Kerala houseboat industry under scanner for sex tourism

August 31, 2014

Alappuzha, Aug 31: The district administration has initiated steps for monitoring the houseboat industry following reports of sex tourism and possibility of extremist elements using the facilities.

Kerala houseboatThe move follows an alert from additional director general of police (intelligence) A Hemachandran. District collector N Padmakumar has sought reports from the district police chief and the port officer— who is responsible for issuing licences to houseboats—in this regard.

"The ADGP alerted us that there is no efficient monitoring of the houseboat industry. He wanted us to take action against sex tourism and check details of those renting these houseboats. He even warned us that houseboats could turn a safe haven for extremists," Padmakumar said.

He said the district administration would soon form squads in association with port department and police and start raiding houseboats in September.

People associated with the industry confirmed reports of sex tourism. "We have arranged sex workers for some guests who demanded such services. However, we try to avoid such guests," said Akhil, a houseboat employee from Muhamma.

Anu Renjith, district manager of state AIDS control society's 'Suraksha' project, said 800 of 1,528 sex workers in Alappuzha worked in association with the industry. She said only 20 houseboat operators had allowed the society to install condom boxes in their boats as part of its safe-sex initiative.

District tourism promotion council secretary C Pradeep also said not all houseboat operators followed its directives. "Only 637 of the 1,000-1,200 houseboats operating in the district have completed the registration process. We had stopped giving permission for new houseboats last year but new houseboats are still being launched."

He said all houseboat operators were instructed to keep a clients' register following the houseboat accident in Punnamada Lake on January 26 last year, which claimed four lives. "They were also directed to submit the register to the DTPC for inspection but they protested against it, We don't have a clear picture about tourists hiring houseboats."

He said around 2,59,000 domestic tourists and 58,000 foreign tourists had visited the district last year, as per the records from hotels and resorts.

R R Joshiraj, a major houseboat operator, said the industry never encouraged sex tourism. "Such instances could be there. But the majority are ready to cooperate with the government in cracking down such illegal practices," he added.

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Agencies
February 6,2020

Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha President Ranjit Bachchan was shot dead on Sunday because of an extra-marital relationship of his second wife.

Lucknow Police Commissioner Sujit Pandey said at a press conference here on Thursday that Ranjit Bachchan's second wife Smriti Srivastava, her paramour Dipendra and driver Sanjit Gautam have been arrested in connection with the case. All three were held on Thursday, while the shooter -- Jitendra -- is yet to be arrested.

Pandey said that Smriti wanted a divorce from Ranjit Bachchan and their case was pending in the family court since 2016. While she was keen to marry Dipendra, Ranjit Bachchan was unwilling to leave her.

"On January 17, Ranjit had met Smriti and even slapped her, which became the provocation for the murder," he said.

The Police Commissioner said that during investigation, the police had probed all possible angles, including a terror angle.

"We found there were no financial disputes, no property disputes and no terror angle to the case. It emerged that Smriti had an affair with Dipendra and wanted to leave Ranjit Bachchan, who had four criminal cases against him. Through technical and electronic surveillance, we found the connection between Smriti, Dipendra, driver Sanjit and the shooter Jitendra," he said.

Ranjeet Bachchan, 40, who had founded the Vishwa Hindu Mahasabha, was shot in the head on Sunday morning while his brother Aditya Srivastava was injured in the attack by the assailant who also snatched their mobile phones.

The attacker had covered himself in a shawl and was on foot. The police had released CCTV footages showing a suspect and announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000 for providing information.

Four police personnel, including a sub-inspector, were suspended for alleged laxity and a case was registered at the Hazratganj po

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News Network
June 6,2020

Kota (Rajasthan), Jun 6: A 14-year-old boy allegedly hanged himself to death on early Saturday morning shortly after he stopped playing PUBG throughout the night and went to sleep, said police. 

Railway Colony police station’s in-charge Hansraj Meena said the boy, a class 9 student and son of an Army man, was found hanging from the grill of the ventilator in his bedroom on early Saturday morning. 

Meena said according to the boy’s family members, the boy had downloaded the gaming programme on his mother’s mobile phone only three days back but had been playing the game virtually continuously for the last three days. 

He kept on playing the game till 3 am in a room in which his brother was studying, said Meena, adding the boy went to adjoining to sleep after that. His body was found hanging from the ventilator’s grill in the morning, he said, adding the boy was rushed to MBS Hospital, where he was declared “brought dead”. 

No suicide note was recovered in the case, the SHO said. The boy lived in Gandhi Colony in the city along with his mother and brother, while his father, a Tamil Nadu native and Army man, is currently posted in Arunachal Pradesh. The boy’s body has been kept in hospital’s morgue for the postmortem, the SHO said.

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News Network
March 12,2020

Mar 12: Three women were arrested for allegedly administrating fake coronavirus vaccines to villagers in Maharashtra's Jalna district, police said on Thursday.

The police on Wednesday arrested Beed residents Radha Ramnath Saamse, Seema Krishna Andhale and Sangeeta Rajendra Avhad, who allegedly posed as doctors and healthcare workers, an official said.

The trio met villagers of Pipalgoan in Ambad tehsil, informed them about a vaccine that could protect them from coronavirus and administered it to gullible locals, he said.

Some villagers informed Dr Mahadev Munde, a medical officer at a rural health centre, about this, after which a complaint was lodged, the official said.

Fake vaccines and bottles, which were seized from the accused, have been sent to the state health department, he said, adding that a case of cheating has been registered against the trio.

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