India

Bhubaneswar, Sep 9 (IANS) A video of Lord Jagannath's idol being ferried in a pick-up van in a disrespectful manner along with a bunch of bamboo and wood on a national highway in Odisha's Balasore district has gone viral on social media, drawing strong condemnation from the netizens.

A youth named Binay Pradhan, who was travelling on the Bhubaneswar-Jaleswar highway on Thursday, had noticed the idol tied to a rope hanging from the van and filmed the moment, which later went viral.

As the video went viral, netizens strongly condemned the careless manner in which the idol was being carried and demanded an apology from the persons responsible for it.

Later, the tent house owner and his staff visited a Jagannath temple in Jaleswar and begged for forgiveness for their mistake.

The tent owner said the idol was installed in a Ganesh puja pandal in Balasore and after immersion of the Ganesh idol, the Jagannath idol along with other materials were being transported to his hometown Jaleswar.

"I was out of station on that day. As my workers are non-Odia people, they sisn't know about our sentiments with Lord Jagganth. Whatever my workers have done is really disgraceful. I would like to apologise for hurting the sentiments of Jagannath devotees. I will never commit such mistake in future," the tent house owner said.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, jailed in Uttar Pradesh for nearly two years, saying "every person has freedom of expression".

Kappan along with others were arrested on October 5, 2020 by the Uttar Pradesh Police under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), while on their way to Hathras, to report on a 19-year-old's gang-rape and murder.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice U.U. Lalit, noted that Kappan has been in custody for two years.

Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, submitted that an ID card was found on him, allegedly associating Kappan with PFI and also certain literature, which was alleged to be provocative and also potentially dangerous. He referred to it as a toolkit for riots, and added the whole purpose of going there was to incite violence.

The bench queried how the literature was provocative and did the accused make any attempt to use this literature.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Kappan, said there were pamphlets titled "Justice for Hathras girl". He pointed out that after his apprehension in the present matter, the proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 have also been initiated against the appellant, in connection of which the appellant may be required to attend the proceedings or to apply for bail.

The bench told Jethmalani: "See, every person has the right to free expression and therefore he is trying to propagate an idea that there is this victim who requires justice."

"Is that something like a crime in the eyes of law?"

The bench, also comprising Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and P.S. Narasimha, added that there were protests at India Gate in 2011 and indicated Nirbhaya's case.

"Sometimes protests are needed to bring a change. You know after that there was a change in laws....".

Jethmalani argued that Kappan was paid to incite riots and that he is not even an accredited journalist and he belonged to the PFI.

Questioning the evidence against Kappan and that no explosives were found, and that material was not found with him but in the car, the bench queried: "What material was dangerous... Is there any literature which shows anything damaging".

Sibal then asked the state government counsel to read out the literature found on his client.

Granting bail to Kappan, the bench said he has to report to the police in Delhi for the next six weeks and in Kerala after that. Kappan will be produced before a trial court in three days, which will release him on bail subject to conditions.

"The appellant shall deposit his passport if not already deposited with the investigating machinery before his actual release. The appellant shall not misuse his liberty in any manner and he shall not be in contact with any person(s) connected with the present controversy in question," it said.

The bench, in its order, said: "We have been taken through some of the documents placed on record. At this stage we refrain from dealing with and commenting upon the progress and investigation and material gathered by the prosecution in support of its case as the matter is still to be taken up at the stage of framing of charges."

The state government, in a written response, said: "The investigation has revealed that the petitioner (Kappan) is part of the larger conspiracy with the co-accused (including the financial launderer of CFI, Rauf Sharif) to foment religious discord and spread terror in the country, especially in the wake of anti CAA protests and violence, the Babri Masjid decision of this Hon'ble Court and the Hathras incident."

It further claimed that the documents recovered from Kappan's laptop and from his rented house in Delhi, establishes how the current PFI leadership was basically comprised of ex-SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India -- banned as a terrorist organisation) members.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had rejected Kappan's plea for bail, and he then moved the top court challenging the order.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) Five people were injured when a house collapsed in Azad Market area of North Delhi.

Delhi Police and Fire Department confirmed that as of now no death was reported, while the rescue operation is underway.

The injured are undergoing treatment at a hospital.

"Rescue operation is in progress. Around six to seven labourers were trapped of which five have been shifted to a hospital. A NDRF team also reached the spot. Live detectors are being used to trace the trapped. Due to narrow lanes, JCB machines were unable to reach the spot," fire official Ravinder Singh said.

According to fire department, a distress call was received regarding the incident at around 8.30 a.m., following which four fire tenders were rushed to the site.

Meanwhile, local police also reached the spot to assist the fire officials.

Details are awaited.

--IANS
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Ahmedabad, Sep 9 (IANS) Gujarat Congress has given a symbolic bandh call in the state on Saturday to protest against inflation and unemployment.

The Congress has appealed to the traders and other businesses to pull down their shutters from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The party's state unit president Jagdish Thakor appealed to the people to join the bandh call to register their protest against inflation, unemployment and to get regular jobs for the contractual workers.

Thakor alleged that 4,36,663 qualified youths were unemployed, some 4,58,976 unemployed youths are registered with the state employment exchange office even as 4.50 lakh government posts are vacant.

Hundreds of village panchayats are functioning without Gram sevak officers, hundreds of government libraries don't have regular librarians and more than 27,000 teachers posts are vacant.

Talking about inflation, Thakor said edible oil prices are skyhigh at Rs 3,000, gas cylinder' price is now Rs 1,060, petrol is priced at Rs 95 and the CNG has touched Rs 84 per kilo. "These all products have a cascading effect on the citizens' lives," stated Thakor.

He has instructed all the district and city Congress committees and workers to ensure that emergency services were not disturbed because of the bandh call.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) Five persons were trapped after a building collapsed in North Delhi's Azad Market area on Friday.

The official said that two labourers were rescued from the debris and were rushed to a nearby government hospital.

The official said that more people were trapped and the rescue operation was on.

According to the fire department, they got a call about the incident at around 8.30 a.m. Four fire tenders were rushed to the site.

Meanwhile, local police also reached the spot to assist the fire officials in the rescue operation. The police also set a perimeter for the people to keep them away from the incident site.

Further details are awaited.

--IANS
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Patna, Sep 9 (IANS) After the three day visit to Delhi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday returned to Patna and went straight away to Rabri Devi's residence to meet former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Kumar believes that his Delhi visit was successful. He also said that the BJP is trying to destroy the country.

"I am doing my job to unite the opposition leaders and my efforts will continue. I firmly believe that the opposition leaders will be united soon and every one will contribute in fighting against the BJP. The decision on the Prime Ministerial candidate will be final in two to three months. At present, I am not the Prime Ministerial candidate of the opposition parties," Kumar said.

"We believe in work and are doing the development works in Bihar. The fertility rate of Bihar was 4.3 in the beginning when I took charge of Bihar, and now it has reached to 2.9 due to the education of girls. We will also work for the country. We work, we do not do publicity," Kumar said.

"BJP is now a changed party. It is not the BJP, which it used to be during Atal Ji's day. The policies and narratives of BJP has changed now," he said.

After returning to Patna, Kumar apprised Lalu Yadav about the outcome of meetings with different opposition leaders in Delhi.

--IANS
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Kanpur (UP), Sep 8 (IANS) Perfumer Piyush Jain was released on Thursday from Kanpur jail after spending 254 days behind the bars. A sum of Rs 196 crore and 23 kg gold were found in the walls of the house during a raid in December last year.

Although Jain had been granted bail two days ago, but his release was delayed due to verification of documents.

His wife Kanta Jain and son Priyansh Jain submitted bonds of Rs 10 lakhs each after which he was released.

The team of Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) Ahmedabad had raided the residence of perfume trader Piyush Jain in Kanpur and his firm in Kannauj on 23 December 2021.

In the raids that lasted for four days, more than Rs 196 crore was recovered from both the places. Also 23 kg of foreign stamped gold and 600 litres of sandalwood oil were recovered.

Two cases were registered against Piyush and he was sent to jail on December 27.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) Over 37.70 lakh man-days of employment have been generated so far in the Centre's flagship Central Vista projects.

Nearly 5,898 workers are working on-site and 1,491 workers are working off-site in the ambitious projects which comprise construction of the new Parliament building, Central Vista Avenue, Defence offices complexes and GPOA II (General Pool Office Accommodation) at KG Marg.

As per government information, construction of the Central Vista Projects has given employment to 3,235 skilled manpower and 4,138 semi skilled manpower.

The data said that so far 41,114 MT steel and over 1.01 lakh MT cement, 18235 and cubic meter fly ash have been used in the construction of the project.

The objective of the Central Vista Development/Redevelopment Master Plan is to improve the productivity and efficiency of administration by providing it with highly functional and purpose-designed office infrastructure. Some of the emergent governance benefits shall include combining all 51 Central Government Ministries in 10 Common Central Secretariat buildings allowing for easy movement of personnel, documents and goods, thereby increasing administrative efficiency.

The proximity and ease of inter-departmental movement, along with flexible and modular floor plans will enable the government to function in a more efficient and productive manner. Major increase in office spaces will offset the huge gap in present and future demand and existing availability. It will create modern workspaces with latest technology for better productivity and efficient utilization of human resources.

The infrastructure and facilities will be built at par with global standards. The redevelopment project will augment efforts towards sustainable development, with the construction of green buildings and clean transportation. Overall, redevelopment will trigger efficiency and synergy in the Government functioning.

The Prime Minister's Office, Residence and Vice President Residence are proposed to be built near the South Block and North Block respectively, in proximity to the Parliament and Common Central Secretariat, which would help in addressing security and logistic arrangements in a comprehensive manner, without interfering with the regular movement of traffic.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 8 (IANS) AIADMK interim General Secretary and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) has said that party cadres will not forgive deposed Coordinator, O. Panneerselvam.

He was speaking to reporters at the party headquarters in Chennai on Thursday.

He added that Panneerselvam had led the violence at the party headquarters on July 11 when the AIADMK General Council meeting was being held at Vanagram on the outskirts of Chennai.

He said that Panneerselvam was like a chameleon who changed his stance based on what is beneficial to him.

Palaniswami added that the DMK government has been slow in taking action over the violence at the party headquarters and said that the Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department started investigation into the violence only on Wednesday.

He said that the majority of the MLAs and MPs are on his side and added that of the 2,663 general body members, 96 per cent have supported him. He also alleged that Panneerselvam has not been loyal to the party.

The AIADMK leader said that elections for the post of the party's General Secretary would be held soon. He slammed the DMK government and added that the law and order situation in the state has deteriorated.

EPS stated that the DMK could not fulfil its poll promises, including exemption from NEET for medical aspirants, which was a major poll plank of the party during the 2021 Assembly elections.

Palaniswami reached the party headquarters for the first time since the July 11 general council meeting and the violence and was given a rousing welcome by the party cadres.

--IANS
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By Quaid Najmi
Mumbai, Sep 8 (IANS) Seven years after terrorist Yakub Abdul Razzak Memon was hanged to death in 2015, a major political controversy ignited over the reported 'make-over' of his grave at the Bada Qabrastan in south Mumbai, here on Thursday.


Following an uproar and a political free-for-all among Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a probe into the matter.

Memon, 53, a CA, was found guilty and convicted for his role in the March 12, 1993 Mumbai blasts, and hanged in Nagpur Central Jail on July 30 (2015) -- his birthdate -- after all his pleas for pardon/clemency up to the President were rejected.

The original earthen grave, where Memon was buried, recently got a face-lift with a gleaming marble grave coming up there, amid flood-lighting -- and apprehensions -- that the terrorist's final resting place would soon become a 'mazar' (mausoluem).

Acting swiftly, the Mumbai Police on Thursday yanked off the lighting arrangements in Bada Qabrastan this morning, as a grave political dogfight erupted among all the major parties for allegedly allowing the revamp there.

NCP's Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar said that there cannot be glorification of any terrorist and the beautification of Memon's grave should not be permitted.

Blaming its bete-noire and ex-ally Shiv Sena, BJP Spokesperson Ram Kadam asked why the ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray kept silent when Memon's grave was being converted into a shrine.

"Thackeray was the (then) CM and during his period the grave was turned into a shrine. This is their patriotism and love for Mumbai? Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the people of Mumbai," Kadam demanded.

Hitting back, Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande dismissed the BJP's allegations and said when Memon was hanged, the BJP government was in power both in the Centre and state -- here Devendra Fadnavis was the CM and also home minister.

"Why did he allow Memon's body to be handed over to his family? What prevented the BJP government in the Centre and state to formulate a policy on how to deal with the mortal remains of terror convicts or other dreaded criminals," Dr. Kayande asked.

Congress Chief Spokesperson Atul Londhe said that during the UPA tenure, two dreaded terrorists were hanged but their bodies were secretly disposed off to prevent their graves from becoming a rallying point in future.

While Afzal Guru was executed in February 2013 in the Tihar Jail of Delhi, Pakistani extremist Ajmal Kasab was hanged in Yerawada Central Jail in Pune.

"The BJP -- which was in power then -- deliberately gave Memon's body to the family for elaborate funerals. Their intention is to create communal divide. Even when the Al-Qaeda terrorist Osama Bin Laden was killed by US forces, his body was dumped in the sea," Londhe pointed out.

Several other BJP leaders like Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Ashish Shelar and Kirit Somaiya and Sena leaders like Aditya Thackeray, Ambadas Danve, Arvind Sawant and Kishori Pednekar indulged in the political tussle over the grave revamp.

Thackeray and Pednekar rejected outright the BJP charges saying they are 'mischievous' and intended to malign Uddhav Thackeray's image before the upcoming civic elections.

"The BMC has never given permission. Its role is over after allotting the land. The Bada Qabrastan belongs to a trust. How is the Sena or Thackeray connected with all this," an irate Pednekar demanded.

Needling the Sena further, Shelar sarcastically said the 'Penguin' Sena (a snide reference to Aditya Thackeray-led Yuva Sena) should launch a 'Save Memon Grave' campaign.

Stating that Fadnavis has ordered a probe, Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar slammed the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)'s alleged links with the mafiosi Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and how ex-NCP minister Nawab Malik landed in jail.

Despite repeated attempts by IANS, the Bada Qabrastan trustees were not available for comments on the matter.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

--IANS
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