Latest news with #PreventionofAtrocitiesAct
The Hindu
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
CPI(M) condemns Adoor Gopalakrishnan's position that would-be filmmakers from marginalised sections and women require intense training
Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Kerala State secretary M.V. Govindan has condemned award-winning director Adoor Gopalakrishnan's purported statement at a government-sponsored film conclave on Saturday that aspirant filmmakers hailing from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) communities, and also women, require at least 'three weeks of intense' training before getting State funding for movies and documentaries. Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday (August 5, 2025), Mr. Govindan stated that Mr. Gopalakrishnan had claimed his words at the recent cinema conclave were in good faith and subsequently misconstrued. 'Mr. Gopalakrishnan says he did not mean them. Nonetheless, the colloquy smacked of feudal putrescence. Such discourses are an injustice to a modern, democratic and progressive society such as ours,' he said. Mr. Govindan said Kerala had relegated the oppressive caste system, which he termed an 'artificial feudal-era construct to rank human merit and assign positions in society in a prejudiced manner, to the dustbin of history.' 'Kerala has walked forward a lot, outpacing a decadent era. The Culture Minister had stated the party and the government's position at the conclave. Kerala is the home of a progressive populace shaped by working-class struggles and the Renaissance and progressive movements. That keen awareness should inform everyone's acts and words', he said. Mr. Gopalakrishnan had courted controversy by bracketing would-be filmmakers among women and also those hailing from marginalised sections of society for rigorous training. He also demanded transparency and stressed the need for due process, including vetting at the granular level of film productions subsidised by the government. Mr. Gopalakrishnan also stated that some State-funded productions lacked artistic merit and were budgeted excessively to siphon off public money, which he said could be better spent for the needy and homeless. Mr. Gopalakrishnan's position had drawn criticism for being allegedly misogynistic and feudal. Subsequently, the Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes took cognisance of the matter. It sought a report from the Museum Police to examine whether Mr. Gopalakrishnan's purported statement violated the provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities Act).
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
L-G directs officials to fully utilise special funds for SC/ST segment
Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan instructed officials to make sure that the full complement of funds reserved under the Special Component Fund for Adi Dravidar and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST communities) welfare is utilised before the end of the current fiscal. Chairing a review meeting recently at the Raj Nivas attended by Gudey Srinivas, Secretary of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), Sharat Chauhan, Chief Secretary and secretaries, the Lt. Governor directed officials to evaluate the status of implementation of schemes and to expedite the release of expenditure or address gaps to ensure 100% fund utilisation for flagship proposals and key welfare measures. Presenting a status report on the Adi Dravidar department's works, A. Muthamma, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, pointed out that in the last Budget, out of the allocation of ₹2,176 crore, ₹525 crore (or 24%) has been allocated as Special Component Fund for SC welfare. This allocation far exceeds the 16% recommended by the NITI Aayog guidelines, she said. During the previous fiscal, the department, which implements as many as 25 welfare schemes, had achieved 91% utilisation of the special fund and this year efforts were directed at the goal of clocking 100% utilisation, she said. The Lt. Governor also wanted officials to take steps to issue pattas of land acquired by the department under the scheme for the landless, to the beneficiaries without delay. All modalities to provide titles of land to the landless in Manapet and TN Palayam have been completed and the handing-over of deeds should be undertaken by the end of the month, he said. The other decisions were to take steps to build additional hostels for Adi Dravidar and tribal students in the Puducherry urban sector, improve student enrolment in hostels in rural areas and to work towards speedy resolution of cases registered under the Prevention of Atrocities Act in Puducherry. S. Ravivarman, NCSC director in Chennai, A. Ilangovane, Department Director and Secretary to Lt. Governor also participated in the review meeting.
Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
CBI files closure report in pending FIR of ex-Mumbai police chief
THE CENTRAL Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a closure report in one of the four pending FIRs against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh last month. Five FIRs registered against Singh during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra had been transferred to the CBI when the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government came to power in the state. Of these five FIRs, the CBI had closed one FIR in January last year. The closure report filed by the CBI last month was in the FIR registered at Bazarpeth police station against Singh and 32 others based on the complaint given by former Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bhimrao Ghadge. The FIR had a total of 27 sections, including those relating to criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence and some sections of the Prevention of Atrocities Act. In his written complaint to the Maharashtra government and the Director General of Police (DGP), Ghadge had alleged that Singh had tried to close the case against some builders and KDMC officials in 2015 despite there being evidence against them. When the court did not accept the closure report, Ghadge was asked to investigate the matter. Ghadge alleged that soon after he began investigating the case, Singh, who was the then Thane Police Commissioner, asked him to not name the accused in his enquiry report. He alleged that when he refused to follow the orders, Singh in collusion with some other officers got an FIR registered against Ghadge. In its closure report, the CBI said that the allegations made by Ghadge could not be substantiated, following which a closure report was being submitted in court. Three more cases that had been registered by the Maharashtra police, which were transferred to CBI, are pending with them.
Time of India
20-06-2025
- Time of India
FIR against training centre director for duping 43 of 8 lakh
Nashik: The director of a police recruitment training centre in Nashik city is facing charges of cheating 43 students out of over Rs8 lakh. The Sarkarwada police have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for cheating, and also invoked the Prevention of Atrocities Act, as the victims are from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities. According to the police, the students enrolled in the training centre in Dec last year after seeing advertisements that promised them articles worth Rs20,000 each. These items, supposedly funded by a government grant, included a tablet, a college bag, notebooks, and a set of 12 pens. However, the students allege they never received any of the promised items. The complainant stated that the suspect intentionally published misleading advertisements to attract more students, particularly from the SC and ST categories, and then misappropriated the funds meant for their benefits. The students have also alleged that the director concerned humiliated them and did not submit their attendance sheet for two months to the govt, thereby also depriving them of a scholarship of another Rs20,000. "The case is being investigated and the director of the training institute will be called for questioning," a police officer said. Senior inspector Suresh Avhad said the suspect has not been arrested yet. "During the course of investigation it is likely that more students, who have been duped by the suspect, may come forward," he said.
Time of India
01-06-2025
- Time of India
Private nursing college principal held on charges of molestation
Representative image NASHIK: The Bhadrakali police arrested a 40-year-old principal of a private nursing college in Dwarka locality of Nashik in Maharashtra over the charge of molesting a minor student. Police filed additional charges under Prevention of Atrocities Act, as the victim belongs to a Scheduled Tribe community, along with sections under BNS and the stringent Pocso Act. P olice said the accused resides at Police Line Road in Pathardi and, that, the principal pulled the victim's "dupatta", touched her inappropriately, and solicited sexual favours, repeatedly, between Aug 5, 2024, and April 29, 2025. Following the initial complaint, three additional students from the same institution came forward with similar charges. The accused appeared before a city court on Saturday and was remanded in police custody for two days until Monday. Police said separate arrests would be made for each of the four registered cases adding that the complainants know each other, suggesting that the first complaint may have encouraged the other three students to report their experiences with the principal.
