Nirbhaya case: SC dismisses curative plea of fourth death row convict Pawan Gupta

Raipur, May 25: A union minister was caught on camera issuing threats to district administration officials in Chhattisgarh saying that she “knows how to take people to a room and beat them with belts"

Officials were taken aback when Renuka Singh, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, delivered this dialogue during her visit to the quarantine centre at Balrampur, around 400 km from Chhattisgarh capital Raipur on Sunday.

Dilip Gupta, a resident of Balarampur district in Chhattisgarh, had accused the chief executive officer and tehsildar of the district panchayat of assaulting him in a quarantine centre in the area following a quarrel over shoddy facilities. Renuka Singh took cognizance of the matter and reached the quarantine centre to speak to Dilip Gupta.

The minister, on reaching the quarantine centre, received details of the incident from Gupta and his family and lashed out at the officials for "beating him up".

In a video, Renuka Singh is seen cautioning the officials to not think of BJP workers as "weak".

"Ye bhagwadhaari BJP ke karyakartao ko kamzor mat samajhna. Janpad me baithke aur aap tehsil me baith ke jo bhed-bhaav kar rahe hain BJP ke karyakartao ke sazth, bhool jaiye (Don't think of saffron-wearing BJP workers as weak. Forget the discrimination that you are showing towards BJP workers)," Renuka Singh said, lambasting the officials.

However, the minister did not stop there and went on to threaten the officials saying she knows how to 'thrash people with a belt'. 

"Andheri kothri me le jaa ke na main belt khol ke thokna jaanti hu bohot acche se (I very well know how to lock people in a dark room and thrash them with a belt)," Renuka Singh can be heard saying in a video from the incident.

Dilip Gupta, who was put under quarantine after he recently arrived from Delhi, had reportedly complained about the quality of food and basic facilities in the centre and had even uploaded a video on social media over the same after officials failed to address his issues.

New Delhi, May 24: The Indian economy is likely to slip into recession in the third quarter of this fiscal as loss in income and jobs and cautiousness among consumers will delay recovery in consumer demand even after the pandemic, says a report.

According to Dun & Bradstreet's latest Economic Observer, the country's economic recovery will depend on the efficacy and duration of implementation of the government's stimulus package.

"The multiplier effect of the stimulus measures on the economy will depend on three key aspects i.e. the time taken for effecting the withdrawal of the lockdown, the efficacy of implementation and duration of execution of the measures announced," Dun & Bradstreet India Chief Economist Arun Singh said.

The report noted that the government's larger-than-expected stimulus package is likely to re-start economic activities.

Besides, measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India like reducing the repo rate by a further 40 basis points to 4 per cent, extending the moratorium period by three months and facilitating working capital financing will also help stimulate the momentum.

Singh said while the measures announced by the government are "positive", most of them have been directed towards strengthening the supply side of the economy, and "it is to be noted that supply needs to be matched with demand", he said.

Besides, "in the absence of cash-in-hand benefits under the government's stimulus package, demand for goods and services is expected to remain depressed", he added.

He further said the loss in income and employment opportunities, and cautiousness among consumers, will lead to a delayed recovery in consumer demand, even after the pandemic. As debt and bad loan levels increase, the banking sector might face challenges.

The report further noted that even as the monetary stimulus is expected to inject liquidity and stimulate demand for a wider section of the economy, the channelisation of funds from the financial institutions will be subjected to several constraints.

The foremost concern being increase in risk averseness, as the balance sheets of firms, households, and banks/NBFCs have weakened considerably and low demand for funds by firms as production activities have been on a standstill during the lockdown period, Singh said.

India has been under lockdown since March 25 to contain the spread of the coronavirus, resulting in supply disruptions and demand compression.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a nationwide lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus on March 25. It has been extended thrice, with some relaxations. The fourth phase of the lockdown is set to expire on May 31. 

New Delhi, Jan 18: Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal has granted the power of detaining authority to the Delhi Police Commissioner under the National Security Act (NSA), according to a notification. The NSA allows preventive detention of an individual for months if the authorities feel that the individual is a threat to the national security, and law and order, sources said.

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 3, read with clause (c) of Section 2 of the National Security Act, 1980, the Lt Governor is pleased to direct that during the period January 19 to April 18, the Delhi Police Commissioner may also exercise the powers of detaining authority under sub-section (2) of the section 3 of the aforesaid Act, the notification stated.

The notification has been issued on January 10 following the approval of the LG.

It comes at a time when the national capital has been witnessing a number of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

However, the Delhi Police said it is a routine order that has been issued in every quarter and has nothing to do with the current situation.