Think India Foundation

Bhujbal, Chavan lash out at civic administration

NASHIK: Launching a scathing attack on the saffron alliance that rules the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC), chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, while promising better civic amenities and development, hinted at administrative changes for improving civic amenities and law and order in the city.

Chavan was speaking in Nashik on Friday, a day after municipal commissioner B D Sanap and police commissioner Vinod Lokhande were transferred out of Nashik, which was described recently by the state election commission as the most sensitive place in the state after Gadchiroli in the run-up to the local polls. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Police brutality caught on camera in Punjab

Chandigarh (IBNS) : A cop has been caught on camera thrashing a woman at a police station in Bareta in east Punjab for allegedly selling spurious liquor, in another incident of police brutality in the north Indian state.

According to media reports on Monday, the victim, along with another girl, was selling liquor without license in Mansa. They were brought to the local police station and thrashed by the cops. Read more

Source : indiablooms.com

‘Red tape is rampant’

The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd recently released a report, which stated that Indian bureaucracy is the worst in Asia . To begin with, the report needs to be looked at in perspective. It is not a comprehensive analysis but only the outcome of a survey of the opinions of 1,300 expatriate businessmen. They were asked to rate the countries on a scale of 1 to10 on six parameters namely voice and accountability; political stability and absence of violence; government effectiveness; regulatory quality; rule of law and control of corruption. If India scored 9.21 where 10 is the worst score, I can only conclude that the expatriate businessmen polled had no idea of what India is and how businesses in India — both local and foreign — are thriving. The report is, therefore, fit to be consigned to the dustbin, where I am sure it has already gone.

Having said that, it does not mean that all is well with Indian bureaucracy. Petty corruption at the lowest levels that affects the vast majority of the population, is rampant. Consider the difficulties ordinary people face in getting a ration card, driving licence, gas connections and a host of other daily essentials. Here it is the sheer volume of applications and the lack of adequate number of staff that is one major reason for the delay and consequent corruption. Read more

Source : .hindustantimes.com

Pangs of paribartan in West Bengal

Suo motu declarations are as valid as appraisals by external agents; by that reckoning, the eight-month-old government of chief minister Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal has delivered on each of the campaign promises as listed in the manifesto and the Chief Minister is confidently asserting “touch me if you can”, which is a paraphrase of a Bengali idiom that describes towering, spectacular achievement.

In her own estimation, Ms Banerjee has solved the “burning” problems that was the legacy of the CPM-led Left Front government — the land acquired for the car factory in Singur has been returned to “unwilling” farmers in law; the Maoist insurgency in Jangalmahal has ended and the people are “laughing” instead of “crying”; the fissiparous Darjeeling movement has been tamed; industry is eagerly exploring the investment opportunities created by the change of regime and reforms in education have been successfully launched by gifting to the Presidency University a mentor group that is working overtime to convert a down-at-heel institution into a world-class one. There are other achievements too: minority students have been distributed scholarships and madrasas have been mainstreamed. Peace and harmony is back in West Bengal instead of the chaos and violence that prevailed earlier. The stage is set for the state to stride ahead and wipe out the past. Read more

Source : deccanchronicle.com

Delayed investigation weaking most cases

CHENNAI: The police may be quickly solving the 11 murders committed in 10 days this year, but not many are likely to get convicted. Going by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics for 2010, in close to 50% of Indian Penal Code (IPC) cases in the state, the accused were acquitted. 

NCRB statistics suggest a direct correlation between a state's population and its conviction rate in heinous crimes. While less populous north-eastern states like Mizoram (93.6%), Nagaland (78.5%) and Manipur (68.5%) had high conviction rates for IPC cases, states like Maharashtra, Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal fell below the national average of 40.7%. The lowest rate was reported in Maharashtra (9%) followed by Odisha (9.9%). In all, 22.2 lakh IPC cases were registered in the country in 2010, of which 10% were in Tamil Nadu. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Principals should be impartial and above politics: minister

Kolkata (PTI) : A minister in the West Bengal government today described the attack on the principal of the Rampurhat College, Sibashis Banerjee, as 'unacceptable', saying that principals of educational institutions should be impartial and above politics. "Nobody expects such incidents, we also don't support these incidents,", West Bengal Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim said. "It is also true that the CPI(M) and its friend political party trying to politicise the issue banking on such stray incidents", Hakim, a Trinamool Congress leader said.

The minister alleged that the CPI(M) was involved in politicising education with its diktats from the party headquarters directly and the case of Santosh Bhattacharya, former Vice Chancellor of the Calcutta University, was an example of this. He said that Mamata Banerjee government was committed to removing politicisation of education. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

2,000 slum dwellers damage GVMC building

VISAKHAPATNAM: About 2,000 slum dwellers from seven slums in the city under the banner of Murikiwada Nivasula Sanskhema Sangham gheraoed the GVMC office on Monday, in protest against forcible slum evacuation disrupting the Council meeting on budget.

The agitators tried to enter the GVMC meeting hall and stopped corporators and GVMC officials from attending the meeting by blocking the entrance gates. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Lulling women into false sense of security

Open any newspaper and you will see small news items on burglaries. Break-ins and robberies are on the rise. Youngsters are taking to burglary to fund a lavish lifestyle. They rob from the upwardly mobile, the rich and fence the goods that they have stolen to earn cash that they use to buy more. They want a quick and easy way of earning money. Most burglaries are not violent and are opportunistic crimes. If you looked at the root cause of the crime it is that there are people in the world who have more than the robbers. And it is that ‘more’ that becomes an object of attraction. If people didn’t earn money, become rich and have wealth there would be no one who would want to rob them.

Robbery, as a crime, therefore is not caused by people who want to get rich quick, but by excessive wealth. Rather than criminalise robbery we should seek to get to the root causes of burglary and that is prosperity. People rob from those who have more. So, if everyone had less there would be no robbery. The solution for robbery is not better policing but to ban wealth. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

The eternally expanding city

From a pensioner's paradise to IT capital…how is Bangalore going to grapple with its unprecedented growth?

LIMITLESS: Bangalore is a city without borders. Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

Garden City, Air Conditioned City, Pensioner's Paradise, Fashion Capital, India's Silicon Valley… all these phrases described how Bangalore was. However, recent years saw Bangalore changing itself into Garbage City, Filthy City, Crime City and so on. All the planned efforts seem to be evaporating in thin air, resulting in unplanned development. And this is in spite of having plans, development organisations and umpteen projects. The reasons for such chaotic advances and consequential financial implications on the Corporation, planning authority, etc., need a critical review, as the New Year has just taken off. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

India's Maoists Going Urban?

Naxalites reportedly switching their attack to India’s cities

Naxalites want to take this slaughter urban

India’s Naxalite rebels, for years bottled up in the poverty-stricken middle and eastern regions of the country, have forged a new strategy to infiltrate into India’s premier industrial hubs, intelligence officials say. Read more

Source : asiasentinel.com

Rajasthan: Cops can avail holidays from this year

Jaipur: The year 2012 has brought some good news for the policemen. If everything goes right, cops deployed at police stations will be able to avail holidays as per government norms. Senior police officials have informed that the state government has in principal approved a proposal to deploy 60 jawans in each police station in urban areas while 45 jawans in rural police stations. The proposal will be sent to the state government in first week of January. At present, due to manpower crunch at police stations, cops have to work for more than 16 hours and as a result they become irritated.

Read more

Source : daily.bhaskar.com

Police gear up to handle massive crowd on New Year's Eve in Kolkata

KOLKATA: While the unprecedented crowd on Park Street translated into better business for restaurants on Christmas, it has also many made in central Kolkata wary ahead of the New Year eve. Several have asked for more security from the police and even beefed up their own safety arrangements for December 31, which happens to be a Saturday. To ensure quicker traffic movement on Park Street which came to a virtual halt last Sunday, a few adjacent roads have been earmarked for parking.

The crowd on Park Street and in parts central Kolkata is expected to be at least 30% more than what it had been on Christmas. "As it is, we had a bigger crowd this Christmas. We expect it to be substantially more on New Year eve and a law and order problem can't be ruled out. We are in a precarious position, being surrounded by a number of dance bars which usually attract a rowdy crowd. We fear that trouble might spill on to the streets from these joints, as it had happened three years ago. So, we have sought protection from the local police station and have also strengthened our own arrangements that we had put in place after the Mumbai terror attack in 2008," said SK Khullar, owner of Amber and vice-president of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Owners' Association, Eastern India. The restaurant will have two surveillance cameras and six security guards keeping vigil at the entrance. There will be two additional guards inside the 440-seater restaurant with four floors. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Of gore, gumption and a cheating mahant in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR: The high profile abduction of a collector by Maoists and the audacious murder of a wheelchair-bound MLA by suspected Red rebels were the highpoints of crime in Odisha in 2011. Along with these unprecedented incidents, the arrest of a mahant in Puri for trying to siphon off the mutt's treasury, loots, thefts and murders made for spine-chilling headlines throughout 2011.

A killing & a kidnapping

Former legislator of Umerkote Jagabandhu Majhi (BJD) and his personal security officer were gunned down on September 24 at a public function in the Maoist-infested Nabarangpur district, exposing the poor law and order system in the state, especially in Red-dominated zones. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

AP police has reason to cheer

The incidence of extremist offences in the state this year is the lowest in the last 30 years. The police can justly take credit for the turnaround in the situation. It is the cops who have fought the extremists over three decades at the cost of their lives and the safety of their families, when every other institution of the state cowered: the media bought peace, civil society was outraged but could not muster courage to protest and business and industry paid a price for their legitimate activity. The police has also handled the Telangana agitation with great restraint in the face of grave provocations — any excess on their part would have made the situation worse — and resisted vile attempts to divide them on regional lines. We must also give credit to the police for intervening in right time to check drug-peddling in a big way in the twin-cities. All this is good news. But the good news seems to end there! Read more

Source : deccanchronicle.com

'Better streets will make Delhi safer for women'

NEW DELHI: That Delhi is India's rape capital is a fact repeatedly stressed by crime statistics, but recent studies show safer streets could help to make the city safer for women. Research by Jagori, with the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, shows that wider pavements offer women more manoeuvring room when challenged.

Another survey showed 42% women were harassed while waiting for public transport. "We have suggested sites for hawkers near bus stops to ensure these areas are not isolated," says Kalpana Viswanath of Gender Inclusive Cities Programme. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

2011 saw a slew of anti-graft measures in Bihar

Patna : A slew of anti-graft measures by the Nitish Kumar government, launch of L K Advani's yatra, a computer operator winning the Rs 5-crore KBC jackpot, the Forbesganj police firing and arrests of many hardcore Naxalites made news in Bihar in 2011.

 

 

Year is marked with more ups than downs from Advani's yatra to Sushil Kumar -- KBC winner.

The Right to Service Act and Bihar Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill 2011 were enacted and the government announced confiscation of assets of public servants accumulated through corrupt means. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Cauvery riots victims get relief

BANGALORE: The 20-year-long wait for compensation of the 1991 Cauvery riot victims ended with the state government deciding to disburse the compensation.

Based on the orders passed by the Cauvery Riots Relief Authority, the state directed the Mysore deputy commissioner to disburse the relief amount of Rs 3,33,900 among 24 victims whose properties were damaged during the riots in protest against the interim award of the Cauvery River Water Tribunal. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Maoists new threat for NE, says Assam Governor

GUWAHATI – Identifying the Maoist threat as the new challenge for the security agencies of the North East, Governor JB Patnaik today said that the Maoist are functioning under various organisations among students, youth, tea labourers and mega dam resistance forum.

He also said that the Paresh Baruah faction of the ULFA is also in constant touch with the Maoist and is willing to provide both sophisticated arms and requisite funds. Read more

Source : assamtribune.com

Centre fires Maharashtra salvo on women safety in Mumbai

Mumbai : The rising crime against women in the city has alarmed even the central government. The union home ministry has shot off a missive to the state, pointing out that Mumbai has for long served as a role model to other metropolises in India and the world in terms of safety of women.

The home ministry's data points out, "The total crime against women in 2011 (up to August) is as high as 906 cases (in Mumbai). It includes 108 cases of rape, 124 kidnappings, 306 molestations, 178 cases of cruelty by husband and family, 90 immoral trafficking cases, 93 sexual harassment cases and five dowry deaths." Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Maoists in ‘Golden Corridor Area’

Naxalites of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), or Maoists, in short, have reportedly established a firm base in what is known as the Golden Corridor area. This was stated by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in reply to Question No. 3117, in the Lok Sabha, on December 13, 2011.

In its response, the MHA said, “… CPI (Maoist) [has] formed a ‘Golden Corridor Committee’ to build its base in the industrial areas of Gujarat and Maharashtra.” The MHA also noted: “The CPI (Maoist) is active in Gadchiroli, Gondia and Chandrapur districts of Maharashtra, and has plans to expand their movement to Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Mumbai, Nasik, Pune and Yavatmal districts”. Read more

Source : idsa.in

Crimes take sheen out of Ahmedabad

Movers and shakers like Sachin Tendulakar and Amitabh Bachchan are building their dream houses in Ahmedabad. But now it turns out that this biggest city of Gujarat is the best place for even have-nots, never mind its spiraling crime rate. 

Earlier this week, Ahmedabad, India’s seventh largest city, bagged the national award in the category of ‘Best City in the Implementation of Basic Services to Urban Poor ‘ under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Read more 

Source : khaleejtimes.com

 

Uttar Pradesh to recruit 1,800 new medical officers

LUCKNOW: Chief minister Mayawati on Thursday reviewed the law and order situation in the state and asked the officials to ensure that peace is maintained. She also directed the officials to take stringent action against anti-social elements. The meeting assumes significance, against the possibility of UP assembly elections being held in February.

These directions were given by the CM after a review meeting of top civil and police officials held jointly by cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh and chief secretary Anoop Mishra. Among others, the meeting was attended by district magistrates, district police chiefs, divisional commissioners, principal secretaries of different departments and the director general of police. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Maoists eyeing commercial hubs in Western India to spread Red terror

NEW DELHI: After facing some reverses in their strongholds, the CPI (Maoist) has formed a 'Golden Corridor Committee' to build its base in hitherto untouched industrial areas of Gujarat and Maharashtra, stretching from Pune to Ahmedabad, including commercial hubs like Mumbai, Nashik, Surat and Vadodara.

Besides, the Red Ultras have planned to expand their movement to Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara and Yavatmal districts of Maharashtra in addition to their existing bases in Gadchiroli, Gondia and Chandrapur in the state. Read more

 

 

 

 

 

The CPI (Maoist) has formed a ‘Golden Corridor Committee’ to build its base in hitherto untouched industrial areas of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Our mean streets seen as safest in urban India

Despite the recent spate of murders, robberies, attacks on women and petty thefts here, Mumbai in general perception remains among the safest cities in the country. Respondents to The Times Of India-IMRB Quality of Life Survey felt Mumbai, along with Ahmedabad, have the best law and order of eight Indian mega-cities. The two state capitals received an equal rating of 3.1, which was slightly more than Pune's 3 and Hyderabad's 2.9 but, expectedly, way better than Delhi's 2.4.

As a force protecting a large metropolis, the Mumbai police are burdened with dealing with everything from terror to underworld and from street crimes to murders. But while it was considered among the best in the country, the force has slipped over the years. All importantly, it has failed to fend off the many terror attacks on the city because of poor intelligence gathering. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Bihar a 'BIMARU' state even 64 years after freedom: NCP

PATNA: Observing that the Bihar has continued to remain a 'BIMARU' state even 64 years after the country attained freedom, the NCP on Saturday lashed out at the politicians and political parties for the prevailing backwardness of the state and its people.

"Bihar has lagged behind other states in terms of development even more than six decades since the independence which speaks volume of the failure of the political class to deliver the goods," the NCP national general secretary Tariq Anwar said at at symposium held on the occasion of 127th birth anniversary of the first president Rajendra Prasad. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Extra cover for frontiers

Patna : The Centre has decided to set up two battalions of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Bihar to curb crime in areas along the country’s frontiers with Nepal and Bangladesh.

The deployment of ITBP personnel assumes significance in the wake of intelligence reports suggesting the state’s borders being used as a conduit for carrying out terror activities across the country.

During his visit to Bihar last month, Union home secretary R.K. Singh had hinted at the Centre’s concern over the situation along the country’s borders with the two neighbours passing through the state.

ITBP spokesman Deepak Kumar Pandey today said while one battalion of the force would be stationed in Katihar close to Indo-Bangla border, another unit would be established in Chhapra, the district headquarters of Saran. Read more

Source : telegraphindia.com

Convention on crimes against women in Bangalore

Bangalore : The All India Mahila Samskritika Sanghatane (AIMSS) has organised a national convention on crime against women at Ravindra Kalakshetra on November 29 and 30.

The convention will feature several workshops dealing with specific nature of the crime. Women, including professionals, working women from both rural and urban areas and students from 20 states will deliberate at the various sessions lined up for the convention. Read more

Source : deccanherald.com

Government considering separate community policing wing

NEW DELHI: The government would consider institutionalising community policing by setting up a separate wing in police forces and allow law-abiding citizens to participate in police processes, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Friday.

Chidambaram said such a force will have an entirely different uniform than that of regular police forces. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Bhubaneswar safe for walkers

BHUBANESWAR: A study on walkability in Bhubaneswar has revealed that it is “safe” to walk in the Capital but walking is not necessarily comfortable all the time.

The “Walkability in Indian Cities” study, carried across six cities in the country, placed Bhubaneswar among the top three with a score of 50 out of 100. Rajkot (with 53) and Pune (54) scored higher. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Red zone shrinking: Government stats

New Delhi : Maoists have been forced to back out from 41 districts over the last three years and have a presence in just about 182 districts, home ministry statistics put out on Tuesday have revealed. In 2008, every third district, 223, on an average was under the shadow of the Maoists. Home minister P Chidambaram had put this figure in public domain in August 2009, making it clear that the Maoist challenge was tough and very real.

On Tuesday, minister of state Jitendra Singh put out statistics in the Lok Sabha that indicated the change in trend. Read more

 

 

 

Source : hindustantimes.com

Haryana police to launch more all-women units across state

Chandigarh : The Haryana Police is in the process of launching all-women police units in almost all districts of the state to handle offences committed by and against women. To begin with, some of the units will be set up in Gurgaon, Karnal, Rohtak, Faridabad, Hisar, Panchkula and Ambala.

The Haryana police had, recently, constituted an all-women traffic wing in Gurgaon, comprised of 24 female police officers, who are entrusted with the responsibility of nabbing erring women drivers, particularly those who indulge in drunken driving. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Panem in panic, seeks extra cover

Ranchi : The dreaded M-word has returned to haunt industries in Jharkhand now that rebel involvement in the killing of Sister Valsa John has been established and the management of Panem Coal Mines Limited has voiced concern about the future of their operations in Pakur unless the state was able to provide extra security.

“We are feeling unsafe after revelations that Maoists plotted the Sister’s murder,” said Panem’s Pakur-based executive director N. Kumar, about the nun’s gruesome murder at her Pachuara village home on November 15 and police’s subsequent claim that as many as 15 villagers and 30 rebels were involved in the killing that had the tacit backing of Maoists. Read more

JVM supporters in Ranchi demand a CBI probe into the murder of Sister Valsa John on Monday. (Hardeep Singh)

Source : telegraphindia.com

Cyber policing in Sikkim, in need of gear up

Gangtok : Cyber crime in Sikkim is taking its slow foot steps ahead using various means. So far four cases have been registered under the cyber crime cell but no arrests have taken place and the cases registered are still under investigation.

Cyber crime stands for illegal activities done solely using computers resources or conjunction with the traditional means like using computer resources and communication devices as tools to commit conventional crime, which is an offence under section 2 of Information and Technology Amendment Act 2008. Read more

Source : isikkim.com

NIA may investigate Maoists cases

India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA), established after the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack, may soon deal with cases related to the Maoist insurgency, two government officials said.

The elite unit now investigates cases related to terrorism, narcotics and counterfeit currency. Cases related to Maoists are either probed by the state police or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Read more

Source : livemint.com

The real picture behind our crime statistics

The National Crime Records Bureau has just released ‘Crime in India 2010’. NCRB will have to be complimented for bringing it out in quick time. In the past, at least two years elapsed between the occurrence of crime and its official reporting nationally. The bureau is at the mercy of state police organisations to obtain figures and collate them into an understandable compendium that should form the basis for policy making in criminal justice. NCRB does not make any extravagant claim that the report is 100% reliable. If the state police forces bungle the process or dishonestly massage the statistics, the NCRB cannot be faulted.

Distortions in registering crime occur at two levels. First, no chief minister wants to admit that crime had gone up under his or her regime. The issue has become so politicised that any discussion of crime is highly disoriented and tendentious. The second level is police stations, whose officers are concerned that they are not blamed for any abnormal spurt in crime in their jurisdiction. This is the genesis of the obnoxious practice of non-registration of crime even when it is cognisable. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Gehlot makes officers pay for Gopalgarh

Jaipur: Heads have started rolling, this time from the top, in Ashok Gehlot government which is facing heat over its administrative failure to control Gopalgarh riots. In a small but important bureaucratic reshuffle on Thursday, Gehlot showed the door to additional chief secretary (home) PK Deb and replaced him with GS Sandhu who heads the Urban Development and Housing department.

The government also got its crisis man, deputy Inspector general of police, Anand Srivastava, back in Bharatpur by shunting out Sunil Dutt who was serving as Bharatpur Range IG. The government did not immediately assign Dutt any responsibility and asked him to await posting orders (APO). Read more

Source : daily.bhaskar.com

More coordination among forces needed to tackle ultras

Midnapore (WB) (PTI) : In a high-level meeting to review law and order situation, security forces today laid emphasis on more coordination among the agencies in the three districts of Maoist-affected Jungle Mahal region to tackle the ultras.

West Bengal Home Secretary G D Gautama said the meeting held here resolved to have better coordination among forces of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura so that Maoists do not flee from a district to another after committing crimes. Read more

Source : news.in.msn.com

Leverage synergies between IT and telecom for better governance: ASSOCHAM

New Delhi: Information and telecommunication technologies offer tremendous untapped potential that can be leveraged to curb corruption and ensure good governance at all levels in public life, apex industry body ASSOCHAM said today.

Mass adoption of technologies for e-governance and m-governance can improve the quality and speed of public services delivered to citizens in urban and rural areas. Telecom infrastructure – especially towers located in remote locations – can also be used to promote various social and economic development initiatives, said The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). Read more

Source : orissadiary.com

Nabbing a culprit from anywhere is now easy

TIRUPATI : As part of e-governance, NCRB set to launch Crime, Criminal Tracking Network System

Come December 15, the antecedents of a criminal from West Bengal can be traced easily by the Ahmedabad police. Similarly, the fingerprints of an accused in Haryana can be matched by sitting in a small station in Andhra Pradesh.

Thanks to the advent of Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS), policing will henceforth be more people-friendly and less of a drudgery for police personnel. One of the 27 components of the Union government's e-governance project, this module dedicated to the Police Department, is being developed to make law enforcement and crime control easy. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

JK yet to separate investigation from law & order

Srinagar : Jammu and Kashmir Government is yet to comply with a Supreme Court directive on police reforms which says the investigating police shall be separated from the one dealing with law and order. This, the Apex Court says, would ensure “speedier investigation, better expertise and improved rapport of police with people.”

The fourth Supreme Court directive, delineated in Prakash Singh case of 2006, says there must however be full coordination between the two wings. “The separation, to start with, may be effected in towns/urban areas which have a population of 10 lakhs or more, and gradually extended to smaller towns/urban areas also,” it says. Read more

Source : greaterkashmir.com

Attempt to commit suicide may cease to be crime soon

NEW DELHI: The government intends to amend the law to decriminalize attempt to commit suicide, and may effect the much needed reform in a year or so.

This was indicated to the Delhi high court on Wednesday by the Central government, in response to a PIL seeking removal of section 309 of the Indian Penal Code that punishes attempt to suicide with one-year simple imprisonment or fine or both. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

500 cops to fight Naxals in Karnataka's jungles

MANGALORE: Karnataka will soon have a permanent force to fight Naxals operating from the dense jungles of the Western Ghats. A 500-strong police force trained in all facets of jungle warfare will be headquartered at Karkala in Udupi district. This anti-Naxal force will operate from 13 base camps dotting the Ghats, said S M Jaamdar, principal secretary, home, on Wednesday.

The force will counter non-urban terrorist-related activities, Jaamdar explained. With that, the state's response to any possible terrorist threat, urban or rural, will be quick and decisive, he added. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Naxals oppose development schemes of government

Maoist rebels active in eight states are dead against construction of roads and empowering women self-help groups (SHGs) while they rarely derail other flagship development schemes of the government.

Women and youth are the main support base of Naxal movement.

A recent concept paper on Naxalite movement prepared by the Union rural development ministry says construction of good roads means making the affected zones accessible to police and that is why the rebels are "resolutely opposed to it". "They have also prohibited formation of SHGs under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) for the possible reason that they (Maoists) are unable to act against women groups and their own organisation gets undermined," the paper said. Read more

Source : indiatoday.intoday.in

Bill on communal violence violates state's autonomy, says Naveen

BHUBANESWAR: Orissa on Saturday strongly opposed the 'Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill-2011' initiated by the UPA government saying it would encroach upon the rights of states and violate the spirit of federalism in the country.

"The Bill in its present form impinges upon the state's autonomy and goes against the spirit of cooperative federalism," chief minister Naveen Patnaik said at the National Integration Council meeting held in New Delhi. He suggested the Centre to initiate 'further consultations with the state governments for evolving a consensus'. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Ramesh to meet DMs of naxal-hit districts

Patna : Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh today he had convened a meeting of District Magistrates of naxal-hit districts on September 13 to evolve a strategy for effective implementation of the Integrated Action Plan (IAP). The minister said he had convened a meeting of DMs of the 60-naxal hit districts in New Delhi as all these districts would now receive a fund of Rs 30 crore instead of Rs 25 crore for the Integrated Action Plan.

The District Magistrates had to play important role in implementation of these programmes, the Union minister said here. Claiming that the MNREGA, PMGSY and NRLM, besides IAY would prove to be effective instruments in eradicating naxalism in affected districts, he said "naxal problem can be tackled effectively by way of total implementation of rural development schemes." Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Key appointments give Mangalore city police the edge

MANGALORE: Mangalore City Police commissionerate is slowly but surely getting the look of city centric policing, a good 19-month after it was declared the fourth such policing unit in Karnataka. Critical to urban centric policing is staffing, both at the constabulary as well at the higher levels. Being a nascent policing unit, the process of getting requisite clearances for appointment of personnel has taken its time, and is being tackled one step at a time.

Presently, the city police has strength of around 1,700 personnel right from commissioner of police to the ministerial staff. This number is expected to cross 2,000 once the policing unit gets sanction for recruitment of personnel on civil side (especially at constabulary level), city armed reserve (CAR), wireless and ministerial staff. Initial projection was for 1,558 personnel on civil side, 748 in CAR, 35 in wireless section and 69 in ministerial side. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Kiran Reddy promises one lakh Government jobs

HYDERABAD: The state government would provide one lakh government jobs to the youth in various departments, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy announced on Monday.

The recruitment process was being made stringent and foolproof to ensure that only meritorious and eligible candidates were selected for these jobs without giving scope for irregularities, he added. Read more

Source : expressbuzz.com

Farmers opposed pipeline project at Pune from day one

PUNE: Tuesday's violence on the expressway that took four lives has its genesis in the opposition to land acquisition for the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's water pipeline project. Farmers from over 60 villages in Maval taluka have been protesting against the project since 2008.

The farmers fear that their agriculture work will be affected if the irrigation department stops releasing water from the Pavana river once the pipeline work is completed. The farmers have been promised Kolhapur type weirs across the Pavana river for their irrigation needs. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Many children migrate to Mumbai city

MUMBAI: National data puts Maharashtra at the top of the list of juvenile crimes. Harsh Mander, a member of the National Advisory Council and social activist, said Maharashtra's high figure could be an indicator that the state does a better job of recording juvenile crime. "In many states, juvenile crimes are recorded as adult offences, so that the offender gets a more stringent sentence. That Maharashtra has registered a high juvenile crime rate may mean that it is more diligent when it comes to registering crimes committed by children as juvenile offences and not adult crimes."

It is widely believed that states like UP under-report crime, but there is little doubt that Maharashtra indeed has a large number of young offenders. "This has a lot to do with a country called Mumbai," said Counsellor's Association of India president Dr Harish Shetty, emphasizing the stark inequalities that have emerged in India's financial capital in the wake of liberalization. He blamed juvenile crime on a harsh state that cared little for its children and did not have a mechanism to look after them. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

RAY of hope, bulldozer balm in sight for Jharkhand

New Delhi : The Union government has assured Jharkhand that it has taken up its case on tackling slums and encroachments on PSU and other central agencies’ land, possibly offering a way out for the Arjun Munda government that has been politically pilloried for going ahead with a court mandated eviction drive.

At a state ministers conference on the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) housing scheme for urban poor in New Delhi today, Union housing and urban poverty alleviation and culture minister Kumari Selja had something specific to offer Jharkhand even though deputy chief minister Hemant Soren – also urban development minister – nor department secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni turned up. Read more

 

The recent protest against the anti-encroachment drive at HEC. File picture

Source : telegraphindia.com