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Their govt, their writ: Year on, kin of Lakhimpur Kheri victims await justice

Date : 04-Oct-2022

New Delhi, October 3

A year after eight persons were killed in the violence that hit Lakhimpur Kheri, with five of them mowed down by vehicles belonging to Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra and son Ashish Mishra, families of the victims are still awaiting justice.

“It is their government, their writ. Who cares for our voice,” asks a distraught Satnam Singh whose son Lovepreet was among four persons killed after SUVs rammed into them while they were returning home after a protest against three farm laws on October 3, 2021.

Although Ashish Mishra was arrested and continues to be in jail for the alleged murders (the apex court had in April this year cancelled his bail granted by the Allahabad HC), his father is still a Union Minister. “Our demand that Ajay Mishra be removed has not been met. There was clear evidence of his involvement in the conspiracy. We again seek justice,” said Satnam Singh, who, along with family members of other victims, attended akhand path organised at Gurdwara Kudiyala Sahib today.

Bharatiya Kisan Union national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said, “No justice has been done.” Speaking with The Tribune, Gurmeet Randhawa of the Kheri Kisan Union, one of the akhand path organisers, said the Samyukta Kisan Morcha had handed over cheques for Rs 2 lakh each to the families of four farmers, who were behind bars in connection with the counter-FIRs lodged by the driver of one of the SUVs.

He said the congregation today called for government jobs for the families of the deceased farmers — Lovepreet, Daljit Singh, Gurvinder Singh and Nachhattar Singh — and the sacking of Ajay Mishra as minister. Pawan Kashyap, the brother of journalist Raman Kashyap, who too died in the violence, said the families were seeking a closure which was “not possible till each person involved in the violence is punished”. He was referring to Mishra’s continuation as Union Minister.

Attacking the BJP for the delay in justice, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said: “Nothing can be more insulting than the fact that farmers agitating against black laws were deliberately killed while the culprit remains a member of the Union Council of Ministers.”

Anish Dayal Singh takes charge as ITBP DG

Date : 03-Oct-2022

New Delhi, October 3

Senior IPS officer Anish Dayal Singh on Monday took charge as the new director general (DG) of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police that guards the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control with China.

The 1988-batch officer of Manipur cadre was handed over the ceremonial baton by his batchmate SL Thaosen who has been holding the additional charge of the about the 90,000-personnel-strong mountain-warfare trained force since August after Sanjay Arora was appointed Delhi Police Commissioner.

Before taking charge at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police force headquarter at Lodhi Road, Singh was accorded a guard of honour following which senior officers gave him a presentation on the operations and deployment of the force.

Singh, who belongs to the Manipur cadre, is the 32nd DG of the ITBP and has been serving as a special director in the Intelligence Bureau where he handled several sensitive assignments.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by the prime minister had on October 1 issued the order for the appointment of Singh who has service till December 2024.

Thaosen, through the same order, was appointed as the new CRPF DG. The Madhya Pradesh cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer has been serving as the SSB DG with the additional charge of ITBP.

An order issued by the Union home ministry on Monday also gave the additional charge of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) to Singh "till the appointment and joining of the regular incumbent or until further orders whichever is earlier".

The ITBP is primarily tasked to guard the 3,488-km stretch of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China apart from rendering a variety of duties in the internal security domain of the country.

Mumbai Dussehra rallies: It will be Uddhav Thackeray vs Eknath Shinde

Date : 03-Oct-2022

New Delhi, October 3

A day after a large number of Shiv Sena workers from the Worli area joined the ruling Eknath Shinde faction, sounding yet another setback for the Uddhav Thackeray camp, the two sides are now preparing for a mega show of strength in Mumbai with individual rallies on Dussehra festival. The factions have also initiated a video war to claim the legacy of Bal Thackeray—the founder of Shiv Sena.

While a video shared by the official Twitter handle of Shiv Sena showed Uddhav Thackeray addressing a large gathering, Shinde said a large number of Sena workers will attend his Dussehra rally. Amid the ongoing dispute, Thackeray also said that Dussehra gatherings keep happening but there is only one Shiv Sena Dussehra rally, which will be at the Shivaji Park.

The Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in Dadar has been a tradition since the inception of the Shiv Sena but the year’s event has been in the spotlight for other reasons, basically permission issues. Both the sides were demanding Shivaji Park as the venue. However, the Bombay High Court allowed the Uddhav Thackeray side to hold its rally at the park, leaving Eknath Shinde to hold his event at the BKC—the Bandra-Kurla Complex.

Leaders from the Shinde sides have been urging supporters to turn out in huge numbers for the Chief Minister’s rally in Mumbai instead of going to the Shivaji Park grounds—the location of the rally since 1966.

According to Shinde, “lakhs of people” from across Maharashtra will be present at the BKC grounds. “We are taking forward the ideology of Balasaheb, that’s why we are getting good support from the people,” he was quoted as saying. Dismissing the argument that the BKC rally was actually a show of strength by his government, he said: “We are just working for the people. People know who is doing the real work.”

Claiming to be the “real” Shiv Sena, the Thackeray and Shinde factions have been fighting over the election symbol. The Supreme Court has left it for the Election Commission to decide the matter.

The Shinde side says they have the majority to prove the claim before the Election Commission. “We have 40 out of 55 (Shiv Sena) MLAs, besides 10 independent MLAs. We have 12 out of 18 MPs. Lakhs of Sena cadres are with us. The majority is clear,” they say.

Coming out in support of the beleaguered Uddhav Thackeray, MVA member has declared his side to be the “real” Sena.

The developments come ahead of the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the first big political test of the two sides and their claims over the Bal Thackeray legacy.

Delhi Police provides Z+ security to CDS Anil Chauhan on Home Ministry order

Date : 03-Oct-2022

New Delhi, Oct 3 (PTI) Delhi Police has provided Z+ security to Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan on the directions of Ministry of Home Affairs, an official said on Monday.

Chauhan on Friday became India’s new Chief of Defence Staff with a mandate to implement the ambitious theaterisation plan that aims to ensure tri-services synergy and prepare the armed forces for future security challenges facing the nation.

“CDS Gen Anil Chauhan has been provided with Z+ security on MHA’s order,” confirmed a senior police officer.

Gen Chauhan, a former Eastern Army Commander, took charge as the country’s senior-most military commander over nine months after first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu. PTI

Mulayam Singh Yadav in critical care unit: Medanta Hospital

Date : 03-Oct-2022

Gurugram, October 3

Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav has been shifted to the critical care unit at Gurugram’s Medanta Hospital where he is undergoing treatment.

“Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav is currently admitted in the critical care unit of Medanta Hospital and is being treated by a specialised team of doctors,” the hospital said in a statement.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister was shifted to the intensive care unit after his health deteriorated last night. The Samajwadi veteran has been undergoing treatment at the hospital since August 22.

The Samajwadi Party in a tweet had said that the health condition of the leader is stable. His son and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav reached the Gurugram hospital where his ailing father is admitted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Akhilesh and enquired about Mulayam Singh Yadav's health condition. The Samajwadi party has appealed followers and members to not throng the Medanta as many have started gathering there. Hospital has also stepped up the security.

Fire breaks out in Durga Puja pandal in UP; 3 killed, 64 injured

Date : 03-Oct-2022

Bhadohi (UP), (PTI) Three people were killed and 64 others injured after a fire broke out in a Durga Puja pandal here due to overheating of a halogen light, officials said on Monday.

A digital show was going on at the pandal and 300-400 people were inside it when the fire broke out on Sunday night. The pandal was reduced to ashes, they said.

The fire broke out in a Durga Puja pandal in Narthua village, a stone’s throw from Aurai police station, around 9.30 pm on Sunday, District Magistrate Gaurang Rathi said.

A total of 67 people were injured in the fire and three of them — Ankush Soni (12), Jaya Devi (45) and Naveen (10) — died. Three of the injured are stated to be serious, he said.

All the injured have been identified, and the district administration and police have their list, he said, adding that the majority of the people inside the pandal were women and children.

A halogen light at the pandal overheated, causing an electric wire to catch fire at multiple points simultaneously. Soon the fire engulfed the wooden scaffolding and the tent, Rathi said.

The cause of the fire was ascertained by a special probe team constituted by Additional Director General Ram Kumar, the DM said.

Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar said that an FIR has been lodged at Aurai police station.

The Durga Puja had been organised by Ekta Club Pooja Samiti, the officials said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condoled the loss of lives in the incident, his office said in a tweet on Sunday.

Adityanath has directed officials to ensure that the injured get proper treatment, the Chief Minister’s Officer said. PTI C

Durga Puja: Mahatma Gandhi-like Mahishasura at Calcutta venue

Date : 03-Oct-2022

The Mahishasura resembles Mahatma Gandhi at a Durga puja organised in Calcutta by an outfit that describes itself as the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, the news spreading on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi led India in celebrating the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation and Bengal basked in the glory of one of the world’s biggest inclusive festivals.

The idol at Ruby Crossing, not more than 10km from the heart of Calcutta, shows Durga conquering the demon that is portrayed as a bald man in dhoti with spectacles and a walking stick.

“It is true that we don’t comply with Gandhi’s ideology and do not believe that he is the nation’s father. However, any resemblance of the asura with Gandhi is purely coincidental,” said Chandrachur Goswami, the working president of the state unit of the organisation. The Mahatma’s assassin, Nathuram Godse, was affiliated to an organisation with a similar name.

The Mahasabha leaders often criticise the BJP in public — the puja venue has some posters against Modi and Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the Opposition in Bengal.

On Sunday, too, the BJP criticised the depiction of the asura — just as the party and Modi had condemned their Bhopal MP and terror accused, Pragya Singh Thakur, when she called Godse a “patriot”. She later apologised but other than being dropped from a parliamentary panel, the BJP is not known to have taken any disciplinary action against her.

This is a leaf straight from the Hindutva playbook. When controversies turn untenable, the wider and amorphous parivar seeks to take the high moral ground by distancing itself from the so-called fringe elements that execute the less palatable components of the cause and let the “mainstream” facade retain deniability. Some academics feel that Thakur became the symbol of the 2019 election, in which nebulous fringe elements became mainstream.

Both the BJP and the Hindu Mahasabha idolise Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, and it is undeniable that the Mahasabha has expanded its organisation after the change of guard at the Centre in 2014.

That the outfit is asserting its presence has become clear from the puja itself. It has broken from the tradition of organising Durga puja in private spaces and is now holding the first public edition of its puja near Ruby Crossing.

Sources in the Mahasabha said in private that they were happy with the controversy over the demon’s perceived similarities with Bapu. In fact, the puja probably would draw more footfall, living off the marketing mantra “there is no such thing as bad publicity”.

An alternative narrative does exist about Mahishasura — sections of marginalised populations worship him as a symbol of justice who was deceived and defeated. But none of the organisers at the Ruby Crossing puja mentioned any alternative narrative.

Congress MP and Bengal unit president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury demanded strictest action against the organisers and threatened legal action.

“These (the organisers) are the same lot who are ruling our country today. The act is anti-national. They must be booked under serious laws,” Chowdhury said.

He criticised the Trinamul-led state government for allowing this puja to continue. “The biggest expansion of the RSS in Bengal has happened under Mamata Banerjee’s rule. Why is her police not taking action against this puja?” he asked.

CPM state secretary Md Salim said he was shocked. “Gandhi’s role in the freedom struggle is undeniable. He was murdered by the Hindutva brigade and now his thoughts are murdered every day.… Their motive is to create strife and destroy the social amity and the sentiments of a vast section of the people during the Puja,” Salim said.

According to him, if the authorities do not take necessary action against the perpetrators, he would ask his party’s lawyers to take the matter to court.

The chief spokesperson of the BJP’s state unit, Samik Bhattacharya, condemned the idol and criticised the Mahasabha.

The police said they had not received any specific complaint against any idol till Sunday evening.

“But there are provisions under law wherein if the sentiment of a community is hurt on different grounds, including cultural and religious, specific cases can be drawn up,” said an IPS officer.

Late on Sunday evening Congress leader Koustav Bagchi, under instructions from Chowdhury, lodged an FIR against the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha and Goswami at Titagarh police station.

IAF inducts indigenously-built Light Combat Helicopter

Date : 03-Oct-2022

The Indian Air Force will on Monday induct the first batch of indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopter, in a boost to its combat prowess as the multi-role platform is capable of firing a range of missiles and other weapons.

The Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), developed by state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), has been primarily designed for deployment in high-altitude regions.

It will be inducted into the IAF at a ceremony in Jodhpur in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, officials said on Sunday.

In a Twitter post, the defence minister said the induction of the new helicopters will be a "big boost" to the IAF's "combat prowess".

The 5.8-tonne twin-engine helicopter has already completed various weapons firing tests, the officials said.

In March, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the procurement of 15 indigenously developed Limited Series Production (LSP) LCH at a cost of Rs 3,887 crore.

The defence ministry had said 10 helicopters would be for the IAF and five for the Indian Army.

The LCH has similarities with Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv. It has a number of stealth features, armoured-protection systems, night attack capability and crash-worthy landing gear for better survivability, the officials said.

"I would be in Jodhpur, Rajasthan tomorrow, 3rd October, to attend the Induction ceremony of the first indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopters (LCH). The induction of these helicopters will be a big boost to the IAF's combat prowess. Looking forward to it," Singh tweeted.

The LCH is equipped with requisite agility, manoeuvrability, extended range, high altitude performance and all-weather combat capability to perform a range of roles including combat search and rescue (CSAR), destruction of enemy air defence (DEAD) and counter-insurgency (CI) operations.

The helicopter can also be deployed in high-altitude bunker-busting operations, counter-insurgency operations in the jungles and urban environments as well as for supporting ground forces.

The helicopter can also be used against slow-moving aircraft and remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) of adversaries.

Officials said it would be a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of the IAF and the Indian Army.

They said state-of-the-art technologies and systems compatible with stealth features such as reduced visual, aural, radar and IR signatures and crashworthiness features for better survivability have been integrated into the LCH for deployment in combat roles.

Several key aviation technologies like a glass cockpit and composite airframe structure have been indigenised, they said.

The future series-production version will consist of further modern and indigenous systems, they said.

Four LCH helicopters have already been accepted by the IAF.

The officials said the IAF plans to procure more LCH in the near future.

"We are already working with DRDO and HAL to integrate new weapons on the helicopter," said one of the officials.

The helicopter has been tested under stringent operating conditions including at sea level, in desert regions and in Siachen. In February 2020, it was declared ready for production.

The Army has a plan to acquire 95 LCH largely for a combat role in the mountains.

Markets fall in early trade on weak global trends

Date : 03-Oct-2022

Benchmark indices fell in early trade on Monday amid weak global market trends and continuous foreign fund outflow.

The 30-share BSE benchmark declined 288.8 points to 57,138.12 in early trade. The broader NSE Nifty dipped 79.4 points to 17,014.95.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan, Maruti, Asian Paints, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel and ITC were major laggards.NTPC, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries and UltraTech Cement were among the winners.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong were quoting lower, while Tokyo traded higher.

The US markets ended lower on Friday.

The BSE benchmark had jumped 1,016.96 points or 1.80 per cent to settle at 57,426.92 on Friday. The Nifty climbed 276.25 points or 1.64 per cent to end at 17,094.35.

Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 2.62 per cent to USD 87.37 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 1,565.31 crore on Friday, according to data available with BSE.

Foreign investors turned sellers in September, pulling out Rs 7,600 crore from Indian equity markets.

Communal clash in Savli town of Gujarat over displaying religions flag; 36 held

Date : 03-Oct-2022

Vadodara,(PTI) Two groups clashed and hurled stones at each other over putting up a religious flag in Savli town in Gujarat's Vadodara district, a police official said on Monday, adding 36 people have been arrested.

The incident occurred on Saturday night after a group of people objected to members of another community trying to put up a religious flag alongside their flag on an electricity pole in Dhamiji ka Dera locality, a Savli police station official said.

"The matter escalated and both the communities started hurling stones at each other. Nobody was injured but a vehicle and a shop were damaged by rioters," said Savli police station sub-inspector, AR Mahida.

Cross First Information Reports (FIRs) were lodged by both the groups on late Saturday night, following which a case was registered for rioting, unlawful assembly, rash act endangering human life etc of the Indian Penal Code against 43 people, Mahida said.

A total of 36 people from both communities have been arrested so far, he said.

Police security has been beefed up in the communally sensitive area and the situation is under control, he added. PTI