Attacking Asaram Bapu, activist Swami Agnivesh Tuesday demanded a CBI probe into sexual assault allegation against the self-styled godman and trial by a fast track court, saying the case was mere a "tip of the iceberg". "We see the arrest albeit delayed as moral victory over blind faith and superstition perpetrated by godmen of the likes of Asaram. "But, it is only a tip of the iceberg. Emboldened by this arrest, more victims will now come out, more skeletons will now tumble out of the closet," Agnivesh said. He said arrest of the 72-year-old Asaram has sent a "wave of joy" among all those who had been fighting against superstition and blind faith and it will also serve as a "warning bell" to all those "prominent babas" who enjoy "media limelight" and consider themselves "above law". "We appeal to the Home Minister to order a CBI probe into this case.... We also appeal that the cases be tried by a fast-track court as per the new Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act," he said.
"This will serve as a warning to all those godmen who think they are immune to the law of the land and above the Constitution," he said. Agnivesh also termed the arrest as a "symbolic victory" and "true tribute" to 69-year-old social activist Narendra Dabholkar, who was shot dead on August 20 in Pune. "This arrest also serves as a true tribute to Dr Dabholkar, who fought against superstition all his life. The martyr's soul will rest in peace now," he added. Agnivesh said it was not just a case of "abuse of a woman" but of "abuse of people's faith". He praised Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for getting Asaram arrested "without thinking of vote-bank politics".
He also praised the role of media. "I acknowledge support of media too right now unlike their previous avatar where most channels had started running shows on horoscopes and astrology, which promoted superstition among people," he said. Asaram was yesterday remanded in 14 days' judicial custody by a Jodhpur court following his arrest for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl. He has denied the allegations against him.
Supporters of jailed religious preacher Asaram Bapu on Thursday took out a silent march here to protest his arrest and express solidarity with him.
The protesters, including women, marched from Tower Chouraha to District Collector's office carrying placards with slogans in support of the 72-year-old self-proclaimed godman. Asaram's followers, through the placards, alleged that he had been framed in the sexual assault case as part of a conspiracy. Later they submitted a memorandum to the district administration. Asaram was arrested from here last weekend by Rajasthan Police for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl at his ashram near Jodhpur. The self-styled godman is currently in Jodhpur jail under judicial custody.
A Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) report sent to Uttar Pradesh government has claimed that the wall of an under-construction mosque was demolished in Gautam Budh Nagar in the presence of Circle officer/SDM Jewar and that the suspended IAS officer was not present at the spot. Durga Shakti Nagpal, the 28-year-old SDM of GB Nagar, who led the crackdown on sand mining mafia in her district, was suspended on July 27 ostensibly for ordering the demolition of the wall allegedly without following the due process.
As per the LIU report, which did not state name of any officer, SDM (Jewar) was present at the spot and not SDM (Sadar), the post held by Nagpal. Both Jewar and Sadar fall under GB Nagar. The District Magistrate, GB Nagar has already stated in his report to the state government that Nagpal had not got the wall of any religious place demolished.
The report, which is in possession of a news agency, said that on July 27 members of the Muslim community were getting a new mosque constructed in Kadalpur village in Raghupura area of GB Nagar. "The SDM (Jewar) alongwith Circle officer and SHO, Raghupura team reached the village at about 1 pm and got the wall, which is of about 10 feet height and constructed from three sides, demolished", the LIU report said. "The administration is saying that the action has been taken as no permission has been sought for construction of the mosque", the report said. Jewar (GB Nagar) Bachhu Singh told a news agency over phone that the said village does not lie in his area. - "I don’t know how the report mentioned presence of SDM, (Jewar) at the spot," Singh said. The LIU had sent its report to the DIG, Intelligence and it was forwarded to DGP and Home department at about 5.10 pm on July 27 itself apprising them of the real situation in the village. On the same day, Nagpal was suspended by the Akhilesh Yadav government citing her lack of forsightedness in demolishing the wall of the religious place. "The villagers are holding a panchayat to decide their future course of action due to which police arrangement appears necessary in the village", the report added. Opposition parties have alleged that Nagpal was suspended following pressure from the sand mining mafia.
Ghaziabad: Rajesh and Nupur Talwar on Tuesday dropped another defence witness, a nodal officer in a telecom company, after having approached the Allahabad court earlier seeking direction for his summoning in the murder case of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj. This is the third time when Talwars dropped their witness in the case.
The dentist couple today pleaded that a nodal officer of another telecom company had already deposed before the trial court so there was no need for another nodal officer to record his statement before the special CBI court here, so he be discharged from the case. The court accepted Talwars' request. "The court accepted our request to drop the nodal officer as defence witness," said Manoj Sisodia, counsel of Rajesh and Nupur Talwar. Earlier, the dentist couple had dropped Masuma Jha, a resident of Sector 29 in Noida, and Mahender Sharma, a carpenter, as their witnesses in the double murder case. Statements of Talwars' all defence witnesses had been recorded in the court. The Talwars today also moved a fresh petition in CBI court seeking all documents of DNA tests. The court fixed August 7 as the next date for hearing.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has said he regretted having posted suspended IAS official Durga Shakti Nagpal to a prime district like Noida, but he defended her suspension. In an interview to Wall Street Journal, Yadav said on Wednesday that it was at the request of Durga Nagpal's husband, also an IAS official, that she was posted in Greater Noida.
In hindsight, the chief minister said, he regretted having ceded to the demand on a purely humanitarian grounds. Husband of suspended IAS Durga Shakti Nagpal is posted in Ghaziabad. The chief minister while defending the action of his government to suspend Nagpal, said he has never interfered in the working of the official. "I have no knowledge what she did against the mining activities in the area," the chief minister was quoted as saying and denied any link between Nagpal's suspension and the mining activities. Reiterating the previously stated stand of the government that the SDM of Noida was suspended following her orders to demolish boundary wall of an under construction mosque in Kadalpur village of Greater Noida, the UP chief minister told WSJ that to write and speak about any action, one would have to understand the complexities of the state as large as Uttar Pradesh. There have been communal flare ups in the state and under such circumstances, the government cannot be expected to sit back, he said.
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet today approved an ambitious Rs 678-crore project to develop a night safari on 102.3 hectares of land at Greater Noida on public-private partnership basis. The decision to set up the first of its kind project in the country was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. "With an objective to establish the state on the world tourism circuit, conserve environment and to create awareness on wild animals, the Greater Noida Industrial Authority has prepared the proposal to develop night safari," an official spokesman said. The cost of the project would be borne by the Greater Noida authority, he said adding it would be developed on the lines of night safari in Singapore and China and would house 71 animals.
For future development, 14.9 hectares and for green buffer another 19.4 hectares of land had been reserved, he said.
UP Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani said the new Metro route has been necessitated to decongest the city roads, increase connectivity and smoothen traffic. Work on the proposed line was likely to be completed by 2017, he said. He also said that a total of Rs.5,000 crore would be spent on the ambitious Metro rail link.
Noida: The Uttar Pradesh Government late on Monday announced the setting up of the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) as a special purpose vehicle to facilitate a 29.5-km Metro rail route between Noida City Centre and Greater Noida.
The Metro line will be constructed without DMRC`s help and the newly-created NMRC will make an initial investment of Rs 1,000 crore, disclosed senior Noida Authority official.
Holding a meeting of officials of the departments concerned, the chief secretary said the project would be developed on the lines of the proposed Metro projects in states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, West Bengal and Kerala.
Principal Secretary (Industrial Development) Surya Pratap Singh said that due to some reasons, the Metro line between Noida and Greater Noida is not possible as an extension of the projects undertaken by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
The CEO of Noida and the Greater Noida Authority Rama Raman said, "During board meeting on January 11, a 29.707 kilometre Metro line was announced between Noida and Greater Noida, estimated at a cost of Rs 5,064 crore. We will soon approach the registrar of companies, Uttar Pradesh, for clearance and the work on the NMRC will begin soon. We have passed the proposed MoU from our end and will seek clearance from the Uttar Pradesh government. After that, the proposal will go to the Urban Development Ministry for final clearance."
Earlier, Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities had announced an increase in floor area ratio allowed for land within 500 metres of the Metro corridor. officials announced that the board had passed a memorandum of understanding with regard to the extension of the DMRC line between Botanical Garden and Kalindi Kunj. The 3.96-km line is to be built at a cost of Rs 845 crore.
A senior official said, "We have increased the FAR by 0.5 for building within 500 metres of the Metro line. This will increase value of land near the Metro line. The increased revenue will aid development work, including proposed Metro lines in the area. "
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