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Kevin Joseph Honour Killing Case: all 10 convicts sentenced to double life-term

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Kevin Joseph Honour Killing Case: all 10 convicts sentenced to double life-term

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A court in Kerala on Tuesday (August 27) awarded double life imprisonment to all 10 convicts in the case of honour killing of a Dalit Christian youth, Kevin P Joseph (24), by his wife’s upper-caste Christian family in Kottayam last year. Principal sessions judge C Jayachandran pronounced the quantum of punishment. 

All the accused – Shanu, Niyas Mon (Chinnu), Ishan Ismail, Riyas Ibrahimkutty, Manu Muraleedhara, Shifin Sijad, N Nishad, Tittu Jerome, Fasil Sherif and Shanu Shajahan – will have to serve two life terms on two charges: IPC section 364 A (kidnap and threat to kill) and Section 302 (murder).

The principal session court also imposed a fine of Rs 40,000 each on all the 10 persons convicted.

The judge said that out of the total amount collected, Rs 1 lakh would be given to Kevin’s cousin, Aneesh Sebastian, the prime witness in the case. Aneesh’s house was vandalized by the convicts while they kidnapped the duo. The rest of the money will be equally divided between Neenu and Kevin’s father, Joseph. 

The court said if they fail to pay the fine, the amount should be realized by selling off the three vehicles used by the convicts to abduct Kevin and Aneesh. 

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The victim’s father, Joseph expressed his views regarding the verdict to media personnel.  

“The court has awarded double life imprisonment. I can’t say I’m happy but it’s a deserving punishment for the accused. I think the court has desisted from the death sentence taking into account the accused’s ages. Chacko (Neenu’s father) is still outside. He should have been imprisoned as well. I will appeal to the higher courts against Chacko. He is the main man in the case. I want to thank the police officers who worked relentlessly to investigate the case especially SP Harishankar. More than me, they worked day and night to go after the accused. I haven’t spoken to Neenu. She is studying. Let her study. She has also suffered a lot especially testifying against her father and brother,” he said. 

On August 22, Judge C Jayachandran convicted 10 persons out of the 14 accused under charges of murder (Section 302), kidnapping (Section 364 A), criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B), house-trespass (Section 449), voluntarily causing hurt (Section 321), wrongful confinement (Section 342) and criminal intimidation (Section 506-2).

The court however, acquitted Neenu’s father Chacko and three others in the case for want of evidence. 

Kottayam SP Harishankar told reporters that the verdict was ‘satisfying’ and that it was challenging task for the police to prove the murder with just circumstantial evidence. “When there are multiple accused, proving the charge of conspiracy is also a difficult task,” he said.

On May 24, 2018, Kevin married Neenu Chacko (20) at a civil ceremony in Kottayam against the wishes of Neenu’s family on account of his caste. Two days later, Kevin and his cousin, Aneesh were abducted from his house by a gang. While Aneesh was released by the gang, Kevin’s body was fished out of a canal near Thenmala in Kollam district. The autopsy reports confirmed that Kevin was forcibly made to drown in the canal. 

The victim’s family reported that the local police refused to file a complaint late Sunday night despite repeated pleas by Neenu and Kevin’s family.

Also Read: Local authorities ban sale of bananas at Charbagh Railway station

During the trial, Kevin’s wife Neenu Chacko, 21, had told the court that her father Chacko, an upper-caste Christian hailing from Kollam, had threatened her and Kevin over their relationship. Since the murder, Neenu, a student, has been staying with Kevin’s family.

Kevin’s ‘honour killing’, a first of its kind in Kerala, had triggered widespread protests across the state last year with a large section of Dalit organisations as well as the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) up in arms against the inaction of the police and the involvement of a few Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) leaders in the case. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Maharashtra elections: Amit Shah says Uddhav Thackeray siding with those who insulted Balasaheb, Savarkar

Shah claimed that the BJP’s resolutions are “etched in stone,” affirming that whether at the Centre or in the state, the BJP is resolute in fulfilling its commitments when elected.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted on Sunday that Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray was aligning himself with the Congress, whose leaders have shown disrespect towards Balasaheb Thackeray, the founder of Shiv Sena, and the Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar.

After launching the BJP’s manifesto for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections scheduled for November 20, Shah emphasised that his party would not permit religion-based reservations in the country.

He criticised the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)—which includes Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar—for lacking credibility, stating, “The Maha Vikas Aghadi’s trust has gone below ‘pataal’ (the depths); it has no credibility.”

According to him, the ruling Mahayuti coalition, comprising the BJP, the Shiv Sena under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, is better positioned against the MVA, whose promises he claimed insult ideology and promote appeasement.

Shah noted that the Congress has failed to honor its pre-election commitments in states where it currently governs. He challenged Thackeray to ask Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to express admiration for Veer Savarkar and to find any Congress member willing to honor Balasaheb Thackeray.

“It would be beneficial for the people of Maharashtra to understand who is proposing an alliance government amidst such contradictions,” he remarked.

The BJP’s manifesto, referred to as ‘Sankalp Patra,’ is designed to reflect the aspirations of the people of Maharashtra. Shah highlighted a demand from an organisation of Ulemas for minority reservations, which was acknowledged by state Congress president Nana Patole.

He stated, “I want to tell Uddhav Thackeray that you are sitting with individuals who oppose the Ram Mandir, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the Uniform Civil Code, the Waqf board amendments, and who insult Savarkar.”

He cautioned that failure to enact Waqf board amendments could lead to the declaration of personal properties as Waqf by the board.

Shah raised a crucial question regarding whether the citizens of Maharashtra support allocating reservations meant for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes to Muslims, asserting that the Constitution does not sanction reservations based on religion. He noted that Congress promised such reservations before assuming power, urging the public to recognise this discrepancy.

He also remarked that for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the J&K Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, took an oath on the Constitution designed by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.

Shah claimed that the BJP’s resolutions are “etched in stone,” affirming that whether at the Centre or in the state, the BJP is resolute in fulfilling its commitments when elected.

Continuing his attack, Shah labeled the MVA’s election proposals as ideologically shallow, stating, “I want to tell Sharad Pawar that his attempts to fabricate a false mandate will not succeed now.”

He challenged Pawar to detail his contributions to Maharashtra during his tenure as a minister in the UPA government, reiterating that Maharashtra has been a leader in various fields.

Shah expressed confidence that the people of Maharashtra are inclined to grant their mandate to the Mahayuti once again. State Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, present at the event, described the BJP’s manifesto as a blueprint for a developed Maharashtra contributing to a developed India.

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Congress says India’s demand crisis result of sustained income stagnation

This is the fundamental reason behind India’s consumption slowdown,” Ramesh argued.

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The Congress on Sunday asserted that India was facing a demand crisis due to sustained income stagnation. It said the double engine of private investment and mass consumption, which drove a decade of continuous GDP growth under the UPA government, has been derailed during the past ten years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, urged the government to adopt the Congress’s proposals, which include increasing MGNREGA wages to a minimum of Rs. 400 per day, ensuring a minimum support price (MSP) for farmers, implementing a loan waiver for farmers, and establishing a monthly income support scheme for women—steps he believes are essential to revive income growth in rural India.

Ramesh emphasised that the deterioration of India’s consumption patterns is becoming increasingly evident each day. He pointed out that last week, several CEOs from India’s corporate sector expressed concerns about a ‘shrinking’ middle class, and recent data from the NABARD’s All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) 2021-22 corroborates the claim that the demand crisis in India stems from income stagnation.

According to the survey, Ramesh highlighted that the average monthly household income ranges from Rs 12,698 to Rs 13,661 for agricultural households and approximately Rs 11,438 for non-agricultural households. “Assuming an average household size of 4.4, the per capita income in rural areas is estimated at Rs. 2,886 per month—less than Rs 100 a day. Consequently, a significant majority of Indians have very limited funds for discretionary spending beyond basic necessities,” he stated.

“This situation is hardly an isolated case; virtually all evidence leads to the same alarming conclusion: the average Indian can afford to buy less today than they could a decade ago. This is the fundamental reason behind India’s consumption slowdown,” Ramesh argued.

He cited data from the Labour Bureau’s Wage Rate Index, showing that real wages for labourers have stagnated between 2014 and 2023 and have even declined from 2019 to 2024. Furthermore, he referenced the Ministry of Agriculture’s statistics, stating that during Dr Manmohan Singh’s tenure, real wages for agricultural labourers grew by 6.8 per cent annually, whereas, under Modi, these wages have decreased by an annual rate of -1.3 per cent.

Ramesh also referred to the Periodic Labour Force Survey data, indicating that real earnings across all employment types—salaried, casual, and self-employed—have stagnated between 2017 and 2022. He included findings from the Centre for Labour Research and Action, asserting that the real wages of brick kiln workers have either stagnated or declined from 2014 to 2022.

“This decline in consumption is undermining our medium- and long-term economic potential, regardless of what quarterly GDP figures may indicate,” he maintained. He contended that without significant growth in consumption to create a viable market for their products, the private sector would be hesitant to invest in expanding production.

Ramesh pointed out that the government’s own Economic Survey (2024) acknowledged that private sector gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) in machinery, equipment, and intellectual property products has only increased by 35 per cent cumulatively over the four years leading to FY23. He noted a further decline in new project announcements by the private sector, which fell by 21 per cent between FY23 and FY24.

Recently, the Confederation of Indian Industry, the leading industry association, suggested that the government increase MGNREGA wages by 40 per cent, raise payments under the PM-KISAN scheme by one-third, and issue “consumption vouchers” for low-income citizens to use on specific goods and services over a six- to eight-month period.

Ramesh stated that these recommendations align with the proposals of the Indian National Congress outlined in its Nyay Patra for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. These include raising MGNREGA wages to a minimum of Rs. 400 per day, ensuring MSP for farmers, providing a loan waiver for farmers, and establishing a monthly income support scheme for women. Ramesh called on the government to embrace these proposals to spur income growth in rural India after years of stagnation.

He reiterated that the dual forces of private investment and mass consumption that fueled the Congress-led UPA’s era of sustained GDP growth have been sidelined in the past ten years under the “non-biological PM.”

He emphasised it is time to restore this balance. Last week, the Congress also accused the government of deliberately undermining Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through “careless policymaking, a disastrous demonetization, a flawed GST rollout, and an unplanned lockdown due to Covid-19,” attributing part of the departure from labour-intensive growth to these actions.

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In Maharashtra, PM Modi says red book of Constitution flaunted by Congress contains nothing

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Terming the act as a testament to Congress’ disregard and hate for Ambedkar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the red book of the Constitution which was flaunted and distributed by the grand old party contained nothing.

PM Modi was referring to the recent event led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, where allegedly the books with ‘Constitution of India’ written on the front containing blank pages except for the preamble on the first page were distributed.

However, the Congress refuted the allegation made by the BJP and accused it of spreading a fake narrative. The Congress clarified that a notebook and a pen was given to all those who had attended the event.

Addressing an election rally in Nanded, PM Modi said the entire country was in shock over “this foolish and unfortunate political play of Congress”.

Hitting out at the Congress, PM Modi said Congress has broken its own record in fraud. He said the grand old party is distributing its own red book in the name of the Constitution.

“It is written on the top of the Congress’s red book – Constitution of India! But, when people opened it from inside they found that the Lal Kitab was blank! Printing Lal Kitab in the name of the Constitution… removing the words of the Constitution from it… this is Congress’s old thinking to destroy the Constitution. These Congress people…want to run their own constitution in the country, not Baba Saheb’s,” he charged.

He said Congress is hell-bent on ‘divide and rule’. PM Modi accused the Congress of pitting one caste against another, one community against another, adding it wants to break the OBCs into factions so that they become weak. This is how the Congress wants to weaken the society, snatch away the reservation rights, and make ground for fulfilling its own selfish motives, PM Modi added.

“You will have to stay vigilant of Congress’ divisive tactics. You will have to stay aware of Congress’ hidden agenda of breaking and destroying the country. Remember, ‘Hum Ek Rahenge To Safe Rahenge’!” said Modi.

The Prime Minister said after independence, the first betrayal of Baba Saheb’s Constitution by the Congress party was in Kashmir. The whole country accepted Baba Saheb’s constitution but the Congress party implemented a different constitution in Kashmir through Article 370, he alleged. He added that a different flag was used in place of the Indian tricolour in Kashmir.

He alleged that for several years the people of Maharashtra had been a victim to the exploitation of the Congress party. Moreover, Congress had been a foundation for causing deterioration in Marathwada farmers’ lives, he added.

Modi said his party is committed to ensuring the welfare of everyone so as to give Maharashtra new wings of development whereas Congress never cared about the concerns of the farmers, women and children.

“Only when Maharashtra prospers can India truly develop! For that to happen, we must ensure that every family in Maharashtra flourishes. The central government and Mahayuti Alliance are working tirelessly to turn your dreams into reality. By electing Mahayuti candidates with a landslide victory, you’ll secure a brighter future for yourself and your loved ones,” PM Modi said.

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