BJP, Cong have ‘internal nexus’ against reservation: Mayawati

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November 5, 2018

Dalit leader Mayawati on Sunday accused the “casteist” BJP and the Congress of trying to “abolish” the reservation system while campaigning for Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh. Mayawati’s BSP is contesting the Chhattisgarh elections in alliance with the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC-J) of former Congress chief minister Ajit Jogi.

Addressing a rally in Taraud village in the Akaltara constituency in Janjgir-Champa, Mayawati alleged both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress had worked towards making reservation “ineffective” and were trying to gradually “abolish” it.

“Dalits, adivasis and the other backward castes have been getting the benefits of reservation, particularly in government jobs, as a result of the efforts of B.R. Ambedkar,” Mayawati said.

She accused the Congress and the BJP of having a “casteist mentality”.

“Right from the beginning, those parties had a casteist mentality… They have worked towards making reservation ineffective and [are trying to] gradually abolish it,” Mayawati, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, said.

The BSP is contesting the election—to be held in two phases on November 12 and 20—in alliance with the JCC-J and the Communist Party of India (CPI).

Of the 90 assembly seats in Chhattisgarh, the BSP will contest 33, the JCC-J 55 and the CPI two.

Ajit Jogi has been named as the chief ministerial candidate of the coalition. His daughter-in-law, Richa Jogi, is contesting from the Akaltara seat on a BSP ticket.

“The Congress was in power for a long time in the country. Now, the incumbent BJP governments at the Centre and in the state have failed to fully comply with the quota norms as provisioned in the reservation policy. A similar situation is prevailing in Chhattisgarh as well,” Mayawati said.

She also accused the Congress and the BJP of having an “internal nexus” to make reservations in job promotions for dalits and tribals “ineffective up to a great extent”.

Mayawati further said the BSP had fought for reservation inside Parliament and on the streets, apart from running a campaign for implementation of the recommendations of the Mandal Commission to ensure a quota for the OBCs.

Mayawati also lashed out at the BJP and the Congress over the SCs, STs and OBCs not getting reservation in the private sector.

“If the coalition of the BSP, JCC-J and CPI comes to power in Chhattisgarh, it will do its best to ensure Adivasis, dalits, backwards, minorities, labourers and farmers get their rights. Uplift of the poor, farmers, labourers, tribals and dalits is only possible in the state when this alliance comes to power. They will be able to lead a life with respect and dignity, besides Naxalism will also be contained,” Mayawati said.

Eighteen constituencies in the eight Naxalite-affected districts of Chhattisgarh will go to the polls on November 12 and the rest in the second phase on November 20.

The results will be declared on December 11.

In the 2013 state Assembly polls, the BJP had won 49 seats, the Congress 39 and the BSP and an independent candidate had won one seat each.

SCs account for around 12 per cent of the population of Chhattisgarh.

Triangular fights among the BJP, Congress and the BSP-JCC(J)-CPI coalition are expected in the Bilaspur division.

Tigress Avni’s killing: Maha govt says Maneka ‘lacks information’

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Afternoon Voice

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November 5, 2018

Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Monday took strong objection to Union minister Maneka Gandhi’s criticism of the state government over the killing of a tigress called Avni, saying she “lacks information” on the issue and can order a high-level probe if she wants to.

Mungantiwar’s statement comes a day after the Union Women and Child Development minister lashed out at the Maharashtra government over the “ghastly murder” of the tigress, T1, as she was known officially, calling it a “straight case of crime”.

The tigress, survived by her two 10-months old cubs, was believed to be responsible for the deaths of 13 people in the past two years. She was shot dead by sharp-shooter Asgar Ali in the Borati forest in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district on Friday as part of an operation.

In a series of tweets, Gandhi had stated, “It is nothing but a straight case of crime. Despite several requests from many stakeholders, (Sudhir) Mungantiwar, Minister for Forests, Maharashtra, gave orders for the killing.”

The Union minister had said she is going to take up the matter “very strongly” with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Mungantiwar said Gandhi’s criticism “stems from her lack of information” on the issue and asserted neither he, as a minister, nor any of the secretaries in his department have the right to order such killings.

Such decisions are taken as per the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), he said.

“She (Gandhi) loves animals. She is, however, Minister for Women and Child Development. I have to consider the women who have been killed by the tigress,” Mungantiwar said.

If she deems fit, she can suggest changes in the NTCA guidelines, the senior state minister said.

Both Mungantiwar and Gandhi are members of the BJP.

The Maharashtra minister said orders to capture the tigress were given when she killed five people.

However, he said animal activists approached the Bombay High Court and obtained a stay, which resulted in the “man-eating” big cat killing more people.

“The Forest Department is not an enemy of the tigress. She was killed only after she attacked those trying to tranquilise her,” Mungantiwar said.

He said if sharp-shooter Asgar Ali has criminal cases registered against him, then Gandhi, being a Union minister, can order his arrest.

The Maharashtra Forest Department has nothing to do with the cases, if any, against him, Mungantiwar said.

“Instead of lodging a complaint with the chief minister, the Union minister, if she wants, can order a high-level inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge or a committee of sitting Supreme Court judges into the incident,” said Mungantiwar.

Meanwhile, seizing the opportunity arising out of war of words between the two BJP ministers, the Shiv Sena took a dig at the Fadnavis government over the tigress’s killing.

The BJP’s bickering ally said Yavatmal district, where the tigress was killed, has also seen a spate of farmers suicide.

Recently, several cultivators in the district in Vidarbha region lost their lives due to inhalation of toxic pesticides, but no one was punished, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.

“We have not seen those responsible for the deaths (of farmers) get any punishment like the tigress was punished for killing people,” the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

The Marathi daily said people in the state are dying due to lack of water, malnutrition, government policies and debt traps but the administration has never been termed a “carnivore”.

Sabarimala: Amid tight security, devotees begin trek towards hill shrine

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Afternoon Voice

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November 5, 2018

Amid tight security, devotees of Lord Ayyappa on Monday began the trek from Nilakkal base camp to the hill shrine of Sabarimala ahead of the temple’s opening this evening.

Devotees were seen trekking up the hill while chanting hymns in praise of the deity.

After the special ‘Athazha Puja’, the temple will be closed on Tuesday evening.

Nilakkal base camp in-charge Manjunath H told ANI, “There is adequate police deployment here. We are not restricting the movement of devotees.”

In the wake of violent protests during the last monthly pooja, the state police have issued prohibitory orders at Pamba, Nilakkal and other areas near the shrine and are maintaining vigil on vehicles going towards the temple.

The Pathanamthitta district administration has imposed Section 144 in Sannidhanam, Pamba, Nilakkal, and Elavunkal till November 6.

Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) prohibits assembly of five or more people in an area. Every member of such an “unlawful assembly” can be booked for “engaging in rioting”, the maximum punishment for which is three years.

The Sabarimala Temple, and its surrounding areas, witnessed a series of protests in October over the apex court’s decision to quash restrictions on the entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50 into the holy shrine. However, in spite of the top court’s order no women in menstruating ages were able to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temple when it opened last time.

More than 3000 protesters have been arrested so far for instigating the violence that broke out in the state, while around 529 cases have been registered.

Letters to the Editor: Nov 05, 2018

By

Afternoon Voice

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November 5, 2018

1) Betis are at risk in UP

It refers to your editorial (November 5); I totally agree with you concerning the situation which you have mentioned in your article decorously that the crime against women in Uttar Pradesh is witnessing a new low with a teenager being gang-raped in an ICU. However, the Yogi Adityanath government has always claimed to have a significant reduction in the crime. Nonetheless, the Adityanath-led BJP government finds changing the name of cities and building the world’s tallest Ram statue in the state is of utmost importance! While the state failing on crucial benchmark for the safety of citizens, will the ‘world’s tallest statue’ of Lord Rama be enough to please the diety especially in the State that tops the crime chart? Even if the hospitals are not safe in UP, where would a common person go? The government should stop to make the people fool and should do something for women’s safety and protection instead of beating about bushes. The first priority of the government must be the reduction of crimes in the state not to change the name of cities or build the statues.

– Mohd Faheem

2) Ban sale of new currency-packs & coin-bags at premium

It is welcome that the Reserve Bank of India issues a new currency in plenty to be distributed through a vast network of banks both in private and public sector especially every year on occasion of Deepawali. Banks also distribute new currency on demand to their customers. It is also justified that new currency is issued by banks only on cash-withdrawal from their accounts, and not an exchange of old notes.

But in areas like Chandni Chowk of Delhi, new currency-packs in all denominations are always available at a premium throughout the year in any quantity with hawkers on a footpath near Fatehpuri and Kachcha Bagh. The rate of the premium of new currency-notes at Deepawali-2018 in retail was Rs 60, Rs 100 and Rs 200 for a pack of Rs 100 notes in denominations of Rs 10, Rs 50 and Rs 100 respectively. The premium rate of Re 1 note was Rs 200 per pack of 100 that is Rs 300 for a pack with a face value of Rs 100. There are big wholesale-dealers where bundles of new currency in any denomination are available without any scarcity.

The Reserve Bank of India and Department of Economic Intelligence should conduct an inquiry in the matter and take every step to check the menace of selling new currency at a premium. The central government should make the selling of new currency and coin-bags punishable offence. Then only currency-packs and coin-bags will be available in banks throughout the year.

– Madhu Agrawal

3) Save the country from poison pollutions

Thanks to the Supreme Court for giving a very good verdict on crackers, permitting the sale of only ‘green crackers’ in Delhi. It is a good action which was taken by the Supreme Court to reduce pollution and make the enjoyable atmosphere. This judgement should apply in all over the country, so that the poison pollution of the country could change into fresh climate, because of the pollution many people fall into severe diseases and they lost their precious lives. The people should also give their best to make an enjoyable atmosphere in the country. I hope that all people will help the government to save the country from poison pollutions.

– Alqamah Shaikh

4) A pleasant gift of PM Modi

It is heartening that Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Diwali bonanza, announced a slew of measures, including sanction of loans of up to 1 crore to small and medium enterprises in 59 minutes through a special portal to give a boost to the nation’s second-biggest employing sector. Also, he dedicated some other gifts to the nation on this pleasant occasion of Diwali. It is a great presentation given to the nation by PM Narendra Modi on this occasion. Now the middle-class people may celebrate the festival with immense pleasure owing to PM’s gift. This gift will bring a different glitter amongst all Diwali candles. I extend my deepest gratitude to PM Modi for giving the opportunity of enjoyment especially at the time of the biggest festival of our country.

– FU Patel

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Woes of women — how safe are women?

By

Jayanthy Subramaniam

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November 5, 2018

In India women are the main target for eve teasing, molestation, rape, acid throwing, ragging, and honour killing and that is unbecoming of a country where women are most respected in a society. A new study has found that nine in 10 women have suffered some form of sexual discrimination at the work place, which is alarming and India is not an exception to this. The researchers at the Michigan University found that 10 per cent of the women surveyed had experience the most severe form of harassment, in which they were promised promotion or better treatment. The purpose of this article is not to dampen women spirit. The society is not saying that you stop celebrating this special day. All we are saying is that this Women’s Day, look around you. Do you see or know someone who needs help? A woman, who is probably not as lucky as you? Lend her a hand, help her out. If that’s not feasible, because you know a lot of such women are just not ready to come out of the situation, then lend them a shoulder or an ear.

NGOs and Women Welfare Wings are working hard to provide safety of women in this country. Police team work round the clock to bring the culprits to books. But women are scared of complaining and that gives the miscreants more freedom to act in an indecent manner. Police play a pivotal role and women sufferers should not scare to report as the matter needs to be attended on priority basis. If you dial number 100, police respond your call and the help reaches within next 10 to 15 minutes and that is normal. An app is created to make genuine complaints on offences made against women and it is time to tap this facility to avoid future embarrassment.

Indian film industry should play a punitive role in making India crime free against women. The contents of the film carry weightage and to make a film a box office hit such filthy contents are added to make the films successful. Mostly women are the target for all the film makers and they look for good business through a short cut to success. Censor Board should act prudently and make the much needed cuts before handing over U/A certification. The society should work as one to make the dream come true and help out women to face the realities of life in the best way possible.

Women safety is of utmost importance as we face regular case of rape and molestation. Even influx of foreigners coming to India is reduced due to such untoward incidents taking place in tourists spot like Goa and Srinagar. Press should play a proper role in projecting such cases in a better way rather making it just a breaking use. Handle them with discussions and debates and bring out the truth and play a Samaritan role rather than just make use of the same for TRP. Instead of going by perception look into each case as a unique one and bring out the truth and not through sensational journalism just as a publicity stunt. Do not generalise the case and make a sincere try to bring out the facts and give cover to women in rape cases through proper editing.

Parental role plays a big part in bring out a girl to womanhood. Instead of spending time on clubs and kitty parties, mothers need to play a perfect parent role in inculcating sex education in a phased manner and to know about in and out when an attack is made. Keeping a pepper spray or a soap solution may serve the cause to certain extent. Knowing the martial art to protect yourself is yet another option. But generally speaking, the women should have the ways of wearing decent cloths to avoid instant attacks on the road side. Sex education in schools saves the day to impart knowledge and to know the vagaries in a women’s life. Women’s Wings are coming out in open to oppose in most of the cases coming to their knowledge. Even the victim should also come in open to raise their voice to give the much needed focus on the real subject and not to deviate on other trivial issues related to the crime. Women aspire to become an actor should be more careful. Casting couch cases are on the increase. Photo session on women protects women’s interest and the lady in question should not be over exposed to get more viewers.

Government should give the women the much wanted protection so that women can walk on the roads much freely. Policing has improved a lot to find out even Cyber crimes on women and that makes more sense. In cases of rape, FIR is to be lodged providing all the facts to make the issue more clear. The roles of the Gynaecologists, Lawyers, Police, and NGOs all play a stellar role in screening the real crime in a rape case. Hiding facts will not help out the cause. Women suffer forever and it is time to pay attention to women’s woes.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

UP horror again proved Modi govt’s ‘Beti Bachao’ a big flop

By

Vaidehi Taman

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November 4, 2018

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh is busy with the Lord Rama politics because the state government’s priorities now are building tall statues of men long gone and Gods. But they are not sticking to their promises made to the daughters of India. The most lawless state Uttar Pradesh has evolved as hell. A teenager was gang-raped by a hospital worker and four others in the ICU in Bareilly’s hospital. After she was bitten by a snake while working in the family farm, she was admitted in the ICU and she was struggling between life and death. The girl was gang-raped and the hospital staff had no clue what is happening to the patient in the ICU. If the hospitals are also not safe in UP, then where would a common person go? The hospitals must give written undertaking that female patients will not be ‘RAPED’ in its agreement papers. How come the patient in the ICU was left unattended? The girl was the only patient in the ICU when she was gang-raped. The girl told her grandmother that a man in uniform and four others walked into the ICU when she was alone at night. They tried to forcefully give her an injection and when she fought with them, the men gagged her, tied her hands, and raped her. Her grandmother raised an alarm and complained to the doctors about the incident and the hospital authorities called the police.

Two weeks ago, a ward boy and a medical student were arrested for allegedly raping a nursing student while she was admitted to a hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Bagpat. The 17-year-old student was raped at midnight, when her sister, who was attending on her, had gone out to get tea. The accused took the nursing student to the emergency room on the pretext of running some tests and injected her with a sedative and raped her.

Nearly 2,00,000 women and children are currently missing in India. Looking back at the latest data available, in 2016, India recorded 106 rapes a day and four out of every 10 victims were minors. Another shocking fact that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)’s “Crime in India 2016” report reveals is that in 94.6 per cent cases, the culprits were none other than the victim’s kinsfolk including brothers, fathers, grandfathers, sons, or acquaintances. The report showed that in the year 2016, a total of 38,947 cases of rape were registered in the country under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) as well as Section 376 and other related sections of the Indian Penal Code. Among these 38,947 cases, in 36,859 matters, accused are related to the victims. 2018 has gotten worse for the children in India. Kids are supposed to be safeguarded. They’re supposed to have a childhood spent but in India, children are scared and they should be.

How do you equip children to protect themselves? How do you protect a child? The situation in India is quite grim. India’s conviction rate for rape, at 25.5 per cent, remains low compared to all cognisable crimes – those that do not require a magistrate’s permission to investigate – under the Indian Penal Code (46.9 per cent in 2015). Declining conviction rate in rape cases ordinarily means a lesser number of registered cases could be proved in the court, and this gives rise to the suspicion that maybe false cases are also being registered. Children are killed, pushed into flesh trade, used for porn, forced into begging, if not missing then they are raped in their homes, school, playgrounds whichever place possible. Nothing could really stop crime against a girl child and woman in India. In 2015 alone, some 73,242 women have gone missing (until September) of which only 33,825 have been traced so far. That translates to roughly 270 women going missing every day. After adding the backlog from last year, the number of women who are still untraced in India as of 2015 stood at 1,35,356.

In India you ask any girl child, young or old woman, they would tell you at least one incidence of outrage. Every female of this country has one story to share about humiliation, molestation (direct-indirect), assault, and sometimes even brutal abuse. Directly or indirectly, everyone in this country is abused at one point in time. What more one needs to understand the fate of female in this country and how long one has to live with this insecurity? Sometimes they go missing, sometimes they are pushed in horror or they are raped and murdered. In spite of living in so much of moral custody, no one can guarantee her the safety or the dignity. What kind of country we are living in and what kind of representatives we are electing for our welfare.

Hope we gear up now!

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Betis are at risk – Will Yogi please Lord Rama with ‘world’s tallest statue’?

By

Afternoon Voice

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November 4, 2018

The crime against women in Uttar Pradesh is witnessing a new low with a teenager being gang-raped in an ICU. However, the Yogi Adityanath government has always claimed to have a significant reduction in the crime. Nonetheless, the Adityanath-led BJP government finds changing the names of cities and building the world’s tallest Ram statue in the state is of utmost importance! While the state failing on crucial benchmarks for the safety of citizens, will the ‘world’s tallest statue’ of Lord Rama be enough to please the deity especially in a State that tops the crime chart?

UP BJP spokesperson Sameer Singh commented, “Under Adityanath’s government, around 7,000 criminals have been arrested! Although the crime cases might not have completely come to an end, the number of crimes in the state has declined over the last few years. However, the data in the surveys showing an increase in crimes are wrong. Anyway, talking about Ram Mandir, there are traces of Ram Mandir and not of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya; hence, Ram Mandir will be constructed soon. Now with the building of statue in UP, the state will observe the immense development and the people will get employment.”

As per the reports, the UP Chief Minister, two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the 182-metre ‘Statue of Unity’, is likely to install a statue of Lord Rama on the banks of the River Sarayu that will be more than 100 meters in height. The bronze statue will cost Rs 330 crore and a 36-metre pedestal and a museum have also been planned and it is the first time by UP CM to organise a grand Diwali in Ayodhya by illuminating the town and lighting 1.71 lakh earthen lamps. Although the details are not yet revealed as to the time frame related to the project and the proposal is not in the public domain yet.

A software engineer from UP Ashish Kushwaha mentioned, “I think it’s stupendous and another Mayawati in making. Same as she spent crores to build thousands of statues of elephants instead of focusing on the critical matters and development of the state.”

While Yogi Adityanath affirms his confidence in the reduction of rape cases in the state, according to the statistics by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in March this year, Uttar Pradesh topped the list of states of fake encounters and custodial deaths. According to a survey, on an average eight women are raped and 30 abducted daily where more than 100 FIRs of ‘crime against women’ are lodged every day. It was noticed that the total number of offences registered in this regard have gone up by 24 per cent compared to the previous year. While a number of rape cases has remained at par, incidents of abduction, sexual harassment, and obscenity with females had spiraled.

A member of UP Youth Congress Ankit Singh Parihar expressed, “Instead of building a Ram statue, if the government starts following his beliefs and ideology, that would be more helpful to create a ‘Ram Rajya’ in the state. Initially, they promised to construct a Ram Mandir which doesn’t seem to be happening in the near future. As always with the nearing of the elections, the BJP government is playing their political strategy by making jumlas to target the sentimental vote bank.”

He further added, “Earlier before Diwali, women felt free to go to the markets for shopping even late at night but now women feel scared to go out of the houses which have faded the festive spree in the state. To spend such a huge amount for building a statue is inappropriate, especially in a state that lacks basic amenities.”

On one hand, Adityanath in the speeches states his concern about the safety and security of women in Tripura. “Women here are not protected and incidents of rape and molestation were happening frequently,” he said and added that empowerment and education were required for the development of women. On the other hand, if Yogi Adityanath’s claims are to be believed, the data, on the contrary, shows a completely different scenario in comparisons with his own state and having made his proclaim as ironic.

Apoorv Kushwaha, E-commerce manager from Mumbai who belongs to UP, stated the construction of Lord Rama statue as a sheer wastage of taxpayers’ money. “Neither Lord Rama will be pleased nor his followers. There are bigger issues such as crime, illiteracy, unemployment which need this fund. People know who Rama is and don’t need a statue to be reminded about him,” he added.

After the Yogi Adityanath-led government came to power, the scaling down in the crime rates was to be expected by the citizens of the state, but looking at the current scenario where the prominence is given to the name changing of cities and constructing of a Lord Rama statute in the name of development may not prove to be suffice for the upcoming elections.

By Moumita Mukherjee & Twinkle Mehta

Collegian out with boyfriend raped in Nagpur; 2 held

By

Afternoon Voice

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November 4, 2018

A 19-year-old student of a college was allegedly raped by a man in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district, around 820 kms from here, the police said Sunday.

The accused and his friend were arrested within hours of the incident which occurred on the night of November 2 along the Hyderabad-Jabalpur highway at Hudkeshwar, an official said.

The woman and her male friend are pursuing B.Com in a college and are classmates.

The incident occurred when two men spotted the victim and her male friend sitting together behind bushes at an isolated place, he said.

The men then attacked the duo and one of them dragged the victim’s friend to the road while the other man raped her behind the bushes, the official said.

Before leaving, the accused told the woman that his two friends would be coming in a short while and told her not to leave the spot, the official said.

In the meantime, the male friend tried to stop vehicles plying on the highway for help, but to no avail, he said.

The official said the male friend couldn’t summon help immediately, as his mobile phone was switched off.

“After some time, a truck driver stopped his vehicle and took him to the nearest eating joint (dhaba) from where he contacted the police,” he said.

A police team rushed to the spot where they found the woman and took her to the hospital, he said.

Police registered a case of gang rape under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and within hours picked up two suspects who are identified as Anil Thete (46) and Baba Bhagat (38), the official said.

Thete is a resident of Butibori and Bhagat of Hudkeshwar in Nagpur, he said.

As per prima facie investigation, it was Thete who allegedly raped the woman while Bhagat abetted the crime.

Koregaon-Bhima: Pune police blames Elgar Parishad speeches for violence

By

Afternoon Voice

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November 4, 2018

The January 1 violence at Koregaon-Bhima near here was triggered by “provocative and inciting” speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave a day earlier, the Pune police has told a judicial commission.

The Pune police submitted an affidavit in this regard Friday to an inquiry commission set up by the Maharashtra government under Justice (retd) JN Patel to probe the violence.

The Elgar Parishad was organised at the Shaniwar Wada here on December 31 last year to commemorate the victory of the East India Company forces, comprising a large number of Dalit soldiers, over the Peshwa army in 1818.

It led to violence in the area on January 1 this year as well as protests by Dalit groups across the state, including a Maharashtra bandh on January 3.

On behalf of the Pune police, Additional Commissioner of Police (South Region) Ravindra Sengaonkar filed the affidavit, Shishir Hiray, special public prosecutor representing the state at the judicial commission, said.

When contacted, Sengaonkar confirmed that an affidavit was filed.

Elaborating on the content of the affidavit, Hiray Sunday said, “During the investigation of the case, the Pune police realised that the Elgar Parishad itself was the product of some sort of a conspiracy.”

“And the provocative and inciting speeches made at the conclave instigated the minds of people and the cumulative effect of a widespread conspiracy ultimately resulted in violence the next day at Bhima-Koregaon,” he added, quoting from the police affidavit.

Hiray said the affidavit of the Pune police was accompanied by recordings of speeches made at the conclave and copies of booklets distributed at the event, which they claimed were “provocative” and spoke of using violent methods to overthrow the democratic system.

Earlier, Suvez Haque, Pune (Rural) Superintendent of Police at the time of the incident, had stated in his affidavit that the violence at Koregaon-Bhima was due to a sudden clash between two groups of people carrying blue and saffron flags.

“The basic difference between the affidavits of the Pune police and the Pune rural police is that the latter’s affidavit is talking about what happened in front of their eyes at Koregaon-Bhima on January 1, whereas the one by Pune police talks about why it happened,” Hiray said.

“So, the Pune police’s affidavit is talking about the larger conspiracy,” he added.

Four days after the violence, based on a complaint filed by one Tushar Damgude at the Vishrambaug police station within the jurisdiction of Pune police, a case was registered against Sudhir Dhavale, Sagar Gorkhe, Harshali Potdar, Ramesh Gaychor, Deepak Dengle, and Jyoti Jagtap.

In his complaint, Damgude had alleged that “provocative” speeches and presentations made at the Elgar Parishad on December 31 had “promoted” enmity between two groups and led to violence at Bhima-Koregoan on January 1.

The violence had led to the death of one person near Sanaswadi.

Man slashes self after failing to meet actor Shah Rukh Khan

By

Afternoon Voice

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November 4, 2018

A 26-year-old man Sunday slashed himself with a blade outside the residence of film superstar Shah Rukh Khan in suburban Bandra after failing to meet him, police said.

Dharavi resident Mohammad Salim Alauddin sustained minor injuries in the neck in the incident, which occurred in the early hours Sunday, and was discharged from nearby Bhabha hospital following preliminary treatment, police said.

Alauddin wanted to meet Khan and had been waiting for three hours in vain outside the actor’s residence, Girish Anavkar, Senior Inspector of Bandra police station said.

Incidentally, Friday was Khan’s 53rd birthday.