QBullet: Majerhat Bridge Collapses In Kolkata; CJI Supports Gogoi
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1. One Killed as 50-Yr-Old Bridge Collapses in Kolkata, Many Others Feared Trapped
A section of an over 50-year-old bridge on the arterial Diamond Harbour Road in south Kolkata collapsed on Tuesday evening, 4 September, killing one person, trapping many others, and crushing several vehicles, police said.
The Majerhat bridge in the crowded Alipore area caved in around 4:45pm during rush hour. It runs over the Majerhat Railway Station and connects the city centre with the heavily populated Behala, the vast area of the south-west suburbs and neighbouring South 24 Parganas district.
Opposition leaders blamed lack of maintenance by the state Public Works Department (PWD) for the collapse, while chief minister Mamata Banerjee ordered a probe and said that those whose negligence caused the disaster would be punished.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Najeeb Ahmad Missing Case: CBI Asks HC to Close Case
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that it has not been able to find any evidence with regard to the disappearance of Jawaharlal Nehru University student Najeeb Ahmad, and that it wants to close the probe into the matter.
The agency further told a bench of Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Vinod Goel that it has exhausted all resources, but could not come to the conclusion that the suspects in the case have committed any “offence”. Najeeb went missing on 15 October 2016, following an on-campus scuffle, allegedly with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) a night earlier in JNU’s Mahi-Mandavi Hostel.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Call My Number, I’ll Kidnap Women for You, Says BJP MLA Ram Kadam
Ram Kadam, a BJP MLA in Maharashtra, put himself at the centre of a controversy after a video of him allegedly promising to abduct women for men who seek his help, went viral.
The MLA, from Mumbai’s Ghatkopar constituency, made the claim at a dahi handi event on Monday night after which it went viral on Twitter.
The video, shared by NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad on Twitter, shows Kadam allegedly talking to the men in the crowd. The MLA offers his telephone number to the men and says they can call him for help at any time. The MLA then says that if the any of the men has proposed to a girl and is facing problems, he would speak with the man’s parents. If they also approve of the marriage, Kadam says he will kidnap the girl for them.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. India Dismisses ‘Truce Call’ Report of Pakistan Army Chief Reaching Out to Delhi
Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa tried to reach out to his Indian counterpart, Gen Bipin Rawat, to initiate talks but was rebuffed, The New York Times reported on Tuesday, though a person in New Delhi familiar with the matter denied any such outreach.
The outreach was initiated by Bajwa, seen as “more moderate” on India than his predecessors, months before Pakistan’s general election on 25 July as the powerful military was concerned about the country’s international isolation and faltering economy, the Times reported.
Citing unnamed Western diplomats and a senior Pakistani official, the report described India’s response to the overture as “tepid”. Pakistan had offered to resume talks with India on the Kashmir issue, stalled since 2015.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. 2+2 to Address US Issues on Iran, Russia
New Delhi hopes the US will consider the importance of its relationship with India carefully, while considering any moves to sanction defence purchases from Russia under the new CAATSA, or Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, official sources said on Tuesday, 5 September, ahead of the inaugural Indo-U.S. 2+2 dialogue.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defence James Mattis will land on Wednesday and meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, which officials said would be the “highest-level” dialogue between the two countries this year.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. CJI Supports Justice Gogoi
Ending months of speculation, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Tuesday, 4 September, formally recommended to the Centre the name of Justice Ranjan Gogoi as his successor from 3 October, sticking to established convention that had been breached only twice since Independence.
Chief Justice Misra demits office on 2 October.
Justice Gogoi, who hails from Assam, was one of the judges along with three others –Justices J Chelameshwar (since retired), Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph – who had held an unprecedented press conference on 12 January, accusing Chief Justice Misra of acting in an arbitrary and partisan manner in the allocation of cases and benches to deal with various important matters.
(Source: The Telegraph)
7. 2007 Hyderabad Twin Blast: 2 Indian Mujahideen Men Convicted
A Hyderabad court on Tuesday, 4 September, convicted two men of involvement in the twin bomb blasts of August 2007 that left 44 people dead and over 50 injured in Hyderabad. One of the explosions took place in a crowded eatery and the other at a public park near the secretariat.
Second additional metropolitan sessions judge T Srinivasa Rao, at a special courtroom in Cherlapally Central Prison, convicted the first two accused – Mohammed Akbar Ismail Chowdhari and Aneeq Shafique Sayeed. Their sentences will be pronounced on Monday, prosecution lawyers said.
Two other accused – Mohammad Sadiq Israr and Farooq Sharfuddin Tarkash – were acquitted for want of evidence. Judgment against a fifth suspect, Mohammad Tareeq Anjum, who allegedly sheltered those who had planted the bombs, would be given on Monday, the lawyers said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. Lois Sofia Arrest Points to Undeclared Emergency, Says Congress
The Congress on Tuesday, 4 September, said that the arrest of Lois Sofia, the India-born Canadian researcher who had shouted slogans against the BJP on a flight from Chennai to Thoothukudi on Monday, was yet another proof of “undeclared emergency” in the country.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, former Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had been “consistently peddling one narrative that there will be only one voice in the country and that is of the BJP and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). If anyone else speaks, he will be thrown into jail.”
The Canadian researcher, released on bail Tuesday, was arrested after BJP’s Tamil Nadu president Tamilisai Soundararajan, who was on board the flight, insisted on filing a police case against her for calling the BJP a “fascist organisation”.
(Source: The Hindu)
9. Victory VS India On Par with Ashes Win: Trevor
England named a 13-man squad for the fifth and final Test against India at The Oval from Friday, where Alastair Cook will be making his final international appearance.
Cook, England's all-time leading Test-run scorer, announced his retirement from international duty on Monday and will bow out by playing his 161st Test and a record 159th in a row.
For head coach Trevor Bayliss, the series victory against world No1 India is on a par with beating Australia in the Ashes. Bayliss also suggested that England might experiment in the final Test.
"It is right up there with beating Australia in the Ashes. Obviously, India are a very good team – the number one team – and to knock them off is a very good feeling. The win in on a par with winning the Ashes," said Bayliss.
(Source: The Telegraph)