Crime
From courts to politicians, bulldozer under attack in Assam, Tripura
Besides other parts of the country, the BJP’s bulldozer politics has also drawn severe criticism both from the political spectrum and the courts in the northeastern states specially in Assam and Tripura.
During his recent three-day (May 8-10) visit to Assam, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that 10,700 bighas encroached upon by infiltrators have been freed.
The Assam government has also cleared over 3,800 hectares of forest land of encroachments during the past few years.
Before Assam’s BJP led government’s eviction drive, the saffron party led Tripura government after coming to power in March 2018 bulldozed a large number of opposition party offices across Tripura.
The Assam government had last year undertaken eviction drives in different districts to free government land encroached by hundreds of people for years. Various opposition parties including the Congress had criticised the BJP government for evicting the people without making alternate settlements.
In one of the violent eviction drive, two persons, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed while 20 others were injured after a mob clashed with the police in Darrang district on September 23 last year.
A video of the clashes, which went viral, also showed a photographer engaged by the Darrang district administration stomping on the body of a man shot by the police.
The eviction drive was launched by the police and the district administration to vacate 4,500 bighas (602.40 hectares) of government land, allegedly encroached upon by several hundreds of Bengali-speaking Muslim families in Darrang district.
Hearing a public interest litigation filed by Debabrata Saikia, Leader of Opposition in the Assam Assembly, the division bench of the Gauhati High Court headed by the then Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia (who was recently elevated to the Supreme Court) had termed the Darrang district incident as “a big tragedy and very unfortunate” and directed the state government to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
“This was a big tragedy, very unfortunate. Those who are guilty, if at all, must be punished, no doubt about that. Khoon zameen par gir gaya (blood has been spilt),” the Chief Justice had remarked.
The court wanted to know whether the National Rehabilitation Policy is applicable in Assam, and directed the state government to file a detailed affidavit in the entire matter within three weeks.
The Assam government had ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident.
Assam government officials said that around 800 families of Bengali-speaking Muslims were unlawfully occupying about 4,500 bighas (602.40 hectares) of government land for many years and the government recently decided to use the land for agricultural purposes by removing the settlers.
Besides various opposition parties including the Congress and the Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the All Minority Organisations Coordination Committee, which includes the All Assam Minority Students Union and the Jamiat-e-Ulema, among others, had organised a series of agitations against the eviction drive.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier claimed that the Popular Front of India (PFI) was involved in the Darrang violence.
Besides Sarma, other BJP leaders accused the migrant Muslims of encroaching upon a huge area in Assam.
Muslims comprise 34.22 per cent of the 3.12 crore population of Assam, of which 4 per cent are indigenous Assamese Muslims and the remaining are mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Muslim votes are the determining factor in at least 30 to 35 seats out of Assam’s total 126 Assembly seats.
Of Assam’s 34 districts, 19 districts have 12 per cent or more Muslim population, and in six districts (out of these 19 districts), the Muslim population constitutes 50 per cent or more.
In Tripura, after the BJP government wrested power from the Left parties defeating the CPI-M led Left Front, it bulldozed 185 CPI-M party and Left trade union offices across the state alleging that all these party offices were set up on government land.
The BJP government had also demolished eight Congress party offices in different districts.
CPI-M central committee member Jitendra Chaudhury said that BJP governments across the country tried to enforce one party rule.
“The BJP not only bulldozed the physical structures of the opposition parties, they also bulldozing the society, mindset of the people, communal harmony and the democratic structures of the country. They are not maintaining the demarcation between the party and the government,” Chaudhury told IANS.
Supporting the BJP government’s stand and action, the party’s Rajya Sabha member Manik Saha said that the government has been doing its work as per the law.
“If any party or individual occupying the government lands and properties, these should be vacated by the law enforcing agencies. A few of our party offices were also removed in Tripura,” Saha, who is also the president of the BJP Tripura unit, told IANS.
After coming to power in the politically important Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC), the civic body led by Dipak Majumder evicted many hawkers from shops in the capital city.
Almost all opposition parties and civil society activists criticized the AMC’s action.
They argued that without making alternate arrangements and rehabilitation of the hawkers, the authority should not do this unilaterally.
Crime
Mira-Bhayandar: Police Busts Illicit Liquor Brewing Den In Nallasopara
Mira Bhayandar: Further tightening their screws against illicit liquor mafia ahead of the assembly elections scheduled to be held on 20, November, the Mira Road-based central crime branch unit attached to the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai (MBVV) police busted yet another massive illicit liquor brewing unit which was operating from a hillock in a dense jungle area in Nallasopara on Thursday.
Acting on a tip-off, a team led by assistant police inspector- Dattatray Sarak marched 2-kilometre-deep inside the jungle area located in the Dhaniv Baug area of Nallasopara (east) at around 8 am.
The team seized multiple barrels of hooch along with ingredients including 2,800 litres of fermented jaggery wash, 140 litres of liquor, chemicals and other manufacturing equipment collectively worth more than Rs. 1.42 lakh.
However, the den operator identified as- Prabhakar Bhoye and his employees managed to evade the police dragnet. The entire material and equipment were destroyed on the spot.
An offence under the relevant sections of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act-1949 for construction/works of any distillery or brewery and manufacturing intoxicants has been registered in this context at the Pelhar police station.
The consumption of illicit liquor which is unscientifically manufactured by using toxic chemicals like methanol and rectified spirit can cause deaths and other serious ailments including loss of eyesight. Further investigations were underway.
Crime
Wildlife Smuggling Racket Busted: Rare Snakes, Reptiles, Caged Orangutan Rescued From Dombivli House
Thane: In a significant operation exposing a wildlife smuggling racket, the Forest Officials rescued rare species of animals from a highrise in Dombivli. The officials raided an apartment in Palava City, Dombivli and found exotic animals including lizard, turtles, rare species snakes and other reptiles stored in the flat. Horrifying enough, the team found a monkey caged in the washroom of the apartment.
It was later confirmed that the rescued animals included Ignuana (lizard), an Orangutan and python. The operation was conducted by the Forest Range Officers from Thane and Kalyan along with a team from Manpada Police Station after a tip.
The officials did not find any accused present in the apartment at the time of the raid. A case under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 has been registered and a search for the accused is underway. Meanwhile, the seized species are handed over to a local NGO on a temporary basis for observation.
The video of the forest officials raid surfaced on the internet shows a boy opening the door of the well-kept apartment. After entering the flat, the officials gradually come across wildlife species stores in small cage, plastic boxes piled up in the passage and shocking enough an Orangutan in washroom at the end of the apartment.
As per the statement issued by the police, the teams raided the 8th floor apartment in B wing of Savarna Building in Palava City, Dombivli. In the action, the exotic animals seized as prima facie identified as python, ignuana (lizard), turtle, snake etc. The seized wildlife species, on temporary basis, are handed over to Birsa Munda- a local NGO. The pachanama, documentation and search for the accused is underway, it added.
Crime
Mumbai: Unidentified Body Of Man Chopped Into 7 Pieces Stuffed In Plastic Boxes Found Near Gorai Beach; Probe On
Mumbai: The dismembered body of a man, estimated to be between 25 and 40 years old, was discovered in several plastic boxes on the side road which goes to Gorai Beach in Mumbai on Sunday.
Upon receiving the information, police arrived at the scene and took the body into custody. It was later sent for a post-mortem examination. The body has not yet been identified, and a case has been registered.
According to police, on Sunday, a male body was found near Picxy Hotel, Babar Pada, Gorai, Borivali West. The body was cut into seven parts and packed in four plastic boxes. The deceased, believed to be between 25 and 40 years old, was wearing dark blue jeans and black shoes. His right hand bore tattoos.
A resident named Santosh Shinde, 55, from Mira Road, informed the Gorai police after learning about the incident. The Gorai police recovered the body from Shefali village in the Babarpada area.
A forensic team is currently investigating the case, and inquiries are ongoing in the vicinity of the incident location. Police have stated that the recovered body remains unidentified. The Gorai police have registered a case, and further investigation is underway.
A special team has been formed to investigate, and information is being gathered from CCTV footage and nearby police stations to assist in identifying the body.
A police officer said that the body was sent to Bhagwati Hospital for a post-mortem. “We can’t conclude anything immediately, as we are still investigating the matter,” the officer said.
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