Congressmen tie pigeon inside rocket to welcome their leader

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October 4, 2015

A shocking video has surfaced in which Congress workers in Andhra Pradesh’s Kovvuru town have been seen stuffing live pigeons inside fire crackers and setting it alight.

The idea was that the pigeons will be released when the rockets burst and fly off – making for a grand spectacle during the visit of state Congress chief N Raghuveera Reddy.
But the rockets went up and the pigeons fell dead, roasted in the intense heat when the crackers burst high up.

In the video, the pigeons were seen being stuffed into paper cones fixed atop rockets. A cardboard lid was put on it and sealed tight. The rocket was then lit.

An NGO – People For Animals has filed a complaint with the police and an FIR has been lodged against the state Congress unit citing cruelty to animals. Cruelty to animals carries a punishment in India.

The local Congress unit is yet to comment on the matter.

TV scribe shot dead in UP, third incident in four months

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Afternoon Voice

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October 4, 2015

In the third such incident in four months in Uttar Pradesh, a local television journalist was allegedly shot dead by motorcycle-borne miscreants in Dheena area.

Hemant Yadav (45) who worked with a news channel was shot by bike-borne miscreants on Saturday night, Superintendent of police Amit Verma said.

The scribe was rushed to the government hospital where he died.

Yadav’s body has been sent for post-mortem, police said, adding that an FIR has been registered against unidentified persons at Chandauli police station following a complaint by the deceased’s wife.

Three special police teams have been formed to expedite the investigation into the case, Verma said, adding, some inputs have been received.

In June, journalist Jagendra Singh was allegedly set on fire during a police raid at his house in Shahjahanpur. His family alleged that the police officials set him on fire. Singh, who was in his 50s, succumbed to injuries on June 8.

An FIR was registered against six persons including a UP minister, who was said to be angry over Singh’s Facebook posts about his illegal mining activities and land grabbing.

In another incident, a part-time reporter for a local Hindi daily in Bareilly district, Sanjay Pathak, was allegedly killed by two persons in August.

Police said Pathak (42) was hit several times on the head with some heavy object and might have died of excessive bleeding.

Another local scribe was attacked and nearly killed allegedly by the mining mafia in Chitrakoot district a few months back.

Before that another journalist was dragged on the road by goons after tying him to a motor bike in Pilibhit district.

Modi must be punished, he has cheated people: Ram Jethmalani

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Afternoon Voice

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October 4, 2015

Noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having cheated the people of India and said that he must be punished.

The former Rajya Sabha member said that if he has to vote for somebody then he’ll vote for JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar’s government.

“If I’ve to, then I’ll vote for Nitish government as I want Modi to suffer defeat,” said Jethmalani.

Jethmalani had announced his break up with PM Modi in June, stating his “diminishing respect” for PM Modi has “ended”.

The expelled BJP MP, who had strongly supported PM Modi’s prime ministerial bid, had been opposed to the appointment of former CBDT chairman KV Chowdary as Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) and had said he will now fight the government in Supreme Court after his appointment was cleared by President today.

“Now we shall fight out in the Supreme Court and the court of the people of India. My diminishing respect for you ends today,” Mr Jethmalani wrote in a letter to Modi.

He posted the communication on Twitter and called it “My break-up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

Mecca tragedy: Death toll of Indians in Hajj stampede rises to 58

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Afternoon Voice

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October 4, 2015

India has lost 58 nationals in the Hajj stampede in Saudia Arabia last month while 78 are still missing, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Sunday.

The Minister said the government was making every effort to locate its people.

“Haj stampede- We have lost 58 Indians. As many as 78 are missing. We are doing everything to locate our people,” Swaraj tweeted.

According to Saudi authorities, 769 Muslim pilgrims were killed in a stampede at the annual Haj near the holy city of Mecca on September 24. According to reports, tallies of the dead from foreign officials and media put the toll at 1,036.

The stampede broke out after two massive lines of pilgrims converged on each other from different directions at an intersection close to the five-storey Jamarat Bridge in Mina for symbolic stoning of the devil.

It was the second major accident this year for pilgrims, after a construction crane collapsed on September 11 at Mecca’s Grand Mosque, killing over 100 people, including 11 Indians.

ISI training terrorists in several terror camps in PoK: Intelligence Bureau

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Afternoon Voice

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October 4, 2015

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has said that Pakistan’s ISI is training terrorists in several terror camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) region, media reports claimed on Sunday.

The ISI has set up similar terror camps also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Dulai Kandao, the reports added.

The IB has also stated that around 100 terrorists are being trained at Dulai camp.

General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based 15 corps Lt Gen Satish Dua had earlier said that seventeen terror camps were active in Pakistan and PoK and 1150 militants were being trained in them.

The development comes a day after India said that a video showing Pakistan’s brutality in the PoK has lifted the “veil which the Pak Army and ISI had put” and the world can now see the “real and horrific consequences” of Pakistani occupation.

Earlier this week, a video went viral showing Pakistani establishment using brutal force on those protesting against the government in several areas of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), including Muzaffarabad, Gilgit and Kotli.

However, commenting on the video, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry had said, “It’s a propaganda. Pakistan has always raised the voice for the Kashmiris. Whole world is watching how Pakistani flags are being raised in Kashmir (Indian side).

Instances of police attacks on innocent citizens

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Afternoon Voice

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October 4, 2015

Instances of attacks by the police in India on innocent citizens and misuse of power by them are reported in the media almost every day. In North India, it is still worse. Policemen drag suspects on the road with a rope and beat them up in full public view. On August 28, 2015, the traffic police constable outside Lokmanya Tilak railway station confiscated the autorickshaw’s driving license in which I, my wife and daughter were travelling and later fined him of Rs 500 just because we were carrying extra baggage in it.
On Friday, May 22, 2015, at around 6.45 p.m., a young boy of around 20-21 years of age was severely beaten and his clothes were torn in full public view by the traffic police constables of the Sion-Dharavi police chowki near Sion railway station just because he asked the police constables the reason for the nakabandi that was taking place that very moment. In another incident, the Mumbai police mercilessly beat up a young girl on September 27, 2015 at the pandal of Lalbaugcha Raja for no fault of hers just because she was trying to make her way through the huge crowd of people. Two women police constables were suspended. The decision was taken after watching the video footage that went viral after the incident.

Everyday we hear about custodial deaths in police stations and there is no inquiry against them, nor are the police arrested for causing these deaths. On April 17, 2015, two men on motorcycle robbed a woman of her gold necklace at Dombivli while she was walking on the road. When she went to the police station to lodge a complaint, the cops, instead of registering her complaint, gave her a huge lecture.

In another instance, a boy and his elder sister who were standing and chatting outside their own building compound were asked to go in by the police. Since the policemen were not wearing uniform, the girl asked them to produce their identity cards. This angered the police and the two of them were forcibly dragged to the police station and beaten up badly. They were also stripped naked and the girl was gangraped repeatedly in front of her brother by several policemen who were on duty. When the police produced them in court, the sister showed marks of injuries on her body and the court sent her to judicial custody instead of police custody.

Jubel D’Cruz

Princess Leia’s Star Wars bikini sells for $96,000 at auction

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Afternoon Voice

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October 4, 2015

Auction house Profiles in History announced it would feature a number of high-profile pieces of movie memorabilia, including Princess Leia’s famous slave costume from the Star Wars saga. The item sold at auction on Friday, and the winning bid was a whopping $96,000.

Carrie Fisher famously wore the metal outfit in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. According to reports, bidding opened Thursday at $80,000 for the costume, which included the collar, several chain links, and a letter of authenticity from Industrial Light and Magic designer Richard Miller.

The winning bidder was not named.

Despite this high sale, the record-setter of the auction was a miniature model of Leia’s “Blockade Runner.” The spaceship is the first craft seen in the Star Wars franchise and was sold for $450,000, having opened at $200,000. This broke the record for highest-selling Star Wars artifact in an auction.

Fisher will reprise her role in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens, due out in theaters on Dec. 18.

Night Shoots, Bike Rides Frees Superstar’s Mind

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Afternoon Voice

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October 4, 2015

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who received a Harley Davidson motorbike as gift from filmmaker Rohit Shetty earlier this week, says he likes travelling to film sets on bikes as it “frees my mind.”

The 49-year-old, who is currently shooting for Shetty’s forthcoming film “Dilwale”, took to Twitter on late Friday to share a photograph of himself in which his hair looked messed up.

“Night shoots I like and the bike rides to location even better…frees my mind and more than ‘frees’ the hair,” Shah Rukh tweeted alongside the image.

Interestingly Shah Rukh, who is working with Shetty for the second time after 2013 film “Chennai Express”, got a Harley Davidson motorbike as a gift from him.

“Rohit gets me a new set of wheels 2 ride 2 work everyday. Hawk. Beemer. Harley. We don’t walk the talk on ‘Dilwale’ sets,” Shah Rukh tweeted earlier.

“Dilwale”, which also stars Kajol, Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon, is slated to release on December 18.

Singh Is Bliing is the Biggest Milestone of My Career says, Amy Jackson

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Afternoon Voice

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October 4, 2015

Actress Amy Jackson said that her Singh Is Bliing is the biggest milestone of her career.

Amy made her debut in Bollywood with 2012’s Ekk Deewana Tha.

“Completely overwhelmed. It is a huge project to be working on Singh Is Bliing. How everyone is enjoying the film, means everything to me. Definitely, it is the biggest milestone of my career,” said Amy.

Amy also said that she has a big list of stars with whom she wants to work with in the future.

Directed by Prabhu Deva, Singh Is Bliing also features Akshay Kumar, Kay Kay Menon and Lara Dutta in pivotal roles.

“Can’t even think about that to be very honest. So many people on my wish list. But I am very fortunate that I have a film with Akshay and have done a film like this in Bollywood,” added Amy.

Singh Is Bliing released on October 2.

After one year, Swachh Bharat stands in garbage

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Afternoon Voice

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October 2, 2015

The campaign has lost its sheen after one year as garbage remains unattended on streets for several days.

Last year Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan with an intention to make India filth free by 2019 and pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of his 150^th birthday which falls in the same year. Several celebrities too had picked up the groom and cleaned the streets in support of the campaign. However the enthusiasm has faded away after one year as garbage keep piling on streets and remain unattended for several days. Thus the campaign has lost its sheen after one year as it has turned into a photo op event for politicians and celebrities. The government only launched the cleanliness drive but it has failed to oversee its successful implementation across the nation. If this campaign has to succeed then it needs to be turned into a people’s movement. At many places, politicians used to deliberately litter a road and later clean up the area and pose for photographs. How will the Swachh Bharat campaign succeed through such kind of gimmicks? Even though few schools had observed the cleanliness drive by involving students but citizens failed to participate in it.

In order to eliminate open defecation and adopt better solid waste management practices the government had planned to construct 25 lakh individual toilets, 1 lakh community and public toilets but it has been able to achieve 25 per cent target in terms of toilet construction. The government had also planned to achieve 100 per cent collection and transportation of waste in 1000 cities but it has failed to implement it effectively. Rankings released earlier show several major cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Patna, Lucknow, Jaipur among others fare poorly on the cleanliness scale.

Arun Gadekar, a Borivali resident said, “The government had launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan with much fanfare but its results are not visible. The campaign failed to succeed as there was lack of designated agencies to oversee its implementation. The government could have taken the assistance of civic body and NGO’s to take this campaign forward.”

Rupesh Seth, a Kandivali resident said, “The onus lies on citizens to make this campaign successful as we can’t expect the government to do everything. If citizens clean their vicinity then it will create a major difference.”

While explaining the not-so-satisfactory figures a year into the mission, the government’s official version is that their initial focus has been on a campaign to induce behavioral change in people. While such a change is imperative, it can only happen if the required physical infrastructure is in place. For instance, it is a tall order to wish away open defecation or eradication of manual scavenging unless people have access to toilets that are serviced by municipal systems.

Likewise, merely attitudinal changes in people will not end the problem of garbage accumulation in our cities unless the complete chain of garbage management is in place: from separation of dry and wet waste at source to processing in landfills.