‘But for Kasab’s capture, blame might have fallen on Indian Muslims’

August 31, 2012

New Delhi, August 30: While lauding police efforts in apprehending gunman Ajmal Kasab alive during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said “the deception, the falsehood that the terrorists were Indian Muslims coming from Hyderabad connected with some fictitious organisation called Mujahideen, Hyderabad Deccan, is one of the most ominous and distressing parts of the conspiracy.”

A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and C.K. Prasad said, “If the appellant [Kasab] had not been caught alive and the investigating agencies had not been able to unravel the conspiracy fully and in all its devious ways, the terrorists might have passed [off] as Indian Muslims and that would have led to devastating short-term and equally debilitating long-term consequences. It would have caused… distrust and suspicion between communities and disturbed the communal peace and harmony of the country. It is not impossible that conflagrations would have erupted in different parts of the country, which the governments would have found difficult to contain.”

The Bench said: “In this regard, the selection of the CST [Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus] as one of the targets for carnage assumes great importance. Trains leave for many parts of the country from the CST. Thus, as news of the carnage spread across the country through the media, travellers would start arriving in different parts of the country, some having lost their near and dear ones at CST, some with a wounded companion and others shell-shocked by the experience of a terrorist attack on the railway station. Their first-hand, eyewitness accounts of the carnage, added to reports in the print media and visuals in the electronic media, could be highly inflammatory and could easily evoke communal violence that would be difficult to contain.”

The Bench said the deception was “ominous because it aimed at destabilising Indian society and its governments. But it was equally distressing for being so deeply untruthful. Indian Muslims may have a long list of grievances against the establishment. Some of the grievances may be fanciful, some may be of their own making and some may be substantive. Nevertheless, no Indian Muslim would even think of venting his grievance like an animal, killing, maiming and wounding innocent people, his own countrymen. This is because he is not only loyal to his faith and community but equally loves his country and fellow countrymen.

“The case presents the element of previous planning and preparation as no other case. For execution of the conspiracy, the appellant and the nine other dead accused, his accomplices were given rigorous and extensive training as combatants. The planning for the attack was meticulous and greatly detailed. The route from Karachi to Mumbai, the landing site at Mumbai, the different targets at Mumbai were all predetermined.”

The court said: “All the terrorists, including the appellant, actually acted according to the previous planning. A channel of communication between the attacking terrorists and their handlers and collaborators from across the border, based on advanced computer technology and procured through deception, was already arranged and put in place before the attack was launched. We are unable to accept the submission that the appellant was a mere tool in the hands of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. He joined the LeT around December 2007 and continued as its member till the end, despite a number of opportunities to leave it. This shows his clear and unmistakable intention to be a part of the organisation and participate in its designs. Even after his arrest he regarded himself as a ‘watan parast’, a patriotic Pakistani at war with this country.”

“The saddest and most disturbing part of the case,” the Bench said, “was that the appellant never showed any remorse for the terrible things he did.”

It rejected the charge that the confession of Kasab was not voluntary and it could not be accepted. “As for his knowing the names of many people in LeT, their respective positions in the hierarchy and their roles in the organisation, again there is nothing unusual about it. It is to be noted that the appellant was not a mercenary hired for the operation. He was a highly committed and devoted member of the organisation and, therefore, there is nothing strange or wrong in his coming to know many people in the organisation during the course of his training. Further, it is to be kept in mind that his being caught alive was not part of the plan of the handlers.”

No rights violation

In view of these facts, the Bench said, “We are firmly of the view that there is no question of any violation of any of the rights of the appellant under the Indian Constitution.”

On the acquittal of Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahamed, who had been linked with the 26/11 attacks, the Bench said: “We are in full agreement with the reasons assigned by the trial court and the High Court for acquitting the two accused of all the charges. The view taken by the trial court and the High Court is not only correct but on the facts of the case, that is the only possible view.”

indian_muslims


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News Network
April 15,2020

New Delhi, Apr 15: The Union Health Ministry has identified 170 districts as COVID-19 hotspots and 207 districts as potential hotspots, officials said on Wednesday, reiterating that there has been no community transmission of the disease in the country so far.

Addressing the daily briefing to provide updates on coronavirus situation in the country, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health Lav Agarwal said that states have been asked to classify districts which have reported a higher number of cases as hotspots, the districts where cases have been reported as non-hotspots, and green zones where no cases have been reported.

"Hotspots are those districts which are reporting more number of cases or where the rate of growth of COVID-19 cases is high," Agarwal said, adding a detailed direction has been issued to states stating consolidated efforts are required to utilise this period of lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.

"Cabinet secretary held a video conference today with all chief secretaries, DGPs, health secretaries, collectors, SPs, municipal commissioners and CMOs where hotspots were discussed and orientation on field level implementation of containment strategy was given.

"They were told about large outbreak containment strategies, cluster containment strategies. Delineation of buffer and containment zone, parameter mapping, defining of entry and exit points were also discussed in detail," he said.

The joint secretary said movement of people will not be allowed in containment zones except for those related with essential services and special teams will search for new cases and samples will be collected and tested as per sampling criteria.

The officials said that health facilities in buffer zone outside the containment zone will be oriented and people facing SARI and influenza-like symptoms will be tested there.

"Special teams have been formed which will work in containment zone and do contact tracing and house-to-house surveys. Cases of fever, cough and breathlessness will be identified in the survey and requisite action will be taken as per protocol," Agarwal said, adding that there has been no community transmissions so far but some local outbreaks.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in India has risen to 11,439 with 1,076 fresh cases reported in the last 24 hours while the death toll stands at 377, the ministry official said.

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News Network
June 6,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 6: The Sabarimala Temple in Kerala is set to reopen from June 14 for devotees for monthly pooja and festival.

The temple will be open for the five-day monthly rituals in the Malayalam month of Midhunom that begins on June 15. From June 19-28 is the Sabarimala festival

A virtual queue system has been put in place in which 200 people will be allowed to register within an hour, Devasom Minister Kadakampally Surendran said.

To avoid crowding, only 50 devotees will be allowed to be present in front of the temple.

Before entering the premises, people will be scanned in Pampa and Sannidhanam. As a precautionary measure, people have been asked to wear mask and sanitation would be carried out at regular intervals.

Notably, no accommodation will be provided to the devotees in Sabarimala.

According to the Devasom Minister the administration has made two slots for the temple visit-- 4 am to 1 pm and 4 pm to 11 pm.

Also, the vehicles will only be allowed till Pampa. People coming from other states are required to register at government COVID Jagrata pass registration portal. Moreover, Appam and Arvana will be provided only through online booking.

Also, the devotees coming from other states will have to upload Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) labs certificate as a proof that they have not been infected with the lethal infection.

Also for the Guruvayoor Temple, the district collector, police and temple administration will hold a meeting to decide on the re-opening of the Temple. Here too devotees have to get themselves registered online.

In a single day, 600 people would be allowed to offer prayers at this shrine. Each hour, 150 people will be allowed to enter the premises.

Also, the time slot will be provided to people. In one batch 50 people will be allowed for 15 minutes inside the premises

Not only that, but marriages can also again be solemnised with divine blessings at the Guruvayoor temple. The administration will allow only 60 marriages in a day.

Weddings were stopped at the temple, due to the COVID-19 lockdown that was in place since March 24.

A marriage group should not have more than 10 people, including the bride and the groom and it is mandatory for the group to abide by the social distancing norm.

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News Network
March 27,2020

Mumbai, Mar 27: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday lowered the key repo rate by 75 basis points to 4.4 per cent in a bid to arrest the economic slowdown amid coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
The reverse repo rate now stands at 4 per cent, down by 90 basis points, said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das adding this has been done to make it unattractive for banks to passively deposit funds with the central bank and instead lend it to the productive sectors.
The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) met on March 24, 25 and 27 and voted 4:2 in favour of the repo rate reduction. The MPC also decided to continue with the accommodative stance as long as it is necessary to revive growth and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy while ensuring that inflation remains within the target.
"The need of the hour is to shield the economy from the pandemic," said Das. "We need to mitigate the impact of coronavirus, revive economic growth and provide financial stability."
Repo rate is the rate at which a country's central bank lends money to commercial banks, and the reverse repo rate is the rate at which it borrows from them.
The RBI Governor further said that the economic growth and inflation projection will be highly contingent depending on the duration, spread and intensity of the pandemic.
"Global economic activity has come to a near standstill as COVID-19 related lockdowns and social distancing are imposed across a widening swathe of affected countries. Expectations of a shallow recovery in 2020 from 2019's decade low in global growth have been dashed," said Das.
"The outlook is now heavily contingent upon the intensity, spread and duration of the pandemic. There is a rising probability that large parts of the global economy will slip into recession," he said.
However, the RBI has injected liquidity of Rs 2.8 lakh crore via various instruments equal to 1.4 per cent of GDP. "Along with today's measures, liquidity measures equal to 3.2 per cent of GDP. The RBI will take continuous measures to ensure liquidity in the system."
The RBI governor has said that all banking institutions can offer a three-month moratorium on all loans for a period of three months. The RBI has also allowed banks to restructure the working capital cycle for companies without worrying that these will have to be classified as a non-performing asset (NPA).
The three-month moratorium will permit banks to avoid a large onset of NPAs during the 21-day lockdown and keep their books healthy.
Das said banks and other financial institutions should do all they can to keep credit flowing to economic agents facing financial stress on account of the isolation that the virus has imposed.
"Market participants should work with regulators like the RBI and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to ensure the orderly functioning of markets in their role of price discovery and financial intermediation," he said.

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