Hisar, Oct 11: Self-styled godman Rampal was on Thursday found guilty by a court in Hisar in two murder cases.
Additional District and Sessions Judge, Hisar, D R Chaliya, held Rampal and some of his followers guilty in these cases. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on October 16 and 17.
Rampal and 27 of his followers were charged with murder and wrongful confinement after four women and a child were found dead in his Satlok Ashram in Barwala town in Hisar on November 19, 2014.
New Delhi, Apr 23: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday accused the BJP of spreading the virus of communal prejudice and hatred in the country, asserting that "grave damage" is being done to social harmony
Addressing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, Gandhi said it should worry every Indian and her party will have to work hard to repair this damage.
"Let me also share with you something that should worry each and every one of us as Indians. When we should be tackling the coronavirus unitedly, the BJP continues to spread the virus of communal prejudice and hatred," she said.
"Grave damage is being done to our social harmony. Our party, we will have to work hard to repair that damage," the Congress president added
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and top Congress leaders attended the meeting through video conference
This is the second time the CWC, the Congress' top decision-making body, is meeting through video-conferencing in the past three weeks ever since the lockdown was enforced to contain the coronavirus threat.
The Congress president said the coronavirus pandemic has increased disturbingly in the past three weeks and called upon the government to increase testing for it
Gandhi said she has written several times to the prime minister since the lockdown was enforced and suggested several measures and constructive cooperation
"Unfortunately, they have been acted upon only partially and in a miserly way. The compassion, large-heartedness and alacrity that should be forthcoming from the central government is conspicuous by its absence," she said
The Congress chief said the focus of the party must continue to be on successfully engaging with health, food security and livelihood issues.
She claimed that around 12 crore people have lost jobs in the first phase of the lockdown and urged the government to provide a relief package for the MSME sector, which accounts for one-third of the GDP
Gandhi called upon the government to provide food and financial security to migrants and jobless stranded at various places and were desperate to reach back home
"We have repeatedly urged PM there is no alternative to testing, tracing and quarantine. Unfortunately, testing still remains low, testing kits still in short supply," she noted
Gandhi said trade, commerce and industry have come to a virtual halt and crores of livelihoods have been destroyed.
"The central government does not appear to have a clear idea on how the situation will be managed after May 3rd. A lockdown of the present nature after that date would be even more devastating," she said
Former prime minister Manmohan said the success of the lockdown will be judged finally on India's ability to tackle COVID-19
He also said the cooperation between the Centre and states was key to success of the country's fight against coronavirus
Singh said it is necessary to focus on a number of issues in the fight against coronavirus
The fight against COVID-19 would very much depend upon the availability of resources, he noted
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said unless the central government comes forward to financially help states, the fight against COVID-19 will get weakened
"Unless there is a big financial package for states, how will normalcy return to states post lockdown," he asked
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said unless the Centre rises to the occasion and provides financial assistance to states, how will the fight against COVID-19 be won
Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy said the Union government has not given any assistance to the states
"How will states survive in times of crisis. We are not enemies but have to act and work together," Narayanasamy said at the CWC meet.
Jammu and Kashmir, May 5: Awarding the prestigious Pulitzer Prize to three Indian photographers, the Pulitzer Board at Columbia University claimed that it was for their work in Kashmir as "India revoked its independence".
The award to Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin in the feature photography category for their pictures for the Associated Press was announced on Monday.
The prizes, considered the most prestigious for US journalism, are associated with the university's Graduate School of Journalism where the judging is done and is announced, although this year it was done remotely.
Besides a certificate, the prizes carry a cash award of $15,000, except the public service category for which a gold medal is awarded.
The public service prize went to The Anchorage Daily News for a series that dealt with policing in Alaska state.
In making the award to the three, the Board said on its website that it was "for striking images of life in the contested territory of Kashmir as India revoked its independence, executed through a communications blackout".
Besides making the false claim about "independence" of Kashmir being "revoked", the board that includes several leading journalists did not explain how their photographs could have reached the AP within hours of the incidents recorded "through a communication blackout".
India's Central government only revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status and it was not independent.
Indian journalists were allowed to operate in Kashmir, while only non-Indian journalists were barred.
The wording of the award announcement calls into question the credibility of the Pulitzer Board that gives out what are considered prestigious journalism awards.
The portfolio of pictures by the three on the Pulitzer web site included one of a masked person attacking a police vehicle and another of masked people with variants of the Kashmir flag, besides photos of mourners and protesters.
One of the finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism was a reporter of Indian descent at The Los Angeles Times, Swetha Kannan, who was nominated for her work with two colleagues on the seas rising due to climate change.
New Delhi, Jan 1: The new Army chief Lieutenant General MM Naravane on Wednesday said that India needs to pay more attention to its border along China and asserted that the force is capable of dealing with any security challenge.
"We have been giving attention to our western front in the past. The northern front now also requires an equal amount of attention... The Army is capable of tackling any dangers to the country," General Naravane told reporters after receiving the first Guard of Honour as the Army chief.
"In that context, we are now going in for capability development and enhancement of our capacities even in our northern borders which includes the northeastern part of our country," he said.
On the border dispute with China, the Army chief said that continuing peace along the border will pave the way for a solution.
He said: "We have been able to maintain peace and tranquility along borders and I'm sure that situation will prevail. By maintaining this, we will be able to set the stage for the eventual solution."
General Naravane said that operational readiness and modernisation will be among the top priorities of the Army under his leadership.
"Our priority will be to be ready to meet any challenge and to be operationally prepared at all times. This will happen as a result of modernisation. We will continue to build our capability especially in the North and Northeast region of our country," he said.
He said that the Indian Army will pay special attention to respect human rights. "We will also pay special emphasis on raising security awareness among ranks and file and pay special attention to respect human rights," the Army chief said.
Assuring the country on security, he said, "All three services — the Army, the Navy and the Air Force — are ready to defend the country."
He extended wishes to people in the new year and hoped that the country will make huge progress in this decade.
General Naravane took over as the 28th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) on Tuesday, succeeding General Bipin Rawat who has become India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
General Naravane was previously the Vice Chief of Army Staff.
Comments
Thank God. Hope that all criminals would go to jail.
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