Bilkis Bano case: SC asks Guj to take action against erring cops in 2 weeks

Agencies
March 30, 2019

New Delhi, Mar 30: The Supreme Court Friday asked the Gujarat government to take disciplinary action in two weeks against the erring police officials, including an IPS officer, convicted by the Bombay High Court in the sensational Bilkis Bano gang rape case during the 2002 riots in the state.

Besides, Bano in a plea before the top court sought exemplary compensation from the state government, refusing to accept its offer of Rs 5 lakh.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna asked the Gujarat government to complete the disciplinary action within two weeks initiated against the erring officials indicted by the Bombay High Court.

"On the statement made by the Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State of Gujarat, that the proceedings for disciplinary action against the erring officers will be completed within two weeks, we adjourn the matter for two weeks.

"On the next date, the orders passed in the disciplinary proceedings be placed before the Court," the bench said.

The top court, terming the Rs 5 lakh compensation offered by the Gujarat government 'interim', said the plea for exemplary compensation will be heard on April 23.

"Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General appearing for the State has offered an interim compensation of Rs 5 lakh, which counsel for the petitioner is reluctant to accept and instead prays for final disposal of the special leave petition. Let the special leave petition be listed on April 23, 2019," it said.

At the outset, Advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for Bano, said that no action has been taken by the state government against the erring officials, who were convicted by the high court.

She said that one IPS officer, currently serving in Gujarat is set to retire this year, while in case of four other officials who have retired no action has been taken against them like stopping of their pensions and retirement benefits.

The counsel further said that these police officers were convicted by the high court for botching up the investigation in the case.

With regard to compensation, she contended that Bano has been leading almost a nomadic life after being subjected to gruesome crime and therefore exemplary compensation should be granted.

Gupta said she is not willing to accept the interim compensation of Rs 5 lakh offered by the state government.

Senior advocate Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state government said that disciplinary proceedings are going on against the erring police officials.

He said that it will be completed soon but the top court asked him to complete the proceedings within two weeks.

On the compensation part, Mehta said that state government has a policy of granting Rs 5 lakh as compensation in such incidents.

The bench said it will hear the plea for compensation on April 23.

Bilkis, five months pregnant at that time, was gang raped while six other members of her family managed to escape from the mob. The trial in the case initially began in Ahmedabad.

However, after Bano expressed apprehensions that the witnesses could be harmed and the CBI evidence tampered with, the apex court transferred the case to Mumbai in August 2004.

The high court had on May 4, 2017 convicted seven people -- five policemen and two doctors -- under sections 218 (not performing their duties) and section 201 (tampering of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The top court had on July 10, 2017 dismissed the appeals of two doctors and four policemen, including an IPS officer R S Bhagora, challenging their conviction by the high court saying there was "clear-cut evidence" against them. One of the officers did not appeal.

A special court had on 21 January, 2008 convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment 11 men for raping Bano and murdering seven of her family members in the aftermath of the Godhra riots, while acquitting seven persons including the policemen and doctors.

The convicts had later approached the Bombay High Court challenging their conviction and sought quashing and setting aside of the trial court.

The CBI had also filed an appeal in the high court seeking harsher punishment of death for three of the convicted persons on the ground that they were the main perpetrators of the crime.

According to the prosecution, on March 3, 2002 Bilkis Bano's family was attacked by a mob at Randhikpur village near Ahmedabad.

The convicts had challenged the order on three main grounds that all evidence in the case was fabricated by CBI, that Bilkis gave birth to a child after the incident, proving that she could not have been gang raped, and the failure to find the bodies of some of her family members which proved that they were not killed.

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Agencies
January 15,2020

New Delhi, Jan 15: Suspended Deputy Superintendent of J&K Police Davinder Singh had ferried Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Naveed Babu to Jammu last year also and facilitated his return to Shopian after "rest and recuperation", officials interrogating him said here Tuesday.

"Meri mati maari gayi thi (I must have lost my mind to do what I did)," an interrogator quoted Singh as saying after the DSP failed to impress them with his theory of catching a big terrorist.

Singh was arrested last Saturday along with Naveed Babu alias Babar Azam, a resident of Nazneenpora in South Kashmir's Shopian district, and his associate Asif Ahmad.

He is believed to have taken Rs 12 lakh for smuggling the two to Chandigarh for providing them accommodation for a couple of months, officials said. The officials, who have been spending considerable time questioning Singh, said there have been many inconsistencies in his statements and everything was being crosschecked and corroborated with the confessions of captured militants who have been kept in different rooms at an interrogation centre in South Kashmir.

During questioning it emerged that Singh had taken them to Jammu in 2019 also, the officials said.

In a tone laced with sarcasm, they said the DSP was taking the militants for "rest and recuperation".

Naveed told the interrogators that they used to stay in the hilly regions to avoid the J&K police and left the areas to escape harsh winters, they said.

The official said the DSP's bank accounts and other assets were being verified by the police and papers were being collected, amid speculations that the case may be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Going into the service history of Singh, majority of retired and serving officials of the JKP spoken to referred to a proverb -- coming events cast their shadows long before -- to say that if action had been taken against the officer during his probation period, such things would not have happened.

Recruited in 1990 as a sub-inspector, Singh along with another probationary officer were subject of an internal enquiry where some narcotics had been seized from a truck. However, the contraband was sold by Singh and another sub-inspector, the officials recalled.

There was a move to dismiss them from the service which was stalled by an Inspector General rank officer purely on humanitarian ground and the duo was shifted to the Special Operations Group, a team of policemen engaged in counter-militancy offensive.

However, he could not last there for long and was shifted this time to the police lines only to be rehabilitated in 1997 again in the SOG.

During this period, he was posted in Budgam and is alleged to have indulged in extortion for which he was sent back to the police lines.

His proper rehabilitation began in 2015 by the then Director General of Police K Rajendra, who posted him in district headquarters of Shopian and Pulwama, the officials said.

However, after some alleged wrongdoing during his stint in Pulwama, the then Director General of Police S P Vaid transferred him in August 2018 to the sensitive Anti-Hijacking Unit in Srinagar, though the move was opposed by some other officers.

An advocate, Irfan Ahmad Mir, was driving the vehicle when they were caught by the police on National Highway in Kulgam district.

The advocate, who has also been arrested, had travelled to Pakistan five times on an Indian passport.

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News Network
March 6,2020

New Delhi, Mar 6: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday will move the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 for consideration and passing in Lok Sabha.

In December last year, the Union Cabinet had approved a proposal to promulgate an ordinance to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016.

The amendments will remove certain ambiguities in the IBC 2016 and ensure smooth implementation of the code, an official statement said.

The move is aimed at easing the insolvency resolution process and promoting the ease of doing business. Aimed at streamlining of the insolvency resolution process, the amendments seek to protect last-mile funding and boost investment in financially-distressed sectors.

Under the amendments, the liability of a corporate debtor for an offence committed before the corporate insolvency resolution process will cease.

The debtor will not be prosecuted for an offence from the date the resolution plan has been approved by the adjudicating authority if a resolution plan results in change in the management or control of the corporate debtor to a person who was not a promoter or in the management or control of the corporate debtor or a related party of such a person.

The amendments are aimed at providing more protection to bidders participating in the recovery proceedings and in turn boosting investor confidence in the country's financial system.

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Agencies
July 14,2020

Mumbai, Jul 14: Bhima Koregaon case accused Varavara Rao was admitted to JJ Hospital in Mumbai on Monday night.

Rao who is in Taloja proson was rushed to the hospital following complaint of dizziness.

Rao was arrested in November 2018 along with five others, for alleged links with Naxals and for inciting the violence.

On January 1, 2018, the violence at Bhima Koregaon village in Pune district left one dead and several others injured including 10 policemen.

Violence erupted after some people, reportedly with saffron flags, pelted stones at cars heading towards the village for the commemoration of 200 years of Bhima-Koregaon war on New Year's Day.

The police had filed 58 cases against 162 people.

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