Dalits angry as Bihar massacre accused are acquitted

January 15, 2015

Patna, Jan 15: Family members of the Dalits who were killed in 1999 in Bihar's Arwal district, allegedly by the outlawed, upper -caste militia Ranvir Sena men, are disheartened and devastated over the release of all the accused.

bihar Dalits

Etwaria Devi, in her late 50s, lost her husband Ganga Paswan and another relative Nanhu

Paswan in the massacre of 22 Dalits Jan 25, 1999, at Shankar Bigha village. A court Tuesday acquitted 24 people of the massacre, citing lack of evidence. The surviving family members are not only upset and sad over the verdict, they are also angry and feel there is nobody to do them justice.

"There is no one to do justice to the poor like us. We have only pain and misery in our life," said Etwaria Devi in a choked voice.

Another resident of the village, Rajmani Devi, whose husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law were killed in the massacre, said: "Who cares for justice to the poor? We have lost hope. It is bad news for us that all accused were acquitted."

Both of them said they have no hope left as money and muscle power of the powerful feudal forces were responsible for the gruesome incident.

Lakshman Ram, a village elderly, said most of the villagers were unhappy and angry over the court acquittal.

"The villagers are not ready to accept that the accused have been let off...," said villager Ram, who also had lost a relative.

He also blamed the police and the state government for the acquittals. "The police did not file a strong chargesheet with solid evidence against them...," he claimed.
All the Dalit victims were landless agricultural workers.

Shankar Bigha is located near Lakshmanpur-Bathe where the Ranvir Sena killed 61 agricultural workers belonging to backward communities in December 1997.

This is the fifth major acquittal in a massacre case in the state.

In 2012, the high court acquitted 23 accused of Bathani Tola massacre of 1996 in which 21 Dalits were killed.

On Oct 9, 2013, the Patna High Court acquitted 26 accused of the Lakshmanpur-Bathe massacre of 1997.

On July 3, 2013, the high court acquitted nine of the 10 accused in the Miyanpur massacre case of 2000 in which the Ranvir Sena men allegedly killed 32 people in Aurangabad.

On March 1, 2013, the high court acquitted 11 convicted accused in the Nagari Bazaar massacre case in which 10 CPI-ML supporters, mostly Dalits, were killed in Bhojpur district in 1998.

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News Network
May 12,2020

Ahmedabad, May 12: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday declared state BJP minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama's election in 2017 as void on grounds of malpractice and manipulation.

Justice Paresh Upadhyay cancelled Bhupendrasinh Chudasama's election in an order passed on a petition filed by Congress candidate Ashwin Rathod, challenging the BJP leader's victory from Dholka constituency by a margin of 327 votes in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls.

In his election petition, Ashwin Rathod alleged that Bhupendrasinh Chudasama indulged in "corrupt practice and breach of many of the mandatory instructions of the Election Commission, at various stages of the election process, more particularly at the time of counting of votes".

Bhupendrasinh Chudasama currently holds charge of the education, law and justice, legislative and parliamentary affairs, and some other departments in the Vijay Rupani government.

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April 28,2020

New Delhi, Apr 28: Nafisa Ali took to Instagram to share the inspiring story of her niece, Diya Naidu, who donated her plasma to help patients suffering from Covid-19 after recovering from the disease. The veteran actress shared a photo of her niece from the hospital bed and asked fans to read Diya's post to get a detailed account of her experience.

Nafisa wrote, "Diya Naidu my niece - a COVID19 hero - is back home after donating her plasma - looks like liquid gold - it’s value is priceless as it will save lives. So please read her COVID19 story and share the information that is first hand. It is the need of the hour. Help save lives. #diyanise. #diyanaidu #covid_19 #india (sic)."

Diya Naidu, who is a dancer and choreographer based in Bengaluru, revealed in her Instagram post that she has donated her plasma for other Covid-19 patients. She said that the method has been super effective wherever it's been tried.

Earlier, Nafisa Ali gave a shout-out to her niece on Instagram and penned a heartfelt note for her. She wrote, "I am so grateful to you brave child - a COVID19 warrior (living in Bangalore) has agreed to donate her plasma to help cure other COVID19 serious patients (sic)."

Explaining the process of plasma therapy to treat Covid-19 patients, she wrote, "The process of donating plasma to treat COVID-19 is not very complex and can be done in just two hours. One of the most discussed methods of treatment of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus is plasma therapy, which involves the transfusion of plasma from a convalescent coronavirus patient to a critical patient. The blood of a recovering patient is rich in antibodies produced by the body to fight the virus, which are expected to help the critical patient recover (sic)."

Plasma therapy has been suggested to treat people suffering from Covid-19. People, who have recovered from the disease, are donating plasma as it contains antibodies to fight the disease. Earlier, Kanika Kapoor, who was the first Bollywood celebrity to be diagnosed with the disease, also offered to donate her plasma. She has recovered from Covid-19 and is currently living with her family in Lucknow.

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News Network
July 20,2020

Aligarh, Jul 20: The son of a motor mechanic in Aligarh, who had received a scholarship, topped at his high school in the United States.

Mohammad Shadab, son of the motor mechanic, told ANI, "Last year, I received the Kennedy-Lugar youth exchange scholarship worth Rs 20 lakh from the US government. Following this, I went to the States to pursue my high school education."

Out of 800 students, Shadab was also selected Student of the Month at his school. On his achievement, he said, "It was an achievement for me to be awarded this tag."

"I have worked really hard to top the high school," Shabad said.

Shadab said, "The condition at home was not good and it is still not that good. I want to support my parents and make them feel proud."
He also thanked the Indian government. "I am thankful to the Indian government for making me the flag-bearer in another county and choosing me for this scholarship."

Shabad's father, Arshad Noor, who is working as a motor mechanic for the past 25 years, said, "We had sent him to the US for his education and I am happy that he topped at the school."
On being asked about his son, Arshad said, "I want my son to become an IAS officer and serve the country."

But Shadab expressed the desire to work at the United Nations as a human rights officer.

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