The Karnataka High Court ruled on Thursday, September 14, that a sister cannot be hired on compassionate grounds after her married brother died while working as a Junior Line Man for Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM).
The court bench, comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit, indicated that the ‘family’ of the deceased married man includes his wife and children who are dependent upon him and who stay with him.
While hearing the petition filed by Pallavi G M, a 29-year-old resident of Tumakuru, the court referred to Rule 2(1)(b) of the Karnataka Civil Services (Appointment on Compassionate Grounds) Rules, 1996.
As per the said rule, the definition of “family” includes “(i) in the case of the deceased male married Government Servant, his widow, son and daughter (unmarried/married/divorced/widowed) who were dependent upon him and living with him.”
According to the court, it has long been established that only a member of the deceased employee’s family can submit a claim for appointment on compassionate grounds, that too only by showing evidence of dependency on the employee who died.
“A sister does not figure in the definition, is obvious. The appellant being a sister cannot be construed as a member of the family of the deceased. These Rules are adopted and followed by the respondent-KPTCL and the respondent-BESCOM who happen to be the Government Companies as defined u/s 617 of the erstwhile Companies Act, 1956 and section 2(45) of the Companies Act, 2013,” it added.
Pallavi had appealed the March 30, 2023 ruling of a single judge bench that had dismissed her petition for compassionate appointment. Her brother had died on duty while working for BESCOM, the state power transmission firm.
Her attorney contended that because she was reliant on her brother, she was a member of his family and thus qualified for appointment on compassionate grounds.
However, the counsel for BESCOM argued that in the case of public employment, the compassionate appointment is an exception to the rule of equality. “The scheme providing for the same needs to be strictly construed. If so construed, the appellant who is admittedly a sister of the deceased employee is not entitled to any compassionate appointment,” the counsel said.
The court then said that there was no evidence to show that the sister was dependent on her brother at the time of his death. “The above apart, absolutely no material is placed on record by the appellant to show that she was dependent on the income of her brother at the time of his death in harness nor there is any material to assume that the family of the deceased is in financial distress as would justify the claim for appointment on compassionate grounds,” the Court said.
On 12th September (local time), a self-proclaimed UFO-logist and journalist Jaime Maussan sent a shockwave to the world as he presented two ‘mummified’ bodies of “non-human” corpses to the Mexican Congress. The presenters at the hearing claimed that by using DNA testing, the researchers were able to prove the alleged ‘alien’ bodies were not from Earth. Notably, Maussan has a history of creating hoaxes.
Two alleged alien bodies were presented at the Mexican Congress on 12th September. They were small, mummified bodies with elongated heads. Both of them had three fingers and had striking similarities to how the film industry, especially Hollywood, depicts them. The presenters claimed that the bodies were found in Peru in 2017. Furthermore, Maussan claimed the bodies were around 1,000 years old.
According to Maussan, the bodies were found in algae mines. He claimed the Autonomous National University Of Mexico researchers found “eggs” in one of them during examination.
The director of the Scientific Institute for Health of the Mexican Navy, José de Jesús Zalce Benítez, was one of the presenters during the hearing. He presented scans of the alleged alien corpses and claimed that they had retractable necks, large brains, no teeth and big eyes with capabilities of “wide stereoscopic vision.”
Stereoscopic vision can be defined as a system to determine the depth of an object using two cameras or a set of eyes. All living beings with eyes have different widths of stereoscopic vision. The width of stereoscopic vision defines how much area the eyes can cover. It is known as the field of vision. While humans have roughly 130-degree degrees of vision, dogs and cats have around 50 degrees, horses have around 350-degree and so on.
X’s community notes, a service that ‘fact check’s and adds context to popular posts, has also added a note over the claims of the ‘alien mummies’, saying that the Nazca aliens are a hoax promoted multiple times by a particular group of people. A detailed report by LiveScience in 2018 explained how those ‘mummies’ were created by different body parts. Codigooculto had called the elaborate hoax a ‘crime against Peruvian culture’.
X’s community notes debunks Alien mummy claims
Questionable background of the presenters
In 2015, Maussan reported to have found an alien body in Peru. However, it was later debunked as a mummified corpse of a human child.
In 2017, the Ministry of Culture of Peru examined the “extraterrestrial mummy” that was found in Nazca. The researchers called it “one of the most important discoveries of the 21st century, ” but the Ministry of Culture disagreed. In a statement, Dr Blanca Alva, then-director of the General Directorate of Heritage Defense of the Ministry of Culture, said after reviewing the mummies, it was highly likely that they were recently created and had no archaeological significance. As the location where the alleged mummies were found was unknown, it was not possible to determine whether it was an archaeological site.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Culture recommended filing a case against the alleged “excavations” by the “researchers” at the archaeological site. The director of the Scientific Institute for Health of the Mexican Navy, José de Jesús Zalce Benítez also has a history of being debunked over alien claims. He was one of the lead researchers in the presentation of the “alien” bodies that was debunked later.
In 2018, researchers debunked Maussan’s claims that the mummies he found in Nazca were non-human or alien in nature. They pointed out that the mummies were “created” using the dogs’ skulls. “To carve this elongated head, they had to remove the snout and all the teeth. A false skin was put on that,” the researchers noted. Furthermore, the researchers said the bodies were made using parts of the skeleton. They had no joints, and the three fingers correspond to human children and adults.
Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) has unearthed a major drug-smuggling network running from Pakistan to India, revealing an unexpected twist involving a senior law enforcement officer. Shockingly, the mastermind behind this illicit operation was none other than Mazhar Iqbal, the chief of Lahore Police’s anti-narcotics unit. Under Mazhar Iqbal’s leadership, the network primarily employed drones to transport narcotics, including heroin, into India.
In a surprising turn of events, an inquiry panel, led by Lahore SSP Internal Accountability (IA), has uncovered numerous “illegal” properties worth billions of rupees allegedly linked to the accused police officer, Mazhar Iqbal, during a high-level investigation into the cross-border drug smuggling scheme.
It all started with a bribery case against Mazhar Iqbal
The investigation initially began with the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) booking Mazhar in the last week of August 2023 on charges of accepting a Rs75 million bribe from a drug smuggler named Ahmad, who was also implicated in the smuggling.
Mazhar Iqbal, a former deputy superintendent of police (DSP), and head of the Anti-Narcotics Investigation Unit (ANIU) within the Lahore police, was at the centre of this inquiry. The ANF had accused him of recovering 35 kg of drugs and seizing three cars from Ahmad’s residence.
However, it was revealed that Mazhar had ultimately released Ahmad after registering a case for only 450 grams of drugs. Subsequently, the three-member panel of police officers initiated a departmental inquiry against Mazhar, ultimately unveiling his involvement in heading the cross-border drug smuggling operation through the use of drones.
Mazhar Iqbal was a notorious criminal in uniform
Starting from 1994, Iqbal has faced dismissal from his position on six occasions and suspension a staggering 45 times due to his repeated involvement in unlawful activities. The majority of these cases are directly linked to drug trafficking. Remarkably, despite his extensive history of misconduct, Iqbal was entrusted with a pivotal role in the Lahore Police’s anti-narcotics department.
As per statements from senior Pakistani police officials, Mazhar Iqbal has accumulated substantial wealth through his involvement in these illicit activities. The announcement regarding the dismantling of the drug smuggling network was made by the Pakistani Rangers last week. The Rangers reported the apprehension of six Indian nationals within Pakistani territory on charges of purportedly attempting to smuggle “narcotics, weapons, and ammunition.” Among the six detained smugglers, four individuals – Gurmeet Singh, Shinder Singh, Juginder Singh, and Vishal Jagga – hail from Firozpur in Punjab. Meanwhile, Rattan Pal Singh and Garvender Singh were from Jalandhar and Ludhiana, respectively.
The investigations in the drug smuggling case
The authorities launched action against Mazhar Iqbal following the interrogation of the detained Indian nationals. Unfortunately, they were unable to apprehend him due to a pre-arrest bail.
Lahore Deputy Inspector General (Investigation) Imran Kishwar said, “An FIR has been registered against Lahore Police anti-narcotics wing head Mazhar Iqbal for his alleged involvement in the cross-border (India) smuggling of drugs through drones. We could not arrest him as he has secured a pre-arrest bail. We have constituted a high-powered committee of senior police officers to further expand the scope of the investigation into the illegal cross-border smuggling of drugs.”
In the initial investigations, it was found that Iqbal and his network facilitated the movement of drugs from the Pakistani city of Kasur to India via drones. The police investigation revealed that a drone employed by Mazhar Iqbal’s network had the capacity to transport up to 6 kg of drugs and would complete its delivery in Punjab after crossing the border. The inquiry further disclosed that Mazhar Iqbal had participated in the transportation of more than 30 kg of heroin to India using drones and received payment for his services in Dubai.
Numerous high-ranking officials were reportedly cognizant of Mazhar Iqbal’s extensive engagement in cross-border criminal activities. Allegedly, he employed financial inducements to gain their cooperation, and he also had the support of influential political figures in Pakistan.
Mazhar Iqbal has accumulated assets worth billions of rupees, possesses an array of luxurious automobiles, and resides in a four-kanal residence located in the upscale Defence Housing Authority of Lahore. Additionally, he has a penchant for collecting firearms from various nations, with a particular interest in those from the United States.
India has added nearly 5.2 crore new formal jobs between the financial year 2020 and 2023, according to an SBI research report. The report was based on an analysis of the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), National Pension Scheme (NPS), and Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). 2.7 crore new employees were added during the same period, according to the report.
EPFO payroll data trends from the past four years show that 4.86 crore net new subscribers were added to the portal. These included new payroll (first payroll), second payroll (rejoined/resubscribed members), and formalized payrolls.
The first jobs accounted for 47% of the total net new payroll, and the second jobs accounted for 2.17 crore. This means that the net increase in formalization was 42 lakh in FY20-FY23, as per the report penned by the group chief economic advisor to SBI Soumya Kanti Ghosh. “If we see the Q1 EPFO payroll data for FY24, the trend is quite encouraging.”
The first quarter of the EPFO payroll data of FY24 shows encouraging data with 44 lakh net new EPF subscribers joined of which the first payroll was 19.2 lakh. If the trend continues, the net new payroll will surpass the 160 lakh mark, the highest ever with the first payroll in the 70-80 lakh bracket, Ghosh said.
The NPS data shows 8.24 lakh new subscribers in FY23 of which state government payrolls are 4.64 lakh and non-government payrolls are 2.30 lakh whereas central payrolls are 1.29 lakh. Around 31 lakh new subscribers have joined the NPS in the past four years.
This means that the total payroll generation of the EPFO and NPS combined is over 5.2 crore from FY20 to FY23. The share of women’s payroll was around 27%.
Moreover, the report shows a decline in the revision of the second payroll (rejoined/resubscribed) in the first quarter of the current financial year. This means that more people may be deciding to stick to their current employment.
Everyone should be talking about this
India's economy added 5.2 crore formal sector jobs
Experts say that if combined with data from the unformalized sector, the numbers could be much higher. The development signals at a significant resurgence of the Indian economy in the post-COVID period.
The Consulate General of India in San Francisco has raised concerns over the handling of an Indian-origin woman, Jaahnavi Kandula, who was killed by a police vehicle, and has demanded a thorough investigation and action against those involved.
The matter pertains to the reports showing an officer appearing to joke and bursting into laughter over the death of an Indian-origin student who was killed in January this year.
“Recent reports including in media of the handling of Ms Jaahnavi Kandula’s death in a road accident in Seattle in January are deeply troubling. We have taken up the matter strongly with local authorities in Seattle and Washington State as well as senior officials in Washington DC for a thorough investigation and action against those involved in this tragic case,” the Consulate General of India stated on X (formerly Twitter).
It added, “The Consulate and Embassy will continue to closely follow up on this matter with all concerned authorities”.
Recent reports including in media of the handling of Ms Jaahnavi Kandula’s death in a road accident in Seattle in January are deeply troubling. We have taken up the matter strongly with local authorities in Seattle & Washington State as well as senior officials in Washington DC
On Monday, the Seattle Police Department released footage from accused officer Daniel Auderer’s body camera.
Auderer left his body camera on after responding to the South Lake Union area where a marked patrol vehicle driven by another officer Kevin Dave struck and killed Indian-origin woman Jaahnavi Kandula, according to an NBC News report.
In the footage, Auderer, who serves as vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, is driving and can be heard talking about the accident that involved 23-year-old graduate student Kandula in a call with the guild’s president Mike Solan.
In the video, Auderer can be heard saying “She is dead” before bursting out into laughter.
Referring to Kandula, Auderer said, “No, it’s a regular person.” Towards the end of the clip, he can be heard saying, through bursts of laughter, “Yeah, just write a check. Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26 anyway,” misstating the age of the victim. He further said, “She had limited value,” the New York Post reported.
Auderer said that he did not believe a criminal investigation was being carried out. He said, “I mean, he was going 50 mph. That’s not out of control. That’s not reckless for a trained driver.”
However, a report released in June revealed that Dave was driving 74 mph in a 25-mph zone while responding to a different “high-priority” call, NBC News reported citing KIRO 7.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
The last rites of Jammu and Kashmir’s DSP Humayun Muzammil Bhat who lost his life in the encounter in Anantnag encounter were performed on Wednesday evening. Officers from the Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police were injured after an encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in the Kokernag area in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district earlier today.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha expressed his grief over the death of the officers in the encounter and also paid tributes to the J-K DSP at Budgam on Wednesday, as reported by ANI.
DSP Humayun Bhat leaves behind a young family, including a month-old baby, as per reports. Visuals of the martyr’s father Ghulam Hassan Bhat, himself a former police official, laying a wreath on his son’s coffin created an emotional scene at the official event held in the young martyr’s honour.
Please pray for Ghulam Hassan Bhatt, himself a J&K Police veteran, laying a wreath for his son DSP Humayun Muzamil Bhat today. Humayun leaves behind a young family, including a month-old baby. #Anantnagpic.twitter.com/2WTclI2tMd
“Paid tributes to JKP’s DySP Humayun Bhat, who laid down his life in an anti-terror operation in Anantnag. I salute the indomitable courage and supreme sacrifice of Col Manpreet Singh & Major Aashish Dhonchak. Entire nation stands firmly with their families in this hour of grief,” LG’s office said in a post on the social media platform, X.
Earlier today, the Indian Army informed that an Indian Army Colonel commanding a Rashtriya Rifles Unit and a Major have lost their lives in an encounter in Anantnag with terrorists in Kashmir.
Colonel Manpreet Singh, the CO of 19, Rashtriya Rifles, and Major Aashish D of the Indian Army were also critically injured along with DSP Bhat during the prolonged encounter. They died due to excessive loss of blood. Colonel Manpreet Singh was of Panchkula, Haryana, and is survived by his wife and 2 small children.
Major Aashish D was from Haryana’s Panipat. He is survived by his wife and a 2-year-old daughter.
A truly shattering loss.
Colonel Manpreet Singh Major Ashish Dhonchak DSP Humayun Bhat.
The heroes of Anantnag. My deepest condolences to the families, Army & J&K Police. ? pic.twitter.com/KZlwsuwC5m
“An Indian Army Colonel commanding a Rashtriya Rifles Unit and a Major have lost their lives in an encounter in Anantnag with terrorists in Kashmir. The off-vet was commanding 19 RR,” Indian Army officials said.
Also, the Jammu and Kashmir Police in their official handle on social media platform ‘X’ posted, “An encounter has started in Kokernag area of Anantnag. Officers from the Army and JKP (Jammu and Kashmir Police) were injured.”
Pakistan-sponsored terrorist group The Resistance Front has claimed responsibility for the attack. As per reports, the attackers were the same set of terrorists who had carried out the attack on Army personnel on August 4 in the Halan first area of Kulgam district. 3 jawans were martyred in that attack. Warlike stores, with large quantities of medicines with Pakistan markings, have been seized from the hiding spot of terrorists.
On Wednesday (13 September), the Supreme Court directed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to prepare a comprehensive manual on media briefings by the police in criminal cases so as to prevent ‘media trials’ in such cases.
The bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra highlighted that the existing guidelines were prepared a decade ago. It added that since then, there has been an upsurge in reportage of criminal cases in print, electronic, and social media.
The court said, “The age, gender of accused and nature of crime will weigh on the nature of disclosure to be made…media trial leads to deflection from the course of justice. Bearing in mind these aspects we are of the view that the Home Ministry prepares a comprehensive manual on media briefings by police personnel.”
The court order emphasised the need to strike a delicate balance between the fundamental right to free speech and expression, the rights of the accused to a fair investigation, and the privacy of victims. The bench stated that police disclosures during media briefings in criminal matters should be objective in nature and not subjective, having a bearing on the guilt of the accused.
It categorically underlined that police disclosure should not result in a “media trial” stating, “It should be ensured that the disclosure doesn’t result in media trial so as to allow pre-determination of the guilt of the accused.”
The bench pointed out that media reportage at times hampers the reputation of the accused. It added that biased reporting also gives rise to public suspicion about the crime.
It said, “At another level, media reportage also impinges upon the rights of victims and survivors of crime. In a given case the victim may be a minor while in another case the nature of the crime may involve privacy of the victim such as those involving gender violence.”
Timeline and court directions
The Supreme Court, in its order, directed the Director Generals of Police (DGPs) of all states to submit their suggestions for preparing the comprehensive manual regarding police briefing. The bench also directed to take the input of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) into consideration during the process.
The court has given MHA a deadline of three months from the date of the order while all DGPs would have to communicate their suggestions for the guidelines to the MHA within one month.
The matter before the Supreme Court pertains to two main issues. The first issue raised before the apex court was regarding the procedures to be followed by the police in the event of encounters. Apparently, this issue was delved in detail in the 2014 judgment of PUCL v. State of Maharashtra.
The second issue relates to the procedure that police must follow when they conduct media briefings during ongoing criminal investigations. Earlier, the court had appointed Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan as an amicus curiae in this case.
Subsequently, the amicus curiae circulated a questionnaire to all States and Union Territories, out of which some have sent their responses.
During the proceedings, the Senior Advocate recommended that the media cannot be restrained from reporting, however, the sources of information, which are often government entities, can be regulated.
He said, “We cannot restrain the media from reporting. But the sources can be restrained. Because the source is the state. Even in the Aarushi case, so many versions were given to the media.”
The amicus submitted some guidelines to be considered while framing the manual. These guidelines have been prepared from the Media Relations Handbook of the Los Angeles Police Department(LAPD) and the New York Police Department(NYPD), along with the Communications Advisory of the Association of Chief Police Officers of the UK, and even the CBI manual.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled in the second week of January.
The union government has finally announced the agenda for the upcoming 5-day special session of the Parliament starting from 18th September. According to a bulletin issued by the Lok Sabha today, the main agenda of the special session will be a discussion on the 75 years of the parliament.
The bulletin states, “Members are informed that on 18th September, 2023, besides other formal business like laying of papers etc., a Discussion will be held on the subject “Parliamentary Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha – Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings”.
The Samvidhan Sabha or the Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It had met for the first time in December 1946, and then had assembled on 14th August 1947 as a sovereign body. The Constituent Assembly took almost three years to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India.
Apart from the discussion on the Parliamentary Journey of 75 years, there will be some regular legislative business during the special session. This includes two bills passed by the Rajya Sabha and pending at Lok Sabha, the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023. There are two other bills introduced in Rajya Sabha and not referred to the Standing Committee, the Post Office Bill, 2023 and the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023.
The bulletin was issued by Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh.
Earlier today it was reported that the union government has called an all-party meeting on September 17, a day before the special session of Parliament commences. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that invitations were sent through e-mail to all leaders of opposition parties to attend the meeting.
Ahead of the parliament session from the 18th of this month, an all-party floor leaders meeting has been convened on the 17th at 4.30 PM. The invitation for the same has been sent to concerned leaders through email. Letter to follow
“Ahead of the parliament session from the 18th of this month, an all-party floor leaders meeting has been convened on the 17th at 4.30 PM. The invitation for the same has been sent to concerned leaders through email,” Joshi wrote on X.
While the special session from 18 to 22 September was announced on 31 August, no agenda was announced, triggering speculations. There were widespread speculations that the Modi government will adopt Bharat as the official name of the country in this session. The use of the name by both the president and prime minister during the recently concluded G20 Summit in Delhi had fuelled the speculation, inviting outrage from the opposition parties.
The special session will start on 18 September in the old parliament building, and then it will move to the new parliament building on the next day. Therefore, commencing business in the new parliament building is also one the agendas of the special session.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has used the Centre’s subsidy for his wife’s company, alleged Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday.
Taking to his X handle, Gogoi posted documents to support his claim, which include Rinki Sarma’s “Pride East Entertainments Private Limited” marked on agro-processing cluster projects under the APC Scheme.
“PM Modi launched the Kisan Sampada scheme to double the income of farmers in India. But in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma used his influence to help his wife’s firm get Rs 10 crore as part of a credit-linked subsidy. Are central government schemes meant to enrich the BJP?” wrote Gogoi on X.
PM Modi launched the Kisan Sampada scheme to double the income of farmers of India. But in Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma used his influence to help his wife’s firm get Rs 10 crore as part of credit linked subsidy. Are Central government schemes meant to enrich BJP ? pic.twitter.com/ITqzrBCe4c
Countering his charge, the Assam CM replied that neither his wife nor his wife’s company has ever received any financial subsidies from the food ministry. “I would like to clarify that neither my wife nor the company she is associated with has ever received any financial subsidies from the Government of India,” wrote Himanta Sarma on X.
I would like to clarify that neither my wife nor the company she is associated with has ever received any financial subsidies from the Government of India https://t.co/oqGG21nEp6
In a separate post on X, Goigoi claimed that the website of the food ministry shows the name of Rinki Bhuyan Sarma and her company. The Congress leader alleged that Rs 10 crore had been granted to his company by the Centre.
“The Ministry of Food Processing website clearly shows the name of the person and the company she is associated with. The Rs 10 crore government grant has also been approved,” he wrote, adding, “Please report to the Union Minister if their website has been hacked.”
For the convenience of the Hon’ble Chief Minister I am attaching the link to the website of the Ministry of Food Processing. It shows the list of companies and promoters who have received the Rs 10 crore government subsidy. Please see serial 10.https://t.co/rR2m9PH8DXhttps://t.co/O9krRaDSRW
“I would like to reiterate again with full responsibility that my wife and the company she is associated with have not taken or received any subsidies from the Government of India,” responded Himanta Sarma to the allegation levelled by Gogoi. To this, Gogoi responded by sharing the link. “For the convenience of the Hon’ble Chief Minister, I am attaching the link to the website of the Ministry of Food Processing. It shows the list of companies and promoters who have received the Rs 10 crore government subsidy. Please see serial 10,” he wrote.
The development comes as the Opposition parties under the INDIA bloc are preparing to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The first meeting of the Coordination Committee of the INDIA Alliance is set to be held today (September 13) in the national capital, where the opposition leaders are likely to discuss the Special Session of Parliament, among other things.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Another horrible case of sexual assault that transpired during the ethnic violence in Manipur in early May surfaced recently. The 37-year-old victim, who was gang-raped on 3rd May and has been staying in a relief camp for internally displaced people reported the shocking matter to the authorities on 13 July. She didn’t disclose the crime for over two months, and the matter was reported by the media last month after an FIR was registered by the police.
The woman, a mother of three children, is a resident of Churachandpur district and stated that she was caught by a group of men on 3 May and gang-raped while she was fleeing from her burning house with her two sons, niece and sister-in-law. The case has been filed under Sections 376D, 354, 120B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). According to the first information report (FIR), at 6.30 pm, miscreants started burning the woman and her neighbour’s houses, after which she, her two sons, niece and sister-in-law ran as fast as they could.
The mother of three recently recounted the gut-wrenching episode in an interview with News The Truth and stated, “I don’t wish this upon any other woman. I was running with my children. They raped me till I had my senses.”
She continuously cried during the interview and was helped by another woman who was accompanying her who revealed, “It was on the 3rd of May around 6:30 to 7 pm. They (Kuki militants) burned their houses and when they (she and her family) saw that their houses were burnt, she along with her two kids, the younger one is 7 years old and the other one is 11 years old and she was carrying a baby of 4 and a half years old on her back and the baby girl is her niece, they came running along with her sister-in-law, Indo who was also carrying a baby of 2 and a half years old.”
She continued, “They were running to save their lives. They ran for nearly half a kilometre. She fell down and hurt herself on her knees and forehead and she was unable to stand up. When her sister-in-law turned back, she took the baby on her back and told her to run away from the scene with her two kids and told her to stand up and start running but she was unable to do so.”
As she was struggling with her injuries the accused reached there. “While she was trying to get up they came and then they forced her. They pinned her down and did all kinds of unwanted things like they held her and touched her. I just don’t want to mention all those unwanted things here but she was totally pinned down. She sought help and screamed but she was totally helpless.”
The woman unveiled the victim’s heart-shattering trauma. “Five people are holding a woman down at the same time, so she is helpless. Now, they do all those unwanted things and after some time another four or five militants come, militants or something I don’t know. Those people came and they too started to harass her. At that moment, she lost consciousness and when she regained it, she found herself in a Meitie’s house. She was also surrounded by many people and they sprinkled water on her face.”
She asked for her kids as soon as she regained consciousness, however, they were all gone since she told them to run away and leave her because if they waited for her, their lives would be in danger and her sister-in-law took the little girl with her. “After searching for around half an hour she found her kids who were hiding in the corners of the houses. When she called their names they came running to her and they spent the whole night in that house.”
Afterwards, they were evacuated to another place by the Army personnel. Initially, she didn’t tell anyone about the occurrence. “She kept it to herself, but her health deteriorated. She went to a Primary Health Care (PHC) and was referred to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Hospital. She was afraid that the doctor might disclose what happened to her if she visited them. She came back home without going to the doctor.”
The victim’s health continues to get worse. She had severe abdominal pain and she experienced some kind of Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) symptoms including itching. She went to Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) Hospital on 7 July. “She didn’t reveal this incident to her husband or anyone else. She suffered all those days. All those people, their houses were burnt. All their life savings, they lost everything. They who were once rich now turned into beggars. They don’t even have a penny and above all, she was gang raped.”
“She’s a mother of three. We complained to the police on 9 July. We tried to file for FIR on 8 July but it wasn’t possible. She visited JNIMS Hospital.” The woman and her sister (not by blood) went to the JNIMS hospital for the latter’s treatment and found the victim sitting on a bench along with one lady. She was crying a lot and they gave her encouragement to share her ordeal with them.
They also praised the police for their support. “Police helped a lot and they were very cooperative. They also urged her to speak the truth while giving a statement and told her not to be afraid. Yesterday, we were supposed to meet the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the investigation but because of some rule that’s applicable here, maybe we would meet them tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”
The victim mentioned that one of her children was there and two were at a children’s home. Her husband is also aware of the entire episode and is in support of his spouse. The woman conveyed, “But for the first time when he heard he was very disappointed and he was very angry because she opened up to us. It was due to social stigma.”
The victim voiced, “I did not disclose the incident to save myself and my family’s honour, dignity and to save ourselves from social ostracism. The delay in filing this complaint is due to social stigma. I even wanted to end myself,” with the ‘zero FIR’ submitted to the Bishnupur police station on 13 July.
Zero FIR is an FIR that can be registered by any police station, irrespective of jurisdiction, when it receives a complaint regarding a cognisable offence. No regular FIR number is assigned at this stage. After receiving the Zero FIR, the relevant police station registers a fresh FIR and starts the investigation.
She added, “I carried my niece on my back and also held my two sons and started running from the spot along with my sister-in-law. She was also carrying a baby on her back and running ahead of me. Then I stumbled and fell down on the road and was unable to get up. My sister-in-law came back running towards me and picked up my niece from my back and ran along with my two sons as I insisted,” 35 km from her ruined place of residence.
The victim observed, “When I finally managed to get up, some five to six miscreants got hold of me. They started verbally abusing and assaulting me. Despite my resistance, I was forcefully pinned down. After this, the men started sexually assaulting me.” She remembered all the harrowing events that happened to her in the FIR.
She recalled, “I started realising the trauma and sufferings that I went through because of their heinous crimes committed against me without any fault of mine. Adequate punishment should be given to the gang of culprits who abused, sexually and physically assaulted me.”
A medical evaluation of the victim was done concurrently with the filing of the FIR. Additionally, it is known that Churachandpur Police Station (PS) has received the FIR for further inquiry from Women PS Bishnupur.
Watch the entire interview below:
Manipur Violence
The ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki communities in the northeastern state of Manipur has already resulted in more than 100 fatalities and thousands of displaced residents.
The first clashes occurred on 3 May following a “Tribal Solidarity March” organised by theAll Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) in the hill areas to oppose the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Tensions rose in April as a result of a Manipur High Court decision ordering the state administration to make a decision regarding the Scheduled Tribe status issue.
Last month, an appalling video of two women in Manipur being paraded naked on a road by a gang of men went viral on social media and prompted widespread outrage and demands for action. The perpetrators shown in the footage have been taken into custody.
The Manipur Police informed the Supreme Court that more than 6,500 police cases had been brought in the roughly three-month span between May 3 and July 30. According to a police report filed in the Supreme Court, the majority of police cases have been classified as “arson, looting, and destruction of house property.”
These cases in thousands, inflated by multiple zero FIRs over the same cases, are arson (4,454), looting (4,148), destruction of house property (4,694), and damage to public property (584). These statistics illustrate the enormous damage to property in the northeastern state during the height of the ethnic unrest.
