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| Thursday, June 22, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Mystery shrouds couple’s
death Student leader’s death: SHO
held Free hostages, PM writes to S.
Leone Gupta blames corrupt bureaucrats
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Liberhan panel summons
Kalyan Amend child labour Act: NHRC Heavy rainfall likely in coastal
Kerala
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Mystery shrouds couple’s
death NEW DELHI, June 21 — Mystery shrouds the death of youth, Sandeep Ahlawat (19), an engineering student and his girl friend, Sunila Solanki (22), pursuing for MBA, who reportedly committed suicide by shooting themselves in Hauz Khas area of South Delhi. Their bodies were recovered from a Maruti Zen car parked in Kaushlya Park in Hauz Khas area yesterday. One bullet injury mark on each body was visible. A 7.65 bore Czechoslovakian pistol was recovered from the car. The post-mortem report said that they were shot at from a close range and they would have died sometimes between at 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. A suicide note which was recovered from the car said that "We are killing ourselves." The suicide note was signed twice by Sandeep and Sunila. On the basis of the suicide note, the police claimed that it was a suicide. However, the writing of the suicide note was yet not confirmed which raised the possibility of involvement of a third person. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (South district), Mr Sudhir Yadav said that Sandeep and Sunila were residents of Rohini in North-West district. They had affair and wanted to marry but their marriage was reportedly opposed by Sandeep’s parents. They would have come to South Delhi for a fun and would have committed suicide. Sandeep had bullet injury on the right side of the skull while Sunila sustained bullet injury on the left side of the temple. Blood stains were also seen on the lower part of the car’s door on the driver’s side. The car was parked there some times at 10 p.m. on Monday, the police said. Sandeep’s father is an executive engineer working with the Haryana Electricity Board in Panipat. Sunila’s mother is a head nurse at Kalawati Hospital. The bodies inside the car was discovered by Anil, a car cleaner. He saw dead bodies of the youth leaning on to each other. On seeing the blood inside the car he informed Mr Ashok Garg whose car he was cleaning. Mr Ashok Garg informed the police. The police broke open the door of the car as it was locked from inside and the window screens were rolled up. The weapon which was recovered from the car was reportedly owned by Sandeep’s father, Devender Ahlawat. There was a volleyball, some eatables and a tin of coke kept in the rear seat. Two empty bullet shells were recovered from the car. The chamber and magazine of the weapon were empty. The car belonged to one Rajnish Arya reportedly a friend of Sunila. Sunila, who was married three years ago, was a divorcee. She had developed affair
with Sandeep three months back, the police said. |
Student leader’s death: SHO
held JAIPUR, June 21 — There was a complete bandh in Ajmer for the second day today in protest against the ‘custodril’ death of NSUI leader Dharmendra Meghvanshi on Sunday night. Parents of the deceased had not yet agreed to receive the body for cremation till this afternoon so as to press for their demand for the arrest of guilty policemen who were ‘responsible’ for Meghvanshi’s death. While the police said he died in a road accident while driving his scooter under influence of liquor, his parents charge that he was murdered in police custody at the Clock Tower police station. The staff of the Clock Tower police station has tried to reportedly hush up the matter since very beginning which gives credence to the charge of his death in custody. Two policemen had brought dragging Meghvanshi’s body to the hospital and asked the doctor on duty to conduct his medical examination. As the doctor discovered that the person was already dead he refused to conduct any examination. But the policemen asked the doctor to treat the person as alive and do the job as they wanted but the doctor refused. The police then informed Dharmendra’s father that his son was critically ill in the hospital. On reaching the hospital on Monday morning he was taken aback to find that his son had already died. He charged that it was a clear case of murder by the police at the police station. Soon the news of the death of Meghvanshi spread and a large number of students gathered at the hospital. They alleged that the murder was the outcome of an ongoing feud between the student leader and police station staff. A large crowd assembled outside the mortuary raising anti-police slogans. Students forced shopkeepers to down their shutters. Mohan Lal, father of the deceased, and other students demanded that the entire staff of thana be arrested and case of murder registered against them. In the afternoon, however, a case of murder was registered on the basis of written complaint by Mohan Lal. A medical board was constituted to conduct autopsy on Meghvanshi’s body. Postmortem report belied the police claim that Dharmendra had died on account of the scooter accident rather it confirmed that it was a case of murder. It is learnt that the deceased was severely beaten and tortured including giving electric shocks. Relatives of Dharmendra were later informed that the entire thana staff had been suspended and had been asked to report at the police lines. This, however, did not satisfy them. The Ajmer Collector, Ms Usha Sharma, informed SHO of the thana Harsahai Meena had been arrested this morning. Acting DG (Police) Ashok
Bhandari said this afternoon that the Clock Tower staff
had gone underground after the situation aggravated on
Monday. The SHO was, however, traced and arrested this
morning. He said that the police administration had no
intention to shield the culprits and guilty would be
punished. |
Free hostages, PM writes to
S. Leone NEW DELHI, June 21 — In the ongoing series of efforts to secure the release of 21 Indian Army personnel from captivity in Sierra Leone, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has written to Liberian President Charles Taylor urging him to personally intervene in the hostage crisis. Briefing newspersons about the political and diplomatic efforts for ensuring the release of Indian Army personnel, a spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs said here today Mr Vajpayee in his letter had expressed deep concern over the continued detention of 21 Indian troops and blockade of 214 Indian troops in Kailahun and Pendembu in eastern Sierra Leone. Mr Vajpayee has sought Mr Taylor’s intervention for securing the release of detainees, the spokesman said adding that the Prime Minister’s special envoy, Mr A.K. Banerjee, had delivered the letter. Mr Banerjee is India’s High Commissioner to Ghana. Meanwhile, the Vice-President, Mr Krishan Kant, met the Nigerian President, Mr Obasanjo in Cairo on June 19. The Nigerian President conveyed to the Vice-President efforts made by him, in particular with Mr Taylor, to secure the release of Indian Army personnel. He also told the Vice-President about his contacts with the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, in this matter. According to reports,
the US President, Mr Bill Clinton, has also spoken with
the UN Secretary-General last week about the hostage
crisis. |
PMO, Home divided on autonomy NEW DELHI: There is sharp divergence in views between the Union Home Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on tackling the problems arising out of the Jammu and Kashmir legislature’s debate on the official report on greater autonomy for the border State. While the Home Ministry is understood to be favouring a confrontationist approach of opposing the autonomy move tooth and nail, the PMO supports a more cautious approach with a view not to force the issue at this stage. What has been dubbed as the hawkish approach, the Home Ministry’s stand on autonomy debate was outlined in Jammu by the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr Chaman Lal Gupta, who threatened to launch an agitation in case the state legislature dare adopt the official report on autonomy. Mr Gupta is said to be close to Mr L.K. Advani, who has yet to make an authoritative comment on the autonomy debate. The state legislature, which is currently discussing the autonomy report, proposes to adopt a resolution on the subject at the end of the six-day-long debate, urging the Centre to restore the pre-1953 constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir. As against Mr Gupta’s announcement, the PMO’s reaction on the autonomy debate was voiced by the Union Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, who told mediapersons in Patna that the Union Government had yet to adopt a formal approach on the autonomy report which had been presented to the Centre by the state government a few months ago. Following submission of the official report on autonomy to the Cenre, the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, had informal discussions with the Union Home Minister and the Prime Minister. A sub-committee was constituted by the Centre to discuss the report and formulate its approach on the issue. The low-key reaction from Mr Fernandes was reflective of the fact that the Centre had yet to formally discuss the autonomy issue and evolve a firm approach on autonomy. What makes the Union Home Ministry’s stand more intriguing is reiteration of its resolve to continue to explore the possibilities of holding a dialogue with Hurriyat leaders, who constitute the separatist conglomerate of the state’s political spectrum. While the Hurriyat questions the state’s accession and openly supports the terrorist campaign, the National Conference considers the state’s accession to India as irrevocable. It needs to be noted that both the National Conference and the state BJP occupy ministerial posts in the central government as part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). While the state BJP is represented by Mr Chaman Lal Gupta, the National Conference’s nominee is the Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Omar Abdullah, son of Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah. With both the parties at
the state level adopting confrontationist positions on
the autonomy issue, the continued participation of the
National Conference in the central government is bound to
come under heavy strain. If the two parties reach a stage
where parting of ways over autonomy issue becomes
inevitable, the outcome would be a sharpening of communal
and regional polarisation in the state. While the BJP is
cashing in on the emotions of Hindu-dominated Jammu
region, the National conference will strive to retrieve
lost ground in Kashmir by appeasing the Muslim majority
sentiments according to observers. — IPA |
Gupta blames corrupt bureaucrats NEW DELHI, June 21 (PTI) — Additional Commissioner of Income Tax (IT) Vishva Bandhu Gupta today attributed his suspension to ‘‘inroads’’ made by mafia groups in the country’s bureaucracy and said he would challenge the order in the high court and request for in-camera proceedings. ‘‘Mafia organisations have a big hand in my suspension as my demand to make public VDIS scheme would have brought several skeletons tumbling out of their cupboard,’’ Gupta, who was suspended last night, told PTI here. He said the move to suspend him had started as early as in 1998 after he ‘‘exposed the enormous property owned by Romesh Sharma, a well known-member of a Dubai company.’’ Gupta, an Indian Revenue Service officer of 1977 batch, was suspended by the government saying the action had been taken against him ‘‘for his conduct unbecoming of a government servant.’’ The suspension order said ‘‘further continuance of the officer in the office of Additional Commissioner of Income Tax is likely to seriously subvert discipline.’’ Gupta now plans to file an appeal challenging the order in the court. However, he says he would request the court for in-camera proceedings as certain sensitive matters might come in for scrutiny. Gupta said on his
suspension he expected Chief Vigilance Commissioner N.
Vittal to express his opinion. ‘‘After all if
Mr Vittal believes in what he says, then he should come
out and express his views,’’ he said. |
Liberhan panel summons Kalyan NEW DELHI, June 21 — The Liberhan Commission inquiring into the sequence of events that led to the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya, today issued summons to the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Kalyan Singh, to appear before it on July 20. "Mr Kalyan Singh was the Chief Minister at that time and the commission cannot proceed further without examining him. He is a key figure and a necessary witness to be examined," the Chairman of the commission, Justice M.S. Liberhan, observed while issuing the summons. The commission also stated that the question of examining the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani and others would be taken up after the hearing on July 20. The summons were issued after the commission rejected an application moved by the counsel for Mr Kalyan Singh, urging the court to withdraw the summons issued in May. The counsel contended that a writ petition challenging the inquiry commission is pending in the Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench, in which a stay order had been passed. Mr Kalyan Singh is being prosecuted by the CBI in the court of Special Judge (Ayodhya Prakaran) Lucknow regarding the same incident, which is being inquired by the commission, the counsel submitted. Earlier, the examination of the Cabinet Secretary, Mr Prabhat Kumar, continued today. He was the Principal Secretary (Home) in Uttar Pradesh Government when the disputed structure was demolished on December 6, 1992. The examination of Mr Kumar remained inconclusive and would continue on July 13. He could be cross-examined on that date. In his submission, Mr
Kumar stated that there was no specific intelligence
regarding the threat to the disputed structure. |
Amend child labour Act: NHRC NEW DELHI, June 21 — The National Human Rights Commission has issued notice to the Department of Women and Child Development on the issue of suitable amendment to the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act (CLPRA). Acting on a petition by the Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL), a Delhi-based non governmental organisation, the commission has asked the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of the Police, Palamu, Bihar to submit a report on the death of a child labourer. The respondents have been asked to send the report within two weeks. According to the petition, Budhan Bhuiyan, an 11-year-old slum boy working on daily wages in a hotel died on February 12 after he was allegedly beaten up by his employer. The petition points out that despite an investigation by the labour inspector and assurances of compensation, no action had been taken. Budhan’s mother reportedly told CACL that he left the job as he was not being paid the daily wage of Rs 20 for five months. On February 7, Ranjit Ram, the owner of Badal hotel called him to resume work. Hoping to get his pending payment, the boy went to the hotel. He was allegedly forced to consume liquor and was beaten up with iron rods by the owner and his family members. The boy’s mother alleged that he was detained by his employer for four days without food or water. He was then left in front of the hotel. The boy’s family made a complaint to the Daltongang police station and took him to Sadar hospital. The CACL has sought inclusion of the hotel sector in the hazardous schedule of the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act, 1986. Pleading for legislative amendment, the CACL has submitted that the aforesaid case is not an isolated instance of violence inflicted to a child working in a hotel. The petitioner organisation is of the view that many such cases go unreported or are hushed up because the hotel sector does not find a mention in the aforesaid Act. The CACL has argued that risk factors due to work near fire and with sharp knives, deplorable working and living conditions, unavailability of amenities of sanitation, long hours of work, inadequate rest, sexual exploitation by customers and co workers and no scope of education are reasons enough to include the hotel sector in the hazardous schedule of CLPRA. According to the
petition, the Shops and Establishments Act prohibits
employment of children below the age of 12 years as it
defines a child as a person below the aforesaid age.
"Therefore, according to the law, employing children
below the age of 12-14 years in a hotel/restaurant is
legal," the petition states. |
Heavy rainfall likely in coastal Kerala PUNE, June 21 (UNI) — Heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places in coastal Karnataka and Kerala during the next 48 hours. Rain or thundershowers have occurred at most places in Kerala, at many places in east Uttar Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh and coastal Karnataka, at a few places in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, Gangetic West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar plains, west Uttar Pradesh, west Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Andhra Pradesh and south interior Karnataka and at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and north interior Karnataka. Mainly dry weather prevailed over the rest of the country. Rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at most places in coastal Karnataka and Kerala, at many places in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, West Bengal and Sikkim, Orissa, Bihar, east Uttar Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh and Lakshadweep, at a few places in west Madhya Pradesh, south Konkan and Goa, Marathwada, Vidarbha, Andhra Pradesh and interior Karnataka and at isolated places over the rest of the country outside west Rajasthan, Gujarat state, north Konkan and north Madhya Maharashtra where the weather will be mainly dry. Day temperatures were appreciably above normal in some parts of Rajasthan and were above normal in some parts of Saurashtra. They were appreciably
below normal in the plains of west Uttar Pradesh and in
some parts of east Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. |
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