QBullet: 39 Indians in Iraq Dead; Govt to Argue for Aadhaar Today
Here’s a roundup of all the important stories for the day.
1. 39 Indians Abducted by IS in Iraq Dead: Sushma
The 39 Indian workers who had been kidnapped in Iraq in June 2014 by the Islamic State are dead, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told Parliament on Tuesday, 20 March.
The minister said that their bodies were found in a mass grave in Badush village in the northern part of that country, and that DNA tests had provided incontrovertible proof establishing the identity of 38 of the 39 missing Indians. The sample of the 39th man — Raju Yadav from Bihar — was still being tested and had shown a partial match, she added.
Though Swaraj’s announcement brought closure to one of the longest search operations in India’s history for missing citizens, some of the family members of the victims said they felt “betrayed” by the government for “keeping them in the dark.”
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. After 2 Months of Arguments Against Aadhaar, Govt to Defend Its Validity
The Centre on Wednesday, 21 March, will start countering a mountain of legal issues heaped against Aadhaar in the Supreme Court by numerous petitioners in the last two months, primarily focussing on violation of individual’s right to privacy through collection and storage of biometric data.
During 19 days of arguments spanning two months since it began on January 17, senior advocates Shyam Divan, Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram, Gopal Subramanium, KV Vishwanathan, Anand Grover, Meenakshi Arora, Sajan Poovayya and CU Singh identified specific issues in the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, and their incongruence with guaranteed constitutional rights.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. JNU Sexual Harassment Case: Professor Atul Johri Arrested After Protests, Gets Bail
JNU professor Atul Johri, who was arrested by the Delhi Police on allegations of sexual harassment, was granted bail by the Patiala House Court. The Delhi Police on Tuesday, 20 March, arrested professor Atul Johri of JNU after allegations of sexual harassment were levelled against him by students. Prof Atul Johri, was produced before duty magistrate Ritu Singh, where he moved a bail plea, saying sending him to jail would spoil his career.
The bail was furnished on a bail bond of Rs 30,000 for each of the eight FIRs registered against him. Police had sought 14-day custody of Johri. Earlier in the day, prof Atul Johri was detained for questioning.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Modi, Xi Hold Talks Over Phone, Discuss Bilateral Ties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, 20 March, discussed the need to strengthen cooperation in international affairs, saying relations between India and China are key to the realisation of an “Asian Century.”
Relations between the two countries were tense following last year’s military standoff at Doklam near the Sikkim border, though both sides have made efforts in recent weeks to improve their ties.
Modi congratulated Xi over phone on his re-election for another five years by the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s Parliament, and discussed efforts by both countries to enhance high-level exchanges and deepen bilateral cooperation.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. UK Firm That 'Breached' Facebook Data Worked in India as Well: Report
A new investigation by Channel 4 News in Britain has revealed that Cambridge Analytica, the data analytics firm that has been accused of harvesting personal data of over 50 million Facebook users before the American presidential elections, may have used honey-traps and bribes as part of their methods to influence election results across the globe.
During the investigation, undercover journalists posing as potential clients met and secretly recorded their conversations with the chief executive of the firm, Alexander Nix, and managing director of CA Political Global Mark Turnbull, who boasted that they had successfully executed such operations across the world, and mentioned India as one of the countries where they had been active.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Two Men on Bike Throw Acid at 23-Yr-Old Woman in Ghaziabad
A 23-year-old woman suffered severe burn injuries after two men on a bike threw a corrosive substance, suspected to be acid, on her while she was travelling in an auto-rickshaw near Ghaziabad’s Mohan Nagar intersection on Tuesday, 20 March. Five co-passengers suffered burns.
The woman’s family alleged that a 25-year-old woman, who had been pressuring the victim not to terminate their friendship, may have been responsible for the attack.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Will Back BJP in Rajya Sabha Polls: Om Prakash Rajbhar After Meeting Amit Shah
A day after threatening to boycott the Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, BJP ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) on Tuesday, 20 March, maintained that its MLAs would vote for the BJP in the 23 March polls, following a meeting with BJP national president Amit Shah in New Delhi.
On Monday, Cabinet minister and SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar had threatened to boycott the elections if Shah did not meet him, and his party had skipped celebrations of the Adityanath government in Lucknow
Soon after Rajbhar announced his boycott, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna had met him and a meeting with Shah was fixed.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Nirav Modi Got Back PNB Stash via Hawala Route
Diamond merchants Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, who are accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank of Rs 12,300 crore, brought back most of the money into accounts of their Mumbai-based companies through fake transactions, in many cases on the same day. Investigating officials say they have found evidence of round-tripping through hawala deals.
Investigators have discovered that in many instances Choksi brought money from overseas into the account of his company, Gitanjali Gems. He subsequently diverted these funds into accounts of various dummy (shell) companies describing the transfers as unsecured loans, from where it was siphoned off through various means, including cash withdrawal, said a probe official.
(Source: The Times of India)
9. Arrests in SC/ST Atrocity Cases Only After SSP's Nod, Rules Apex Court
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 20 March, banned automatic arrests and registration of criminal cases under the Scheduled Castes (SC) and the Scheduled Tribes (ST) Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989, a legislation meant to protect the marginalised communities from abuse and discrimination.
A bench of justices AK Goel and UU Lalit ruled that no arrests can be made under the Act without prior permission. It also held that a court can grant a pre-bail arrest (anticipatory bail) if it, prima facie, finds the complaint is an abuse of the law, false, motivated and intended to blackmail or harass a person.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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