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Mamata Banerjee, who promised doles in Goa, unable to pay pension to retired staff, salaries of KMC contract labourers for 8 months

OpIndia Staff
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Mamata Banerjee, who promised doles in Goa, unable to pay pension to retired staff, salaries of KMC contract labourers for 8 months

A month after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee promised ₹5000 to the female head of every household in Goa each month, it has come to light that the Trinamool Congress-run-Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is unable to pay wages due to a financial crunch.

On Thursday (January 27) evening, KMC announced that it cannot pay pensions to employees who retired after September 2021. The civic body informed that it was untenable to cough up ₹50 crores of pension each month at a time when it had to pay ₹150 crores of salaries to current employees.

A notice by the civic body read, “Payments of pension and pensionary benefits (to the retired employees who have been superannuated from September 2021) are not currently released due to crisis of fund.” There are 22,000 permanent employees and 26,000 contractual employees working for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

Screengrab of the KMC notice

Besides retired employees, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation did not pay salaries to its contract staff members and daily wage labourers for the past 8 months. Reportedly, KMC officials are unsure whether they could clear the dues of the unpaid workers or regularise the pension of the retired staff. “Right now, it is impossible when the financial situation will normalise. We are trying to solve the situation,” informed a senior civic body official.

Reportedly, revenues generated by KMC from property taxes have declined drastically in the past 2 years. As such, the civic body has resorted to stringent measures in bringing all untaxed assets and properties under the fold of taxation.

In a bid to tide over the financial crunch, Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim sought ₹700 crores from the West Bengal government and a ₹2000 crore loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Despite this, the financial health of the civic body is far from better. Even the TMC-run-State government had to borrow a whopping ₹6500 crore from the open market in three instalments in January 2022 alone.

On December 21, 2021, TMC swept the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections, with the party winning 134 out of 144 seats. The BJP had won 3 seats, Left 2, Congress 2 while others won 3 seats each. In 2015, TMC had 114 seats, BJP had 7, Left parties had 15 while Congress and others had 5 and 3 seats respectively. 

Mamata Banerjee lures voters in Goa with cash

Ahead of the upcoming elections in Goa, TMC had announced freebies to lure voters in the coastal State. It had promised an ambitious ‘Griha Laxmi scheme’ under which ₹5000 will be transferred to the bank account of the female head of every household each month. The scheme is targeted at a whopping 3.5 lakh families in Goa and will cost about ₹1500-2000 crores.

The scheme, which is yet to see the light of the day, is likely to constitute 6-8% of the State budget alone. Interestingly, a similar initiative by the name of ‘Laxmir Bhandar’ is underway in the State of West Bengal. However, the Mamata Banerjee government has so far been able to pay only ₹500 (general category) and ₹1000 (reserved category) to each household every month. The assured amount in Goa’s case has been kept at 5-10 times its achieved target in West Bengal.

TMC leader Mahua Moitra had claimed, “It is a very transformative scheme for the people of Goa. We’ve started the same scheme with great success in West Bengal. Griha Laxmi scheme is very easy to understand. It is a direct transfer scheme and the female head of every household will be receiving Rs 5,000 a month. It will be directly transferred to their bank account. To avail this scheme, one doesn’t have to be a part of any particular caste or community.”

While KMC has been unable to pay pension to its retired employees and has withheld the salaries of the contractual workers/ daily wage labourers, the financial mismanagement and administrative laxity of the Mamata Banerjee-run-government has become evident. For a party that is unable to put a civil body in order, its claims to roll out the ambitious scheme of ‘Griha Laxmi’ in Goa seems to be a far-fetched reality.

No party except BJP cares about Ram Mandir, CM Yogi visited 40 times, Modi did Shilanyas: What Ram Mandir chief priest said

OpIndia Staff
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No party except BJP cares about Ram Mandir, CM Yogi visited 40 times, Modi did Shilanyas: What Ram Mandir chief priest said

On Friday, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections, Mahant Satyendra Das, the Chief Priest at Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir stated that no political party, including the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress, really cared about Ram Mandir.

In an exclusive report to The New Indian, he stated that the previous government’s only used to talk about developing Ayodhya and providing justice to Ram Janmabhoomi but they never worked in action. “The bigmouths never visited Lord Rama’a birthplace and kept on playing politics”, he said.

Mahant Satyendra Das, who has been serving Lord Rama idol at Ayodhya for several years now, added that UP CM Yogi Adityanath is the only Chief Minister who visited Ayodhya 40 times in the last 5 years for just evaluating and planning the development of Ayodhya and Ram Mandir. He added that while no other CM or PM had visited the site earlier, PM Modi himself had done the Shilanyas for the Ram Mandir.

“PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the ‘bhavya’ Ram Madir and looked personally into the formation of Trust”, he said adding that the BJP government ensured the members of the Trust were religious and dedicated in the worship of Lord Rama.

The 84-year-old Mahant also praised CM Yogi Adityanath for personally paying attention to the ongoing construction of Ram Mandir. Being a priest, though he remained resolute to favor any political party ahead of the elections, the report by New Indian says that the essence of Mahant’s interaction is a dead giveaway of what Ram Mandir may do this time in UP Elections.

Chief priest Satyendra Das has been regularly offering prayers to Lord Rama since he was appointed as a priest by the receiver of the disputed site on March 5, 1992. According to the reports, since the appointment, the salary of Mahant was Rs 100 per month. However, it was increased to Rs 13,000 per month by Yogi Adityanath after he became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in the year 2018.

Legislative Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Uttar Pradesh from 10 February to 7 March, 2022 in seven phases to elect all 403 members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on 10 March 2022.

Granddaughter of former Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa dies of alleged suicide, no suicide note found yet

OpIndia Staff
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Granddaughter of former Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa dies of alleged suicide, no suicide note found yet

The granddaughter of former Karnataka chief minister and BJP stalwart BS Yediyurappa has allegedly died by suicide on Friday, January 28. According to reports, Soundarya was found hanging from a fan by the house help at her private apartment near Mount Carmel College in Vasanthanagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka.

According to reports, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has rushed to the hospital with his cabinet colleagues to console BS Yediyurappa.

Soundarya (30) was a doctor by profession and was working at Ramaiah Hospital. She was the daughter of Yediyurappa’s first daughter Padma, the eldest in the family. She is survived by her six-month-old child and her husband, Dr Niranjan.

Initial reports suggest that Yediyurappa’s granddaughter ended her life at around 10 am on Friday morning.

The incident came to light when Soundarya’s house help called up the former’s husband Dr Niranjan when she did not answer the doorbell on Friday morning. Niranjan tried reaching her on her mobile phone, but there was no response. He then rushed to the house and opened the door with the help of a spare key to find her hanging to the ceiling fan in her bedroom.

Dr Niranjan, with the helo of neighbours, rushed Soundarya to the Mallige Hospital but she was declared brought dead by doctors there. 

The body of the deceased has been sent for postmortem at the government-run Bowring hospital to ascertain the cause of death. Further investigations are underway. So far, there is no confirmation on a death note left behind by Soundarya.

Some media reports suggest that Soundarya was suffering from post-partem depression.

A senior officer said so far they haven’t been able to interrogate Soundarya’s husband or any other family members about her marital life or other concerns because they are all in shock. Once the procedure of final rites are performed we will start probing in detail into the case, said the officer.

Please note that this is a developing story and we would update the report as we learn more. 

‘He kicked our mother out of the house for money and left her to die unattended at railway station’: NRI sister levels serious allegations against Sidhu

OpIndia Staff
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‘He kicked our mother out of the house for money and left her to die unattended at railway station’: NRI sister levels serious allegations against Sidhu

With Punjab assembly elections approaching, State Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu has found himself embroiled in a family feud after his sister, Suman Tur, accused him of kicking their mother out of their house after their father’s death in 1986 to “quench his insatiable lust to usurp family property.”

Tur, who was in Chandigarh, addressed a press conference on Friday, in which he alleged that Sidhu had thrown her and their mother out of home in 1986 after their father died. Weeping inconsolably, Tur revealed the heart-rending tale of how their mother was “left to die unattended by her son, after the demise of her beloved husband.” Their mother died at Delhi railway station unattended in 1989, Tur claimed.

“We have endured harsh situations. My mother was in the hospital for four months. I have documentary evidence to back my claims,” Tur said.

Calling Sidhu a “cold-blooded person”, Tur, an NRI and US citizen, alleged that her brother did not even bother to offer condolences after the tragic death in an accident of his eldest sister and other family members. She urged the public to seek answers from Sidhu on the matter.

Suman reveals Sidhu lied about separation of their parents

In the press conference, Tur said their nightmare started after her father Bhagwant Sidhu’s death in 1986. Shortly after the ‘bhog’ ceremony, revealed Tur, Sidhu had her and their mother out of their house. He was so rude to them that they were forced to walk to the bus stand, she claimed.

“Navjot Singh Sidhu deserted our mother for the sake of money. We do not want any money from Sidhu,” she said.

Suman also accused Navjot Singh Sidhu of lying about the separation of their parents in an interview with India Today in 1987. She demanded evidence from her brother to prove that their parents were indeed divorced.

“Our mother had approached the court after Navjot Sidhu had claimed that there was a judicial separation between her and our father. He should furnish evidence to prove that our parents had separated,” Tur said.

Sidhu refuses to meet me, he has blocked me on Whatsapp: Suman Tur

She further added that when she went to meet Navjot Singh Sidhu on January 20, he refused to meet her and didn’t open the door. She even tried to contact him on Whatsapp and through phone calls, but he seemed to have blocked her, Tur claimed.

Tur said because of Sidhu’s refusal to talk to her, she was compelled to convene a press conference. “I was compelled to address a press conference after attempts to contact Navjot Singh Sidhu failed. He has blocked me on his phone. His servants also do not open doors. I want justice for my mother,” Suman Tur said.

The explosive allegations against Sidhu come at a time when he is vying for the coveted post of Punjab chief minister in the all-important assembly polls that are scheduled to take place on February 20 for all 117 assembly seats.

Delhi: 11 including 9 women of a family arrested for kidnap, sexual assault, had beaten and paraded a woman on the streets

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: 11 including 9 women of a family arrested for kidnap, sexual assault, had beaten and paraded a woman on the streets

The Delhi Police has nabbed 11 persons of a family for the kidnapping, rape, and assault of a woman on Republic Day in the national capital’s Vivek Vihar area. 9 of the arrested persons are women.

The 21-year-old woman was reportedly abducted, gang-raped, and paraded on a street in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar area on Wednesday. She had been hiding for the last one and a half months, after a juvenile who stalked her committed suicide and the latter’s relatives began threatening her.

Several videos showing the woman being paraded around in a humiliating condition circulated on social media. The accused cut the woman’s hair, garlanded her with shoes, and paraded her on the street.

The woman is married and the mother of a child. As per reports, she was being stalked by a local adolescent who eventually committed suicide in November last year. The woman was blamed by the youth’s relatives for his suicide. After constant harassment by the family, the woman had shifted to another house and had not shared her address with anyone except her sister and a visually impaired uncle.

On Wednesday, the victim’s sister had arrived at her new address to deliver some groceries when she found out that the accused family had followed her. The accused persons then grabbed the victim and forcefully took her to their house. When the sister had reached near the accused persons’ house she witnessed her sister being assaulted and paraded by the accused persons.

The victim’s complaint has mentioned that was sexually assaulted by men of the accused family while the women watched and was later beaten, humiliated and paraded on the street with her face blackened and a garland of shoes put on her neck.

Accused family is involved in illegal liquor business

As per reports, the accused family who committed the crime is involved in a business of illegal liquor and many members have multiple cases lodged against them. One of the assaulters is also a history-sheeter and habitual offender. The criminal activities of the family was the main reason nobody in the neighbour tried to stop them, as per the reports.

Swati Maliwal, chairman of the Delhi Commission for Women, took cognizance of it on Thursday morning and filed a complaint with the police, demanding serious punishment.

“Illegal liquor vendors gang-raped a 20-year-old lady, shaved her head, garlanded her with slippers, and blackened her face. I’m sending a notification to the Delhi Police to arrest the culprits and provide security to the victim’s family…, “Swati Maliwal, the chairperson of DCW, stated in a tweet.

Among those who criticized the horrific event and ensuing public shaming were Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir.

“Have spoken to DCP Shahdara over barbaric assault on the 20-year-old woman. Some arrests have been made & more will follow. I assure you that these animals (men & women) will not be spared. Every kind of support will be provided to the survivor,” Gautam Gambhir tweeted.

Officials said that during their interrogation, those accused in police custody stated that they committed the sexual assault and subsequent public humiliation in order to slander the woman.

‘Wine not liquor, sale will benefit farmers’: Sanjay Raut defends Uddhav Thackeray govt’s decision to sell wines at supermarkets

OpIndia Staff
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‘Wine not liquor, sale will benefit farmers’: Sanjay Raut defends Uddhav Thackeray govt’s decision to sell wines at supermarkets

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut Friday defended the Maha Vikas Aghadi government’s decision to allow the sale of wine at supermarkets and walk-in shops in Maharashtra by claiming the “wine is not liquor”.

Speaking in favour of the Uddhav Thackeray govt’s decision Sanjay Raut reportedly told news agency ANI that the decision has been taken to double the farmers’ income in the state. “Wine is not liquor. If wine sale increases, farmers will get benefit from it. We’ve done this to double farmers’ income,” said the Shiv Sena MP.

The Shiv Sena leader hit out at the opposition BJP for slamming the Uddhav Thackeray-led government’s decision. “BJP only opposes but does nothing for farmers,” Sanjay Raut said. He insisted that the decision of the state government is in the interest of the farmers as it would increase their income.

Sanjay Raut’s remark came in response to former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ criticism that the Shiv Sena-led coalition administration in Maharashtra is trying to turn the state into a “Madya-Rashtra (liquor state).”

“And now the sale of wine from supermarkets/Kirana shops! We won’t allow Maharashtra to become ‘Madya’Rashtra, Fadnavis wrote on Twitter. He was surprised that Maharashtra’s Maha Vikas Aghadi administration had closed schools and colleges, as well as religious sites such as temples, in order to limit the pandemic, but had allowed liquor shops to remain open.

Maharashtra govt led by Uddhav Thackeray allows sale of wine at grocery shops and supermarkets

It may be noted that the Maharashtra cabinet stated on Thursday that wine will be available in every supermarket in the state. According to the new liquor regulation, wine bottles will be sold in grocery stores and department stores throughout the state. Previously, only liquor stores were permitted to sell wine.

The “shelf-in-shop” method can be used by supermarkets and businesses that have 1,000 square feet of space or more and are registered under the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act, according to a statement released by the Chief Minister’s Office.

The maximum shelf size allowed in stores would be 2.25 cubic metres, and the annual licence price will be Rs 5000.

In December 2021, the All India Wine Producers’ Association (AIWPA) had requested that wines be sold at grocery stores to make them more accessible. For the past 20 years, Maharashtra, the origin of the country’s wine industry, has provided wine with an excise exemption to aid the budding industry’s growth. However, in the meeting held on Thursday, the state’s cabinet decided to impose a minimal excise levy of Rs 10/litre on bulk wine.

‘Why open bars and keep temples shut’: Anna Hazare questions Maharashtra govt

Interestingly, the Maharashtra government in its Covid-induced restrictions last year had allowed bars and pubs to remain open in the state while temples remained closed. Anna Hazare, the social activist, had then raised questions over the Maharashtra government’s orders and offered his support if devotees hold protests to lift curbs on the temples in the state.

In his statement, Hazare added that the government seems fine with the big queues outside liquor shops in the state, but they are not okay with reopening the temples. Reportedly, he met a delegation of people demanding the reopening of the temples across the state.

BJP staged protests to reopen temples

On August 30 2021, Chandrakant Patil, state chief BJP, held a ‘shankhnad andolan’ and sought the reopening of temples for the public. Protests were held by the party workers outside temples across the state in cities including Mumbai, Nashik, Pune, Nagpur and Solapur. The party workers marched towards the temples blowing conch shells. Patil said, “The shankhanad is necessary to wake up the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, which is in deep slumber. Pleas demanding the reopening of temples have gone unheard for the past 15 months.”

Wuhan scientists warn of a new coronavirus strain NeoCov with high infectivity and death rate, 1 in 3 patients can die: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Wuhan scientists warn of a new coronavirus strain NeoCov with high infectivity and death rate, 1 in 3 patients can die: Report

A group of scientists in Wuhan have sounded alarm bells for a new variant of coronavirus, dubbed as ‘NeoCoV’, which they claim is both highly infectious and virulent, leading to the death of 1 in 3 patients infected by the novel strain. 

Related to the Middle East respiratory syndrome MERS-coronavirus, NeoCoV carries with it the potentially combined high mortality rate of MERS-CoV (where one in three infected people die on average) and the high transmission rate of the current SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the researchers have said. 

A research report published in bioRxiv website says COVID-19 vaccinations are inadequate to protect humans from any complications caused by the infections caused by the NeoCoV virus. It is notable to mention, however, that the study has not been peer-reviewed so far and has been released in preprint. 

According to a report published in Sputnik, the new strain of coronavirus was found first in the bat population in South Africa and was then spread to other animal specified. The scientists claim the virus needs just mutation to turn it into a zoonotic pathogen, capable of infiltrating human cells. 

As per research, the strain is significantly more dangerous than other variants because of its ability to bind to the ACE2 receptor differently than the previous strains. As a consequence, the antibodies and protein molecules produced by humans are not immune to fight the respiratory diseases and complications induced by the infection caused by the NeoCoV. 

In response to the findings of the new study, Russian researchers from Vector Russian State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology are believed to be aware of the research conducted by Wuhan scientists on NeoCoV coronavirus. But they added that the new virus at present is not capable of transmitting among thw humans. 

The research findings come at a time when the coronavirus caseloads are once again on the rise across the globe, driven by the new highly infectious variant of the virus, Omicron.

Goa: TMC Vice President Luizinho Faleiro withdraws candidature from Fatorda assembly, says he wants to campaign in the whole state

OpIndia Staff
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Goa: TMC Vice President Luizinho Faleiro withdraws candidature from Fatorda assembly, says he wants to campaign in the whole state

On Friday, ahead of the Goa state assembly elections, Trinamool Congress National Vice-President Luizinho Faleiro announced the withdrawal of his candidature from Goa’s Fatorda assembly constituency. He further handed over the seat to a young, female legal activist Seoula Vas, apparently in a bid to empower women.

Luizinho Faleiro said that if he contests the polls, he will be confined to his constituency, but he wants to campaign all over the state for all the candidates of the party. Therefore he decided to withdraw his nomination. Addressing a press conference in Panaji with TMC’s Mahua Moitra besides, Faleiro, who recently had switched over from Congress, said that he had taken the decision after consulting the party’s national chairman. “I’ve taken this decision after consulting our party’s national chairman because I would like to fight and campaign all over Goa for all the TMC candidates so that they can perform well,” Faleiro said. He added that TMC’s policy has been to empower women and that this was a great move in favour of the party.

“My earlier experience says that when I fought the election last time, we could not do justice to them. To replace me, we have a very able Seoula Vas, who will represent the Fatorda constituency”, Faleiro added.

TMC National Vice-President Luizinho Faleiro had joined the party in the month of September and was elected to Rajya Sabha from West Bengal. He was one of the earliest nine members who joined TMC in Goa in presence of Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata.

Seoula Vas, who will now contest from the Fatorda assembly, is an advocate activist specializing in Criminal Law and Company-commercial matters. According to her profile on Kanoon.com, she has 6 years of experience in her bag and has counselled before the High Court, NCLT, District courts, trial courts and major tribunals like DRT and Consumer.

As reported earlier, the Mamata Banerjee-led party has declared a total of 24 candidates for the upcoming polls. It had declared its first list on January 19, the second one on January 22 and the third on January 25. The party has given opportunities to many leaders who have recently hopped in from other parties to TMC.

The party has nominated former Goa Forward Party (GFP) working president Kiran Kandolkar from Aldona instead of Tivim. Also Jagdish Bhobe, who switched allegiance from GFP to the TMC after being denied a ticket from St. Andre has made it to the list. The TMC has further given the opportunity to former Congressman Saifulla Khan to contest from the Vasco Assembly seat, whereas Tarak Arolkar, who recently quit the Congress to join the TMC, has been given a ticket from Mapusa Assembly constituency.

Luizinho Faleiro meanwhile said that, he would fight and campaign all over Goa for all the TMC candidates so that they can perform well in the elections. The TMC is fighting the polls for the 40 member assembly in alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). The election for the 40 seats will take place on February 14, and the votes will be counted on March 10.

Samajwadi Party uses Allahabad for Prayagraj and Faizabad for Ayodhya in candidate list, had renamed 9 districts when in power

OpIndia Staff
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Samajwadi Party uses Allahabad for Prayagraj and Faizabad for Ayodhya in candidate list, had renamed 9 districts when in power

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has changed the names of several places in the states, where the names given by Mughals were removed and renamed to ancient names of various places and districts. However, it seems the Samajwadi Party is not being able to accept these changes, because the party is still using the old names.

Yesterday the Samajwadi Party announced its third list for the Uttar Pradesh elections, containing 56 names. In this official list, the party used the district names Allahabad and Faizabad, which are old names of the districts and are no longer the official names. The new names of the districts are Prayagraj and Ayodhya, but the party refused to use the new official names.

In October 2018, the UP government had announced that Allahabad will be renamed to Prayagraj, which was subsequently approved by the centre. The place, which hosts the Kumbh Mela, was named as Prayagraj till 1575, when it was changed to Allahabad during the rule of  Mughal emperor Akbar.

Similarly in November 2018, the Faizabad district in UP was renamed as Ayodhya by the Yogi Adityanath Government, before the historic Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya title suit. It may be noted that the Ayodhya city is located in the Faizabad district, and various organisations were demanding to rename the district as Ayodhya.

But even three years after both the districts were renamed, it seems Samajwadi Party is not able to accept the new names. They obviously love the Mughal given names, and therefore using them in their official documents.

It is notable that while SP does not accept the new names given by the BJP government, the party had renamed much more districts when it was in power. While the BJP govt has renamed only two districts, with demands for renaming more districts still not met, the Akhilesh Yadav govt had renamed as many as nine districts during its tenure.

The SP govt had renamed Prabhuddh Nagar to Shamli, Bhim Nagar to Sambhal, Panchsheel Nagar to Hapur, Mahamaya Nagar to Hathras, Jyotiba Phule Nagar to Amroha, Kanshiram Nagar to Kasganj, Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar to Amethi, Ramabai Nagar to Kanpur Dehat and Sant Ravidas Nagar to Bhadohi. SP didn’t rename a single place renamed by Mughals, but had renamed districts that were named after famous personalities etc.

While everyone now uses the new names assigned by the SP govt, now the same party refuses to accept and use new names given by the BJP govt.

The party has released three lists so far, with 159, 39 and 56 names.

Bihar: POCSO court completes trial in 4 days, gives death penalty to Mohammad Major for raping a 6-year-old Dalit girl in Araria

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: POCSO court completes trial in 4 days, gives death penalty to Mohammad Major for raping a 6-year-old Dalit girl in Araria

A special POCSO court in Araria, Bihar completed the trial in a rape case involving a six-year-old in 4 days and awarded the death penalty to accused Mohammad Major (48) on Thursday. Besides handing over the death sentence to the convict for rape, the Araria POCSO Court special judge Shashi Kant Rai also directed the District Legal Services Authority to pay compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the victim from the Victim Compensation Fund.

The entire process was completed within 56-days. The victim’s mother filed an FIR in the matter on December 2, 2021. A case was filed under provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and POCSO Act against the accused. On January 12, 2022, the police presented the charge sheet to the court. The Bihar POCSO court took notice of this on January 20, 2022, and on January 24, 2022, it drafted accusations against the convict. Given the gravity of the act, the court issued its decision within 56 days after the incident.

Mohammad Mejar had raped the little girl brutally

The victim’s mother, in her complaint filed on December 2, said that her daughter was playing near their house on December 1 when she suddenly went missing. She added that around 10 pm her daughter returned home and narrated her ordeal. She revealed how Mohammad Major has asked the girl for a container and some water when she was playing outside the house. When she approached Major with the same, he held her and dragged her into the field where he raped her brutally. Following the incident, the victim’s mother lodged an FIR in the women police station against the accused.

According to reports, Mohammad Major was trying to flee to Nepal when he was apprehended by the district police on December 13 last year.

“Following his arrest, district police proceeded for speedy trial in the court. The investigators have submitted vital evidence including swab and skin tissues reports in court. The court held him guilty of a crime under IPC sections of 376. It has also kept his past criminal record. He was considered a sexual predator of Araria,” said the Special public prosecutor of the case.

“The rape of the child by the man involves extreme brutality, which has always been regarded as an aggravated form of rape. The girl was subjected to inhuman acts of torture and cruelty for the sole motive to commit rape. The rape of the girl who was completely innocent clearly falls in the category of rarest of rare cases,” special judge Shashikant Rai of the Bihar POCSO Court observed in his judgement.

Meanwhile, Araria SP Ashok Kumar Singh said that the convict had kidnapped the minor girl, tortured and raped her. “We have ensured speedy trial in the case. The case was investigated and a charge sheet was submitted within 41 days on January 12,” said Singh.

The death penalty to the convict will send a strong message to the society and create a fear among the wrongdoers,” the SP added.

Shyamlal Yadav, a special public prosecutor for the POCSO, said it was likely the first time capital sentence has been granted for rape on a minor girl from a scheduled caste community.

It may be noted that the Araria POCSO Court has earlier, on two occasions set a national record by delivering rape case verdicts within 24 hours. On December 16, 2021, the Araria Pocso court had beaten its own record of conducting and concluding the trial and sentencing of a rape accused to life imprisonment the same day. The same court of special judge Shashi Kant Rai had earlier set a record of convicting a rape accused in single day proceedings on October 4, 2021.

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