A local court has acquitted a 60-year-old woman from a case of human trafficking and forcing minors into prostitution, stating the police investigation was wrongly done.
The Thane Additional Sessions Judge A S Waghwase, dismissed the prosecution’s version and acquitted the accused Zarina Juja Ahmed Shaikh, a resident of Chotti Hanuman Tekdi, area of Indira Nagar Zopadpatti in Bhiwandi town booked under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA).
Acting on a tip-off, the police had conducted a raid on the brothel run by the accused in July 2008 and rescued two girls. The woman had been arrested; the prosecution said adding that the girls were forced into prostitution by her.
Both the minor victims alleged that accused had forcibly pushed her into flesh trade.
However, the judge observed, “If at all her stay was against her wish, then she could have escaped, but this has not happened. She has admitted that it was possible for her to raise an alarm. There is no evidence to suggest that the room which was raided was also used for detention of minor because as per the evidence, it merely had curtains and there were no doors. Therefore, under such circumstance, it is difficult to believe that there could be any detention or confinement.”
Appearing for the accused, advocate Ramrao Jagtap said, “There is a non compliance of PITA as the investigating officer is not shown to be a special officer appointed for conducting investigation of this case and no notification or order to that effect was brought on record.”
The officer had admitted that he was posted at Bhiwandi and was not authorised to investigate PITA cases.
All these points went against the prosecution in proving the case beyond doubt and hence the benefit of doubt was given to the accused.
Reliance Industries Ltd’s chairman Mukesh Ambani’s skyscraper residence in Mumbai is the most expensive billionaire home in the world, according to a Forbes list which also includes Indian-origin steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal’s houses in London.
Ambani’s 27-story, 400,000 sq. ft skyscraper home Antilia named after a mythical island in the Atlantic, tops the Forbes list of the most expensive homes in the world.
“The title of the most outrageously expensive property in the world still belongs to Mukesh Ambani’s Antilia in Mumbai,” Forbes said, adding it is the world’s most expensive home “far and away” with construction costs reported between a range of $1-2 billion.
The house has six stories of underground parking, three helicopter pads, and reportedly requires a staff of 600 to keep it running.
Putting Antilia’s scale and cost into perspective, Forbes compared it to ‘7 World Trade Center’, a 52-story tower that stands near Ground Zero in Manhattan with 1.7 million square feet of office space that was reportedly built for $ 2 billion.
Mittal’s houses in London’s Kensington Palace Gardens occupy the 5th and the 18th spot on the list of the 21 most expensive billionaire homes in the world. The steel magnate is believed to own three homes on the high-security street known as ‘Billionaires Row’, including a neo-Georgian mansion near the Israeli embassy. Forbes said the home, rumoured to have been purchased for Mittal’s son, was sold by hedge fund billionaire Noam Gottesman. The value of the house in 2008 was about $ 222 million, and it is reportedly up for sale now.
Another house owned by Mittal on the upscale street was purchased for nearly US $ 90 million in 2004. He had picked up the 55,000 sq. ft mansion from billionaire Bernie Ecclestone and after pouring millions more into its renovation, named it “Taj Mittal”. The house has 12 bedrooms, a pool and marble sourced from the same quarry as the Taj Mahal, Forbes said.
“As 2014 continues, the list of outrageously-priced homes owned by billionaires is stacking up. Although the market cooled off a bit in 2013, with no properties trading hands above the $100 million mark, 2014 has kicked off with a bang. London set a new record, and three homes have sold for more than $100 million so far this year in the US alone,” Forbes said
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kirit Somaiya and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate Sanjay Dina Patil have given false information to the Election Commission (EC) regarding election expenditure, a Returning Officer in Mumbai has concluded.
Mr. Somaiya and Mr. Patil are contesting the Lok Sabha elections against renowned social activist and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Medha Patkar.
The two candidates have been ordered by the Returning Officer of 28 Mumbai North East Parliamentary Constituency to add Rs. 20 Lakh and Rs. 8 Lakh respectively to their expenditure accounts. The order comes days after the AAP complained to the Returning Officer about the unauthorised issuance of voter slips by the BJP and NCP candidates.
Anil Hebbar, Election Agent of Medha Patkar, had filed a complaint with the Retuning Officer in the first week of April. “The Model Code of Conduct clearly states that the candidates are not permitted to handover voter slips containing the name or symbol or party,” the complaint stated. According to the rules, the voter slips have to be printed on plain white paper only, it added.
The complainant attached copies of laminated and plastic voter slips issued by Mr. Somaiya and Mr. Patil with their names and party symbols on it.
The slips distributed by BJP had Mr. Somaiya and Narendra Modi’s photographs on them. A slogan on the backside read, “Ab ki baar Modi sarkaar, Kirit Somaiya apla khaasdar” (Modi government will come in power this time, and Kirit Somaiya will be your MP).
The slips distributed by NCP had the party symbol and photographs of Mr. Patil, Sharad Pawar, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Prithviraj Chavan and Ajit Pawar.
After the Returning Officer issued a show cause notice to both the candidates, Mr. Somaiya claimed that the slips were printed and distributed by the party and he had nothing to do with him. “The said voter cards are propaganda material of Bharatiya Janata Party and not an election campaign material of the candidate,” he further claimed.
The Returning Officer, in his order issued over a fortnight ago, disagreed with the logic. “The symbol of Bharatiya Janata Party, photograph of Party leader Mr. Narendra Modi and candidate Mr. Kirit Somaiya on the voter cards signify that the said voter cards were printed and distributed in the interest and furtherance of election prospectus of candidate Mr. Kirit Somaiya in Loksabha election 2014. This clearly establishes that these plastic cards are election campaign material of candidate contesting election,” the order stated.
The officer also observed that the material was distributed when the Model Code of Conduct had already come into force. He found the figures quoted as spent by the candidates on the cards, were “undervalued and less.”
The Returning Officer thus revaluated the costs and ordered the two candidates to add around Rs. 20 Lakh and Rs. 8 Lakh each to their expenditure accounts. “We feel extremely anguished that the Election Commission of India is taken for a ride by the mainstream parties who take pride in falsely claiming themselves to be capable of good governance. Can the violators of law ever provide good governance? Can the election and the results based on such campaigns of falsehood be considered as free and fair?” a statement issued by AAP on Wednesday said.
Confident of getting majority to form government at the Centre, BJP on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of taking support from NCP.
“There is no possibility of NCP coming with NDA. We will not feel their need,” senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde said, responding to a query on whether NDA will take support of the Sharad Pawar-led outfit.
Munde, alongwith other senior leaders from the state, assessed the party’s performance in 24 seats it contested in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
“This time our alliance (Mahayuti–alliance of five parties) will win more than 35 seats in Maharashtra. We have got this report from our party workers,” he claimed.
Stressing that he would take the responsibility entrusted to him by the next prime minister and by his party, if NDA formed the government, he said, “Ministry should not be sought, it is the right of the PM to allocate the berth. Our PM will take the decision on my role.”
Stating that there will be a Muslim minister at the Centre, the BJP leader, who contested the LS election from Beed, said he would recommend the name of Shahnawaz Hussain to the party.
He added that he had asked his partymen to start preparations for the state Assembly polls slated later this year.
“We will be fighting next elections (Assembly) under the banner of Mahayuti. There will be a joint coordination committee meeting of our alliance partners in the state after the Lok Sabha results are declared,” Munde said.
Taking a dig at the Congress-led Democratic Front government (in Maharashtra), he alleged that as many as 182 files of builders were cleared for monetary returns.
“The money was transferred to Delhi for election purpose,” he alleged.
“Government should show us the list of the builders whose files were cleared and explain why it cleared them,” he demanded.
Counting is yet to start; exit polls have created ripples in political parties. Everyone is confused and there is nothing much to predict as Television News channels have already declared NDA as a winner. Every Indian knows the fate of exit polls, it’s a marketing gimmick and nothing else. We have seen how accurate it is in the past. They have been proven wrong. Anyways, there is lots of noise in RSS and BJP about the formation of government. The BJP top brass went into a jumble to discuss the leeway of the party forming the government at the Centre and changes in the organisation ahead of counting of votes on May 16, 2014. The party has already made it clear that it is not averse to receiving the support from any party which even has a single MP and will welcome it if it supports the BJP agenda. Senior BJP leaders held a sequence of meetings at Delhi since morning with party President Rajnath Singh. Nitin Gadkari may lose his Nagpur seat but he is playing an active role in negotiating with groups within the party. He is meeting all senior leaders of BJP on behalf of RSS instructions. BJP’s senior leaders are yet to take decision on L.K. Advani’s role in the next government. Though, he was ignored and neglected by ‘Team Modi’ in recent time, however, party will be accomodating all senior leaders as there is no other option.
Chance of Arun Jaitley winning from Amritsar is very little and he might even lose. However Jaitley along with Amit Shah also held a meeting at the former’s residence to discuss the situation arising out of exit poll results that favour an NDA government from coming to power. Speculation is also widespread about some changes in the party if NDA comes to power. Rajnath Singh may have to continue as party chief, though Gadkari’s name is also being floated to replace him. Gadkari on his part has ruled out his taking over the party and said Mr. Singh will continue to steer the party as he had ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. RSS has also advised the BJP not to weaken the party in case it forms the government and that the party should remain strong and vibrant even after a BJP-led government comes to power. BJP’s strategy groups are focusing on priority areas for the new government. Think tanks and strategy groups of the BJP, which have on board several former bureaucrats, have been focussing on priority areas for the new government in accordance with the BJP’s manifesto, which had the imprint of the party’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.
BJP may be running from pillar to post to form government and do all sort of planning but, still we cannot totally rely on exit poll and make hue and cry over whether it would be boon or bane. Exit polls are mere assumptions which in previous elections proved wrong and were futile. Let the result come out on 16th of this month. If NDA wins then it means majority of Indian people are frustrated with UPA and voted on anti-incumbency factor. And if UPA creates history by winning third consecutive time then it means people are aware of the consequence of NDA government, and are frightening of communalism. And if Third Front comes in a situation to form the government, then again it is the people who want change. So better we should wait and see what we, the people of India, planned in this whole election month for next ‘Five Years’. However, Exit polls are not exact polls. NDA has performed better than opinion polls in Exit polls.
Exit poll reveals only moods of the people whom they were approached. If the predictions or survey reveals the actual results, the survey media people will pay their own shoulders. What will they do if the survey is not exactly with that of facts? For this purpose, they will predict the results by giving the range, to safeguard themselves. The media is worrying about their TRP ratings. You never know who may play crucial role. You cannot ignore Aam Aadmi Party and their emergence also has damaged the potentials of two largest political parties.
The Exit polls have predicted 24 to 31 seats for the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. One wonders what utility the AIADMK MPs can have for the State (Tamil Nadu), if they are not in the government. Even if the party wins all the 40 seats, the output is not going to be any different. Of course, it (the AIADMK) can have the personal gratification of sending record party MPs from the State this time. If the AIADMK wins over 24 seats this time (when the people are languishing in power cuts, problem of law and order, etc.), then it means that the people of Tamil Nadu like Jayalalithaa’s style of governance and may opt for her in 2016 Assembly elections too. All TN people know AIADMK is not the initiator of Power Cut crisis. The starting point is DMK and its inefficient infrastructure managing alliance UPA. That’s why, people had given strong punch to both DMK & Congress in TN assembly elections.
Anyways, each state has its own equations and political settings. At this moment, the entire exercise is futile and unwarranted, when the actual chips will be down on the 16th. The broad outlines of the election results were already evident, even before the expensive surveys. Once the elections are over, every Indian should think only about the welfare and progress of the country. Only one thing is clear from all these exit polls that Congress could not compete with BJP on ‘modern issue’ of Development. Since independence, INC has been forging and engineering ‘electoral weather’ on the three basic amenities rather they ever talked about bigger issues or S&T innovation to make India ‘self-resilient’ and ‘truly Independent’. ‘Political Engineering’ and ‘Philosophical Principles’ emerged in this election as thumb rule. People of India broken all shackles of Caste and Regionalism and have cast their Votes on ‘Altar’ of ‘Congress-ism’. People need ‘pro-people’ and ‘pro-development’ government rather than ‘paper-boat’ or ‘mum’ government.
There was a time when companies used to focus on urban areas for test marketing and selling their products. During that period of time urban India was booming with job creation and rise in economic activities thereby resulting into higher disposable income and increased spending among consumers. The scenario changed after the world witnessed slowdown in the year 2008. When recession began many people lost their jobs as there was massive decline in manufacturing activities. The consumer spending too dipped especially in urban areas where people started reducing their monthly spending budget and deferring purchasing plans.
Urban areas started becoming saturated due to declining sales. On the other hand, rural India began booming on account of increased social spending on welfare schemes and easy availability of loans. Around 12 per cent of the world’s population resides in India’s rural areas. Thus companies started shifting their focus to hinterland and began introducing rural centric products. They noticed huge opportunity to cash in on the boom witnessed in the country side. The increasing wage rates too were responsible for the rise in spending in rural areas.
Manufacturing and FMCG companies started launching products for the rural market. The overall consumption in rural markets has started exceeding urban areas. Rural folks are now spending a lot more on pricier goods like phones, televisions and bikes – on top of basic necessities like soap and food staples.
Companies started introducing sachets for selling shampoos, detergents and small tubes for selling toothpastes. Most of the packs were introduced in the denominations of one, two and five rupees. The sachet became huge hit in rural areas due to the low price. Even banks have started launching new branches and ATM machines in the hinterland. Vehicular companies too have made a foray as cheaper loans are easily available in rural areas. Even telecom companies have started focusing on rural markets. Today smartphones have become a huge hit even in the villages too. About one in every two rural households now has a mobile phone. Even in India’s poorest states such as Bihar and Orissa, one in three rural households has a mobile phone.
Hindustan Uniliver Limited is generating around 40 per cent of its revenues from the countryside while Maruti and Coca-cola make around 30 per cent. Similarly, a third of Airtel’s 8.6 million DTH customers come from rural India.
Amul has already opened ice cream parlours in villages which is growing at a faster pace than its urban counterpart. Coca Cola has aggressively started marketing the soft drink at the new price point of Rs 5. One in two of ICICI’s branches exist in rural and semi-urban areas. Up to 60 per cent of its new branches set up in the last 18 months are in rural areas. Out of these 400 branches has been established in those areas which are unbanked.
Due to growing internet connectivity even penetration is rising in the country side. Some companies have earmarked 30 per cent of their budget for investing in rural areas. Thus India’s rural market has become a powerful economic engine.
Nearly 27 per cent rural households had someone employed under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in 2009-10. And they are all cashing in on the opportunity being thrown up by the rural market, which is a unique combination of growing incomes and rising aspirations of around 850 million consumers living in 6,50,000 villages of India. Thus rural India is growing at a faster pace than urban India.
If you check the previous issues, you will find that I was the first person to suggest that Narendra Modi should be projected as BJP’s prime ministerial candidate because I had noticed that L.K Advani will not be able to galvanize the masses effectively. Rajnath Singh had supported Modi for the PM’s post and his efforts must be appreciated. Singh was able to convince the RSS to let Modi have an upper hand. Nitish Kumar will be the biggest sufferer who thought very high of himself but his career will be on the downslide.
There is a great opportunity here for the RSS to show it’s character. I do not think that they will ever receive an opportunity to form the government in future if they fail to perform. Sycophancy or “chamchagiri” is the biggest danger to which the RSS bosses may fall as a consequence of succumbing to “ buttering” by BJP old guards like Uma Bharti and Murli Manohar Joshi. The RSS must focus on citizen development ( vyakti ka vikas) and should only occasionally mediate in conflicts occurring between BJP aspirants.
There will be lot of insiders (and various factors) working on formation of the cabinet so let me avoid this topic just for the time being. Public had lost confidence in politicians and it is important to restore it by choosing a worthy cabinet. It is also necessary to address the burning issues like reducing price rise and reinvigorating the development effort.
All development effort will be nullified if we do not address the continuous rise in population. In this regard, sending back illegal immigrants is a legitimate exercise but it must be carried out judiciously and with lot of sensitivity. Let the government not think that this is the only job which needs to be done on priority basis. It is necessary to discipline our central and state government officers by reminding them that they are responsible for implementing various welfare measures. They receive remuneration and many other perks so they should work hard. Schemes for providing potable water and adequate electric power are obvious priorities and services of experts in the field must be utilized to work with our technicians.
Large number of workforce should be trained and more jobs must be created instead of merely doling out “sarkari naukri” to everyone. If we impart training to youth and utilize their skills for constructive activities then they will not be wandering around opportunists like the AAP. The growth of AAP was the result of total disconnect between the government and the masses during the UPA rule. BJP and RSS must not forget this. The saffron party is just nothing but a collection of old power seekers. The RSS must now stand up and say that they will strive for the welfare of all sections of the society for promoting peace and progress.
Sharad Pawar keen to be a part of NDA after exit polls have predicted that the BJP led alliance are heading for sweeping victory.
There have been reports in media about NCP leader Praful Patel will join BJP after the Lok Sabha polls. However, senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde has rubbished talks about Patel joining the saffron party. According to Munde, NCP chief Sharad Pawar is spreading these rumours as he is keen to have an alliance with the NDA after exit polls have predicted that the BJP led coalition will sweep polls. Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule was spotted in a car along with Senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde in south Mumbai.
Praful Patel, whose NCP has been having an alliance with the Congress since 1999 said, “The question is whether they will get mandate. Only time will tell if they need the support of other parties. But there should be a stable government at the centre.”
Patel refused to comment on whether his party will support the NDA said, “Don’t draw us into conjecture. We have been a UPA ally but the real issue is that stable government should be formed in the centre. As far as we are concerned, NCP has always acted as a responsible political party.”
A close source from NCP said, “The exit polls have predicted that NDA will emerge victorious. We might join the NDA if the need arises.”
Gopinath Munde has clarified that there is “no place” for Patel in BJP, and he will also not allow the NCP to form an alliance with NDA.
According to Gopinath Munde, “Sharad Pawar is responsible for the rumours about Patel joining the BJP which were reported by a Marathi newspaper earlier this week.”
The senior BJP leader also said his party may win 235 to 240 Lok Sabha seats and would get a clear majority with the help of its allies. In this scenario, NDA would not need the support of other parties to form the government, Munde said.
In the past too speculation were rife about Sharad Pawar joining the NDA after a newspaper report pertaining to Sharad Pawar having a secret meeting with Narendra Modi. Initially, NCP denied the report but later accepted that Sharad Pawar had a meeting with Narendra Modi.
The rumours about Sharad Pawar joining NDA too began for the second time when he supported Narendra Modi stating that there was no need for a debate on Mr Modi’s alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots when he was given a clean chit.
Former BJP president Nitin Gadkari said, “Sharad Pawar has not approached us, nor have we approached them. But there are no enemies in politics. Even if the BJP gets a majority, doors of the NDA are open to other parties. There is no proposal from NCP to BJP nor any proposal from BJP to NCP. In politics there are no permanent enemies.”
A standing ovation and emotional farewell greeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his last day at work after 10 years in office. Don’t know why, but my heart goes to him while watching his sendoff on television. It was a very painful moment for me. He met 110 personal staff members and expressed his gratitude towards them. Dr. Singh, who became the Prime Minister in 2004, met them in the PMO where he was also greeted by 400 peripheral staff members who gave him a thunderous applause in the corridors of the South Block. The Prime Minister will hold his last Cabinet meeting on Saturday after which he will go and meet President Pranab Mukherjee.
India in the last 10 years have missed various opportunity in transforming the nation, be it good governance, infrastructure, corruption or foreign policy gains. This UPA government has failed to live up to the expectations of a billion people. If the Congress party led UPA has not be on the expectations of common man then they should have fulfilled resigned earlier.
Despite being ‘personally honest’, Dr. Singh has failed to check corruption scandals that bombarded one after another and seemed to have been in denial mode for so long. Congress party will pay the price for it on May 16. The mood of the public is to find an alternative politics. A lameduck government and suppressed prime minister do more harm than good to the nation. Last time in January, Manmohan Singh tried to lighten the situation in kind of a farewell speech. At the same time, he opined why Rahul should be passed on the baton rather than Modi. That time the press conference of Dr. Manmohan Singh had made it official that Rahul Gandhi will be the PM candidate for Congress. It is shocking to hear that Dr. Singh has moved away from taking responsibility from high inflation, corruption and inefficient governance during his tenure. He is a great personality but in no ways a leader of India being in wrong party and leadership.
No doubt, he was a good Finance Minister under Narasimha Rao. However, he miserably failed as the Prime Minister. He said his biggest achievement was the signing of nuclear treaty with the US. What India has got out of that treaty? When Sonia Gandhi was unable to become Prime Minister, she badly needed somebody who could function under her remote control and there was Singh. Power without responsibility is the most dangerous thing in a political regime and that’s what happening in the Congress which is a democratic party with most undemocratic methods. If Sonia Gandhi takes crucial decisions for the country then what’s the reason she is not accountable for the same. If we carefully go through the statement with regard to the decisions relating to auction of 2G, Coal, PM says that he wanted to go through the auction route. Manmohan’s exit has left many unsolved mysteries of the scam world. Till the time, he is the Prime Minister, he will safeguard the entire culprit due to various compulsions.
Dr. Manmohan Singh was always one of the cleanest politicians of the modern time. However, he also proved himself as one of the weakest PM too. When the masses looked for a leader in the time of crisis, he was never there. He had a great run till the end of UPA regime. Instead of continuing for another term, it would have been better if he had left politics then only. Probably then the history would have been kinder to him too. Yes, world was going through an economic crisis, but policy paralysis and corruption made it impossible for GDP to keep growing at a respectable level. When scandals like CWG kept tarnishing our image on world stage, coal scams made sure that our electricity output will be severely affected making impossible for industry too.
If Congress gets the mandate again then you should be sure that power center of this regime also is Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. Dr.MMS would have not done entire thing which happened in UPA tenures. For instance, MMS resisted giving telecom portfolio to the DMK but he could not have his way. His loyalty to the first family-euphemism for love for Chair- made him sail along. Every scam has this kind of tale behind it. Pious expressions like history judging will take him nowhere. An upright man of integrity thus became victim of expediency.
People of this country are more concerned about inflation as it directly affects their lives. Inflation was consistently at record high during the past few years. High inflation was not only due to failure of the government, but also due to the hostile international economic scenario. In such an international scenario, it is not exactly right to blame the government completely. Yes, I agree that government should have taken more measures to control the inflation to an extent, but to a considerable extent it was uncontrollable by government. When it comes to corruption, scandals, the government deserves complete blame for their misuse of power. It is not going to be an easy job for the winning government in 2014- be it either BJP or Congress considering the current economic scenario. When times were good, India had growth rate hovering around 9 per cent, but now it has gone down to around 5 per cent. The chances that the coming government, let’s say BJP, will revive the growth are very dismal unless international scenario changes.
Most of the exit polls show that the BJP and its allies, led by Narendra Modi, are set for a parliamentary majority. Anyways, Congress President Sonia Gandhi will host a farewell dinner for Manmohan Singh on Wednesday where he will be gifted a memento signed by all members of the Congress Working Committee, the party’s top decision-making body, and union ministers. Let us all bid farewell to our beloved Manmohanji and wish him a peaceful, healthy and free life ahead.
Stressing that it is necessary to provide skilled manpower to businesses coming to the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said vocational courses were required in school and higher education syllabus.
The state government has also decided to rope in eminent businessmen to improve the standard of education, according to an official release issued.
Chavan attended a meeting on ‘Change in the state through education from KG to PG’ organised by state school education and sports department. Well-known businessmen including Godrej group chairman Adi Godrej and Tata group chairman Cyrus Mistry were also present.
“The economic scenario henceforth will be knowledge based. Therefore it is the need of the hour to raise the quality of education,” Chavan was quoted as saying.
“Competition has increased due to globalisation, as a reason educational institutes in the state will have to compete with the international institutes in the future. Educational standards will have to be improved in this regard,” he said.
Sharad Pawar keen to be a part of NDA after exit polls have predicted that the BJP led alliance are heading for sweeping victory.