Tribal woman files case against Yogi for sharing her nude pic on social media

Bengaluru, Feb 23: As India gears up to welcome Donald Trump on his maiden visit to the country, a kite artist flew a special 15-feet long kite to welcome the US President.

VK Rao, an international kite artist from Karnataka, crafted the special kite, which included the photographs of both Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the messages 'Namaste Trump' and 'Welcome to India'.

Speaking to ANI, Rao said: "We have created and flown this special kite to welcome the US President. The kite is 15 feet long."

Earlier, an Amritsar-based kite maker in Punjab had designed special kites to welcome Trump.

"As Donald Trump will be visiting India, so I have made some kites to welcome him. There are kites with pictures of PM Narendra Modi and Donald Trump," said Jagmohan Kanojia, the kite maker.

Preparations are on across the country to welcome Trump, who is scheduled to visit India on February 24 and 25.

During the visit, Trump is scheduled to participate in a roadshow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will address a gathering at the Motera stadium.

On Monday evening, the President and his family will be visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Feb 25: Two Customs Preventive officers allegedly involved in gold smuggling cases in Kerala were removed from service, a top official said in Kochi on Monday.

Sumit Kumar, Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Kochi, said that he took action against Radhakrishnan B, Superintendent of Customs, and Rahul, Inspector of Customs, who were allegedly involved in gold smuggling cases in the state.

Radhakrishnan was involved in attempted smuggling of gold weighing 24998.61 grams having a market value of over Rs 8 crore through Thiruvananthapuram international airport on May 13, 2019, Kumar said.

Rahul was involved in attempted smuggling of gold weighing 11,035.54 grams valued at over Rs 4 crore through international airport on August 19, 2019, the Customs Commissioner added.

Radhakrishnan is currently lodged in Central prison, Thiruvananthapuram after the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau under the Union Finance Ministry issued detention order under COFEPOSA (Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974).

Rahul, against whom detention order under COFEPOSA was issued, is absconding.

"Two Customs officers of the Customs Preventive Commissionerate, Kochi, who were involved in gold smuggling cases were removed from service by Sumit Kumar, Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Cochin," an official release said.

Kumar said that both the cases were booked and investigated by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and while show cause notice under Customs Act 1962 has been issued against Radhakrishnan, investigation is under progress in the other case.

"Both the officers were removed from service, after due process of law under Rule 19 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965," the release said.

Bengaluru, July 23: The High Court of Karnataka has directed the state government to formulate Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for child protection, particularly for cases of child pornography and child missing.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice M Nagaprasanna passed a detailed order and asked the state government to submit compliance within three months.

The division bench passed the order on two PILs, including a suo motu litigation registered in 2018. The PILs were registered to ensure effective implementation of the directions of the Supreme Court on the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act).

The bench observed that in normal courses, courts do not issue writ of mandamus to the legislature on rule-making aspects. However, when the failure of the state is demonstrated under exceptional circumstances, courts can issue directions. The bench directed the state government to expedite the rule-making process to ensure proper implementation of the JJ Act.

The bench expressed displeasure on the insensitive police investigation in cases of child pornography. “The police machinery did not show the sensitivity expected from it while dealing with cases of alleged child pornography. Therefore, it will be appropriate if the state issues SOP or guidelines for dealing with cases of child pornography so that proper investigation is carried out in such cases. As we are directing the formation of SOP for dealing with child pornography cases, the state is also directed to formulate guidelines on child missing cases,” the bench said.

The bench had been issuing several directions since 2018 and has also been monitoring police investigations. The court observed that while the state government has incorporated several directions, some issues still remain unaddressed.

The bench directed the government to have dedicated staff for the Directorate of Integrated Child Protection Scheme considering the sensitive nature of work.

On working of Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB), the court asked the Registrar General of the Karnataka High Court to issue directions to the principal magistrates of all the JJBs in the state to sit on all working days for a minimum of six hours a day. 

The high court directed the state to exercise the rule-making powers for obtaining an annual report from the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.