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Delhi becomes world’s most polluted city, residents losing 11.9 years of their lives to pollution: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi becomes world’s most polluted city, residents losing 11.9 years of their lives to pollution: Report

On Tuesday, August 29, the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago released the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report for the year 2023 to assert that the city of Delhi is the world’s most polluted city and that its residents are on track to lose 11.9 years of life if the current levels of pollution continue to persist.

The analysis published on Tuesday uses particulate matter data from 2021 to assess the effect of particle pollution on life expectancy. AQLI analyses the impact of particulate pollution on life expectancy.

According to the analysis, Delhi’s yearly average PM2.5 level in 2021 was found to be 126.5 g/m3, which is more than 25 times the WHO’s recommended limit of 5 g/m3. This number was found to be a little lower in 2020, at 107 g/m3.

India has the highest health burden from air pollution of all the countries in the world because of the sheer number of people that high particulate matter levels affect there. According to the statistics, PM2.5 levels have increased across South Asia and particularly in India.

“In South Asia, particulate pollution has increased 9.7 percent from 2013 to 2021. In India, PM2.5 levels rose 9.5 percent, in Pakistan 8.8 percent, and in Bangladesh, levels rose by 12.4 percent over this same time interval,” the report noted.

According to satellite-derived PM 2.5 statistics for 2021, India’s pollution level increased from 56.2 g/m3 in 2020 to 58.7 g/m3 in 2021. This exceeds the WHO recommendation of 5 g/m3 by more than ten times.

According to the report, particulate matter pollution poses the greatest risk to human health in India, outpacing cardiovascular illnesses and child and maternal malnutrition in terms of reducing life expectancy. The average Indian loses 5.3 years of life expectancy due to particulate pollution, 4.5 years due to cardiovascular illness, and 1.8 years due to infant and maternal malnutrition.

“The average Indian resident is set to lose 5.3 years of life expectancy if the WHO guideline is not met,” the report stated.

According to the report, the country’s most polluted area is the plains, which include Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. If current pollution levels continue, the average inhabitant there could lose about 8 years of their life expectancy.

An inhabitant of Delhi may live an additional 11.9 years if the PM 2.5 level is reduced to the WHO limit of 5 g/m3 on an annual average. According to the analysis, a Delhi resident’s life expectancy might increase by 8.5 years if the PM 2.5 concentration is lowered from its levels of 2021 to the national standard of 40 g/m3, which is far lower than the WHO recommendation.

‘Pranam kaahe nahi kiya re mad*rc**d’: Jharkhand Congress leader Ranvijay Singh’s son brutally beats student for not touching his feet

OpIndia Staff
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‘Pranam kaahe nahi kiya re mad*rc**d’: Jharkhand Congress leader Ranvijay Singh’s son brutally beats student for not touching his feet

A video has gone viral on social media wherein a group of men are seen hurling expletives and thrashing a boy in the middle of the road. “Pranam kaahe nahi kiya re madarch*d,” (why didn’t you greet me) the accused is heard shouting while thrashing the victim.

According to media reports, the youth who is seen mercilessly blowing punches and kicks at the victim, is Ranveer Singh, the son of Jharkhand Congress leader Ranvijay Singh. The victim has been identified as a seventeen-year-old youth named Akash Singh. Akash studies in Class XI at Dhanbad’s Delhi Public School.

Akash Chandel, whose father has filed a police case against Ranveer Singh and his associates in the Saraidhela police station has said that Ranveer Singh and his bodyguards kidnapped him and beat him with hockey sticks and pistol butt and also threatened his father.

He said ‘We feel like beating you’: Victim narrates how Congress leader’s son attacked him

In the video, at least five people, including a man in a white kurta, can be seen shouting abuses, blowing punches and kicking the victim, whose face cannot be seen in the video. Minutes later the victim appears in the video and narrates what transpired with him.

Recalling the horrifying incident, Akash Singh said he had finished a tuition class and was standing outside a shopping complex in the town’s Koyla Nagar area.

“We (Akash and his friends) were just waiting there when six-seven cars, Ranveer Singh’s cars, drove up. The car number was 0027. 20-25 people came out and grabbed me, asking, ‘Why don’t you do pranam?’ I refused and then they started beating me… they said ‘We feel like beating you’.”

Giving further details of the unprovoked attack Ranveer Singh and his men launched at him, Akash said that they then forced him into one of the cars and took him to a nearby tea shop, where they continued to beat him. “At the tea shop, one of the bodyguards grabbed me and forced me to fall at Ranveer Singh’s feet. Then they took my phone and called my father to threaten him.”

‘Looks like a fight between the boys’: Congress leader defends his son, trivialises the assault

Ranveer Singh’s father has denied any involvement of his son in the incident and referred to it as a ‘conspiracy to defame his rising political stature.’ The Congress leader further said in his son’s defence that Ranveer Singh cannot be seen in the video. He added that the film’s authenticity should be investigated by forensic scientists. 

“First I want to question the authenticity of this video… I have been told of it but let me tell you, you cannot see, from any angle, that this is my son. I have investigated on my own… but there also needs to be a forensic inquiry into the video… it may have been edited,” Ranvijay Singh told the media.

When asked to comment on the accusations levelled at his son, the Congress leader said, “Anyone can accuse anyone else… there are accusations against me also. But this needs to be investigated to see what happens. I am not worried by incidents like this and will continue doing my work… this looks like a fight between boys.”

Jharkhand Congress leader Ranvijay Singh

According to Ranvijay Singh’s X profile, he is a Congress leader from Jharkhand. He is also the state vice president of Hind Mazdoor Sabha and the General Secretary of Bihar Janta Khan Mazdoor Sangh.

Screenshot of Congress leader Ranvijay Singh’s X profile

Notably, Ranvijay Singh made it to the headlines in the year 2021, when an FIR was filed against him based on a complaint lodged by a contractor named Babur Ali who accused the Congress leader of threatening him and assaulting him with an intention to kill.

Babur, who then worked in Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) has alleged that the company had procured an order from an outsourcing company named Hilltop Highrise for coal mining and transportation next to the minister’s house in Sijua in Dhanbad. He alleged that in order to extort money and establish his supremacy in the aforementioned outsourcing company, the Congress leader called him to his house where he threatened and assaulted him and warned him against supervising the outsourcing contract. Flaunting his political power and clout, the Congress leader had reportedly told Babur that he would have to face dire consequences had he not accessed to his demands. “We are in power in the state, police will not be able to help you,” Babur accused the Congress leader of telling him.

Besides, Ranvijay Singh’ had also emerged in the infamous coal trader Pramod Singh murder case of Dhanbad. The trader was shot near his home in Dhansar police station area of Dhanbad on October 3, 2003. The Congress leader was one of the several leaders who were co-accused in the case. In 2022, after 19 years of trial, Ranvijay Singh was acquitted by the court.

‘Onam and Rakhi gift’: Centre announces Rs 200 subsidy on LPG gas cylinder, offers 75 lakh women free gas connections under Ujjwala program

OpIndia Staff
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‘Onam and Rakhi gift’: Centre announces Rs 200 subsidy on LPG gas cylinder, offers 75 lakh women free gas connections under Ujjwala program

The price of cooking gas has been brought down by the Centre by Rs 200 per cylinder as declared by Union Minister Anurag Thakur during the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, August 29. An extra subsidy of Rs 200 for the Ujjwala program has also been approved by the government. For PMUY beneficiaries, the subsidy will now be Rs 400 per cylinder.

“PM Modi has decided Rs 200 reduction in the price of domestic LPG cylinders, for all users. This is a gift from PM Narendra Modi to the women of the country on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan and Onam”, said Union Minister Anurag Thakur.

“In 2014, when the BJP first came to power, only 14.5 crore citizens had domestic LPG connections. Today that number has increased to 33 crore, in which 9.6 crore have been distributed under the Ujjwala scheme”, Thakur further said.

During the meeting, Thakur also announced that the government has decided to offer another 75 lakh women free gas connections under the Ujjwala program on the occasion of Rakhi and Onam.

These women would receive the gas burner, first cooking gas cylinder, and pipe for free as part of the program, Thakur added.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana flagship scheme, the government sights to provide 5 crore LPG connections to BPL (below poverty line) families with a support of Rs 1,600 per connection in the next three years. The government allocated an additional Rs 1.6 crore for LPG connections under the Ujjwala 2.0 scheme, which gave migrant households identical privileges.

According to a recent National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report, LPG constitutes the main source of energy for 89 percent of urban families and 49.4 percent of rural households in India. Among the states where more than 90 percent of households cook using clean energy are Delhi, Goa, Karnataka, Telangana, and Sikkim.

For people who have access to the 2016-launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), LPG costs have been reduced. Notably, the government stated at the recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament that as of July 1, 2023, there were 9.59 crore beneficiaries of the PM Ujjwala Yojana. Thakur reiterated the same on August 29 as he announced that another 75 lakh women will be provided with free gas connections under the Ujjwala program on the occasion of Rakhi and Onam.

Hotels across Delhi-NCR prepare for President Biden, President Xi Jingping and other world leaders for G20

OpIndia Staff
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Hotels across Delhi-NCR prepare for President Biden, President Xi Jingping and other world leaders for G20

The G20 Leaders’ Summit in Delhi next month is fast approaching, and the attendees are expected to arrive soon. Throughout the summit, over 30 hotels located in Delhi-NCR will serve as accommodation for the delegates. According to India Today, the ITC Maurya Sheraton will be the residence of US President Joe Biden, while Chinese President Xi Jinping will stay at the Taj Palace. In total, 23 Delhi hotels and nine NCR Hotels will be hosting the G20 delegates.

The hotels that will host leaders and delegates in Delhi are ITC Maurya, Taj Mansingh, Taj Palace, Hotel Oberoi, Hotel Lalit, The Lodhi, Le Meridian, Hyatt Regency, Shangri-La, Leela Palace, Hotel Ashoka, Eros Hotel, The Surya, Radisson Blue Plaza, JW Marriott, Sheraton, The Leela Ambience Convention, Hotel Pullman, Rosette Hotel and The Imperial.

The hotels that will host leaders and delegates in NCR are The Vivanta (Surajkund), ITC Grand (Gurugram), Taj City Centre (Gurugram), Hyatt Regency (Gurugram), The Oberoi (Gurugram), WestINN (Gurugram), Crown Plaza (Greater Noida).

Arrangements at different hotels for world leaders during G20 summit

According to unnamed sources of India Today, the ITC Maurya Hotel, where US President Joe Biden will be staying during the upcoming event, will have commandos from the “American Secret Service” stationed on every floor. Biden’s room will be located on the 14th floor, which will be accessed via a special lift. It has been reported that a total of 400 rooms have been reserved at the hotel for the event.

Sources have disclosed the arrangements for the upcoming event, stating that various delegations from different countries have already arrived in India. According to the sources, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be staying at the Shangri-La Hotel, while French President Emmanuel Macron will be accommodated at the Claridges Hotel. Australian PM Anthony Albanese will stay at the Imperial Hotel, and Chinese President Xi Jinping will reside at the Taj Palace Hotel.

The Oberoi Hotel in Delhi will house the Turkish delegation, while delegations from Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, and Spain will stay at Le Meridien, as per sources. The delegations from China and Brazil will be hosted at the Taj Palace, Delhi, and the Indonesian and Australian delegations will be accommodated at the Imperial Hotel. Similarly, the Shangri-La Hotel will be the venue for the United Kingdom and Germany’s delegations, while the Italian and Singaporean delegations will be staying at the Hyatt Regency in Delhi.

The US delegation will be staying at the ITC Maurya Sheraton in Chanakyapuri, while the Oman delegation will stay at the Lodhi Hotel. The French delegation will be hosted at the Claridges Hotel and the Bangladesh delegation at the Grand Hyatt in Gurugram. As per sources, the Lalit Hotel in Delhi will be the venue for the delegations from Canada and Japan. The Korean delegation will be hosted at the Oberoi Hotel in Gurugram, the Egyptian delegation at the ITC Sheraton in Saket, and the Saudi Arabian delegation at the Leela Hotel in Gurugram. The UAE delegation will be staying at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi, as per sources.

Central agencies on high alert ahead of G20

To ensure the safety of foreign guests, central paramilitary forces, NSG commandos, and Delhi Police teams will be working together. Each security agency’s commandos have been assigned specific tasks. Additionally, the American Secret Service squad, responsible for Biden’s security, will arrive in Delhi three days prior to the two-day G20 summit that starts on September 9.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has held several meetings to discuss security arrangements, and 50 CRPF teams will be deployed to protect G20 delegates. The CRPF has set up a team of 1,000 personnel at the VIP Security Training Centre in Greater Noida to ensure the foreign guests’ security during the G20 summit.

Delhi: Two minor boys sexually assaulted in Govt school by fellow students, principal and vice principal suspended

ANI
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Delhi: Two minor boys sexually assaulted in Govt school by fellow students, principal and vice principal suspended

 The Delhi Government has set up an inquiry committee to probe into the alleged sexual assault case of two minor boys in a government school, according to an official statement, as per an ANI report.

The Government of Delhi in an official statement called the alleged incident “despicable” and said that a committee has been set up to probe the matter.

“It is tragic that such a despicable incident allegedly happened in the summer camp organized by the school. An inquiry committee has been set up and a thorough probe is underway on the subject. Let the due course of law take place,” said an official statement.

If any teachers or staff were aware of this issue and did not bring it to the notice of higher authorities, then stringent action would be taken against them, it added. “We can assure you all that the Delhi Government will take swift and stringent action on the matter. We want to set the standard of education in the country which includes character development among students,” read the statement.

It further said that such culpable deeds would not be tolerated and would be dealt with due severity. Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief Swati Maliwal on Monday issued notices to the Delhi Police and Directorate of Education in the alleged sexual assault case of two minor boys in a government school.

“Delhi Commission for Women has received information of sexual assault with two minor boys in a government school of Delhi. A 13-year-old boy who studies in 8th standard in a government school in Rohini was allegedly sexually assaulted by other students of the school,” the notice read.

“He has informed that in April 2023, he attended school during summer camp wherein some students forcibly took him to a nearby park and sexually assaulted him for 7 days. He has alleged that the accused students also threatened him not to disclose the incident to anyone. He stated that a couple of days ago, he narrated his ordeal to two of his teachers, but they asked him not to report the matter,” it added.

DCW Maliwal further mentioned that in another case a 12-year-old minor was also sexually assaulted by the same group of students.

“Another boy, aged 12 years old has also alleged that the same students sexually assaulted him as well. He has informed us that in April 2023, during the summer camp, he was sexually assaulted in the school toilet. He has stated that the accused students had threatened him not to disclose the incident to anyone,” the notice read.”

He has further alleged that around 16 days back, a student again tried to sexually assault him in the toilet. He has further stated that he had narrated the incident to two of his teachers in July and August, but they had asked him to not talk about the incident to anyone,” it added.

DCW has requested the Delhi Police and Directorate of Education to provide a detailed action taken report on the two matters by September 1, 2023.

As on Tuesday, 29th August, the Kejriwal government has suspended the principal and vice principal of the school in Northwest Delhi.

12 companies, mostly based in tax havens, benefitted from short selling after Hindenburg Research report on Adani Group. Here is what we know so far

OpIndia Staff
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12 companies, mostly based in tax havens, benefitted from short selling after Hindenburg Research report on Adani Group. Here is what we know so far

The Hindenburg Research report, which was published on January 24 this year, had benefitted 12 companies based in tax havens through short selling in the shares of the Adani Group companies, reported The Indian Express.

According to the preliminary investigation conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a dozen Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FIPs) sold Adani Group shares 2-3 days before the publication of the Hindenburg Research report.

After the shakedown of the Indian markets, the said companies purchased the same shares at a lower price. ED informed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that out of the 12 entities, some of them were involved in short-selling shares for the first time (including a Mauritius-based company).

Screengrab of the news report by The Indian Express

Citing sources, The Indian Express reported that 4 of the dozen companies are based in India. One of them is reportedly an Indian branch of a foreign bank. Four other entities are based in Mauritius and one each in Hong Kong, Cayman Islands, Ireland, London and France.

The Enforcement Directorate found that none of the 12 companies had disclosed the structure of their ownership to Indian income tax authorities. “For instance, one was incorporated in July 2020, and had no business activity till September 2021, and in a short period of six months from September 2021 to March 2022, claimed income of Rs 1,100 crore on a turnover of Rs 31,000 crore,” The Indian Express report said.

It further added, “Another global financial services group, which operates as a bank in India, earned just Rs 122 crore, but as an FII earned “whopping income of Rs 9,700 crore” without any income tax.”

Promoter of an Indian short seller was earlier under SEBI scrutiny

Besides, two of the ‘top short sellers’ were Indian companies, one registered in Mumbai and the other in New Delhi. Interestingly, the SEBI had earlier passed an order against the promoter of the Delhi-registered company for stock manipulation and misleading investors.

The parent company of Cayman Islands-based Foreign Institutional Investor, which benefitted from short-selling Adani Group shares, had earlier pled guilty to insider trading and coughed up a penalty of $1.8 billion in the United States.

According to the Enforcement Directorate, the 12 entities might not be the ‘end beneficiaries’ in short selling of the shares of the Indian conglomerate. The central agency is investigating whether they acted as brokers for other overseas-based ‘big players.’

Hindenburg Research report and the Indian market crash

On January 24 this year, a US-based short seller named Hindenburg Research published a 32,000-word report, accusing the Adani Group of stock manipulation and use of tax havens.

The Adani Group trashed the report as a ‘malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations’. Later, it published a 413-page response and pointed out how the US-based investment research firm sought to benefit from its damning report.

“This is rife with conflict of interest and intended only to create a false market in securities to enable Hindenburg, an admitted short seller, to book massive financial gain through wrongful means at the cost of countless investors,” the Indian conglomerate had said back then.

Nonetheless, the Hindenburg Research report caused a temporary shakedown of the Adani group and wiped out $100 billion of wealth from the Indian stock market.

NIA files charge sheet against Assam-based Al-Qaeda module terrorists for conspiring to spread terror & violence across the country

OpIndia Staff
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NIA files charge sheet against Assam-based Al-Qaeda module terrorists for conspiring to spread terror & violence across the country

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday (29th August) filed a supplementary charge sheet against two terrorists of an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group based in Assam. Both terrorists had reportedly conspired to spread terror and violence across the country. Officials said the supplementary charge sheet has been filed against Akbar Ali and Abul Kalam Azad, who were arrested on 5th April.

According to officials, the duo was a part of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) based in Assam’s Barpeta, which was headed by Saiful Islam, a Bangladeshi national. Saiful was an Arabic teacher at the ‘Sheikhul Hind Mahmudul Hasan Jamiul Huda Islamic Academy’. He used to conduct terrorist activities disguised as an imam in Dhakaliapara mosque.

The agency is on the lookout for the Bangladeshi handlers of the module. Officials said the NIA invoked various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in its supplementary chargesheet against the two. The central agency had filed the first chargesheet against eight other accused in the group in August last year.

An NIA spokesperson stated that the two accused, Mohammad Akbar Ali alias Akbar Ali and Abul Kalam Azad, had conspired with others to incite and promote terrorist activities as part of an active terror module of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT). They had conspired with terrorists affiliated with the Al-Qaeda.

Both the accused were reportedly involved in strengthening the Al-Qaeda and ABT terror networks, and training the youth for terrorist activities.

The official also said that the two accused had organized several meetings in different districts to carry out the activities on behalf of Al Qaeda. The spokesman said that under the active guidance of Bangladeshi handlers of the module, Zakir alias Mehdi Hasan, Mehboor Rehman alias Mehboob Alam Sultan, Muslims were being mobilized for radicalisation.

Meanwhile, in another breakthrough, the NIA has arrested two absconding accused in a case of ISIS-inspired terror conspiracy by a terrorist outfit named ‘Al Sufa’ which goes back to 2022. The agency had recovered explosive and improvised explosive device (IED) material from Chittorgarh in Rajasthan last year.

Ending almost a year-long search, the Pune police arrested Mohammad Yunus Saki and Imran Khan on 18th July. Both residents of Ratlam were produced before the NIA special court in Jaipur on 28th August.

The central agency said, “NIA expects their arrest to lead the agency into establishing the missing links in the case and unearth the outfit’s linkages to active members and sleeper modules of ISIS in India. Mohammad Yunus Saki and Imran Khan were actively engaged in spreading the ISIS ideology before their arrests from Maharashtra.”

The agency said that the duo was highly trained in IED fabrication and involved in training their co-accused in making such devices at mastermind Imran Khan’s poultry farm. “The said poultry farm was attached by the NIA last month. After they fled to Mumbai and subsequently settled in Pune last year, they organised at least two IED Training and Fabrication Workshops in Pune last year,” officials reportedly said.

‘Any change in the Constitution that brings everyone at par can never be faulted with’: SG Tushar Mehta during Article 370 hearing

OpIndia Staff
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‘Any change in the Constitution that brings everyone at par can never be faulted with’: SG Tushar Mehta during Article 370 hearing

The hearing on the petition against the abrogation of Article 370 before the 5-judge constitutional bench has entered into the 12th day on Tuesday (29 August). Representing the government of India, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta presented the Centre’s arguments in favor of the dilution of Article 370 by specifically making three major submissions. 

In his argument, he raised – ‘the interpretation of Article 370’, which he deemed to be the correct interpretation, second ‘State Reorganization Act’, and third, the parameters of powers of the legislature during 356.

SG Mehta said that the other side argued that there was an assurance given to princely states and as a result of which they joined India and Article 370.

To counter this, SG Mehta highlighted the case of Madhavrao Scindia. It was the first case in which the Supreme Court dealt with the government’s withdrawal of privy purses. He said that the SC back then observed that it was necessary to amend two constitutional provisions- Art 291 and 362 which provided for privy purses. The court had highlighted that by merely changing Article 366 which is the definition clause, the government couldn’t have taken away privy purses. 

It is pertinent to note that the Central government at that time exercised powers under 366 and deleted the term ‘princely states’. However, SG Mehta then explained why it was not necessary to read the judgement passed in Madhavrao Scindia’s case. He added that in that case, it was done by a presidential order and one definition was deleted, however, the president never possessed this power.

The government adopted the route of constitutional amendment after the judgement in Madhavrao Scindia and the government repealed those provisions. However, it was challenged in the Raghunath Rao Ganpat Rao vs. Union of India case. 

Citing the SC verdict in that case, the Solicitor General highlighted that the apex court found that it was the people who were instrumental in integration rather than any privy purse. The court rejected that these rulers surrendered their sovereignty and rights over their territories as part of some so-called quid-pro-quo provisions. 

In that ruling, the Supreme Court categorically stated that it is untenable to say that without voluntary accession, India would have been different from the Bharat that came into being prior to the accession. 

SG Mehta said, “In this case (Raghunathrao Ganpatrao v. Union Of India), the court said that any change in the Constitution which brings everyone at par can never be faulted with. Princely states, after the formation of the Constitution, lost their special privilege, and the word ‘fraternity’ had to be given meaning.” 

Based on the Supreme Court verdict in that case, SG asserted that even the removal of some provisions can further the constitutional objective. He added that this can further strengthen the basic structure of the Constitution – fraternity, equality- it’s a basic structure, it’s a part of brotherhood.

During the course of extensive arguments over the legal and scholarly interpretation of Article 367 and Article 370, the Solicitor General pointed out that there were drastic provisions in Article 370. Consequently, the central government used the Article 367 mechanism for the explanation purpose so that the government could ensure that this never happens again, and thus 367 was used.

SG categorically highlighted why Article 370 is different from others. He said, “Article 370(3) has an in-built extinguishing provision. That’s the distinction. This is the only provision that has a self-destructive clause. This shows it was intended to be temporary.”

SG clearly submitted that if the ‘constituent assembly’ had not been replaced by ‘legislative assembly’ and changes were forced to be brought out only through Article 370(3) could have made it a permanent rather than a temporary one.

Major takeaways of Article 370 hearing so far

A day earlier, on Monday (28 August), CJI Chandrachud asserted that the fundamental rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir were taken away by implementing Article 35A. 

He highlighted that Article 35A gave the state legislature the power to define the ‘permanent residents’ of the state and provided them with special privileges. And this denied other people their fundamental rights. 

CJI said, “Article 35A gave special rights and privileges to permanent residents and virtually took away the rights of non-residents. These rights included the right to equal opportunity of State employment, right to acquire property, and the right to settle in Jammu and Kashmir.”

Click here, to read more about the submissions made before the court and the specific incident that SG Mehta referred to while he cited some remarks of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. 

On 25 August, when SG Mehta quoted certain remarks by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and was exposing Nehru’s stance, petitioner lawyer Kapil Sibal objected to it and created disturbances in the hearing. However, the CJI interjected and instructed Sibal not to impede in the middle of the government’s argument. 

Prior to that, the Constitutional bench came down heavily and rebuked Manish Tewari for raising ‘apprehensions’ that Article 371 may be abrogated. During the course of the Article 370 hearing, the bench dismissed his plea.

Prayagraj: Mohammad Yusuf, Mohsin & two others beat Satyam Sharma to death, family says they were harrasing boy’s sister but police denies

OpIndia Staff
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Prayagraj: Mohammad Yusuf, Mohsin & two others beat Satyam Sharma to death, family says they were harrasing boy’s sister but police denies

Satyam Sharma, 16, was beaten to death in Kheri village of Koraon tehsil of Prayagraj district, Uttar Pradesh. He was a student of 10th standard. Relatives claim that he was beaten up for protesting against the harassment of her cousin sister. However, the police have denied the harassment charge.

Dainik Jagran quoted DCP Santosh Meena as saying that the student was beaten up after a brawl in school, which led to his death. Dainik Bhaskar, quoting ACP Rajeev Yadav, has termed the allegation of harassment as wrong. The bereaved have reportedly submitted a complaint against the known accused. FIR has been registered against four accused including the village head Mohammad Yusuf. Search for the accused is underway.

The incident is of 28 August 2023. Satyam Sharma, a student of Parmanand Inter College, was returning with his cousin after school break. His sister was allegedly harassed by some students from the Muslim community in Turkpurwa locality. Two of the accused are also said to be students of this school.

Satyam was trying to protect his sister who was being physically harassed by the accused. She kept urging for help but bystanders turned mute spectators (Source: Dainik Bhaskar)

Allegedly, when Satyam objected to the eve-teasing, he was thrashed with a stick. He was hit so brutally that he fell unconscious to the ground. Meanwhile, his sister kept pleading for help, but no one came forward. He was later taken to Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital in Prayagraj, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Satyam Sharma was a resident of Puradalu village. His sister said, “We were both going home after school closed on Monday. In Turkpurwa mohalla, students from the same village and another community studying in our school held my hand. Tried to pull me. When I shouted, my brother confronted him. After that they attacked my brother. Hit him with a bat till he fell on the ground. The assailants then ran away while making threats.”

The incident reportedly took place in front of the house of village head Mohammad Yusuf. He did not help Satyam’s sister even after pleading. The boys accused of harassment are also reportedly from Yusuf’s house. Many criminal cases are already registered against Mohammad Yusuf.

The family was accompanied by locals who blocked the streets in protest (Source: Dainik Bhaskar)

Tensions gripped the area as the matter pertained to two communities. Angry villagers blocked a four-way street for 9 hours at Kheri intersection. Top officials had also come to the spot to bring the situation under control. According to the victim’s relatives, Satyam’s sister was earlier harassed in the school as well. Then he complained about it to the school management.

On the other hand, Manoj Pandey, manager of Parmanand Inter College, has said that acting “on the complaint, he called the youths and explained to them. The local police have also been asked many times regarding the deployment of police during the holidays.”

Police tried to placate the bereaved who were protesting till post midnight (Source: Dainik Bhaskar)

This brutal murder of a Hindu student at the hands of Muslims comes at a time when the news of a Muzaffarnagar teacher making students slap another student has been sensationalised using communal angles even as the police, and the family of the student have denied any religious angle in the case.

The teacher, Tripti Tyagi, and the school have been pulled up by the administration. The case has been used by the Islamist ecosystem to target Hindus even as cases like the lynching of Satyam Sharma by Muslims are blatantly dismissed by the mainstream media.

Burari rape case: Premoday Khakha’s son to be investigated as well, suspected of complicity in rape of the minor girl

OpIndia Staff
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Burari rape case: Premoday Khakha’s son to be investigated as well, suspected of complicity in rape of the minor girl

In a shocking update that has emerged in the Burari minor rape case, it has come to the fore that the 21-year-old son of suspended Delhi’s Deputy Director of Women and Child Development Department, Premoday Khakha, is also under the scanner in the rape case of the minor girl while she was staying at Khakha’s Burari residence.

In the case, Premoday Khakha, and his wife, Seema Rani, have been sent to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with the rape of a minor girl. It was earlier reported that Khakha’s family, including his children, knew about the sexual assault and that Delhi Police was planning to interrogate the children who are adults.

According to the reports, Khakha raped the girl for the first time on October 31, 2020, after which he informed his wife, Seema Rani. The accused woman then blamed the victim girl saying that she might have given wrong indications to Khakha. It had also been alleged that Khakha used to give her drugs before raping her.

As per reports, the Delhi Police on Tuesday, August 29 said that Harsh Khakha, son of Premoday, is also being investigated. “He also bought a pregnancy test kit and abortion pills for the victim on his mother Seema Rani’s instruction after they came to know about the victim’s pregnancy,” confirmed Dependra Pathak, the special commissioner of police.

He said that the victim girl confirmed the rape and said that she would call Harsh ‘bhaiya’ (brother). “Based on the statement issued by the girl, we will soon interrogate Harsh, and if any corroborative evidence is found, he will be arrested,” Pathak said.

Delhi Police takes cognisance, directs the WCD department to file a report

Reportedly, the Delhi High Court on Monday, August 28, also took cognisance of the incident and asked the authorities to ensure that the identity of the minor victim girl is not revealed in any manner.

After taking suo motu cognisance of the occurrence, a bench consisting of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula launched a public interest litigation (PIL) on its own merits. The Court also asked the Department of Women and Child Development of the Delhi government to file a report on the matter.

Earlier, it was reported that the girl was fed drugs by Khakha before he brutally raped her. Meanwhile, his wife provided the girl with anti-pregnancy pills. The woman has been accused of hiding the pregnancy of the minor girl and abortion.

The attorney representing Khakha had also stated that the accused did not impregnate the girl and that allegations against him were false as he (Khakha) had undergone a vasectomy about 20 years ago.

The Burari rape case

On August 21, the Delhi Police arrested a senior Delhi government officer named Premoday Khakha (51) for raping a minor girl for over three months in Delhi’s Burari region. The police also arrested the wife of Khakha who allegedly gave the minor girl pills to get rid of the pregnancy caused by the rape. The accused had developed close ties with the victim’s family through a church in north Delhi’s Burari region.

The 17-year-old minor girl complained against Khakha and his wife Seema Rani that the two assaulted her for three months during her stay at their place between October 2020 and April 2021. The victim girl said that Khakha, who served as deputy director in Delhi’s women and child department (WCD), raped her multiple times and his wife forced her to have abortion pills.

As reported earlier, following the death of the father of the girl in October 2022, Khakha, whom the girl referred to as “mama” brought the child to his Burari residence. The victim’s mother, who had known the family for many years, thought her daughter would be safe under Khakha’s supervision, and spending time in their house would help her get over the loss.

However, the girl was raped multiple times. Further, several complaints against Khakha regarding child abuse and inappropriate behaviour at the workplace against women have come to the fore. Detailed reports regarding the same can be read here.

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