HC quashes Baig's death penalty in Pune German bakery blast

March 17, 2016

Mumbai, Mar 17: The Bombay High Court today quashed the death penalty awarded to lone convict Himayat Baig in the 2010 German Bakery blast in Pune due to lack of evidence, but confirmed the life sentence imposed on him for possession of explosives.

germanA division bench of Justices N H Patil and S B Shukre said Baig is acquitted of all charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), under sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC, and under some sections of the Explosive Substances Act.

The court, however, confirmed Baig's conviction and life sentence imposed on him under section 5(B) of the Explosive Substances Act, for possession of RDX.

The court also confirmed his conviction under section 474 of IPC, for submitting forged documents while procuring mobile phone SIM cards.

The high court further said that it need not pass any order on the applications filed by two witnesses in the case, as it has acquitted Baig of the charges.

Notably, when Baig filed his appeal in the high court challenging the death penalty, two witnesses in the case had also filed an application seeking their evidence to be recorded again as their statement was taken under duress.

Dressed in a black shirt and blue jeans, Baig was present in the court when the judgement was pronounced.

Baig, who the police said was a member of the terrorist outfit Indian Mujahideen, was arrested in September 2010 for involvement in the blast at German Bakery, a popular eatery in Pune's Koregaon Park area, which killed 17 persons and injured 58, including some foreign nationals.

In 2013, a sessions court in Pune convicted him and awarded capital punishment. Himayat Baig, the lone convict in the case, was arrested in September 2010 from Latur in Maharashtra.

The ATS had recovered 1,200 kgs of RDX from Baig's residence in Latur after his arrest.

There are total eight accused in the case, of whom six are wanted.

Besides Baig, another accused Qateel Siddiqui was also arrested, but he died in Pune's Yerawada jail following a scuffle with other inmates.

The other wanted accused in the case are--IM operatives Yasin Bhatkal, Mohsin Choudhary, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Ismail Bhatkal, Fayyaz Kagzi and Sayyad Zabiuddin Ansari.

According to prosecution, the bomb used in the blast was assembled at Baig's internet cafe. Thereafter, he travelled to Pune by bus with Mohsin Choudhary and planted the bomb.

However, Baig's lawyer Mehmood Pracha had earlier argued that Baig was not even present in Pune at the time of the blast, and that he was attending a wedding in Latur.

According to Pracha, it was Qateel Siddiqui who along with Yasin Bhatkal went to Pune.

When Baig filed his appeal in the high court challenging the death penalty, two witnesses in the case filed an application in HC seeking that their evidence be recorded again as their statement was taken under duress.

Former journalist Ashish Khetan had also earlier filed a PIL, alleging that Baig was falsely implicated and the case should be probed afresh by NIA.

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Agencies
July 11,2020

New Delhi, Jul 11: A notice which claims that a COVID-19 Monitoring Committee has been formed is fake, and no such committee has been set up by the Union Home Ministry, as per Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The "Fake" MHA order stated, "Pursuant to the official orders received dated: Monday, May 18, 2020, of the Honourable Minister of Home Affairs, passed in the approval of Special Status Advisory Committee for COVID-19, a COVID-19 Monitoring Committee has been constituted in the MHA vide order dated: Friday, June 12, 2020."

MHA Spokesperson also cautioned people to beware of fake news and rumours.

India's COVID-19 case count crossed the eight lakh-mark on Saturday with yet another highest single-day spike of 27,114 new cases in the last 24 hours.

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News Network
January 20,2020

New Delhi, Jan 20: Surging inflation and slowing growth are raising serious concerns about the future growth prospects of the economy and as a remedial measure the government should resolve supply-side hurdles and ensure more stringent governance norms, a report said on Monday.

According to the Dun and Bradstreet Economy forecast, even though the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) turned positive in November 2019, it is likely to remain subdued.

"Slowdown in consumption and investment along with high inflationary pressures, geopolitical issues and uncertainty over the recovery of the economic growth are likely to keep IIP subdued," the report noted.

Dun and Bradstreet expect IIP to remain around 1.5-2.0 percent during December 2019.

As per government data, industrial output grew 1.8 percent in November, turning positive after three months of contraction, on account of growth in the manufacturing sector.

On the price front, uneven rainfall along with floods in many states and geopolitical issues have led to a surge in headline inflation even as demand remains muted.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in December rose to about five-and-half year high of 7.35 percent from 5.54 percent in November, mainly driven by high vegetable prices.

"The sharp rise in inflation has constrained monetary policy stimulus while revenue shortfall has placed limits on the government expenditure," Dun & Bradstreet India Chief Economist Arun Singh said.

According to Singh, growth-supporting measures and deceleration in growth are likely to cause slippage in fiscal deficit target by a wider margin.

"The government should focus on taking small steps to address the slowdown; in particular, resolve the supply-side hurdles and ensure more stringent governance norms," Singh said.

Unless these concerns are addressed through a comprehensive policy framework, it will not be easy for India to clock a sustainable growth rate to become a USD 5 trillion economy, he added.

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Agencies
May 9,2020

New Delhi, May 9: Home Minister Amit Shah today tweeted to say he is healthy and not suffering from any disease, dismissing recent rumours on social media about his health. "I want to make it clear that I am completely healthy and do not suffer from any disease," the Home Minister wrote.

The 55-year-old home minister said for the last few days, some people on social media have been spreading rumours about his health. "In fact, many have tweeted even wishing for my death," he said.

मेरे स्वास्थ्य की चिंता करने वाले सभी लोगों को मेरा संदेश। pic.twitter.com/F72Xtoqmg9

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 9, 2020
Mr Shah said with the country fighting the coronavirus pandemic, that has affected nearly 40,000 people and killed more than 1,900, he did not pay attention to these rumours as he was busy performing his duties as the home minister. He said he was clarifying today because lakhs of BJP workers have expressed concern over the last two days.

The Home Minister, taking a jibe at those spreading rumours, said such speculation about his health will only make him stronger. "I request people to stop indulging in such talks and let me do my work, they should also go about their business," he added.

Amit Shah thanked well-wishers and workers of the BJP for enquiring about his health. He signed off by saying he has no hatred towards those who spread the rumours.

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