Ten years of Godhra carnage, this Ishrat lived to tell her tale

February 28, 2012

ModiAhmedabad, February 28: There are two Ishrat Jahans making CM Narendra Modi government's life difficult today. While one was killed in a fake encounter and the case has resulted in many cops being booked and pushed behind bars. The other is guarded by police as she is a witness to the Naroda Patia massacre. She has recently recorded her statement with special investigation team (SIT) and has vowed to fight for justice till the end. This Ishrat Jahan is a spunky 32-year-old mother of three who lives in Hussain Nagar in Naroda Patia. She was only 22 when she witnessed the horror of mob, including her Hindu neighbours, rummaging through the entire neighbourhood with arms in their hands, looting homes, setting them afire.

While Mumbra-based Ishrat Jahan (19) was gunned down in 2004 along with three men - alleged LeT operatives - accompanying her, this Ishrat managed to escape with her husband, two small children and four brothers and sisters. The road to justice however was long for both of them. Incidentally, the SIT was instrumental in getting the wheels of justice move for both of them. In 2011, SIT submitted a report that Ishrat Jahan was killed in a fake encounter and that she was already in police custody before her killing. This led to the investigations now being handed over to CBI. Ishrat Jahan of Naroda Patia became a witness first with the SIT specially appointed by the Supreme Court to probe further into the Naroda Patia massacre.

She was a witness to the mayhem but in her words she thought you could be a witness only if your had witnessed a murder. "I used to stay in Shah Alam relief camp but never gave my statements. I was too worried about how will I survive, will get my sisters married and manage food for my children. It was only in 2008 when I saw SIT team recording statements that I realized that I could be a soldier in the army needed to secure justice for the Naroda Patia where 93 people were killed," says Ishrat. This unlettered woman has recorded her statement with SIT and also given her testimony to the court. In the meantime, she also realized that her husband was struggling alone and was not getting enough business to sustain the family.

"He does hand embroidery and the invasion of machines has left him without business. I knew stitching but never earned. Since three years, I started tailoring and now also teach sewing to girls in the locality. I have finally managed to stand on my feet," says Ishrat who earns Rs 3,000 per month. She got her two sisters married, one while living in the relief camp and other later. Her brother, however, has wandered on the wrong side of law. "What happened in 2002 changed him. My focus is to straighten him," says Ishrat who says she is confident that her fight for justice will bear fruit. "I started receiving threat calls the minute I named people, living across the street. But I am not afraid. There is law on my side and there are people who believe that injustice was done. The guilty will be punished," she says.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Mar 4: Twenty-one Italian tourists and three Indian tour operators have been sent to an ITBP quarantine facility in Delhi on Tuesday for suspected coronavirus exposure, official sources said.

Health Ministry sources said these foreigners, 13 women and eight men, were in the same group of which an Italian and his wife have tested positive in Rajasthan capital Jaipur.

“His (Italian in Jaipur) condition is stable,” a source said.

Three Indians, who were accompanying this Italian group as tour operators, have also been sent to the ITBP facility in Chhawla area of south-west Delhi, they said.

All these people, staying at a five-star hotel in south Delhi, have been put in “preventive isolation” at the ITBP camp and their samples will be taken on Wednesday, sources said.

The centre already has 112 people, 76 Indians and 36 foreigners, since February 27 after they were evacuated by an IAF plane from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the coronavirus.

The first samples of these 112 people had tested negative when reports came in last week.

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News Network
June 19,2020

Jun 19: Ten Indian Army soldiers including four officers were released by the China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Friday capping three days of hard negotiations that followed the bloody battle at the eastern Ladakh’s Galwan valley on Monday.

The 10 jawans returned around 5.30 PM on Friday to Patrol Point 14 (PP-14) after Indian team leader Major Gen. Abhijit Bapat, the commanding officer of the Third Div made it clear to the Chinese that there couldn’t be any progress in the disengagement talks unless the soldiers were returned safely.

Asked to comment on the release of Indian soldiers, the Indian Army maintained silence. The force released a brief statement on Thursday stating that all its men were accounted for.

However, the extent of the brutal clash can be gauged from the fact that 76 Indian Army soldiers are still in the hospital out of which 58 soldiers have “minor injuries” and “should be back on duty within a week”, according to Army sources.

Return of the Indian soldiers has been the main point of negotiations for the last two days. The situation is now calmer at areas near PP-14 in the Galwan valley after the return of Indian soldiers even though large numbers of troops from both sides are still present in the area.

Meanwhile analysis of satellite images has revealed a large presence of Chinese troops in the northern banks of Pangong Tso, a disputed territory for years.

“In the past month, Chinese forces have become an overwhelming majority in the disputed areas (on the north bank of the 135 km long lake). Significant positions have been constructed between Fingers 4 and 5, including around 500 structures, fortified trenches and a new boat shed over 20 km further forward than previously. More structures appear to be under construction,” says a report published in the Strategist, the journal of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

“The scale and provocative nature of these new Chinese outposts is hard to overstate: 53 different forward positions have been built, including 19 that sit exactly on the ridge line separating Indian and Chinese patrols,” says the report, accompanied by satellite images showing overwhelming PLA presence.

The June 6 Corps Commander level meeting between the Indian and PLA armies did not result in a solution to the contentious muscle flexing by the Chinese on the shores of the Pangong lake. The meeting ended with the conclusion that more Lt Gen level talks between the two armies were needed to resolve such issues.

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Agencies
February 20,2020

Kanpur, Feb 20: Inspector general, Kanpur range, has ordered a probe into a woman's allegation that the cops misbehaved with her at Raipurwa police station when she went there with her father to lodge a complaint of harassment and eve-teasing.

The woman posted her complaint on the Twitter handle of Kanpur police.

The woman, 21, alleged that instead of listening to her complaint, Raipurwa cops asked her, "Zyada padh gayi ho, itna advance kisne bana dia hai, tumhare Papa ne?" (You are too educated. Who made you so advanced - your father?)

She further said that instead of taking necessary action on her complaint, the police forced her father to compromise with the accused, the son of her landlord, who harassed her on Monday.

The woman also stated that there were no female cops at the police station and she had to wait for several hours.

"Throughout my presence at the police station, I had to interact with male cops," she tweeted.

Inspector, Raipurwa, Sunil Kumar, however, has denied allegations.

"Her allegations are not true. Both the parties settled the dispute on their own," he said.

IG Range, Mohit Agarwal, meanwhile, said, "I have asked the SSP to initiate a probe in this regard and take action against guilty cops."

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