing procedure followed by its A 320 aircraft, contending that the existing “faulty and unsafe” method put the lives of passengers at risk.
The petition was dismissed after the airlines convinced the judges Sharma –– who claimed to have 30 years experience of 16,000 flying hours flying various aircraft like DC-3, Boeing 737, Airbus A 320 –– had filed the PIL out of personal vendetta.
The airlines stated in the court that Sharma’s “professional background has been such that he has tried to implicate his seniors who had found his job performance to be unsatisfactory”.
“We are of the view that the present petition is without merit and is misuse of public interest litigation…Indian Airlines claim the petitioner was suffering from an attitude problem and also anxiety and depression. In these circumstances we would give to the petitioner the benefit of doubt that it may be the action of a person who misdirected himself and not one with oblique motives,” observed a Bench of Justices Manmohan Sarin and Manmohan.
The court also took note of a civil suit Sharma had instituted against the airlines, claiming a compensation of Rs 2.6 crore for cutting short his career by 10 years by “relentless harassment at work place” and “forcing him to fly the unsafe A 320 aircraft”.
Pointing out that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the only statutory authority having expertise to deal with the petitioner’s contentions, the airlines said the court was not the appropriate forum for such an exercise.
© Copyright 2008 HT Media Ltd. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Court dismisses case on emergency landing
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has taken serious view of people using courts to settle scores with individuals or an organisation by filing suits under the garb of Public Interest Litigations.
The court dismissed such a petition filed by a former Indian airlines pilot and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him. P.N. Sharma’s PIL sought directions to Indian airlines to review the emergency landing procedure followed by its A 320 aircraft, contending that the existing “faulty and unsafe” method put the lives of passengers at risk.
The petition was dismissed after the airlines convinced the judges Sharma –– who claimed to have 30 years experience of 16,000 flying hours flying various aircraft like DC-3, Boeing 737, Airbus A 320 –– had filed the PIL out of personal vendetta.
The airlines stated in the court that Sharma’s “professional background has been such that he has tried to implicate his seniors who had found his job performance to be unsatisfactory”.
“We are of the view that the present petition is without merit and is misuse of public interest litigation…Indian Airlines claim the petitioner was suffering from an attitude problem and also anxiety and depression. In these circumstances we would give to the petitioner the benefit of doubt that it may be the action of a person who misdirected himself and not one with oblique motives,” observed a Bench of Justices Manmohan Sarin and Manmohan.
The court also took note of a civil suit Sharma had instituted against the airlines, claiming a compensation of Rs 2.6 crore for cutting short his career by 10 years by “relentless harassment at work place” and “forcing him to fly the unsafe A 320 aircraft”.
Pointing out that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the only statutory authority having expertise to deal with the petitioner’s contentions, the airlines said the court was not the appropriate forum for such an exercise.
© Copyright 2008 HT Media Ltd. All rights reserved.
Monday, June 16, 2008
14,000 flock to Aarushi's Facebook tribute
Monday, June 16, 2008
14,000 flock to Aarushi's Facebook tribute
New Delhi: ‘Into your hands, O Lord, We humbly entrust our sister, In this life you embraced her with your tender love; Deliver her now from every evil, And bid her enter eternal rest.’
With these words, a Facebook community was created by friends of murdered Noida teenager Aarushi Talwar. The community now has over 14,000 members, each describing how they feel for Aarushi or commenting on how the crime brought them together.
It is striking how people from different age groups are following the case, as shown by the Hindustan Times-C Fore survey. This leads to a dilemma on the best ways of dealing with children who are less mature yet overly curious. Is it wise to acquaint them with the harsh realities of life?
“It is our responsibility to talk to our children about the case. They are exposed to various sources of information and will get to know about it. Why can’t it be from parents then?” asked Neelakshi Barua, mother of Neesha, one of Aarushi’s friends.
Meanwhile, city schools are gearing up for the new session, the first time when students will officially meet after the murder.
“I will talk to my students and hold a prayer meeting on the first day,” said Darshan Sodhi, Aarushi’s class teacher.
Added N.M. Williams, principal, Mount Carmel School: “We won’t discuss Aarushi’s case but will address related queries.”
© Copyright 2008 HT Media Ltd. All rights reserved.
14,000 flock to Aarushi's Facebook tribute
New Delhi: ‘Into your hands, O Lord, We humbly entrust our sister, In this life you embraced her with your tender love; Deliver her now from every evil, And bid her enter eternal rest.’
With these words, a Facebook community was created by friends of murdered Noida teenager Aarushi Talwar. The community now has over 14,000 members, each describing how they feel for Aarushi or commenting on how the crime brought them together.
It is striking how people from different age groups are following the case, as shown by the Hindustan Times-C Fore survey. This leads to a dilemma on the best ways of dealing with children who are less mature yet overly curious. Is it wise to acquaint them with the harsh realities of life?
“It is our responsibility to talk to our children about the case. They are exposed to various sources of information and will get to know about it. Why can’t it be from parents then?” asked Neelakshi Barua, mother of Neesha, one of Aarushi’s friends.
Meanwhile, city schools are gearing up for the new session, the first time when students will officially meet after the murder.
“I will talk to my students and hold a prayer meeting on the first day,” said Darshan Sodhi, Aarushi’s class teacher.
Added N.M. Williams, principal, Mount Carmel School: “We won’t discuss Aarushi’s case but will address related queries.”
© Copyright 2008 HT Media Ltd. All rights reserved.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
16-year-old ruled cyber fraud gang from Mumbai
16-year-old ruled cyber fraud gang from Mumbai
15 Jun 2008, 0118 hrs IST, Parth Shastri,TNN
AHMEDABAD: Ajay is 16 and studies in Class X. But let him loose in cyberspace and he's a millionnaire, leaving hundreds of credit card holders broke across the globe.
Ajay was picked up from Mumbai on Thursday and detained by the Gujarat police in a hacking case that left them baffled with its global spread.
This St Ann's student from Mulund has mastered the ability to hack online shopping websites and channel the money paid by cyber buyers into his own account.
The racket surfaced when Ahmedabad crime branch sleuths were investigating a case of hacking of a popular online shopping site and arrested three boys in the city. They turned out to be part of Ajay’s gang.
Probe has revealed that his network spreads across Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. His mentors live in the US, Vietnam and other countries.
Ajay, the son of an employee of a textile firm, would give instructions to Wahid Khan, a resident of Kalupur, and Shahid Khan and Haadi Ghoghai of Juhapura, both in Ahmedabad, until they were arrested on Thursday. Ajay had taught them to create fake accounts and crack into others’ credit card accounts to make big bucks.
His prowess in hacking high-security and government websites let Ajay into a hacking community, which gave him access to a huge database of credit card Customer Verification Value (CVV) numbers of prominent banks across the globe.
Ajay’s tools included his laptop, a communicator and a cellphone. But, police say, Ajay’s PC has no data and he has covered his tracks.
All the evidence available is from Shahid Khan’s laptop which has folders and files that hide cracked passwords and the IP addresses of internet domains that were hacked into for fraudulent financial transactions.
Ajay got in touch with online fraudsters during gaming and was hooked fast. He has told the police that after connecting with international hackers in the US, Vietnam, and other countries, he spent over 15 hours a day on the computer trying to figure out how it worked.
“He has a database of over 4,000 international credit cardholders, their CVV numbers and expiry dates,’ said a senior crime branch official.
He fooled the cyber police by using proxy servers for illegal transactions. “After making money illegally at the online shopping giant’s expense for over four months, he got in touch with Shahid Khan and Wahid Khan in Ahmedabad and let them into some secrets of the fraud,’’ said the official.
(Some names have been changed to protect identities.)
15 Jun 2008, 0118 hrs IST, Parth Shastri,TNN
AHMEDABAD: Ajay is 16 and studies in Class X. But let him loose in cyberspace and he's a millionnaire, leaving hundreds of credit card holders broke across the globe.
Ajay was picked up from Mumbai on Thursday and detained by the Gujarat police in a hacking case that left them baffled with its global spread.
This St Ann's student from Mulund has mastered the ability to hack online shopping websites and channel the money paid by cyber buyers into his own account.
The racket surfaced when Ahmedabad crime branch sleuths were investigating a case of hacking of a popular online shopping site and arrested three boys in the city. They turned out to be part of Ajay’s gang.
Probe has revealed that his network spreads across Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. His mentors live in the US, Vietnam and other countries.
Ajay, the son of an employee of a textile firm, would give instructions to Wahid Khan, a resident of Kalupur, and Shahid Khan and Haadi Ghoghai of Juhapura, both in Ahmedabad, until they were arrested on Thursday. Ajay had taught them to create fake accounts and crack into others’ credit card accounts to make big bucks.
His prowess in hacking high-security and government websites let Ajay into a hacking community, which gave him access to a huge database of credit card Customer Verification Value (CVV) numbers of prominent banks across the globe.
Ajay’s tools included his laptop, a communicator and a cellphone. But, police say, Ajay’s PC has no data and he has covered his tracks.
All the evidence available is from Shahid Khan’s laptop which has folders and files that hide cracked passwords and the IP addresses of internet domains that were hacked into for fraudulent financial transactions.
Ajay got in touch with online fraudsters during gaming and was hooked fast. He has told the police that after connecting with international hackers in the US, Vietnam, and other countries, he spent over 15 hours a day on the computer trying to figure out how it worked.
“He has a database of over 4,000 international credit cardholders, their CVV numbers and expiry dates,’ said a senior crime branch official.
He fooled the cyber police by using proxy servers for illegal transactions. “After making money illegally at the online shopping giant’s expense for over four months, he got in touch with Shahid Khan and Wahid Khan in Ahmedabad and let them into some secrets of the fraud,’’ said the official.
(Some names have been changed to protect identities.)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Gujarat lawyers want judges transferred over 'misuse of position'
Friday, June 13, 2008
Gujarat lawyers want judges transferred over 'misuse of position'
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court Advocates Bar Association on Friday raised the issue of lawyers related to judges of the court misusing their position and called a meeting over the matter June 19.
Yatin Oza, president of the bar association, said that it was necessary to request the chief justice of India and his companion judges in the collegium - Justice B.N. Agrawal, Justice Ashok Bhan, Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice C.K. Thakker and Justice J.M. Panchal - to transfer all judges of Gujarat High Court whose children or parents were practicing in the same court.
"This step is necessary to bring purity in the administration of justice," Oza said.
He has written a letter to all bar council members, calling them for a meeting June 19 to discuss the issue of lawyers misusing their relatives' position.
In his letter, Oza said: "Large number of advocates, more particularly junior advocates, have complained to me about the misuse and abuse of kith and kin (mainly children and parents) of honourable judges, misusing the position of their father/son. The coterie has become so strong that not whispers, but loud shouts, have been heard around, both within and outside the courts, about one honourable judge taking care of the kith and kin of another honourable judge and vice versa."
Oza, however, admitted that it would be wrong to brand all the judges in negative light.
"There could be an exception and only a few could be involved. But it is virtually impossible to subjectively pinpoint someone in an atmosphere of suspicion."And therefore in larger interest of justice, it is necessary to transfer all the honourable judges who fall in the above category from our court," he said.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Gujarat lawyers want judges transferred over 'misuse of position'
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court Advocates Bar Association on Friday raised the issue of lawyers related to judges of the court misusing their position and called a meeting over the matter June 19.
Yatin Oza, president of the bar association, said that it was necessary to request the chief justice of India and his companion judges in the collegium - Justice B.N. Agrawal, Justice Ashok Bhan, Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice C.K. Thakker and Justice J.M. Panchal - to transfer all judges of Gujarat High Court whose children or parents were practicing in the same court.
"This step is necessary to bring purity in the administration of justice," Oza said.
He has written a letter to all bar council members, calling them for a meeting June 19 to discuss the issue of lawyers misusing their relatives' position.
In his letter, Oza said: "Large number of advocates, more particularly junior advocates, have complained to me about the misuse and abuse of kith and kin (mainly children and parents) of honourable judges, misusing the position of their father/son. The coterie has become so strong that not whispers, but loud shouts, have been heard around, both within and outside the courts, about one honourable judge taking care of the kith and kin of another honourable judge and vice versa."
Oza, however, admitted that it would be wrong to brand all the judges in negative light.
"There could be an exception and only a few could be involved. But it is virtually impossible to subjectively pinpoint someone in an atmosphere of suspicion."And therefore in larger interest of justice, it is necessary to transfer all the honourable judges who fall in the above category from our court," he said.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan :'Judiciary makes executive accountable',
'Judiciary makes executive accountable'
14 Jun 2008, 0135 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN
NEW DELHI: It is the judiciary which makes the executive legally responsible to the people for its actions, Chief Justice of India (CJI) K G Balakrishnan has said giving the formal stamp on the watchdog status of the courts.
Proper functioning of a democracy requires harmonious balance in the functioning of the three separate state organs, he said.
Differentiating judiciary from the other two organs, he said this provided the people with 'auxiliary precaution' required to ensure that the government functioned in favour of the people.
"When the executive asserts itself in a manner that it accords to itself increasing power and an unusually high level of control over state functions, the judiciary has a right to exercise its constitutionally-mandated role and exert pressure by providing oversight in order to maintain the balance between co-equals," he said. It was the principle of 'democratic accountability' that determines the legitimacy of a public authority under the Constitution, he said.
While the legislature was directly elected by the people, the executive was made accountable to the legislature through the principle of collective responsibility of the Cabinet and the individual responsibility of the ministers, Justice Balakrishnan said.
Though the judiciary was vested with the power to interpret law and settle disputes arising between government and private parties, it was also saddled with responsibility to ensure that corrective measures were taken where government failed. "Judicial power also includes the power to take corrective action whenever other branches of the government fail in their duty to respect the rights of the citizens and protect them," the CJI said answering a wide-range of questions from TOI.
In the endeavour to secure the rights of the people from being transgressed by the executive, the courts for arriving at a decision could not be accused of embarking on a 'law-making' exercise, which was the sole discretion of the legislature, he felt. "Judicial determination of whether the other branches of the government are, or are not, functioning in favour of the society cannot be said to constitute 'law-making', but is a exercise of judicial discretion where standards established by the Constitution are not met," he said.
14 Jun 2008, 0135 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN
NEW DELHI: It is the judiciary which makes the executive legally responsible to the people for its actions, Chief Justice of India (CJI) K G Balakrishnan has said giving the formal stamp on the watchdog status of the courts.
Proper functioning of a democracy requires harmonious balance in the functioning of the three separate state organs, he said.
Differentiating judiciary from the other two organs, he said this provided the people with 'auxiliary precaution' required to ensure that the government functioned in favour of the people.
"When the executive asserts itself in a manner that it accords to itself increasing power and an unusually high level of control over state functions, the judiciary has a right to exercise its constitutionally-mandated role and exert pressure by providing oversight in order to maintain the balance between co-equals," he said. It was the principle of 'democratic accountability' that determines the legitimacy of a public authority under the Constitution, he said.
While the legislature was directly elected by the people, the executive was made accountable to the legislature through the principle of collective responsibility of the Cabinet and the individual responsibility of the ministers, Justice Balakrishnan said.
Though the judiciary was vested with the power to interpret law and settle disputes arising between government and private parties, it was also saddled with responsibility to ensure that corrective measures were taken where government failed. "Judicial power also includes the power to take corrective action whenever other branches of the government fail in their duty to respect the rights of the citizens and protect them," the CJI said answering a wide-range of questions from TOI.
In the endeavour to secure the rights of the people from being transgressed by the executive, the courts for arriving at a decision could not be accused of embarking on a 'law-making' exercise, which was the sole discretion of the legislature, he felt. "Judicial determination of whether the other branches of the government are, or are not, functioning in favour of the society cannot be said to constitute 'law-making', but is a exercise of judicial discretion where standards established by the Constitution are not met," he said.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan for Judicial Intervention
'Where does common man go when executive fails?'
13 Jun 2008, 0053 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN
NEW DELHI: Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan on Thursday stepped out to strongly defend the conduct of the judiciary, saying if its interventions annoyed other organs of the state, so be it.
"The only function of the court is to protect the rights of the people, and all its actions are directed to further this function," CJI Balakrishnan said in comments that acquire significance in the wake of the criticism by the executive and the legislature that the judiciary was meddling in businesses which belonged to others' domain.
"...Before criticizing the court, which serves as the whip hand of the people towards any wrong being done by the state, other organs of governance must make sure their conduct is exemplary... so as to deserve the trust of the people," he said.
He was responding to questions from TOI on the role of the judiciary — especially the Supreme Court — in matters of public interest, the criticism it drew and the role it sees itself playing in view of the challenges, from poverty to lawlessness, facing the country.
Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan's assertiveness to defend the conduct of judiciary may appear important also because he had initially appeared to take in his stride the criticism that the top court attracted whenever it entertained PILs.
In a democracy, he said, people were paramount and it was the inherent duty of the executive, legislature and judiciary to perform meaningful roles in making the life of the common man better.
Giving an example, the CJI said that in many instances, people were promised better amenities, towards which significant amounts of money were spent, but many of those promises were never fulfiled and on occasions, private players were seen to have taken undue benefit of these.
"Given these circumstances, it is incumbent on the Supreme Court to take necessary steps to alleviate the dismal conditions of the people, and pay particular attention to the dismally depressed," he said, referring to the apex court as the "doyen of public interest litigation".
On many occasions, the Supreme Court has faced criticism for "usurping" the power of the executive, he said and asked: "What is most often overlooked by all critics is the fact that where is the common man to go when the executive fails to perform its duties properly?" As a power regulator, he said, the SC has two functions — first, to limit government arbitrariness and power abuse; and secondly, to make the government more rational and its policies more intelligent.
"PIL is one of the many innovations that give life to the Supreme Court being the bulwark for maintenance of democracy and a bastion of civil liberties," he said and termed PIL a potent instrument of social justice to bring about equality.
Taking note of the argument that the apex court should exercise restraint and not violate the constitutional demarcation, he said the court, before entertaining PILs, undertakes strict scrutiny of each of them and the relevance and importance of the issues raised. "Directions are given only when it is absolutely necessary," he said.
The argument for the apex court exercising restraint and staying within limits failed to recognise "the constant failures of governance taking place at the hands of the other organs of the state, and that it is the function of the court to check, balance and correct any failure arising out of any other state organ", the CJI said.
Balakrishnan said right to life of every citizen did not mean animal existence but a fruitful living, which could come only if they enjoy their fundamental rights — such as living in a healthy, clean and safe environment; compulsory education and access to basic amenities of life.
On various occasions, the state failed to exercise its duty of providing these rights to the people who often had to suffer for no fault of theirs. At these junctures, "it becomes an imminent necessity for the Supreme Court to intervene in a timely manner and curtail the violation of fundamental rights, and further its duty to protect the rights of the people", he said.
"It is improper, therefore, to accuse the court of taking any unfair advantage of this instrument (PIL) to further any vested interest," he said.
To preserve the supremacy of the Constitution — from which flows the fundamental rights to equality, speech and life — the role of the courts in today's world has become more onerous and it could help little if it is criticized for giving relief to people, the CJI said.
"The supremacy of the Constitution can be preserved in no other way except through the courts that would step forth and declare all acts 'contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution' void," he added.
13 Jun 2008, 0053 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN
NEW DELHI: Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan on Thursday stepped out to strongly defend the conduct of the judiciary, saying if its interventions annoyed other organs of the state, so be it.
"The only function of the court is to protect the rights of the people, and all its actions are directed to further this function," CJI Balakrishnan said in comments that acquire significance in the wake of the criticism by the executive and the legislature that the judiciary was meddling in businesses which belonged to others' domain.
"...Before criticizing the court, which serves as the whip hand of the people towards any wrong being done by the state, other organs of governance must make sure their conduct is exemplary... so as to deserve the trust of the people," he said.
He was responding to questions from TOI on the role of the judiciary — especially the Supreme Court — in matters of public interest, the criticism it drew and the role it sees itself playing in view of the challenges, from poverty to lawlessness, facing the country.
Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan's assertiveness to defend the conduct of judiciary may appear important also because he had initially appeared to take in his stride the criticism that the top court attracted whenever it entertained PILs.
In a democracy, he said, people were paramount and it was the inherent duty of the executive, legislature and judiciary to perform meaningful roles in making the life of the common man better.
Giving an example, the CJI said that in many instances, people were promised better amenities, towards which significant amounts of money were spent, but many of those promises were never fulfiled and on occasions, private players were seen to have taken undue benefit of these.
"Given these circumstances, it is incumbent on the Supreme Court to take necessary steps to alleviate the dismal conditions of the people, and pay particular attention to the dismally depressed," he said, referring to the apex court as the "doyen of public interest litigation".
On many occasions, the Supreme Court has faced criticism for "usurping" the power of the executive, he said and asked: "What is most often overlooked by all critics is the fact that where is the common man to go when the executive fails to perform its duties properly?" As a power regulator, he said, the SC has two functions — first, to limit government arbitrariness and power abuse; and secondly, to make the government more rational and its policies more intelligent.
"PIL is one of the many innovations that give life to the Supreme Court being the bulwark for maintenance of democracy and a bastion of civil liberties," he said and termed PIL a potent instrument of social justice to bring about equality.
Taking note of the argument that the apex court should exercise restraint and not violate the constitutional demarcation, he said the court, before entertaining PILs, undertakes strict scrutiny of each of them and the relevance and importance of the issues raised. "Directions are given only when it is absolutely necessary," he said.
The argument for the apex court exercising restraint and staying within limits failed to recognise "the constant failures of governance taking place at the hands of the other organs of the state, and that it is the function of the court to check, balance and correct any failure arising out of any other state organ", the CJI said.
Balakrishnan said right to life of every citizen did not mean animal existence but a fruitful living, which could come only if they enjoy their fundamental rights — such as living in a healthy, clean and safe environment; compulsory education and access to basic amenities of life.
On various occasions, the state failed to exercise its duty of providing these rights to the people who often had to suffer for no fault of theirs. At these junctures, "it becomes an imminent necessity for the Supreme Court to intervene in a timely manner and curtail the violation of fundamental rights, and further its duty to protect the rights of the people", he said.
"It is improper, therefore, to accuse the court of taking any unfair advantage of this instrument (PIL) to further any vested interest," he said.
To preserve the supremacy of the Constitution — from which flows the fundamental rights to equality, speech and life — the role of the courts in today's world has become more onerous and it could help little if it is criticized for giving relief to people, the CJI said.
"The supremacy of the Constitution can be preserved in no other way except through the courts that would step forth and declare all acts 'contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution' void," he added.
Couple convicted for poisoning ex boy friend to death
Blue Star
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Couple convicted for Pune murder
Pune: A city court in Pune held a management student couple guilty of murdering the girl's former boyfriend.
The district sessions court held Aditi Basu Deo Sharma, 25, and her boyfriend Praveen Premswaroop Khandelwal, 25, both students of a management institute in Pune, guilty of poisoning the girl's former boyfriend Udit Ashwin Kumar Bharti on April 22 last year.
According to the police, all three were residents of Jammu and had come to Pune to study after their graduation. Udit and Aditi became close to each but their relationship did not last long.
Later, Aditi started having an affair with Praveen that was resented by Udit. According to the police, Udit continued to pester her with calls. Aditi conspired with her new boyfriend to poison him.
Both Aditi and Praveen confessed to having murdered Udit by mixing poison in prasad (offering to the gods).
The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Thursday.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Couple convicted for Pune murder
Pune: A city court in Pune held a management student couple guilty of murdering the girl's former boyfriend.
The district sessions court held Aditi Basu Deo Sharma, 25, and her boyfriend Praveen Premswaroop Khandelwal, 25, both students of a management institute in Pune, guilty of poisoning the girl's former boyfriend Udit Ashwin Kumar Bharti on April 22 last year.
According to the police, all three were residents of Jammu and had come to Pune to study after their graduation. Udit and Aditi became close to each but their relationship did not last long.
Later, Aditi started having an affair with Praveen that was resented by Udit. According to the police, Udit continued to pester her with calls. Aditi conspired with her new boyfriend to poison him.
Both Aditi and Praveen confessed to having murdered Udit by mixing poison in prasad (offering to the gods).
The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Thursday.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Sirhan Sirhan: kennedy's Assassin 40 yrs in prison
RFK's Assassin Sirhan Sirhan Getting Old in Prison
By MARK MOONEY
June 10, 2008
With a day's worth of stubble and his cheeks turning jowly, he looks no more dangerous than an aging uncle. But this is the latest mug shot of the killer who was once the most hated man in America — Sirhan Sirhan.
Sirhan Sirhan, charged with the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy during a campaign stop in California, is the subject of intensive investigation by the US Government after an Arab government provided new evidence about his identity.
The mug shot was taken March 27 in California State Prison in Corcoran, two months before the 40th anniversary of his assassination of Robert Kennedy Jr. It was first made public by TheSmokingGun Web site.
"Offender photos are taken periodically throughout an inmate's incarceration because a person's appearance does change over the years," said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation.
Sirhan is housed in the prison's protective custody unit "due to his infamous notoriety," said the Corcoran facility's public information officer, Sabrina Johnson.
"Because we are already providing him with protective custody, we didn't take any extra precautions" as last week's sad anniversary was widely observed, Johnson said.
Sirhan is secluded and protected from the general prison population. He takes meals in his cell, and his only companions are other notorious inmates who need protective custody, like serial murderer Charles Manson, Johnson said. Now 64, the country's most notorious living assassin was largely forgotten last week when the nation again mourned Kennedy's death in the June 5, 1968 shooting.
When asked if Sirhan gets many visitors, Johnson said, "Not often."
Sirhan was 24 when he shot RFK in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Tried and convicted, he was sentenced to death, a verdict that was later commuted to life in prison.
Sirhan claimed he killed Kennedy because he was angry over Kennedy's support for Israel. Sirhan was born in Jerusalem to Arab Christian parents who had moved to America when Sirhan was 12. The assassination occurred on the first anniversary of the Six Day War in which Israel had humiliated the combined armies of its Arab neighbors.
Sirhan's next chance at parole is scheduled for 2011.
By MARK MOONEY
June 10, 2008
With a day's worth of stubble and his cheeks turning jowly, he looks no more dangerous than an aging uncle. But this is the latest mug shot of the killer who was once the most hated man in America — Sirhan Sirhan.
Sirhan Sirhan, charged with the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy during a campaign stop in California, is the subject of intensive investigation by the US Government after an Arab government provided new evidence about his identity.
The mug shot was taken March 27 in California State Prison in Corcoran, two months before the 40th anniversary of his assassination of Robert Kennedy Jr. It was first made public by TheSmokingGun Web site.
"Offender photos are taken periodically throughout an inmate's incarceration because a person's appearance does change over the years," said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation.
Sirhan is housed in the prison's protective custody unit "due to his infamous notoriety," said the Corcoran facility's public information officer, Sabrina Johnson.
"Because we are already providing him with protective custody, we didn't take any extra precautions" as last week's sad anniversary was widely observed, Johnson said.
Sirhan is secluded and protected from the general prison population. He takes meals in his cell, and his only companions are other notorious inmates who need protective custody, like serial murderer Charles Manson, Johnson said. Now 64, the country's most notorious living assassin was largely forgotten last week when the nation again mourned Kennedy's death in the June 5, 1968 shooting.
When asked if Sirhan gets many visitors, Johnson said, "Not often."
Sirhan was 24 when he shot RFK in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Tried and convicted, he was sentenced to death, a verdict that was later commuted to life in prison.
Sirhan claimed he killed Kennedy because he was angry over Kennedy's support for Israel. Sirhan was born in Jerusalem to Arab Christian parents who had moved to America when Sirhan was 12. The assassination occurred on the first anniversary of the Six Day War in which Israel had humiliated the combined armies of its Arab neighbors.
Sirhan's next chance at parole is scheduled for 2011.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Murder of social activist Lalit Mehta:Centre for CBI probe
Centre for CBI probe into activist's murder
Wed, Jun 11 02:20 AM
With "no substantial progress" in the investigation into the murder of social activist Lalit Mehta, the Central Government now wants the CBI to investigate the case.
Mehta, a close aide of noted National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) scheme activist and economist Jean Dreze, was found murdered in May. He was involved in the social audit of the scheme in Chatarpur block of Jharkhand's Palamau district. He was also the founder of Vikas Sahyog Kendra (VSK), an NGO that successfully supervised construction of over 110 check dams in drought-prone Palamau since 1997.
Minister of Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh on Tuesday wrote a letter to Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda 'advising' him to 'hand over' the investigation to the CBI as "no substantial progress has been reported in the investigation by the state Government so far".
"This will give the right signal of the Government's commitment to integrity, transparency and accountability and boost the confidence of vigilant social organisations in engaging with the field level implementation of NREGA and other rural development programmes," said Raghuvansh in his letter. He also asked Koda to provide compensation to Mehta's family.
The Jharkhand Government had earlier transferred the investigations to the state CID, but with the Centre expressing its "doubts", the state would now have to hand over the case to the CBI. It would be the first criminal case related to the NREG scheme to be referred to the CBI.
The Central Government has also planned to set up a toll free voice activated helpline number that would be accessible to the common man to voice their grievances on the implementation of the scheme.
Wed, Jun 11 02:20 AM
With "no substantial progress" in the investigation into the murder of social activist Lalit Mehta, the Central Government now wants the CBI to investigate the case.
Mehta, a close aide of noted National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) scheme activist and economist Jean Dreze, was found murdered in May. He was involved in the social audit of the scheme in Chatarpur block of Jharkhand's Palamau district. He was also the founder of Vikas Sahyog Kendra (VSK), an NGO that successfully supervised construction of over 110 check dams in drought-prone Palamau since 1997.
Minister of Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh on Tuesday wrote a letter to Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda 'advising' him to 'hand over' the investigation to the CBI as "no substantial progress has been reported in the investigation by the state Government so far".
"This will give the right signal of the Government's commitment to integrity, transparency and accountability and boost the confidence of vigilant social organisations in engaging with the field level implementation of NREGA and other rural development programmes," said Raghuvansh in his letter. He also asked Koda to provide compensation to Mehta's family.
The Jharkhand Government had earlier transferred the investigations to the state CID, but with the Centre expressing its "doubts", the state would now have to hand over the case to the CBI. It would be the first criminal case related to the NREG scheme to be referred to the CBI.
The Central Government has also planned to set up a toll free voice activated helpline number that would be accessible to the common man to voice their grievances on the implementation of the scheme.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Woman ends life at police hqs alleging rape by cops
who held husband for theft, woman ends life at police hqs
Tue, Jun 10 02:49 AM
After two months of struggle for justice, a 25-year-old woman who was allegedly raped by two policemen committed suicide at the Haryana police headquarters in Panchkula today.
Sarita, 25, came from Rohtak with her daughters, five-year-old Muskan and three-year-old Heena, submitted a written complaint to the Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) V B Singh and committed suicide in his office.
She was allegedly raped by head constable Balraj Singh and constable Silk Ram of Rohtak crime branch on April 10. She had complained that the police refused to register a case and harassed her instead.
"It was around 12.10 pm that Sarita came to the Police headquarters along with her two daughters. She was the third one in the queue to meet me in my office. The moment her turn came, she gave a written application alleging that she was raped by head constable Balraj Singh and constable Silk Ram on April 10. Both the police officials are from the Rohtak crime branch staff and the police department, instead of taking any action against the two, was trying to protect them," said Singh. He said that she also told him that she had consumed some poisonous substance minutes before coming to the room.
"I immediately asked my staff to rush her to the General Hospital, Sector 6, from where she was referred to the PGI (Chandigarh's Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research) where she breathed her last," said Singh.
He said Sarita had also come to the office on May 29 along with her husband and other relatives. "It was on the basis of her complaint on May 29 that an FIR was registered by the Rohtak police against the two police officials on May 31."
A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sarita's husband Subhash Kumar was arrested by the Rohtak crime branch in a case of motorcycle theft. Sarita alleged that when her husband was in police custody, she was called by the Head Constable Singh and Constable Ram who raped her. "Though she met the SP, Rohtak, and other senior officials, no action was taken against the accused," said the officer.
When contacted, SP, Rohtak, Hanif Quraishi said: "The two police officials involved in the case have been put under suspension and a three-member Special Investigation Team headed by DSP (Headquarters) Manbir Sheoran, has been formed to investigate into the matter."
Tue, Jun 10 02:49 AM
After two months of struggle for justice, a 25-year-old woman who was allegedly raped by two policemen committed suicide at the Haryana police headquarters in Panchkula today.
Sarita, 25, came from Rohtak with her daughters, five-year-old Muskan and three-year-old Heena, submitted a written complaint to the Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) V B Singh and committed suicide in his office.
She was allegedly raped by head constable Balraj Singh and constable Silk Ram of Rohtak crime branch on April 10. She had complained that the police refused to register a case and harassed her instead.
"It was around 12.10 pm that Sarita came to the Police headquarters along with her two daughters. She was the third one in the queue to meet me in my office. The moment her turn came, she gave a written application alleging that she was raped by head constable Balraj Singh and constable Silk Ram on April 10. Both the police officials are from the Rohtak crime branch staff and the police department, instead of taking any action against the two, was trying to protect them," said Singh. He said that she also told him that she had consumed some poisonous substance minutes before coming to the room.
"I immediately asked my staff to rush her to the General Hospital, Sector 6, from where she was referred to the PGI (Chandigarh's Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research) where she breathed her last," said Singh.
He said Sarita had also come to the office on May 29 along with her husband and other relatives. "It was on the basis of her complaint on May 29 that an FIR was registered by the Rohtak police against the two police officials on May 31."
A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sarita's husband Subhash Kumar was arrested by the Rohtak crime branch in a case of motorcycle theft. Sarita alleged that when her husband was in police custody, she was called by the Head Constable Singh and Constable Ram who raped her. "Though she met the SP, Rohtak, and other senior officials, no action was taken against the accused," said the officer.
When contacted, SP, Rohtak, Hanif Quraishi said: "The two police officials involved in the case have been put under suspension and a three-member Special Investigation Team headed by DSP (Headquarters) Manbir Sheoran, has been formed to investigate into the matter."
'Rajbir was murdered by professional killer'
Blue Star
Monday, June 09, 2008
'Rajbir was murdered by professional killer'
New Delhi: High-profile Delhi Police official Rajbir Singh was not murdered by realtor Vijay Bhardwaj but by a hired killer as part of a larger conspiracy, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sources said on Monday.
The CBI, which took over the probe into the sensational murder case, has come to the conclusion that Bhardwaj, who had confessed the crime, was only taking the blame on himself, they said.
After initial investigations, it has been found that two Dubai-based companies, which suffered losses due to Singh's actions, had hired a professional killer to murder him, the highly placed sources said.
According to the CBI probe, the private companies had been keeping a track on Singh's movement. The sources said a large amount of money was transferred to Bhardwaj's account after the murder. The role of Bhardwaj's servant Krishna is also under the scanner, the sources said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Singh, 48, was shot dead March 24 in the Mehrauli-Gurgaon road office of property dealer Bhardwaj.
Bhardwaj, who claimed to be Singh's acquaintance of 20 years, confessed within hours that he had killed Singh as the latter had been threatening him to return some money.
The Gurgaon police that probed the crime earlier said Bhardwaj, 42, said in his confessional statement that he fired two bullets at Singh's head with a .32 bore revolver which, according to him, Singh had given him three days earlier.
The CBI took over the case June 3 after the victim's family complained that the police were not investigating the case properly.
Singh had earned the reputation of a super cop, taking on tough cases and solving them - even if it involved extra-judicial methods and violation of the suspects' basic human rights. He was instrumental in cracking the terror attacks on the parliament complex in 2001 and the Red Fort in 2000.
He was nicknamed "encounter specialist" - a euphemism for a cop who tracks down and kills suspected gangsters and terrorists without due process of law. He had over 50 kills to his credit.
Singh was granted the highest level of security cover. His personal security officer (PSO) and driver, accompanying him on the night of the crime, had left the spot after Krishna told them that Singh wanted them to wait at the IFFCO Chowk in Gurgaon, a suburban area on the outskirts of the national capital.
The Gurgaon police claimed that Singh was killed with a revolver, which was missing from a Hissar police official, under a “pre-meditated conspiracy”. The police were not been able to establish the route through which the revolver, belonging to additional superintendent of police Ashok Shoran, reached Singh, as claimed by the accused.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Monday, June 09, 2008
'Rajbir was murdered by professional killer'
New Delhi: High-profile Delhi Police official Rajbir Singh was not murdered by realtor Vijay Bhardwaj but by a hired killer as part of a larger conspiracy, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sources said on Monday.
The CBI, which took over the probe into the sensational murder case, has come to the conclusion that Bhardwaj, who had confessed the crime, was only taking the blame on himself, they said.
After initial investigations, it has been found that two Dubai-based companies, which suffered losses due to Singh's actions, had hired a professional killer to murder him, the highly placed sources said.
According to the CBI probe, the private companies had been keeping a track on Singh's movement. The sources said a large amount of money was transferred to Bhardwaj's account after the murder. The role of Bhardwaj's servant Krishna is also under the scanner, the sources said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Singh, 48, was shot dead March 24 in the Mehrauli-Gurgaon road office of property dealer Bhardwaj.
Bhardwaj, who claimed to be Singh's acquaintance of 20 years, confessed within hours that he had killed Singh as the latter had been threatening him to return some money.
The Gurgaon police that probed the crime earlier said Bhardwaj, 42, said in his confessional statement that he fired two bullets at Singh's head with a .32 bore revolver which, according to him, Singh had given him three days earlier.
The CBI took over the case June 3 after the victim's family complained that the police were not investigating the case properly.
Singh had earned the reputation of a super cop, taking on tough cases and solving them - even if it involved extra-judicial methods and violation of the suspects' basic human rights. He was instrumental in cracking the terror attacks on the parliament complex in 2001 and the Red Fort in 2000.
He was nicknamed "encounter specialist" - a euphemism for a cop who tracks down and kills suspected gangsters and terrorists without due process of law. He had over 50 kills to his credit.
Singh was granted the highest level of security cover. His personal security officer (PSO) and driver, accompanying him on the night of the crime, had left the spot after Krishna told them that Singh wanted them to wait at the IFFCO Chowk in Gurgaon, a suburban area on the outskirts of the national capital.
The Gurgaon police claimed that Singh was killed with a revolver, which was missing from a Hissar police official, under a “pre-meditated conspiracy”. The police were not been able to establish the route through which the revolver, belonging to additional superintendent of police Ashok Shoran, reached Singh, as claimed by the accused.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Mohammed Afza lwishes Advani to become India's prime minister
Blue Star
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Man on death row slams Congress
Mohammed Afzal
New Delhi: On death row for the last three years, India's most controversial convict, Mohammed Afzal, wants a speedy conclusion to his ordeal and says Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani would act swiftly in deciding his plight one way or the other while the present government is dilly-dallying his death sentence.
"I don't think the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government can ever reach a decision. The Congress party has two mouths and is playing a double game," said Afzal, convicted for the December 2001 Indian parliament attack in an exclusive interview to IANS in Tihar prison's Jail No 3.
"I really wish L.K. Advani becomes India's next prime minister as he is the only one who can take a decision and hang me. At least my pain and daily suffering would ease then," said Afzal, who has been in solitary confinement in the capital's high security Tihar Jail.
Incidentally, Advani has criticised the delay in carrying out the death sentence.
"I fail to understand the delay. They have increased my security. But what needs to be done immediately is to carry out the court's orders," Advani had remarked in November 2006.
In this rare interview, Afzal's first since he was convicted by the Supreme Court in 2004 that was subsequently upheld a year later, he says the death sentence had made him delusional. He, too, has filed a mercy petition - along with 40 others - that is pending before the president.
Cumbersome legal procedures and prolonged periods of solitary confinement, he said, were inhuman and cruel.
Psychologists call this condition the 'death row' phenomenon, in which prisoners spending years awaiting their execution go through excruciating mental torture, a fact that was recognized by the European Court of Human Rights in 1989.
"Life has become hell in the jail. I requested the government to take an immediate decision over my sentence just two months ago. I don't wish to be part of the living dead," said Afzal, whose moods swung frequently between being stoic and being defiant.
"I have also requested that till the time they (government) take a decision, they shift me to a Kashmir jail," said Afzal, who now sports a long black beard.
Dressed in a spotless white kurta-pyjama and a sports cap to hide his shaven head, Afzal, who is in his mid-30s, said he sympathised with Sarabjit Singh, an Indian lodged in Pakistan prison for nearly two decades, but said no parallel could be drawn between the two of them.
"Please don't compare me with Sarabjit. The issues are separate. My sympathies are with him, but my fight is for the Kashmir conflict. Now, I am not even seeking any clemency and have no objection to the government deciding my fate."
Last month Home Minister Shivraj Patil's controversial statement saying those demanding Afzal's hanging could not seek reprieve for Sarabjit Singh drew considerable publicity.
"If you are asking for Afzal Guru's hanging, then how can you ask for pardon for Sarabjit Singh?" Patil had asked.
Sarabjit Singh has been held guilty for bombings in Lahore and Multan in 1990 that left 14 people dead. He was to be executed April 30. However, the intervention of the Indian government led to the execution being postponed by Pakistan.
Afzal, also known as Afzal Guru, was convicted of conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on India's parliament that killed six security personnel and one civilian.
"I long for my eight-year-old son, Ghalib. In jail, it is not possible to meet them easily as intelligence officials unnecessarily harass my family and wife, Tabassum, when they come here," he remarked.
In jail, Afzal is reading a book called "India wins freedom" by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad that details events of the country's independence movement.
There is pressure to issue clemency to Afzal from political groups in Kashmir, who believe hanging Afzal would have negative effects on the peace process in Kashmir. Human rights activists too have demanded a reprieve, as they believe that the trial was flawed.
"I only asked for pardon to stop millions of Kashmiri people hitting the streets. If I am hanged, I would take it as a sacrifice towards the people of Kashmir," Afzal told IANS.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Man on death row slams Congress
Mohammed Afzal
New Delhi: On death row for the last three years, India's most controversial convict, Mohammed Afzal, wants a speedy conclusion to his ordeal and says Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani would act swiftly in deciding his plight one way or the other while the present government is dilly-dallying his death sentence.
"I don't think the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government can ever reach a decision. The Congress party has two mouths and is playing a double game," said Afzal, convicted for the December 2001 Indian parliament attack in an exclusive interview to IANS in Tihar prison's Jail No 3.
"I really wish L.K. Advani becomes India's next prime minister as he is the only one who can take a decision and hang me. At least my pain and daily suffering would ease then," said Afzal, who has been in solitary confinement in the capital's high security Tihar Jail.
Incidentally, Advani has criticised the delay in carrying out the death sentence.
"I fail to understand the delay. They have increased my security. But what needs to be done immediately is to carry out the court's orders," Advani had remarked in November 2006.
In this rare interview, Afzal's first since he was convicted by the Supreme Court in 2004 that was subsequently upheld a year later, he says the death sentence had made him delusional. He, too, has filed a mercy petition - along with 40 others - that is pending before the president.
Cumbersome legal procedures and prolonged periods of solitary confinement, he said, were inhuman and cruel.
Psychologists call this condition the 'death row' phenomenon, in which prisoners spending years awaiting their execution go through excruciating mental torture, a fact that was recognized by the European Court of Human Rights in 1989.
"Life has become hell in the jail. I requested the government to take an immediate decision over my sentence just two months ago. I don't wish to be part of the living dead," said Afzal, whose moods swung frequently between being stoic and being defiant.
"I have also requested that till the time they (government) take a decision, they shift me to a Kashmir jail," said Afzal, who now sports a long black beard.
Dressed in a spotless white kurta-pyjama and a sports cap to hide his shaven head, Afzal, who is in his mid-30s, said he sympathised with Sarabjit Singh, an Indian lodged in Pakistan prison for nearly two decades, but said no parallel could be drawn between the two of them.
"Please don't compare me with Sarabjit. The issues are separate. My sympathies are with him, but my fight is for the Kashmir conflict. Now, I am not even seeking any clemency and have no objection to the government deciding my fate."
Last month Home Minister Shivraj Patil's controversial statement saying those demanding Afzal's hanging could not seek reprieve for Sarabjit Singh drew considerable publicity.
"If you are asking for Afzal Guru's hanging, then how can you ask for pardon for Sarabjit Singh?" Patil had asked.
Sarabjit Singh has been held guilty for bombings in Lahore and Multan in 1990 that left 14 people dead. He was to be executed April 30. However, the intervention of the Indian government led to the execution being postponed by Pakistan.
Afzal, also known as Afzal Guru, was convicted of conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on India's parliament that killed six security personnel and one civilian.
"I long for my eight-year-old son, Ghalib. In jail, it is not possible to meet them easily as intelligence officials unnecessarily harass my family and wife, Tabassum, when they come here," he remarked.
In jail, Afzal is reading a book called "India wins freedom" by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad that details events of the country's independence movement.
There is pressure to issue clemency to Afzal from political groups in Kashmir, who believe hanging Afzal would have negative effects on the peace process in Kashmir. Human rights activists too have demanded a reprieve, as they believe that the trial was flawed.
"I only asked for pardon to stop millions of Kashmiri people hitting the streets. If I am hanged, I would take it as a sacrifice towards the people of Kashmir," Afzal told IANS.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Narendra Rastogi, accused of defrauding the exchequer is to tbe brought to India
unday, June 08, 2008
India set to bring back 3rd Rastogi brother
New Delhi: India is all set to send a team to the US to get extradited Narendra Rastogi, who along with his brothers including influential London-based businessman Virendra, has been accused by the CBI of defrauding the exchequer to the tune of Rs 43 crore while exporting scrap to CIS countries.
The CBI, which had launched a hot pursuit of the four Rastogi brothers -- Virendra, Narendra, Ravindra and Subash -- since early 2000, will now bring back the third brother to India as his sentence in the US was near completion. The American authorities have asked their Indian counterparts to send a team for his extradition.
The FBI had arrested Rastogi and three others in May 2002 for defrauding banks around the world of an estimated 600 million dollar by obtaining finance for sham transactions and then pledging them as collaterals for loans.
The US Federal agency had also sent a request to the Central Bureau of Investigation to give details about the frauds committed by him in India before he fled to the US.
When he was about to be extradited to India, the accused pleaded guilty before a New Jersey court which sentenced him to imprisonment till June 2008.
The CBI team led by the then Joint Director Neeraj Kumar, at present Special Commissioner in Delhi Police, had conducted a painstaking investigation into the case and collected evidence before chargesheeting them in the case. The CBI had then also managed to arrest Subash Rastogi and get extradited another brother Ravindra from Dubai.
© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved.
India set to bring back 3rd Rastogi brother
New Delhi: India is all set to send a team to the US to get extradited Narendra Rastogi, who along with his brothers including influential London-based businessman Virendra, has been accused by the CBI of defrauding the exchequer to the tune of Rs 43 crore while exporting scrap to CIS countries.
The CBI, which had launched a hot pursuit of the four Rastogi brothers -- Virendra, Narendra, Ravindra and Subash -- since early 2000, will now bring back the third brother to India as his sentence in the US was near completion. The American authorities have asked their Indian counterparts to send a team for his extradition.
The FBI had arrested Rastogi and three others in May 2002 for defrauding banks around the world of an estimated 600 million dollar by obtaining finance for sham transactions and then pledging them as collaterals for loans.
The US Federal agency had also sent a request to the Central Bureau of Investigation to give details about the frauds committed by him in India before he fled to the US.
When he was about to be extradited to India, the accused pleaded guilty before a New Jersey court which sentenced him to imprisonment till June 2008.
The CBI team led by the then Joint Director Neeraj Kumar, at present Special Commissioner in Delhi Police, had conducted a painstaking investigation into the case and collected evidence before chargesheeting them in the case. The CBI had then also managed to arrest Subash Rastogi and get extradited another brother Ravindra from Dubai.
© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved.
Murder slur on UP minister, supporters
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Murder slur on UP minister, supporters
Gorakhpur/Lucknow: Utar Pradesh police have filed a murder case against a minister and 50 others after his supporters allegedly opened fire, killing a constable and attempted to ransack a police station in Mahrajganj district to protest the release of a rape case suspect.
While locals alleged that fire came from inside a car carrying Minister of State for Fisheries Jamuna Nishad and his supporters, he denied that he was present near the Kotwali police station, the scene of the mayhem, last night.
The Kotwali police have registered a case against Nishad and 50 other unnamed people under section 302 (murder) and other relevant sections of the IPC and the Arms Act, Deputy Inspector General, Gorakhpur Range, G L Meena said today.
Witnesses alleged that a red-beacon vehicle, in which the Minister was present along with his supporters, came to the area and the occupants had an altercation with a police guard. A crowd was already present at the spot.
As a commotion ensued, other policemen rushed to the spot and tried to chase them away when someone opened fire, police said, adding a bullet hit constable Krishna Nand Rai. He was rushed to a hospital here, where he died.
The mob also tried to ransack the police station and loot the armoury, Meena said maintaining that three rounds were fired -- one from a rifle and two from a pistol.
Nishad said: "I was never near the Kotwali last night. However, I had called up some officials and asked them to probe the rape case impartially".
He said the mob that gathered there to protest the alleged shielding of a suspect in the rape of a minor girl from the Nishad community had opened fire. His supporters had not fired, he claimed.
Additional Director General (Law and Order) Brij Lal said a report has been sought from the police station. He declined comment on whether the Minister was present.
© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved.
Murder slur on UP minister, supporters
Gorakhpur/Lucknow: Utar Pradesh police have filed a murder case against a minister and 50 others after his supporters allegedly opened fire, killing a constable and attempted to ransack a police station in Mahrajganj district to protest the release of a rape case suspect.
While locals alleged that fire came from inside a car carrying Minister of State for Fisheries Jamuna Nishad and his supporters, he denied that he was present near the Kotwali police station, the scene of the mayhem, last night.
The Kotwali police have registered a case against Nishad and 50 other unnamed people under section 302 (murder) and other relevant sections of the IPC and the Arms Act, Deputy Inspector General, Gorakhpur Range, G L Meena said today.
Witnesses alleged that a red-beacon vehicle, in which the Minister was present along with his supporters, came to the area and the occupants had an altercation with a police guard. A crowd was already present at the spot.
As a commotion ensued, other policemen rushed to the spot and tried to chase them away when someone opened fire, police said, adding a bullet hit constable Krishna Nand Rai. He was rushed to a hospital here, where he died.
The mob also tried to ransack the police station and loot the armoury, Meena said maintaining that three rounds were fired -- one from a rifle and two from a pistol.
Nishad said: "I was never near the Kotwali last night. However, I had called up some officials and asked them to probe the rape case impartially".
He said the mob that gathered there to protest the alleged shielding of a suspect in the rape of a minor girl from the Nishad community had opened fire. His supporters had not fired, he claimed.
Additional Director General (Law and Order) Brij Lal said a report has been sought from the police station. He declined comment on whether the Minister was present.
© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Court clears Salem gang of bid on film maker
Blue Star
Friday, June 06, 2008
Court clears Salem gang of bid on film maker
Mumbai: A sessions court on Friday acquitted five men involved in a plot to kill film maker Manmohan Shetty in May 2001.
According to the prosecution, Shetty was then the owner of Adlabs Studios and members of the Abu Salem gang were trying to extort money from him. When they failed, they decided to kill him.
There were seven accused in the case but the trial of the two (who have already been acquitted last month for lack of evidence) was separated from the rest.
Police said they had recorded conversations of Salem gang members in which they were planning to kill Shetty. Thereafter five men - Nurul Qadri, Salim Jamadar, Arif Akbar, Siraj Shaikh and Mohammed Ghous - were arrested in a trap laid by police at Fame Adlabs in Andheri. Some weapons and cartridges were also allegedly recovered from them.
However, when the matter reached trial all five were acquitted for lack of evidence. The defence lawyers had cast doubts on the veracity of telephonic conversations that had been recorded by the police.
The accused were out on bail while the case was pending. The two others, who were acquitted in the case - Zamir Ahmed and Mushir Ahmed Iraqi, were arrested from Azamgarh, UP in March 2006.
They were caught by the crime branch after Salem, who was deported to India in 2005, said during his interrogation that the two of them had arranged the weapons that were to be used for attacking Shetty. Interestingly Salem himself was never tried in connection with this case.
According to police officials Salem is being tried only for three cases against him in Mumbai as per the terms under which he was extradited from Portugal. The cases pertain to the ferrying of arms to Mumbai before the serial blasts of 1993, the murder of Manisha Koirala's secretary Ajit Dewani and the killing of builder Pradip Jain.
© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Court clears Salem gang of bid on film maker
Mumbai: A sessions court on Friday acquitted five men involved in a plot to kill film maker Manmohan Shetty in May 2001.
According to the prosecution, Shetty was then the owner of Adlabs Studios and members of the Abu Salem gang were trying to extort money from him. When they failed, they decided to kill him.
There were seven accused in the case but the trial of the two (who have already been acquitted last month for lack of evidence) was separated from the rest.
Police said they had recorded conversations of Salem gang members in which they were planning to kill Shetty. Thereafter five men - Nurul Qadri, Salim Jamadar, Arif Akbar, Siraj Shaikh and Mohammed Ghous - were arrested in a trap laid by police at Fame Adlabs in Andheri. Some weapons and cartridges were also allegedly recovered from them.
However, when the matter reached trial all five were acquitted for lack of evidence. The defence lawyers had cast doubts on the veracity of telephonic conversations that had been recorded by the police.
The accused were out on bail while the case was pending. The two others, who were acquitted in the case - Zamir Ahmed and Mushir Ahmed Iraqi, were arrested from Azamgarh, UP in March 2006.
They were caught by the crime branch after Salem, who was deported to India in 2005, said during his interrogation that the two of them had arranged the weapons that were to be used for attacking Shetty. Interestingly Salem himself was never tried in connection with this case.
According to police officials Salem is being tried only for three cases against him in Mumbai as per the terms under which he was extradited from Portugal. The cases pertain to the ferrying of arms to Mumbai before the serial blasts of 1993, the murder of Manisha Koirala's secretary Ajit Dewani and the killing of builder Pradip Jain.
© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved.
Lifers request prez for mercy killing
Friday, June 06, 2008
Lifers request prez for mercy killing
Allahabad: Jailed for around 14 years, 97 lifers lodged at the Naini central jail here have, in an unprecedented move, written to the President of India seeking mercy killing.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by IANS Friday from jail sources, was signed by all 97 lifers and was sent by registered post last Thursday.
In the emotionally charged letter, the prisoners stated that all of them had served more than 14 years in prison and displayed good conduct. They said their families had lost all hope of their return home.
"Instead of waiting for death in jail, we would prefer to embrace death earlier so that our family members, who are waiting for us, could start a new life," said the prisoners.
"This way our families would be able to live in peace instead of running from pillar to post to secure our release," they said.
The jail inmates wondered about "the purpose of remaining alive when we cannot do anything for society and our families."
"Are we not a burden on the government? Why is the government wasting money on us when we are of no use?" they asked.
The jail inmates Vinod Tiwari, Vansh Gopal, Ram Chandra, Bhagirathi Singh, Udit, Islam and 91 others have also sent the copy of the letter to the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister, the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Governor of UP and UP Chief Minister Mayawati.
When IANS contacted him, Jails DIG Rajendra Prashad feigned ignorance about the letter.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Lifers request prez for mercy killing
Allahabad: Jailed for around 14 years, 97 lifers lodged at the Naini central jail here have, in an unprecedented move, written to the President of India seeking mercy killing.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by IANS Friday from jail sources, was signed by all 97 lifers and was sent by registered post last Thursday.
In the emotionally charged letter, the prisoners stated that all of them had served more than 14 years in prison and displayed good conduct. They said their families had lost all hope of their return home.
"Instead of waiting for death in jail, we would prefer to embrace death earlier so that our family members, who are waiting for us, could start a new life," said the prisoners.
"This way our families would be able to live in peace instead of running from pillar to post to secure our release," they said.
The jail inmates wondered about "the purpose of remaining alive when we cannot do anything for society and our families."
"Are we not a burden on the government? Why is the government wasting money on us when we are of no use?" they asked.
The jail inmates Vinod Tiwari, Vansh Gopal, Ram Chandra, Bhagirathi Singh, Udit, Islam and 91 others have also sent the copy of the letter to the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister, the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Governor of UP and UP Chief Minister Mayawati.
When IANS contacted him, Jails DIG Rajendra Prashad feigned ignorance about the letter.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Land Ceiling:PILagainst the Union and the Maharashtra Government
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Centre, M’rashtra told to file say on ULCRA repeal
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today asked the Union Government, the Maharashtra Government and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to file their replies within four weeks, regarding a PIL challenging the repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act (ULCRA).
The Division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice V M Kanade was hearing the PIL filed by suburban Mumbai residents P B Sawant, Mrunal Gore, Vasant Shirali and Kamal Desai, all of them former members of the Legislative Assembly here.
The PIL says that the state entered into a MOU with the Central government for funding under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in October 2006, accepting the condition "that ULCRA would be repealed" to get funding from the Centre to develop Mumbai.
The petitioners contended that the Central Government does not have the power to levy this condition as the JNNURM was included in Appropriation Act 2007-08 and no such condition was imposed by Parliament for disbursement of grant to state governments. Also, the MOU is opposed to public policy and should be set aside.
According to information under RTI, the states and Union Territories did not make sincere efforts to implement the 1976 Act till June 1998, the PIL states.
On account of non-implementation, the sale of land was frozen leading to land prices rocketing sky-high and creating an acute shortage in cities like Mumbai.
The PIL also states that the reasons for Union government to repeal the ULCRA were neither accurate nor correct.
The government could have acquired the land at Rs 7 crore from 335 land holders, created 26 lakh tenements and earned profits of around Rs 2,000 crore by selling them, it says. But by repealing the Act, state government lost a lot of money and also aggravated the problem of housing in Mumbai.
"Their (union and state) bureaucrats and builders have conspired to defeat the object of the 1976 Act," the PIL says.
The Petitioners said that the Chief Minister had moved the resolution to repeal the Act in Maharashtra in April 2007 before the Legislative Assembly but the same is contrary to the provisions of the Constitution.
Also, it is illegal because it was moved before the Assembly before obtaining approval from the Council of Ministers as prescribed under Maharashtra Government Business Rules, the PIL states.
Repealing the Act violates various articles of the Constitution and is liable to be declared "ultra vires' and struck down, the PIL said.
Centre, M’rashtra told to file say on ULCRA repeal
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today asked the Union Government, the Maharashtra Government and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to file their replies within four weeks, regarding a PIL challenging the repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act (ULCRA).
The Division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice V M Kanade was hearing the PIL filed by suburban Mumbai residents P B Sawant, Mrunal Gore, Vasant Shirali and Kamal Desai, all of them former members of the Legislative Assembly here.
The PIL says that the state entered into a MOU with the Central government for funding under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in October 2006, accepting the condition "that ULCRA would be repealed" to get funding from the Centre to develop Mumbai.
The petitioners contended that the Central Government does not have the power to levy this condition as the JNNURM was included in Appropriation Act 2007-08 and no such condition was imposed by Parliament for disbursement of grant to state governments. Also, the MOU is opposed to public policy and should be set aside.
According to information under RTI, the states and Union Territories did not make sincere efforts to implement the 1976 Act till June 1998, the PIL states.
On account of non-implementation, the sale of land was frozen leading to land prices rocketing sky-high and creating an acute shortage in cities like Mumbai.
The PIL also states that the reasons for Union government to repeal the ULCRA were neither accurate nor correct.
The government could have acquired the land at Rs 7 crore from 335 land holders, created 26 lakh tenements and earned profits of around Rs 2,000 crore by selling them, it says. But by repealing the Act, state government lost a lot of money and also aggravated the problem of housing in Mumbai.
"Their (union and state) bureaucrats and builders have conspired to defeat the object of the 1976 Act," the PIL says.
The Petitioners said that the Chief Minister had moved the resolution to repeal the Act in Maharashtra in April 2007 before the Legislative Assembly but the same is contrary to the provisions of the Constitution.
Also, it is illegal because it was moved before the Assembly before obtaining approval from the Council of Ministers as prescribed under Maharashtra Government Business Rules, the PIL states.
Repealing the Act violates various articles of the Constitution and is liable to be declared "ultra vires' and struck down, the PIL said.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Murder of Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police Rajbir Singh: CBI Probes
Tuesday,June 03,2008
Rajbir Singh murder: CBI starts probe
New Delhi: The CBI on Tuesday registered a case to probe the murder of Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police Rajbir Singh. The case was registered following a request by the Haryana government for a CBI probe which was approved by the Department of Personnel on May 27.
Rajbir was gunned down allegedly by his friend and property dealer Vijay Bhardawaj on March 24 at Gurgaon. A team of CBI officials accompanied by forensic experts reached the spot where the murder had taken place.
© Copyright 2008 HT Media Ltd. All rights reserved.
Rajbir Singh murder: CBI starts probe
New Delhi: The CBI on Tuesday registered a case to probe the murder of Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police Rajbir Singh. The case was registered following a request by the Haryana government for a CBI probe which was approved by the Department of Personnel on May 27.
Rajbir was gunned down allegedly by his friend and property dealer Vijay Bhardawaj on March 24 at Gurgaon. A team of CBI officials accompanied by forensic experts reached the spot where the murder had taken place.
© Copyright 2008 HT Media Ltd. All rights reserved.
Scarlett Keeling murder
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
2 charged for Scarlett Keeling murder
Panaji: The Goa police today filed a charge sheet against two persons who were arrested for raping and murdering British teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling.
Anjuna police, which are investigating the case, charge sheeted Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho before the Goa Children's Court, charging them with murder.
Scarlett's bruised body was found at Anjuna shore on February 18 and police had arrested the two locals after a thorough investigation.
The 287-page charge sheet has testimonies of 87 witnesses including Scarlett's mother Fiona Mackeown, lawyer Vikram Varma, prime British witness Micheal Mannion, dismissed police sub-inspector Nerlon Albuquerque, Goa Medical College and Hospital's Forensic Department experts and others.
Both the accused are charge sheeted under Section 302 (murder) and other relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and Section eight of Goa Children's Act.
The Goa police had come under fire for its initial bungling in its probe into the murder of Scarlet and is now in the process to hand it over to the CBI.
"The CBI may take over the case any time. All the formalities are completed," Goa Chief Secretary J P Singh told PTI.
Samson D'Souza, the main accused in the case, is already in custody for almost three months since his arrest on March 12.
Placido Carvalho was given bail by the court as the evidence against him was inadequate.
The police have stopped investigating the case since the last one and half months after the state government transferred the case to the CBI.
© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved.
2 charged for Scarlett Keeling murder
Panaji: The Goa police today filed a charge sheet against two persons who were arrested for raping and murdering British teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling.
Anjuna police, which are investigating the case, charge sheeted Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho before the Goa Children's Court, charging them with murder.
Scarlett's bruised body was found at Anjuna shore on February 18 and police had arrested the two locals after a thorough investigation.
The 287-page charge sheet has testimonies of 87 witnesses including Scarlett's mother Fiona Mackeown, lawyer Vikram Varma, prime British witness Micheal Mannion, dismissed police sub-inspector Nerlon Albuquerque, Goa Medical College and Hospital's Forensic Department experts and others.
Both the accused are charge sheeted under Section 302 (murder) and other relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and Section eight of Goa Children's Act.
The Goa police had come under fire for its initial bungling in its probe into the murder of Scarlet and is now in the process to hand it over to the CBI.
"The CBI may take over the case any time. All the formalities are completed," Goa Chief Secretary J P Singh told PTI.
Samson D'Souza, the main accused in the case, is already in custody for almost three months since his arrest on March 12.
Placido Carvalho was given bail by the court as the evidence against him was inadequate.
The police have stopped investigating the case since the last one and half months after the state government transferred the case to the CBI.
© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved.
Husband accused of killing Vadodara social worker in Sydney
Wed, Jun 4 02:27 AM
A prominent NGO worker from Vadodara, Jyoti Mehta (37) and her nine-year-old daughter, Ujalla, were found murdered in a park in Sydney, Australia, on Monday. Though a motive for the murder is uncertain, Sydney police have arrested Jyoti's husband, Sanjay Mehta (41), for the crime; he was denied bail when produced in court. Mehta allegedly killed the mother-daughter duo earlier in May and registered a missing persons' complaint with the Sydney police on May 5.
It was through television media reports that Jyoti's father, Bharat Bhusan Sharma found that his daughter was brutally murdered. A tearful Sharma said, "My daughter had shown some dissatisfaction about her marriage while talking to her mother few months ago."
He added that his wife is now on dialysis and she was not informed about the murders because of her failing health. Sharma stated that Jyoti and Mehta, both divorcees with children from their previous marriages, met each other on the Internet and wed in May last year.
According to reports from Sydney, Mehta, after killing his wife and stepdaughter, put their bodies in the boot of his car and took them to a tourist site called Echo Point atop a hill in Sydney early in May. Those close to the victims' family stated that Mehta threw their bodies down a 150-metre cliff. A pair of morning walkers found the two bodies the following day and alerted the police, who immediately arrested Mehta and charged him with murder. Apparently, Jyoti had earlier complained to a domestic violence social worker about Mehta verbally abusing her, which her sister Poonam Sharma, who lives and works in Sydney, also confirmed to the police.
A social worker, Jyoti, born and brought up in Vadodara, worked for the welfare of street children who lived in and around railway stations in Vikas Jyot Trust.
Incidentally, The Indian Express carried a story about Jyoti Mehta and her work with railway street children just a few months before she left Vadodara to get married in Sydney.
Jyoti's marriage to Mehta, her second, was solemnised without her parents' knowledge. "Jyoti was married when she was 37 years, she met Mehta through an Internet marriage site. Since my younger daughter is also in Sydney, she went there and married him a year ago. The marriage occurred in my and her mother's absence, though we were not annoyed by it," said Jyoti's father.
According to Jyoti's friends, she was not happy in her married life.
Wed, Jun 4 02:27 AM
A prominent NGO worker from Vadodara, Jyoti Mehta (37) and her nine-year-old daughter, Ujalla, were found murdered in a park in Sydney, Australia, on Monday. Though a motive for the murder is uncertain, Sydney police have arrested Jyoti's husband, Sanjay Mehta (41), for the crime; he was denied bail when produced in court. Mehta allegedly killed the mother-daughter duo earlier in May and registered a missing persons' complaint with the Sydney police on May 5.
It was through television media reports that Jyoti's father, Bharat Bhusan Sharma found that his daughter was brutally murdered. A tearful Sharma said, "My daughter had shown some dissatisfaction about her marriage while talking to her mother few months ago."
He added that his wife is now on dialysis and she was not informed about the murders because of her failing health. Sharma stated that Jyoti and Mehta, both divorcees with children from their previous marriages, met each other on the Internet and wed in May last year.
According to reports from Sydney, Mehta, after killing his wife and stepdaughter, put their bodies in the boot of his car and took them to a tourist site called Echo Point atop a hill in Sydney early in May. Those close to the victims' family stated that Mehta threw their bodies down a 150-metre cliff. A pair of morning walkers found the two bodies the following day and alerted the police, who immediately arrested Mehta and charged him with murder. Apparently, Jyoti had earlier complained to a domestic violence social worker about Mehta verbally abusing her, which her sister Poonam Sharma, who lives and works in Sydney, also confirmed to the police.
A social worker, Jyoti, born and brought up in Vadodara, worked for the welfare of street children who lived in and around railway stations in Vikas Jyot Trust.
Incidentally, The Indian Express carried a story about Jyoti Mehta and her work with railway street children just a few months before she left Vadodara to get married in Sydney.
Jyoti's marriage to Mehta, her second, was solemnised without her parents' knowledge. "Jyoti was married when she was 37 years, she met Mehta through an Internet marriage site. Since my younger daughter is also in Sydney, she went there and married him a year ago. The marriage occurred in my and her mother's absence, though we were not annoyed by it," said Jyoti's father.
According to Jyoti's friends, she was not happy in her married life.
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