Son-in-law of former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader S M Krishna and Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) founder V G Siddhartha has gone missing on his way to Mangaluru from Bengaluru, prompting the authorities to launch a massive search on Tuesday. Heavy rain has hampered the search operations in Netravati River near Mangaluru where VG Siddhartha was last seen. The river directly opens into the sea at a distance of 600 metres.
According to the police, Siddhartha was last seen near a bridge across the Netravati river in the Kotepura area in Dakshina Kannada district on Monday night. Teams of National Disaster Response Force, Coast Guard, Home Guard, fire services and coastal police have been pressed into service to trace Siddhartha. Local fisherman, along with their boats, have also joined in the search operations. In Delhi, a group of Karnataka BJP MPs led by Shobha Karandlaje on Tuesday met Home Minister Amit Shah and sought central help to trace the businessman.
“Siddhartha had left from Bengaluru to Sakleshpur in Hassan district on Monday afternoon, but on the way he had asked his driver to go towards Mangaluru,” the police said. On reaching the bridge across the Netravati river, he got down from the car and told his driver that he was going for a walk. “He (Siddhartha) asked the driver to wait till his arrival. When he did not return even after two hours, the driver approached the police and lodged a missing complaint,” Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district Senthil Sasikant Senthil told PTI.
“The help of local fishermen is being taken in the search. We are checking who he spoke to over phone,” Mangaluru Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil said.
“Air Cushion Vehicle (H-198) is undertaking search in Nethrvathi River and providing support to CG diving teams. Three diving teams, along with the district disaster relief team, has been deputed to carry out search for the missing person,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
Congress MLA U T Khader, who reached the spot, told reporters the police were looking into “all angles”.
In Bengaluru, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and several leaders visited Krishna’s Bengaluru residence after reports of Siddhartha’s missing.
“I have failed as an entrepreneur,” Siddhartha has said in a letter purportedly written to the Board of Directors and employees of Coffee Day Enterprises he founded.
“After 37 years, with strong commitment to hard work, having directly created 30,000 jobs in our companies and their subsidiaries, as well as 20,000 jobs in technology company where I have been a large shareholder since its founding, I have failed to create the right profitable business model despite my best efforts,” he said. “I would like to say I gave it my all. I am very sorry to let down all the people that have put their trust in me,” he said.
Siddhartha said that he fought for a long time but “today I gave up as I could not take any more pressure from one of the private equity partners forcing me to buy back shares, a transaction I had partially completed six months ago by borrowing a large sum of money from a friend”.
“Tremendous pressure from other lenders lead to me succumbing to the situation,” he said.
Siddhartha, aged around 60, alleged in the letter purportedly written by him that there was a lot of harassment from the previous DG Income Tax in the form of attaching “our shares on two separate occasions to block our Mindtree deal and then taking position of our Cafe Coffee Day shares, although revised returns have been filed by us”.
Shares of Coffee Day Enterprises tanked 20 per cent and hit the lower circuit limit as well as 52-week low of Rs 154.05 apiece on BSE after news surfaced that its founder has gone missing.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar has accused the BJP and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of grabbing and threatening the Congress-NCP legislators. Swiftly reacting to these allegations, CM Fadnavis retaliated that BJP never indulged in politics of pressure. CM said that we don’t need to invite or chase anyone, people are approaching us. He asked Sharad Pawar to introspect within his party.
It is worth mentioning that currently, the BJP is the strongest party in India at the Centre and as well as in Maharashtra. That is why many opposition leaders are making bee-line to join the party. In neighbouring Karnataka, 16 MLAs of the Congress-JD(S) resigned. After this, the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition government collapsed and it paved the way of a BJP government led by BS Yeddyurappa in Karnataka. Similarly, in Goa, 10 of 15 Congress MLA defected in mass and joined the BJP. Maharashtra Assembly elections are due in October-November. The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance will face the Congress-NCP alliance to return to power. The BJP-Sena won 41 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the recent general elections and their moral is very high.
Political Analyst Abdul Wahab told Afternoon Voice, “All political parties are engaged in the preparation of the state Assembly elections. Politicians switching sides is the game plan of this. At present, the BJP has emerged as a very strong party, which is in power at the Centre and in the state too. After Karnataka episode, the Congress and regional parties are afraid of the BJP. Just before elections even established leaders ensure their workers and supporters must be with them. This is the main reason behind party-switching. But it is not healthy for democracy. All strong and weak political parties must exist together.”
Within a week, the NCP suffered multiple jolts as senior leaders Sachin Ahir, Chitra Wagh and Vaibhav Pichad quit the party. NCP leader Sandeep Naik is also ready to quit the party. Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan on Sunday claimed that at least 50 MLAs of the Congress and NCP were in touch with the ruling BJP to switch their loyalty ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. “Some 50 MLAs of Congress and NCP are in touch with the BJP. Senior NCP leader Chitra Wagh had expressed her desire to join BJP a month back, claiming she had no future left in her parent party. The MLAs are requesting that they wanted to join the BJP ahead of the assembly elections. The Congress is in the shambles and in the next couple of weeks, the NCP will look weaker,” Mahajan said.
Nawab Malik of the NCP said, “The BJP does not have broad base in Maharashtra. So, they are taking the help of other parties. At the same time, the NCP has a presence at grassroot level. If the BJP thinks that the NCP has weakend after some leaders quit the party, it is not true. There will be no difference due to this. We have many strong leaders. At the same time, misconducts and sins of the BJP came to the fore. Neither retaliation by CM nor the statement of Girish Mahajan can cover it.”
On Sunday, CM Fadnavis said, “A lot of NCP and Congress legislators are willing to join BJP but we will only induct selected few in the party. The people, against whom ED or any other inquiry is ongoing, will not be inducted in the party. We do not want to invite anyone or run behind anyone, people are themselves coming to BJP.” Fadnavis also rejected Pawar’s accusation of BJP misusing probe agencies for threatening politicians. He said that in the last five years, a lot of troubled sugar factories have been helped by the government and state bank. The list is long but in return of the same no one was asked to join the party. Pawar Saheb must introspect within his party.
“Central Government is misusing their power before elections (Maharashtra), pressuring those leaders who are not willing to join BJP. This is not limited to Maharashtra, it has happened everywhere. Maharashtra Chief Minister and his cabinet ministers have been involved in calling many leaders. On the other side, we are getting complaints from many that some agencies are being used like ED, CBI and state government’s ACB. These agencies are being used to threaten the public representatives,” Pawar said. He claimed that Chitra Wagh was under pressure to leave the party after a probe by the ACB against her husband. “Wagh met me two days ago and said she is under tremendous pressure as there are some criminal cases against her husband. In addition to that, an ACB inquiry has been initiated against their cooperative institutions she runs,” said Pawar. On the other hand, Chitra Wagh said that there is no future in the NCP and she is going to join the BJP.
The CM said the BJP did not need to pressurise anybody to join. “We are beyond running behind anyone. Now people [leaders] run behind the BJP. We will take care of those who are good and work for the people,” he said.
This row comes days after many NCP leaders quit the party to either join the BJP or its ally, the Shiv Sena. Last week, former NCP Mumbai chief Sachin Ahir joined the Sena while NCP women’s unit head Chitra Wagh quit the party and is likely to join the BJP along with another NCP legislator from Ahmednagar, Vaibhav Pichad. Akole MLA Vaibhav Pichad also announced on Saturday that he was going to join the ruling BJP. Vaibhav is son of senior NCP leader and former state minister Madhukar Pichad. Two days ago, the NCP’s Mumbai unit chief Sachin Ahir joined the Shiv Sena, a ruling alliance partner.
Vaibhav Pichad said that he had organised a meeting of his followers at Akole in Ahmednagar district on Saturday to gauge their opinion. Most of his supporters wanted him to join the BJP, he said. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had assured him that he would get all help to solve the problems of his constituency, he said. “Very soon I will formally join the Bharatiya Janata Party,” he said.
Girish Mahajan also dimissed Pawar’s allegations that the BJP was misusing the government agencies against the Opposition leaders for politcal gains. “He (Pawar) is levelling these allegations to cover up his own political failure. We have not threatened any one or pressurised any leader,” he said.
A controversial British journalist has gone all low in continuing senseless propaganda against the Bangladesh government and the country’s apex intelligence agency – the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) by falsely accusing it of having hands behind forced disappearance and trial of the war criminals.
Who is the Journalist?
David Bergman first travelled from Birmingham, England, to Bhopal in March 1986 by bicycle as a charity to raise ₤5,000 for the victims of the disaster. While there, he became entangled in a legal dispute over the government’s role in relief that The Guardian later dubbed “The Bergman Affair” (October 31, 1986).
In September 1986, when Bergman was 21 years old, he was held in custody in violation of India’s Foreigners Act and National Security Act and was accused of working for Union Carbide.
It may be mentioned here that, on December 3, 1984, following methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas released from the plant of Union Carbide in Bhopal [which also is known as Bhopal Disaster], over 500,000 people were affected. The government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release. It left an estimated 40,000 individuals permanently disabled, maimed, or suffering from a serious illness, making it one of the world’s worst industrial disasters.
David Bergman has been writing for terror-network Al Jazeera for many years and has been on monthly payroll of the terror patron Qatari regime. Born in 1965, he is the son of Alan Bergman, a dentist from Hadley Wood I north London. Bergman holds degrees in both politics and law and his law degree is from the University of Birmingham.
As a journalist, the only career David Bergman has outside Bangladesh is with Twenty-Twenty, which is a British television production company. In September 2007, following Twenty-Twenty’s merger with Shed Media Group (now Warner Bros Television Productions UK), David Bergman was sacked from the Twenty-Twenty on various allegations, which included coverage against bribes, womanizing and addicted to drugs.
David Bergman is the son-in-law of Dr. Kamal Hossain, a lawyer-cum-failed politician, who has lately formed an alliance with pro-Islamist Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and terror-patron Jameet e Islami.
Bergman’s mother-in-law is Hameeda Akhund alias Hameeda Hossain, daughter of a Pakistani jurist named Abdullah Shafi Mohammad Akhund. Hameeda was born in 1936 in Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan. Her father Abdullah Shafi was a diehard anti-Indian. Dr. Kamal had developed romantic relations with Hameeda, a divorcee and later married her. Throughout her life, Hameeda has always been inclined towards Pakistan.
Bergman working for ISIS funder
After many years, when we are witnessing the rise of radical Islam in Britain and an unknown number of sleeper cells of Islamic State in the Western nations, no one can say with certainty as to how a so-called British journalist named David Bergman became the blue-eyed boy of the criminals and jihadists. It is not unlikely that an immoral individual like Bergman has also been working for the enemies of the West. And In-fact David Bergman is enjoying patronizing of Qatari regime, Pakistani ISI and most possibly even the notorious terrorist named Dawood Ibrahim.
In journalism, there is a word called ethics. But it seems that a so-called British journalist named David Bergman, who runs a blog on the blogspot.com has been enthusiastically busy in publishing one-after-another propaganda materials in favor of an ISIS funder as well as terrorists and war criminals. Through these write-ups, David Bergman clearly is making frantic bids of character assassination of few individuals as well as take revenge on the Bangladesh government for its ongoing relentless efforts of combating militancy as well trying the war criminals who have committed a crime against humanity during Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971.
Within the span of ten days, David Bergman has written several bogs defending an ISIS funder named Md Shahid Uddin Khan. He also has defended the war criminals and made a foul attempt of putting false accusation of forced disappearance on Directorate of Forces Intelligence (DGFI). It may be mentioned here that, DGFI has been playing an extremely praiseworthy role in combating militancy and terrorism in Bangladesh.
In 2009, a man named Md. Shahid Uddin Khan, along with his wife Farjana Anjum and daughters Shehtaz Munasi Khan, Parisa Pinaz Khan and Zumana Fiza Khan had entered the United Kingdom with tons of dirty money and had even managed immigrant status under Visa Tier 1, vide VAF No. 511702.
On January 17, 2019, Dhaka residence of Md. Shahid Uddin Khan was raided by the members of the Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Bangladesh Police.
CTTC, based on secret information, raided House No. 184, Road No. 2, Baridhara DOHS in Dhaka, Bangladesh on January 17, 2019. This house is owned by Md. Shahid Uddin Khan and was allegedly used as a warehouse for arms, explosives and propaganda materials of Islamic State (ISIS). During the raid, a large volume of weapons, detonator, counterfeit Bangladesh currency notes and jihadist materials of ISIS were recovered by the CTTC unit.
Following this recovery, three separate cases against ISIS-funder Md. Shahid Uddin Khan, his wife Farjana Anjum, daughters and other accomplices were lodged. The cases are Cantonment PS, Case no 10, Section-6(2)/7/11/12 of Anti-Terrorism Act 2009 (amendment 2013); Cantonment PS, Case no 11, Section-25-A, Special Power Act 1974; and Cantonment PS, Case no 12, Section-19-A of Arms Act 1878.
For years, the United Kingdom has become the epicenter of anti-Semitism and dirty money. It is already proved; Britain wholeheartedly welcomes dirty money and laundered money from around the world and does not bother if it is narco-money, corruption-money, or even jihadist fund.
Md Shahid Uddin Khan, his wife Farjana Anjum, daughter Shehtaz Munasi Khan and Parisa Pinaz Khan are most wanted fugitives. Recently, Interpol issued Red Notice on them.
Sitting in London, ISIS funder Shahid Uddin Khan had formed an organization named ‘Astha’ (faith), which aims at establishing Sharia rule by ousting the democratically elected government in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, David Bergman, who also is under monthly payroll of Pakistani ISIS and the Qatari regime has helped Khan in getting coverage in terror-network Al Jazeera, where this notorious broadcast network had accorded full cooperation in publishing a so-called interview-based article mostly filled with lies and false information.
Later, David Bergman made frantic bids in getting his anti-Bangladesh and pro-militancy articles published in the British media. Being rejected by the British media, David Bergman began his notorious propaganda against Bangladesh through his BlogSpot account. Both Al Jazeera and Bergman are making false allegations of forced disappearance of DGFI centering three of Shahid Uddin Khan’s staffs, knowing full well that those people had gone into hiding as per directives of this ISIS funder and notorious criminal, who faces series of criminal cases and convictions in Bangladesh.
It may be mentioned here that, in Bangladesh, Md Shahid Uddin Khan and members of his family are known as notorious criminals and frauds.
Md Shahid Uddin Khan and members of his family had smuggled-out millions of dollars from Bangladesh during the period of 2009-2018. David Bergman is fully aware of this matter, while he also knows, Shahid Uddin Khan has been funding various militancy groups, including the Islamic States for many years. As the criminal activities of Shahid Uddin Khan have already been exposed by Bangladesh and international media, David Bergman sensed, British authorities may now deport Khan members of his family.
Bergman’s propaganda against The Sunday Times
On July 5, 2019, David Bergman wrote a blog post on BlogSpot as well as medium titled ‘The Sunday Times has a lot of explaining to do about its article on Bangladesh’. In this post, Bergman had made a notorious attempt of tarnishing the image of this prestigious newspaper as well as eminent journalist Tom Harper for their “crime” of exposing the criminal activities such as terror financing and money laundering committed by Md. Shahid Uddin Khan and his family.
In response to this notorious propaganda prestigious British newspaper The Sunday Times journalist, Tom Harper wrote, “…The Sunday Times simply reported that Mr. Khan had been charged, which is interesting given that he is a Tory donor. We made clear these are allegations. We await the outcome of the court case and, of course, remain neutral. I’m not sure I could say the same about you [David Bergman]”.
This response by the journalist of The Sunday Times would have shaken any sensible journalist, as it exposed a bias, Bergman. But for a person like David Bergman, such responses would have no impact as he is hired by the Pakistani spy agency ISI to cause damage to the Bangladesh government and its intelligence agencies.
While British authorities already are investigating the case of money laundering which had been committed by Md. Shahid Uddin Khan and his family members, it is essential for the British intelligence agencies now to also bring activities of dubious David Bergman under the radar.
By Muzaffar Ahmad Noori Bajwa
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
It was JRD as he was lovingly called initiated the significant contribution to the industry by identifying with the life and problems of the people of community.
The man who made Tata Group one of the most prestigious and successful industrial groups in India, Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, better known as J.R.D.Tata, was a fearless aviator and a visionary ahead of his times. Born in France to an Indian father and a French mother, Tata had an idyllic childhood. His family was wealthy and had the means to fulfill the curiosities of his young mind. He began his career as an unpaid apprentice in the Indian company Tata & Sons and within years rose to the position of the company’s Chairman. From a young age he had been fascinated by airplanes and took to flying. An avid aviator, he became the first person to obtain the first ever issued pilot license in India. He took his passion for flying to another level by establishing India’s first commercial airline, Tata Airlines which later became Air India. Under his astute leadership and direction the Tata Group expanded into newer horizons and became one of India’s most trusted brands. His never ending endeavors to make the world a better place earned him several prestigious awards.
JRD Tata joined Tata and Sons as an unpaid apprentice in 1925. In 1938, at the age of 34, JRD was elected Chairman of Tata & Sons making him the head of the largest industrial group in India. He took over as Chairman of Tata Sons from his second cousin Nowroji Saklatwala. For decades, he directed the huge Tata Group of companies, with major interests in Steel, Engineering, Power, Chemicals and Hospitality. He was famous for succeeding in business while maintaining high ethical standards – refusing to bribe politicians or use the black market.
Under his chairmanship, the assets of the Tata Group grew from US $ 100 million to over US$5 billion. He started with 14 enterprises under his astute leadership and half a century later on July 26, 1988, when he left, Tata & Sons was a conglomerate of 95 enterprises which they either started or in which they had controlling interest. In 1945, he founded Tata Motors. In 1948 JRD Tata launched Air India International as India’s first international airline. In 1953, the Indian Government appointed JRD Tata as Chairman of Air India and a director on the Board of Indian Airlines – a position he retained for 25 years. For his crowning achievements in aviation, he was bestowed with the title of Honorary Air Commodore of India. Tata was a visionary from the word go and maintained it well.
JRD Tata cared greatly for his workers. In 1956, he initiated a program of closer employee association with management’ to give workers a stronger voice in the affairs of the company. He firmly believed in employee welfare and espoused the principles of an eight-hour working day, free medical aid, workers’ provident scheme, and work men’s accident compensation schemes, which were later, adopted as statutory requirements in India.
On his 115th birth anniversary we pledge to continue the journey of the living legend as a pioneering and successful global country and sustain his legacy with the community at his heart. He is the real visionary of the nation.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Monday proved his majority in the Assembly winning the confidence motion by a voice vote. The Congress and JD(S) did not press for division on the one-line motion moved by Yeddyurappa that the House expresses confidence in his three-day old Ministry. As the Opposition did not press for division, the Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar declared that the motion had been passed by a voice vote. Soon after trust vote, the Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar resigned.
There are only 208 members in the House as speaker K R Ramesh Kumar disqualified 14 rebel MLAs. All 105 BJP MLAs chose Yeddyurappa in a voice vote. The government needed only 105 votes in the House with reduced strength. The trust vote took place after speaker K R Ramesh Kumar disqualified the rebel MLAs on Sunday under the anti-defection law till the end of the assembly term in 2023.
Yeddyurappa, 76, was sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka on Friday, taking charge of the state for the fourth time in his political career. His last stint was after the May 2018 Assembly polls, when BJP emerged as the single largest party. The government lasted barely three days after being sworn in as it failed to prove majority.
The Congress with 78 MLAs and JD(S) with 37 MLAs then joined hands to form the government with H D Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister. The 14-month-old Congress-JD(S) coalition government collapsed on July 23 after losing the vote of confidence in the assembly in a climax to three-week intense power struggle.
Flashing the victory sign after the voting, Yeddyurappa described the outcome as a victory for democracy as people were fed up with the Kumaraswamy government. He assured the people of Karnataka that “an era of development” would start with BJP in power.
The Karnataka political crisis came to the fore when Congress MLAs resigned citing differences with Kumaraswamy. The turmoil reached the climax after dramatic twists and turns that saw the MLAs of rival camps being corralled in resorts and hotels, allegations of bribery, rebel lawmakers knocking the doors of the the Supreme Court asking it to decide on the issues of whip, floor test and governor’s intervention.
Kohli should have been rested for West Indies tour
Too much international cricket can be hectic more so for key players like Virat Kohli who should have been rested from the tour of West Indies as we need to prolong his cricketing career by using his services in a phased manner. West Indies doesn’t really have a challenging side and our cricket Board should have sent an young Indian side to the Caribbean which still could have returned victorious. I am surprised that the young and energetic Hardik Pandya has been rested while Virat Kohli figures in all the three formats which one thought was a surprise.
Our cricket Board should have an eye on future and the tour of West Indies was a golden opportunity to test our bench strength but this team of selectors who hardly have any international experience doesn’t really have the teeth to take tough decisions.
We need men like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev in the selection panel to steer Indian cricket to glorious heights. International playing experience rather than selection of votes should be the criteria to elect national selectors.
S.N. Kabra
9385 cases of tax fraud detected in GST
It refers to government-reply in Parliament that a total of 9385 cases of tax fraud involving amount of rupees 45683 crore has been detected by the tax authorities under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime since its rollout from July 1, 2017 out of which, 1,593 tax fraud cases involving an amount of Rs 6520.40 crore have been detected in April-June.
It has become a common practice to sell GST-invoices to those availing false Input Tax Credit (ITC) when consumers do not insist on taking invoices or leave these invoices by getting some petty discount. These unused GST invoices are purchased by manufacturers to avail false ITC further leading to creation of unaccounted money thus evading even Income Tax also.
ITC should be available only for trading purpose, and not for manufacturing and service sector. Instead GST slabs can be reduced to compensate those who avail ITC honestly. For this GST in manufacturing and service sector may be kept at lower slab of 12-per cent, even though best is to have a common lower slab of 10-per cent abolishing slabs of 0, 3, 5 and 12-percent. Such a common 10-per cent slab will give added revenue to public-exchequers with even commoners ultimately being relieved even though gimmick slabs of 0, 3 and 5 per cent may be abolished.
Another higher slab of 30-percent may be for luxury and other goods of long-time use like even including air-conditioners, refrigerators, TV sets, washing-machines, cars etc where in some cases GST-slab was recently reduced from 28-per cent to 18-per cent. Even cess-culture on extra-luxurious items should be replaced by higher GST slabs in multiples of 50-per cent.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Good job done by rescue operation team
Mumbai has witnessed heavy rainfall in 12 years since 2005 deluge. The brave and heroic rescue effort of Mahalakshmi Express train passengers stuck in flood waters near Badlapur, Thane is a rare and commendable feat. Efforts by the District administration, NDRF, Railways, Police, Indian Air force, Army and other teams involved in rescue work is highly appreciated. Rescue work was successful owing to co-operation received by the locals and the affected passengers also. It is also highly appreciable that the successful rescue operation was monitored directly by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta.
As over thousand passengers had a miraculous escape from the train owing to threatening water levels, Central Railway should now be proactive to cancel the trains in flood affected regions in the best interest of passenger safety. Timely communication to rescue the passengers thus resulted in over 13 hour rescue operation. Such an effort by rescue agencies deserves worthy appreciation and the government should do the needful to reward the teams in this successful mission.
Further the railways should introduce the Public Announcement System (PA System) in all the trains to communicate to the passengers effectively during any emergency or crisis. Railway staff should be equipped to handle emergency response situations in order to expedite rescue efforts without affecting the lives of the passengers. Railways should further take necessary steps to avoid such kind of crisis arising due to excessive flooding of railway tracks by implementing an innovative warning system during rains or bad weather.
Varun Dambal
Stop accepting dowry
Weddings have become a very costly affair these days and a mere business deal among many families today. Some men even claim that they never wanted dowry but were forced to accept it by their parents. If these men had any convictions, they would not have allowed their parents to get away with it. It is surprising to see men, who are perceived to be strong-willed, turn into spineless meat when it comes to taking a stand against their dowry-seeking parents. Dowry is an illness that must be cured, if we want our country to be a world power.
JubelD’Cruz
Merge General Insurance companies
It refers to provision to amend General Insurance Business Nationalisation Act as announced in the Union Budget for the year 2019-20 for merging three out of four public-sector companies engaged in General Insurance, while there was a provision for the same in earlier Union Budget for the year 2018-19. It is noteworthy that National Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company and United Insurance Company showed heavy losses till the year 2016-17 with only New India assurance Company showing adequate profit in both the fiscal years at rupees 1008 crores and 2201 crores respectively.
If one single public-sector Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) provides life-insurance cover under so many plans effectively, then one General Insurance Corporation of India can also be formed by merging all public-sector Insurance-companies engaged in General Insurance rather than just three out of four. Such unified company will be able to compete more effectively with private-sector companies engaged in General Insurance in the manner that no private Insurance-company is presently able to compete with public-sector Life Insurance Corporation of India. Merger will save huge overheads including rent on nearing units and top officers.
Madhu Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Expressing concern over the misuse of the anti-dowry law by “disgruntled” wives against her husbands and in-laws, the Supreme Court ruled that police cannot arrest accused in such cases “automatically” and it must give reasons for taking such steps which would be judicially examined.
In the recent past, many innocent men and their families were victimised under Section 498A as after making an FIR, it was mandatory for the police to arrest the family and its members (abettors).
To prevent dowry deaths and cruelty to married women, anti-dowry laws were implemented. However, mostly these laws are used as revenge against men and their families. The payment of a dowry gift, often financial, has a long history in many parts of the world.
The anti-dowry laws are meant to give voice to the silent victims of social abuse — a Herculean task in a country where family pride, fear of retribution and illiteracy pose stumbling blocks. The National Commission for Women is campaigning for stricter punishment for offenders and demanding that the scope of the Act be increased. A reality check in largely illiterate rural India, where women fight poverty and domestic violence every day, throws up questions whether anti-dowry laws can be effectively implemented. But in Urban areas, the cases are quite different.
Time has come to introspect on the far-reaching impact anti-dowry laws have on the lives of men and women and the burden on the judiciary with every false claim of harassment? Often police fail to conduct proper investigations before hauling off an elderly family member to jail based on a complaint by a woman. At the same time, hundreds of complaints of abuse at the hands of in-laws go unnoticed in rural India. Laws are necessary to protect women against abuse. Laws that will deter repeat offenders. However, they should be implemented through an unbiased and transparent police system with a wider reach and humane approach.
The apex court said that the attitude to arrest first and then proceed with the rest is “despicable” which must be curbed and directed all state governments to ensure that police do not resort to arresting in all offences punishable up to seven-year jail term including dowry harassment cases. We direct all the state governments to instruct its police officers not to automatically arrest when a case under Section 498-A of the IPC (dowry harassment) is registered but to satisfy themselves about the necessity for arrest under the parameters laid down flowing from Section 41 CrPC,” a bench headed by Justice C K Prasad said.
It also said that the police officer shall furnish the reasons and materials which necessitated the arrest before the magistrate. The Section 498A of the IPC was introduced with avowed object to combat the menace of harassment to a woman at the hands of her husband and his relatives. The fact that Section 498A is a cognisable and non-bailable offence has lent it a dubious place of pride amongst the provisions which are used as weapons rather than a shield by disgruntled wives.
The simplest way to harass is to get the husband and his relatives arrested under this provision. In quite a number of cases, bed-ridden grand-fathers and grand-mothers of the husbands, their sisters living abroad for decades are arrested. The bench said that the arrest curtails freedom, brings humiliation and casts scars forever and no arrest should be made only because the offence is non-bailable and cognisable.
Now, no arrest can be made in a routine manner on a mere allegation of commission of an offence made against a person. It would be prudent and wise for a police officer that no arrest is made without a reasonable satisfaction reached after some investigation as to the genuineness of the allegation.
Referring to crime statistics, the apex court said 1,97,762 persons were arrested in 2012 for an offence under Section 498A and nearly a quarter of those arrested under this provision were women depicting that mothers and sisters of the husbands were liberally included in their arrest net. Its share is 6 per cent out of the total persons arrested under the crimes committed under Indian Penal Code. It accounts for 4.5 per cent of total crimes committed under different sections of the penal code, more than any other crimes except theft and hurt. It said the rate of charge-sheeting in cases is as high as 93.6 per cent, while the conviction rate is only 15 per cent, which is lowest across all heads and as many as 3,72,706 cases are pending at trial stage.
The apex court said that police in the country has not come out of its colonial mindset, it has not come out of its imposing image despite six decades of Independence and it is largely considered as a tool of harassment, oppression and surely not considered a friend of public. The need for caution in exercising the drastic power of arrest has been emphasised time and again by courts but has not yielded the desired result. The court asked the state governments to ensure that the police don’t go on an arresting spree in dowry harassment cases, which currently they are quick to do.
The Section 498 of the Indian Penal Code which deals with cruelty to a wife states that: Whoever being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine. For the purposes of this section, “cruelty” means:
(a) Any willful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or
(b) Harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand.
Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code allows the police to arrest the persons mentioned in the complaint without a warrant or without any investigation. The crime is non-bailable, so chances of getting bail are low and husbands usually lose their jobs. There is no provision of withdrawing a complaint in case of reconciliation.
In July 2005, the Supreme Court admitted that in many instances complaints under the Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code are not bonafide and have oblique motives. The court added that acquittal in such cases doesn’t erase the suffering the defendant has to go through, which is compounded by adverse media coverage. Then the court also directed the legislature to find ways to check such false cases.
In August 2010, the Supreme Court directed the government to amend Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code in view of the rising numbers of false or exaggerated complaints against husbands and their relatives by women. It further added that such complaints result in the husband and his relatives remaining in custody until trial or bail, which kills all chances of an amicable settlement.
In January 2012, the Law Commission of India recommended that Section 498A should be made a compoundable offense. However, the court will decide if the particular case is compoundable or not. A married man commits suicide every nine minutes in India due to the alleged misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code against them. Let’s see this new verdict may bring some relief to the Men’s married life.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
Shiv Sena leader Anandrao Adsul has committed a fraud by swindling Rs 900 crore of 91,000 account holders of the City Cooperative Bank Limited. His personal assistant Neil Bhalerao is also involved in defrauding 91,000 account holders whose 10 branches are located in Mumbai. The Lok Sabha had passed a bill that provides comprehensive mechanism to ban unregulated deposit scheme and protects the interest of depositors on February 2019.
Independent MP from Amravati Navneet Ravi Rana said, “As per inquiry made by RBI, it has been proved that City Cooperative Bank has cheated account holders. The 91,000 account holders can only withdraw Rs 1000 from their accounts itself is unjustified. Account holders have already deposited their money in the account and their money should have been secured by the bank.
The City Cooperative Bank has cheated the customers who are pension holders, small shopkeepers, and mill workers. Around five to six customers died after hearing the news of bankruptcy.”
Poor people have deposited money in the City Co-operative Bank for saving funds to meet the expenditure of marriage of their children and education. When a complaint was filed with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, he stated that stringent action should be taken against the accused. The secretary of President’s office has called for a thorough investigation into this matter.
The RBI and cooperative commissioner of Maharashtra held an inquiry and it was proved that the bank has become bankrupt. As per the RBI circular, the bank has also been barred from granting loans, making investments, creating fresh liabilities or dealing with its assets in any way. The bank has reportedly been irregular in submitting financial statements with the regulator. Sources say the bank like several other financial institutions in the co-operative sector was badly affected by demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Adsul was among the most prominent voices demanding that the RBI allow banned currency notes held by co-operative banks to be deposited urgently.
It was proved that Chairman had committed a fraud. CM Fadnavis also called for a probe into this incident. “The bank accepted deposits from poor people. Money was lent to builders for 20 to 30 per cent and mortgaging property worth Rs 50 lakh. Justice should be done to these 91,000 account holders. The amount of Rs 50 lakh was shown as Rs 10 crore and loan amount of Rs 20 crore was sanctioned,” she added. Navneet called for strict action to be taken against fraudsters. She also wanted that action must be taken against Anandrao Adsul and his PA Neil Bhalerao.
The bank became bankrupt for charging 20 to 30 per cent from builders. 91,000 account holders of the bank belong to poor family background. Due to the fraud poor people who are the account holders of the bank are facing severe hardships. They have to run from pillar to post for their hard earned money.
The revelation by Prez Trump during his meeting, this week with Pakistan PM Imran Khan that PM Modi asked him to mediate/arbitrate on Kashmir issue created a huge political controversy and storm in India.
Even if Modi gives a statement as demanded by the Opposition in the Parliament that he did not ask Trump to mediate/arbitrate on Kashmir issue, it does not matter because despite Foreign Minister Jaishankar saying so in the Parliament (about Trump-Modi one-to-one meeting where Jaishankar was not present), it will be legitimately construed that Modi asked Trump to mediate/arbitrate on chronic and gory Kashmir problem [unless Trump issues a public statement that he lied during said meeting with Imran Khan and Modi never asked him (during 2019 G-20 Osaka Summit at Japan) to mediate/arbitrate on Kashmir issue].
Moreover, so far the Indian Parliament led by PM Modi has not passed a resolution that – “What Prez Trump said about mediation/arbitration requested by PM Modi to him, is untrue or misunderstanding or miscommunication and India stands with the existing and old policies about Pakistan and unified J&K as has been so-far including about Shimla Agreement 1972”.
However, now nothing matters because Pakistan has already extracted (the art in which Pakistan is expert) the pound of flash from USA in lieu of helping the USA in coming out of Afghanistan (which is crucial for the electoral victory of Trump in the upcoming Presidential election). Now, Pakistan will see to it that USA solves Kashmir problem in which dismemberment of India would be certain because in any mediation or arbitration by USA (or with the instrumentality of USA), the PoJK [which has been with Pakistan (or with China through Pakistan) for the last 70 years] cannot be expected to be given to India on a silver platter.
Therefore, now there is only one way India can avoid the dismemberment of the motherland which is by plebiscite as mandated by ‘Instrument of Accession’ as explained in March 25 online writ petition in J&K High Court (it seems J&K High Court has not admitted this online writ petition hence some organization or some people from J&K should immediately file this writ petition in J&K High Court).
At the same, India should understand that in the process of retrieving PoJK for a plebiscite for solving chronic and gory Kashmir problem, India may ultimately have to go for unified Indo-Pak because the last word on India’s partition is yet to be written. However, it is possible only when first India tries to establish religious freedom in the Indian subcontinent (SAARC + Myanmar region) which can be done only when India persuades the USA to ensure that there is a ground forces to ensure religious freedom.
Here it is in context to add that the India of British-India origin (and not from 562 Princely-States) was responsible for trifurcation of India in 1947. Moreover, during a foreign visit, PM Modi said that being a Gujarati, business is in his blood but Indians should not forget that politics is not in the blood of Gujaratis that was the reason that the communal minded Gujarati trio Gandhi-Patel-Jinnah dismembered the motherland (as far Nehru it did not matter, whether unified or partitioned India, as long as he was made the PM).
Now, again Gujarati duo Modi-Shah of British-India origin/mindset is at the helm of affairs hence there is danger that India may be dismembered again especially given the fact that PM Modi requested Prez Trump to mediate/arbitrate on Kashmir issue due to the reason that Modi-Shah wants to usher India into theocratic State of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ (under the pressure from Hindutva forces of BJP, RSS, VHP, etc.) and which is possible only when Muslim majority areas (PoJK and Kashmir valley) are given to Pakistan (which can easily be got done if mediation/arbitration is done by the USA).
In a nutshell, after Trump’s said revelation, India faces another dismemberment if doesn’t solve Kashmir problem by plebiscite (also simultaneously by establishing religious freedom in the Indian subcontinent), as mentioned above.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
World Health Organisation (WHO) observes World Hepatitis Day on July 28, every year. Its current global campaign aim is to eliminate infectious disease by 2030. Hepatitis kills about 1.4 million people every year worldwide and affects hundreds of millions. Viral hepatitis is the most common cause of acute and chronic liver disease in the world with over half the world’s population exposed to the different hepatotropic viruses.
According to health experts, around 5,00,000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver diseases in India and an estimated 4.7 million HCV infections can be attributed to poor needle practices. There has been an eight percent rise in the number of HCV cases among pregnant women in the last decade. One lakh Indians lose the battle against a very curable disease every year. Unlike tuberculosis and HIV, the government has still not formed a national policy to eradicate the disease which infects 40 to 60 million Indians currently.
The disease may present itself in the form of acute or chronic infection if not diagnosed in its earlier stage. There are no distinct symptoms in the early stages. The infection can go undetected for years, and many people do not know they are infected until much later. This makes spreading awareness all the more important. Unsafe injection practices such as reuse, incorrect disposal and poor sterilisation of syringes are increasingly contributing to Hepatitis-C Virus infection in India. Hepatitis-C (HCV) is 10 times more infectious than HIV. It is asymptomatic, which means it does not exhibit any obvious symptoms of sickness in its initial stages.
Hepatitis is a liver disease or infection generally characterised by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissues of the liver. It generally has no symptoms but the virus can lead to jaundice. It may have a short-term impact or may become chronic, depending on its type, immunity of the patient, spread and timely diagnosis. There are five main Hepatitis viruses namely A, B, C, D and E. “Hepatitis virus B and C cause prolonged liver illness, liver failure, and malignancy. Hepatitis A and E cause acute viral illness and rapid liver failure in approximately 4-10 per cent cases resulting in the need for an emergency liver transplant or death. Hepatitis E is associated with high mortality in pregnant women and the elderly.
It is reported that 60 per cent of the newborns are covered under the vaccination in India, which is good because the future generation is protected against HBV. But the awareness and prevalence of hepatitis among people in rural India is still a question.
Decreasing the viral load in the body using antiviral drugs also decreases the transmission of the Hepatitis B and C virus. The rate of infection for Hepatitis A and E varies every year as these are transmitted through water and food and generally cause outbreaks in the community due to contaminated food/water intake.
There are many myths and misconceptions about Hepatitis B even among educated people in society. The first misconception is that it is a killer virus more dangerous than the AIDS virus. Though both the diseases can get transmitted through blood or body fluid and Hepatitis B is more readily transmitted than HIV, the similarity ends there.
A better public health response will be required involving governmental, academic, and community-based organizations. A combined effort and sensible stride towards the direction of prevention of viral hepatitis infection and disease control can help accomplish the goal.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Son-in-law of former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader S M Krishna and Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) founder V G Siddhartha has gone missing on his way to Mangaluru from Bengaluru, prompting the authorities to launch a massive search on Tuesday. Heavy rain has hampered the search operations in Netravati River near Mangaluru where VG Siddhartha was last seen. The river directly opens into the sea at a distance of 600 metres.
A controversial British 
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Karnataka Chief Minister
The revelation by 