Crime
Can’t deny Rs 50K ex gratia if death certificate doesn’t mention Covid: SC
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The Supreme Court on Monday directed state governments to follow the Centre’s guidelines for paying Rs 50,000 to family members of those who succumbed to Covid-19, and disburse the payment within 30 days of applying for ex-gratia, while asking the Centre and states to give wide publicity to the scheme.
A bench, headed by Justice M.R. Shah, said no state government should deny the Rs 50,000 benefit on the ground that cause of death on the death certificate is not Covid-19 and the district authorities should take remedial steps to have the cause of death corrected.
The bench, also comprising Justice A.S. Bopanna, added that the ex-gratia assistance should continue to be provided for deaths, which occur post the date of judgment.
The top court said the grievance redressal committee can examine medical records of the deceased patient and take a call within 30 days on the compensation. In cases where death certificates have already been issued and the family members are aggrieved by cause of death mentioned on them, then they may approach the committee and submit documents seeking modification on the certificate.
The top court said that this Rs 50,000 amount will be over and above the amounts paid by the Centre and states under various benevolent schemes.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines, Rs 50,000 ex-gratia assistance will be paid to the families of those who died due to Covid-19 by the states from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
The top court order came on an application seeking compliance of June 30 judgment, where directions were issued to the NDMA to frame guidelines to grant compensation to the families of those who died due to Covid, and the Centre was also directed to issue guidelines to simplify the process of issuance of death certificates in Covid cases.
The Centre has filed a compliance affidavit, where it informed the top court about the NDMA guidelines framed to fix the ex-gratia at Rs 50,000 and also guidelines framed to simplify the process of issuing death certificates.
The top court’s June 30 judgment came on PILs which were filed by advocates Gaurav Kumar Bansal and Reepak Kansal seeking court’s intervention for payment of Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia amount to the Covid victims’ families.
Crime
RG Kar victim’s parents yet to secure death certificate even after six months
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Kolkata, Feb 22: Over six months have passed since the shocking rape and murder of a junior woman doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital but her parents are still to get a copy of her death certificate.
The body of the victim was recovered from a seminar hall within the premises of the state-run institution early on August 9 last year.
The victim’s parents have alleged that they have been unable to get the death certificate till now as the R.G. Kar and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) authorities are shifting the responsibility onto each other.
According to them, the KMC authorities are claiming that since the “place of death” is R.G. Kar, it is the responsibility of the hospital authorities to provide the death certificate.
On the other, the R.G. Kar authorities claim that if a patient dies within the hospital premises or is even brought dead to the hospital, the death certificate will have to be provided by the KMC authorities, the parents added.
The victim’s parents have further claimed that although they have not got a copy of the death certificate, it has been mentioned in the court documents, as per the statement of a medical officer attached to R.G. Kar.
They now say if the death certificate is mentioned in the court documents, why was a copy of the certificate not handed over to them?
Last week, a special court in Kolkata, which had convicted and sentenced civic volunteer Sanjay Roy in the rape and murder case, directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a fresh progress report on its investigation in the matter on February 24.
Since the special court has already pronounced the sentence for the convict in the main crime of rape and murder, legal circles feel that the fresh progress report will be related to the angle of tampering with the evidence in the case.
It is learnt that the special court had directed the CBI to submit a fresh progress report following a complaint filed by the counsel of the victim’s family accusing the central agency of not updating the court on the progress of investigation in the matter periodically.
Crime
Ten persons arrested for attack on Congress MP, says Assam CM
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Guwahati, Feb 21: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday that ten persons have been arrested in connection with the attack on Congress MP Rakibul Hussain.
Taking to social media platform X, CM Sarma said, “The police have identified the individuals involved in the alleged incident of assault on Congress MP Sri Rakibul Hussain.”
He also mentioned that the actions will be taken as per the law.
The Dhubri MP was attacked while attending a public programme in the Nagaon district.
The Congress MP had to run from the spot wearing a helmet to save himself. The security officers of Hussain sustained minor injuries in the attack.
In a viral video, it was seen that some masked miscreants initially showed black flags to the Congress MP and after that attacked him.
In the video, Hussian was seen fleeing from the spot in a two-wheeler to save himself from the attack.
The incident that happened in the Ruporihat locality drew criticism from the opposition with Congress leaders training guns on the BJP government.
Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, launched a sharp attack on the BJP government as Congress MP Hussain was attacked on Thursday.
Gogoi said, “In Assam, a Congress Lok Sabha MP is attacked by thugs in broad daylight in a busy marketplace. The goons even attack the police security officers and try to snatch their weapons. All of this is recorded on camera. Yet the Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma refuses to ensure that the thugs will be arrested immediately.”
“The Chief Minister should at least think of his constitutional duty towards Assam Police and the innocent civilians in the marketplace. If the goons had got hold of the machine gun, a terrible tragedy could have taken place. The attitude of the Chief Minister will only embolden the thieves, dacoits, smugglers and those accused of murder. Democracy is under threat and people of Assam want freedom from this gunda raj culture,” he added.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Debabrata Saikia said it was a “failure” of the police and administration.
Crime
New India Co-operative Bank Scam: EOW Arrests Former CEO Abhimanyu Bhoan
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Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has made another arrest in the New India Co-operative Bank scam. Former CEO Abhimanyu Bhoan has been taken into custody, making him the third accused in the case.
The Court has remanded accused into police Custody untill February 28.Bhoan’s arrest follows an ongoing investigation into financial irregularities within the bank, which allegedly led to taken place during his working period.
The authorities suspect his involvement in mismanagement and fraudulent transactions.Further investigation is underway, and officials believe that more arrests may follow in the case.
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