Rape convict godman’s bhakts go on rampage; over 30 killed, 300 injured

Agencies
August 25, 2017

Panchkula, Aug 25: At least 31 Dera Sacha Sauda followers were killed and more than 300 injured in an hour of violence after cops and paramilitary forces fired on angry mobs, shortly after the verdict convicting Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of rape at 2.30pm on Friday. While 28 were killed in Panchkula, three Dera supporters were killed in Sirsa, the headquarters of the cult.

Fifteen years after he was accused of raping his sadhvis, Gurmeet was held guilty of the crime by special CBI judge Jagdeep Singh. The quantum of sentence would be pronounced on Monday after hearing the CBI and Dera's counsel. Gurmeet faces a minimum of seven years in jail, the maximum punishment being life term.

Doctors at government hospitals in Panchkula and Chandigarh said the death toll could rise as many of the injured are in serious condition. Sources said the government gave orders to fire at the rioters after Panchkula deputy commissioner Gauri Prashar found herself surrounded by an angry mob in Sector 5. Most of those killed were in the adjoining Sectors 3 and 4, where most of the violence took place.

The moment the verdict came, the followers unleashed a well-planned attack. This was the third major instance of the Manohar Lal Khattar government's failure in controlling law and order in Haryana since 2016.

At least six were killed when police entered preacher Rampal's ashram in Hisar to arrest him and produce him in the HC in a contempt case in 2014, a month after the Khattar government took charge.

Shockingly, while 30 were killed in three days during the Jat protests in Haryana in February 2016, in Panchkula, nearly as many were killed in an hour on Friday.

Curfew was imposed in Patiala, Sangrur, Bathinda, Mansa, Faridkot, Fazilka and Ferozepur districts in Malwa where dera followers went on the rampage. The followers targeted government service centres in Bathinda. A railway station nearby was torched.

Dera followers also threw petrol bombs at the grid sub-station, causing some damage.

But Panchkula bore the brunt. Nearly 1.5 lakh followers had gathered there in three days in an attempt to build pressure on the government and judiciary not to convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Despite the HC telling the government to ensure that there should be no violence, both cops and paramilitary forces seemed unprepared.

Witnesses said some protesters even had countrymade pistols. Although cops said they had disarmed many followers before they reached Panchkula, sources told TOI the initial bunch of followers that reached the city had a large quantity of petrol, diesel and kerosene with them.

The rioters set government offices and business establishments on fire.

After his conviction, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was first taken to a guesthouse meant for senior officers at Sunaria, near Rohtak. The Sunaria jail is within its compound. Jail SP (Rohtak) Sunil Sangwan confirmed that the guesthouse was designated as a jail.

However, in the evening, the government ordered that the dera chief should be shifted to jail.

Comments

ABUMOHAMMED
 - 
Saturday, 26 Aug 2017

What a shame rss leading Bjp government, can't control this internal kinds of rubbish people then how can secure your (Bjp) outside attacks. May tomorrow pakistan or china attack our country how can we defend. And alerady know the decision on this rubbish goons against him, he has a accused military & police force arranged. But what is the use? infornt of police & military, looting, burning, then were these security  wearing bangles in their hand ? and also his supporters giving statement which is anti national. where is now deshbakths ? If any muslim did this what would have happened we can't image. These all are cheating, looting people of Rss.

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News Network
January 12,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 12: Chief Justice of India, Sharad Arvind Bobde on Saturday hinted at the possibility of Artificial Intelligence being developed for the court system while making it clear that it will never replace human discretion.

Speaking at an event here, Bobde said, "We have a possibility of developing Artificial Intelligence for the court system. Only for the purpose of ensuring that the undue delay in justice is prevented."

"I must make it clear at the outset as there are times when even judges have asked this. AI is not going to replace human judges or human discretion", he added.

Sharing more details of his vision, he stated, "It is only the repetitive, mathematical and mechanical parts of the judgments for which help can be taken from the system...we are exploring the possibility of implementing it."

Bobde stressed on the requirement of developing AI for judiciary while outlining the number of pending cases in different courts.

"Some people are in jail for 10-15 years and we are not in position to deal with their appeals. The high court's and Supreme Court take so long and ultimately the courts feel that it is just to release them on bail", he said.

Bobde also endorsed employing every talent and skill to ensure delivery of justice in a reasonable time.

"We must employ every talent, every skill we possess to ensure that justice is received within reasonable time. Delay in justice can't be a reason for anybody to take law into their hands. But it's very important for us as courts to ensure there's no undue delay in justice", he said.

CJI Bobde also highlighted the need for pre-litigation mediation and said, "Pre-litigation mediation is the need of the hour especially in the backdrop of a significant pendency that the courts are tackling with. There are innumerable areas where pre-litigation mediation could solve the problem."

He also stressed that the position of a judge is very unique under the constitution and they have to deal with a variety of problems.

"The foundation of civilisation rests on the law. Judicial officers have to deal with a variety of problems...Judges without adequate knowledge, skills and experience may cause distortion, delay and miscarriage of justice", he said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Justice of India Bobde inaugurated the phase-1 of the new building of the Karnataka Judicial Academy on Crescent Road in Bengaluru.

The new building has three floors, besides, the ground floor and two basement floors.

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News Network
January 4,2020

Udupi, Jan 4: A 37-year-old Udupi district JD(S) spokesperson allegedly committed suicide at his residence here last night, police said on Saturday.

It identified the deceased as Pradeep G Bailoor (37).

He was working as the District JD(S) spokesperson for many years.

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News Network
May 15,2020

New Delhi, May 15: Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Friday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the interaction and stressed that combating the coronavirus pandemic requires global collaboration.

"Thank you for the conversation and partnership PM Narendra Modi. Combating the pandemic requires global collaboration. India's role is key as the world works to minimize social and economic impact, and pave the way to vaccine, testing, and treatment access for all," Bill Gates said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday interacted with philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and discussed the global response to Covid-19 and the importance of global coordination on scientific innovation to combat the pandemic.

The Prime Minister underlined the conscious approach that India has adopted in its fight against the health crisis - an approach based on ensuring public engagement through appropriate messaging, a PMO release said.

He explained how this people-centric bottom-up approach has helped win acceptability for physical distancing, respect for frontline workers, wearing of masks, maintaining proper hygiene, and respecting lockdown provisions.

They agreed that given India's willingness and capacity to contribute to global efforts, particularly for benefit of fellow developing countries, it was important for India to be included in the ongoing global discussions for coordinating responses to the pandemic.

The Prime Minister also suggested that the Gates Foundation could take the lead in analyzing the necessary changes in lifestyles, economic organisation, social behaviour, modes of disseminating education and healthcare, that would emerge in the post-Covid world, and the associated technological challenges that would need to be addressed.

He said that India would be happy to contribute to such an analytical exercise based on its own experiences.

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