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Indian Express
6 days ago
- Indian Express
Air India 171 plane crash: Victim families who hired US law firm to file RTI plea for flight recorder data, other info
The victim families of the Air India 171 air crash of June 12, who have engaged US law firm Beasley Allen, will file applications under Right to Information (RTI) act seeking raw data on the crash, the firm's Principal Attorney Mike Andrews told The Indian Express on Wednesday. The RTI applications will be filed with the 'entities who have the FDR (Flight Data Recorder) data', Andrews, who is concluding his second visit to Gujarat on Wednesday, said. Andrews, whose law firm will make 'direct appeals' to Air India and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) for information sourced from the site of the crash that killed 241 of the 242 passengers and crew and 19 on the ground, said that over 80 victim families, including passengers and those who lost their lives on ground, had signed contracts with the firm so far. The firm is looking to do a 'reconstruction' of the crash and could proceed under the US product liability law once it gets the data. There were 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese, one Canadian and 169 Indian nationals on board the Gatwick (London)-bound Boeing 787 that went down soon after takeoff, crashing into the mess building of the BJ Medical College at Meghaninagar in Ahmedabad. 'We have some victims who were cooking food in the medical school, some who were out serving tea, and some who were on the scooters passing by. Those families highlight the fact that aviation safety affects everybody. They never bought plane tickets. They never expected it to be involved in an aviation crash,' said Andrews, with rakhis tied on his wrist by a Diu family which lost a daughter in the crash. Reiterating that his focus would be to 'find out what happened', Andrews said this is a first among the air crash cases he has handled in 30 years where there is a survivor and several ground casualties. He said he met the lone survivor, British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh at his home in Diu 'briefly' — 'not as his attorney'. Vishwash lost his brother Ajay in the crash. His family is not among those who have signed up with Beasley Allen. 'The goal and the focus is to find out why and what happened. We do that after getting the data. First, we figure out what happened, and if it shows that Boeing is at fault or there's a manufacturing defect or a design defect, and those are different… we'll know if there's a claim for the product failure. That's my area of expertise. If that's the case, we would anticipate filing individual actions in the United States in federal court on behalf of each family,' the attorney said. According to Andrews, though the crash site is here, the company (Boeing) is American and thus the US product liability law would apply. 'If it is a defect, the company is in the US, the executives, engineers, decisions, the paperwork, the witnesses that matter to the engineering decisions, those are all in the United States. That is why it is so important to bring these cases there, because the goal of this is to fix accountability,' he told The Indian Express. Andrews said the findings of this investigation will decide what to fix. 'If it is a pilot issue, if it's a pilot error, if it's a maintenance problem, if it's something local to Air India, it should certainly bring about changes there. If it is a design problem or a maintenance problem with the design of the aircraft, and if this is a problem that's shown up in previous incidents, then something has to be done immediately to change that'. Andrews said he would not 'interfere' with the AAIB probe into the crash. 'We don't want to interfere with what they're doing. We'll file letters to them. The families or us on their behalf will seek information under the RTI Act. Beyond that, we know that there are potential petitions available to us through various courts. We would like to avoid that, if at all possible,' he said. He added that the firm was working with local counsel to 'determine the applicability of RTI to the various entities'. Visiting the site again On Tuesday evening, Andrews was part of a candlelight vigil held at the site of the air crash with some 25-30 victim families. Comparing it to his visit in July, Andrews recalled how the last time he was at the 'exact spot where the survivor walked out' and how it was cordoned off and 'really really quiet'. On the day marking two months of the crash, the cordon was lifted and the area had 'come back to life' with the traffic, he said. 'There were a lot of emotions in that group, you know, one of them was telling me: This is the first time I am seeing the place where my husband was killed. And I mean, that's powerful to hear somebody say that I don't think there's a thing like healing or closure, but a new normal that you're dealing with,' he said. Speaking about his role and interest in the case, Andrews said he would not approach anything with an agenda. 'I am curious. I want to know what happened. And after that, we'll know if somebody's accountable and who is responsible,' Andrews said. According to the Beasley Allen contract terms, there is no cost upfront but in the event there is a 'recovery', there is a 30% 'contingency fee in the end', says Andrews, who is headed to the UK to meet more victim families.
India Gazette
02-07-2025
- India Gazette
MP: Crime Branch, NCB jointly seize 1.96 gram LSD drug in Bhopal, one detained
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], July 2 (ANI): In a joint operation, Bhopal Crime Branch and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Bhopal unit seized 1.96 grams of LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide) drug in the city and detained a 19-year-old youth in connection with the same, a police official said on Wednesday. According to the police, the youth, identified as Karan Sharma (19), a resident of Chandbad locality in Bhopal, had been ordering the drug online from Kerala and receiving it via postal parcels. Upon receiving a tip-off about drugs being received through post, a team was forced. As soon as the youth received the parcel, he was detained by the team. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Addl. DCP, Crime) Shailendra Singh Chouhan said, 'Bhopal Crime Branch and NCB Bhopal unit jointly took an action in which we received an input that a parcel has left from Kerala containing LSD drug and a person in Bhopal will receive the parcel. Following which, a team was formed and tracked the movement of the postman as well as the accused. As soon as the parcel was delivered, the team raided the spot, seized the drug and detained one person.' A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) act into the matter and further investigation is underway, he said. The officer added that they have taken action on the primary information as of now and are investigating the matter further to ascertain the depth of the chain. Additionally, Additional DCP Chouhan said that the sender was already arrested and they received input from that end, following which they initiated action here in the city. According to the police, the accused had ordered the drug online once or twice. The team seized 1.96 gram LSD drug from the accused and registsred a case into the matter. Further investigation into the matter is underway. (ANI)
Time of India
26-06-2025
- Time of India
Panchkula Police struggle with burglary case resolution: Just 36% solved in last 5 years
Panchkula: The police continue to struggle with a low burglary case resolution rate, raising serious concerns about investigative effectiveness. Despite hundreds of cases being reported each year, a majority remain unsolved, leaving victims without closure and emboldening criminals. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now An analysis of burglary cases over the past five years reveals a concerning trend in Panchkula: only about 36% of all reported burglary cases between 2021 and April 2025 were solved by the district police. Between 2021 and April 2025, a total of 1,044 burglary cases were reported in Panchkula. Of these, only 370 cases were worked out, indicating a five-year case resolution rate of 35.4%. In 2021, 208 burglary cases were reported, with 84 solved, marking a resolution rate of approximately 40.4%. The following year, 285 cases were lodged, with 114 worked out — a 40% resolution rate. In 2023, the rate dipped slightly, with 90 of 278 cases solved (32.4%). The downward trend continued in 2024, with just 71 of 194 cases cracked (36.6%). The current year appears even more troubling: from Jan 1 to April 30, only 11 out of 79 cases — just 13.9% — were solved. The figures were provided under the Right to Information (RTI) act. The consistent failure to solve a majority of these cases means stolen valuables — often including cash, jewellery, electronics, and important documents — are rarely recovered, leaving victims without justice or restitution. Residents and local activists have expressed frustration, citing a lack of police presence, surveillance, and investigative follow-up. "With crime trends showing no signs of slowing, we urge authorities to priorities property crime investigations and strengthen neighbourhood policing to improve both resolution rates and public confidence in law enforcement. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Besides, the police need to increase patrolling and presence to instill fear in the minds of criminals. The recent cases in which thieves dared to enter houses even when the family was in is shocking for all," said SK Nayar, president, Citizens' Welfare Association, Panchkula. A senior police official, on condition of anonymity, admitted that staff shortages and lack of forensic resources hamper investigations. When contacted, ACP Arvind Kamboj (crime branch) told TOI, "I do not have the said data with me right now, but we are doing recoveries and solving cases in many burglaries. Not just at police station level, even crime branch level teams are formed and cases are solved."
Express Tribune
03-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Caught between American and Chinese patronage
Listen to article In a test of nerves, both India and Pakistan are locked in an ongoing military standoff to test each other's resolve. This resolve is built in a broad strategic environment driven by the two great powers, China and the United States. Both powers hold the major cards and drive the moves on the regional chessboard on which both India and Pakistan act as pawns. Both India and Pakistan play a subordinate role to these larger regional and global powers in their bilateral relationship as well as in the regional conflicts. The US views the geopolitical competition in the region as a competition between the free and the regressive vision of the world. But that is the US version of the competition; the Chinese version is different. China views a definite shift in the balance of power between itself and the US, which has continued for the last few decades but has now reached a culminating point. Today, China views this balance of power as a strategic stalemate — a state in which both countries wield comparable power. The US supports India's leadership role in the region as a counterweight to China and to prevent China from reordering the Indo-Pacific region to its advantage. This American patronage of India is as good a reality as the Chinese patronage of Pakistan. It is in this context that one must view the current grand strategies of not only the US and China but also of Pakistan and India as the subordinates of these two great powers. Put simply, any grand strategy is the use of power by any state to secure its interests. When the strategic interests of Pakistan and India are aligned with those of China and the US, respectively, then there is sound logic in believing that the grand strategies of both Pakistan and India are part of the overall regional grand strategies of the two great powers. The US grand strategy in the region encompasses: preventing Asia from being dominated by a single or collation of hegemons; using India to strengthen the US strategic standing in the region; supporting India in its 'act East policy' by helping it expand its leverage over the Indian Ocean Rim States; and preventing a large-scale conflict between Pakistan and India. China's grand strategy in the region is built around the concept of preventing any damage to its economic rise in the region. Both China and India are rising powers, and both rely on seaborne trade and import of energy as two big aspects that sustain their economy, and both rely on transiting Indian Ocean. Hence, dominating the Indo-Pacific is not a choice but a built-in strategic necessity for China as a shield against America's growing presence and interest in the region, and for India as an American ally to prevent that from happening. In the immediate context, China faces an economic warfare unleashed by the current Trump administration. China confronts this American strategy with its famous strategic approach of biding time. It is allowing the American tariff war to run its course with expectations that it will falter as the US faces domestic economic upheaval. Broadly speaking, even in the era of the bipolar world, the world did not witness the two great powers the US and the Soviet Union - directly clashing with each other. Given this precedent, it is unlikely that any other two great powers — like the US and China — will clash with each other now. Both the US and China will continue to purposefully employ the instruments of power at their disposal to compete and contest each other, and the two most relevant instruments of power to extend their interests seem to be diplomatic and economic. Not so in the case of India and Pakistan. Sitting on the brink of a conflict, the two countries need to remind themselves of all the proxy wars that were fought during the Cold War era, which only furthered or damaged the interests of the Soviet Union or the US. Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan are just the three examples of what became of the nations that fought the proxy wars on behalf of those great powers. The time to learn that lesson is now. The grand strategies of the US and China in the region are dominated by the economic component of their strategies. The ideological component dominates the grand strategies of India and Pakistan, which does little else but drive them towards a collision course. Both these countries espouse political, security and ideological doctrines that are at odds with how China and the US pursue economic growth as the main pillar of their grand strategies. The US views the return of the great power competition as its motive to execute its 'pivot to Asia' strategy, as it is here that the two other great powers, China and Russia, with revisionist tendencies, reside. The American support for India is unquestionable and will not be held back. China will also not allow Pakistan to be subjected to Indian military blackmail. Unlike China, which allows the US tariff war to take its course, Pakistan cannot afford to allow the Indian military pressures and its security strategy against Pakistan to run its course. Pakistan's declared policy of quid pro quo plus against the Indian threat is the most important deterrent that prevents the Indian strategy from furthering, as it fears the Pakistani retaliatory response. If India does try to initiate a limited war, then the response by Pakistan will drive the war into an unlimited strategic time and space, something that both the US and China would not wish to see. War from there will not deescalate but only escalate as the Indian notion of viewing Pakistan as a state that will comply under Indian military pressure and military operations is built on a wrong premise. The strategic audience of this brewing conflict is no longer just the Indians and the Pakistanis; it is now the entire world, and there is much at stake for the world to allow this conflict to take place.
