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April 6, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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DEAD DEBT New Delhi, April 5 The five have been identified as Ramkishen (50), his wife Ramkali (40), sons Ashok (17) and Niranjan (15) and daughter Priyanka (10). The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem examination. According to the police, Ramkishen had borrowed Rs 20,000 from Bakhtawar Mal
Verma, a resident of Model Town in Sonepat, at a repayment interest of 2 per cent. Later, Bakhtawar increased the interest to 5 per cent. Ramkishen had been asked to repay the loan by April 5.Yesterday, Bakhtawar reportedly summoned him to his residence and threatened to kill him and all his family members if he did not pay back the loan amount by today. Unnerved by the threat, Ramkishen left his home along with his family members last night. They reached Narela crossing in the wee hours of the morning and jumped before a train. A suicide note written on a Rs 2 stamp paper was recovered from Ramkishen’s pocket, the police said. A case has been registered with the Railway Police. Further investigations were continuing. The Sonepat police have been informed. |
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CBI arrests three more in DDA case New Delhi, April 5 Those arrested are Kaushik, a former clerk of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), Anil Wadhwa and Pradeep Kumar, CBI sources said. The NDMC clerk, allegedly involved in the hawala racket, is believed to have stashed cash for some DDA officials, the sources said. The CBI alleged that Kaushik acted as a conduit in striking deals for former DDA Vice-Chairman Subhash Sharma, who has been already arrested, during his tenure as Chairman of the NDMC. The sources said Kaushik and Kumar were arrested after several NDMC files were seized from their premises during raids conducted last night by the agency sleuths. The three accused were produced before Special Judge Prem Kumar who remanded them in CBI custody till April 10. The CBI has already arrested Commissioner (Land Disposal) Anand Mohan Sharan, manager of DLF Universal Limited Ajay Khanna and former DDA official Ashok
Kapoor. |
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Exam centres or open houses for mass copying? Sonepat, April 5 In many centres, the examinations have reportedly been turned into a farce by toughs and anti-social elements. Many invigilators confessed that they helplessly watch answers being supplied from outside and used by examinees inside the examination hall. They had to remain mute spectators in order to save their skin. According to a report, 13 cases have been booked by the flying squads during surprise checks at various examination centres in this city and elsewhere in the district. The officials cancelled the paper at one centre following the detection of mass-scale copying while another examination centre had to be shifted. The flying squad was prevented from entering the examination centre at Mission Road by a person manning the main gate of the school. The squad was allowed to enter the premises after the intervention of the school authorities. Many supporters of the students at this examination centre manhandled photographers of national dailies who wanted to click pictures of the nefarious activities. According to another report, the question paper of social studies was openly sold by shopkeepers at the rate of Rs 500. Many invigilators have admitted to examinees indulging in malpractices on an unprecedented scale this year with the help of outsiders. Heads of many schools complained that groups of outsiders tried to get past the cordons outside the centres. In almost all examination centres visited by this reporter today, groups of toughs were seen loitering in the vicinity. Residents living near a school at Gita Bhawan Chowk alleged that they could see outsiders scribbling away on answer sheets, which were smuggled outside the centre. According to an invigilator who was on duty in a centre on Purkhas Road, two outsiders came to the hall and took him outside while another started dictating answers to the examinees. This continued for about 30 minutes. He was later freed and he could not report anything for obvious reasons, he added. Reports from other examination centres said boys were seen climbing to the second floor via drainpipes for delivering answer sheets. Stones wrapped with paper having answers written on them have been flung through windows. An examinee was noticed copying answers from books and when he was challenged by an invigilator another examinee shouted, “Give him a whacking”, according to an invigilator who was on duty at a centre near Panchayat Bhawan. A policeman on duty at a girls’ centre said they were helpless as only two constables had been posted in each centre. A woman invigilator was threatened and asked by some toughs to deliver written answer sheets to a particular examinee. She had to comply with the order out of fear. At an examination centre in the mandi area of this city, this reporter was asked whether he wanted answers delivered to any of his relatives. When this was pointed out to the centre in-charge, he denied that there was any malpractice. |
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Violence, arson outside exam centre Faridabad: The police has booked at least 12 persons, mostly youths, in connection with the violence that erupted at an examination centre at Bahin village of the district yesterday. Several persons, including some policemen, had been injured and three vehicles were torched by the mob. The incident took place after hundreds of persons assembled at the centre where the matriculation examination of the Board of School Education, Haryana, was in progress. As the crowd attempted to help the examinees in copying the policemen present there tried to stop them. As more policemen reached the spot, the wordy duel between the mob and the police resulted in a clash. When stones were pelted on the cops they resorted to a cane charge and reportedly opened fire in the air to disperse the mob. The agitated locals set three vehicles on fire. |
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VAT: INLD gets another stick to beat BJP with Panipat, April 5 For the BJP, which claims to have solid support among the traders, at least in the cities, the implementation of VAT by the State government and the imposition of excise duty on the textile sector by the Central government could not have come at a worse time. With its urban base shrinking, these “unpopular decisions” could dent the BJP image in the run-up to the general elections. Since the last general and assembly elections, the INLD has nursed the view that the BJP, which has only pockets of influence in the urban belt, had got seats in excess of its support base. Mr Chautala’s animosity towards the BJP is legendary and the party leadership does not miss opportunity to embarrass the BJP. On the
other hand, there is no love lost between the BJP state president, Mr Rattan Lal Kataria, and the INLD government. However, the BJP Central leadership has scuttled all attempts by the state unit to withdraw support to the state government as the support of the five INLD MPs is crucial for the survival of the NDA government. The recent unpopular decisions, the BJP sources conceded, would affect the party’s electoral prospects. In fact, after the trading community erupted in protests against the “anti-people” decisions, the BJP leadership finds itself isolated and has been trying hard to put up a brave face. The VAT issue has given Mr Chautala another stick to beat the BJP with in the urban pockets, since it is the Central government’s decision to rationalise the tax regime which the INLD government has implemented, rued a BJP leader. However, it was the imposition of the excise duty on the textile products which the BJP leadership finds hard to defend. At every conceivable point, the BJP leaders are at pains to clarify their position that they were opposed to the excise duty. As to why the excise duty was then imposed, they have no ready answer. They have contended that Karnal MP and Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr ID Swami, should bring the matter to the notice of the Prime Minister and an amicable solution would be found soon. Thus far, the powerful textile industry, which had been on indefinite strike since March 31, has not got any concession from the finance minister. The fact that the Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, had reportedly declined to withdraw the excise duty has been giving sleepless nights to the BJP leadership. The ensuing will be tough for the BJP in the wake of the souring of relations with the INLD and its shrinking support base. And the BJP will have only itself to blame for the sorry state-of-affairs. |
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STATE-OF-THE-ART Sonepat, April 5 This was stated by Mr M. S. Malik, Director-General of Police, here today. In order to make the police more mobile and effective in checking criminal activities, the Haryana Police had replaced the old and rusted vehicles by procuring 281 new ones. These included prison vans, buses, troop carriers, jeeps and motor cycles. As many as 31 new vehicles were provided to the Sonepat police alone during 2002-03. Mr Malik said the government would be providing travelling facilities to the ministerial staff and class IV employees working in the Police Department on a monthly basis on a par with their counterparts in uniform up to the rank of Inspector. To curb inter-state crime, steps have been taken for effective coordination with neighbouring states. A senior-level coordination meeting was held at Sonepat recently. He said the Haryana Police had decided to set up flying squads as helpline at the range headquarters and police headquarters to prevent crime against women and render assistance. The helpline will work round the clock. Crime against women cells had already been established at all range headquarters. Mr Malik said eight special campaigns launched by the Haryana Police during 2002-03 had resulted in a drastic decline in crime. Special stress was laid on a particular crime during these campaigns of different durations. Decline in crime and speedy investigation of cases stands testimony to this fact. |
Bhajan Lal demands release of BKU leader Faridabad, April 5 In a statement issued here today through the spokesperson of the HPCC, Mr Bhajan Lal claimed that the detention of the BKU leaders might not serve any purpose, as the state government already stood exposed on its failure to provide adequate compensation to the drought-hit farmers. Stating that the Chautala government had played a cruel joke on the poor farmers by disbursing compensation of mere Rs 2, Rs 5 and Rs 7 to a large number of farmers, he said the farmers were given a compensation of Rs 3,000 per acre for the loss caused by floods during his tenure as the CM. Claiming that 80 per cent of the affected farmers had not received any compensation so far, he charged the Chautala government of misguiding and be-fooling the people by not taking up the demand of central aid on the issue. He said the Union Agriculture Minister, Mr Ajit Singh, had already exposed the double face of the so-called farmer-friendly government of Haryana. He stated that Mr Chautala had no moral right to continue in power, in view of the failures of the state government on various fronts. Taking up the issue of new house tax policy, Mr Bhajan Lal warned that it was anti-people and the residents might come out on streets if the government did not retract. He said the Congress would oppose it and would withdraw it if it came to power the in next elections. Stating that corruption and inefficiency had touched new levels, he said people had become fed up of the misrule of the Chautala government. Alleging that the law and order situation had become worse, he said authorities had been targeting political opponents in its moves, including the anti-encroachment campaign. Mr Bhajan Lal has also condemned the implementation of VAT in Haryana by stating that it was not in the interest of traders as well the common people in the present scenario. |
Market committees suffer loss of Rs 21 lakh Sonepat, April 5 According to information, the Gohana market committee has lost market fees to the tune of over Rs 10 lakh, the Ganaur committee Rs 4.54 lakh and the Sonepat committee Rs 4 lakh. The reason for the losses in 2002-2003 kharif season is attributed to lesser arrivals than in 2001-2002. Another interesting fact is that though the Sonepat and Ganaur market committees registered an increase in market fees during the last procurement season of rabi crops, mainly wheat, in comparison to the procurement season of 2001-2002, the Gohana market committee incurred losses of over Rs 26 lakh. Also, when the year-wise income of market fees of both the procurement seasons is compared, the Gohana committee’s income came down from Rs 3.27 crore in 2001-2002 to Rs 2.89 crore during 2002-2003, whereas the Sonepat and Ganaur committees registered an income of Rs 40 lakh and over Rs 5 lakh respectively. When asked about the losses, the authorities of the Gohana market committee explained that as the government had announced in advance that the Cooperative Sugar Mill at Ahulana near Gohana would become operational by November, 2002, a large number of farmers in Gohana opted for sowing sugarcane instead of wheat and paddy. Thus over 10,000 acres
went under sugarcane cultivation. This ensured that
the arrivals of other crops in the mandis would be less
this year. “The opening of the sugar mill in the region and the high procurement price forced the farmers to go for cultivating sugarcane, which is considered as a main cash crop,” said an official of the committee. |
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Hike support price of wheat: BKU Sonepat, April 5 In a press statement issued here today, he also demanded that the central government should also announce support price of various grains before the commencement of the procurement season and this should be based on the cost of the crops. He also demanded immediate payment of compensation to the farmers whose crops had been ruined by the drought in this district and elsewhere. He urged the government to remit the interest on the amount of loans granted to the farmers and they should not be arrested if they failed to deposit the instalments of the loans. Mr Khokhar also demanded that the government should not recover the loans from the farmers and they should only be charged the interest at the rate of four per cent annually. He urged the management of the cooperative sugar mills not to charge Rs 10 per quintal from the sugarcane growers as this has caused strong resentment among them. The BKU leader also urged the central government to immediately intervene and resolve the dispute between Haryana and Punjab about the completion of the SYL canal in the Punjab territory. He announced that a state-level rally of the BKU will be held on April 7 at Pundri in Kaithal district to chalk out the future course of action for launching an agitation against the government. |
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A forlorn father hopes to recover daughter Panipat, April 5 He alleges that even after the directions from the higher authorities, the SHO of the Model Town police station has not added the names of three co-accused in the abduction of his daughter. According to the details of the case, the daughter of Sube Singh of local Shakti Nagar colony was allegedly abducted by one Meghnath alias Sadanand, a worker of a factory here and originally a resident of Harish Chanderpur village in Malda district of West Bengal, on December 23, 2002. The incident was immediately reported to the in-charge of Kacha Camp Chawki who reportedly obtained Sube Singh’s signatures on a blank paper assuring that the police would take action. However, when the police did not take action or register the complaint for 23 days, Sube Sigh got an audience with the authorities at the DSP headquarters on January 15 (vide “Peshi” No 29) and requested for the registration of an FIR against Meghnath and three others — Santosh, Seeta and Ranjit, who were allegedly involved in the abduction. Even after this, the FIR was registered only on January 23 after strict telephonic orders from the DSP, City.. But here also, the police played their games. The FIR was registered only against Meghnath. There was no mention of the other three accused despite a written statement of Sube Sigh. For inclusion of the names of Seeta, Santosh and another Ranjit in the FIR, Sube Sigh reportedly met the DSP on February 11. This also failed to make the SHO include these names in the FIR. Sube Singh reportedly called on the IGP, Rohtak Range, Mr Resham Singh, at Rohtak on March 6 with the same request. He also told the IGP that if the co-accused were interrogated, his daughter could be recovered. The IGP reportedly sent directions vide memo number 44 on March 10 to the SP, Panipat. This was also ignored. Dejected and frustrated over the attitude of the police, he is planning to meet the Director-General of Police, Mr M. S. Malik. It is pointed out that one of Seeta’s relatives is working as a cook in the Model Town police station. Sube Singh suspects his role in the non-cooperative attitude of the police. |
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SPECIAL
FOCUS ON REWARI Rewari, April 5 Among them, Somany Vidya Peeth Public School, Masani, which is entering its second year, needs specific mention here. The school, being run by the Lilawati Education Trust with the guidance and patronage of the Saraswati Shiksha Samiti, Narnaul, is the brainchild of Mr Ashok Somany, a leading businessman of Haryana, and his younger brother Dr Vijay Somany. They have endeavoured to turn into reality the dream of their father, the late R. D. Somany, a freedom fighter and an educationist of the Rewari region. With its thrust on quality education, it caters to various requirements of the students of the 21st century in which information technology, computerisation and fluency in English are of utmost importance. Situated on a 10-acre campus on the Rewari-Delhi road (11 km away from Rewari), this is the only public school in the entire region that has a superbly designed Shishu Vatika, a standard swimming pool, a skating ring, a computer lab-cum-theory room, a full-fledged library with a spacious reading room and well-ventilated octagonal classrooms. It has excellent hostels for boys and girls. It also has well-designed playgrounds for various outdoor and indoor games. The Shishu Vatika, which is a highly specialised feature of the school and which has been artfully designed according to the playway system of education, is meant for pre-nursery, nursery and KG classes. The principal, Mrs Jagriti Sharma, told the ‘NCR Tribune’ that though the school had completed only the first year of its existence, the rush of new admissions indicated that the name of the school had already reached various parts of Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and several other states. She also said that during the current session, admissions would be made up to class V111 and the total strength could go up to 500. The school organised its first annual function today. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Vineet Garg, was the chief guest while the district police chief, Mr Hanif Qureshi, presided over the function. The DC complimented the Somany family for establishing a quality school which, he said, was a long-standing need of the entire region. He also expressed the hope that it would develop into an excellent educational institution in the years to come. Mr Hanif Qureshi, SP, emphasised the need of holistic development of children saying that synergisation of strengths was essential to achieve the most in life. Schoolchildren presented a colourful cultural programme. |
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SONEPAT Sonepat, April 5 According to a report, Ms Krishna Hooda, president of the Lok Hit Mahila Kalyan Samiti, led the demonstration and submitted a memorandum to the SDM demanding the immediate arrest of the culprits. The memorandum alleged that a youth, Sanjay of Jauli village, had molested a woman, identified as Poonam, of the same village on March 8. However, the police had failed to arrest the culprit despite the repeated pleadings by the villagers. The SDM, Mr Suraj Bhan Jangra, assured the delegation that the culprit would be brought to book by April 7. Thereafter, the protestors dispersed peacefully. Two dozen houses razed At least two dozen houses were razed by the officials of the demolition squad, who were accompanied by a large contingent of police at Zainpur village, about 10 km from here yesterday. According to a report, JCB machines were pressed into service on the panchayat land. The Sarpanch of the village, Ms Lokesh Rani, had asked the occupants of the houses to raze their unauthorised structures. However, when they failed to do so, the officials swung into action. It has caused resentment among the people, particularly against the area MLA, Mr Suraj Mal Antil. Theft of computers The CIA staff has arrested three youths of Rathdhana village, identified as Mukesh, Manoj and Jai Karan, in connection with the alleged thefts of computers from a public school on the Sonepat-Rathdhana road on February 7. According to a report, the police have registered a case of theft against them and further investigations were in progress. According to another report, the CIA staff has also arrested a youth, Rampat of Sewli village, and recovered 20 bottles of country-made liquor from him. A case under the Excise Act has been registered against him. Meanwhile, two cases of thefts were reported today. In one case, the thieves entered a shop near Vivekanand Chowk here last night and decamped with a colour TV and three stereos. The thieves also entered another shop in the same area and took away a colour TV and a CD player from it. Girl commits suicide A 17-year-old girl, identified as Anju, is reported to have committed suicide by taking sulphas tablets in her house at Bidhlan village, about 10 km from here last night. According to a report, a family quarrel is stated to be the main cause for the suicide. Workers’ threat The Jasch Industries Mazdoor Union has threatened to organise a massive demonstration on April 13 against the management if their demands were not accepted by April 12. They are demanding the reinstatement of the workers, who were terminated by the management on ‘flimsy’ ground. |
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Martyr’s statue unveiled Bhiwani, April 5 As part of a patrolling party in Bandipur area of Jammu on July 18, 2002, Sepoy Ramesh Chander shot dead two terrorists before laying down his life for the country. He is survived by his wife and a daughter. Interestingly, more than 60 people of this village are serving in the army. Addressing a public meeting, Mr Ajay Singh Chautala said that the state government had increased the financial assistance from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. The Chairman of the Bhiwani Central Cooperative Bank, Mr Ashok Dhanimahoo, said that the state government had implemented several welfare schemes for the dependents of those killed while defending the nation. Mr Ajay Singh Chautala also announced several schemes such the repair the school building, construction of a pucca road from Dhani Biran to Bajina and retaining the wall of the pond besides granting Rs 2 lakh to provide pucca streets in the village. The Education Minister, Bahadur Singh, Shashi Parmar and Ranbir Mandolla, MLAs and INLD leader Om Prakash Behalwala were among others who were present on the occasion.
Youth killed in accident A youth was killed when he was hit by a tractor at village Bamla, 10 km from here last evening. According to report, Raju was returning home after appearing in an examination on his cycle. He was hit by a tractor while crossing the road to drink water. Raju died on the spot. |
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NCR BRIEFS Noida, April 5 Sirajudin of Peepal Wali Masjid, Dadri, has filed a report in the police station, saying that his 16-year-old sister had eloped with Inam Rasool Farukh of Bangadpur, Meerut. Inam Rasool had become friendly with Yakub who lived in his neighbourhood. Yakub was a frequent visitor to Sirajudin’s house. Both Inam and Yakub had abducted his sister, Sirajudin alleged. According to Sirajudin, his neighbours had seen Inam Rasool and Yakub together in the area on March 27, the day his sister went missing. In the second incident, Banwari Lal of Kulesra village has filed a report at Surajpur police station regarding his 16-year-old daughter having eloped with Rakesh Rai. The police have arrested Rakesh’s father. Rakesh Rai of Azamgarh teaches in Kulesra Public School where Banwari Lal’s daughter is a student. According to the police, Rakesh had persuaded her to accompany him. A police team has been despatched to various places in Azamgarh district as indicated by Rakesh Rai’s father Jai Bahadur. Earlier, Banwari Lal had lodged a missing report with the police about his daughter which was later changed into abduction of the minor girl.
Two die as tractor overturns Jhajjar: Two persons were reportedly killed when their tractor-trailer on which they were travelling overturned near Silana village on Rewari road here on Thursday night. According to information, the tractor could not negotiate a huge pothole while overtaking another vehicle. The two persons travelling on it were trapped underneath it. Even though they were rushed to the Civil Hospital, they could not be saved. The deceased were identified as Kuldeep of Paitawasand and Shishpal of Kiyla village in the district.
Sale of cut fruits banned Rewari: In view of the onset of summer and the fear of epidemic diseases, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Vineet Kumar Garg, by invoking Section 2 of Epidemic Diseases Act, 1887 (as amended from time to time), has prohibited the sale of overripe, unripe and cut fruits as well as all kinds of sweets, meat, confectionery, milk products, lassi, sharbat, shikanji, dahi-bhalla, gol-gappa unless they are properly covered and protected from dust and flies. Besides, he has also banned the sale of ice-cream, lemon soda, mineral water prepared from the water not certified as fit for human consumption. Ice for sale other than for human consumption should be coloured, otherwise it will be treated for human consumption. The order shall remain in force up to December 31, 2003. |
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DELHI DIGEST New Delhi, April 5 Two Anoop gang members held Two members of the notorious Anoop gang operating in Delhi and Haryana have been arrested by the Central district police from G B Road last evening. One imported pistol, two magazines, 13 live cartridges were recovered from them. Identified as Raju alias Vijay from Jhajjar and Rajesh alias Rajjay, resident of Rohtak were arrested while they were waiting in a Maruti Zen No HR-26-N-5932 for their target. Another car, Ford Icon was also recovered from them. The accused told the police that they had stolen Maruti Zen from Patel Nagar. Rajesh who is a sharpshooter of the Anoop gang came out on parole and succeeded in killing many persons of the Kishan Pahelwan gang. In another case, the Central district police have arrested nine members including four auto-lifters and five others who had received stolen vehicles. Nineteen motorcycles and scooters were recovered from their possession. The group was active in the West and North-West districts. The police nabbed one person on a stolen motorcycle No UP-14H-2357 near Shiela cinema, who in turn disclosed the names of other members involved in auto-lifting. The accused where identified as Gulshan alias Gullu (31), resident of Uttam Nagar, Rahul Saxena (19), resident of West Sagar Pur, Jaspal Singh alias Pal (23), resident of Nangloi and Harvinder Singh alias Sonu (28), resident of Uttam Nagar and receivers as Deepak Kumar (21), resident of Janak Puri, Bir Singh Solanki (26), resident of Prem Nagar, Sanjeeve Kumar (27), Rakesh Kumar alias Raja (25) and Bhupinder Singh alias Zimmi (24) all residents of Uttam Nagar.
Two cops in CBI net Two Delhi Police personnel were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly threatening a person to pay a bribe of Rs 2 lakh, failing which he would be implicated in a drug peddling case. Three police personnel came to the house of the complainant, a resident of Uttam Nagar in West Delhi, and alleged they had recovered a polythene packet containing smack from his car. The two officials, Sub-Inspector Vipin Yadav and Constable Manohar Lal Sharma were taken into custody for accepting Rs 60,000. Initially, the officials demanded Rs 5 lakh as bribe from the complainant but during negotiations, the amount was reduced to Rs 2 lakh. The CBI officials, acting on a complaint from the person, had laid a trap but the cops insisted that the money be left at some location from where they would pick it up later. However, on the basis of tracking the details of the conversation made by the accused police officials through telephone and cell phones, two of the three police officials were arrested by the CBI. The mobile phone used to fix the deal was recovered from Yadav. The two were produced before a designated court which remanded them in CBI custody till tomorrow, he said. |
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SEARCHWITHIN The gruesome murder of twenty-four men, women and children in Pulwama district of Kashmir recently has brought home once again the reality of evil. Around midnight, 15 men in army fatigues descended on Narimarg village in Kulgam of Pulwama district of Kashmir. They forced the villagers to assemble for an identification parade. Shots were fired claiming 24 innocent lives. This is not the first such event nor the last. Since then, various explanations had been given as to why it happened: political conspiracy, religious fanaticism, security lapse and so on. A section will point to the concept of jehad or holy war and other sections will vehemently deny the existence of any such justification in the Koran for such crimes. When a war is waging in West Asia, causing widespread destruction and loss of lives, it is quite relevant to consider the issue of evil, which had bedeviled philosophers and social scientists since the beginning of time. Thousands of peace conferences had been held since the Second World War, but we are hearing more only about war, violence, deaths and fleeing refugees. Catastrophic titles are prominent in the media with assassinations and terrorist violence rocking various governments. News on nuclear weapons, germ warfare, climatic changes and environmental degradation continue to cause concern. On the moral front, things look very bleak with breakdown of marriages and almost “total rejection of moral laws and guidelines”. Drugs and alcohol are destroying the minds of millions. Pleasure has become the god of millions. We are living in a day of serious turmoil and trouble. The world is not getting better and better. Passion, greed, covetousness, hatred and lust dominate the soul of individuals leading to blindness and ruin. Nations comprise of individuals and behave in almost similar manner perpetuating even greater evils. All religions view selfish desire as baneful and the cause of much suffering though there are variations in their explanations. For instance, Buddhism holds: “The noble truth of the origin of suffering is this: It is craving that leads back to birth, bound up with passionate greed. It finds fresh delight now here and now there, namely, craving for sense pleasures, craving for existence and becoming and craving for non-existence. “Islam holds that when a man who makes desire his god. The Creator sends him astray purposely and seals up his hearing and his heart. And his sights are covered too blinded by desire. “What causes wars and what causes fighting among you! Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and can not obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.’’ That is how Christianity explains the presence of evil. (James 4: 1-3). Chapter 16 of the Bhagavat Gita holds that there are three gates to self-destructive hell: lust, anger and greed. Jainism says that envy; desire and ambition drive a man out of the world. Yes, the evil is within. That is where the battle is. It is not a fight between good and evil people or between good and bad nations but as Solzhenitsyn wrote that the line dividing good and evil passes through every heart. A Sufi saint, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, in his book Islam and World Peace, gives us an inkling into the concept of evil when he writes: “My brothers the holy wars that the children of Adam are waging today are not true holy wars. Taking other lives is not true jihad. We will have to answer for that kind of war when we are questioned in the grave. That jihad is fought for the sake of men, for the sake of earth and wealth, for the sake of one’s children, one’s wife and one’s possessions. Selfish intentions are mingled with it.’’ True jihad is to praise God and cut away the inner satanic enemies. When wisdom and clarity come to us, we will understand that the enemies of truth are within our own hearts. There are four hundred trillion, ten thousand spiritual opponents within the body: Satan and his qualities of backbiting, deceit, jealousy, envy, treachery, the separations of I and you, mine and yours, intoxicants, theft, lust, murder, falsehood, arrogance, karma, illusion, mantras and magic, and the desire for earth, sensual pleasures and gold. These are the enemies, which separate us from Allah, from truth…’’ Evil is inherent in man is a fact acknowledged by all scriptures. “You do not see clearly the evil in yourself, else you would hate yourself with all your soul,’’ wrote Jalaluddin Rumi. “Like the lion who sprang at his image in the water, you are only hurting yourself, O foolish man. When you reach the bottom of the well of your own nature, then you will know that the vileness was from yourself, he added. The scriptures do not throw much light on this awful mystery: they give us no perfect explanation of the original cause of the evil that exists, but they teach us how to avoid its effects. So, the great and perplexing question must remain beyond human comprehension. Perhaps it is one of the mysteries that we can categorise along with the “the secret things which belong unto the Lord our God. “But there are enough revelations to man which concern with the practical issue of overcoming the impact of evil. Man must understand his nature. Written on the tablets of his heart are the laws of life. He is invested with a mysterious sense of right and wrong; good and evil. But he is thwarted in his efforts to stick to what is good and avoid that which is evil. One thing is clear: man is in need of liberation from the evil within. And religion has a role to play in that liberation.” M P K Kutty |
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Three houses looted on Loni border Ghaziabad, April 5 However, the Loni police have not registered the case. The CO of Loni, Rajiv Tyagi, dismissed it “as a trivial matter”. The criminals broke into the house of one Govind in Ankur Vihar at 3 am. Later, they looted cash and jewellery from the house of Dighar Singh. They tried to shoot Dighar Singh, who saved himself by grappling with the intruders. He and his wife, however, sustained some injuries. The robbers took to their heels when a large number of people from the colony came to the rescue of Dhiger Singh. They also robbed one Santosh of cash and jewellery and injured him in the process. Both Dhiger and Santosh were rushed to a hospital. However, by the time the police came, the robbers had already fled. The police have not yet registered a case. |
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