 |
Saturday,
June 16, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
|
Law to rein in hostile witnesses in
offing Scholars flay move to curb intellectual
freedom Samata flays widening
of Naga truce area Ceasefire: Advani assures Marwah
Defence unions stage
dharna
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
HC stays Manoj Prabhakar’s arrest ‘10 pc of AIDS victims
in world are Indians’ Man posing as CVC official
held 14 girls rescued from red-light
dist Congress seeks filling of Prasar Bharati posts
|
|
Law to rein in hostile witnesses in offing New Delhi, June 15 Law Minister Arun Jaitley said he had received a proposal from the Law Commission suggesting several ways to “prevent witnesses from turning hostile at their free will adding he had forwarded the suggestions of the Chairman of the Law Commission to the Home Ministry since the Criminal Procedure Code was administered by the Home Ministry”. “To the best of my knowledge, the matter will be under consideration of the administrative ministry and I have not yet received any response from the Ministry of Home Affairs,” Mr Jaitley told PTI. Terming the suggestions of the commission as “very important”, he said this would require a larger consultation and debate before being introduced in the form of a Bill in Parliament. Asked whether the government had accepted the suggestions of the Law Commission, Mr Jaitley said: “I had sent it to the Ministry of Home Affairs only a few weeks ago. So there is no question of any such decision being taken immediately without further consultation.” A witness is termed hostile, when he gives a certain statement on his knowledge about commission of a crime before the police but refutes it when called as witness before the court during trial. The Law Minister said: “Since a committee headed by Justice Malimath is already reviewing Criminal Law Procedures in India, I think the appropriate course could be to even solicit their opinion in this matter.” The commission in its 155th report had suggested that it should be made mandatory for investigating officers (IOs) to get statements of all material witnesses, questioned by him during the investigation, recorded on oath by magistrate. “This, according to the Law Commission, would have prevented witnesses from turning hostile at their free will,” Mr Jaitley said. There has been considerable public resentment over the way witnesses turned hostile in high-profile Jessica Lal murder case and the BMW hit-and-run case where rich and famous are prime accused.
PTI |
|
Scholars flay move to curb intellectual
freedom New Delhi, June 15 Reacting to reports that the Union Home Ministry had issued “ secret” guidelines asking Indian universities and academic bodies not to consider foreign scholars “to attend conferences of political, semi-political, communal or religious nature”. The guideline, reports said, asked the universities organising conferences on subjects “related to human rights or sensitive technical subjects which can be utilised as a platform for any particular line of propaganda or where the subject matter is of a purely national or local character” should try and avoid inviting foreign academics. In addition, the guidelines state that academicians from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, China, Bangladesh and Afghanistan must get prior clearance from the home ministry and the ministry of external affairs regardless of the subject of the conference. “This is utterly stupid, totally undemocratic and Indian professors certainly know better than the babus of the government regarding the participation of scholars across the world”, noted social psychologist Ashish Nandy of the Centre for Studies in Developing Societies told The Tribune. “This is extremely obscene and it is high time that we abandon such uncivilised norms and it looks as if this is an
attempt by the ruling party to control and regulate the free flow of academic thought”, he said. Chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Prof M L Sondhi said while he was unaware about the motives behind such a move, prima facie it appears “like a bureaucratic move to curb intellectual freedom”. “Due respect should be accorded to the free flow of intellectual thought”, Professor Sondhi said. Professor Pushpesh Pant, a former senior faculty member of the School of International Studies of JNU said: “This is paranoia on the part of the government”. “Academicians have never posed a threat to the security of the country and I am sure this absurd policy will be withdrawn. This is against our fundamental democratic norms”, Professor Pant said. Saugata Bhaduri of Jamia Milia Islamia said: “This is not limited to the academic domain alone but seems to be a part of a larger government policy framework”. Comparing the guidelines to the Taliban decree on the Hindus and women’s education, Bhaduri said it was an attempt to hegemonise intellectual propriety within the “fascist framework”. The academic community has launched a signature campaign against the reported guidelines as it quells the thirst for knowledge and obstructs the basic principles of inquisitiveness. |
|
Samata flays widening
of Naga truce area New Delhi, June 15 “We welcome the extension of the ceasefire with the
NSCN (I-M) for one year beyond July 31, but we are totally opposed to the enlargement of the ambit of the truce to
Naga-inhabited areas in Manipur, Assam, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh,” party spokesman and general secretary in charge of the North-East, Mr Shambhu
Srivastava, told newspersons here. Accusing the government of taking such a major step in a “hurry” and without consulting them and taking into confidence the state government’s in the North-East and other political parties, Mr Srivastava demanded that the matter should be discussed inside Parliament and an all-party meeting called “to undo the
damage”. Mr Srivastava, who returned to Delhi last night along with former Manipur Chief Minister Radhabinod Koijam and other Samata Party leaders from Imphal after the party’s one-day state level political conference, said: “Nothing can be more short-sighted than this. The government is playing with fire. What they have done is disastrous.” “This would give a handle to the extremists to intensify their insurgent activities in the entire region and give legitimacy to the demand for a Greater
Nagaland,” he said. On yesterday’s statement of the Union Home Secretary, Kamal Pande that the Centre had discussed the issue with the north eastern states, the Samata leader said: “If Mr Pande was referring to the period Mr Koijam was the Chief Minister of
Manipur, then his statement is far from the truth... Mr Koijam had totally opposed the move to enlarge the ambit of the ceasefire as it would give legitimacy to the Naga group’s demand for Greater
Nagaland.” Claiming that the feelings of Manipur people were running high against the government’s decision, Mr Srivastava said his party would approach the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and hand over a memorandum to press for an all-party meeting once party’s senior leader and NDA convener George Fernandes returned from
Assam. Mr Koijam, recalling his meeting with the Prime Minister after he assumed the Chief Minister’s office in March this year, said he had strongly opposed the enlargement of the ambit of the ceasefire.
Imphal, June
15 The assurance came following escalation of tension in Manipur after the extension of ceasefire between the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isaac Muivah) and the Centre. Several districts of the Manipur valley have been put under Section 144, CrPC as a precautionary measure. In view of the prevailing situation, the Governor spoke to Mr Advani this morning and conveyed to him the feelings of its people and their fears regarding the state’s territorial integrity. Mr Advani told the former supercop that the National Democratic Alliance, as mentioned in its Common Minimum Programme, was committed to maintaining the territorial integrity of Manipur and the other north-eastern states. According to a Raj Bhavan press note, Mr Marwah also appealed to the people not to take any step that might vitiate communal harmony and peace.
UNI
|
|
|
Defence unions stage
dharna Dehra Dun, June 15 Members of the Employees Union of Ordnance Factory, Defence Instruments Employees Union, Employees Union of Opto-Electronic Factory, UPMES Employees Union, DEAL Karmchari Union, DWIS Employees Union
Mussoorie and many other unions staged a dharna and warned the DEAL authorities that if Mr Dandriyal was not reinstated immediately, they would go on an indefinite strike in all defence related factories. All employees unions unanimously demanded from the Defence Ministry to immediately remove Mr Bains from the post for dealing with fake companies and not supplying the latest technologies to the Army. |
|
HC stays Manoj Prabhakar’s arrest Dehra Dun, June 15 Non-bailable warrants were issued against Prabhakar by the Haldwani court for misappropriation of public funds as a director of a company. Mr Justice P.C. Verma of the high court after hearing the application filed by Manoj Prabhakar through his lawyer U.P. Singh, asked the state government to file a counter reply and ordered not to arrest the petitioner till the next hearing. Meanwhile, Assistant Director General of Police Anil Raturi said today, “We are in the process of studying the court’s orders. An affidavit will be filed within the stipulated period as ordered by the high court.” |
|
‘10 pc of AIDS victims in world are Indians’ Kochi, June 15 An estimated three million persons succumbed to the dreaded disease last year with a vast majority of them being from sub-Saharan Africa, Mr Michael Fox, who is Senior Technical Adviser with UNAIDS, told an international conference of 16 developing countries on ‘Essential Health Commodity Security’, which concluded here yesterday. “Nearly 15,000 persons, including 2,000 children, contract the virus each day. The huge majority, over 95 per cent, are living in developing countries. Mostly the infected are in the age-group of 15-49 while half of them are between 15-24,’’ he pointed out. The expert called for immediate preventive steps at the village, state and national levels to check the spread of the disease by educating people on various precautionary measures like popularising the use of condom for safe sex, voluntary counselling, strengthening of the treatment of sexually-transmitted infections (STI) and STI screening. Condoms and STI treatment commodities alone could account for 74 per cent of the preventive commodity costs, he added. “Even in schools sex education is required to make an impact. Quality assured condoms should be available everywhere to everyone who needs them and national policies and legislation should be reviewed if necessary,’’ Mr Fox said. UNI |
|
Man posing as CVC official held Nagpur, June 15 Claiming to be from the 1995 batch of the Indian Revenue Service and posted on deputation as Deputy Director (Investigation), West Zone Division-II in the CVC, the imposter, Abhay Anand Pundalik, walked into Police Commissioner P.B.K. Chakravarty’s office yesterday and told him that he had come to investigate the corruption charges against him. He showed Mr Chakravarty a letter purportedly written by Mr Chunnilalbhau Thakur, an MP from Bhandara to the CVC and the acknowledgement of the complaint by the CVC secretary S. Sinha, IAS, directing him (Anand) to enquire into the matter. Mr Chakravarty asked him to wait outside and called up Mr Sinha, who told him that there was no such system of inquiry and normally such cases were handled by the CBI. Anand was later arrested, Mr Chakravarty told reporters here late last night. He said seals and stamps of the CVC, the Research and Analysis Wing, the CBI, the Collector, Pune and Nagpur, the National Academy of Direct Taxes and blank letter heads of the CVC and of a Secretary with the Maharashtra Government were recovered. Anand told him he could get the complaint withdrawn after talking to the Bhandara MP. The imposter also claimed that the Nagpur BJP legislator Devendra Fadnavis had given him the letter, the Commissioner added. Mr Fadnavis, when contacted said he knew Anand but denied of having given any letter to him. The imposter has been booked under various Sections of the IPC.
UNI |
|
14 girls rescued from red-light
dist New Delhi, June 15 Sex workers, pimps and activists of Shakti Vahini, an NGO, gheraoed the police post on the GB road in protest against the raid. They demanded that the girls should be handed back to them. When the police used force to disperse them, the protesters reportedly started pelting stones on the police personnel. A few of them sustained injuries in the rioting. The sex workers blocked traffic and pelted soda water bottles when a team of the Crime Branch started taking away the girls. The police arrested 80 ‘kotha’ owners, 16 pimps and three members of Shakti Vahini on charge of rioting last night, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Kamla Market), Mr B.K. Singh, said. The police rescued 14 girls and arrested three pimps from ‘kotha’ number 57 during the raid. The girls were kept in Nirmal Chhaya, remand home of the Delhi Government, from where they would be sent to their parents. The girls belonged to Nepal. The ACP said the raid was conducted following a tip-off that young girls were kidnapped, raped and then forced into prostitution. Name of a ‘kotha’ owner figured in this connection so a raid was conducted
on her premises, including her home in East Delhi. Men who kidnapped and raped the girls had also been identified. The ACP said girls had been sent for medical examination to establish their age as the ‘kotha’ owners and managers claimed that the rescued girls were mature. They came to prostitution on their own. |
|
Congress seeks filling of Prasar Bharati posts New Delhi, June 15 Talking to mediapersons here today, chief Congress spokesperson Jaipal Reddy said: “The first thing that the BJP-led coalition did, when it came into power in 1998, was to remove Mr S S Gill, the then Chief Executive Officer, through a stealthy ordinance. It later removed two part-time members, including noted historian Prof Romila Thapar,” he said, adding that only two part-time members were now in the 15-member board. “Such vital vacancies as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Director-General (Doordarshan), Director-General (All India Radio), Member (Personnel) and Member (Finance) have not been filled for the past three years,” he said. |
|
Tyagi refuses to surrender Mumbai, June 15 Mr Justice
A.B. Palkar adjourned the Tyagi’s anticipatory bail plea to June 18 after government’s counsel
P.R. Vakil sought time to seek instructions from the state whether it would be feasible for them to give him advance notice of his arrest.
PTI |
|
Army Chief meets Home Minister New Delhi, June 15 Though officials did not reveal what transpired at the meeting, highly placed sources said security arrangements for the upcoming Amarnath yatra were also discussed. In addition to paramilitary forces and the local police to provide security cover to the pilgrims, Army units have also been deployed at vulnerable mountain passes and stretches where militants could target the pilgrimage route.
PTI |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
