Regional

New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS) Fair enquiry is not possible by State Police as they are hand in gloves with their political masters, the ruling TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, who is also the Home Minister, said the Fact-Finding Team appointed by the BJP in its report on Saturday. The team, which was constituted to probe the violence during 'Nabanna Chalo Abhiyan', submitted its report to the BJP chief J.P. Nadda on Saturday.

The committee recommended that the entire episode should be enquired into by Central Agency CBI. National Human Rights Commission should also go to Kolkata to conduct enquiry into gross human right violations and brutality by Kolkata Police and TMC goons, it said.

Earlier, a five-member delegation was formed by BJP President J.P. Nadda to probe the violence during 'Nabanna Chalo Abhiyan' on September 13.

The Fact-Finding Team interacted at length with party workers of West Bengal. It also spoke to some non-political people as well as a few executive authorities like the SHO and his colleagues at Hare Street Police Station.

The Committee came to know that there has been brutal abuse of power and authority by the State goverment machinery, while dealing with the BJP Karyakartas (workers) who had intended to participate in peaceful demonstrations against the corrupt methods of the current governmet of West Bengal.

The Fact-Finding Team subscribes to writer Lord Acton's view that 'Power tends to corrupt man and absolute power corrupts absolutely.'

Naming officers the report said, "Siddhnath Gupta, IPS, Damayanti Sen, IPS and Praveen Kumar Tripathi, IPS were publicly seen to have grossly ignored their duties and acted in a partisan manner against BJP karyakartas. Their inaction points at a well-thought-out conspiracy by the State government."

The report said that brutal and unparallel violence was perpetrated by police officers with face covers, without their name tags and many of whom were in civilian clothes, along with TMC goons.

AS per the fact finding committee report, on September 14, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee brazenly praised the efforts of police for targeting BJP karyakartas during Nabanna Chalo march. Moreover, on national TV Abhishek Banerjee recklessly stated that he would have shot the protestors in their head if he was present at the site, referring to the alleged assault on certain Kolkata police officials.

"This very statement of the second-in-command of the TMC party reveals the fascist mindset of their party as well as the fact that the illegal and brutal use of force by the State police on September 13 had the sanction of the political bosses of the TMC," said the report.

--IANS
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Chandigarh, Sep 24 (IANS) Making fourth arrest in the allegations by Chandigarh University hostellers over their alleged 'leaked objectionable videos', Punjab Police on Saturday arrested an Indian Army personnel posted in Arunachal Pradesh.

Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said here the arrested accused, Sanjeev Singh, is suspected of blackmailing the accused girl student.

The development came days after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ordered a high-level probe into the matter for which a three-member all-woman Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the overall supervision of ADGP Gurpreet Kaur Deo was constituted.

DGP Yadav apprised that based on forensic and digital evidence, the police team from Mohali was dispatched to Arunachal Pradesh to arrest the accused.

He said the army man was arrested from Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh with the support of Arunachal Pradesh Police, Assam Police and Indian Army.

The Mohali Police have obtained a two-day transit remand of the accused from the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Bomdila to produce him before the magistrate in Mohali, he added.

The Mohali Police have already arrested three people, including the girl student and two others from Himachal Pradesh, and some electronic devices were seized from their possession.

Huge protests broke out on the university campus in Mohali district after a girl allegedly leaked private videos of her hostel mates online.

A day after daylong protest, silence returned to the campus as the local administration and the university agreed to investigate the demand of the students over objectionable videos of several girl students were recorded by a hosteller and shared with her friend in Shimla.

--IANS
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Vijayawada, Sep 24 (IANS) Amid tension and restrictions imposed by the police, the 'Maha Padyatra' by farmers of Amaravati region entered Gudivada in Krishna district on Saturday.

Apprehending breach of peace, the police tightened security in the constituency represented by former minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MLA Kodali Nani.

Leaders of other parties, including the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), and supporters of Amaravati farmers were stopped from reaching the town.

Krishna district SP Joshua said since the high court has laid down the condition that not more than 600 people can participate in the padyatra, outsiders will not be allowed from joining the march.

Over 300 policemen were deployed in Gudivada town. The police set up barricades and imposed other restrictions to prevent any untoward incident.

The SP said that police would deal firmly with any attempt to create a law and order problem. He also asked the organisers to abide by the conditions laid down by the high court while allowing the padyatra.

The police in other parts of Krishna town stopped leaders and supporters of Amaravati farmers heading towards Gudivada.

TDP leader Chintameneni Prabhakar was stopped at Duggirala. He said though the high court has given permission for the padyatra, the government is trying to project it as a crime.

Farmers and other people from 29 villages of Amaravati region had launched the Maha Padayatra 2.0 on September 12, demanding development of Amaravati as the only state capital.

Organised by Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi (APS) and Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Amaravati farmers, the long march began from Venkatapalem, coinciding with the completion of 1,000 days of their protest against trifurcation of the state capital.

The padyatra with the slogan 'Build Amaravati Save Andhra Pradesh' is proposed to conclude at Arasavalli in Srikakulam district on November 11 after passing through 16 districts and covering nearly 1,000 km.

After coming to power in 2019, the YSRCP government had reversed the decision of the previous TDP government to develop Amaravati as the only state capital. Instead, it decided to develop three state capitals -- Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool.

Under the three-capital formula of the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government, Visakhapatnam in north coastal Andhra will be developed as administrative capital, Kurnool in Rayalaseema will be turned into judicial capital while Amaravati in south coastal Andhra will be retained as the legislative capital.

The ruling party defended the move on the ground that this will ensure decentralisation of development.

Last year, the farmers undertook a 45-day long padyatra from Amaravati to Tirupati. The march titled 'Nyayasthanam (High Court) to Devasthanam (Tirumala temple)' had passed through the Rayalaseema region.

--IANS
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Visakhapatnam, Sep 24 (IANS) Fishermen staged a protest at Visakhapatnam Container Terminal by blocking ships with their boats here on Saturday to demand that the company fulfill the promises made to them 20 years ago.

The fishermen entered the sea with more than 25 boats preventing ships from docking at the terminal. They also blocked the way of ships leaving the terminal.

The protest affected the routine activities at the terminal since morning. Exports and imports of goods worth hundreds of crore came to a standstill.

Fishermen were demanding that the company fulfill the promises made to them 20 years ago when their lands were acquired for the terminal. They said they were promised house sites of 60 square yards each, Rs 1 lakh cash and a job for every household but even after two decades the promise remained unfulfilled.

Leaders of fishermen said they had given authorities time till September 20 to meet their demands and since there was no positive response from them, they were forced to launch the protest.

A leader of Matsya Parisramikula Sankshema Sangham said the fishermen had given their lands as they were assured that injustice will not be done to them. He said the authorities had given them only Rs 25,000 but have neither paid the remaining nor allotted them house sites or provided jobs.

The fishermen's group said they made representations to all the officials at different levels but no action was taken. The protestors warned that further delay in fulfilling their demands will have serious consequences.

Police and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel were posted to prevent any untoward incident.

--IANS
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Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 24 (IANS) After a brief pause, the dispute between Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor Arif Mohammed Khan is likely to resurf with Congress leader Jyothikumar Chamakala approaching the Vigilance Court here seeking registration of case against the former for "misusing" his office.

The standoff between the two heads of the state had ended the other day with the chief minister slamming the Governor for functioning while ignoring the Constitutional powers vested with him.

Recently, Congress leader Chamakala approached the Vigilance Court here with a petition saying that since has openly admitted that Vijayan has misused his powers and sought the appointment of someone as the Kannur University vice-chancellor, it is a clear cut violation of his office and hence a case should be registered.

According to rules, in such cases, if a probe is not sought by the state, then it could be done by the appointing authority of the person against whom the case has been filed and Khan is the appointing authority of Vijayan.

With Vijayan in the dock, there is no way the state government will give the nod for a probe and knowing that, the petitioner Chamakala has now filed his request before Khan seeking his nod to give the sanction to prosecute Vijayan.

While Khan went hammer and tongs against Vijayan for personally requesting him to re-appoint Gopinath Ravindran as the vice-chancellor of Kannur University, Vijayan denied the charges claiming that all the rules and procedures in the appointment were followed. It was Khan himself who had given the sanction for it.

At a press conference held on Monday, Khan had released the letters between him and Vijayan and reiterated that he made the appointment based on Vijayan's request and has realised that it was wrong.

Khan, who is presently on a trip to North India, is expected to return early next month and if he refuses sanction, then the Congress-led opposition will accuse the two leaders of a secret pact and term all the noise "stage managed".

But if he gives the nod, then the ruling CPI-M led Left will be up in arms against him.

Notably, in 2006 , Vijayan encountered a similar situation when the then Governor R.S.Gavai gave the nod to prosecute Vijayan in the SNC Lavalin case.

--IANS
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Hyderabad, Sep 24 (IANS) A young lady doctor, who was injured in a hit-and-run case in Hyderabad's Malakpet area three days ago, succumbed to her injuries at a hospital early Saturday.

Dr Sravani, a dentist, was knocked down by a speeding car on September 21 when she was returning home on her scooty. The car driver had escaped after hitting the bike from behind.

She had sustained severe head injuries and was admitted to Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), where she breathed her last on Saturday.

Sravani was practising at a dental hospital at Hastinapuram on the outskirts. It was a double tragedy for her family in less than a month as her mother died of cardiac arrest 25 days ago.

Meanwhile, police have identified the car and arrested the youth who was driving it. He has been identified as Ibrahim, 19, a resident of Old Malakpet.

The police reportedly found him driving with valid license and vehicle documents. A case has been registered against him at Malakpet police station.

--IANS
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Chitradurga, (Karnataka) Sep 24 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday accused the opposition Congress of playing "dirty politics" in connection with its PayCM campaign in the state.

If at all there is any issue, it should be spoken directly. They should give evidence, records and it has to be investigated. Without anything in their heads they come to the session this shows their moral degradation, he said.

"This campaign is taken without any morality and mudslinging programme," he stated.

"The Congress leaders are in illusion of attaining power through carrying out dirty politics. This is not possible in Karnataka. The government would initiate legal action in this regard," CM Bommai stated.

Reacting to the charge of Health Minister Dr K. Sudhakar that Lingayat chief minister is being targetted, he said he wouldn't want to comment anything over the issue.

When asked about pre-poll surveys suggesting that ruling BJP would only get 95 to 100 assembly seats, way behind attaining majority, CM Bommai stated that each survey will throw up different numbers.

"We have been in politics for 30-35 years. We can feel the pulse of the people. This time BJP is going to attain power," CM Bommai explained.

He maintained that the state cabinet expansion would be taken up once the high command gave consent to it. Talking about the raids on PFI and SDPI leaders, he stated that the action had been initiated by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the state police department.

--IANS
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By Zubair Qureshi
Srinagar, Sep 24 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah is visiting Jammu and Kashmir for two days on October 1-2. As per BJP sources, he will address a public rally on October 1 in Rajouri of Jammu division and the next day Kashmir's in Kupwara district, and will spend a day each in the two divisions of the union territory. During his visit, the Home Minister will also announce the inclusion of the 'Pahari' language speaking tribe in the Scheduled Tribes (SC) category.


As soon as this news came to light, hope has awakened among the hill people living in Jammu and Kashmir of the fulfilment of something that they longed for so many years. Ever since Jammu and Kashmir got the status of a Union Territory, the Central and UT administrations have been taking historic measures for the people of the lower, settled and especially the nomadic classes.

In 1991, when the Centre granted ST status to 7 tribes of the then state of Jammu and Kashmir, including the Gujjar Bakarwals, the 'hill' community was left out despite being on the first place in the recommendation.

Since then, the people of the hill tribe have been pleading with Central governments to include them in the ST category, but to no avail.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the demands of hill tribes from the ramparts of the Red Fort and Shah assured the hill community during a rally in Jammu that they would give their rights, his much-anticipated visit has now brought the hill tribes to the fore.

According to the All Jammu and Kashmir Pahari Cultural and Welfare Forum, governments from time to time assured them that their legitimate right to include the Pahari tribe, but the reality is that their voice is heard in the desert. It was proven.

Zafar Iqbal Minhas, the leading leader of the hill tribe and former MLC Zafar Iqbal Minhas, says that the youth of the tribe are facing a dark future due to the fact that the hill tribe is deprived of their rightful rights.

He said that the hill youths are also suffering from mental retardation due to this misbehaviour.

Talking to Milap News Network, the leading "Pahari" leader Abdul Majeed Zindadil said that by not including the tribe in this category, this tribe will lose their right to vote in the rural areas as the ST category is a political reservation.

After being given, the graph of injustices meted out to the "hill" tribe will increase manifold. He said that after the nomination of Ghulam Ali from the Gujjar tribe to the upper house, he is fully convinced that the BACHPA government will fulfil the promise made to the "Pahari" tribe.

In view of this, there is ample justification for giving ST status to the hill people as the data shows that neither industries have been introduced in the hill populated areas nor any other means of gainful employment has been provided. Can be done. Due to lack of financial resources, hill people are often left behind in giving proper education to their children. And so this class has been suffering from economic, social, educational even from the same point of view. In the mountainous areas, there is no arrangement for mobile schools, so most of the children belonging to this class are only able to see the face of the school.

It is also an alarming fact that as a result of giving the status of tribals to the Gujjar Bakarwal class, the hill people are now losing jobs even in the lower categories. And in spite of having the same lifestyle in the same region, these people who suffer from insomnia are seen to be different from mental retardation.

In such a situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as a new ray of hope for them.

--IANS
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By Altaf Hussain Janjua
Jammu, Sep 24 (IANS) Rallies, gatherings, and cultural programmes on Saturday marked the first official celebration of the birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Dogra ruler of Jammu and Kashmir.



Under the banner of Yuva Rajput Sabha, a rally was taken out in hundreds of vehicles, motorcycles, tractors etc. with the youth, men and women dressed in traditional attire in Jammu. Leaders of various political parties and social personalities participated in the programme organised at the statue of Maharaja Hari Singh at Jammu Tawi.

In view of the celebrations, security arrangements were tightened in the areas from Ambaphala to BC Road, Jewell, Dogra Chowk, Bikram Chowk, Gujjar Nagar, University Road etc. Huge traffic jams were also seen in these areas.

Celebrations in front of the statue of Maharaja Hari Singh at Tawi Bridge started on Thursday night and continued throughout the day on Friday. People were seen dancing to the beat of the drums. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party President Ravinder Raina cut the cake. Halwa and sweets were also distributed among the people.

It is for the first time that the birthday of Maharaja Hari Singh is being celebrated at an official level. Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha paid tribute to Maharaja Singh on the occasion and said that people will always be inspired by the work done for the welfare by him.

He said: "I pay tribute to Maharaja Hari Singh Ji on his birth anniversary. He was a reformer and a person with high ideals."

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that justice for all was the Maharaja's religion. In a tweet from his personal Twitter handle, he said: "True warrior, patriot and the last Dogra ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh. Remembering Ji on his birthday."

The Maharaja had organised a public system, people-friendly policies, free for all. And the promotion of compulsory education, developmental and infrastructural works are milestones for the development of Jammu and Kashmir, he added.

--IANS
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Shivamogga, (Karnataka) Sep 24 (IANS) One of the two suspected IS terrorists arrested in this district of the state has been allowed to attend his father's funeral on Saturday.

Fifty-two-year-old Munir Ahmad, Maaz Munir's father, who was a heart patient, suffered an attack after the arrest of his son. He passed away on Friday evening. Following his death, security has been beefed up in the communally sensitive Shivamogga.

The funeral is scheduled to be held in Thirthahalli of this district, according to family sources. The authorities have produced him before a local court already in the backdrop of the development.

Meanwhile, the police have stumbled upon many facts during the course of investigation of the two suspected terrorists. They believe that arrested suspected IS terrorists -- Maaz Munir and Syed Yasin -- along with Shariq, who is still absconding had visited Pakistan for training.

The trio had managed to sneak into the borders of Pakistan for training. Shivamoga SP Lakshmi Prasad has stated that they are investigating further into the issue.

As per the investigation officers, they have collected audio conversations of absconding suspected terrorist Shariq with ISIS leaders. They said that Shariq had established direct contact with IS terrorists and carried out their instructions.

The conversations, they said, surround exploding bombs and the police teams have formed special teams to nab Shariq, who appears to be more dangerous and involved in big racket of brain washing and recruiting engineering graduates and other well-educated students to IS in India.

Earlier investigations revealed that the trio was conspiring to wage a war against the Indian state and establish a caliphate here and bring sharia law. They had burnt Indian flags and maintained that India has to be liberated from the present form into an Islamic state.

Further investigation is on.

--IANS
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