Latest news with #Lal
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
J&K MLA dashes to Himachal, averts cop's suicide
Representative image SRINAGAR: J&K Independent legislator Rameshwar Singh travelled to neighbouring Himachal Pradesh to save the life of a cop who had climbed a tree and threatened suicide, saying his salary was first slashed to Rs 4000 after Covid and stopped after he moved court against the cuts. Special police officer (SPO) Shyam Lal, 48, climbed the 15-metre-high tree around 4:30pm Monday at Banikhet in Himachal Pradesh and refused to come down, relenting only when Singh arrived around five hours later. Lal, a father of three, is from Singh's Bani constituency in J&K's Kathua and had gone to Banikhet, around three hours away, for work as a casual labourer. Fearing the worst, Himachal police contacted Singh after the SPO insisted on speaking to the MLA. 'Under severe stress, he (Lal) had climbed the tree to end his life. Local police tried to convince him, but he refused to come down, which is when they called me,' Singh told TOI. The MLA made it clear that Himachal police and its govt had no role in the standoff. 'In fact, they were cooperative and called me to help him (Lal),' Singh said. He said HP police wanted to file an FIR against Lal but he intervened and dissuaded them. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo 'He is already in trouble. How much more should he face?' said Singh. SPOs were appointed in erstwhile J&K state under a 1995 scheme to provide auxiliary support to law enforcement agencies, especially police, in fighting militancy. They are not regular govt employees and their service tenures are not permanent. Over 32,000 SPOs are currently engaged. According to Singh, when around 300 SPOs like Lal approached Jammu and Kashmir high court after Covid against the wage cuts, the current J&K UT administration disengaged them instead of resolving their grievances. 'For the last two years, they (SPOs who went to court) haven't been paid anything. But the weapons are still with them. The govt used the services of these SPOs during Covid and abandoned them by slashing their salaries and disengaging them. This is unacceptable,' Singh said. The MLA appealed to the SPOs to pursue legal remedies instead of taking extreme steps. 'Suicide is not an option. Fighting your case is,' he said.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Pen Pictures from NDA to Op Sindoor: a legacy of brotherhood, jointmanship
AS INDIA secured a formidable geopolitical and strategic edge over Pakistan in Operation Sindoor — which showcased exemplary jointness and strategic foresight — the Indian Armed Forces were under the leadership of Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, along with the three service chiefs: General Upendra Dwivedi, Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi and Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh. The roots of this unparalleled synergy germinated on the hallowed grounds and rugged terrain of the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla, where these military leaders first imbibed the ethos of jointmanship and inter-service camaraderie. Here is a journey back in time to their NDA days, drawn from the personal archives and collections of Dr Kishori Lal — an author and retired professor from the NDA — whose early years at the Academy coincided with the formative cadet days of these four future military leaders. Jointness in Operation Sindoor Launched in the early hours of May 7, Operation unfolded across land, air, and sea — a seamless demonstration of synergy between the Indian Army, Air Force, and Navy. The Indian Air Force (IAF) played a crucial role in delivering precision strikes against terror infrastructure across Pakistan. The Air Force's air defence ecosystem proved pivotal in protecting Indian airspace during retaliatory drone and UAV attacks from across the border. The IAF's Integrated Air Command and Control System enabled real-time coordination of air assets, allowing Indian forces to neutralise aerial threats efficiently and maintain network centric operations. Simultaneously, the Indian Army demonstrated its preparedness and effectiveness in both defensive and offensive roles. The Army's air defence units worked in tandem with the Air Force, deploying a wide array of systems. These units were instrumental in countering waves of drones and loitering munitions launched by Pakistan. The Indian Navy played a critical role in asserting maritime dominance by operating as a composite networked force. The Navy deployed its Carrier Battle Group (CBG) equipped with MiG-29K fighter jets and airborne early warning helicopters. The CBG maintained a powerful air defence shield that prevented hostile aerial incursions. The Navy's presence created a strong deterrent and effectively bottled-up Pakistani air elements along their western seaboard, denying them any operational space. Roots in the Academy Dr Lal, 78, retired from the NDA in 2007. He has till now written over half a dozen books which document various facets of the NDA, including a book that is dedicated to the humorous side of the premier triservices institute. He says that the driving force behind his works has been his long innings as a faculty member at the academy and also as the chief editor of the NDA Journal for more than a dozen years. Speaking to Express, Dr Lal said, 'If we trace the history of NDA as a tri-service academy, we will come to know that in the 1940s, the renowned military training academies of the world were run by individual services. At the time, the Indian officers and cadets used to be trained in the service specific military academies in the UK. The military commanders of India envisaged that if any war came to be fought in India, in the years ahead, it would have to be fought by it to protect its territory and integrity. After the attainment of Independence, the founding fathers and foresighted leadership took a conscious call to depart from the Western custom of having separate academies to an integrated training Academy. When we talk of success in Operation Sindoor, due credit has to be given to this vision.' Dr Lal has brought out these aspects in his book The National Defence Academy of India (1949 — 2024) which he presented to Gen Chauhan in May last year. Dr Lal said, 'Integration and synergy are the key words for armed forces world over. But their most essential prerequisites are mutual understanding, teamwork, interdependence, and seamless unity between any two or three fighting forces. These values cannot be grafted on the battlefield but have to be ingrained in training.' Walk down memory lane Dr Lal said, 'When I joined the department of English at the NDA in 1980, the then now General and then Cadet Anil Chauhan, who is from the 58th course, was in his sixth term. General Upendra Dwivedi and Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi were schoolmates at Sainik School Rewa in Madhya Pradesh. Air Chief Amar Preet Singh and Gen Dwivedi are course mates from the 65th course at the NDA who trained alongside the Navy Chief Admiral Tripathi who is from the 66th course. On this timeline, all were contemporary to me. I distinctly remember cadet Amar Preet Singh as a student in the third term. At the peak of military hierarchy, with Gen Chauhan as Chief of Defence Staff, this exceptional team of the Academy luminaries are together again and concurrently occupying the highest echelons, leading the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. I feel proud and privileged to have seen them as cadets undergoing rigorous training and also of the fact they have carried with them the legacy of the NDA and the hopes of the nation that looked to them to safeguard its sovereignty and integrity.' Following are some interesting details about the four from their academy days with the highlight being the short and crisp testimonials referred to as 'pen pictures' in the NDA collectively written by their junior term cadets — especially second term cadets — for the passing out cadets The details have been obtained from the personal collection and archives of Dr Lal which includes issues of the NDA journal, which he was editor of. General Anil Chauhan joined the NDA in May 1977 with the 58th Course and passed out in May 1980. He was from the J (Juliet) squadron. At the time of his passing out, his junior cadets collective wrote in his pen picture: 'As OIC (referred to as officer-in-charge in lighter vein) Battalion Entertainment, attracted the whole Academy.' General Dwivedi was from the 65th Course C (Charlie) Squadron. He joined the NDA in January 1981 and passed out in December 1983 as Division Cadet Captain. His junior course cadets wrote in their testimonial: 'The PT captain proved to be a jazz DCC (Division Cadet Captain).' Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi joined the NDA in the 66th Course in D (Delta) squadron in June 1981 and passed out as CQMS (Company Quartermaster Sergeant) Dinesh Kumar Tripathi in June 1984. His pen picture by juniors read: 'Good at x-country (cross country) and boxing. Academic torchie (An award winner for academic performance).' Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh joined the NDA in the 65th Course in K (Kilo) squadron in January 1981 and passed out in December 1983 as the Squadron Cadet Captain. His pen picture read: 'had all the metal torches, the light of which illuminated his cheerful disposition.' Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read More
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Religious conversion cases: SC slams UP Police for casual approach
The Supreme Court has castigated the Uttar Pradesh police for its 'casual' and 'cavalier' approach in dealing with the liberty of citizens as it quashed the two FIRs against Vinod Bihari Lal, the director of Prayagraj-based Sam Higginbottom University (SHUATS) , in connection with allegations of illegal religious conversions. Lal, who is the director of administration at the Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), was booked under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986 based on two FIRs lodged against him for allegedly misusing around ₹34.5 crore received from foreign sources to fund illegal religious conversions. The Allahabad High Court has previously rejected Lal's pleas for relief twice. He challenged the orders in the top court in April 2023. Hearing the matter on May 23, a bench comprising justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan noted that the charge sheet prepared against Lal and another accused was a reproduction of the FIR, and rules were thrown out of the window as a mechanically drawn pre-prepared gang chart was 'rubber stamped' by the competent authority without following the mandate under the Gangster Act that laid down a process of consultation followed by satisfaction of senior police officials and district authorities. Under the Act, 'gang' means a group of persons, who acting either singly or collectively, by violence, or threat or show of violence, or intimidation, or coercion or otherwise with the object of disturbing public order or of gaining any undue temporal, pecuniary, material or other advantage for himself or any other person, indulge in anti-social activities. Also Read | UP man shot dead during marriage procession in Shahjahanpur over alleged love affair In its FIR registered in July 2018, the UP police alleged that Lal and one David Dutta formed a gang for committing economic offences involving fraud and cheating for personal, material and pecuniary gain by forging documents. The police investigated and submitted a charge sheet pursuant to which a trial court issued non-bailable warrants against them in February 2023. Finding that nothing of this was done before registering the FIR against Lal in 2018, the bench said: 'Resultantly, the registration of the subject FIR is in complete violation of the procedural safeguards. We are at pains to observe that authorities, entrusted with the solemn duty of safeguarding life and liberty, treat it with such casual indifference, truly a case of the fox guarding the henhouse.' Going through the case files, the bench said that no investigation was carried out by the police and its charge sheet, a reproduction of FIR, concluded that the accused are guilty without furnishing any documentary evidence. 'The contents of the charge sheet reflect a casual and cavalier attitude on the part of the investigating agency, as it discloses nothing beyond what was already stated in the subject FIR. We strongly disapprove of this practice and cast it into the cold storage wherein the investigating authority proclaims an offence to be 'proved',' the bench said. It reminded the investigating agency of its job to conduct an impartial investigation and leave it to the trial court to determine the guilt or the innocence of the accused. Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, who appeared for Lal, pointed out that the FIR under Gangsters Act was based on three base FIRs registered in 2017 and while a gang requires more than one person co-accused Dutta is not named in any FIR. The bench said, 'This selective approach raises serious doubts about the bona fides of the investigating agency and integrity of the investigation undertaken under the Act of 1986.' Most of the FIRs, Dave alleged, were either quashed or proceedings were stayed by the top court and the Allahabad High Court. Dave also questioned the 'mechanical' preparation of the gang-chart, highlighting how at every stage, the UP Gangster Rules 2021 stood violated. The state, on the other hand, led by additional advocate general Garima Prashad, said that the FIR disclosed a cognizable offence and the petitioner has 32 criminal cases pending against him, where charge sheets have been filed. Also Read | UP anti-conversion law aimed at maintaining public order: HC Rule 5(3)(a) stipulates that a gang chart shall be approved only after due discussion in a joint meeting comprising the District Magistrate, Commissioner of Police, and Senior Superintendent of Police. The state failed to show any such discussion conducted before the chart was prepared. Further, Rule 17 mandates that the competent authority must exercise its independent mind while forwarding the gang-chart and prohibits the use of pre-printed gang-charts, Also, the chart must receive due consideration and satisfaction of the Additional Superintendent of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate, The court found no material to show such an exercise was done. Justice Pardiwala, writing the judgment for the bench, said, 'A mechanical or routine exercise of power by the recommending, forwarding, and approving authorities respectively is impermissible, as it directly impinges upon the liberty of would like to reiterate that the recommending, forwarding, and approving authority are not mere rubber-stamping entities.' Also Read | Constitution does not protect forced or fraudulent conversion: Allahabad HC Setting aside the HC orders, the bench held, 'Upon perusal of the material on record, more particularly the gang chart, it is abundantly clear that the said gang-chart was approved by the competent authority merely by affixing his signature on a pre-printed gang-chart, an act that reflects nothing short of a complete non-application of mind and constitutes a violation of Rules 16 and 17 of 2021 a safeguard is integral to preserving the procedural sanctity of the law and preventing arbitrary or perfunctory approvals that may adversely affect the rights and liberties of individuals.' Holding that the investigation by the police only ignites 'conjectures and surmises' without making out a prima facie case, the bench held that 'continuation of criminal proceedings against the appellant herein would result in undue harassment when there is no material against him and will result in the abuse of process of law.'
India Gazette
6 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Whenever there is terrorism, we will consider it as war": BJP MP Brij Lal echoes India's stand at global level
Tokyo [Japan], May 24 (ANI): BJP MP Brij Lal, who is a part of an all-party delegation visiting Japan, highlighted the extensive evidence linking Pakistan to numerous terror attacks in India during the interaction of the Indian Community there on Saturday (local time). Lal underscored the impact of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism on India's development, citing specific incidents and the strategic response under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's zero-tolerance policy. Lal stated that a country can't be developed without peace, noting that Pakistan has been causing all these terror attacks to disrupt the peace in India. 'A country becomes developed when there is peace, there is law and order. If there is no law and order, one can't be developed. No investor would like to come here... Pakistan has always tried to create such disturbances, so no investors come to the country... There have been a number of incidents of Pakistan doing terrorist attacks in our country... There are terrorist organisations in Pakistan, mainly Jaish-e-Mohammed, headed by Masood Azhar; Lashkar-e-Taiba, headed by Hafiz Saeed; and Hizbul Mujahideen, headed by Syed Salahuddin. Apart from that, there are many other organisations,' he stated. Further, he highlighted several instances when Pakistan-sponsored terrorism attacks occurred in different parts of India. 'Also on the orders of Pakistan's ISI and its government, they created the Indian Mujahideen... It was the proxy of LeT... Indian Mujahideen attacked the Indian Science Congress in 2005 in Bangalore, as they couldn't attack ISRO due to high security at the place... A professor of IIT Delhi was killed... On 1st January, 2008, they attacked and killed seven CRPF personnel and we captured all the terrorists, out of which two were Pakistanis,' Brij Lal said. 'In 26/11, 171 people were killed, out of which two were IPS Officers... We captured Kasab, who was from Pakistan... Pakistan denied it, but Pakistani media went to Kasab's village there... We have a lot of evidence (against Pakistan)... They continued their attacks to make the Country unsafe so that no one comes to the Country... My point is there is a lot of evidence against Pakistan,' Lal added. Highlighting India's response against terrorism under PM Modi, the BJP MP said, 'When PM Modi came (to power) in 2014, he had a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, and accordingly, we did a surgical strike in 2016, did the same in 2019 in Balakot and again retaliated on April 22... They know they can't win against India one-on-one. So they planned to give 1000 cuts to India so that India bleeds... but now we have taken the decision and attacked with precision... It is a war... Whenever there is terrorism, we will consider it as war.' Lal is part of the delegation led by Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha, which includes Ambassador Mohan Kumar, BJP MP Dr Hemang Joshi, CPI(M) MP John Brittas, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, BJP MP Brij Lal, and BJP MP Pradan Baruah and TMC Abhishek Banerjee. The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Indian Armed Forces responded effectively to subsequent Pakistani aggression and pounded its airbases. The two countries have reached an understanding to stop military action following a call made by Pakistan's DGMO to his Indian counterpart. (ANI)
Time of India
7 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Work on ideal power mix, add nuclear capacity: Manohar Lal to States
Power minister Manohar Lal on Friday said resource adequacy and necessary power generation capacity tie-ups should be ensured by states. States should, while meeting their resource adequacy plan , also work on having an adequate power generation mix, including addition of nuclear generation capacity, Lal said while addressing the regional power conference with southern states. Lal said states should work towards resolving the intra-state transmission sector challenges, including 'right of way' issues. He emphasized the need to adopt guidelines issued by the central government in this regard. States should leverage the scheme announced in Union Budget 2025-26 including the scheme of ₹1.5 lakh crore interest-free loan to states for 50-year for infrastructure development. Lal urged states to submit proposals for third phase of the Green Energy Corridor and asked to promote renewable energy coupled with storage solutions so as to have energy reliability and to collectively meet India's international climate commitments under the UNFCCC. Power secretary Pankaj Agarwal, who also addressed the conference, highlighted that it is crucial to ensure necessary power generation capacity tie-ups as per the resource adequacy plan for up to FY35 to meet future power demand. He added that It is imperative to make necessary arrangements for development of inter-state and intra-state transmission capacities through various financing models available including tariff-based competitive bidding , regulated tariff mechanism, budgetary support or monetization of existing assets. States should make all efforts for securing the power sector infrastructure, including the transmission grid and distribution systems, against cyber security concerns and should implement necessary cyber security protocols for the same, he added. In addition, states should work towards ensuring financial viability of distribution utilities, he said.
