Page 822 - Social Issues

Delhi Police conducts raids at Rohini ashram

The police today carried out a raid at an ashram in Rohini following the Delhi High Court's order to inspect the insitute where girls and women were allegedly kept in illegal confinement. The court had yesterday dubbed the situation in the institute -- Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidyalaya -- located in north Delhi's Rohini as being "similar" to that witnessed in Gurmeet Ram Rahim's ashram in Haryana's Sirsa, but without making any direct reference. An NGO has alleged that girls and women were kept at the "university" for 14 years and more. While producing one girl in the court, who, the NGO claimed, had managed to get out of the premises, it alleged that she was raped during her stay there, which she has not even disclosed to her parents. The NGO also alleged that girls confined at the ashram have committed suicide in the past, but the police never registered a case. The raid, which went until late night, saw the presence of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) Rajneesh Gupta, .

To keep youth away from drugs, channelise energies towards

The best way to keep the youth away from the menace of drug addiction is to channelise their energies towards sports, Inspector General of Police S D Singh Jamwal said here today. The IGP, Jammu zone, inaugurated a new modern gymnasium at District Police Lines (DPL) Udhampur. The gymnasium has been named after Sub Inspector (SI) Imran Tak, who was martyred while fighting militants in Kashmir lastmonth. "The best way to keep the youth away from the menace of drug addiction is to channelise their energies towards sports activities," Jamwal said. The gym has been opened in order to channelise the energy of the youth, including police jawans, towards constructive and productive purposes rather than they getting inclined towards anti-social activities such as the menace of drug addiction. "Drugs and substance abuse affects the capabilities and energies of the youth and it is the responsibility of all stakeholders to worktogether and eradicate the growing menace," he ...

Jaipur court sends Shambhu Lal Regar to 2-day police custody

A court in Rajasthan today sent Shambhulal Regar, accused of hacking a Muslim migrant labourer to death, burning his body and filming the barbaric act in Rajsamand on December 6, to police custody for two days. Regar was produced in the court today. The court sent him to police custody till December 22, IG (Udaipur Range), Anand Shrivastav, said. Regar, 36, had hacked Mohammed Afrazul to death and burnt the body on December 6. Afrazul had migrated to Rajsamand from West Bengal for work. Regar had roped in his 14-year-old nephew to film the killing. Regar posted videos of the killing with inflammatory and communal comments to defend the act. Meanwhile, three persons were arrested and additional police forces were rushed to Rajsamand last evening as tension simmered after the district administration razed an illegal temple structure at Tarsingda village the night before. Angry residents torced a car and a shop, police said. Shrivastava said the situation was under control and

Maha assembly passes bill to amend Slum Areas Act

The Maharashtra Assembly today passed a bill amending the Slum Areas Act which will cover even non-eligible slum-dwellers under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) projects. "As per the amendment bill, non-eligible slum dwellers can be incorporated into the SRA projects under the Prime Minister Awas Yojna (PMAY)," Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said. The bill passed today seeks to amend the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act 1971, which will pave the way for redevelopment of more slum pockets. The scheme will benefit some 13.40 lakh slums and 19 lakh slum-dwellers in Mumbai. "The government has used the Census 2011 data...so with the cut-off date, we can accommodate non-eligible slum-dwellers in the SRA scheme as per the density of population if possible (sic). They will be part of the scheme under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY)," Fadnavis said. Under the PMAY scheme, one should not have any house in his name ..

No Rohingya deportation in three years: MHA

No Rohingya has been deported in the last three years while 330 Pakistan and 1,770 Bangladesh nationals were sent back to their native countries in the same period, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Girls confinement in ashram: Delhi HC says don't trust police, orders CBI probe

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said it has "no confidence in police" and ordered a CBI investigation into an ashram here where minor girls and women were allegedly being kept in illegal confinement in the name of religious preaching.

US House, Senate pass Trump's tax reform bill

In a major political victory for US President Donald Trump, the House of Representatives and the Senate have passed his landmark tax reform bill which promises significant cuts to American households and slash to business tax. The USD 1.5 trillion tax bill needs to be passed by House of Representatives before it can be sent to the White House for the President Donald Trump to sign it into law. In both the Senate and the House, the bill was passed on a partisan basis, with Democratic lawmakers voting against it. The Senate voted after mid-night to pass the bill by 51 to 48 votes. In the House it was passed by 227 to 203 votes. "After years of work, we are going to enact the most sweeping, pro-growth overhaul of our tax code in a generation. Americans are going to see relief almost immediately in the form of bigger paychecks and lower taxes," said Congressman Paul Ryan, Speaker of the US House of Representatives. Vice President Mike Pence described the vote as a "historic ..

TRAI begins discussions on making ICT accessible for disabled

Telecom regulator TRAI today began a dialogue on making ICT accessible for the disabled, saying more policy interventions are needed in this area where benefits of technology have not been fully realised. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), releasing its latest consultation paper on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), has also sought industry views on whether handset makers should be mandated to manufacture at least one model for the disabled with assistive technology features such as hearing, visual aids and emergency buttons. The consultation paper has also sought the industry's comments on disabilities that need to be included in the enabling framework, and reasons for benefits not reaching the persons with disabilities (PwDs), and corrective measures that need to be undertaken. It has also asked if information on billing and pricing needs to be provided in a form that is accessible by PwDs. TRAI expressed concern that persons with ...

UP Legislature nod to over Rs 11,000 cr supplementary budget

The Uttar Pradesh Legislature today approved the supplementary budget totalling Rs 11,388.17 crore with the Legislative Council returning the bill by voice vote after a brief debate. The budget has a focus on the development of infrastructure such as road, power, health, panchayati raj and schemes for the welfare of the poor and downtrodden sections. This is the first supplementary budget of the Adityanath government, which had brought its annual budget of Rs 3,84,000 crore in July after storming to power in March.

India, Myanmar sign MoU for Rakhine State's development

India and Myanmar on Wednesday signed a MoU to develop Rakhine State, from where thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh following a military crackdown.

HC notice to Centre over curb on condom ads on TV

The Rajasthan High Court issued a notice to the central government today seeking to know the reasons behind its decision to bar airing of condom advertisements on TV channels between 6 am and 10 pm. A bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice D C Somani issued notice to the central government, hearing a petition filed by an NGO. "The information and broadcasting ministry has received the notice and will reply to it," a ministry official said. In an advisory to all television channels on December 11, the information and broadcasting ministry asked them to restrict airing of condom advertisements to slots between 10 pm and 6 am, as these "could be indecent/inappropriate for viewing by children". The NGO claimed that theaction of theministry was against the interest of public. The NGO also claimed the move showed the "hypocritical approach" of the government, wherein it is on the one hand promoting family planning and awareness about AIDS and STD, but on the ...

No Rohingya immigrant deported in last three years: Govt

India has not deported any Rohingya immigrant in the past three years, the Rajya Sabha was informed today. "As per available information, approximately 330 Pakistani and approximately 1,770 Bangladeshi nationals have been deported during the last three years. No Rohingya immigrant has been deported during the last three years," Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said in a written reply. The Rohingyas, who fled to India after violence in the western Rakhine State of Myanmar, have settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan. Illegal migrants enter into the country without valid travel documents in clandestine and surreptitious manner. Therefore, it is not possible to have a correct estimate of such illegal migrants, including Bangladeshi nationals, residing in the country, he said. Some instances of violation of the law and involvement in illegal activities by foreign nationals have been reported, the minister ...

ICT services to become accessible for people with disabilities

Aiming to make accessible Information and Communication Technology-based services, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday floated a consultation paper.

India, Myanmar ink pact for socio-eco development of Rakhine

India and Myanmar today inked an agreement on restoration of normalcy and development of the Rakhine State, from where thousands of Rohingya Muslims recently fled following incidents of violence against the community. Signed between Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Myanmar Deputy Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement U Soe Aung in Myanmar's capital Nay Pyi Taw, this is the first government to government pact inked by Myanmar with a cooperation partner focused on socio-economic development and livelihood initiatives in the Rakhine State. Jaishankar is on an official visit to Myanmar. "This is intended to help the government of Myanmar achieve its objective of restoration of normalcy in Rakhine State and enable the return of displaced persons," the external affairs ministry said. Under this MoU, India proposes to take up, among others, a project to build prefabricated housing in Rakhine State so as to meet the immediate needs of the returning people, it ..

Sri Lanka bans begging in Colombo

Sri Lanka announced on Wednesday that begging will be banned in capital Colombo from January 1.

Bill on lines of MCOCA introduced in UP Assembly

The Uttar Pradesh government today tabled in the state Assembly a stringent bill to curb organised crime and terror as well as to deal with those trying to dislodge the government forcibly or violently. On the lines of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime (UPCOC) Bill, 2017, will also sternly punish those using violence for anti-national acts. The bill, introduced by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, was sharply criticised by the opposition, which said it would target political adversaries, minorities and others. The statement of object and reasons appended to the bill states that the existing legal framework of penal and procedural law and the adjudicatory system were found to be inadequate in controlling organised crime. To combat organised crime, it was decided that a special law would be introduced, with stringent and deterrent provisions including attachment of properties, remand process, setting up of ...

Shiv Sena burns Pak's effigy, demands security for minorities

Shiv Sena workers today carried out a demonstration against Pakistan here to protest against alleged forced conversions of the minority Hindus in the country. Led by Shiv Sena's state president Dimpy Kohli, the protesters sloganeered against Pakistan and burnt its effigy as they demanded the security of minority Hindus. "We are warning the government of Pakistan not to allow anyone to harass the people of minority community otherwise the outcome will be bad for Pakistan," said Kohli. Shiv Sena's General Secretary Manish Sahni said the people of the minority communities were "unsafe" in Pakistan. "Pakistan is just not a terrorist country but also a cruel country. With each passing day, anti-social elements in Pakistan are harassing the minorities and are forcing them to change their religion to Islam," Sahni said. He said it was "unfortunate" that none is coming forward to rescue the people of minority communities of their plight and appealed the Indian government to ...

Why no condom ads from 6am-10pm: Rajasthan HC asks Centre

A bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice D C Somani issued notice to the central government, hearing a petition filed by an NGO

Five injured in armed attack at a kangaroo court

Five members of a family, including a woman were attacked and injured with sharp weapons at a kangaroo court in West Bengal's Malda district, police said today. Police said the kangaroo court, called 'salisisabha' in the state, was held at Jainpur village in the district yesterday evening. The attack on the family took place as they refused to part with their land measuring 13 katha for road building purpose. Of the five, two were critically injured and have been admitted to the Malda Medical College and Hospital. The rest are being treated at the local public health centre. Police said 15 neighbours have been accused for attacking the family while the kangaroo court was in progress and are absconding since the incident. A complaint has been filed against the 15 with the police. The injured are aged between 34 and 48 years and hail from Jainpur, the police said. The kangaroo court was called when a member of the family complained to the village leaders that they were ...

Gay teenagers at five times more risk of suicides: Study

Gay teenagers were almost five times as likely to show a higher prevalence for suicide-risk behaviour than their heterosexual peers, a research has showed.