WADA wants two-year ban on Ashwini & Co

February 8, 2012

New Delhi, February 8: Not satisfied with the one-year ban handed out to top four Indian quartermilers, including Asian Games double gold medallist Ashwini Akkunji, in the doping scandal, the World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed against the decision and pleaded for a two-year sanction on the athletes.

Akkunji, her Commonwealth and Asian Games 4X400m relay gold-winning quartet member Sini Jose, Priyanka Panwar and Tiana Mary Thomas were banned for one year, along with three other athletes, in December last by a National Anti-Doping Agency panel, virtually ending their London Olympics dreams.

They had been handed a reduced punishment of one-year ban on the ground that "the athletes were not found guilty of intentionally taking the banned substances".

The four athletes had since appealed against the one-year ban, praying before a NADA Appellate panel headed by CK Mahajan that they be absolved of all punishment as they had consumed the banned substances on the orders of their coach.

The NADA Appellate panel had reserved its decision on the matter but with the WADA also appealing against the reduced ban of one year, the panel is expected to reopen the case. The next hearing has been scheduled for February 15.

NADA director general Rahul Bhatnagar said that the WADA had filed an appeal against the reduced penalty and the matter would come up before the NADA Appellate panel on February 15.

"WADA has filed an appeal, seeking a harsher punishment of two years under the Rules. According to WADA's contention the athletes should not have been handed lighter punishment on the ground that they don't know they were taking banned substances," Bhatnagar said.

"What WADA says is that under the rules the athletes will have to bear the responsibility whether he or she had taken the banned substances intentionally or unintentionally. The fact that banned substances were present in their urine sample should be enough to attract maximum 2-year ban for first time offender. This is what the WADA appeal meant," he said.

International Association of Athletics Federation is also expected to file appeal against the one-year bans handed out to Mandeep Kaur and Juana Murmu.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Vidya Dinker, Naveenchandra to participate in national level consultation on Urban Governance

Media Release

January 21,2020

Mangalore, Jan 21: Former city councillor and social activists Naveenchandra and social activist Vidya Dinker have been invited to participate in two-day National Level Consultation on Urban Governance which will take place on January 22 and 23 at Juniper Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

Urban governance stakeholders of 20 states and one union territory will be participating in this national level consultative seminar. The participants will include elected representatives, NGO representatives and urban planning experts. The seminar is being organised by Mumbai based Prajna Foundation, which has undertaken an in-depth study of the governance of the 20 states and one union territories.

Having served several terms as a corporator of Mangaluru City Corporation, Naveenchandra is knowledgeable in matters relating to urban governance. He is very popular in his constituency. Vidya Dinker is a well known city based social activist. She is the Coordinator, Citizens Forum for Mangalore Development.

Comments

Vidya Dinker I can understand but Naveen i don't know on what qualifications and credentials he has been selected and to say he is Popular in his constituency is a Misnormer . Just visit kambla ward once and speak to people and you can understand it better !!!

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Court grants anticipatory bail to Nalini, who displayed the ‘Free Kashmir’ placard

News Network

January 28,2020

Mysuru, Jan 28: The Second Additional District and Sessions Court on Monday granted anticipatory bail to B Nalini, who displayed the ‘Free Kashmir’ placard during a protest, and also to Maridevaiah, the organiser of the protest.

Nalini and Maridevaiah had applied for bail as Jayalakshmipuram police had booked them under sedition charges. Nalini had displayed the placard during a protest at Manasagangotri, the University of Mysore campus, recently. The court, which took up the case on January 24, had kept the order pending.

The court directed the accused to submit their passport to the court and a bond for a sum of Rs 50,000. The court also directed them to be present before the police, whenever needed.

Meanwhile, the Mysuru Bar Association has decided to take measures against the association members who are in favour of Nalini. Seventy-five members, seeking to represent Nalini, have withdrawn their support, the association secretary B Shivanna said. The association has suspended advocates Manjula Manasa and P P Baburaj.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

PE firms, IT Dept get clean chit in CCD founder Siddhartha's suicide case

Agencies

July 25,2020

New Delhi, Jul 25: Nearly a year after Cafe Coffee Day founder V.G. Siddhartha's death, the probe committee appointed by the Board of Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL) has given a virtual clean chit to private equity investors and the Income Tax Department who were named in his last letter.
The investigation report noted that Siddhartha may have felt "aversive behavioural stimulus" due to persistent reminders from the PE investors and other lenders.

"However, such reminders and follow-ups by the PE investors and lenders are not something which are beyond normal industry practices and we believe that PE investors were acting as per accepted legal and business norms," said that report.

It further said that the investigators were not provided with any documentary evidence to show any "advertent or inadvertent harassment" from the Income Tax Department.

It however, said that the financial records suggest a serious liquidity crunch which may have arisen due to the attachment of Mindtree shares by the IT Department.

Further, the probe revealed that MACEL, a private firm of Siddhartha, owes Rs 2,693 crore to Coffee Day Enterprises, which the report says, "needs to be addressed".

The Cafe Coffee Day founder's body was fished out of the Netravathi river in Karnataka by a group of fishermen on July 31 last year, a day after he went missing.

His last note raised several questions about the role of investors, and tax officials.

He had written: "Tremendous pressure from other lenders lead to me succumbing to the situation. There was a lot of harassment from the previous DG Income Tax in the form of attaching our shares on two separate occasions to block our Mindtree deal and then taking possession of our Coffee Day shares, although the revised returns have been filed by us. This was very unfair and has led to a serious liquidity crunch."

The massive shock to the industry and the country also led the government to assure that tax officials would not harass businessmen and the situation would improve.

Comments