The Tribune – HC quashes FIR against Russian photojournalist; Olga was booked under Foreigners Act by Ropar police

Saurabh Malik, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 27. Dubbed as a Russian spy after being arrested by the Punjab Police, it’s justice at last for Olga Timoshik. In India to collect data for an exhibition “India-Siberia 2010″, the photojournalist today heaved a sigh of relief after Justice Nirmaljit Kaur of the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed the FIR against her.

She was arrested by the Punjab Police and allegedly subjected to third degree interrogation for 10 days during her police remand. The cops also allegedly launched a “character assassination campaign” in newspapers and “widely publicised” the “confidential details of her private life”.

This was not the end of troubles for her. She was charged with the offence of instigating a German to overstay in India.

The startling claims were made by the Russian journalist in her petition filed through counsel SS Behl for quashing of the FIR registered under the provisions of the Foreigners Act on May 25, 2010, at Nangal police station in Ropar.

The High Court was told the police focused on Olga after a German, Thomas Kuhn, was arrested, as he could not produce his passport. Kuhn told the police that his journey with Olga started after they met on a train; and Olga took his passport to get the visa extended. The prosecution claimed she never returned it to Kuhn.

She was described as a co-accused on June 12, 2010, and was arrested soon after despite full cooperation.

Behl told the court that Olga was intensely harassed “in police custody and through the Press later”. “It seems that it was an attempt to extort a confession from her. She was dragged in as an accused on flimsy grounds, and her legal rights were not read to her.”

She was “paraded through the neighbourhood”, was forced to appear before the media and the story of a Russian spy with her snapshots was widely publicised in channels and newspapers, Behl added.

On December 8 last, Kuhn pleaded guilty “probably to get out of jail and country”. But, the petitioner, Behl contended, has been “falsely charged with offence of abetment /instigation, which never took place”.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120128/punjab.htm#16

The Asian Age – Educated girls entering flesh trade for money, says Supreme Court

The Hindu – New Delhi, 28 January 2012. Observing that even educated girls from well-off families were entering the flesh trade to fund their lifestyles, the Supreme Court on Friday said rescue and rehabilitation of sex workers was a complex problem and sought to know how the government proposed to tackle it.

“It is very complex. It is also a transgender problem and it is not confined to girls alone. It is very complicated problem,” said a bench of Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Gyan Sudha Misra.

While Justice Misra wanted to block the entry of new sex workers, Justice Kabir pointed to girls from relatively well-off families and studying in colleges and universities too taking to the sex trade with a desire to change their lifestyles and go to malls.

“We find girls from very good families even at the university level education entering the profession driven with desire of high lifestyle and going to the malls every second day. If they join it (trade) voluntarily, what do you have for them?” he said.

“Can you do something that the inclusion of new sex workers does not take place,” Justice Misra asked senior counsel Pradeep Ghosh and Jayant Bhushan who are amicus curiae and members of the court-appointed committee for putting in place a framework for identification and rehabilitation of sex workers.

The court said this in the course of the hearing of a PIL seeking the rescue and rehabilitation of the sex workers willing to give up the sex trade.   Justice Kabir described suggestions by Jayant Bhushan “extremely relevant” and said that unless an infrastructure was put in place, the entire effort would go waste.   “Unless you have rehabilitation schemes, even if you rescue them (sex worker), it will be of no consequence,” the court observed.

The court asked the counsel assisting it to involve National Commission for Women chairperson Mamta Sharma, National Commission for Women and Child Welfare head Shanta Sinha, and Bachpan Bachao Andolan’s Bhushan Bhrigu and Kailash Vidyarthi in its activities.

Justice Misra said the formulation of plan for the rescue and rehabilitation of sex workers could go along with the concrete steps in this direction. She said that the court should have the satisfaction that if it was dealing with the problem, something positive and concrete should emerge in every hearing of the case.

“Let the states tell the court that in the intervening period between two hearings, they have rescued one, two, three sex workers and rehabilitated them,” she said, adding that in every hearing, the court will take up one state and suggested Delhi be taken up in the next hearing.

Justice Kabir came down heavily on the central government for its failure to provide the office and secretarial staff to the panel constituted by it for taking steps in pursuance of its directions.

The court adjourned the hearing giving three weeks time to the central government to find a place for its panel. It directed the listing of matter after three weeks.

The court had earlier said that the schemes for the rehabilitation of sex workers should also include the marketing of the products that will be produced by the rehabilitated sex workers. In the absence of such an arrangement, things would get back to square one as they would not be able to feed themselves, it observed. (IANS)

http://www.asianage.com/india/educated-girls-entering-flesh-trade-money-says-supreme-court-407

Vilvoorde Gurdwara, Shahidi Smagan, 11 December 2011

Vilvoorde Gurdwara, Jatinder Singh Antwerpen Wala

Vilvoorde Gurdwara, Palki Sahib and Sangat

Vilvoorde Gurdwara, Sangat

 Vilvoorde Gurdwara, Sangat

Gurdwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji
Lange Molenstraat 14 B-1800
Vilvoorde (near Brussel)

To see more Netherlands and Belgiun pictures go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622147381380/

More Belgian pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Over 5 lakh bottles of local brew seized in 34 days. Friday haul: 7,300 cases in Jalandhar

Kanchan Vasdev, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 27 Living up to its notoriety of being a Bacchus-loving state where election time is synonymous with free flow of alcohol, poll-bound Punjab has brought true the worst fears of the Election Commission (EC) that liquor would flow freely here.

During the 34 days of surveillance, various teams have confiscated 5.12 lakh bottles of country made liquor, 1.6 crore ml of illicit liquor and 1.6 lakh kg of illegally brewed liquor (lahan) from across the state.

Only today, 7,000 cases of liquor were seized from a godown in Jalandhar. According to the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, these have allegedly been linked to Rana Gurjit Singh, Congress candidate from Kapurthala. Besides, another 300 cases of liquor have also been seized from Jalandhar.

Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureishi had expressed worry over the use of liquor and drugs to woo voters in Punjab.

He had issued directions to ensure that liquor is not allowed to be distributed at any cost.

“We have recovered so much of liquor in the state during these days. We are going to step up the vigil even more now,” said Usha Sharma, Special CEO, Punjab.

Following the directions, the State Election Commission had been keeping a hawk’s eye on the transportation of liquor.

Kusumjit Sidhu, Punjab CEO, had banned the transportation of liquor from distilleries at night.

She had received information that candidates were storing the quota to be used on the poll eve which was being transported in trucks at night. Police chiefs of certain districts had also reported the matter to the CEO.

A. Venu Prashad, Commissioner, Central Excise, said even they were surprised at the huge recovery of liquor during the last one month. “It seems most of the liquor recovered was related to elections,” he said.

Allaying the fears of certain EC officials that there was a possibility of liquor making way into poll-bound Uttar Pradesh from Punjab, Prashad said there seemed to be no connection. He said the liquor was more expensive in Punjab, the transportation was regulated and Haryana was closer to UP than Punjab. “So, it is certain that all this liquor was meant for our own state only,” he said.

A few days ago, the police had registered an FIR against SAD candidate from Bholath, Bibi Jagir Kaur after 183 cases of liquor were seized from her truck. A case under various sections of the IPC and the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951.

Hoodwinking authorities

The 1.6 crore ml of Indian Made Foreign Liquor, 1.6 lakh kg of illegally brewed liquor (lahan) and 5.12 lakh bottles roughly sums up to 6.9 lakh bottles of liquor for over 93 lakh registered male voters. Despite the surveillance there are many ways to hoodwink the authorities, say sources. As many as 72,000 cases of liquor are driven out by 180 trucks out of 30 distilleries across the state everyday.

Confiscated drugs

Surveillance teams have also confiscated 2,636 kg of poppy husk, 10,489 gm of opium, 6,357 gm of heroine and 2,506 gm of smack to date from different places in the state.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120128/main1.htm

BBC News – Pervez Musharraf postpones Pakistan return, aide says

Saturday, 28 January 2012. Former President Pervez Musharraf has decided to postpone his return to Pakistan, one of his aides says.

Mr Musharraf had previously vowed to end his self-imposed exile and fly back to Pakistan by the end of this month to revive his political career.

He faces arrest on arrival as he is accused of failing to provide adequate security for former PM Benazir Bhutto ahead of her assassination in 2007.

The former military ruler, who stepped down in 2008, denies wrongdoing.

On Friday Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani repeated that Mr Musharraf would be arrested if he did return.

‘Threatened’   Mohammad Saif, general secretary of Mr Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League, told journalists in Dubai: “General Musharraf will return to Pakistan, that’s for sure.

“But we are waiting for the tension between the government and the Supreme Court to subside.

He told journalists in Dubai that the government would seek to use Mr Musharraf’s return to divert attention from its failures.

Mr Saif gave no date for Mr Musharraf’s return.

In early January, Mr Musharraf had told a Karachi rally via video link from Dubai that he would be in Pakistan from 27 to 30 January and planned to participate in parliamentary elections, which are due by 2013.

“I’ve been threatened and warned but I’m not one of those who gets scared or backs down,” he told supporters. “I’ve fought wars. I’ll come to Pakistan.”

The former president has described the case against him as “baseless” and politically led.

Little support  

Correspondents say few people in Pakistan believe the country’s former military ruler is the answer to its many problems.

The government is currently locked in a three-way struggle with the judiciary and Pakistan’s powerful military establishment.

Relations with the US have hit new lows in recent months, principally over concerns about Pakistan’s role in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

General Musharraf led a military government which ruled Pakistan from 1999.

His supporters were defeated in parliamentary elections in February 2008, and Gen Musharraf resigned in August that year under threat of impeachment.

Pakistan’s current president is Asif Ali Zardari, who is the widower of Benazir Bhutto.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16766967