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Gujarat: Police firing victim’s father enters LS poll fray against Amit Shah

Agencies
April 6, 2019

Gandhinagar, Apr 6: The father of a Dalit youth killed in police firing at Thangadh in Gujarat in 2012, has filed his nomination from the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, where BJP chief Amit Shah is in the fray.

Velji Rathod, father of Mehul Rathod, one of the three youths killed in police firing in Thangadh village in Surendranagar district, on Friday said that by contesting the election against Shah, he wants to send out a message that the BJP-led government has delayed justice to the victims' families.

Rathod filed his nomination as an independent candidate on Thursday.

Three Dalit youths - Pankaj Sumra, Prakash Parmar and Mehul Rathod - were killed on the intervening night of September 22 and 23, 2012, when police opened fire to control the clashing members of Dalit and OBC Bharwad communities.

The state government had ordered a probe into the incident and a report had been submitted by the then principal secretary of social justice and empowerment department, Sanjay Prasad. However, the report has not been made public so far.

"We have been fighting for the last six years to seek justice for my son and two other victims of police excesses, but till date the culprits have not been punished. No charge sheet has been filed against the accused police officers," Rathod said.

He said his decision to contest election against Shah from Gandhinagar seat was a deliberate one.

"I want to send out a message of how the government led by his (Shah's) party delayed justice to the families of the victims of the government excesses," Rathod said.

"We had held a dharna in Gandhinagar and tried to press for our demand for justice, but the BJP government turned a deaf ear. I visited members of Dalit communities in Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency and sought their opinion whether I should contest the election. As most of them agreed, I jumped into the fray," he said.

According to Rathod, Dalit leader and independent MLA Jignesh Mevani has extended his support to him and agreed to campaign for him.

"I talked to Mevani, who said he is currently campaigning outside the state. But he has agreed to campaign for me when he comes back," he said.

Despite demands from the opposition Congress, the government has so far not tabled the report in the state Assembly.

Four police officials were accused of firing that led to the killing. However, the CID, which probed the case, had filed a 'C-summary' report, closing the case without any conclusion.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Ahead of the grand foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Ram Temple on August 5, Ayodhya priest and 16 police personnel, involved in the mega event on August 5, have tested positive for COVID-19. Priest Pradeep Das is one of the four priests who regularly perform puja at the Ram Temple site in Ayodhya.

Das has been placed under home quarantine and contact tracing is underway, reported.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh police and Sashastra Seema Bal have been put on high alert in the districts bordering Nepal ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ayodhya on August 5.

PM Modi likely to launch postal stamps on Ram Temple, Ramayana during Ayodhya visit: Report
Counterfeit products create Rs 1-lakh-crore hole in economy, incidents up 24% in 2019: Report
On July 29, Uttar Pradesh reported a record single-day spike of 3,570 COVID-19 cases, taking the infection tally to more than 77,000, while 33 fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,530.

"There are 29,997 active COVID-19 cases in the state and 45,807 patients have been discharged after treatment," Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters. "The death toll due to the disease has reached 1,530," he said.

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News Network
June 26,2020

New Delhi, Jun 26: Petrol prices in the national capital have reached Rs 80.13 per litre on June 26, up by 21 paise from yesterday’s Rs 79.92 per litre; while diesel prices in Delhi also rose to Rs 80.19 per litre – up by 17 paise compared to yesterday’s Rs 80.02 per litre.

This is the 20th consecutive day that fuel prices have been hiked by oil marketing companies (OMCs). The hikes began from June 8 after a 83-day halt on revised pricing during the lockdown period.

The state government’s increased value-added tax (VAT) on diesel since May is causing the fuel’s prices to soar in Delhi. VAT was increased to 30 percent for both petrol and diesel from 27 percent and 16.75 percent, respectively.

Coupled with the Centre’s hiked excise duty of Rs 3 per litre since March 14 and then Rs 10 per litre on petrol and Rs 13 per litre on diesel since May 5 has affected prices.

The hike on diesel prices is unusual, as the government traditionally keeps the price for the fuel low due to its impact on agriculture and other high consumption economic activities.

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News Network
March 30,2020

Kochi, Mar 30: Kerala High Court on Monday granted interim bail to the under-trial prisoners and remanded accused in the state till April 30 in view of the lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The court said that the accused should report to the local police station immediately after getting bail. Those released on bail must strictly follow the lockdown instructions, the High Court said.

"Those who have been convicted of imprisonment for less than seven years will get bail. Prison Superintendents will release the prisoners who are eligible. But regular offenders are not entitled to get bail," the court said.

After the bail period, the accused should appear in the respective trial courts, where a decision will be taken on their bail by the respective trial courts.

The Supreme Court had last week asked all state governments to release undertrial prisoners, who are facing charges attracting less than seven years imprisonment, to reduce overcrowding of jails amid the ongoing coronavirus scare.

So far, 194 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported in the state.

The country is under a 21-day lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has claimed the lives of 29 people and infected a total of 1071 people as on Monday morning.

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