The Tribune – ‘Fake’ encounter case; Court found many loopholes in CBI’s theory

Aneesha Sareen, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 11. Pointing out several loopholes in the CBI theory as well as the statements of the complainant, the CBI court, while acquitting Moga SSP Surjeet S Grewal and six other policemen in the 23-year-old ‘fake’ encounter case yesterday, said that the prosecution had not produced “clear, cogent, convincing or unimpeachable evidence” against them.

“Realities or truth apart, the fundamental and basic presumption in the administration of criminal law and justice delivery system is the innocence of the alleged accused. Till the charge is proved beyond a reasonable doubt on the basis of clear cogent or credible evidence, mere suspicion, however strong it may be, is no effective substitute for legal proof required to substantiate the charge of commission of crime,” the court said in its order.

The CBI court of Vimal Kumar yesterday acquitted the seven policemen of the charge of murdering Kulwinder Singh, alias Kid, in a ‘fake’ encounter in 1989. The verdict left Kid’s father, Tarlochan Singh, a shattered man.

“There is not an iota of evidence regarding the identification of the body of an unknown terrorist to be that of Kulwinder Singh. The complainant, Tarlochan Singh, stated that he could not identify the clothes as well as the photographs of dead bodies before the magistrate… Kulwinder Singh was 6 ft tall and had two identification marks while the inquest report of the person killed and who was alleged to be Kid was 5 ft and 10 inches.

Dr S K Gupta, who conducted the post- mortem, stated that there was no question of the height of a male aged 25 decreasing from the height he may have attained,” the court said.

It said that from the examination of the statements of Tarlochan Singh, Dhani Ram, a tenant, and Inderjeet Singh, a neighbour, “it is crystal clear that they claimed to be eyewitnesses to the abduction of Kulwinder Singh, yet the complainant failed to name accused SS Grewal and Amarjit Singh in telegrams and in a representation to the High Court dated August 22, 1989.”

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120512/punjab.htm#5

The Tribune – 12 die daily on ‘killer’ roads in Haryana; Gurgaon leads with 1 death daily

Pradeep Sharma, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 11. Haryana’s “killer roads” claim a life every two hours while one person is injured every hour. Roads in the state have claimed 1,461 lives while 2,962 persons were injured in the past four months.

Haryana’s millennium city, Gurgaon, has reported the highest death toll of 151 though it has the least number of accidents at 41. The number of injured was the highest in Gurgaon with 311 persons reported injured during January-April this year, revealed data with The Tribune.

Sonepat with the highest number of 255 road accidents reported 127 deaths and 213 injured. Rewari with 211 accidents reported 105 deaths and 212 injured. Panchkula with 34 deaths in 82 accidents, Narnaul with 39 deaths in 122 accidents and Kurukshetra with 44 deaths in 88 accidents were some of the safest districts in the state.

Sources said laxity on the part of the Haryana Police to enforce traffic rules, particularly wearing of helmets for two-wheeler drivers, and unsafe driving behaviour were some of the major causes for the high number of accidents.

Since the usage of the national and state highways is one of the highest in Haryana, this is also one of the reasons for the large number of accidents, argued Harman Sidhu, brand ambassador of the Haryana Police on road safety. Driving habits and non-observance of traffic rules by motorists were also to be blamed for the high rate of accidents, he added.

On an average, 13 persons were killed and 26 injured on Haryana roads last year. The state had recorded 10,672 accidents in 2,011 — down from 10,804 in 2,010. The number of fatal accidents had also come down from 4,200 in 2010 to 4,145 in 2011.

Gurgaon has the dubious distinction of having the most unsafe roads with 462 deaths. Sonepat and Jhajjar with 291 and 271 deaths, respectively, were ranked next to Gurgaon. Fatehabad (102 deaths), Panchkula (120) and Kaithal (140) districts were considered to be the safest in the state.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120512/main7.htm

The Asian Age – Dutch woman molested by DU student

Asian Age Correspondent

New Delhi, 10 May 2012. A foreigner was allegedly molested by a Delhi University student impersonating as a doctor at the Lady Hardinge Hospital here on Monday.

Police officials said the victim, a resident of Netherlands, had come to India on a tourist visa and was staying at a hotel in Paharganj where she fell ill on Monday morning. The victim went to the Lady Hardinge Hospital for treatment at around 4.30 am.

Police sources said the accused, identified as Dushyant, who had come to the hospital due to some medical complication and is pursuing B.A. (Correspondence) from Delhi University, saw the victim at the OPD and approached her.

“Impersonating as a doctor from the hospital, he started molesting the victim. When the victim resisted, he tried to calm her down assuring her that he was only doing his ‘duty’. The victim, however, became suspicious and started shouting for help which caught the attention of some nurses who rushed to her help,” a source said.

When the accused was quizzed about his identity, he initially tried to mislead the staff, claiming that he was a doctor. The staff became suspicious and informed the senior hospital administration.

The accused tried to run away from the hospital but was nabbed by the hospital staff.

“We have registered a case of molestation against Dushyant, a resident of Paharganj, at the Mandir Marg police station and he was arrested. He was later released on bail,” a senior police official said.

http://www.asianage.com/delhi/dutch-woman-molested-du-student-520

8 April 2012 Easter Sunday walk

Sint-Truiden – Sint-Jacobskerk

Sint-Truiden – Tichelarijvest

Sint-Truiden – Tichelarijvest

Sint-Truiden – Ridderstraat
Going towards Grote Markt and Tiensesteenweg
End of the Easter Sunday Walk

To see more Belgium (mostly Limburg) pictures :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622046344528/

More Belgium pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Commanding Officer hurt as Major, jawans clash in Leh

Ajay Banerjee & Ehsan Fazili, Tribune News Service

New Delhi/Srinagar, May 11. In a virtual free-for-all, soldiers and officers of an Army unit posted at a remote area of Ladakh clashed among themselves after a jawan allegedly misbehaved with an officer’s wife yesterday.

Among the six injured were the Commanding Officer (CO) of the 226 Field Regiment, Colonel Prasad Kadam, and a Major.

The Army has ordered a court of inquiry and the injured are being treated at the Leh Military Hospital. The Defence Ministry has also sought a report. Army Chief General V K Singh spoke to Northern Army Commander KT Parnaik and discussed the issue.

Army spokesman Colonel Jagdeep Dahiya said the situation was under control.

The incident took place at Mahe near the Nyoma airfield in Leh, about 50 km from the Line of Actual Control, reports said.

Sources said the Regiment — some 550 men and officers — had just finished its firing practice last evening when a fight broke out after a ‘sahayak’ (identified as Suman Ghosh) allegedly misbehaved with a Major’s wife.

The Major then allegedly beat up the jawan and did not allow his medical treatment, fuelling anger among the colleagues. The situation worsened after news reached the Commanding Officer, who reportedly shouted at the Major for his behaviour. The Major, accompanied by five of his colleagues, then, allegedly assaulted the CO in the presence of the jawans, a PTI report said.

The jawans briefly took control of the armoury, but did not withdraw any weapons, sources said. The unit was cordoned off this morning by the Army and state police. The General Office Commanding (GOC) 14 Corps Lt General Ravi Dastane visited the place this morning.

Superintendent of Police (Leh) Vivek Gupta was camping in Nyoma along with heavy reinforcements following a report by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate that Army jawans, armed with sticks and knives, were holding a protest, sources said.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120512/main4.htm

BBC News – Gujarat report says MP Ehsan Jafri ‘provoked murderers’

Friday 11 May 2012. A Muslim politician who was murdered in 2002 riots in India’s Gujarat state may have “provoked” a violent mob by firing at them, investigators say.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) made its controversial findings in a report to India’s Supreme Court.

Former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed in the Gulbarg residential complex in Ahmedabad.

More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in violence that erupted after 60 Hindus were killed in a train fire.

The cause of the train fire is a matter of fierce debate, although Muslims were blamed at the time.

The riots were one of India’s worst outbreaks of religious violence.

The SIT, which was appointed by the Supreme Court, is looking into a number of high-profile Gujarat riots cases.

It recently submitted its report to the court, and details of its findings to do with the Gulbarg complex killings are emerging only now.

Mr Jafri fired at the mob and “the provoked mob stormed the [Gulbarg] Society and set it on fire”, the SIT report said.

‘Action and reaction’

Correspondents say the SIT report invokes the same Newtonian theory of “action and reaction” that the state’s controversial Chief Minister Narendra Modi had used as the riots were raging.

In an interview to Zee television on 1 March 2002, Mr Modi is reported to have said that the firing by the MP was an “action” and the massacre was a “reaction”.

Mr Modi later denied making the statement and said he was “quoted out of context”.

The SIT report confirmed that Mr Modi used the words “action” and “reaction”, but it gave a clean chit to the chief minister.

“In his interview, the chief minister has clearly referred to Jafri’s firing as ‘action’ and the massacre as ‘reaction’. It may be clarified here that in case late Ehsan Jafri fired at the mob, this could be an immediate provocation to the mob which had assembled there to take revenge of Godhra incidents from Muslims,” it said.

The report quoted Mr Modi as saying that the train fire was a “heinous crime, for which reactions were being felt”.

The controversial chief minister has been blamed by critics for not doing enough to stop the violence.

Zakia Jafri, the MP’s widow, says her husband called Mr Modi for help but it never came.

Survivors of the Gulbarg massacre say he fired his gun in self defence as the violent mob attacked the complex.

Mrs Jafri has accused Mr Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministerial colleagues, including top police officials, of conspiracy in the riots.

The chief minister argues that he has been unfairly targeted by his critics and his lawyer called the allegations against his client “absurd”.

On the basis of the SIT report, a trial court last month ruled that investigators had found no evidence against Mr Modi in the case.

Mrs Jafri, who received a copy of the SIT investigation into his death earlier this week, has said she would appeal.

The report has been criticised by activists and opposition politicians for giving a clean chit to Mr Modi.

One Congress politician has filed a Right to Information application seeking details of pay and other benefits given to RK Raghavan, the SIT head, by the Gujarat government.

There have also been allegations that Mr Raghavan’s foreign trips were financed by the state.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-18031124