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Capital punishment not a deterrent: Javed Akhtar on Kathua verdict

Agencies
June 12, 2019

Mumbai, Jun 12: Veteran lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar has said while he understands the disappointment with the verdict in the rape and murder case of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua, he believes capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime.

Akhtar admitted that he did not have "clear cut" ideas about the merits and demerits of capital punishment.

"I have heard that some people are disappointed with the verdict because they thought these people deserved capital punishment. I, in all honesty, must accept that I don't know have very clear cut ideas about capital punishment - whether it's right or wrong...

"One thing I am sure about is that capital punishment is not a deterrent of crime because where they have banned capital punishment, crime hasn't increased, and where they have kept it, crime hasn't reduced. So, I have no idea that whether they should have been given capital punishment or a life term is good enough. I am not sure," Akhtar said at a book launch here on Monday when asked about his reaction on Kathua verdict.

He, however, said those who have committed "a heinous crime" should not walk away after few years of serving life sentence on one ground or other.

"...We have seen many times in our society that somebody, who has committed a heinous crime, gets life imprisonment but after two or three years, you realise the person is released on one ground or the other.

"Then he or she lives happily ever after. So, I hope life imprisonment is good enough but it will not have these kind of privileges that after two-three years, the same people will be walking out free. That should not happen," Akhtar added.

A Pathankot court on Monday sentenced to life imprisonment the three main accused in the gangrape-and-murder of the girl, while awarding five years in jail to three others for destruction of evidence.

After nearly a year-long trial, the court held the six guilty in the case that sparked nation-wide outrage, while acquitted another accused Vishal Jangotra, son of mastermind Sanji Ram, giving him the 'benefit of doubt', according to Mubeen Farooqi, who represented the victim's family in the court.

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 3,2020

Mumbai, Aug 3: In a significant statement, Mumbai Police chief Parambar Singh on Monday said that actor Sushant Singh Rajput was “emotionally disturbed” after the death of his ex-manager Disha Salian.

“When he saw his name being linked to Disha Salian’s death on social media, he was emotionally disturbed. He had met Disha Salian only once, he even asked his advocate who she was,” Singh told reporters in Mumbai.

According to him, Sushant Singh Rajput was conscious about what was appearing about him on social media.

Singh also rejected allegations that Mumbai police had not sealed the Bandra duplex flat where the actor ended his life.

“The flat was sealed on June 14 itself (the day of the suicide), the next day, on June 15, forensic teams and doctors visited the flat. Only after that, the flat was unsealed,” Singh said.

The police chief also ruled out that a party was held in the flat on June 13 evening. “We have the CCTV footage of June 13 and 14,” he said.

On the quarantining of Bihar IPS officer Vinay Tiwari in Mumbai, Singh said that he does not have knowledge of this. “The BMC should have knowledge of this. They look into quarantine issues, we do not,” he said.

Singh said that the investigations are ongoing and so far 56 statements have been recorded. “We are in touch with experts, doctors,” he said.

On the bank accounts, he said that during their investigations it has come to light that Rs 4.5 crore was there in the form of deposits.  “We have recorded the statement of his current chartered accountant, former chartered accountant, we have checked the bank statements, ledger,” he said, adding that investigations are still underway.

According to the FIR filed by Sushant Singh Rajput’s father Krishna Kumar Singh in Patna, his son’s money was swindled by his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her family members.

“The Mumbai Police is investigating the case thoroughly, from all possible angles, including his family members, friends, doctors and others, besides the details of the financial transactions of Sushant’s bank accounts,” Singh said.

To a query on the name of a prominent Maharashtra politician being dragged in social media, Singh categorically said that the investigations have not shown any such thing.

Singh also said that the Mumbai police had “initially recorded” the statement of the family members. “The statements of father and sisters were recorded on June 16,” he said, however, added that they have not responded to requests later on.

He said that the Mumbai Police has extended all cooperation to the family. “Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister and brother-in-law met our joint commissioner of police. They wanted to go to the Pune bungalow in Pawna area. An assistant commissioner of police accompanied them,” he said.

Who is Disha Salian?

Disha Salian hails from Karnataka’s coastal district of Udupi. She was born in 1992 into a business family background. She reportedly migrated to Mumbai with her family at an early age. 

After completing her education, she worked in the Times of India Group for more than three years. She went on to become the celebrity manager at Media Vantage.

Apart from Sushant, she had great links with many popular celebrities like Bharti Singh, Alisha Panwar, and others.

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News Network
June 11,2020

Washington, Jun 11: Music maestro AR Rahman has joined the international film 'No Land's Man' as co-producer and composer.

Helmed by renowned Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, the upcoming movie has Indian thespian Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Australian theatre actor Megan Mitchell, and Bangladeshi musician and actor Tahsan Rahman Khan in pivotal roles.

"Time always gives birth to new worlds, new ideals. The newborn world has new challenges and new stories to tell. This is one such story," Variety quoted Rahman as saying.

The movie chronicles the life of a South Asian, whose journey gets complicated when he meets an Australian woman in the U.S.

The film, shot in the U.S., Australia and India, is predominantly in English with some dialogue in Hindi and Urdu.

'Sacred Games' actor, Siddique said: "The filming experience for this project was challenging but a fulfilling one. AR Rahman's brilliance will definitely make the film richer."

"Farooki and I first spoke about 'No Land's Man' at Film Bazaar in 2014. Between then and now, the film has become even more relevant as it looks at what it means to be a vulnerable person in a racially-divided world," producer Srihari Sathe said.

'No Land's Man' won the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and Asia Pacific Screen Awards' Script Development fund in 2014. It was part of the Asian Project Market at Busan and was chosen as the best project at India's Film Bazaar the same year.

Earlier in January, Siddiqui posted multiple pictures on Instagram with the team of the flick, marking the schedule wrap in New York and Sydney for 'No Land's Man.'

He also captioned the post as: "Wonderful experience with the most energetic team."

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Agencies
May 17,2020

Mumbai, May 17: TV actor Manmeet Grewal, who worked on shows like "Aadat Se Majboor" and "Kuldeepak", committed suicide after struggling with dwindling finances amid lockdown, family friend-producer Manjit Singh Rajput said.

Grewal, who was originally from Punjab, hanged himself on Friday night at his Kharghar residence here where he lived with his wife. He was 32.

Rajput, who had known Grewal for nearly seven years, said the actor was facing "financial crisis" and wasn't able to earn due to the lockdown. 

"He was going through a major financial issue and he was also in depression. The added pressure of not being able to repay loans amid this (no work phase) got to him. His wife is completely shocked and devastated," Rajput told PTI.

The producer said last rites of the actor were performed on Saturday. 

Grewal was working on projects like a webseries and some commercials, which were put on hold due to the nationwide lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

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