Government to examine army report on Gen. V.K. Singh, opposition cries foul

September 20, 2013
New Delhi, Sep 20: The government said Friday it will take further action on an internal report on the misuse of secret service funds by former Indian Army chief Gen. V.K. Singh after "careful examination" even as the BJP said the officer was being "hounded" for sharing the dais with Narendra Modi.

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As media reports quoted an army inquiry on Gen. Singh misusing secret funds to destablise the Jammu and Kashmir government among others, the defence ministry, which was initially reticent on the matter, came out with a terse four-para statement.

Predictably, a slugfest ensued between the Congress and the BJP on the issue, with the main opposition party terming it political vendetta and the Congress denying this. The Left chose to stay silent.

In its statement, the defence minister said : "The government has received a report from the Army HQ on certain issues relating to one of its outfits as reported by a section of the media today."

"The report impinges on matters of national security and, as such, the government will take a decision and further actions after a careful examination of the report." the statement said, adding: "The government has in place measures to prevent any such undesirable activities."

The statement also clarified that the ministry "has not taken any decision for a CBI inquiry into the issues raised in the army's report".

The media report was based on a inquiry by a board of officers into the functioning of the Technical Services Division (TSD) of the Corps of Military Intelligence during General Singh's tenure.

The report had called for bringing the TDS under the Central Bureau of Investigation scanner, the media report added.

According to the newspaper report, Gen. Singh had also paid off an NGO to try and change the line of succession in the army top brass.

On their part, people close to Gen. Singh said he was exploring the legal route on this issue.

Lt. General (retd.) Raj Kadiyan termed the issue as "personal vendetta" against the former army chief.

Speaking for reporters, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said reports of misuse of secret service funds by Gen. Singh, are "under the active consideration of the government" and appropriate action would be initiated against the guilty.

"If at all any maleficence is found against any serving or retired officers, appropriate action would be initiated by the government," he said.

BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said: "He is being hounded because he was seen seated beside Narendra Modi at the Rewari rally."

"The Congress has been misusing CBI and setting wrong precedents. There is already trust deficit and it should stop using hounding tactics," she said.

Added BJP leader Balbir Punj: "It is not on the merit of the issue that the government is trying to initiate a CBI probe against retired Gen V.K. Singh. It is clearly a fallout of his going and sharing the dais with Narendra Modi and hailing him as a leader."

General V.K. Singh had participated in an ex-servicemen's rally addressed by the BJP's prime ministerial nominee, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Sep 15 in Rewari in Haryana.

But the Congress denied the BJP's charge.

"He has not been arrested, nothing has happened, only Lt. Gen. Vinod Bhatia has submitted a report, and said there should be a probe by an agency like Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The government has not decided anything nor taken any steps," Congress leader Rashid Alvi said.

"It is not possible that if a person belongs to the opposition party or has ties with a leader who has been declared as the prime ministerial candidate, action should not be taken against him. Law will take its own course," he said.

The Left chose not to link the report and the politics over it, saying it was a national security issue.

Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta said: "I would not link it with any political development. The issue is more important because it concerns the defence and security of the country."

He, however, questioned the delay in taking action, on the part of the government.

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Agencies
April 14,2020

Mumbai, Apr 14: Activist and scholar Anand Teltumbde was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday after he surrendered before it in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.

Teltumbde surrendered at the NIA office at Cumbala Hill in south Mumbai following the Supreme Court's directives.

He was subsequently arrested by the NIA and shall be produced before a court here shortly, an official said.

Earlier, the scholar reached the NIA office in the afternoon along with his wife Rama Teltumbde and brother-in- law and Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar.

Anand Teltumbde is the grandson-in-law of Dalit icon Dr B R Ambedkar, whose 129th birth anniversary is being observed on Tuesday.

Civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha, a co-accused in the case, also surrendered before the NIA in Delhi. His anticipatory bail plea was also rejected by the apex court.

According to the official, Navlakha will be produced before the court in Mumbai through video conference.

The Supreme Court on March 17 this year rejected the pre-arrest bail pleas of Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha, and directed them to surrender before the investigating agency.

Teltumbde, Navlakha and nine other civil liberties activists have been booked under the stringent provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for having alleged Maoist links and conspiring the overthrow the government.

The apex court while rejecting Teltumbde and Navlakha's bail pleas on March 17, directed them to surrender before the prosecuting agency withing a period of three weeks.

The duo later sought extension of the time.

On April 9, the Supreme Court extended the time by one week by way of last chance.

The activists were booked initially by Pune Police following violence that erupted at Koregaon-Bhima there.

According to police, the activists made inflammatory speeches and provocative statements at the Elgar Parishad meet held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which triggered violence the next day.

The police also said these activists were active members of banned Maoist groups.

The case was later transferred to NIA. Teltumbde and Navlakha were given interim protection by the Bombay High Court while their pre-arrest bail pleas were being heard.

After the high court rejected their applications, the duo approached the Supreme Court.

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News Network
March 2,2020

Feb 2: The Supreme court on Monday decided to hear on March 4 a plea seeking registration of FIRs against politicians for hate speeches which allegedly led to violence in the national capital.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde agreed to hear the plea filed by riots victims.

The petition was mentioned for urgent listing by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the riots victims.

Gonsalves said that the Delhi High Court has deferred for four weeks the matters related to riots in the national capital despite the fact that people are still dying due to the recent violence.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Bharuch, Mar 5: Vijay Kumar, a resident of the Tamil Nadu has sought help from his friend Abdulkhuda Mohd Hanif Shaikh who is residing in Gujarat to build a temple in his village.

Abdulkhuda Mohd Hanif Shaikh, who also belongs to Tamil Nadu's Paraipatti village and has been residing in Gujarat' Bharuch for a decade has collected Rs 3 lakh from his friends as a donation to build the temple in Paraipatti village in Dindigul district.

"They'd told me 4 months ago and came to me 10 days back. From Vapi to Mehsana, there are several Madrasis, even here in the village too. I personally went to them and collected around Rs 3 Lakh," Shaikh said.

Vijay Kumar said that he stayed in Gujarat for ten days and collected Rs 3 Lakh with him.

"I had sought help from him. I stayed here in Gujarat for 10 days, and went with him from people to people and collected Rs 3 Lakh. No one lives like Hindus or Muslims in our village, everyone lives like friends," he said.

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