India News
Court orders CBI probe against Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in Muzaffarpur shelter home case
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A special POCSO court in Muzaffarpur on Friday, Feb 15 ordered CBI probe against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in connection with the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case.
The CBI is already probing the Muzaffarpur shelter home case involving sexual abuse of young girl inmates. The accused have been charged with several crimes under Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Others against whom the court ordered the probe are Muzzaffarpur district magistrate Dharmendra Singh and principal secretary of Social Welfare Atul Prasad, said media reports.
The order came after Ashwani, an accused in the case, filed a petition demanding the investigation against the three. Ashwani would pose as a doctor and visit the shelter home to allegedly administer sedative-laced injections to the inmates before they were subjected to sexual abuse.
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Ashwani had alleged in his petition that the CBI in its investigation was suppressing facts which would come to light if the roles of “former DM, Muzaffarpur, Dharmendra Singh, senior IAS officer Atul Kumar Singh, former divisional commissioner of Muzaffarpur and currently principal secretary, the Social Welfare Department, and chief minister Nitish Kumar” were probed.
POCSO judge Manoj Kumar directed the CBI to conduct an inquiry against the three.
The state government allegedly continued funding shelter homes even after Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) submitted the report that brought the horrific details to light.
Earlier, rebuking the Nitish Kumar government for not submitting details of shelter homes in Bihar, the Supreme Court had on February 7 transferred the trial into the sexual abuse of inmates at the Muzaffarpur home to the Saket court in New Delhi.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, said the cases should be transferred from the Bihar CBI court to a POCSO Saket trial court within two weeks. It ordered the Saket trial court to conclude the trial within six months.
The apex court also rapped the CBI for transferring the lead investigating officer probing the case in violation of its order: the SC had put an embargo on moving out the officers handling the case. The then interim CBI director M Nageswara Rao and CBI’s prosecutor were hauled up for committing contempt of court.
The Muzaffarpur shelter home saga had come to light last year when a report of the social audit conducted by Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences flagged sexual abuse of inmates at the Muzaffarpur shelter home.
An FIR was lodged in May last year and a number of persons, including Brajesh Thakur, the owner of the NGO running the shelter home, were arrested by police in connection with the scandal.
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The matter was handed over to the CBI in July. Shortly afterwards, state social welfare minister Manju Verma stepped down after media reported that her husband had close links with Brajesh Thakur, the owner of the shelter home.
Thakur has been shifted to a jail in Patiala following the order of the Supreme Court even as other accused, including his close aides and some government officials, are lodged in jails at Patna and Muzaffarpur.
The Supreme Court had also directed the CBI to take over the probe into allegations of sexual abuse at all such shelter homes across the state.
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India News
Religious outfit vandalises The Blessed Mother Teresa High School in Telangana after teachers object to students wearing Hanuman Deeksha dress
The Religious group broke glass windows and flower pots and pelted stones on the statue of St. Mother Teresa at the school’s entrance. The religious outfit also attacked Father Jaimon Joseph, the school manager.
A religious group shouting Jai Shri Ram has vandalised a Catholic school and assaulted a priest in Telangana’s Mancherial district on Tuesday. The saffron mob staged protest and vandalised The Blessed Mother Teresa High School in Kannepally village. They broke glass windows and flower pots and pelted stones on the statue of St. Mother Teresa at the school’s entrance. The religious outfit also attacked Father Jaimon Joseph, the school manager.
The priest who is a member of the Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (MCBS) said some of members of the mob even slapped and threw punches at him while others attacked him from behind. The religious outfit accused the school management of not allowing Hindu students to wear their religious costumes. The school authorities said the allegation made by the mob is misleading and has no truth in it.
Earlier, the students who wore religious costumes had informed the school principal that it was part of a 21-day special religious practice. The principal said he had only asked the students to bring their parents to school after noticing that they are not wearing the school uniform.
Later, members of the religious outfit started protesting outside the school. They demanded action should be taken against the management for stopping the students from entering the school and appearing for their annual examinations as they were wearing the Hanuman deeksha dress.
The priest said soon after the video started circulating on social media and became viral with hate messages against Christians. After this incident many Hindus reached the school and vandalized it. A complaint has been lodged at the local police station by the school management, but no arrests have been made so far. Instead of taking action against the miscreants, the police have filed a case against the school management for hurting religious sentiments of the local people.
India News
Clashes erupt during Ram Navami procession in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari wrote a letter to the West Bengal Governor and sought a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into clashes and violence during a Ram Navami procession in Murshidabad’s Rejinagar area.
Clashes and violence erupted during the Ram Navami procession in the Shaktipur area of Rejinagar, Murshidabad district, West Bengal on Wednesday. According to reports, the stone-pelting started taking place when the Ram Navami parade was underway as people threw stones from their rooftops. The situation reached a point where the police had to resort to a lathi charge. Some individuals sustained injuries during the clashes and violence. The BJP alleged that Hindu devotees were targeted in Rejinagar.
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari wrote a letter to the West Bengal Governor and sought a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into clashes and violence during a Ram Navami procession in Murshidabad’s Rejinagar area. Around 20 people were injured after stones were thrown at the Ram Navami parade from rooftops. The police has imposed Section 144 in the area.
Another incident took place during the Ram Navami parade, as an explosion went off in Shaktipur, Murshidabad, which resulted in injuring a woman. The woman was taken to the Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital, and the police have started investigating the matter. But, it is still not clear whether the explosion was caused by a bomb or some other reason.
The BJP also alleged that another Ram Navami parade was attacked and pelted with stones in Medinipur’s Egra. BJP leader Amit Malviya said party workers would gherao the Egra police station to protest the brutal attack. Amit Malviya tweeted that Hindu devotees were singled out during the Ram Navami celebrations in Rejinagar, Murshidabad. He further added Mamata Banerjee is a blot on West Bengal.
Many videos are circulating on social media, which show people throwing stones at the procession from their rooftops. The police had to conduct a lathi charge and also fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. The police have said that the situation has been brought under control, and additional security forces have been stationed in the area.
2024 Lok Sabha Elections
Election Commission advises Bengal Governor to not visit Cooch Behar on voting day
The Election Commission advised the Bengal Governor to call off his proposed visit to Cooch Behar on April 19.
West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose has been warned by the Election Commission of India (ECI) not to visit Cooch Behar on April 18 and 19, since the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls will begin with a silence period on Wednesday evening.
According to those familiar with the situation in the EC, the poll body informed the governor’s office that no local program could be planned for the governor on April 19 due to the Model Code of Conduct and the election day.
The poll body added that if they had to provide local security cover for this unexpected proposed visit without a imminently known requirement, the tour would be a diversion because the district administration and police force will be completely occupied with election management on April 18 and 19.
As a result, under Section 126 of the Representation of People Act, campaigning is prohibited in Cooch Behar starting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
In order to ensure a free and fair election process, the poll board has asked all district election officers and district police chiefs to make sure that all prominent individuals, campaigners, and political workers who are not local voters leave the polling area once the silence period begins.
The seven phases of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will take place between April to June. Polls will be conducted in seven phases: the first on April 19 and the seventh on June 1. On June 4, the results will be announced.
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