HC asks government to regulate online sale of medicines

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October 29, 2015

The Bombay High Court directed the Maharashtra government to take steps to regulate the online sale of medicines, until a specific law or rules are enacted.

A division bench of Justices Naresh Patil and S B Shukare was hearing a PIL against the online sale of medicines.

The government informed the HC that it had set up an experts’ committee under the chairmanship of Foods and Drugs Administration Commissioner for regulation of sale of medicines through online portals.

The committee has invited suggestions till October 30 from the people, NGOs and pharmaceutical organisations, and after perusing them, it would issue recommendations for amendments to Drugs and Cosmetics Act, the government pleader said.

The high court advised the committee to study laws of developed countries such as the US, UK and Norway where online sale of medicines is allowed, and also of Turkey, Thailand and Korea where it is not allowed.

The pleader submitted that two portals selling medicines were being prosecuted and the government was also thinking of blocking them.

The judges said the government should be proactive as the issue pertains to the public health.

Mayuri Patil, a city-based college teacher, has filed the PIL based on reports that college students are buying abortion pills online. One of her students fell sick after consuming abortion pills bought online, according to her.

Vallari Jathar, her lawyer, argued that under the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, schedule H drugs cannot be bought without a doctor’s prescription as their side-effects could be dangerous, but they are being sold online.

The drugs in schedule H include sleeping pills, abortion tablets and anti-pregnancy pills, she said.

The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for November 26.

Court directs man to care for in-laws, serve in shrine

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Afternoon Voice

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October 29, 2015

A man, whose wife immolated herself after being harassed for her inability to bear a child, has been sentenced to 14-day rigorous imprisonment by a court in Thane which asked him to take care of the emotional and medical needs of his in-laws.

Additional Sessions Judge Mridula V K Bhatia, in the order passed yesterday, held 35-year-old Rizwan Gani Noori guilty of harassing his wife for not being able to conceive.

Noori was married to Shagufta in 1999 but the couple did not have a child. Due to constant torture by Noori, Shagufta immolated herself in November, 2010, and succumbed to injuries in a hospital.

Noori was booked under sections 306 (Abetment of suicide) and 498A (Husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) of IPC. However, the charges under section 306 could not be proved, thus leading to Noori’s conviction under section 498A.

The convict was sentenced to 14 days of rigorous imprisonment. Having already served the imprisonment, he was directed to remain in custody till the rising of the court on the day.

The court imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Noori, which would be given to his father-in-law within a fortnight of the order, failing which he would have to undergo further imprisonment for one month.

The convict was given the benefit of section 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958.

“In addition, the convict is directed to visit the appellant (father-in-law) Prakash Pujari in Pune every fortnight for a period of four months from today and spend four hours attending to him and his wife, taking care of their emotional, medical and other needs,” the court ordered.

“The accused is further directed to spend one hour every fortnight at the Noori Baba Dargah in Thane and clean the premises and water the plants there for a period of four months from today. He is directed to submit a report of his aforementioned work on the 1st and 15th of every month to this court till February 28, 2016,” it said.

In the case of non-compliance, the convict would have to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 15 days, the judge said.

Tread cautiously on Rs. 33,000-cr fresh loan: Shiv Sena to government

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Afternoon Voice

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October 29, 2015

Shiv Sena has asked Maharashtra government to be “careful and cautious” while raising a fresh loan of Rs. 33,000-crore to ensure that mistakes of the previous Congress-NCP regime are not repeated.

“The additional loan of Rs. 33,000 crore will be utilised for upgradation of infrastructure, agriculture, irrigation, drought mitigation schemes and Jalyukt Shivar scheme. Even though additional funds are required for these purposes, the government must bear in mind the existing debt of Rs 3.52 lakh crore.

“The common man will have to bear the financial burden. It should be ensured that the fresh loan is taken at low interest rate,” an editorial in Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said.

“Every year the government has to pay Rs. 38,000 crore as repayment of principal amount of loan and interest. If the fresh loan is taken at low interest rate, there would be saving in the amount which needs to be repaid. Adequate funds would be available for creating infrastructure facilities,” the edit said.

It asked the government to guard against fiscal mismanagement since it has to face the challenge of water scarcity and drought in the coming year.

The edit said the debt of Rs. 3.52 lakh crore was a legacy of political and fiscal management of the Congress-NCP regime.

In the 15-year-rule of Congress-NCP, loan was raised for development work but nothing was done.

“Rs 70,000 crore were spent for irrigation but in the last 15 years, irrigation potential did not increase by even one per cent,” the edit alleged.

Now, historians join the bandwagon slamming PM Modi over ‘growing intolerance’

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Afternoon Voice

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October 29, 2015

After writers, artists, filmmakers and scientists, over 50 historians on Thursday came out strongly against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not making any reassuring statement following concerns over “highly vitiated atmosphere” prevailing in the country.

A total of 53 historians including leading names like Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, KN Pannikar and Mridula Mukherjee have in a joint statement released by ‘Sahmat’ raised their serious concerns over recent developments.

“Differences of opinion are being sought to be settled by using physical violence. Arguments are met not with counter arguments but with bullets,” the statement said referring to the Dadri lynching incident and the recent ink attack on Sudheendra Kulkarni during a book launch function in Mumbai.

“When writer after writer is returning their award of recognition in protest, no comment is made about the conditions that caused the protest; instead the ministers call it a paper revolution and advise the writers to stop writing. This is as good as saying that intellectuals will be silenced if they protest,” it said.

This was particularly worrying for historians who have already experienced attempts to ban their books and expunge statements of history despite the fact that they were supported by sources and the interpretation is transparent, they said.

“What the regime seems to want is a kind of legislated history, a manufactured image of the past, glorifying certain aspects of it and denigrating others, without any regard for chronology, sources or methods of enquiry that are the building blocks of the edifice of history,” the statement said.

The historians expressed concern over the silence of the Prime Minister on the issue. “And when it is hoped that the Head of Government will make a statement about improving the prevailing conditions, he chooses to speak only about general poverty; and it takes the Head of the State to make the required reassuring statement, not once but twice.”

The statement urged the state to ensure an atmosphere that is “conducive to free and fearless expression, security for all sections of society and the safe-guarding of the values and traditions of plurality that India had always cherished in the past.”

“It is easy to trample them down, but it is important to remember that it will take too long and will be beyond the capacity of those who are currently at the helm of affairs, to rebuild it once it is destroyed,” the statement said.

At least 36 writers including leading names like Nayantara Sahgal, Ashok Vajpeyi, Uday Prakash and K Veerabhadrappa had returned their Sahitya Akademi awards, and five writers stepped down from official positions of the literary body, protesting against its “silence” over “rising intolerance”.

CBI registers case into killing of two Dalit children in Haryana, visits village for probe

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Afternoon Voice

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October 29, 2015

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case into the killing of two Dalit toddlers in Ballabhgarh village in Faridabad. A family of four was set on fire including- one child aged 11-month-old and the other who was 2.5-year-old. While the children succumbed to their injuries, the children’s mother sustained serious injuries and the father suffered serious burns.

Meanwhile, a CBI team along with a team of forensic experts visited the village where the horrific crime took place earlier in October. The team headed by a DIG level officer is in the process of understanding the circumstances of the incident.

Facing immense pressure, Haryana government had agreed for CBI probe into Faridabad caste violence case. ” The case was about the enmity between two families. The CM has appealed not to politicise the issue,” PRO of Haryana CM, Amit Arya said.

CBI has registered a case of murder against 11 persons in connection with the killing of two children in an alleged arson attack in Sunped village in Haryana on October 20. CBI sources said as per the laid down procedure, the agency has taken over the investigation in the FIR registered by the local police which had named 11 persons in the case.

Eight ministers sacks ahead of Cabinet reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh

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Afternoon Voice

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October 29, 2015

In an unexpected development, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday sacked eight ministers from his Council of Ministers.

Among the eight sacked five were of Cabinet rank while the rest were Ministers of State.

Portfolios have also been taken away from nine ministers, including Raja Bhaiya, Ahmed Hassan and Avdesh Prasad.

Of those ministers who have been sacked include Yogesh Bhaiya, Aridaman Singh, Ambika Chaudhary, Narad Rai, Shivakant Ojha, Bhagwat Gangwar, Alok Shakya and Shiv Beria.

The development came two days ahead of a reshuffle of the UP Council of Ministers by Akhilesh.

An official spokesman said new faces are likely to be inducted into the Akhilesh Cabinet.

While there was no official word on why the ministers have been sacked, reports said involvement in corruption and failure to speed up ministry-related projects could be among the main reasons.

Akhilesh is planning an image makeover of his team ahead of the 2017 Assembly Elections.

Maoist threat to Giriraj Singh, Mukul Roy; MHA warns West Bengal government

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Afternoon Voice

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October 29, 2015

The Union Home Ministry has warned that some political leaders may be attacked by Maoists.

The MHA has warned that BJP MP Giriraj Singh and rebel TMC MP Mukul Roy may be under the radar of CPI(Maoists).

The ministry is said to have alerted the West Bengal government of the same.

Meanwhile, with Maoist violence continuing unabated, the Centre has called a meeting of chief ministers of seven Naxal-affected states on November 3 to chalk out a strategy to fight the menace.

The meeting, to be chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, will discuss overall Left-wing extremism (LWE) scenario in 35 worst-affected states in the seven states – Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Telangana – besides issues like inter-state coordination.

The day-long meeting will formulate plans on how to maximise the use of around 1,10,000 paramilitary personnel currently deployed in Naxal-hit states, monitoring of pilferage of explosives and IEDs (improvised explosive device), rehabilitation of family members of persons killed in LWE violence and investigation of important cases against the naxalites with the NIA and state police forces.

Apart from the security issues, the Home Minister and the chief ministers will also take stock of the overall development initiatives taken in the LWE affected areas.

LeT leader and Udhampur attack mastermind Abu Qasim killed in J&K encounter

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Afternoon Voice

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October 29, 2015

In a major success, Indian security forces killed top Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorist, Abu Qasim, after several hours of intense gun-battle in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Wednesday night.

According to Army officials, Qasim was killed in a late night encounter in the town of Kulgam in South Kashmir.

Security forces launched an operation in Khandipora village of Kulgam following information about presence of Qasim, an Army official said.

He said a fierce gun battle broke out at 2.00 am, leading to death of Qasim.

The operation began at 2 AM after intelligence that 28-year-old Qasim, a resident of Bhawalpur in Pakistan, was holed up in a house at Khandipura village in Kulgam, along with an accomplice, official sources said.

The village is located 80 kilometres from here.

A joint team of Army, police and para-military forces was rushed in and the village was cordoned off.

Meanwhile, Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police K Rajendra said, “It was a great achievement for the security forces.”

The wanted terrorist was the mastermind of Udhampur BSF convoy attack in which eight Army soldiers were killed in June 2013.

Earlier this month, Qasim had killed a police officer, Altaf Ahmad in Bandipora district.

The officials recovered an AK-47 rifle from the encounter site.

BJP’s plan B is to create tension between communities: Rahul Gandhi

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Afternoon Voice

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October 29, 2015

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked the ruling BJP at the Centre for its policy of divide and rule and spreading communal tension among different communities.

Rahul Gandhi, while was addressing a rally in Madhubani as part of campaigning for the party for fourth phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, said, “BJP is losing and its defeat in inevitable in Bihar.”

Attacking PM Narendra Modi, the congress leader said, “The PM makes false misleading statement wherever he goes. Sometimes Modi calls ‘Mahagathbandhan’ leaders tantrik and at the other he calls them three idiots but the voters are not fool.”

BJP’s agenda is to divide the country on communal lines, make community fight with the other, the Congress leader said.

BJP’s plan B is to create tension between communities, Rahul added.

Congress vice president will later address two more rallies in Kishanganj and Katihar districts of Bihar.

The Congress is contesting 41 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly, while the JD-U and RJD are contesting 101 seats each.

Election in Bihar is being held in five phases between October 12 and November 5.

The counting of votes will be taken up on November 8.

Taylor Swift files counter suit against Radio Host for ‘Groping’ Her

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Afternoon Voice

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October 29, 2015

Taylor Swift is proving she’s not one to be messed with.

On Wednesday, the singer filed a counter suit against David Mueller, a radio host who allegedly groped her during a meet-and-greet in 2013.

In September, Mueller filed a suit against Swift claiming he was fired by his job and banned from the star’s concerts based on false allegations he groped Swift before her concert at the Pepsi Center in June of 2013.

According to the countersuit obtained by PEOPLE, Mueller – who was previously terminated twice from on-air radio jobs at other stations and hadn’t worked as an on-air personality since May 2006, according to the papers – admitted Swift was assaulted but blamed “his superior” at KYGO, Eddie Haskell.

“Ms. Swift knows exactly who committed the assault – it was Mueller – and she is not confused in the slightest about whether her long-term business acquaintance, Mr. Haskell, was the culprit,” the countersuit states. “Resolution of this Counterclaim will demonstrate that Mueller alone was the perpetrator of the humiliating and wrongful conduct targeted against Ms. Swift, and will serve as an example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts.”

The papers allege Mueller and his girlfriend were participating in a meet-and-greet with Swift, 25, when he “intentionally reached under her skirt, and groped with his hand an intimate part of her body in an inappropriate manner, against her will, and without her permission.”