ED officials harassing me: DK Shivakumar tells court

DHNS
September 14, 2019

New Delhi, Sept 14: Former minister D K Shivakumar turned emotional in the court hall on Friday and charged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials tormented him during interrogation.

When the ED produced the senior Congress leader in the special court at Rouse Avenue, he told the court that the ED officials continued to grill him even as he was bleeding in his hand due to insertion of an intravenous (IV) cannula. The former minister told the court that he was in the hospital till 1 am (of Friday) taking treatment for high blood pressure and sugar. Showing his hand to special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar, Shivakumar said though he had been requesting officers that he was not well, they did not spare him.

Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Shivakumar, said that despite his health condition, the ED officials questioned him for 120 hours. “You know high blood pressure may lead to stroke,” Singhvi told the court.

Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, representing the ED, contended that Shivakumar did not answer properly to questions. Shivakumar was trying to influence his case by organising protests, the ASG argued. The special court judge allowed family members and Shivakumar’s advocates to meet him for half-an-hour daily. The judge also allowed Shivakumar’s family doctor, Kunigal Congress MLA, Dr Ranganath to meet him daily.

Judge also asked the ED to take care of the medical requirements of Shivakumar before questioning him.

A large number of Shivakumar’s supporters gathered on the special court premises. Additional forces from Delhi Police and the CRPF were deployed inside and outside the courtroom to control the crowd. But even the heavy deployment of security personnel could not stop the supporters from barging inside the courtroom, who outnumbered the lawyers and media persons there.

Minutes after special judge Kuhar commenced hearing, a woman supporter fainted in the courtroom after which the judge asked the security personnel to take her out and decongest the space.

The court extended the ED custody of D K Shivakumar till September 17.

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News Network
May 6,2020

Bengaluru, May 6: Karnataka has reported 20 new cases of coronavirus taking total number of cases in the state to 693.

The state health department said in a bulletin on Wednesday that 20 new cases have been confirmed for COVID-19 in the state. "The total number of cases in the state is 693," it said.

The count includes 354 patients who have been discharged and 29 patients who succumbed to the disease.

Out of the remaining cases, 303 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals while six patients are in ICU. The bulletin has also reported one death due to non-COVID cause.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 49,391, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday morning.

This includes 33,514 active cases and 1,694 deaths due to infection so far.

A total of 14,182 persons have been cured and discharged so far, according to the Health Ministry. One patient has migrated.

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News Network
July 12,2020

Bosnia, Jul 12: Bosnians commemorated on Saturday the massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, marking the 25th anniversary of killings that shocked the world and have stood out as Europe's only atrocity since World War Two constituting genocide.

Nine newly identified victims were buried at a flower-shaped cemetery near the town, where tall white tombstones mark the graves of 6,643 other victims.

"After 25 years we succeeded in finding his mortal remains, so they can be laid to their final rest," said Fikret Pezic, who buried his father Hasan.

The remains of some 1,000 victims of the massacre in the eastern town during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war are still missing.

Ifeta Hasanovic decided to bury incomplete remains of her husband, saying: "We were aware they cannot be complete after 25 years, at least there are some, I did not want to make any new delays."

World leaders addressed the ceremony by video link, unable to attend because of coronavirus epidemic. Instead of the tens of thousands visitors who typically attend the commemoration each year, only a few thousand came after organisers banned organised visits.

During the Bosnian war, Bosnian Serb forces pushed non-Serbs out of territories they sought for their Serb statelet. Fleeing Muslims took shelter in several eastern towns, including Srebrenica, that were designated as United Nations "safe zones".

On July 11, 1995, the Serb forces commanded by General Ratko Mladic overran Srebrenica, which was protected by lightly armed Dutch peacekeepers.

They sent women and children away and captured and executed the men and boys they found. The bodies were dumped into mass graves and later exhumed by U.N. investigators and used as evidence in war crimes trials of Bosnian Serb leaders.

"We grieve with the families that tirelessly seek justice for the 8,000 innocent lives lost, all these years later," said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Washington brokered Bosnia's peace deal months after the massacre.

Most people at the commemoration were Muslim Bosniaks, reflecting conflicting narratives about the bloodshed - which hinders reconciliation nearly 25 years after the end of war in which about 100,000 people were killed.

The U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted Mladic and his political chief Radovan Karadzic over Srebrenica genocide but they remained heroes for Serbs, many of whom deny that genocide happened.

On Saturday, the Serbs in the nearby town of Bratunac organised an event marking July 11 as the "Srebrenica Liberation Day".

Sefik Dzaferovic, the Bosniak chairman of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, called for legislation that would ban denial of genocide.

"There can be no trust as long as we witness attacks on the truth, denial of genocide and glorification and celebration of executors," Dzaferovic told the commemoration gathering.

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News Network
February 17,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 17: Days after 10 MLAs were inducted in the Cabinet, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa is likely to expand his Cabinet again as some BJP MLAs are unhappy, said BJP sources.

Several leaders including Umesh Katti, CP Yogeshwar, Raju Gowda and MP Renukacharya are miffed over the recent cabinet expansion, claim sources.

On February 6, ST Somashekar, Ramesh Laxmanrao Jarkiholi, Anand Singh, K Sudhakar, BA (Byrathi) Basavaraj, Arabail Hebbar Shivaram, Hasavanagowda C Patil, K Gopalaiah, Narayana Gowda and Shrimant Balasaheb Patil took oath as ministers.

It should be noted that many MLAs had won the by-polls on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket in December last year after switching loyalties from the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS) and Congress.

In the December 5 by-polls held in 15 Assembly constituencies, the BJP had won 12, while Congress managed to bag only two. One seat was won by an Independent candidate while the JDS drew a blank.

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