Param Bir Singh is unwell? Singh is out of communication & his phone is switched off due to health reasons 2
A close aide of Param Bir Singh said, “Sahab is unwell and under stress, he is not absconding or out of touch, but not communicating much perhaps he is in depression.”
A senior police officer told Afternoon Voice on the condition of anonymity that, “No police officer can abscond or hide without the knowledge of the home department, he is completely sheltered by the ruling government, media is misguided with fake news but the news is not true.”
Since Singh was transferred from the post of the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai in March following the bomb scare episode outside the Ambani home, Singh reported to the office for few days and then went on medical leave. His medical leave was prolonged to August 29 and he is supposed to resume work on Monday.
However, government sources said due to the health issues he might have gone out of communication as his mobile phone has been switched off for the past few days. Meanwhile, some officers said he is not absconding or hiding anywhere, the authorities have every access to him.
As DGP Home Guard, Singh directly reports to the state government, and on two occasions he had informed his department that he was going to undergo some surgery, and wouldn’t be able to report due to medical reasons. First, he went on leave citing medical reasons from May 4 to July 17 and then he took two extensions, one till August 7 and the other till August 29.
Singh has responded to the summons issued by the Justice Chandiwal committee appointed by the government but not appearing before the committee.
“He is supposed to report and communicate with his department before his joining, but as per my knowledge there is no communication so far,” said another officer.
The state government-appointed one-member committee headed by retired judge K U Chandiwal had imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Singh as he failed to appear before it. Earlier in June, the committee had imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Singh. Singh has challenged the legality of the committee before the Bombay High Court.
Singh was also summoned by the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the money laundering case in connection with Anil Deshmukh’s case. Singh had also responded to ED that because of medical reasons he won’t be able to present himself and had sought some time.
The Mumbai police initially formed an SIT to probe the Marine Drive case headed by DCP Nimit Goyal. The Maharashtra government has registered five FIRs against Singh with serious allegations of extortion. Two FIRs were registered in Mumbai. Two FIRs were registered in Thane and one was registered in Akola district and later transferred to Thane.
The SIT had recorded the statement of PI and ACP rank officers named in the FIR. “Our probe was at a very initial stage and there is prima facie evidence against the lower rank officers. We were probing the ex-CP’s role but the case got at transferred to state CID as they have a wider scope to investigate,” an officer of Mumbai police said.
The state CID has already issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against Singh and others named in the FIR at Akola, which also got transferred to them. The CID has alerted airports to ensure that the accused doesn’t flee the country. The Thane police have also issued a LOC against Singh. According to sources, Singh’s cell phone has been switched off.
Param Bir Singh should come out of hibernating and face the allegations 4
Sachin Vaze was very close to the ruling party and former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh. After being shoved from the office of the Commissioner of Mumbai over the alleged involvement in the Vaze-gate, Param Bir Singh has gone missing. He presently holds the office of Director General of Home Guard of the state and has not shown up to work in the past two months. Some say he is going through depression and some say he is hiding to prevent himself from the arrest.
He has come at the receiving end of a political attack. There is already a demand for his ‘removal’ from the police department. Though Param Bir Singh was removed from his position on March 17 as the Mumbai Police Commissioner and pushed to a “low-key” position as Commandant General, Home Guards, for mismanagement into an explosive-laden vehicle found near Mukesh Ambani’s residence, Antilia in February, in which Sachin Vaze has been arrested by NIA.
The focus of the inquiry was to find out how officers like Vaze – who has been arrested in connection with the Antilia bomb scare case, went rogue while working under the then Mumbai CP Param Bir Singh. Singh made allegations against the former home minister Anil Deshmukh but could not prove himself.
In the past, too, Singh had courted controversies. None other than Sadhvi Pragya, who was jailed for the Malegaon blast, had named Param Bir Singh along with Hemant Karkare (who died in infamous Pakistani terrorist siege on Nov 26/2008) and Suvarna Shinde for torturing and manhandling her to extract some ‘false confession’.
Even Lt. Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit had alleged that Param Bir Singh and other officials had tortured him. Purohit’s letter was also sent to the National Human Rights Commission. When Uddhav Thackeray – heading the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance regime made Singh the police commissioner of Mumbai, the talk in the town was that Fadnavis himself laid the foundation for the same.
After all, it is said that the police commissioner in the satellite city of Thane is only a stepping-stone to head the cops in the country’s commercial and entertainment capital – Mumbai. Singh also had other controversies. As chief of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), he had given a clean chit to the incumbent Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in the much talked about irrigation scam.
Even while getting the crucial post of Mumbai police commissioner, Param Bir Singh had outwitted three other strong contenders – D Kanakratnam, Rashmi Shukla and Sadanand Date. Of course, Param Bir Singh was once hailed for taking on Don Arun Gawli. But it was alleged in 2008-09 by the then Mumbai police commissioner, Hasan Gafoor, that during the November 26, 2008 (26/11) siege of Mumbai, that Param Bir Singh – as the IGP – was found guilty of dereliction of duties.
Param Bir Singh, an IPS officer of the 1988 batch, has been named as the new Commissioner of Police for Mumbai. The outgoing commissioner, Sanjay Barve, who had already been given two extensions, retires on Saturday from police service. Singh is at present Director General of Police for Anti-Corruption Bureau (DG-ACB).
Known to be a dashing police officer, Prambir Singh has had an illustrious career. He shot to fame first during his stint as Deputy Commissioner of Police of the famed Crime Branch in Mumbai in the late 1990s. He played a key role in tackling underworld-related crimes back then.
Several officers, other than Parambir Singh, were in the race to become Mumbai CP. They included Hemant Nagrale, Rashmi Shukla, Rajnish Seth, Bipin Bihari and Sadanand Date, who recently returned to Mumbai after completing his five-year deputation at the Centre.
Singh has held many important posts in the Maharashtra police. Before becoming DG-ACB, he had served as the Commissioner of Police at Thane. It was during his tenure as CP, Thane that he arrested Iqbal Kaskar, brother of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, in an extortion case. He also busted a major drug cartel during his tenure in Thane. He had also served as the Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) in the state.
Then, on April 29, the Maharashtra government ordered a second inquiry against Param Bir Singh based on the corruption allegations levelled by inspector Anoop Dange. Claiming that Singh demanded Rs. 2 crores for revoking his suspension, Dange accused him of saving some people with underworld connections when he was the DG of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Thereafter, an FIR was filed against Parambir Singh and 32 others based on a complaint given by Police Inspector Bhimrao Ghade just days ago.
Any suggestions, comments or disputes with regards to this article send us at feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com
13th Newsmakers Achievers Award - Honourable Guv Bhagat Singh Koshyari graced the event as Chief Guest 6
A Power-packed award event was held at Raj Bhavan on the 26th of August, in the presence of eminent personalities of Maharashtra. Babasaheb Purandare, a historian writer from Maharashtra was awarded the Lifetime achievers award.
Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar could not attend the event due to health reasons sent her message stating, “I am grateful to Vaidehi and her whole Newsmakers Achiever’s team as they have presented me with the Lifetime Achievement Award. I am nothing as before me, Shiv Sena supremo Late. Balasaheb Thackeray has been the recipient of this award. The personality who has brought to light Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s story in every household, our respected Babasaheb Purandare, too has been honoured with this award. Today as my name has been added with them, I am very happy as I consider Babasaheb as my father and guru. He means a lot to me and I would like to congratulate Babasaheb today.”
Mandakini (Tai) Amte who also received the Lifetime award said, “It is a great honour that this young generation is understanding the value of social work, my father-in-law Baba Saheb Aamte inspired us to carry forward his noble cause and our next generation are also walking in his footsteps. I bless Vaidehi for this great evening.”
Speaking at the 13th Newsmakers Achievers Award, Honourable Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari Ji said, “Every human has willpower and with that spirit, you all have embarked on being leaders of your field and have achieved excellence in it. But after that achievement also, if your heart agrees to be honoured by the owner and editor of a humble newspaper then I think this is a great opportunity presented by our Indian culture and I heartily congratulate each one of you.”
“We have the field of art and multiple other fields. And actually, through the medium of all those fields, we are in a way serving our nation. I assure you all that Vaidehi, in her field of work, will accomplish new records and score greater centuries than great cricket players. These are my blessings to her,” he further stated.
Devendra Fadnavis said, “Thank you Afternoon Voice group for giving me the ‘Best Performing Politician Award’ at the hands of Hon Governor Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari Ji on the 13th Newsmakers Achievers Awards 2021 ceremony at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai. Feeling extremely blessed to receive this award in presence of Shivshahir Babasaheb Purandare Ji, Manda Tai Amte and many other dignitaries present on this occasion.”
Adv Mrunalini Deshmukh said, “It was an extremely humbling experience to be awarded by The Afternoon voice the event was immaculately organized. The lifetime achievement awardees are the rare gems of India and are proud to be a part of the same award list. Vaidehi you brilliantly and candidly anchored the event. Thank you for making me a part of this wonderful event.”
Rohan Dua said, “Proud to be sharing a mention and rubbing shoulders at 13th Newsmakers Achievers Awards with former CM Devendra Fadnavis, Padma Vibhushan Babasaheb Purandare, Padma Shri. Manoj Bajpayee, Senior journalist Sushant Sinha.”
“It is itself an award that you get to share the stage with Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar and Padma Vibhushan Babasaheb Purandare,” said Sushant Sinha.
Sanjay Jog said, “I feel honoured to accept the award hosted by Afternoon Voice which is truly a voice of the common man, oppressed and those striving to survive in the present-day times when a divide between the haves and have nots is widening. I sincerely wish the paper and award will give hope to such sections to stand up against all odds, weather all challenges and make their presence.”
Rashmi Mishra, the best dancer said, “I love the way the whole Award ceremony has been conducted. It was straight from the heart with emotional attachment to what the Afternoon Voice team is doing in the field of journalism. The presence of eminent personalities from various fields had shown that they also believe in honesty. I felt honoured to receive the Best Kathak Dancer Award by the Hon Gov of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari Ji in Raj Bhawan.”
Dr Pratap Dighavkar said, “The organizing of function was absolutely seamless. The Speech of Hon Governor sir was the best piece of guidance to organizers and awardees. Afternoon daily is a big success story having the highest order of ethics and Moral values all reporters are self-made and totally committed to their commitments. Dr Vaidehi, Editor-in-Chief is a real moving spirit and outstanding leader of her team in this era the newspaper business has become very difficult but in such a competitive scenario, Afternoon is having sustainable and persistent growth. Newspapers have tremendous power to bring Socioeconomic changes and preserve protect and promote Democracy. The Contribution of print and electronic media is outstanding in this mission. In my entire life, this was the first award ceremony without sponsors. This Gesture of Afternoon family has taken the decorum of the function to different levels. The selection of awardees was absolute.”
Dr Parag Telang said, “Vaidehi was a gracious host, excellent compere, and organized everything to the best. The dignitaries were all eminent personalities from various fields who have enriched society. Such awards are truly an appreciation of their work by the society Kudos to Ms Vaidehi and the team of Afternoon voice for having the vision and foresight!”
"13th Newsmakers Achievers Award" was a great experience for life 8
We being a small organization doing such a big award event are not so easy. In the past twelve years we learned a lot but this year it was a real experience for life. The first invite began with Shri Anna Hazare, my team and me travelled to his hometown to meet him, it was great to visit. He not only accepted our invite but also assured us about his presence. He agreed and allowed publicity materials to declare his name.
One day before the event he sent me a message stating that he is unwell and will not be able to attend the event. We were upset but considerate because he is an old man and health is of utmost concern. Still, we again approached him to ask what exactly went wrong. I was not only shocked but it was ghastly to know the reason.
Well! Meanwhile, we invited many politicians and some prominent social workers but they refused to come assuming Hazare’s presence in the event. Keeping the balance between these elements and nominating people for the award was like walking on the thin rope.
Some demanded money as donations, some asked for some allowances for their travels, some wanted flight tickets and some refused because we could not provide the accommodation. This time we realized, whatever might be the intent behind this award-giving, what some people need is money to mark their presence.
We went ahead with our choices, our second invite was given to Baba Saheb Purandare, frankly speaking, we never expected that at this age he would agree to take the award, but he was really very considerate and excited to come to Mumbai. I never saw a 100-year young man, with so much willingness and determination. His staff was in communication with me till the last moment. His approach towards life and us really motivated me a lot.
On the same day, I met our honourable governor Bhagat Singh Ji. It was like going to the maternal home, he was very kind considerate, humorous. His experiences were very valuable. He is really a people’s man, whiteout any hitch he allowed us to do the program at Raj Bhavan. My happiness knew no bounds.
Then comes the legendary Lata Mangeshkar, I actually thought it would be very difficult to communicate with her. But she and her niece Rachna was the most humble person I have ever come across. Tears were rolling on my cheeks and I had no words to express when Latadi called my name, she was taking and I was just listing. She said I am accepting this award but due to health reasons I will not be able to give my physical presence. Within two days of time, she sent me a lovely message to play it on the event day. Life, isn’t it?
Babasaheb Purandare, Lata Didi, Manda Tai Amte like legends do they really need my award? But by accepting it they made me believe in myself. They made me believe in humankind, they made me believe that the real human side is this. We are a young team with huge ambitions. These legends instil that confidence in us.
We are a small organization, paying donations or a fund is not affordable for us. Our newspaper is self-funded, we have no godfather or supporter. We don’t take sponsorship because we value our choices and in between the sponsors propose one or two awards and sometimes they want awards to be given by their hands. There is no credibility and why would somebody give you money without any self or wasted interest? The entire purpose of giving honest awards would get compromised. We don’t want any controversies or confrontations while walking out straight path.
We slog throughout the year; reserve some funds every month for this day. It’s our hard-earned money and above all sincere intent. The best we can do is to make worthy choices and make their day memorable. Many awardees demand flight tickets and stay, which is not practically possible for us. Sometimes we have to blatantly refuse. Not because we don’t care for them, but because we accept, we can’t afford it.
We give these awards to motivate some and express our gratitude for those who made huge contributions. This is one of the ways to separate the best from the good. An award of any kind and in any field of the arts and sciences, including medicine, film and TV, theatre and stage, in academic research and of cultural and physical anthropology, agriculture and horticulture, mechanical and electrical engineering-and all awards given in every field of honouring human Excellence-should be honoured and appreciated by all societies recognizing the development of human- globally. To me, it is most encouraging of the human spirit, and I think it is our duty to encourage the generations.
We are very grateful to all our awardees for accepting our award and us.
Being an editor of a newspaper and a passionate medical reporter, many malpractices cases come across me. A few days back a man approached our newspaper complaining about a doctor for his misconduct. We told him to first talk to the doctor and resolve the issues, if not then file an FIR, let the judiciary do its duty. He said the doctor has taken multiple signatures on some sorts of consent forms, before operating on him. Still, I contacted the doctor personally and told him to look into the said matter and address some things. What we need is a willingness to solve the problem.
Doctors for health issues have their own syndicate, once the patient lands on their net then the saga goes never-ending. We have seen many cases of people getting bankrupt after an ailment. For the doctor, who is commercial and having medical practices as a business patient is nothing but the deal. In such a scenario the dignity of medical practices gets compromised.
This is such a business where the doctor knows he has to survive despite leeching. Fear of pain and death is a lucrative opportunity for practitioners. The beauty and aesthetics sector is another blooming medical gang in the city. Filler of 10000/- injected for 20000/- but the patient doesn’t know what product and how is used. Injecting Botox is another huge scam. In the greed of looking good people empty their pockets on doctors but they don’t even care to address post-treatment issues if anything goes wrong, they just avoid communication stating its person-to-person issues.
Well! I intended to instil faith in medical practices, and I keep mitigating such cases peacefully for the larger interest. Well! Recently, there was an assistant to a doctor who secretly told me that his doctor charged lakhs of rupees from a patient in the name of liposuction and tummy tuck, the anaesthetist was paid few thousand, the tuck was given but the patient was told that the liposuction was performed, whereas he never required that treatment. Not only had that but the doctors instructed his staff to tell lies to the patient.
A clinic assistant said, “I don’t trust doctors because I’ve worked with them. I’ve heard doctors talk about patients like they were less than animals. I have had to care for the patients & been asked to lie against patients & mistreat one’s w/o money; while also, pamper richer patients who were over-prescribed new expensive medications they should not have been prescribed, which the doctor knew, but these days doctors decided the fess judging the pocket of the person. There are lots of horror stories to follow; in India, patients are ‘losers.
In the meantime, there was a suggestion that the Doctors should be barred from taking pharmaceutical companies or any other sources, kickbacks for undermining the wellbeing of their patients for profit. This is a disgustingly common occurrence but surprisingly no such doctor is ever punished. Doctors though vocal enough when boasting about their intelligence and skill, sink into quiet cowardice when any government agency wants to enforce and impose inhumane regulations on how much a patient much suffer, and right now in India people are choosing self-suffering after their doctors turn them away from the care, they have been dependent on for years.
Doctors know that the only way they will be punished is if they go against the Government regulations or norms or if the patient is resourceful. That’s the reason the general public gets cheated in most cases. Doctors do not deserve your trust right now because they look at you and see non-humans who might mean income. Lots of experiences have made me realize that there are ordinary and downright terrible or crazy doctors in the state, said one of the nurses practising in a reputed private hospital.
While hearing all the odd stories, I came across a person who told me about his childhood memories stating that he had been an excellent General practitioner when he was growing up as a child in Mumbai. His name was Dr Deshpande. His work was his life. He used to visit the homeless shelter and treat people there for nothing in his own time. He was a bulk billing doctor (no gap fee) who had no interest in pharmaceutical companies or their sales reps. His interest in medicine was purely about people, not money. He was beloved by all his patients who he knew on a personal level. His waiting room was always full, both because he was so popular and because he took as much time with each patient as they needed.
More than the new patients, the recovered ones used to wait at his clinic for hours just to thank him and bless him. Although he practised until cancer forced him to retire in his 80s his mind was sharp and he was as up to date on the latest research as any younger doctor. I was so spoiled by having such a good doctor when I was young, I thought that’s what they were all like. Those days are gone; such doctors were incarnations of God. Those days there was immense faith in doctors. But today there are a lot of trust issues.
There was an old lady who shared a horrible experience of her life; she went to get an operation to have a lens in her eye replaced. She is elderly and the operation is done in the public health system for people with cataracts. When she went in, they dropped some anaesthetic into her eye. That turned out to be some sort of ‘cleaning fluid’, no anaesthetic! The fluid burned her cornea and she was in serious pain, which took a year to settle down. Later on, she developed a vision disorder. As a result, she has an uncomfortable puffy lump under her eye, which she is very conscious of. It is not subsiding even though it’s been something like a year now.
There is another doctor who seems to try to minimize everything he sees. My brother was taken there with difficulty breathing. He examined him and concluded it was the flu or a cold. He was taken home and seemed to be getting worse. Instead of the doctor, he was taken to the emergency room and he was admitted straight away. He had serious fluid in the lungs and needed immediate treatment. This doctor couldn’t even recognize a medical emergency. It’s not the first story I’ve heard about him telling someone that it’s nothing and then it turns out to be something serious, the saga was narrated by a young collegian.
Similarly, how can we forget the Yoga teacher Ramdev who infuriated doctors across the country with his disparaging remarks on allopathic medicine? In a widely shared video, he was heard saying, “Lakhs of people have died because of allopathic medicines, far more than those who died because they did not get treatment or oxygen.” He even purportedly called allopaths a “stupid and bankrupt” science, offending the whole medical fraternity. Later, challenging calls for his arrest, “Even their baap (father) cannot arrest Swami Ramdev”. His firm, Patanjali, said it would give a “befitting reply” to any defamation notice. Various units of the Indian Medical Association filed complaints against him with the police, based on which multiple cases were lodged. The association, which had sought an apology within 15 days, later sued him for defamation and demanded a compensation of Rs 1,000 crores, but the general public at large stood by Baba but not with the doctors. Even our Prime Minister who asked us to clap for doctors-maintained silence on this issue.
As a business opportunity, you pay for doctor’s glossy clinics, their staff salaries, the doctor’s rich life, and all the lavishness. Your treatment becomes costly to maintain all his sidekicks. Without your fees, all this is not possible for any doctor that the reason bigger the doctor greater to loot. Honest, affordable and selflessly serving doctors is history. You may find one or two here or there in villages or rural areas.
I have heard many stories of various medicos and writing all of them in one edit is not possible, let me conclude by reminding you that no doctor wants to do deliberate damage to his/her patients. Mistakes happen and they are also human beings, not aliens. Each sector has one odd side so the medical fraternity too, there are corrupt and fake journalists, corrupt politicians, corrupt businessmen, and teachers are also unethical. But doctors are more responsible because your life is in their hands. The time has come to acknowledge those good doctors’ vs those scavengers in the medical fraternity.
Sheena Bora murder case: CBI closed its investigation 11
After years of trial finally, there is some relief to Indrani Mukherjea. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has decided to close its investigation into the sensational Sheena Bora murder, in which her mother and former media executive faced trial.
The investigating agency has told a special court that it has decided to stop the further investigation in the 2012 murder that was revealed in 2015. The CBI has filed three chargesheets including two supplementary charge sheets as part of further investigation naming Indrani Mukherjea and the case has gone into the trial.
Indrani Mukerjea, the former owner of a TV channel along with Peter Mukerjea, was arrested in 2015 for the murder of 25-year-old Sheena Bora, her daughter from her first marriage. The murder was exposed with the arrest of Indrani Mukherjee’s driver Shyamvar Rai in a separate case. He is also accused in the case.
Some 60 witnesses have recorded their statements in the trial. In Sheena Bora murder case, CBI tells court investigation over.
After the years of media trials and investigations, the case is finally coming to some conclusion as CBI has completed its probe in the matter. Sheena Bora was Indrani Mukherjea’s daughter from her first marriage/live-in relationship with Siddharth das. Indrani told in her police statement that her paternal uncle raped her when she was very young and Sheena was born out of that rape that’s the reason, she is a daughter and sister both to her. Sheena bora fell in love with Rahul Mukherjea son of Peter Mukherjea and Indrani’s 3rd husband.
Then the 22-year-old Sheena, who was living and working in Mumbai was introduced to people by Indrani Mukherjea as her sister. There was no missing complaint filed by Indrani after Sheena mysteriously went missing for two long years. In fact, people who asked her about Sheena were told that she had moved abroad for further studies. However, no one was in touch with her. The people she was last seen alive with were Indrani Mukherjea, her driver, and her former husband Sanjeev Khanna.
The curious case took another turn when another secret was unveiled. Peter Mukherjea claimed that Sheena was in a relationship with Rahul Mukherjea is Indrani Mukherjea’s step-son and Sheena’s step-brother. According to him, their relationship was not approved of by Indrani, but the two of them continued to date and according to the news reports, they were pretty casual about it. After Sheena went missing in 2012, Rahul tried to find her but his attempts were in vain.
Some anonymous call informed Mumbai police that Sheena is missing. The police soon got active and investigated the case. While investigating, they discovered that things were murky in the case and many fishy secrets were dug deep. To ensure that the culprits involved in the crime remain oblivious about their investigations, they kept things low.
Later, their findings revealed that Indrani’s driver, Shyam Lal had been frequently visiting Raigad. The police tightened the security on Shyam Lal and thereafter on August 21, they arrested him regarding an illegal arms case but questioned him about Sheena Bora. He gave in to the police investigation and disclosed that he along with Indrani Mukherjea and her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna were involved in Sheena Bora’s murder.
On Indrani’s command, he had strangled her and burnt her. He admitted dumping Sheena’s body in Raigad. The investigation also revealed that during the same time a charred body was found in Raisen which was burned to the extent that it couldn’t be identified. However, the police find evidence enough to conclude that it was Sheena’s body.
Indrani Mukherjea who was not in the country at that time was kept away from the issue suspecting that if she finds out about the case, she might delay her return to India. After her arrival, Indrani was picked from her house in Worli and was taken to Khar police station for questioning. During the questioning, she first denied the allegations but later gave in after she was made to testify with her driver and he gave her away. Both her driver and Indrani were booked under sections 302 (murder), 201 (disposing of evidence or giving false statements), 363 (kidnapping) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.
As the statements were given by Indrani and her driver Shyam Lal illustrated that Indrani’s ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna was also involved in the crime, he was picked up from Alipore, Kolkata by the police. Sheena’s stepbrother and former lover, Rahul Mukherjea was also called in for questioning by the Khar police. He was allowed to go back after they took his statement.
Not just the friends and family of Indrani, but the whole of the nation was stunned by the horrifying mystery that this case has created. The twisted relationships and the report that a mother killed her own daughter are left everyone shocked.
Sheena’s younger brother, Mikhail Bora, had given a statement to media where he said both he and Sheena are Indrani’s children. They have grown up in Assam with their grandparents. He said that he is sure that Indrani has killed his sister and if she denies any of the facts he will come forward and make his statement.
Whereas Khanna clearly stated that he did not know anything about Indrani’s previous marriage or her children. He had seen a picture of two kids which Indrani kept close, but upon asking he was told that they are her siblings. Later, the same man was arrested by the police on the suspicions of his involvement with Sheena’s murder.
Mukherjea in his statement stated that he did not know that Sheena was Indrani’s daughter. He also denied having any knowledge of the fact that Indrani had any property in Raigad. He said that he had asked his son Rahul moves on after Indrani told them that Sheena had moved to Los Angeles. The Sheena Bora murder case is a classic example of a murder mystery and has all the elements of a murder mystery movie.
Amid the Afghanistan crisis, the Government of India has assured to take all steps to ensure the safety and security of the Indian nationals and their interests in Afghanistan. Disturbing videos of Taliban commanders and armed militants moving within the walls of the presidential palace had gone viral on social media. Meanwhile, a hoard of people have been attempting to escape the impending Taliban rule, as is apparent from the visuals of panic, fear, disorder and chaos that emerge from the crowded airport of Kabul.
Ministry of External Affairs said, “We are in constant touch with the representatives of Afghan, Sikh and Hindu communities. We will facilitate repatriation to India of those who wish to leave Afghanistan. There are also several Afghans who have been our partners in the promotion of our mutual development, education and people to people endeavours. We will stand by them.”
After two decades of war, the Taliban captured Afghanistan’s capital Kabul in 10 days on Sunday, 15 August, as President Ashraf Ghani fled the war-torn country.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Ghani said, “The Taliban have won with the judgement of their swords and guns, and are now responsible for the honour, property and self-preservation of their countrymen.”
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) chief Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, “People from Sikh and Hindu communities have taken refuge at the Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul. I am in constant touch with President, Gurdwara Committee of Kabul and Sangat who have told me that more than 320 people of minorities living in Ghazni and Jalalabad (including 50 Hindus and more than 270 Sikhs) have taken refuge in Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul in wake of recent developments.”
When Afternoon Voice spoke to BMC Councillor Haji Mohammad Halim, said, “Pathans are against Terrorism. It is Afghanistan that nurtured the Taliban for decades. Now they have boomeranged after 18 years in Kabul. Ghar ka bhedi Lanka Dhaye. We are on Balasaheb’s path, Islam has no place for Terrorism.”
Abu Asim Azmi MLA Samajwadi Party said, “What I want is that there should be no bloodshed. Whatever is happening over there should be happening lawfully. There is currently chaos. I see a terrorizing atmosphere and people are full of fear in Afghan. Manslaughter should be controlled.”
Maratha Khan, Maharashtrian Muslim Vikas Parishad, “The Taliban have taken over Kabul after a long fighting struggle with the Afghanis. Now the only thing that matters is are going to run the Governance peacefully. They should not violate Human rights, give liberty to Women and not breach the freedom of speech of the citizens of Afghanistan. It seems that the United Nations is not taking strict action against them. It all turned upside down when the American forces returned to their homeland.”
Afghanistan is known as the 'Graveyard of Empires' 16
Tens of thousands of people have tried to flee Afghanistan to escape the hardline Islamist rule expected under the Taliban or fearing direct retribution for siding with the US-backed government that ruled for the past two decades. The Taliban led a pariah regime from 1996-2001, infamous for a brutal rule in which girls could not go to school and people were stoned to death.
Afghanistan suffers from one of the most prolonged humanitarian crises in the world. 2016, also witnessed some of the worst fightings since the US-led intervention in October 2001, 646,698 persons were internally displaced due to conflict, compared to 70,000 in 2010; this added to the roughly one million conflict-displaced in previous years. 2016 also saw one million Afghan refugees and migrants forced to return home from Pakistan and Iran.
More broadly, both Kabul and the humanitarian community, including UN agencies, estimate that millions of people, or almost one-third of Afghanistan’s population will be in need of humanitarian assistance. The overall humanitarian crisis is putting enormous pressure on Afghanistan’s already stretched public services and infrastructure, especially in urban centres, where 70-80 per cent of internally displaced and returning refugees tend to settle; most are jobless or under-employed, with little or no access to health care or education.
Overnight the Afghan government is overthrown by the Taliban. It is a huge crisis whose effects are felt all over the world. Many superpower countries enter Afghanistan but return after humiliating themselves. The Britishers came in the 19th century. They had to bear a very humiliating defeat. In the 20th century, the Soviet Union came to Afghanistan returned after 9 years with a lot of embarrassment. In the 21st century, the USA came to Afghanistan and is now returning in shame.
The Afghan people are brave and talented; it is just unfortunate that they have been caught up in conflicts for the last 40 years. The Taliban are Afghanistan’s deteriorate. They are the bottom-of-the-barrel, lowest-low of Afghan society who took over control after most of the sensible/ educated/ wealthy Afghans fled the war-torn nation. The Taliban are uneducated, deeply religious, and regressive in thinking.
What makes this interesting is the fact that the US military recruits most of their enlisted personnel from small-town America where lots of desperate/poor/white trash type of people live and they get shipped to war zones such as Afghanistan where they engage in combat. It’s a war fought basically by the Taliban of one nation versus the Taliban of another.
‘Talib’ in the Pashto language means ‘student’. So, Taliban literally means ‘students’ or a group of students. Taliban are a Tribal Muslim student’s organisation with rational militancy for freedom/self-determination, based on Islamic freedom of choice, are not at all nation of passionate exterminators’ colonial cowboys murdering Asian population. They are educated in madrasa.
It was initially a movement started by Mullar Omar, a jihadi during the Mujahideen war against the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan. Afghanistan, after the Soviet troops left, was in a pathetic situation. There was no stable Government and so many warlords rose during the Mujahideen because of the ISI and the CIA’s support.
After the war, no one cared for Afghanistan. US’s only goal was to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan, so used the ISI and armed the anti-Soviet people & revolutionists of Afghan. Mullah Omar was one such guy who fought against the Soviets.
Omar started this movement named ‘Taliban’ soon after he became famous, and he utilized this fame to capture more and more provinces and someday entire Afghanistan. Their ultimate goal was to give Afghanistan a stable Government. But as they gained more power, Islamic extremism haunted them and their aim now became to implement radical Islam in the whole country.
Osama’s and Omar’s views of Islam and both their goals and interests were similar. That is why they became very close friends and the Taliban got connected to Al-Qaeda. After the 9/11 attacks, Osama was under the Taliban’s protection and they never agreed to hand him over to the US despite the entire world’s and the ISI’s pressure as well.
The US coalition lost because while they were welcomed as liberators in 2001, they stayed too long and became perceived as occupiers. The only reason young Afghan men had for joining the Afghan army was that they had no jobs, and they would get food, room and board and a small salary which they could share with their family by joining the Afghan army.
The US government spent billions in Afghanistan, but most of that money was likely siphoned off to private bank accounts and did not make it is way too ordinary Afghans. I am sure that there will be more than a few pro-American Afghans who will retire to very nice homes in Qatar with their families after the fall of Kabul.
One more reason it is difficult to defeat the Taliban is that they do not have a dread of funds. Billions of dollars of aid money flowing into Afghanistan for developmental projects. The contractors have to pay a portion of their profit as a ransom to the Taliban for not blowing up their project halfway, the second source of income is Opium. Afghanistan is the biggest exporter of opium.
The majority of their commanders, militants are present in Afghanistan, 90% control the entire Afghanistan. From crimes like denying women their basic rights and education, blowing up ancient artefacts, killing dozens of innocent men, women and children, destabilizing entire nations and robbing millions of their right to live peacefully, the Taliban have shown the world that they are not the type of people that we should show any mercy upon, regardless of the circumstances.
Some think tanks say, there is no textbook definition of what constitutes a wave in an epidemic. The term is used generically to describe the rising and declining trends of infections over a prolonged period of time. The growth curve resembles the shape of a wave. Historically, the term wave is used to refer to the seasonality of the disease. Several viral infections are seasonal in nature, and they recur after fixed time intervals. Infections rise and then come down, only to rise again after some time.
Covid-19 has continued relentlessly for the last one-and-a-half years, but in geography, there have been periods of surge that have been followed by a relative lull. In India so far, there have been two very distinct periods of the surge, separated by a prolonged lull.
On the other hand, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Randeep Guleria emphasized that India might not see the third wave of coronavirus but it largely depends on people following Covid norms. Here in Mumbai, life is back on track. Malls are packed, markets are overcrowded and people are really not bothered to maintain social distance or mask protocol.
Second Wave, Preparations Required for Third Wave and Majority of teenagers, uncles and aunties nowadays go for morning walks evening walks during the time of curfew everyone has walked out during the pandemic. After relaxation, there won’t be any deterrence. The general feeling is that adults are getting vaccinated, children are not being vaccinated and therefore if there is a new wave it will affect those who are more susceptible.
Hundreds of children have tested positive for COVID-19 during the first ten days of August across India, creating a worrisome situation for parents. Probably that is the reason the government is yet not prepared to reopen the schools. But the irony is that these kids are visiting malls, restaurants and gardens but not school. More than 50 per cent of children have already been infected as per the survey and have antibodies.
According to a study conducted by IIT researchers, India might witness the third Covid-19 wave in August with daily cases clocking between 1-1.5 lakh, however, researchers said the third wave is likely to be weaker than the second wave. The forecast by the researchers suggests that the government accelerate the vaccination drive, deploy surveillance methods to catch emerging hotspots and amplify genome sequencing given the potential for new variants to emerge.
In July, a report published by SBI Research predicted the third wave in India by August which will peak in September. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) scientist Professor Samiran Panda also told India Today TV that the third wave is likely to come by August-end and India may witness one lakh daily Covid-19 cases.
Currently, India has 4,13,718 active Covid-19 cases with a recovery rate at 97.35 per cent. However, southern states such as Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka along with Maharashtra are reporting high daily virus cases. While these states account for 83.12 per cent of the new virus cases, Kerala alone is responsible for 51.65 per cent of the new cases. On the vaccination front, the government has administered over 47 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines. However, only seven per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated so far.
The third wave at present under discussion refers to a possible surge in cases at the national level. The national curve seems to have entered a declining phase now, after having peaked on May 6. In the last two weeks in this August, the daily case count has dropped from the peak.
