Latest news with #FirstInformation
Time of India
an hour ago
- General
- Time of India
Asst municipal chief seeks FIR on illegal parking fees
Mumbai: Following a TOI report on Tuesday, June 3, highlighting how motorists were being illegally charged at designated free parking spots in south Mumbai, the assistant municipal commissioner of A ward wrote to the MRA Marg police station, requesting an FIR against unidentified persons for violating BMC rules. The letter—which refers to the TOI news report 'Declared free for use, SoBo parking lots still charging motorists'—stated: "We request that action be taken in this matter, and legal action be initiated against the contractor by filing a police complaint. The matter involves violation of BMC rules, misuse of public space, and collection of money despite the official directive to not charge motorists. Hence, it is requested that based on the report published on June 3, an investigation be initiated and a First Information Report (FIR) be filed in the matter. " A TOI team on June 2 had visited parking spots in south Mumbai, which were made free temporarily for parking, and found that motorists were being charged at these spots. BMC officials said while these were temporary free parking spots, they were in the process of appointing a new agency either for a short-term three-month period or a fresh two-year contract through the office of the deputy chief engineer (traffic). "These sites are temporarily free until then," said an official. It may be recollected that in April, a sting operation done by BMC officers exposed pay-and-park contractors overcharging motorists in several BMC-operated parking lots of south Mumbai. Following this, the BMC's A Ward proposed making all pay-and-park facilities in the area free until a new contractor is appointed.
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- New Indian Express
Rs 7.3 crore MGNREGA scam uncovered in Bharuch amid growing Gujarat rural job scheme crisis
AHMEDABAD: The corruption in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) continues to deepen in Gujarat. Following massive irregularities unearthed in Dahod, Panchmahal, and Narmada districts, Bharuch has now been added to the list exposing yet another multi-crore scam under the Central government's flagship employment scheme for the rural poor. According to a police complaint filed at Bharuch A Division, a staggering Rs 7.30 crore has been siphoned off through fraudulent practices across 56 villages in the talukas of Amod, Jambusar, and Hansot. Officials say the fraud stems from collusion between contractors and government personnel. The First Information Report (FIR), lodged at Bharuch A Division Police Station on Friday, 30 May 2025, names two firms Muralidhar Enterprise and Jalaram Enterprise accused of gross irregularities in executing clay-metal road works across 11 villages, covering projects from January 20, 2023, to the present. Citing a technical audit, the FIR notes, 'In each of the 11 villages, despite road lengths being consistent, the agencies arbitrarily segmented the roads into different parts averaging 236 metres per segment violating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and government-prescribed criteria.'
The Hindu
4 days ago
- The Hindu
A nine-year-old bonded labourer
Two years ago, Mannepalli Ankamma, a woman from a tribal community in Andhra Pradesh, who does not know her age, decided to work for N. Muthu, a 60-year-old duck farmer. He promised her a salary of ₹24,000 a month for herding cows and helping him run a sweet shop in Satyavedu, a town in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. Ankamma took an advance of ₹15,000 from him. When she was unable to repay the amount, Muthu took away her youngest son, M. Venkatesh, as 'collateral'. He also allegedly inflated the amount she owed him to ₹42,000. On April 9, Ankamma spoke to Venkatesh over the phone. The nine-year-old boy told her that he was busy tending to Muthu's ducks in Kancheepuram district in Tamil Nadu. Ankamma lives in Thurakapalle village in Duttaluru mandal of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh, where she works in her current employer Siva Reddy's lemon orchard. She assured her child that she would be there in two days with ₹42,000 of cash in hand. She promised that he would be home soon. Before ending the call, Ankamma asked Venkatesh what he had eaten for lunch. Curd rice, he said, an improvement over the previous day's meal of rice mixed with water. That was the last time Ankamma spoke to him. Buried by the river A week later, clutching wads of cash, Ankamma travelled to Satyavedu, about 270 kilometres from her village. But Muthu refused the money. 'He used casteist slurs against me,' she recalls. 'He also told me that my son had run away with his phone and some cash.' Dejected, Ankamma returned home. When a month passed and there was still no word from Venkatesh, Reddy helped her file a First Information Report (FIR) at the Satyavedu police station on May 19. The police began their investigation. On being questioned, Muthu told them that Venkatesh had died of jaundice on April 12 at a private hospital at Pudupalayam in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu. He confessed that he had buried the boy near the Palar river. The police found Venkatesh's decomposed body and informed Ankamma. 'I knew it was him. He was wearing a vest and shorts. I knew it was my boy though he had become unrecognisable,' says Ankamma, her cheeks wet with tears. While the medical officer from the Chengalpattu Government Medical College declined to share the post-mortem report,the Puttur police quoted the report and said that the stated cause of death was 'blunt force injury to the head by (a) heavy weapon'. The injuries were 'sufficient to cause death in ordinary course of nature'. At first, Muthu, his wife, and son were arrested under the provisions of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976; the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986; the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2016; and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. On May 24, Deputy Superintendent of Police G. Ravi Kumar, who probed the case, said Section 103 (1) (murder) under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, was also added to the FIR. Also read: How the Code on Wages 'legalises' bonded labour Bonded labour is a system where creditors force debtors to repay debts through labour. The Act prohibits any person from making advances under, or in pursuance of, the bonded labour system. It also prohibits compelling a person to render bonded or forced labour. However, the practice continues till date, say activists. A debt that cost a son Sitting on a flat rock outside Reddy's house on the outskirts of Thurakapalle village, Ankamma cries softly. Thurakapalle is 8 km from Duttaluru town. A narrow muddy pavement leads to the village, which is populated by about 10 people in the morning. The silence of the surroundings is broken by the crowing of roosters. Reddy's house stands in the midst of a vast expanse of lemon orchards. Ankamma and her husband Prakash get paid ₹15,000 a month for taking care of Reddy's 12-acre orchard, tending to 10 buffaloes, and doing other odd jobs for him. Ankamma and Prakash do not have a house. 'This is home,' she says, pointing to a small hut-like structure, perched precariously on four logs. The logs are covered on top by a tarpaulin sheet. There is just enough space for them to sleep. When Reddy is around, Prakash and Ankamma sit on the ground. 'They are Reddulu (Reddys). They are 'big' people,' Ankamma says with a reverential tone. She believes that what happened was all her fault. 'We will not leave Siva Reddy until our last breath. We had left him to work for Muthu and that is why this happened to us. From now on, we will be loyal to him.' Two years ago, Ankamma and Prakash went to work for Muthu after Ankamma's mother told her that he may pay more. Taking an advance of ₹15,000 from Muthu, they began taking his ducks for grazing. Though he promised them a salary of ₹24,000 a month, Muthu did not give them anything more than the advance amount. The couple slept in the fields under the sky. They often stayed awake at night, fearing snakes and scorpions. They moved from place to place every week, foraging for feed. They offered to repay the debt in instalments, but Muthu refused. Ankamma has three children from her previous marriage — Chenchu Krishna (15), Ravu Lakshmamma (12), and Venkatesh. When her first husband died last year, she and Prakash left for Guduru, near Tirupati district, for his final rites. When they did not return, an enraged Muthu went in search of them. He took Venkatesh away, saying the boy was 'collateral'. 'Everyone says we will get some cash (compensation),' says Ankamma. 'But we will not demand anything except justice for my son.' The Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourer - 2021 states that immediate financial assistance of up to ₹30,000 is guaranteed to individuals rescued from bonded labour. Once the accused is convicted, the aid can go up to ₹3 lakh, depending on the severity of the case. Ravi Kumar, the administrative officer at the Revenue Divisional Officer's (RDO) office in Sullurpeta, says the Tirupati administration is considering providing a housing site and compensation to the family. Satyavedu falls under the purview of the Sullurpeta RDO. Activists say the administration should also issue a 'release certificate' to Ankamma's family. 'Release certificates can be issued only to those in bonded labour. Technically, only the boy was a bonded labourer. Since he is dead, the family is not eligible for the certificate,' Kumar explains. 'Poor, unlettered, and fearful' Andhra Pradesh is both a source and a destination State for bonded labour. 'The problem is not as prevalent as it used to be, but many cases do not come to light these days. In addition to migrant labourers from Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Chhattisgarh, the most marginalised locals fall prey to the system,' says Raavi Sunil Kumar, convenor of the Vetti Vimochana Coalition, a group of NGOs working on bonded labour issues. According to data compiled by the group, 402 people have been rescued from bonded labour in the State from January 2023 to date. Most of them, including Ankamma, belong to the Yanadi community. A report from the National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes, published in 2008, says the Yanadis are one of the 59 Denotified Tribes and 60 Nomadic Tribes of Andhra Pradesh. As per the 2011 Census, there were more than 5 lakh Yanadis in the composite State of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Noorbasha Babavali, a research assistant at the Centre for Study of Social Inclusion at Andhra University in Visakhapatnam, says the Yanadis are extremely poor. Only 35.35% of them are lettered. 'They have been exploited as they don't know about the legal system. Their fear of society keeps them away from the mainstream. They don't own any assets and stay on the canal bunds and in hilly areas.' Ankamma says she did not know that vetti chakiri (bonded labour) is illegal. 'Many Yanadis do not open up to strangers even if they are offered help,' says Ch. Venkateswarlu, a Yanadi leader from Alluru, a village near Ongole in Prakasam district. 'Unlike Ankamma, others do not share their troubles. They fear being beaten up by their employers.' He recalls another incident in which two bonded labourers died of electrocution while working in a field in Palnadu district. 'Though this happened a few months ago, the labourers' families still work as bonded labourers,' he says. Kotaiah's escape Katti Kotaiah, 56, who also belongs to the Yanadi community, escaped the clutches of his employer at Chilakaluripeta town. Kotaiah lives in a Yanadi colony at Alluru, a village near the Kothapatnam beach in Prakasam district. About 400 Yanadis live in the colony. At least 10 members live in one hut. Like Ankamma, Kotaiah blames himself for what happened. 'It was my fault that I accepted a loan of ₹10,000 from a creditor in Chilakaluripeta in Palnadu district. At the time, we had no work, no food, and no access to drinking water. So, I took the money,' he says. To repay that amount, his family of seven, including three children, had to work as bonded labourers for around 20 years. 'We set out to work when my son's three children were toddlers. Now they are between 16 and 20,' he says. By the time of their release last year, that debt of ₹1,500 had risen to ₹15 lakh. The family was sold more than thrice, and worked as bonded labourers under different employers, says Kotaiah. He says their job was to cut Subabul logs, used primarily in the pulp and paper industry. He and his wife cut two tonnes of logs every day. 'In a week, if we cut 14 tonnes, we would get ₹1,500,' he says. As per current rates, a worker is supposed to get around ₹500 for cutting one tonne. 'These jobs were always fine in the first five months. Then, our employers would not give us wages daily. They would give us just ₹1,000 a week. We had to work even when we fell sick. They restricted our movements,' he says. Kotaiah says a policeman asked him to leave the employer during the pandemic. 'But I told him that I owed my employer ₹2 lakh.' he says. Kotaiah sold his house, received as part of a government scheme, for ₹1 lakh to clear the debt. It was only when Kotaiah's friend died that he decided to leave. 'We told our employer that we have to vote in the election (June 2024). He let us go. We never went back, despite warnings.' This year, too, the employer created a ruckus in Alluru demanding that they all come back, he recalls. District officials of Prakasam intervened and gave the family protection and release certificates. Venkateswarlu says that while the government hands out release certificates to survivors, the rehabilitation takes place so late in some cases that a few people, who find themselves without land and work after their release from bonded labour, go back to their old employers. Today, Kotaiah lives in a spacious hut with a sofa, cot, and cooler. He says civil society members got him these necessities. Kotaiah sells fish for a living. 'Some days, I get ₹200 and some days I make ₹400. Today I got only ₹100. But at least no one is torturing us,' he says. No action plan in place 'Apart from duck-rearing units, bonded labour cases are reported from areas where Subabul is grown extensively,' says Ramesh, who belongs to the Rural Organisation for Poverty Eradication Services, a registered NGO. In duck-rearing units, children are mostly chosen as labourers. 'One has to be agile and quick to stop the ducks from escaping. Duck farmers, mostly Yerukulas (another Scheduled Tribe community), hire Yanadis to work for them. The conditions are harsh, with no electricity and no proper food,' says Ramesh. In his report 'Bonded Labour in India: Its Incidence and Pattern', former Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Ravi S. Srivastava says that the Supreme Court directed all the States to collect information on the prevalence of bonded labour in India. The survey was held in 1996. No cases were identified in Andhra Pradesh. However, the government subsequently identified and released 37,988 bonded labourers till 2004. 'Since then, no systematic survey has been carried out. Bonded labour persists both in the agricultural and non-agricultural sector, although vestiges of hereditary bondage only exist in traditional sectors,' he says. Of the 402 people who have been rescued in the past two years by the Vetti Vimochana Coalition, members say FIRs have been booked only in seven cases. 'There is no Standard Operating Procedure or State action plan for the identification, rescue and rehabilitation of bonded labourers in Andhra Pradesh. On the other hand, States such as Tamil Nadu and Delhi have a robust system in place,' explains Kumar. While the Bonded Labour Act provides for punishment for up to three years, there is no data on how many people have been punished. The law mandates a district-level vigilance and monitoring committee to be in place. 'This was formed in Prakasam only last year,' Kumar says. Officials of the Revenue, Tribal Welfare, Social Welfare, and Labour Departments say they are not sure which of them is responsible for enforcing the Act. 'It is important to identify bonded labour as an organised crime,' says Venkateswarlu. 'The government should have a nodal department to deal with pre- and post-rescue operations. It should also have a toll-free number for people in distress. If there had been one, Ankamma would not have lost her son.' sravani.n@ This piece was edited by Radhika Santhanam
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Criminal charges against Ashoka University professor are ‘outrageous and absurd', say a group of former civil servants
Terming the criminal charges against associate professor of Political Science Ashoka University, Ali Khan Mahmudabad, 'outrageous and absurd', the 'Constitutional Conduct Group', comprising 79 former civil servants, in a statement on Thursday (May 29, 2025) said that Mr. Mahmudabad's two social media posts related to Operation Sindoor, for which he has been charged, were in fact 'thoughtful and measured'. Also Read | Congress accuses BJP of trying to take political advantage of Operation Sindoor 'He [Prof. Mahmudabad] praised the restraint of the Indian Army and noted the importance of the 'optics' of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi as a face of the Indian armed forces during the press briefings at the time that the hostilities were underway, but added that the symbolism of this would be hypocritical if lynching and bulldozing of homes continued,'' the signatories stated. They include Anita Agnihotri, former Secretary, Department of Social Justice Empowerment; Chandrashekar Balakrishnan, former Secretary, Coal; and Sharad Behar, former Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh. The Constitutional Conduct Group's statement said the perils and consequences of suppressing free speech by the unjust application of criminal law could be profoundly corrosive for a society. Also Read | Ashoka University professor arrest: Haryana forms SIT headed by Sonipat Police chief Stating that the criminal charges pertained to stringent Sections of India's new criminal law code, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 152, which penalises acts 'endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India', the group said the move closely echoes the language of the colonial era sedition law under the now repealed Indian Penal Code. Other crimes for which the academic has been charged include Section 196(1)(b) on disturbing communal harmony and public tranquillity; Section 197(1)(c) on assertions likely to cause disharmony; and Section 299, which criminalises 'deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings'. The group said many students and faculty members had come forward to express heartening solidarity with Prof. Mahmudabad, even though the management of Ashoka University has remained conspicuously silent on the unjust criminal targeting of their faculty. Mr. Mahmudabad was arrested by the Haryana Police on May 18, after two separate First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered against him at the Rai Police Station in Sonipat, Haryana, over his social media posts in connection with Operation Sindoor. He was released from the Sonipat District Jail on the evening of May 22, a day after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail. Later, the Supreme Court extended his interim bail, stating there would be no impediment to his right to speech and expression. The court, however, directed the professor to not post online anything related to the cases in which he is embroiled.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Youth political activist Asif Saeed Sakhi arrested without charges amid intensifying crackdown in PoK
Amid ongoing political crackdown in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the local police have arrested Asif Saeed Sakhi, Vice President of the Awami Workers Party (AWP), a prominent left-leaning political group in the region read more Amid ongoing political crackdown in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the local police have arrested Asif Saeed Sakhi, Vice President of the Awami Workers Party (AWP), a prominent left-leaning political group in the region. The information was shared on X by Javed Beigh, India's representative at the United Nations and a vocal advocate for the integration of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) with India's Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, respectively. In a long post on X along with sharing Sakhi's pictures, Beigh wrote, 'This is a photo of ASIF SAEED SAKHI, a youth political activist from minority Muslim sectarian community of ISMAILI MUSLIMS behind bars in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir's (PoK's) Gilgit and Baltistan region, which is also known as Pakistan Occupied Gilgit and Baltistan (PoGB).' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD PAKISTAN CRACK DOWN IN PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) CONTINUES, even as the world ignores the plight of the people of PoK.... This is a photo of ASIF SAEED SAKHI, a youth political activist from minority Muslim sectarian community of ISMAILI MUSLIMS behind bars in Pakistan… — Javed Beigh (@JavedBeigh) May 26, 2025 According to Beigh, Sakhi was arrested by police in Gulmit without any formal charges or the registration of a First Information Report (FIR), raising serious concerns about arbitrary detentions and the suppression of political dissent. 'Asif Saeed Sakhi is Vice President of PoGB's Awami Workers Party (AWP), a communist political party, a prominent political part of PoGB. He has been detained without charges by the local police of the puppet regime of Pakistan People's Party's (PPP) local Chief Minister Gulbahar Khan, which is seen as the puppet of the Punjabi Muslim ruling elite based in Islamabad & Rawalpindi,' he added. According to Beigh, Sakhi belongs to the Wakhi speaking Ismaili Muslim community which is a minority Muslim community in Pakistan but constitutes a major religious community in PoGB. The Wakhi community of PoGB are Tajik Farsi speaking communities who are culturally close to Wakhi speaking Ismaili communities of Gorno Badakshan in Tajikistan, Xinjiang province in China & Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan, he added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Before 1947, this used to be the northernmost border of British India and was part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir but after 1947, Pakistan illegally occupied this part of PoK depriving India its natural borders with Tajikistan, Afghanistan and wider Central Asia,' Beigh wrote. The arrest comes in the wake of mounting unrest over the controversial 'Land Reforms Act,' recently passed by the local assembly, widely seen as a rubber-stamp body operating under the control of Pakistan's central government. Critics argue the act enables land acquisition at the cost of indigenous communities and has triggered protests across the region. Several political leaders, including Ehsan Ali Advocate of the Awami Action Committee, have also been arrested in recent weeks as part of what many describe as a coordinated crackdown by the Pakistan People's Party-led regional administration, headed by Chief Minister Gulbahar Khan. Detractors have labelled the government a 'puppet regime' acting under the directives of the Punjabi-dominated ruling elite in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The arrest of Asif Saeed Sakhi has sparked a wave of condemnation and concern. The local Hunza court's decision to grant a two-day physical remand has further fueled outrage, with many in PoGB calling the move illegal and a clear act of retaliation by the local puppet regime of PoGB under the orders of the state of Pakistan. The people of PoGB say that the Hunza administration and police of PoGB appear to be pursuing a campaign of targeted harassment and retaliation against him,' wrote Beigh. Sakhi's arrest has sparked widespread calls for his immediate release and an impartial investigation. His supporters allege that the PoGB administration and police are engaged in a campaign of targeted harassment against dissident voices. Adding to the complexity is the assertion that Sakhi is an Indian citizen, originally from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), territory that India considers illegally occupied since 1947. 'ASIF SAEED SAKHI is an INDIAN CITIZEN from PoK. The million dollar question is, why is India not condemning Pakistani State oppression on the people of PoK, whom we Indians consider as part of our own ?' he asked. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Beigh wondered why India was choosing to ignore the plight of the people of PoGB and PoJK and urged the Indian government to take a more active stance. 'Why is India choosing to ignore the plight of the people of POGB and POJK, who we consider as Indians living under illegal occupation of Pakistan since 1947?' he asked.
