1. Unnao Rape Case: In Midnight Drama, BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar Meets Police, Says Will Cooperate with Probe
Uttar Pradesh BJP legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar made a midnight visit to the Lucknow police on Wednesday, 11 April, as pressure mounted for his arrest over allegations that he raped a teenager last year and that his brother fatally assaulted the girl’s father to force the family into dropping the case.
But instead of arresting him, as media reports suggested prior to his visit, a policeman at the office of the senior superintendent told Sengar that he will be contacted if needed.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Kathua Rape-Murder Case Gets Hindu-Muslim Twist, J&K Police Say Let Two Sikhs Be Prosecutors
With the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Bakherwal Muslim girl in Kathua sparking outrage and the case being given a communal twist by a Hindu outfit and Jammu-based politicians and lawyers rallying in support of the accused, police in J&K, hoping to check further polarisation, have sought the appointment of two Sikh police officers as special prosecuting officers in the case.
The J&K Police, sources said, want the Crime Branch case to be represented by Bhupinder Singh and Harminder Singh. While Bhupinder Singh is Chief Prosecuting Officer in the J&K Police prosecution wing, Harminder Singh is Chief Prosecuting Officer, Samba.
(Source: The India Express)
3. A Soldier, 4 Civilians Killed in Anti-Terror Operation in Kashmir
At least five people, including an Army jawan and two teenagers, were killed and more than 100 others were injured during an anti-terror operation at Khudwani village in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district and subsequent civilian protests across the valley on Wednesday, 11 April.
While the jawan was killed by terrorists, four civilians — part of a stone-pelting mob — were killed in the crossfire, police sources said.
Sources said the stone-pelting, which helped terrorists flee, was so intense that security forces had to retreat. Soon after security personnel lifted the cordon at the operation site, terrorists joined the mob that helped them escape.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. Zuckerberg Says Facebook Will Do Best to Protect Integrity of Elections in India, US, Pakistan
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said his company wants to "make sure that we do everything we can to protect the integrity" of elections across the world, including in India, after acknowledging the social media giant has come up short in stemming misinformation and subversion of the electoral process.
The admission of weaknesses and the pledge to rectify it is particularly and immediately relevant in India as major political parties contend with proliferation of fake news, propaganda, and trolling from bogus accounts over social media ahead of the upcoming elections.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. Manmohan Singh: Atrocities Against Minorities, Dalits Increasing; Could Harm Democracy If Unchecked
Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Wednesday, 11 April, insisted that atrocities against minorities and Dalits were on the rise in the country and warned that such incidents could harm democracy if remained unchecked.
Delivering the first SB Rangnekar Memorial lecture at the Panjab University, his alma mater, Singh also called for rejection of “divisive policies and politics”.
“I need not dwell long on the current deep concern that attempts are being made to divide the Indian people on the basis of religion and caste, language and culture. Atrocities against minorities and Dalits are increasing.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Cauvery Protests: All IPL 2018 Matches Moved out of Chennai
In a big blow to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and its fans, the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches scheduled to be held in Chennai have been shifted to another venue.
The decision by the IPL governing body was taken after protests by Tamil outfits before and even during CSK’s match of the season against Kolkata Knight Riders.
The outfits are protesting against Centre’s delay in constituting the Cauvery Management Board. Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) issued a statement saying that ticket sales for the match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals on 20 April have been postponed and further details will be intimated in due course.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. CJI Bench on CJI: First Among Equals, Power to Allocate Work
Reiterating that the Chief Justice of India is “the first among equals” with the “exclusive prerogative” to allocate cases and constitute benches, a Supreme Court bench led by the CJI on 11 April said “there cannot be a presumption of mistrust” about the discharge of the CJI’s Constitutional responsibilities.
Dismissing a PIL that sought directions to regulate the CJI’s power to form benches and allocate cases, the bench of CJI Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud sought to dispel the senior-junior judges’ notion, saying they are “invested with the equal duty of adjudicating cases which come to the court and are assigned by the Chief Justice” and “seniority in terms of appointment has no bearing on which cases a judge should hear”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Govt to SC: Aadhaar in Bank Account, PAN to Help Check Laundering
Seeding Aadhaar with PAN and bank accounts and other facilities would help authorities in effectively dealing with the global threat of money laundering, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) told the Supreme Court on 11 April.
Appearing for UIDAI, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a five-judge Constitution bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra that requiring people to link Aadhaar to various services does not mean that the “entire population is guilty”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Parents in Unclean Occupation? Question in Haryana’s School Admission Form Triggers Row
School students in Haryana have been asked to fill a lengthy admission form giving details like whether they are suffering from genetic disorders or their parents are engaged in any “unclean occupation”, prompting the opposition to hit out at the state government.
Students above primary classes have also been asked to mention their and their parents’ Aadhaar numbers, parents’ occupation and educational qualification in the admission form.
The form also seeks to know “whether parents of students are engaged in unclean occupation, whether they are income tax payees, their religion and caste details, genetic disorder, if any, besides students’ bank details”.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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