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Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw trolled over missing Kavach after Odisha train accident

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnav said a high-level probe panel has been set up to look into what happened exactly before the two passenger trains on different lines derailed and collided. There is another question arising on the Coromandel Express’ wrong track.

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Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav

The Odisha train accident has claimed over 280 lives leaving hundreds injured. The Railways have become targets for trolls given the number of deaths in Odisha.

The trolls have been very specific in getting after Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw since he had posted a video on the Kavach anti-collision system n which he explained in detail how the system would work to prevent collisions. Social media users asked the minister why was Kavach not installed on the stretch which saw the horrific accident. Some even demanded Vaishnaw resign. Railway spokesperson Amitabh Sharma confirmed there was no Kavach deployed on the incident route. The Kavach just might have saved so many lives.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said a high-level probe panel has been set up to look into what happened exactly before the two passenger trains on different lines derailed and collided. There are other theories for the accident with some saying the Coromandel Express was on the wrong track.

The Indian Railways had announced to implement Kavach protection system over 2000 km during 2022-23. Around 34,000 km network was planned to be brought under Kavach. With Vaishnaw’s video explaining Kavach getting viral, Trinamool Congress s leader Saket Gokhale said only 2% of the total Railway routes have been brought under Kavach.

Gokhale claimed it was mere repackaging of the anti-collision device proposed by Mamata Banerjee when she was railway minister. In 2011-12, Indian Railways under Banerjee had developed the Train Collision Avoidance System system. The Narendra Modi government typically renamed the system to Kavach only to take credit, Gokhale said.

There was no progress on deploying this crucial rail safety technology until 2019 when three companies were approved for manufacturing and installing Kavach on railway tracks, the Trinamool leader said.

On Twitter, a journalist said similar accidents have happened in the past but the then Railway Ministers like Nitish Kumar and Lal Bahadur Shastri have taken moral responsibility and resigned from the position.

The accident has drawn condolences and outrage from India and abroad. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted that he was deeply saddened by the loss of hundreds of lives in the accident. Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau said he was broken at seeing the images from the train accident and extended his condolences to the people who lost their close ones, he said Canadians are with the people of India in this difficult time. The European Commission and Turkey have also expressed their condolences at the loss of lives in the tragedy.   

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Azam Khan sentenced to 7 years jail in case of trespass, vandalism of a house in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur

3 other retired deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Aaley Hasan, contractor Barkat Ali and Azhar Ali were found gulty along with Azam Khan by the MP-MLA court in Rampur on Friday. The court handed them 5 year sentences. Another three accused Omendra Chauhan, Farman and Zibran have been aquitted by the court.

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Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former minister Azam Khan was on Monday sentenced to 7 years imprisonment in connection with a case of trespass and vandalism of a house in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur in 2016. This is the 5th case in which Khan, who is already serving a jail sentence has been convicted over the past 1 year.

3 other retired deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Aaley Hasan, contractor Barkat Ali and Azhar Ali were found gulty along with Azam Khan by the MP-MLA court in Rampur on Friday. The court handed them 5 year sentences. Another three accused Omendra Chauhan, Farman and Zibran have been aquitted by the court.

According to the prosecution, the incident took place in 2016, but the case was filed 3 years later. In his complaint filed in 2019, Ahtesham Khan told police that he had bought a parcel of land in Rampur district’s Dongarpur in 2011-12 in order to set up a school.

In a portion of the land, he had built a house where he started living with his family. On the evening of February 3, 2016, Azhar Khan, Aaley Hasan and Barkat Ali along with 20-25 policemen, forcibly entered his house, dragged his family out, vandalized household items, and ran a bulldozer over the property.

Ahtesham alleged the accused also took away Rs 25000 in cash and a cellphone from the house. He added the accused told him that this was being done to his family for not voting for Azam Khan. He then went to Azam Khan to complain about the incident, at which time the politician along with other abused and threatened him with imprisonment.

Azam Khan and 3 other have been found guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 452 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 427(mischief causing damage to the amount of Rs 50), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).

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Election Commission removes West Bengal DGP, home secretaries of Gujarat, Bihar, UP and 3 other states

Days after announcing the Lok Sabha 2024 schedule, the Election Commission ordered to remove home secretaries in six states, namely Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

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Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the Election Commission issued orders for the removal of six Home Secretaries and the top bureaucrats from Gujarat, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.

The top police official in a state where there have been multiple incidents of violence during elections in recent years, West Bengal’s Director-General of Police, was also transferred by the poll panel. The poll panel also mandated that by 5 p.m., a shortlist of three possible candidates for the position be prepared and submitted.

The transfer of the home secretaries of Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, as well as top officials affiliated with the offices of the chief ministers of Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh, is part of the reorganisation, which is a customary action by the Election Commission  ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

In addition, Iqbal Singh Chahal, the Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, as well as other officials from Maharashtra’s municipalities, have been dismissed.

The 2024 Lok Sabha election is less than a month away; the ECI announced on Saturday that voting will take place in seven phases starting on April 19 and ending on June 1.

Actually, since the ECI issued polling dates, this is the first bureaucratic reshuffle.

Following a meeting with his two associates, the recently appointed Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar took action. In the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, as well as the by-polls for 26 seats across 13 states, the poll panel is committed to providing fair and equal opportunities for all political parties. This action is part of that commitment.

According to sources, the dismissed officials were found to be holding multiple positions in the chief ministers’ offices of each state. This could compromise needed impartiality, especially with regard to law-and-order before, during, and after voting.

The Congress asserted that the state had unleashed thugs on the populace, while the Trinamool charged the opposition with inciting violence and chastised central authorities for their inability to safeguard voters.

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Delhi Court grants permission to Sanjay Singh to take oath as Rajya Sabha member

The court of special judge MK Nagpal directed Tihar jail authorities to ensure that the accused is taken to Parliament under adequate security and that he is not permitted to use his phone or talk to other accused persons. Judge Nagpal said he shall also not be permited to address the press or hold any public meeting. But he may be permited to meet his counsel and his family members during the visit.

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A Delhi court granted permission to Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh who is an accused in Delhi excise policy case, to appear before the Parliament on Tuesday to take oath as Rajya Sabha member. Singh was recently elected to Rajya Sabha for a 2nd term but denied summons to take oath.

The court of special judge MK Nagpal directed Tihar jail authorities to ensure that the accused is taken to Parliament under adequate security and that he is not permitted to use his phone or talk to other accused persons. Judge Nagpal said he shall also not be permited to address the press or hold any public meeting. But he may be permited to meet his counsel and his family members during the visit.

He passed the order while granting Singh exemption from personal appearance before the court on March 19, when the case is listed for further hearing.

Singh was arrested on October 4, 2023 after 10 hours of searches at his North Avenue house. He was the third AAP leader to be arrested in the case, following former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and the party’s communications in charge Vijay Nair.

According to the ED an accused businessman, Dinesh Arora, who later turned approver in the excise case, had given Singh Rs 2 crore in cash. It also alleged that Singh had ensured changes were made in the liquor policy through Sisodia to favour certain businessmen.

Singh had been called a key conspirator in its remand application. The ED further added Sanjay Singh has exploited and gained illegal money which is proceeds of crime generated from the liquor policy (2021-22) scam. ED said Singh has been a part of the conspiracy of collecting kickbacks from liquor shops and he has close relations with Dinesh Arora since 2017 as revealed by Dinesh Arora as well from his call records.

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