Uproar over Italy's decision, PM says it will be taken up

March 12, 2013
New Delhi, Mar 12: As Italy's refusal to send back its two marines triggered an uproar, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the issue will be taken up with that country so that the accused soldiers could be brought back to face trial for alleged murder of two Indian fishermen here.

Left MPs, who met the Prime Minister, said Singh told them that Italy's decision was "unacceptable".

However, PMO sources said Singh only told the delegations that the matter would be looked into and he will ask External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid to take up the issue with Italy.

pmDelegations of angry Left and Congress-led UDF MPs met Singh separately to express anguish and demand his intervention in the "serious" matter.

"We met the Prime Minister and took up the issue of Italian marines. The Prime Minister told us that he came to know about this from newspapers. He assured us that he will ask the External Affairs Minister to look into this issue to intervene in this issue," CPI(M) MP M B Rajesh said.

"He (PM) said this is unacceptable to us," Rajesh added.

Another party MP P Karunakaran told a press conference separately that Singh "told us that this is not acceptable to us" and assured the delegation that the matter would be taken up "strongly" with the Italian government.

When pointed out that the PMO said Singh did not say that the decision is "unacceptable", Rajesh remarked, "it is a lie. If he did not say it is 'unacceptable', it means it is acceptable to the government of India."

Khurshid, meanwhile, said the government is studying Italy's decision, its reasons as also implications.

"We will study and take a rightful position... We will take informed position," he told reporters on the issue which has sparked an outrage in Kerala.

Congress MP P C Chacko, who led UDF-delegation, said, "More than saying whether this is acceptable or not, the Prime Minister has said that he will ask External Affairs Minister to take up this issue and use all diplomatic channels to bring them back."

MPs from Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Kerala Congress (Mani) were also part of the UDF delegation.

The agitated MPs met Singh in the wake of Italian Foreign Ministry statement that the marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone will not return to India from Italy where they had gone to cast vote in last month's elections after special permission granted by the Supreme Court.

The two marines are facing trial for allegedly killing two fishermen off the Kerala coast in February last year, mistaking them for pirates.

The Italian Ministry claimed India had not responded to its requests to seek a diplomatic solution to the case and there was now a formal dispute between the two countries over the terms of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea.

CPI-M MP K N Balagopal alleged that it was "the result of a high level conspiracy between somebody holding the highest post in Indian government and Government of Italy." He, however, did not elaborate.

His party colleague P Karunakaran said the Prime Minister told them he would hold consultations with External Affairs Minister to decide on the course of action.

Senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the Prime Minister would also have to explain what "strong measures" the government would take to bring back these marines and ensure their trial under the Indian laws.

"The Italian marines have insulted the judiciary. It is an issue of the law of our land and the marines would have to come back here to face trial," he said.

"In India, the undertrials are not allowed to vote. If that is the norm for Indian undertrials under the Indian laws, why should this be different for the Italian marines," asked Yechury.

Meanwhile, in Thiruvananthapuram fish workers unions organised a protest march to the Secretariat and burnt the effigy of the two marines.

The protesters shouted slogans denouncing the Italian government and their Diplomats in India.

They wanted the state and the Centre to take strong steps to bring back the marines to India and try them under the laws of the country for the offence they had committed in India waters.

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February 3,2020

New Delhi, Feb 3: In the third such incident inside of a week, two unidentified persons opened fire outside Gate No. 5 of Jamia Millia Islamia on Sunday night, the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) said.

A statement issued by the committee, a group comprising students and alumni of the university formed to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, said the attackers were on a red Rcooty.

No one was injured in the attack. One of the miscreants was wearing a red jacket, the statement said.

"Firing has taken place at Gate No.5 of Jamia Millia Islamia right now by two unidentified persons. As per report, one of them was wearing a red jacket and driving a red Scooty having vehicle no. 1532 or 1534," the statement said.

Police said they were verifying the JCC's claims.

Asim Mohammed Khan, former Congress MLA from Okhla, said the incident occurred around 11.30 pm. "We heard the gunshot. That is when we stepped out to see and the two men left on a Scooty," a student said.

"We have taken down the vehicle number and called police," he added.

This is the third firing incident in the Jamia Nagar area in a week.

On Thursday, a minor fired at anti-CAA protesters marching towards Rajghat, injuring a student.

Two days later, a 25-year-old fired two rounds in air in Shaheen Bagh in Jamia Nagar. No one was hurt in the incident.

The incident on Sunday night triggered panic in the area. A police vehicle had reached the spot after the incident but was chased away by angry students.

Hundreds of students and locals gathered outside the university.

Many raised slogans against the Delhi Police. They also staged a dharna outside the Jamia Nagar police station.

Shezad Ahmed, a JMI student and resident of Zakir Nagar, said they were not even allowed to protest peacefully.

"We are not going to be deterred by such incidents. We will continue with our protest," he added.

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News Network
May 8,2020

Aurangabad, May 8: At least 15 migrant workers, who were sleeping on the railway tracks while going back to their native places, were run over by a goods train between Maharashtra's Jalna and Aurangabad, officials said on Friday.

A senior railway official confirmed that 15 migrant labourers were run over by a goods train between Jalna and Aurangabad of Nanded Divison of South Central Railway.

The official said that the incident happened around 5.30 am on Friday when the migrant workers, who were on way back to their homes and sleeping on the railway tracks.

However, it is yet not clear from where this group hailed and where they were going.

Amid the nationwide lockdown, thousands of migrant workers stranded in several other cities have started their journey to return to their native places on foot.

The interstate bus service, passenger, mail and express train services have been suspended since March 24.

The railways has started running Shramik Special trains to transport the stranded migrants to their native places since May 1.

Till Thursday railways has run 201 Shramik Special trains.

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News Network
March 12,2020

New Delhi, Mar 12: The Supreme Court told the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday that as of now, there was no law that could back their action of putting up roadside posters of those accused of vandalism during anti-CAA protests in Lucknow.

An apex court bench refused to stay the March 9 Allahabad High Court order directing the Yogi Adityanath administration to remove the posters.

The top court, which grilled the Uttar Pradesh government for putting up such posters in public, described the plea as a matter that needed "further elaboration and consideration".

A vacation bench of justices U U Lalit and Aniruddha Bose said a "bench of sufficient strength" would consider next week the Uttar Pradesh government's appeal against the Allahabad High Court order directing the state administration to remove the posters of those accused of vandalism during anti-CAA protests.

It directed the apex court registry to put up the case file before Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde so that a "bench of sufficient strength can be constituted at the earliest to hear and consider" the case next week.

During the hearing, the bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, that it was a matter of "great importance".

It asked Mehta whether the state government had the power to put up such posters.

The top court, however, said there was no doubt that action should be taken against rioters and they should be punished.

Mehta told the court that the posters were put up as a "deterrent" and the hoardings only said that these persons were liable to pay for their alleged acts during the violence.

Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for former IPS officer S R Darapuri whose poster has also been affixed in Lucknow, told the bench that the state was duty-bound to show the authority of law backing its action.

He said the action of the Uttar Pradesh government amounted to a "mega blanket" approach of naming and shaming these persons without final adjudication and it was an open invitation to common men to lynch them as the posters also had their addresses and photographs.

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