1. Policeman Killed by Mob Claiming Cow Slaughter in West UP Village
A police Station House Officer was among two persons shot dead in mob violence Monday, 3 December, in a Bulandshahr village in western UP where cars were torched and policemen attacked by men alleging slaughter of cows and demanding immediate action. Police opened fire after the mob began stoning policemen at the police chowki in Siyana village.
SHO Subodh Kumar Singh, who was injured and was attacked again while being taken to hospital, died before he could be treated — a video clip that did the rounds showed the inspector’s body in a Tata Sumo vehicle while protesters recorded the scene. Shots could be heard in the background.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Son of a Policeman, He Had Probed Lynching of Dadri Victim Akhlaq
Station house office Subodh Kumar Singh, who died in a clash between police and a mob protesting against alleged cow slaughter in Bulandshahr on Monday, 3 December, was the first investigating officer in the murder of Dadri resident Mohd Akhlaq, who was lynched in 2015 by a crowd over rumours of cow slaughter and beef consumption.
“He was the IO from 28 September 2015 to 9 November 2015. He was subsequently transferred to Varanasi,” said Uttar Pradesh Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar.
Subodh was, at the time, in-charge of Jarcha police station in Noida and was instrumental in the prompt arrest of the accused, his colleagues said. Trial is yet to begin in the Dadri lynching as the city court is still hearing arguments on charges against the 18 accused. All of them are out on bail.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Kartarpur a Sincere Effort, Not a Googly, Says Imran
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday, 3 December, appeared to distance himself from foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s remarks that the Kartarpur corridor was a “googly”, saying it was a “sincere effort” to improve relations with India.
Qureshi had angered external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal by saying that Khan, a former cricketer, had bowled a “googly” that ensured India’s presence at groundbreaking ceremony for the corridor in Pakistan.
Asked to comment on the issue during a meeting with TV anchors and reporters, Khan said Pakistan is sincere about establishing better ties with India.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. SC to Study Pune Police Charge Sheet Filed Against Activists
The Supreme Court on Monday, 3 December, decided to examine Pune police’s charge sheet invoking Unlawful Activities Prevention Act provisions against five activists arrested in June for alleged links with the banned CPI (Maoist), and their alleged role in the Elgar Parishad meeting a day before the violence in Koregaon Bhima on December 31, 2017.
The investigating officer had moved a trial court seeking extension beyond the stipulated 90 days to file the chargesheet against the five — Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Mahesh Raut and Shoma Sen.
Realising the IO was not authorised to do so, the public prosecutor moved an application for extension of time. The trial court permitted the plea but the Bombay HC quashed the order giving an extension. The SC had stayed the HC order, which allowed Pune police to file the chargesheet.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. Sonia May Join Oppn Meet on 10 Dec, Maya Not Confirmed
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is likely to join the meeting of the opposition parties on 10 December, a day before the Assembly election results are out.
Congress leaders said that apart from Gandhi, party president Rahul Gandhi is almost certain to join the gathering, seen as an effort to cobble up Opposition strength for the 2019 elections.
But the two leaders also added that the meeting will not have any set agenda and leaders will be able to raise and discuss all issues.
“Apart from talks on 2019 election, talks may also veer around the winter session of Parliament that will start from 11 December,” one leader said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Tribunal Orders 9 Former IL&FS Directors to Disclose Assets
Nine former directors of IL&FS have been asked to disclose their movable and immovable assets, including bank accounts in India and abroad. They were also restrained from alienating or creating third-party rights in properties, including those jointly held, and from dealing with any securities till 16 January.
The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday, 3 December, allowed the Centre’s plea to implead six more former directors of IL&FS in its company petition.
After a day-long hearing which went on till 7 pm, the tribunal passed its interim order on an application by the Centre where it alleged deliberate action by former directors of IL&FS to defraud creditors, citing a Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) report.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. Modi’s Nose in Nehru’s Rose
The legacy of the Prime Minister who built the temples of modern India has been buried in a rose garden by the Prime Minister who is part of the system that built temple politics.
“Ye gulab ka phool laga karke ghumne wale log bageechon ka gyan tha, unko kheto ka koi gyan nahi tha, unko kisan ke pasine ka gyan nahi tha (Those who went around wearing a rose had knowledge of gardens, they had knowledge neither of farming nor of the sweat of the farmer),” Prime Minister Narendra Modi told an election rally in Jodhpur on Monday.
Modi did not name anyone but the rose in the pocket is an enduring image associated with Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister whose legacy always seems to grate on the nerves of his newest successor.
The latest swipe comes a few days after farmers marched on the capital and vented their fury on the Modi government.
(Source: The Telegraph)
8. Diagnostic Labs Buy Used Machines; No Checks by Regulator, Testing Is Voluntary
Nobody has kept an exact count, but it is estimated that 50-70 percent of medical equipment in use in India’s private healthcare facilities — from unregulated path labs to some of the super speciality hospital chains — are pre-owned.
The bulk of these second-hand equipment — from flexible endoscopes to MRI machines — are sold online by third-party traders, ill-equipped to provide reliable maintenance services.
An investigation by The Indian Express, in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), into the big, unregulated medical bazaar has found that no regulator ever checks these pre-owned machines, before or after sale. And that for most tests and procedures, patients have no means to verify if the equipment is hazardous, faulty or if the test results are inaccurate.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. ‘Never Said I Know Everything’: Modi on Rahul’s Hindu Remark
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, 3 December, hit back at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying the PM’s knowledge of Hinduism was not an election issue in Rajasthan and that the Congress was busy trying to rake up religion rather than talk about development in its election campaign.
Speaking at an election rally in Jodhpur, Modi said “a naamdar (dynast)” appeared to be claiming to know all about Hinduism when even saints don’t make such an argument because of the vast knowledge and heritage associated with Hinduism.
“Only naamdar can claim that, but not a small kaamdar [worker] like me,” Modi said at the rally without naming Gandhi.
Two days ago, Gandhi said in Udaipur that the “Prime Minister says he is a Hindu, but he doesn’t understand [the] foundation of Hinduism. What kind of a Hindu is he?”
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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