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| << January19, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]CHRO updates 5-7 |
January22, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]CHRO digest articles 1-4 >> |
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5] CHHATTISGARH: All But One Acquitted In Niyogi Murder Case The Hindu, January 21, 2005, Friday All but one acquitted in Niyogi murder case By J. Venkatesan NEW DELHI, JAN. 20. The Supreme Court today acquitted five of the six accused, including two industrialists, in the case of murder of Shankar Guha Niyogi, Bhilai's most famous trade union leader. However, the court awarded life imprisonment to the assailant, Paltan Mallah, who was awarded the death sentence by the trial court and acquitted by the High Court. A Bench, consisting of K.G. Balakrishnan and A.R. Lakshmanan, held that the overall evidence given by the prosecution would only show that some agitation had been going on against the management of these industries and Niyogi was spearheading many of them. This, by itself, would not prove the prosecution case of conspiracy against the accused. The Bench disposed of a batch of special leave petitions filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the then Madhya Pradesh Government (now Chhattisgarh), Asha Niyogi, wife of Niyogi and the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha, challenging a judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court acquitting all the accused. The prosecution case was that a hired assassin killed Niyogi on September 27, 1991, while he was was asleep his house in Bhilai. He was killed a fortnight after he had submitted a memorandum to the then President, R. Venkataraman, signed by 50,000 workers, alleging threats against him and other union leaders by a few industrialists in Bhilai. After a six-year trial in which 190 witnesses were examined, the trial court in Durg gave six persons, including two industrialists, the life sentence. They were also fined Rs.10 lakhs each. Paltan Mallah ??” the hired assassin ??” was sentenced to death. But in 1998 all of them were exonerated by the High Court for lack of evidence. Appeals were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the acquittal. The Supreme Court Bench upheld the acquittal of five of the accused. On the acquittal of the assailant, Mallah, the Bench said the case against him was proved beyond reasonable doubt. But since the incident had taken place in 1991 and there was a long lapse of time, the Bench said that "we do not think that the sentence of death imposed on him by the Sessions Court is justified in the circumstances." http://www.hindu.com/2005/01/21/stories/2005012117611200.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 6] CHHATTISGARH: Niyogi's Family May Seek Left Route To Justice New Indian Express, January 22, 2005, Saturday Niyogi's family may seek Left route to justice NEW DELHI: Upset with the Supreme Court's order, which on Thursday let off all but one accused in the murder of trade union leader Shankar Guha Niyogi, his brother is now thinking of approaching the Left leaders here. Swaraj Kumar, a government employee here, told this website's newspaper on Friday that the family would meet CPI(M) leaders in New Delhi, if for nothing else, to hear what they have to say. ``We will definitely talk to them and share our experiences. The family can get in touch with us and we are ready to listen to them. We are currently dealing with a similar situation _ the murder our party MLA Ajit Sarkar... We have found that when the system deals with class issues, it invariably sides with what is, in our opinion, the opressive side,'' CPI(M) Rajya Sabha leader Nilotpal Basu said. Founder of the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (CMM), Niyogi had toured the Bhilai-Raipur industrial belt in the 1970s and 80s, exhorting labourers to demand better pay and living conditions from employers. He was murdered, on the night of September 27, 1991, allegedly at the behest of the promoters of Simplex Industries, while reading 'Das Kapital' in his guesthouse room. ``We will all sit together and discuss the course of action _ talking to CPI(M) leaders is one possibility that emerges. I plan to discuss this with my brother's wife Asha and their daughter Kranti to take a decision on how to go about it,'' Swaraj said. Basu said, ``We are always ready to talk. They should seek an appointment and come to us. The CMM and CPM have always had good relations at the political level. As a party, we have been fiercely critical of the mafia raj in the Bhilai-Raipur belt and the inhuman conditions in which workers live. We will raise this issue and link it with the failure to deliver justice.'' Back in Dhalli-Rajara, the mining hub of the Bhilai Steel Plant, Niyogi's family, in Swaraj's words, is ``terribly saddened that the law has failed to provide justice _ we will now have to consider a whole lot of other options.'' ``It is an idea. Now, we must see how to take it forward. Kranti is already holding discussions with CMM groups and the Sangathan in her town and they will be advising her on what to do about the Supreme Court review,'' Swaraj added. The Supreme Court had on Thursday upheld the acquittal of five businessmen behind the murder of Niyogi, but sentenced the killer, Paltan Mallah, to life imprisonment. ``It's a great disappointment. Justice is not done. Sending a hired killer to life imprisonment does'nt serve the ends of justice. We always knew that the real killers will go unpunished,'' Niyogi's son Jeet had told this website's newspaper over the phone on Thursday. http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEH20050121120922&Title=Top+Stories&Topic=0& -------------------------------------------------------------------- 7] M.P. : VIOLENT END TO HINDU-MUSLIM LOVE STORY New Indian Express, January 22, 2005, Saturday Violent end to Hindu-Muslim love story BHOPAL: Barely a fortnight after this website's newspaper reported Shariq's legal fight to take home his Hindu wife, the Bhopal youth was found murdered along with his brother and a friend in the old city area here. Although police said the murder was triggered by an eve-teasing incident involving Shariq's friends at a shop, Shariq's relatives and friends suspect foulplay in the way the assailants repeatedly attacked him. Says Rashid Khan, a resident of Baug Dilkhusha area, where the murder took place: ``When I rushed to the shop, I couldn't stand there, such was the brutality of the murder. Shariq had been stabbed repeatedly.'' Shariq's legal battle for his wife Anima Shrivastava had grabbed the headlines after he failed to secure her custody despite converting to Hinduism. And, though Anima submitted a statement before the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), expressing her desire to stay with Shariq, she was forcibly taken away to Gwalior by her parents. However, Bhopal SP Pawan Shrivastava told this website's newspaper that ``Shariq and his brother Sheru happened to arrive at the wrong time and got caught up in the brawl.'' Police said the chain of events that led to the killing started when one of the accused Pappu allegedly passed some obscene comments at the daughter of Mehboob Beg, a shopkeeper. Beg's two sons, Shahid and Mujahid then confronted Papu and his brother Raees, forcing them to flee. It was then that Shariq and his brother Sheru_both Shahid's friends_arrived at the shop, said police. About half-an-hour later, Pappu, Raees and four others returned - armed with knives and sharp-edged weapons_and attacked those at shop, including Shariq. After the assailants fled, residents of the area rushed the seriously injured Shariq, his brother, Beg and his two sons to the Hamidia hospital where Shariq, Sheru and Shahid succumbed to their injuries. The condition of Mujahid and Mehboob is said to be critical. ``If Shariq happened to be there by chance, why did the assailants repeatedly attack him. The maximum injuries were inflicted on him,'' says a friend of Shariq, who did not wish to be named. Shariq's stunned relatives said that on hearing about the murder his mother immediately fell unconscious -his father M H Siddiqui is away on Haj. According to SP Shrivastava, ``The families of the deceased Shahid and the accused Pappu were old enemies. Shahid had attacked one of Pappu's relatives seven years back but the families went for an out-of-court settlement. The fresh round of animosity was triggered by the eve-teasing incident.'' Shrivastava said six persons have been detained for questioning and Asihbaugh police is investigating the matter. http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEP20050121120518&Title=States&Topic=0& ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 8] KANCHI WATCH: Police Invoke Goondas Act Against Raghu, Kanchi Mutt Manager Rediff.com/PTI, January 22, 2005, Saturday Police invoke Goondas Act against Raghu, Kanchi mutt manager The special investigating team probing the Sankararaman murder case on Saturday detained jailed junior pontiff Vijayendra Saraswati's brother R Raghu and Kanchi mutt Manager Sundaresa Iyer under the Goondas Act. The detention comes a day after the charge sheet was filed against Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati and the junior seer in the case. The SIT has already detained eight others - Kathiravan, Chinna, Ambikapathy, Mattu Basker, Meenakshisundaram, Anandkumar, Anil Kumar and K S Kumar - under the Act, taking the total number of detainees to ten, police said. Of the 25 accused in the case, 23 have been arrested, while Jayendra Saraswathi, the main accused, was released on bail on January 10. One of the accused, Ravi Subramaniam, has reportedly expressed his desire to become an approver and has become a prosecution witness. The Goondas Act is invoked on those who have a series of cases against them, and who, in police parlance, are referred to as 'habitual offenders'. Those detained under the Act cannot seek bail but can approach a review committee through an advocate for relief after three months of detention. http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/22kanchi.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 9] TSUNAMI: Kerala Woman Blames Car Nicobar School For Missing Husband Keralaonline.com/IANS, January 22, 2005, Saturday Woman blames school for missing husband Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 22: A distraught woman is holding the Kendriya Vidyalaya school authorities responsible for the disappearance of her husband in the wake of the tsunami tragedy. Saraswathi Sisupalan is one of the hundreds in Kerala who are yet to recover from the Dec 26 disaster. Her ordeal is still not over. Almost a month after the gigantic waves killed thousands on Indian shores, the mother of three does not know if her husband A. Sisupalan, a 57-year-old Kendriya Vidyalaya teacher, is alive or not. She last spoke to her husband, who was a biology teacher in Car Nicobar, on Christmas day. The next day the tsunami hit the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and since then she has not heard from him. "I have not slept properly since then but I have not given up hope. I hope and pray my husband will return one day," Saraswathi told IANS here, trying to hold back her tears. Even as she was grieving for him, an Indian Air Force official in Car Nicobar claimed he had spotted the man Dec 27 while waiting to board a plane. But there has been no independent collaboration, and Sisupalan, assuming he somehow managed to survive, has not called home. The Kendriya Vidyalaya headquarters in New Delhi has not been able to shed light on his whereabouts. "I got a letter from the Kendriya Vidyalaya on Jan 11 stating my husband and three other employees at the Car Nicobar school have been reported missing after the tsunami," said Saraswathi, a clerk at a government office. She is furious with what she feels is Kendriya Vidyalaya's lack of concern for her husband's welfare, and accuses its senior officials of victimising him. "Car Nicobar area comes under the category of 'hard stations' and it is mandatory that anyone who serves a minimum period of two years in such stations gets transferred," she said. "But despite spending three-and-a-half years there, my husband was not transferred out of Car Nicobar." She said Sisupalan used to call a spade a spade, and this made his seniors dislike him. Unlike many of his fellow teachers, he had also served in other "hard stations". Saraswathi lamented that despite writing letters to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, she has received no help. "Except for the president who acknowledged my letter, there was no response from the other two," rued Saraswathi. "Several times I myself had written to Kendriya Vidyalaya officials in Delhi pointing out vacancies elsewhere where my husband could be transferred, but nothing happened. Despite my husband having enough points to get a transfer under various options, he never got justice," she said. But despite the mental agony that she and her three children are undergoing, she remains hopeful that some day there will be news that Sisupalan is safe - and living somewhere. "I have faith in god and I believe that my husband will come home to see me and our three children," she said. [Agency] http://www.asianetindia.com/keralanews.asp?folder=Keralanews&file=7_5014.xml ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Confederation of Human Rights Organizations (CHRO) 3, Rams' Cottage Ambalathumukku Pettah Thiruvananthapuram-695024 Kerala South India Ph.: 0471-2476262 www.humanrightsindia.com www.humanrightskerala.com |
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| << January19, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]CHRO updates 5-7 |
January22, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]CHRO digest articles 1-4 >> |
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