President Pratibha Patil gives life to dead man

June 23, 2012
pratibha-dev

Belgaum (Karnakata), June 23: A day after TOI reported that President Pratibha Patil had commuted the death sentences of 35 convicts to life in prison, it came to light on Friday that one of the beneficiaries of her mercy died almost five years ago.

Bandu Tidke's sentence for the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl came from the President's office on June 2. It has raised doubts about whether the clemency decisions — for many convicted of murder and rape — on the advice of the Union home ministry were based on correct information or taken in haste.

In Tidke's case, either the state jail officials or Karnataka's home department and subsequently the Union home ministry had not informed the President's office about his death on October 18, 2007. Tidke was 31 years old and HIV-positive.

Sources in the state prisons department said Tidke's file had been moved to the Centre two to three years ago. Prisons minister A Narayanaswamy, however, said, "It takes some time for the President to consider after a file is moved. I think the file in this case was moved when the convict was alive."

Tidke was arrested for rape and murder in 2002. In 2005, he was given the death sentence by the Bagalkot district court. Since November 30, 2005, he was lodged in the Hindalga Jail in Belgaum.

According to police files, Tidke, a sugarcane cutter from Beed district in Maharashtra, migrated in 2002 to Bagalkot in Karnataka where he posed as a swamiji and stayed at a local mutt. That year, he dragged a 16-year-old girl from a nearby school to his room, raped and murdered her. He left the body there and escaped to Shirdi where he was arrested.

Tidke appealed in the high court in 2006 but the court turned down his plea. Justices S R Bannurmath and N Ananda described him "like a devil in the garb of a swami". He then sent a mercy plea to the President.

Five years too late

2002: Bandu Baburao Tidke, a sugarcane cutter from Beed district of Maharashtra migrates to Bagalkot in Karnataka. Dresses up like a swamiji and lives in a mutt. Drags a 16-year-old schoolgirl to the mutt, rapes and murders her. Flees to Shirdi where he is arrested.

2005: Bagalkot court sentences Tidke to death. Sent to Hindalga Jail in Belgaum.

2006: Tidke appeals to high court against death sentence, but court turns petition. Tidke found to be HIV positive.

October 18, 2007: Tidke dies in Belgaum government hospital.

June 2, 2012: President Pratibha Patil commutes long-dead Tidke's death sentence to life term.

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News Network
May 11,2020

New Delhi, May 11: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh is stable and under observation at the AIIMS here after suffering reaction to a new medication and developing fever, hospital sources said on Monday.

The 87-year-old Congress leader was admitted to the hospital on Sunday evening after he complained of uneasiness. He has now been shifted out of the ICU.

The sources said that Singh had developed a reaction to a new medication and further investigation is being carried on him to rule out other causes of fever.

"Dr Manmohan Singh was admitted for observation and investigation after he developed a febrile reaction to a new medication," the sources said.

"He is being investigated to rule out other causes of fever and is being provided care as needed. He is stable and under care of a team of doctors at the Cardiothoracic Centre of AIIMS," they said.

"All his parameters are fine. He is under observation at the AIIMS," a source close to him has said.

Singh, a senior leader of the opposition Congress, is currently a Member of Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. He was the prime minister between 2004 and 2014.

In 2009, Singh underwent a successful coronary bypass surgery at the AIIMS. A number of leaders expressed have expressed concern over his health and wished him a speedy recovery.

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Agencies
August 9,2020

New Delhi, Aug 9: Indian on Sunday achieved a grim milestone after recording the highest single-day spike of 64,399 coronavirus cases, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As many as 861 deaths were reported in the country in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative toll to 43,379.

With the new cases, the country's coronavirus count has reached 21,53,011 including 6,28,747 active cases and 14,80,885 cured/discharged/migrated.

Maharashtra has 1,47,355 active coronavirus cases, the highest in the country.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 7,19,364 samples were tested on August 8 while over 2.41 crores samples so far have been tested in the country.

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News Network
January 6,2020

Jan 6: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy on Sunday said the country's economy is not showing good signs though Prime Minister Narendra Modi has manifested tremendous leadership skills in fighting terror and in social welfare projects.

The fiscal decisions of the government have not yielded the desired results, the Rajya Sabha MP said here.

"Modi had shown tremendous leadership skill in fighting terror, in several social areas, micro areas like bringing toilets to every village home. But the economy is a complex system...," he said while taking part in a discussion.

While every minister is talking about a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2024, but the current GDP growth has to be multiplied in four years to achieve that, the former Union minister said.

He said, if wages are slashed as a measure to cope with the situation, labor will become cheap but that will also cut down the people's purchasing power triggering dip in demand, closing down factories and rise in unemployment.

"This is one problem for which you really need an economist," he said.

Swamy said in jest, "I think Modi has one problem with me. Not only I am an economist but also a politician."

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