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Army Major dismissed in Handwara rape case

     Uri (J-K): Major Rehman Hussain was today dismissed from service after he was found guilty of using force with the intent of outraging the modesty of a 12 year old girl but was absolved of the charge of raping her mother in Handwara in Jammu and Kashmir two months ago. On the basis of deposition by several prosecution witnesses, the General Court Martial here relied heavily on the DNA report which negated the claim of rape as there were contradictions in their statements and the material evidence did not corroborate their claims. However, the court martial found him guilty of using criminal force with the intent of outraging the modesty of the girl. The sentence, handed over by the General Court Martial, was subject to confirmation by the General Officer Commanding in chief of Northern Command, Lt Gen Hari Prasad.

     Major Hussain has the option of submitting a pre-confirmation appeal under the Army Law. He can also appeal to the Army Chief or Union government in case his sentence is confirmed by the head of the Northern Command. The General Officer Commanding Major General M S Balahara said the army will adopt the children of the affected family. After establishment of a prima facie case, the General Court Martial tried the officer at Uri, 100 kms from Srinagar. The trial, headed by Brig Syed Ata Hussain, which started on December 20 last year, was conducted expeditously in an open court in Uri brigade headquarters strictly in accordance with law and more than 25 prosecution witnesses have already been examined. It took a new turn on January 19 when the report of the DNA test conducted by the central forensic laboratory, Chandigarh, was found negative. The report was transferred by Chief Judicial Magistrate, Handwara to the General Court Martial on January 18.

PM hits out at Chautala government (Go To Top)

     Ambala: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today hit out at the Om Prakash Chautala Government, and asked the people of Haryana to remove the "corrupt" government from power. Campaigning for the Congress for the first time during the current round of elections, he asked the people to elect a government, which would rule the state as well as the Centre. He further asked the people to vote for the Congress if they desired to end corruption, improve deteriorating law and order situation and tackle issues like unemployment and education and give a better deal to the farmers. "If Haryana people want to end corruption, improve law and order situation and welfare of farmers, Congress' hands should be strengthened. It is in the interest of the people if the same party ruled both at the Centre and the State," said Singh. He further said that there were forces, which were trying to divide the country on communal lines, something that the Congress would not allow. "If Congress is elected, which I am sure will be outcome of the assembly polls, the party will work for the welfare of the farmers," he added.

Mob torches Bhubaneswar police station (Go To Top)

     Bhubaneswar: An angry mob set afire a police station in Bhubaneshwar's Janala area today over an allegation that the police had taken a bribe to save some persons blamed for a road accident in the city. The road mishap resulted in one of the victims dying on the spot. Three cars, a motorcycle and several documents were razed to ashes in the incident. "A speeding car hit a motorcycle, killing the driver and injuring the pillion rider. An angry mob burnt the car and set fire to the outpost, a motorcycle of one of our personnel as well as some important documents," said Amitabh Thakur, the area's superintendent of police. Eyewitnesses said they informed the police about the accident, but reacted angrily when they saw some policemen accept money from the rich car owner to hush up the case. This led them to block the road and attack the police station.