At least 15 people were killed and nearly 50 others were injured on April 17 evening when heavy rainfall and strong winds with a speed of up to 98 km per hour hit parts of West Bengal for about 45 minutes. The storm caused uprooting of trees, fall of electric poles, the collapse of roofs and walls in several houses which thereby disrupted rail, road and air traffic and tripping of power in several areas.
Thousands of people were left stranded at Esplanade, Howrah and Sealdah stations till late into the night.
Regional Meteorological Director G K Das confirms “A nor’wester hit the city with a gale force of 98 km per hour around 7.42 pm.”
Police said that out of the 15 people, seven people died in Kolkata, six in Howrah District and one each in Bankura and Hooghly districts.
Police confirmed that in Howrah District, four people were electrocuted after they were struck by lightning in Bali and Belur areas.
One other death was reported from Andul Road when an electric pole fell on a person riding a two-wheeler and a woman died in Dumurjola area of the district police added.
Howrah resident Amit Shukla, 28, had come to Posta for work. He was killed when a chunk of concrete from a ground-plus-five-storey building fell on him as he was walking along a pavement on Kalakar Street.
Mamata Banerjee, state chief minister has instructed the chief secretary to look into the situation and prepare a report on the deaths and damage caused by the storm.
The Supreme Court has raised concern over possible data leak in the absence of data protection law.A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on April 17 asked Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) counsel to justify the opening up of Aadhaar platform for private players.
A bench headed by CJI Misra heard petitions related to the validity of Aadhaar and has raised concerns over securing user data for influencing elections. The bench even mentioned Cambridge Analytica scandal and said that these are not “imaginary apprehensions.” Questioning the strength of Aadhaar in securing data, CJI said that in the absence of robust data protection law, the issue of misuse of information becomes significant.
In Aadhaar’s defence, senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi (representing UIDAI), revealed that unlike Facebook or Google, Aadhaar does not use artificial intelligence or machine learning. It only uses a matching algorithm where the identity of a person is matched with the details in the Aadhaar card for identity verification.
Dwivedi reminded the bench that Aadhaar data is not available on the internet. We don’t have the kind of data Google or Facebook has.
He reportedly added, “It only has a machine algorithm to establish ‘I am me’”.
A ‘campaign has been unleashed’ to make Aadhaar card like smart cards by the smart card companies, he said.
He further clarifies on the services of private entities that the data of the citizens has been protected under the Aadhaar Act, which also includes biometric details, and secondly, that there are provisions to punish an offender in the case of a data breach. Those provisions, we might add, only allow a user to report misuse to the UIDAI.
The UIDAI claims that Google and the smart card industry have created a lobby against Aadhaar and do not want Aadhaar to succeed.
The government has ordered a five-fold increase in production of Rs 500 notes to total Rs 2,500 crore per day after many states, including poll-bound Karnataka, reported an acute currency crunch with several ATMs running empty.
Suspected hoarding of Rs 2,000 notes was cited as a reason by the government for the current situation. On the other hand, the RBI said logistics and recalibration issues were limiting replenishments of ATMs, media reports said.
The currency problem originated in the southern states and may have been fuelled by rumours that money in banks is not safe due to a certain provision in the proposed Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill, 2017, officials reportedly said.
Cities and towns across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh were among those impacted by the cash crunch.
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Some ATMs downed shutters with No cash and Out of service messages, prompting the government to move currency from surplus regions. Some ATMs in national capital too went out of cash.
Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said the government has formed a committee to address the problem of currency shortage in certain states and the issue would be resolved in next 2-3 days.
The government, meanwhile, said banknotes worth Rs 70,000-75,000 crore would be printed in a month while the RBI has ramped up printing at its notes presses, the reports said.
Economic Affairs Secretary S C Garg reportedly said the printing of Rs 2,000 notes have been halted for the past few days as there is an “over supply”, adding that currencies of lower denominations are also in over supply.
There is around Rs 7 lakh crore worth of Rs 2,000 notes in circulation. A statement from the Finance Ministry confirmed reports of cash shortages and some ATMs running dry or becoming non-functional in some parts of the country, the report said.
“There has been unusual spurt in currency demand in the country in last three months,” it said.
While currency supply increased by Rs 45,000 crore in the first 13 days of April, “unusual spurt in demand” was seen more in some parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, the statement said.
Seeking to assure the public, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was quoted as saying that he has reviewed the situation and the government would fix the problem quickly.
Government officials attributed the cash crunch to crop procurement and hoarding of high denomination currency ahead of elections in Karnataka, reported PTI.
A Finance Ministry official said that 76 per cent of the 2.2 lakh ATMs across the country were functioning normally on April 16.
Political leaders, including Rahul Gandhi of Congress and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee trained guns at the Centre saying ATMs running dry was a reminder of demonetisation days.
In its statement, the RBI said there was no shortage of currency in the system though it has decided to ramp printing at all its four currency prices.
Shortage “may be felt” in some pockets largely due to logistical issues of replenishing ATMs frequently and the recalibration of ATMs being still underway, it added.
RBI report points out that the currency in circulation in the country has reached the pre-demonetisation level of about Rs 17 lakh crore. The government said there has been adequate supply of currency notes to meet entire demand.
With ATMs reportedly running out of cash in several Indian states, including Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tweeted on April 17 that he has reviewed the currency situation in the country.
The temporary shortage of cash caused by ‘sudden and unusual increase’ in some areas is being tackled quickly, he added.
SP Shukla, Minister of State (MoS) Finance said that we have cash currency of Rs 1,25,000 crore right now. Shukla added “There is one problem that some states have less currency and others have more. Government has formed state-wise committee and RBI also formed committee to transfer currency from one state to other. It will be done in three days.”
Sources have revealed that Finance Ministry’s officials have held a meeting with the RBI on April 12 and have directed banks with surplus cash to help other banks facing a shortage of funds. There is reportedly a mismatch of demand and supply of cash.
“We have been unable to withdraw cash from ATMs as the kiosks (ATM Kiosk), in several parts of the city, have run out of cash. We have visited several ATMs since yesterday but it is the situation everywhere,” people in Telangana reportedly said.
CPM leader Sitaram Yechury tweeted, “ATMs were empty in November 2016. ATMs are empty now. And the only party flush with cash is the BJP: the people suffer.”
“SBI is facing a major problem because payment under many government schemes is made through the bank only,” said senior State Bank of India (SBI) official in Bhopal.
Giving a huge relief to those who frequently travel between Delhi and Mumbai, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on April 17 informed that a new expressway connecting Delhi and Mumbai will soon be built.
The project which will be completed in three years will cost approximately Rs 1 trillion.
The Delhi-Mumbai expressway project would cut down the travel time from 24-hours to only 12 hours.
“A sum of Rs 1 trillion will be spent on this expressway… Nitin Gadkarioutlined major initiatives of his ministry for de-congestion of Delhi NCR. A total of 10 projects are underway costing Rs 356 billion,” Ministry of Road Transport and Highway said in a statement.
The expressway will reportedly begin from Rajiv Chowk in Gurgaon.
Pakistani-origin peer, Lord Ahmed on April 16 raised the issue of rape and murder of the 8-year-old girl in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir in the Upper House of the UK Parliament. He urged the UK government to intervene in the case.
However, in her befitting response on behalf of the UK government, Baroness Stedman-Scott, said that India has a strong democratic framework and they will deal accordingly. “But we do acknowledge it does face numerous challenges relating to its size and development when it comes to enforcing fundamental rights enshrined in its constitution,” she replied.
She even extended condolences to the families of the victims.
The UN has even taken note of the 8-year old rape and murder case and UN Chief Antonio Guterres has expressed hope that concerned authorities will bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice.
His spokesperson added, “I think we’ve seen the media reports of this horrific case, and we are very much hopeful that perpetrators will be held accountable.”
A special NIA court on 16 April has acquitted all the five accused, including a right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand in 2007 Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid bomb blast case which killed nine people and injured 50. All were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
The court examined 226 witnesses during the trial and as many as 411 documents were exhibited.
The blast took place 11 years ago on 18 May, 2007 during the Friday prayers near the Charminar monument in Hyderabad.
Aseemanand’s counsel J P Sharma has said, “The prosecution failed to prove allegations against the five accused who faced trial in the case and hence the court acquitted them.”
Meanwhile, following the verdict, the police issued a high alert in Hyderabad and security is beefed up. Nearly 3,000 policemen and personnel of paramilitary forces were deployed in the old city.
DSP V Satyanarayana has said that the police would deal firmly with any attempt to disturb law and order and would also keep a close watch on the movement of people at sensitive places through CCTV cameras.
Ten persons allegedly belonging to right-wing organisations were named as accused in the bomb blast case, but only five of them were arrested and faced the trial in the same case. Two among the accused were absconding and while one another has died during the probe.
Asaduddin Owaisi, president Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, has said that justice has not been done and that it was a “malicious and biased” prosecution done by NIA
Seeking state’s reply on the plea filed for transferring Kathua gangrape case trial to Chandigarh, the Supreme Court on April 16 has directed the state police to provide complete security to victim’s kin, lawyers (Deepika Rajawat and Talib Hussain) and also at the observation home where juvenile (against whom a separate charge sheet was filed) is kept in connection with raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl.
“As an interim measure, it is directed that the Jammu and Kashmir Police to beef up the security and provide adequate security personnel to the family, Deepika Singh Rajawat and family friend Talid Hussain,” the bench said.
The plea was filed by victim’s father, who demanded transfer of the case out of Jammu.
During the trial today all the eight accused, including a juvenile, pleaded not guilty and have asked the judge for a narco-analysis test. Among the eight accused Sanji Ram is the prime accused, his nephew a juvenile, Deepak Khajuria, Parvesh Kumar, Vishal Jangotra, Tilak Raj, Anand Dutta, Surinder Kumar all were produced before Sanjay Gupta, District and Sessions Judge. Chief judicial magistrate will hold the juvenile’s trial as it is the designated court under the juvenile act.
Indira Jaisingh, advocate appearing for the family said that the atmosphere is highly polarized and not conducive for a fair trial.
There is an attempt to derail it, she added.
“Today, I don’t know, I am not in my senses. I can be raped. I can be killed and may be they won’t allow me to practice in court,” said Advocate Rajawat.
The victim’s father has expressed satisfaction over the investigations conducted by the state police so far and opposed the plea for a CBI probe as sought by others.
Farooq Abdullah, National Conference president has sought capital punishment in Kathua rape-murder case and also demanded a special session of state Assembly for enacting a law for capital punishment in such heinous crimes.
A massive fire breaks out in Rohingya refugee camp near Delhi’s Kalindi Kunj metro station colony on April 15 at around 3 am. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported so far; only one person got injured during the incident.
About 230 people were staying in the camp.
Atul Garg, chief fire officer of the Delhi fire service said, “We received a call at around 3:40am from Kanchan Kunj after which 11 fire tenders were pressed into service. They took three hours to douse the flames.”
The source of fire is still unknown; however, the preliminary probe reveals that fire could have started in an office building which is located next to the JJ slum camp which spread all over the camp. It has burnt around 55 houses and all the belongings of the families staying there were also burnt to ashes.
A resident with a heavy heart has said that “We have also lost all our articles, including refugee cards and money as the fire spread very quickly. Many people were sleeping when the fire broke out, however all were rescued on time.”
Meanwhile, the families have been moved to temporary camp. They have been provided with tents and mosquito nets.
NGO’s and the local people have extended help to Rohingya Muslims. “We are being provided food and clothes by the locals, a lot of help was provided by police,” a resident said.
The trial in the brutal gangrape and murder of an 8-year-old girl, who was allegedly sedated and sexually assaulted before being murdered in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, is slated to begin on April 16.
The eight accused had allegedly held the minor girl in captivity in a village temple in Kathua district.
Since the accused include a juvenile, the chief judicial magistrate (CJM)is expected to commit one of the chargesheets, naming seven of them, to the sessions court for trial. The trial for the juvenile will be held in the court of the CJM.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has appointed two special public prosecutors, both Sikhs, for the trial in the case, a move being seen as made to ensure “neutrality” in view of Hindu-Muslim polarisation over the case, media reports said.
Separately, a five-member committee of the Bar Council of India (BCI) will visit Kathua city in Jammu and Kashmir and submit a factual report on the case after seeking time from the Supreme Court on April 19. An announcement in this regard was made by BCI chief Manan Mishra on Sunday.
The fact-finding team will include former BCI chief Tarun Agarwal, BCI co-chairmen S Prabakaran and Ramachandra G Shah, and members Razia Beig of the Bar Council of Uttrakhand and Naresh Dikshit, an advocate, the report said.
The Jammu Bar association as well as the Kathua Bar have received a rap on the kuckles by the Supreme Court on April 13 as the apex court took a strong note of some lawyers obstructing the judicial process in the case, the report said.
In a related development, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday accepted the resignations of two controversial BJP ministers Chandra Prakash Ganga and Lal Singh who had participated in a rally in support of the people arrested in connection with the recent rape and murder of Asifa.
The resignations of the two ministers were received from BJP state chief Sat Sharma this morning which were immediately accepted and forwarded to Governor NN Vohra for completing the procedural formalities, the J&K Chief Minister’s office was quoted as saying.
The Supreme Court initiated a case on its own record saying such impediment “affects the dispensation of justice and would amount to obstruction of access to justice”, it added.
At least 15 people were killed and nearly 50 others were injured on April 17 evening when heavy rainfall and strong winds with a speed of up to 98 km per hour hit parts of West Bengal for about 45 minutes. The storm caused uprooting of trees, fall of electric poles, the collapse of roofs and walls in several houses which thereby disrupted rail, road and air traffic and tripping of power in several areas.
