Patil
assures Parliament of Jessica Lal retrial
New
Delhi: With an equivocal demand from all the members
of the Parliament for a retrial in the sensational Jessica
Lal murder case after the session court had earlier acquitted
all the accused, Home Minister Shivraj Patil today assured
the Parliament that the government will ensure a fair re-trial
and reinvestigation of the case.
Responding
to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Patil said, "Instead of
blaming the person who should not be blamed, we should go
to the root of the matter". Patil then added, "We have been
asked assurance from the floor of the House about the retrial
of the case, but unfortunately law says that no person shall
be tried twice, punished twice. However, since the Supreme
Court has already ordered retrials in some cases that stand
as a law in itself." The Minister also pointed out to the
recent Delhi High Court's suo-motto action taking cognizance
in the murder case and said: "The process has already started
and thus nothing needs to be done directly from his front".
However, he added that whatever needs to be done would be
done. The recent verdict in the model murder case saw a
large number of the witnesses turning hostile and the ruling
was done on the basis of these oral evidences thereby raising
concern in the investigation process. Responding to these
concerns the minister favoured, an amendment in the Criminal
Procedure code (CrPC)and said, "Some changes have been suggested
in the CrPC, some good suggestions have come up and they
should be considered, " and added that the method of investigation
be improved so that there should be reduction in the dependence
on the oral evidence". "Circumstantial evidence must be
relied upon more than oral evidence and for that the investigation
procedure and tools will have to be improved," he suggested.
Emphatically, the minister said "Governance cannot be done
by danda (stick) alone and added that it is very important
that "prestige and faith in the system has to stay".
The
session court's verdict acquitting all the accused in the
in the 1999 murder case raised hue and cry equally outside
and inside the Parliament with MPs and general people at
large demanded opening of the case. A large section of the
media carried reports that indicated how the investigation
was not done in the correct manner, questioning some police
personnel malafide intention. The minister today making
observation to these revelations said that action be taken
against the police personnel found guilty for not conducting
the investigation properly.
12 pilgrims killed, 15
injured in road mishap (Go
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Sasaram
(Bihar): Twelve persons were killed and 15 injured,
three seriously in a head-on collision between the tractor-trailor
and a speeding truck in Rohtas district here early today.
The police sources said that the mishap occurred on the
Grand Trunk road near Karwandia, about ten km from here.
The pilgrims on board the tractor were from Rampur and Gamhariya
villages of Aurangabad district and were on their way back
after offering prayers at Guptadham temple on the occasion
of 'Maha Shivratri' yesterday, sources added. Nine pilgrims
were killed on the spot and three died on way to hospital.
The injured pilgrims were being treated at the Sadar Hospital
here and the condition of three of them was reported to
be serious. A search is on to nab the driver of the truck
who fled from the spot, police sources said.
10
Orissa fishermen commit suicide (Go
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Kendrapada
(Orissa): At least ten fishermen have committed suicide
during the last six months due to a ban on fishing imposed
by the state government to protect turtles. The ban has
resulted in extreme poverty and misery among the fishing
community in Orissa's Kendrapada District. The plight of
fishermen of more than 20,000 villages of Kendrapada District
has worsened since the ban was imposed to protect the endangered
Olive Ridley turtles in the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary.
The
ban which is effective from November 1 to April 31, 2006
prohibits fishing within five kilometre radius of the Bay
of Bengal in coastal Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur Districts.
Since then, many fishermen have committed suicide. Atleast
10 have committed suicide during the last six months. Most
of the families now do not have a bread earner. Women find
it difficult to earn money. Bidyadhar, a fisherman who had
committed suicide has left behind his mother, three children
alongwith his wife. "My son was depressed after fishing
was banned. He had to repay some loan. Two months ago when
his wife went to her father's house, he committed suicide.
We have now lost the sole bread earner. There is no source
of livelihood," said Pratibha Ram, mother of late fisherman
Bidyadhar. Fishermen say the government has been indifferent
to their plea for an alternate livelihood. "Jairam committed
suicide a few days back. Earlier our head who also had a
boat committed suicide since he had no option and his financial
condition was not good. Many fishermen have also gone mad.
We want to tell the government about our problems but they
do not listen to us. After that if a person takes a different
course to earn bread then the government will declare him
as a member of LTTE and Maoists," said Tusar Sarkar, a fisherman.
Though
officials are aware that ban on fishing has affected the
lives of these villages which are dependent on fishing for
livelihood say they have to protect the endangered turtles.
In addition, efforts are being made to provide for an alternate
livelihood. "We are enforcing the law where the same habitat
is shared by the fish and the turtles. We have to provide
protection to the turtles or the fish catch that comes out
of that habitat cannot be marketed in the global market.
You have to provide an alternative livelihood. Those things
actually have not been done to a great extent. Efforts have
been made to provide alternate livelihood," said Suresh
Mohanty, Chief Wildlife warden, Forest Department. Moreover,
fishermen will suffer yet another setback after a ban is
imposed on fishing in July during the breeding season. At
least, 34 fishermen have been so far arrested by the forest
and police officials and their boats have been seized for
fishing within the prohibited area. Several dry- fish units
have closed down due to the ban and fishermen had to sell
their boats for sustenance.
Two LeT militants arrested
in Delhi (Go
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New
Delhi: Delhi Police on Monday confirmed the arrest of
two suspected Lakshar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants from the New
Delhi Railway Station here on Sunday night. Three kilograms
of RDX was also recovered from them, a senior police officer
said here today, just two days before the arrival of U.S.
President George Bush Besides RDX, two pistols were also
recovered from the two militants identified as Shaheen and
Shamil arrested from the railway station last evening, Deputy
Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Ajay Kumar said. Following
intelligence reports, sleuths of the Special Cell from the
station nabbed the two militants, Kumar said. Fake currency
notes of Rs 40,000 were also found from their possession,
who are nationals of Bangladesh, Kumar added. Further interrogation
of the two could lead to more arrests, he said. The LeT
is one of the deadliest terrorist groups active in Jammu
and Kashmir and has been responsible for terror attacks
in New Delhi and elsewhere in the past. According to Indian
security officials the militant group has its bases in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
Clinton needs 25 interns
(Go
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New
York: Though 'Monicagate' almost got him impeached,
it seems that former US President Bill Clinton has had enough
of being without an intern for the past seven years, for
he is now on the lookout for 25 new interns for the Clinton
Foundation Intern Program. The William F. Clinton Foundation
has posted an Internet job listing for unpaid interns which
promises to offer them a unique opportunity for growth and
'meaningful service'. "If you are an undergraduate, graduate
or professional student or a recent graduate with your own
strong interest in crucial issues of our day, the Clinton
Foundation Intern Program offers a unique opportunity for
growth, learning and meaningful service", the New York Post
quoted the website, as stating. Bill Clinton's spokesman
said that the recruitment was not surprising as the former
President ran a multi-million dollar foundation. "I'm not
sure why it's surprising that President Clinton's multimillion
dollar foundation - that among many other accomplishments
provides AIDS treatment drugs to over 250,000 people around
the world - would have interns," he said.
Pakistan's
'new' map of Kashmir (Go
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Washington:
Pakistan it seems does not consider the Northern Areas
as an integral part of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Some of Pakistan's embassies abroad are distributing a booklet,
which contains a map of the Jammu and Kashmir at variance
with the country's long-held position on the dispute. The
map apparently shows the Northern Areas of the state, which
have been officially considered an integral part of the
former princely state, as a separate entity, identified
simply as the "Northern Areas". The Line of Control is also
non-existent on the map, reports the Daily Times. Jammu
and Kashmir as well as PoK, has been shown as one, single,
undivided entity, identified as 'Jammu and Kashmir state'
with the words "disputed territory" appearing in very small
letters underneath the name. Stranger is the fact that the
map is being handed out in Pakistan's diplomatic missions
in a few European countries as part of a booklet containing
basic information about the country.
UK's
Hindu Forum has hotline (Go
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by Mike Lockey
London:
The Hindu Forum of Britain has recently set up a telephone
hot line so that the Forum can quickly be informed of any
racially motivated attacks on British Hindus. The hot line
has been activated in the wake of the July 2005 bombings
in London, bombings that have led to many more attacks on
people who do not look quite as English as they should in
the eyes of the Neanderthals who carry out such attacks.
In fact, the 700,000 or so Hindus in the UK have become
as much a target for hate crimes as Muslims and, as Ramesh
Kallidai, the secretary general of the Forum, pointed out,
there is evidence that Hindu temples, as well as people,
have been hit by these racially motivated attacks. According
to Kallidai, crimes against Hindus have ranged from verbal
and physical attacks on worshippers, as well as graffiti
on, and vandalism of, the temples themselves. To try and
stop such behaviour, the Hindu Forum has begun a system
of security training for volunteers who will arrange patrols
around the temples that seem most at risk. As Ramesh Kallidai
said: "Although hate crimes against Hindus were in existence
before 7/7, after the bombings there were attacks on Hindus
because of mistaken identity. For almost 90 percent of the
South Asian community, you cannot tell which religion a
particular person belongs to and many people outside the
Asian community cannot tell the difference between a Hindu
temple, a mosque, or a gurudwara. Often the attackers don't
care which Asian faith they are attacking. Perhaps 7/7 released
dormant racist feelings against the Asian community".
Hindu groups in Britain are now appealing to the government
and the police to keep records of racially motivated attacks
on Hindus. At present, figures are only collated with regard
to particular, wide racial groupings, such as Asian or Afro-
Caribbean for instance. This means, of course, that it is
virtually impossible to establish beyond any doubt that
racial crimes against any particular group, Hindu or otherwise,
have risen. As Ramesh Kallidai went on to say: "The police
find it difficult to identify the invisible differences
between Asians based on religion. Often they do not ask
victims what their religion is, which they ought to do.
Of course, responding to such a question should be voluntary".
In the end, there are no easy solutions to the perennial
problem of racial hatred, and, while people such as those
who run organisations like the British National Party, the
BNP, continue to garner support, that racial hatred, sadly,
will continue to fester in the UK.
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