Samata rapists given death rap Teen fires at anti-CAA rally · c m y k c m y k A juvenile (face...
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c m y k c m y k A juvenile (face blurred) brandishes a pistol while heading towards anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters near Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi on Thursday. He opened fire against the protesters injuring one student and causing panic. — PTI COUNTER POINT Max: 31.4 O C Min: 18.5 O C RH: 45% Rainfall: Nil Forecast: Partly cloudy sky. Misty morning. Max/Min temp. 31/18ºC WEATHER ASTROGUIDE Vikari; Uttarayana Tithi: Magha Shuddha Shashti till 3.50 pm Star: Revathi till 6.07 pm Varjyam: Nil Durmuhurtam: 9.07 am to 9.52 am; 12.52 pm to 1.37 pm Rahukalam: 10.30 am to 12 noon HIJRI CALENDAR Jumada al-Thani 5,1441 AH PRAYERS Fajar: 5.46 am Zohar: 12.39 pm Asar: 4.34 pm Maghrib: 6.16 pm Isha: 7.25 pm SUNSET TODAY 6.10 PM SUNRISE TOMORROW 6.48 AM MOONRISE TODAY 10.56 AM MOONSET TODAY 11.27 PM Vol. 83 No. 30 Established 1938 | 40 PAGES | `6.00 deccanchronicle.com, facebook.com/deccannews, twitter.com/deccanchronicle, google.com/+deccanchronicle TABLOID SPORTS| 14 Unearthing a shipwreck! Djokovic beats Federer to enter Oz Open final White House bars Bolton’s book WORLD| 10 OPPN FLAGS PROTESTS AT BUDGET MEET DC CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI, JAN. 30 Accusing the government of being ‘arrogant’ by not addressing anti-Citizens- hip Amendment Act (CA- A) protesters’ concerns and trying to reach out to them, the Opposition on Thursday raised the issue of nation-wide protests across the country against the legislation. The Prime Minister is said to have told Opposition parties during the all-party meeting con- vened by the parliamen- tary affairs minister Prahlad Joshi, that the government was ready to discuss all matters during the Budget Session of Parliament, which is due to start from January 31. He called for a “greater focus” on economic issues in the session and how India can gain in the pre- vailing global situation, Mr Joshi told reporters after the meeting, attended by 26 parties. They raised a host of issues, including the nationwide protests against the CAA, the “worsening” economic sit- uation and “rising” unem- ployment. They also demanded the release of detained political figures in Jammu and Kashmir. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters that Opposition parties sought immediate release of former state chief minis- ter Farooq Abdullah. Anand Sharma of the Congress added that the issue of some “incendiary” statements made by BJP leaders during the Delhi poll campaign was also raised. DC staffer wins PEN-Gauri award New Delhi: Yusuf Jameel, a senior reporter working in Deccan Chronicle based out of Srinagar was chosen for and award- ed the 2019- 2020 PEN Gauri Lankesh Award for Democratic Idealism for his pioneering work and fearless journalism in Jammu and Kashmir. ■ Full r report o on P Page 7 7 Teen fires at anti-CAA rally ‘Take your freedom’, shouts shooter as student protester gets injured BHASKAR H HARI SHARMA | | D DC NEW DELHI, JAN. 30 Thousands of people and police personnel faced off against each other near the Jamia Millia Islamia campus on Thursday after a teenager fired a pistol at a group of anti-CAA pro- testers, injuring a student, before walking away while waving the firearm over his head, shouting “Yeh lo aazadi”. The injured stu- dent, Shahdab Farooq, who was seen bleeding from his left hand, was first taken to Holy Family Hospital and later moved to the AIIMS Trauma Centre. Farooq, a mass communications student, belongs to Kashmir. The terrifying incident took place as hundreds of students, protesting agai- nst the Citizenship Amen- dment Act, were on their way to Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi, who was assassi- nated on January 30, 1948. The entire drama, which triggered panic in the area, was captured by tele- vision cameras that showed the man in light- coloured trousers and a dark jacket, walking away on an empty road barri- caded by the police, turn- ing around and shouting at the protesters in Hindi. In a chilling video, the teenager is seen walking backwards as he points his gun at protesters. Dozens of policemen in riot gear are seen behind him, but none of them is seen trying to stop the shooter. “Yeh lo azaadi (here’s your free- dom)”, he sneered at the protesters. After he fired the shot, one cop could be seen walking towards him and grabbing him. ■ Page 7 7: C Cop s says s shooter i i s juvenile MODI, GODSE BELIEVE IN THE SAME IDEOLOGY OF HATRED, SAYS RAHUL DC C CORRESPONDENT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 30 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday cla- imed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maha- tma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse believed in the same ideology of hatred. Mr Gandhi said there was no difference between the two except that Mr Modi “does not have the guts to say he believed in Godse’s ideology.” “I don’t know if you know that when Godse shot Maha- tma Gandhi he did not look at his eyes. Because a liar and coward cannot look at the eyes,” he said. The former Congress president was addressing a meeting in connection with “Save the Constit- ution” march in protest against Citizenship Amen- dment Act (CAA) in Kalpetta in his Wayanad constituency. Attacking the CAA and the NRC, Mr Gandhi said Indians were forced to prove they are Indians. ■ Page 7 7: O Our d duty i i s t to f fight hatred, s says R Rahul OWAISI: PM CAN IDENTIFY HIM BY HIS CLOTHES EUROPEAN MPs SET SEAL ON BREXIT VOTE Brussels, Jan. 30: Britain’s departure from the EU was set in law on Wednesday, amid emo- tional scenes, as the bloc’s Parliament voted to ratify the divorce. After half a century of sometimes awkward membership and three years of tense withdraw- al talks, the UK will leave the EU at midnight Brussels time (2300 GMT) on Friday. MEPs voted by 621 votes to 49 to pass the withdrawal agreement, which sees Britain leave the EU institutions but remain under most EU rules during a transition until the end of the year. Following the vote, MEPs burst into a chorus of “Auld Lang Syne”, a traditional Scottish song of farewell. The transition will see Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government try to negotiate an ambi- tious free trade agree- ment with his 27 former partners remaining in the bloc. “Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depth of love,” EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the chamber, quoting author George Eliot. “We will always love you and we will never be far. Long live Europe.” — AFP ATHER M MOIN | | D DC HYDERABAD, JAN. 30 Hyderabad MP and AIM- IM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday reacted to the firing by a lone gunman, identified by the Delhi police as a juvenile, at an anti-CAA protest in Jamia Millia area of Delhi, and chal- lenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “identi- fy him by his clothes.” He held minister of state for finance, Anurag Thakur, directly responsi- ble for the shooting. ■ Page 2 2: N Nationalists creating h hatred: O Owaisi Samata rapists given death rap 1st coronavirus case in India DC CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI, JAN. 30 The first positive case of novel coronavirus was reported in India on Thursday, from Kerala. The health ministry issued a statement on Thursday saying the patient was a student studying at Wuhan University in China. “The patient has tested positive for novel coron- avirus and is in isolation in the hospital. The patient is stable and is being closely monitored,” the statement said. The ministry also issued an advisory asking travellers coming back from China to take certain precau- tions. The three men kept in an isolation ward of New Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital have tested negative for coronavirus. “Their samples were sent for testing to NIV Pune and they have tested nega- tive,” a health ministry official said. So far, 38 sam- ples from all over India were tested at the Pune laboratory and all have tested negative. The three men had self reported at the RML Hospital, that is designat- ed to deal with such cases, on Monday with com- plaints of respiratory trou- ble and fever. The health ministry has made four more labs functional other than NIV-Pune for testing samples. These are Alleppey, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai. ■ Page 9 9: C Contact w with 6 600 Indians i i n C China e established PILLALAMARRI SRINIVAS | | D DC ADILABAD, JAN. 30 The Adilabad fast-track court awarded a death penalty verdict to the three accused in the Samata gang-rape and murder case on Thursday. The Telangana police had successfully proved its case against Sheik Babu, 30, as the prime accused, and Shabuddin, 40, and Maqdhoom, 35, as the accused numbers two and three respectively in the case. District and sessions judge M.G. Priyadarshini pronounced death penalty as punishment to the three accused in the Samata’s rape and mur- der. This is the first case in the history of old Adilabad district leading to a death penalty sen- tence in any case till date. Ms Samata (name changed), 30, who belo- nged to the Budgajangalu community of scheduled castes (Dalit), used to sell balloons and utensils besides collecting discard- ed hair in tribal areas. She was gang-raped and murdered near Yellapatar village in Lingapur man- dal in the Kumarama- bheem Asifabad district on November 24 last year. She was a resident of the Gosampalle Yellapur vil- lage in Khanapur mandal of Nirmal district. The state government announced the setting up of a fast-track court in the Adilabad district and ses- sion court to try the Samata case on December 11. Subsequently, the Kumarambheem Asifabad district police filed a chargesheet in the case on December14. The judgment, which was scheduled for January 27, was post- poned to January 30 due to indisposition of the judge. ‘MISTAKE’ N NOT SMALL: J JUDGE While giving her judg- ment, the judge said, “the mistake you have done was not a small one,” and added, “The crime you had committed against Samata has been proved.” ■ Page 4 4: H Husband t thanks cops, j j udge f for q quick j j ustice AVINASH P P. SUBRAMANYAM | | D DC TIRUPATI, JAN. 30 The Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala is the richest Hindu temple in India in terms of revenue generated, grossing `368.38 per second in form of devo- tee offerings to the Srivari hundi last year. Every year, millions of devotees visit the temple, offer cash and other valu- ables, including gold and silver donations to Lord Venkateswara, in keeping with a centuries-old tradi- tion, popularly called as mokkubadi (resolve). According to statements released by Anil Kumar Singhal, executive officer, Tirumala Tirupati Devast- hanam (TTD), earlier this month, offerings by devo- tees from January to December in 2019 came close to `1,161.74 crore, while in the corresponding period in 2018, revenues were `1,066.48 crore. The temple earned an addition- al annual revenue of `95.25 crore, a six per cent growth from hundi collections in 2019 compared to 2018. The average earnings recorded from hundi collections average to `22,103.12 per minute in 2019, a growth from 2018 of `20,290.71. Apart from Hundi earn- ing, a chunk of TTD’s rev- enue come from interests on fixed deposits (FDs), receipts from sale of prasadam, darshan tickets, accommodation, lease and rents. TTD is projecting revenue of `857.28 from FD interests, `330 crore from prasadam, and `233 crore from darshan tickets for financial year 2019-20. When it comes to anna prasadam, the temple, on an average, served free food to 122.85 persons per minute. In 2019, 6.45 crore devotees had anna prasadam. Tirupati Lord earns ` 3.18 crore per day 6% rise in hundi deposits as temple served 123 anna prasadams per minute GOLDEN | ABODE SUSPECTS IN CITY UNDER OBSERVATION 20 children at b’day party taken hostage Farrukhabad (Uttar Pradesh), Jan. 30: Twenty children are being held hostage at a house in a village here by a man who had invited them for a birthday party, police said on Thursday. Subhash Batham, who is a murder accused, has fired from inside the house, they said. Comma- ndos are being rushed to the spot, Uttar Pradesh director-general of police (DGP) O.P. Singh said. “Twenty children are being held hostage at Kathariya village,” addi- tional director General of Police P.V. Rama Shastri said. The DGP said, “We are ensuring their safe rescue and if needed, the NSG (National Security Guard) will also be called for the operation.” “The man called the children for a birthday party and held them hostage in the base- ment of the house. He has fired six shots from inside,” inspector-general of police, Kanpur Range, Mohit Agarwal, said. He said the man fired on those who attempted to speak to him. Batham wanted to talk to the local MLA, but he refused to talk when the leader went there, Agarwal said.—PTI DC C CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 30 Two suspected cases of people who had returned from China were identi- fied in the city on Thursday and sent to the Fever and Gandhi Hospital. They were taken in for evaluation. ■ Full r report o on P Page 2 2 ■ ■ THE P PATIENT was a student studying at Wuhan University in China ■ ■ HER C CONDITION is sta- ble and is being closely monitored NIRBHAYA CASE: SC REJECTS CURATIVE PLEA DC CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI, JAN. 30 Death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya case, on Thursday, took another step, which may delay their scheduled February 1 hanging, by moving a trial court with a plea to adjourn the execution “sine die” saying they are yet to avail their remain- ing legal remedies even as the Supreme Court dis- missed the third curative petition. Of the four convicts, Mukesh Kumar Singh has exhausted all his legal remedies, including the mercy petition which was dismissed by President Ram Nath Kovind on January 17, and the appeal against the rejec- tion was thrown out by the apex court on Wednesday. Convict Vinay Kumar Sharma had, on Wedn- esday, filed a clemency plea before the President and the apex court, on Thursday, rejected the curative petition of Akshay Kumar Singh, who is likely to file a clemency plea soon. Pawan Gupta is yet to file a curative petition in the top court. ■ Page 7 7: F Fast p paced developments i i n S SC Activity Average f figures F Fig. i in 2 2019 per m minute (Jan-D Dec) Hundi `22,103.12 (`368.38/Sec) 1,161.74 crore Darshan 53.063 persons/min 2,78,90,179 persons Laddus 237.78 units/min 12,49,80,815 units Anna Prasadam 122.85 persons/min 6,45,73,250 persons Tonsuring 22.18 persons/min 1,16,61,625 persons ■ ■ THE D DGP said the cops were trying to ensure the safe rescue of children and if needed call the NSG for rescue ■ ■ THE M MAN called the children for a party and held them hostage THE LARGEST CIRCULATED ENGLISH DAILY IN SOUTH INDIA HYDERABAD I FRIDAY I 31 JANUARY 2020
Transcript of Samata rapists given death rap Teen fires at anti-CAA rally · c m y k c m y k A juvenile (face...
c m y k c m y k
A juvenile (face blurred) brandishes a pistol while heading towards anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters near Jamia Millia IslamiaUniversity in New Delhi on Thursday. He opened fire against the protesters injuring one student and causing panic. — PTI
COUNTER POINT
Max: 31.4OCMin: 18.5OC RH: 45%Rainfall: Nil
Forecast: Partly cloudysky. Misty morning.
Max/Min temp. 31/18ºC
WEATHER
ASTROGUIDEVikari; Uttarayana
Tithi: Magha Shuddha Shashti till 3.50 pm
Star: Revathi till 6.07 pmVarjyam: Nil
Durmuhurtam: 9.07 am to 9.52am; 12.52 pm to 1.37 pm
Rahukalam: 10.30 am to 12 noonHIJRI CALENDAR
Jumada al-Thani 5,1441 AHPRAYERS
Fajar: 5.46 amZohar: 12.39 pm
Asar: 4.34 pmMaghrib: 6.16 pm
Isha: 7.25 pmSUNSET TODAY 6.10 PM
SUNRISE TOMORROW 6.48 AMMOONRISE TODAY 10.56 AMMOONSET TODAY 11.27 PM
Vol. 83 No. 30 Established 1938 | 40 PAGES | `6.00deccanchronicle.com, facebook.com/deccannews, twitter.com/deccanchronicle, google.com/+deccanchronicle
TABLOIDSPORTS|14Unearthing a shipwreck!
Djokovic beats Federerto enter Oz Open final
White House barsBolton’s book
WORLD|10
OPPN FLAGSPROTESTS ATBUDGET MEET
DC CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, JAN. 30
Accusing the governmentof being ‘arrogant’ by notaddressing anti-Citizens-hip Amendment Act (CA-A) protesters’ concernsand trying to reach out tothem, the Opposition onThursday raised the issueof nation-wide protestsacross the country againstthe legislation.
The Prime Minister issaid to have toldOpposition parties duringthe all-party meeting con-vened by the parliamen-tary affairs ministerPrahlad Joshi, that thegovernment was ready todiscuss all matters duringthe Budget Session ofParliament, which is dueto start from January 31.
He called for a “greaterfocus” on economic issuesin the session and howIndia can gain in the pre-vailing global situation,Mr Joshi told reportersafter the meeting, attendedby 26 parties. They raised ahost of issues, includingthe nationwide protestsagainst the CAA, the“worsening” economic sit-uation and “rising” unem-ployment. They alsodemanded the release ofdetained political figuresin Jammu and Kashmir.
Congress leader GhulamNabi Azad told reportersthat Opposition partiessought immediate releaseof former state chief minis-ter Farooq Abdullah.
Anand Sharma of theCongress added that theissue of some “incendiary”statements made by BJPleaders during the Delhipoll campaign was alsoraised.
DC staffer winsPEN-Gauri awardNew Delhi: Yusuf Jameel,a senior reporter working
in DeccanChronicle
based out ofSrinagar was
chosen forand award-
ed the 2019-2020 PEN
Gauri Lankesh Award forDemocratic Idealism forhis pioneering work and
fearless journalism inJammu and Kashmir.
■ Full rreport oon PPage 77
Teen fires at anti-CAA rally‘Take your freedom’, shouts shooter as student protester gets injuredBHASKAR HHARI SHARMA || DDCNEW DELHI, JAN. 30
Thousands of people andpolice personnel faced offagainst each other nearthe Jamia Millia Islamiacampus on Thursday aftera teenager fired a pistol ata group of anti-CAA pro-testers, injuring a student,before walking away whilewaving the firearm overhis head, shouting “Yeh loaazadi”. The injured stu-dent, Shahdab Farooq,who was seen bleedingfrom his left hand, wasfirst taken to Holy FamilyHospital and later movedto the AIIMS TraumaCentre. Farooq, a masscommunications student,belongs to Kashmir.
The terrifying incidenttook place as hundreds ofstudents, protesting agai-nst the Citizenship Amen-dment Act, were on theirway to Rajghat to pay
homage to MahatmaGandhi, who was assassi-nated on January 30, 1948.The entire drama, whichtriggered panic in thearea, was captured by tele-vision cameras thatshowed the man in light-coloured trousers and adark jacket, walking awayon an empty road barri-caded by the police, turn-ing around and shoutingat the protesters in Hindi.
In a chilling video, theteenager is seen walkingbackwards as he points hisgun at protesters. Dozensof policemen in riot gearare seen behind him, butnone of them is seen tryingto stop the shooter. “Yeh loazaadi (here’s your free-dom)”, he sneered at theprotesters. After he firedthe shot, one cop could beseen walking towards himand grabbing him.
■ Page 77: CCop ssays sshooter iisjuvenile
MODI, GODSE BELIEVE IN THE SAMEIDEOLOGY OF HATRED, SAYS RAHULDC CCORRESPONDENTTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,JAN. 30
Congress leader RahulGandhi on Thursday cla-imed that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Maha-tma Gandhi’s assassinNathuram Godse believedin the same ideology ofhatred.
Mr Gandhi said therewas no difference betweenthe two except that MrModi “does not have theguts to say he believed inGodse’s ideology.” “I don’tknow if you know thatwhen Godse shot Maha-tma Gandhi he did notlook at his eyes. Because aliar and coward cannotlook at the eyes,” he said.
The former Congress
president was addressinga meeting in connectionwith “Save the Constit-ution” march in protestagainst Citizenship Amen-dment Act (CAA) inKalpetta in his Wayanadconstituency.
Attacking the CAA andthe NRC, Mr Gandhi saidIndians were forced toprove they are Indians.
■ Page 77: OOur dduty iis tto ffighthatred, ssays RRahul
OWAISI: PM CANIDENTIFY HIM BY HIS CLOTHES
EUROPEAN MPsSET SEAL ONBREXIT VOTEBrussels, Jan. 30:Britain’s departure fromthe EU was set in law onWednesday, amid emo-tional scenes, as thebloc’s Parliament votedto ratify the divorce.
After half a century ofsometimes awkwardmembership and threeyears of tense withdraw-al talks, the UK will leavethe EU at midnightBrussels time (2300GMT) on Friday.
MEPs voted by 621votes to 49 to pass thewithdrawal agreement,which sees Britain leavethe EU institutions butremain under most EUrules during a transitionuntil the end of the year.
Following the vote,MEPs burst into a chorusof “Auld Lang Syne”, atraditional Scottish songof farewell.
The transition will seePrime Minister BorisJohnson’s governmenttry to negotiate an ambi-tious free trade agree-ment with his 27 formerpartners remaining inthe bloc. “Only in theagony of parting do welook into the depth oflove,” EU Commissionpresident Ursula von derLeyen told the chamber,quoting author GeorgeEliot. “We will alwayslove you and we willnever be far. Long liveEurope.” — AFP
ATHER MMOIN || DDCHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Hyderabad MP and AIM-IM president AsaduddinOwaisi on Thursdayreacted to the firing by alone gunman, identifiedby the Delhi police as ajuvenile, at an anti-CAAprotest in Jamia Milliaarea of Delhi, and chal-lenged Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to “identi-fy him by his clothes.”
He held minister of statefor finance, AnuragThakur, directly responsi-ble for the shooting.
■ Page 22: NNationalists creating hhatred: OOwaisi
Samata rapistsgiven death rap
1st coronavirus case in IndiaDC CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, JAN. 30
The first positive case ofnovel coronavirus wasreported in India onThursday, from Kerala.The health ministryissued a statement onThursday saying thepatient was a studentstudying at WuhanUniversity in China.
“The patient has testedpositive for novel coron-avirus and is in isolationin the hospital. Thepatient is stable and isbeing closely monitored,”the statement said. Theministry also issued an
advisory asking travellerscoming back from Chinato take certain precau-tions.
The three men kept in anisolation ward of NewDelhi’s Ram ManoharLohia Hospital have testednegative for coronavirus.“Their samples were sentfor testing to NIV Puneand they have tested nega-tive,” a health ministry
official said. So far, 38 sam-ples from all over Indiawere tested at the Punelaboratory and all havetested negative.
The three men had selfreported at the RMLHospital, that is designat-ed to deal with such cases,on Monday with com-plaints of respiratory trou-ble and fever. The healthministry has made fourmore labs functional otherthan NIV-Pune for testingsamples. These areAlleppey, Bengaluru,Hyderabad and Mumbai.
■ Page 99: CContact wwith 6600Indians iin CChina eestablished
PILLALAMARRI SRINIVAS || DDCADILABAD, JAN. 30
The Adilabad fast-trackcourt awarded a deathpenalty verdict to thethree accused in theSamata gang-rape andmurder case on Thursday.The Telangana police hadsuccessfully proved itscase against Sheik Babu,30, as the prime accused,and Shabuddin, 40, andMaqdhoom, 35, as theaccused numbers two andthree respectively in thecase.
District and sessionsjudge M.G. Priyadarshinipronounced death penaltyas punishment to thethree accused in theSamata’s rape and mur-der.
This is the first case inthe history of oldAdilabad district leadingto a death penalty sen-tence in any case till date.
Ms Samata (namechanged), 30, who belo-nged to the Budgajangalucommunity of scheduledcastes (Dalit), used to sellballoons and utensilsbesides collecting discard-ed hair in tribal areas.
She was gang-raped andmurdered near Yellapatarvillage in Lingapur man-dal in the Kumarama-bheem Asifabad districton November 24 last year.She was a resident of theGosampalle Yellapur vil-lage in Khanapur mandalof Nirmal district.
The state governmentannounced the setting upof a fast-track court in theAdilabad district and ses-sion court to try theSamata case on December11.
Subsequently, theK u m a r a m b h e e mAsifabad district policefiled a chargesheet in thecase on December14.
The judgment, whichwas scheduled forJanuary 27, was post-poned to January 30 dueto indisposition of thejudge.
‘MISTAKE’ NNOT SMALL: JJUDGE
While giving her judg-ment, the judge said, “themistake you have donewas not a small one,” andadded, “The crime youhad committed againstSamata has been proved.”
■ Page 44: HHusband tthankscops, jjudge ffor qquick jjustice
AVINASH PP. SUBRAMANYAM || DDCTIRUPATI, JAN. 30
The Lord Venkateswaratemple in Tirumala is therichest Hindu temple inIndia in terms of revenuegenerated, grossing `368.38per second in form of devo-tee offerings to the Srivarihundi last year.
Every year, millions ofdevotees visit the temple,offer cash and other valu-ables, including gold and
silver donations to LordVenkateswara, in keepingwith a centuries-old tradi-tion, popularly called asmokkubadi (resolve).
According to statementsreleased by Anil KumarSinghal, executive officer,Tirumala Tirupati Devast-hanam (TTD), earlier thismonth, offerings by devo-tees from January toDecember in 2019 cameclose to `1,161.74 crore,while in the correspondingperiod in 2018, revenues
were `1,066.48 crore. Thetemple earned an addition-al annual revenue of `95.25crore, a six per cent growthfrom hundi collections in
2019 compared to 2018. Theaverage earnings recordedfrom hundi collectionsaverage to `22,103.12 perminute in 2019, a growth
from 2018 of `20,290.71. Apart from Hundi earn-
ing, a chunk of TTD’s rev-enue come from interestson fixed deposits (FDs),
receipts from sale ofprasadam, darshan tickets,accommodation, lease andrents. TTD is projectingrevenue of `857.28 from FDinterests, `330 crore fromprasadam, and `233 crorefrom darshan tickets forfinancial year 2019-20.
When it comes to annaprasadam, the temple, onan average, served freefood to 122.85 persons perminute. In 2019, 6.45 croredevotees had annaprasadam.
Tirupati Lord earns `3.18 crore per day6% rise in hundi deposits as temple served 123 anna prasadams per minuteGOLDEN | ABODE
SUSPECTS INCITY UNDEROBSERVATION
20 children at b’dayparty taken hostage Farrukhabad (UttarPradesh), Jan. 30:Twenty children arebeing held hostage at ahouse in a village here bya man who had invitedthem for a birthday party,police said on Thursday.
Subhash Batham, who isa murder accused, hasfired from inside thehouse, they said. Comma-ndos are being rushed tothe spot, Uttar Pradeshdirector-general of police(DGP) O.P. Singh said.“Twenty children arebeing held hostage atKathariya village,” addi-tional director General ofPolice P.V. Rama Shastrisaid.
The DGP said, “We areensuring their safe rescueand if needed, the NSG(National Security Guard)will also be called for the
operation.” “The mancalled the children for abirthday party and heldthem hostage in the base-ment of the house. He hasfired six shots frominside,” inspector-generalof police, Kanpur Range,Mohit Agarwal, said.
He said the man fired onthose who attempted tospeak to him. Bathamwanted to talk to the localMLA, but he refused totalk when the leader wentthere, Agarwal said.—PTI
DC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Two suspected cases ofpeople who had returnedfrom China were identi-fied in the city onThursday and sent to theFever and GandhiHospital. They were takenin for evaluation.
■ Full rreport oon PPage 22
■ ■ THE PPATIENT was astudent studying at WuhanUniversity in China
■ ■ HER CCONDITION is sta-ble and is being closelymonitored
NIRBHAYA CASE:SC REJECTSCURATIVE PLEADC CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, JAN. 30
Death-row convicts in theNirbhaya case, onThursday, took anotherstep, which may delaytheir scheduled February1 hanging, by moving atrial court with a plea toadjourn the execution“sine die” saying they areyet to avail their remain-ing legal remedies even asthe Supreme Court dis-missed the third curativepetition.
Of the four convicts,Mukesh Kumar Singh hasexhausted all his legalremedies, including themercy petition which wasdismissed by PresidentRam Nath Kovind onJanuary 17, and theappeal against the rejec-tion was thrown out bythe apex court onWednesday.
Convict Vinay KumarSharma had, on Wedn-esday, filed a clemencyplea before the Presidentand the apex court, onThursday, rejected thecurative petition ofAkshay Kumar Singh,who is likely to file aclemency plea soon.Pawan Gupta is yet to filea curative petition in thetop court.
■ Page 77: FFast ppaced developments iin SSC
Activity Average ffigures FFig. iin 22019 per mminute (Jan-DDec)
Hundi `22,103.12 (`368.38/Sec) 1,161.74 croreDarshan 53.063 persons/min 2,78,90,179 personsLaddus 237.78 units/min 12,49,80,815 unitsAnna Prasadam 122.85 persons/min 6,45,73,250 personsTonsuring 22.18 persons/min 1,16,61,625 persons
■ ■ THE DDGP said the copswere trying to ensure thesafe rescue of childrenand if needed call theNSG for rescue
■ ■ THE MMAN called thechildren for a party andheld them hostage
THE LARGEST CIRCULATED ENGLISH DAILY IN SOUTH INDIAHYDERABAD I FRIDAY I 31 JANUARY 2020
c m y k c m y k
A juvenile (face blurred) brandishes a pistol while heading towards anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters near Jamia Millia IslamiaUniversity in New Delhi on Thursday. He opened fire against the protesters injuring one student and causing panic. — PTI
COUNTER POINT
Max: 31.4OCMin: 18.5OC RH: 45%Rainfall: Nil
Forecast: Partly cloudysky. Misty morning.
Max/Min temp. 31/18ºC
WEATHER
ASTROGUIDEVikari; Uttarayana
Tithi: Magha Shuddha Shashti till 3.50 pm
Star: Revathi till 6.07 pmVarjyam: Nil
Durmuhurtam: 9.07 am to 9.52am; 12.52 pm to 1.37 pm
Rahukalam: 10.30 am to 12 noonHIJRI CALENDAR
Jumada al-Thani 5,1441 AHPRAYERS
Fajar: 5.46 amZohar: 12.39 pm
Asar: 4.34 pmMaghrib: 6.16 pm
Isha: 7.25 pmSUNSET TODAY 6.10 PM
SUNRISE TOMORROW 6.48 AMMOONRISE TODAY 10.56 AMMOONSET TODAY 11.27 PM
Vol. 83 No. 30 Established 1938 | 40 PAGES | `6.00deccanchronicle.com, facebook.com/deccannews, twitter.com/deccanchronicle, google.com/+deccanchronicle
TABLOIDSPORTS|14Unearthing a shipwreck!
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WORLD|10
OPPN FLAGSPROTESTS ATBUDGET MEET
DC CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, JAN. 30
Accusing the governmentof being ‘arrogant’ by notaddressing anti-Citizens-hip Amendment Act (CA-A) protesters’ concernsand trying to reach out tothem, the Opposition onThursday raised the issueof nation-wide protestsacross the country againstthe legislation.
The Prime Minister issaid to have toldOpposition parties duringthe all-party meeting con-vened by the parliamen-tary affairs ministerPrahlad Joshi, that thegovernment was ready todiscuss all matters duringthe Budget Session ofParliament, which is dueto start from January 31.
He called for a “greaterfocus” on economic issuesin the session and howIndia can gain in the pre-vailing global situation,Mr Joshi told reportersafter the meeting, attendedby 26 parties. They raised ahost of issues, includingthe nationwide protestsagainst the CAA, the“worsening” economic sit-uation and “rising” unem-ployment. They alsodemanded the release ofdetained political figuresin Jammu and Kashmir.
Congress leader GhulamNabi Azad told reportersthat Opposition partiessought immediate releaseof former state chief minis-ter Farooq Abdullah.
Anand Sharma of theCongress added that theissue of some “incendiary”statements made by BJPleaders during the Delhipoll campaign was alsoraised.
DC staffer winsPEN-Gauri awardNew Delhi: Yusuf Jameel,a senior reporter working
in DeccanChronicle
based out ofSrinagar was
chosen forand award-
ed the 2019-2020 PEN
Gauri Lankesh Award forDemocratic Idealism forhis pioneering work and
fearless journalism inJammu and Kashmir.
■ Full rreport oon PPage 77
Teen fires at anti-CAA rally‘Take your freedom’, shouts shooter as student protester gets injuredBHASKAR HHARI SHARMA || DDCNEW DELHI, JAN. 30
Thousands of people andpolice personnel faced offagainst each other nearthe Jamia Millia Islamiacampus on Thursday aftera teenager fired a pistol ata group of anti-CAA pro-testers, injuring a student,before walking away whilewaving the firearm overhis head, shouting “Yeh loaazadi”. The injured stu-dent, Shahdab Farooq,who was seen bleedingfrom his left hand, wasfirst taken to Holy FamilyHospital and later movedto the AIIMS TraumaCentre. Farooq, a masscommunications student,belongs to Kashmir.
The terrifying incidenttook place as hundreds ofstudents, protesting agai-nst the Citizenship Amen-dment Act, were on theirway to Rajghat to pay
homage to MahatmaGandhi, who was assassi-nated on January 30, 1948.The entire drama, whichtriggered panic in thearea, was captured by tele-vision cameras thatshowed the man in light-coloured trousers and adark jacket, walking awayon an empty road barri-caded by the police, turn-ing around and shoutingat the protesters in Hindi.
In a chilling video, theteenager is seen walkingbackwards as he points hisgun at protesters. Dozensof policemen in riot gearare seen behind him, butnone of them is seen tryingto stop the shooter. “Yeh loazaadi (here’s your free-dom)”, he sneered at theprotesters. After he firedthe shot, one cop could beseen walking towards himand grabbing him.
■ Page 77: CCop ssays sshooter iisjuvenile
MODI, GODSE BELIEVE IN THE SAMEIDEOLOGY OF HATRED, SAYS RAHULDC CCORRESPONDENTTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,JAN. 30
Congress leader RahulGandhi on Thursday cla-imed that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Maha-tma Gandhi’s assassinNathuram Godse believedin the same ideology ofhatred.
Mr Gandhi said therewas no difference betweenthe two except that MrModi “does not have theguts to say he believed inGodse’s ideology.” “I don’tknow if you know thatwhen Godse shot Maha-tma Gandhi he did notlook at his eyes. Because aliar and coward cannotlook at the eyes,” he said.
The former Congress
president was addressinga meeting in connectionwith “Save the Constit-ution” march in protestagainst Citizenship Amen-dment Act (CAA) inKalpetta in his Wayanadconstituency.
Attacking the CAA andthe NRC, Mr Gandhi saidIndians were forced toprove they are Indians.
■ Page 77: OOur dduty iis tto ffighthatred, ssays RRahul
OWAISI: PM CANIDENTIFY HIM BY HIS CLOTHES
EUROPEAN MPsSET SEAL ONBREXIT VOTEBrussels, Jan. 30:Britain’s departure fromthe EU was set in law onWednesday, amid emo-tional scenes, as thebloc’s Parliament votedto ratify the divorce.
After half a century ofsometimes awkwardmembership and threeyears of tense withdraw-al talks, the UK will leavethe EU at midnightBrussels time (2300GMT) on Friday.
MEPs voted by 621votes to 49 to pass thewithdrawal agreement,which sees Britain leavethe EU institutions butremain under most EUrules during a transitionuntil the end of the year.
Following the vote,MEPs burst into a chorusof “Auld Lang Syne”, atraditional Scottish songof farewell.
The transition will seePrime Minister BorisJohnson’s governmenttry to negotiate an ambi-tious free trade agree-ment with his 27 formerpartners remaining inthe bloc. “Only in theagony of parting do welook into the depth oflove,” EU Commissionpresident Ursula von derLeyen told the chamber,quoting author GeorgeEliot. “We will alwayslove you and we willnever be far. Long liveEurope.” — AFP
ATHER MMOIN || DDCHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Hyderabad MP and AIM-IM president AsaduddinOwaisi on Thursdayreacted to the firing by alone gunman, identifiedby the Delhi police as ajuvenile, at an anti-CAAprotest in Jamia Milliaarea of Delhi, and chal-lenged Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to “identi-fy him by his clothes.”
He held minister of statefor finance, AnuragThakur, directly responsi-ble for the shooting.
■ Page 22: NNationalists creating hhatred: OOwaisi
Samata rapistsgiven death rap
1st coronavirus case in IndiaDC CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, JAN. 30
The first positive case ofnovel coronavirus wasreported in India onThursday, from Kerala.The health ministryissued a statement onThursday saying thepatient was a studentstudying at WuhanUniversity in China.
“The patient has testedpositive for novel coron-avirus and is in isolationin the hospital. Thepatient is stable and isbeing closely monitored,”the statement said. Theministry also issued an
advisory asking travellerscoming back from Chinato take certain precau-tions.
The three men kept in anisolation ward of NewDelhi’s Ram ManoharLohia Hospital have testednegative for coronavirus.“Their samples were sentfor testing to NIV Puneand they have tested nega-tive,” a health ministry
official said. So far, 38 sam-ples from all over Indiawere tested at the Punelaboratory and all havetested negative.
The three men had selfreported at the RMLHospital, that is designat-ed to deal with such cases,on Monday with com-plaints of respiratory trou-ble and fever. The healthministry has made fourmore labs functional otherthan NIV-Pune for testingsamples. These areAlleppey, Bengaluru,Hyderabad and Mumbai.
■ Page 99: CContact wwith 6600Indians iin CChina eestablished
PILLALAMARRI SRINIVAS || DDCADILABAD, JAN. 30
The Adilabad fast-trackcourt awarded a deathpenalty verdict to thethree accused in theSamata gang-rape andmurder case on Thursday.The Telangana police hadsuccessfully proved itscase against Sheik Babu,30, as the prime accused,and Shabuddin, 40, andMaqdhoom, 35, as theaccused numbers two andthree respectively in thecase.
District and sessionsjudge M.G. Priyadarshinipronounced death penaltyas punishment to thethree accused in theSamata’s rape and mur-der.
This is the first case inthe history of oldAdilabad district leadingto a death penalty sen-tence in any case till date.
Ms Samata (namechanged), 30, who belo-nged to the Budgajangalucommunity of scheduledcastes (Dalit), used to sellballoons and utensilsbesides collecting discard-ed hair in tribal areas.
She was gang-raped andmurdered near Yellapatarvillage in Lingapur man-dal in the Kumarama-bheem Asifabad districton November 24 last year.She was a resident of theGosampalle Yellapur vil-lage in Khanapur mandalof Nirmal district.
The state governmentannounced the setting upof a fast-track court in theAdilabad district and ses-sion court to try theSamata case on December11.
Subsequently, theK u m a r a m b h e e mAsifabad district policefiled a chargesheet in thecase on December14.
The judgment, whichwas scheduled forJanuary 27, was post-poned to January 30 dueto indisposition of thejudge.
‘MISTAKE’ NNOT SMALL: JJUDGE
While giving her judg-ment, the judge said, “themistake you have donewas not a small one,” andadded, “The crime youhad committed againstSamata has been proved.”
■ Page 44: HHusband tthankscops, jjudge ffor qquick jjustice
AVINASH PP. SUBRAMANYAM || DDCTIRUPATI, JAN. 30
The Lord Venkateswaratemple in Tirumala is therichest Hindu temple inIndia in terms of revenuegenerated, grossing `368.38per second in form of devo-tee offerings to the Srivarihundi last year.
Every year, millions ofdevotees visit the temple,offer cash and other valu-ables, including gold and
silver donations to LordVenkateswara, in keepingwith a centuries-old tradi-tion, popularly called asmokkubadi (resolve).
According to statementsreleased by Anil KumarSinghal, executive officer,Tirumala Tirupati Devast-hanam (TTD), earlier thismonth, offerings by devo-tees from January toDecember in 2019 cameclose to `1,161.74 crore,while in the correspondingperiod in 2018, revenues
were `1,066.48 crore. Thetemple earned an addition-al annual revenue of `95.25crore, a six per cent growthfrom hundi collections in
2019 compared to 2018. Theaverage earnings recordedfrom hundi collectionsaverage to `22,103.12 perminute in 2019, a growth
from 2018 of `20,290.71. Apart from Hundi earn-
ing, a chunk of TTD’s rev-enue come from interestson fixed deposits (FDs),
receipts from sale ofprasadam, darshan tickets,accommodation, lease andrents. TTD is projectingrevenue of `857.28 from FDinterests, `330 crore fromprasadam, and `233 crorefrom darshan tickets forfinancial year 2019-20.
When it comes to annaprasadam, the temple, onan average, served freefood to 122.85 persons perminute. In 2019, 6.45 croredevotees had annaprasadam.
Tirupati Lord earns `3.18 crore per day6% rise in hundi deposits as temple served 123 anna prasadams per minuteGOLDEN | ABODE
SUSPECTS INCITY UNDEROBSERVATION
20 children at b’dayparty taken hostage Farrukhabad (UttarPradesh), Jan. 30:Twenty children arebeing held hostage at ahouse in a village here bya man who had invitedthem for a birthday party,police said on Thursday.
Subhash Batham, who isa murder accused, hasfired from inside thehouse, they said. Comma-ndos are being rushed tothe spot, Uttar Pradeshdirector-general of police(DGP) O.P. Singh said.“Twenty children arebeing held hostage atKathariya village,” addi-tional director General ofPolice P.V. Rama Shastrisaid.
The DGP said, “We areensuring their safe rescueand if needed, the NSG(National Security Guard)will also be called for the
operation.” “The mancalled the children for abirthday party and heldthem hostage in the base-ment of the house. He hasfired six shots frominside,” inspector-generalof police, Kanpur Range,Mohit Agarwal, said.
He said the man fired onthose who attempted tospeak to him. Bathamwanted to talk to the localMLA, but he refused totalk when the leader wentthere, Agarwal said.—PTI
DC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Two suspected cases ofpeople who had returnedfrom China were identi-fied in the city onThursday and sent to theFever and GandhiHospital. They were takenin for evaluation.
■ Full rreport oon PPage 22
■ ■ THE PPATIENT was astudent studying at WuhanUniversity in China
■ ■ HER CCONDITION is sta-ble and is being closelymonitored
NIRBHAYA CASE:SC REJECTSCURATIVE PLEADC CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, JAN. 30
Death-row convicts in theNirbhaya case, onThursday, took anotherstep, which may delaytheir scheduled February1 hanging, by moving atrial court with a plea toadjourn the execution“sine die” saying they areyet to avail their remain-ing legal remedies even asthe Supreme Court dis-missed the third curativepetition.
Of the four convicts,Mukesh Kumar Singh hasexhausted all his legalremedies, including themercy petition which wasdismissed by PresidentRam Nath Kovind onJanuary 17, and theappeal against the rejec-tion was thrown out bythe apex court onWednesday.
Convict Vinay KumarSharma had, on Wedn-esday, filed a clemencyplea before the Presidentand the apex court, onThursday, rejected thecurative petition ofAkshay Kumar Singh,who is likely to file aclemency plea soon.Pawan Gupta is yet to filea curative petition in thetop court.
■ Page 77: FFast ppaced developments iin SSC
Activity Average ffigures FFig. iin 22019 per mminute (Jan-DDec)
Hundi `22,103.12 (`368.38/Sec) 1,161.74 croreDarshan 53.063 persons/min 2,78,90,179 personsLaddus 237.78 units/min 12,49,80,815 unitsAnna Prasadam 122.85 persons/min 6,45,73,250 personsTonsuring 22.18 persons/min 1,16,61,625 persons
■ ■ THE DDGP said the copswere trying to ensure thesafe rescue of childrenand if needed call theNSG for rescue
■ ■ THE MMAN called thechildren for a party andheld them hostage
THE LARGEST CIRCULATED ENGLISH DAILY IN SOUTH INDIAHYDERABAD I FRIDAY I 31 JANUARY 2020
PAGE
2CityFRIDAY | 31 JANUARY 2020 | HYDERABADDECCAN CHRONICLE
Medaram JataraChief Secretary Somesh Kumar tells alldepartments to work in coordinationand conduct the Medaram Jatara
SHORT TAKES
SHRC EXAMINESRGIA FOR nCOV
MEASURESDC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
A team of officials from theState Human Rights’Commission (SHRC) visitedthe Rajiv Gandhi InternationalAirport on Thursday eveningto evaluate the precautionarymeasures set up to identifypassengers carrying the dread-ed coronavirus (2019-nCOV)infection.
Donning masks and gloves,the SHRC team spoke to med-ical practitioners posted at theairport. A medical officer toldthe team that passengers haveto face a tripod-borne bodytemperature scanner. Theimages will be colour coded toshow their body temperature.This system can detect if aperson is running tempera-ture as the body’s outline willshow a white colour on screen.
Those with elevated tempera-tures are given a face mask,isolated from others and askedabout the persons he or shehas come in contact with, theSHRC team was told.
‘FASCISTS’ WANTTO REPLACE
CONSTITUTIONDC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Anti-Citizenship AmendmentAct (CAA) protesters allegedthat “fascist forces” want toreplace the Constitution withthe ‘Manusmriti’. As part of it,these forces were bringing theCAA, National Register ofCitizens (NRC) and NationalPopulation Register.
The Struggle Association forAnnihilation of CasteInequalities (SAACI) said, “Wehave to come together and pro-tect the right of every citizen.Different organisations havecome together and formed theResistance Forum AgainstFascism (RFAF) to fight againstthe fascist forces.”
Speaking during a press con-ference, Justice B. ChandraKumar, former High Courtjudge and SAACI convener,said, “It took thousands ofyears to recognise Dalits ashuman beings in our country.After the Constitution cameinto force, Dalits were recog-nised as human beings. Fascistforces want to replaceConstitution with ‘Manusmriti’by bringing in CAA , NRC andNPR,” he said. Seconding hisopinion, C. Bhaskar Rao, chair-man of the Organisation for theProtection of DemocraticRights (OPDR), said “ The gov-ernment is curbing the rights ofDalits, Muslims and tribals. Weshould come together to savedemocracy.”
MILLET RIGHTSARE WOMEN’SRIGHTS: AIMS
DC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
The All India Millet Sisters(AIMS) opened a new chapterin the discourse on women'srights by stating that milletrights are women’s rights.This exhortation is containedin the Millet Charter releasedat the end of their three-dayconference on Thursday. TheAIMS said that millets repre-sented the closest expressionof women's rights in food andfarming since they embodiedall the politics and concerns ofglobal women’s movements.
The Millet Sisters noted thatwith every decade of climatecrisis familiar grains such aswheat and rice will disappearfrom the food basket and therewill be nothing to offer in thefood system. Millets with theirextraordinary capacity towithstand climate change maybe the only grains that can betapped for public food sys-tems. Therefore there is animmediate need to recognisemillets as the food of thefuture for India and base allfood planning on millets.
Human chain marks martyrs dayProtesters hold huge flag; Event not publicised due to difficulty in getting permission, say organisersSANJAY SSAMUEL PAUL || DCHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
In a befitting tribute to theapostle of peace on hisdeath anniversary, close toa thousand people cameand joined hands to form ahuman chain by holdingplacards, with a longNational Flag thatspanned the entire length,as a demonstration ofpatriotism, late Thursdayevening.
The human chain, com-prising people from allreligions and faiths and ofdifferent age-groups, wasorganised by a groupcalled ‘Citizens againstCAA-NRC-NPR’, atDharna Chowk nearIndira Park.
The organisers statedthat as there were difficul-ties in getting permis-sions, they had not adver-tised the event properly. Ifgiven sufficient time, thegathering would have beenlarger as many were open-ly protesting the Centre’smove.
The speakers said thatthey had chosen the daythe Father of the Nationwas assassinated becausehe achieved equality andsocial justice using non-violence as a potentweapon. They said that theright wing ideologists ofthose days never liked hisways and killed him in1948.
Social activist KiranVissa said “the nation haspromised its citizens free-dom, justice and equality.Today, all three are underthreat, with CAA.”
According to MeeraSangamithra, “The hiddenagenda of the Union gov-ernment is now known tothe people. The hate propa-ganda and the threatsfrom the government can-not deter us. Every Gandhiand Ambedkar followerwill fight the governmentwhich is promoting communalism.”
Dr Asma Zaher said
“Today’s situationdemands people to comeinto the open and protestagainst the government,which is promoting hatredthrough all mediums fortheir political gains. Thecountry has to be remind-ed about the Mahatma andhis spectacularly success-ful non-violence strategy”.
Ramana from HydZindabad, said, “there has
always been a sense ofbrotherhood, togethernessand communal amity inthe country. The presentgovernment is spreadingreligious hatred, which ishugely condemnable. Ifthe government intends todevelop the country, it hasto work on unemploymentRegister. It looks stupidwhen the government saysthat the borders are weakand people from neigh-bouring nations are cross-ing the border into India.”
The protesters sangpatriotic songs and raisedanti-CAA and NRC slo-gans. The entire protestended up peacefully.
Over 1,000 people come together to form a human chain at Indira Park on Thursday — DEEPAK DESPANDE
From Page 1
In a series of tweets hewrote “Thanks to@ianuragthakur & all 9 pmnationalists who have cre-ated so much hatred in thiscountry that a terroristshoots a student while copswatch. Hi @PMOindiaidentify him by his clothes.(sic)”
He also hit out at the DelhiPolice, who came in forsharp criticism after react-ing violently against Jamiastudents last month. Hetweeted “@DelhiPolicewhat happened to thebravado that you showed in#Jamia last month? If thereis a prize for being helpless,bystanders you’d win itevery time. Can you explainwhy a gunshot victim hadto CLIMB over a barricade?Do your service rules stopyou from being HUMANE?(sic)”
Owaisi said that this inci-dent took place on a day,“when we are rememberingterrorist Godse’s murder ofGandhi, when studentswere going to march tomark the event. Such cow-ardice does not scare us.The protest will go on. Thisis now Godse versus Indiaof Gandhi, Ambedkar andNehru. It is easy to pick oneside.” He said in anothertweet that this is the prob-lem of a specific ideology,its supporters and ‘bhakts’.
ATHER MMOIN II DDCHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Pressure is mounting onthe police to take discipli-nary action againstKarimnagar ACP P. Ashok,who had told an anti-CAAprotester to go to the neigh-bouring country. The copallegedly stated that Islamhas excessive fanaticismand terrorism. The videopertaining to the coun-selling M.A. Mujeeb duringcounselling, when theexchange occurred, wentviral on social media.
The National HumanRights Commission(NHRC) has alreadysought a report from theDGP on the complaint ofharassment, but no actionhas been taken so far.
A case was registeredagainst Mr Mujeeb againstwhom a case was regis-tered for participating in aprotest against the CAAon December 22. Hereceived a call from a cop,who identified himself asan inspector with SpecialBranch, who allegedlyused filthy language.
The following day, MrMujeeb was asked to pres-ent himself beforeKarimnagar commission-er of police V. B. KamlasanReddy. He complainedabout the telephonic con-versation with the cop, butno action was taken. Later,
he was asked to appearbefore Karimnagar I Townpolice for counselling.
During the counselling,Mr Ashok joined and start-ed a conversation with thecomplainant.
Mr Ashok allegedly saidanti-CAA protestors shouldgo to the neighbouringcountry. He allegedly usedderogatory words againstMahatma Gandhi. He saidthat except Islam no otherreligion has fanaticism.
Secretary of MehrOrganisation Affan Quadriasked the DGP to initiate adepartmental inquiryagainst the official by plac-ing him under suspension.
Mr Quadri urged ChiefMinister K. Chandra-sekhar Rao to open de-radi-calisation camps for someelite police officers. Socialactivist Mohammed Farooqmaintained that police per-sonnel should always beneutral and devoid of anyideological bias.
Police urged to takeaction against ACP
BALU PPULIPAKA II DDCHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
State health departmentofficials were on Thurs-day instructed to gear upfor treatment of possiblenovel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) patients after thefirst case was reportedfrom Kerala. Health min-ister Etala Rajendar saideveryone who arrived inthe state since the out-break of the disease inChina must be kept underobservation and surveil-lance for possible symp-toms, including membersof families these individuals.
He instructed thedepartment to be pre-pared fully to provide carefor possible victims andproper treatment in isola-tion wards.
This might be easier saidthan done with theprospect of logisticalnightmares, given the stateof facilities available at thedesignated hospitals in thecity. In the four hospitalsidentified so far for treat-ing possible 2019-nCoVcases, the plan involveshousing the patients in iso-lation wards, in buildingsthat are separated from themain hospital structureswhere most diagnosticfacilities are housed.
This could mean movingpatients into the mainbuilding for simple things
like a chest x-ray unlessthe isolation ward has amachine. Then there isthe issue of containmentof possible spread of thevirus from a patient, espe-cially when performingwhat are called ‘aerosolgenerating procedures’.
According to the guide-lines issued by Unionhealth ministry, “ade-quately ventilated singlerooms — meaning nega-tive pressure rooms(rooms where the atmos-pheric pressure is lessthan other rooms to pre-vent air from the ward toescape and air from theroom is channelledthrough a filtration systembefore being allowed toescape into the atmos-phere) — with a minimumof 12 air changes per houror at least 160 litres/sec-ond/patient in facilitieswith natural ventilation,”should be used while per-forming aerosol generat-ing procedures such asopen suctioning of the res-piratory tract, intubation,bronchoscopy, cardiopul-monary resuscitation.
While the guidelinesstate that such air circula-tion management shouldbe practiced “wheneverpossible”, the designatedhospitals reportedly donot have negative pres-sure rooms or wards forsuch procedures. It couldnot be confirmed if any
airflow modeling was per-formed with respect to thesecond option to establishwhether the required lev-els of air exchange occursin the designated wards.
“Our isolation wards arewell ventilated and well litwhich are enough. In theevent of acute distress ofa patient, then we canshift the person to the ICUin the hospital,” a healthdepartment official said.There was no clarity onwhether separate ICUswill be designated to treatcoronavirus patients orwhether they would beclubbed with otherpatients.
Meanwhile, a specialistin infectious diseases saidit would be preferable to“err on the side of cau-tion,” especially whenperforming the specificprocedures. “Our currentunderstanding is that thedisease spreads throughdroplets, a situation thatcan be managed withthorough personnel safetyand disinfectant proce-dures. India follows theWorld HealthOrganisation guidelineson these issues which aredesigned for developingand under developedcountries. The US followsits Centres for DiseaseControl guidelines thatcall for more stringentsystems,” the specialistsaid.
State hospitals face a logistical nightmareHealth minister has instructed officials to provide proper treatment in isolation wardsPOOR | FACILITIES
2 fresh cases of nCov in cityDC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Two suspected cases ofpeople who had returnedfrom China were identi-fied in the city onThursday and sent to theFever and GandhiHospital. They had hightemperature and weretaken in for evaluation.Their samples were takenand kept in observation.
There have been a totalof 11 suspected cases inthe city so far. The sam-ples of only two fromthese were negative, whileresults of the remainingnine are still awaited fromPune.
With transport of sam-ples taking time, theTelangana governmenthas asked centre to pro-vide them with testingkits. These would be sentby the Centre by tomorrowand a laboratory would beset up in Gandhi Hospital.The tests can then on beconducted in the stateitself and results can beevaluated in six hours.
Presently, only two peo-ple are admitted in FeverHospital, while othershave been sent home asthey did not have anysymptoms. They have
been asked to not meetanyone and practice self-isolation.
They are being moni-tored by district medicaland health authorities,who are calling them
morning and evening tocheck if they are alrightor have some symptoms.
The government hasreadied 100 beds in theFever, Gandhi and ChestHospital for any increase
in number of suspectedcases.
They have also identified200 beds in the SarojiniDevi Eye Hospital, whichcan be utilized in case ofan emergency.
Patients start to show acuterespiratory disorder in 2 daysKANIZA GGARARI || DCHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
The first 41 patients whocaught the Coronaviurs(nCOV) in China haveshown that it takes onlytwo days for the symptomsto go from breathlessnessto acute respiratory dis-tress syndrome (ARDS),according to a study pub-lished in The Lancet.
“This is too short atime,” stated city doctorswho have checked themedical evaluations andconclude that the virus isvirulent. Comparison withSevere Acute RespiratorySyndrome (SARS) virusshows that while the 2019-nCOV mimics SARS thereare differences in the pre-
sentations. According toThe Lancet, the patientswho came in on January 2have shown that they hadserious, fatal pneumonia,requiring ICU and oxygentherapy as treatment. Themortality rate in the 41patients was at 15 per cent.The infection is by a largedroplet, which means thatit has lots of viruseswhich are shed whichcoughing or sneezing.Healthcare workersrequire N95 respiratorsand personal protectionequipment while treatingthese patients. The PPE kitis strongly recommended.
The Lancet study statedthat the prevention meth-ods was of utmost impor-tance in the healthcare sec-
tor as those caring forpatients could becomeinfected. Symptoms offever and respiratory prob-lems have to be closelymonitored. Testing of res-piratory specimens shouldbe done immediately oncea diagnosis is suspected.
Dr Ramana Prasad, a pul-monologist, explained,“The target cells presentlyare in the lower airwaywhich means that mildsymptoms of sore throat,sneezing and rhinorrhoeamust not be ignored.”
The transmissionthrough faecal matter andurine is being suspectedbut it is not clear yetwhether it has occurred asstated the scientist in thejournal.
Cops picked up a few people after they tried to form a human chain near theAmbedker Statue on Thrusday — DECCAN CHRONICLE
After the Constitutioncame into force, Dalitswere recognised as
human beings. Fascist forceswant to replace Constitutionwith ‘Manusmriti’ by bring-ing in CAA , NRC and NPR
— JUSTICE BB. CCHANDRA KKUMARFormer High Court judge
■ ■ A MMEDICAL officer toldthe team that passengershave to face a tripod-bornebody temperature scanner.The images will be colourcoded to show their bodytemperature.
■ ■ WHILE CCOUNSELLINGa protester, M.A. Mujeeb,Karimnagar ACP P.Ashok reportedly askedhim to go to a neighbour-ing country. He alsopassed some remarks onIslam. Activists are ask-ing for action on thepolice officer.
■ ■ SOCIAL AACTIVIST Kiran Vissa said “the nation haspromised its citizens freedom, justice and equality.Today, all three are under threat, with CAA.”
■ ■ THE PPROTESTERS sang patriotic songs and raisedanti-CAA and NRC slogans.
NATIONALISTSCREATINGHATRED: ASAD
PAGE
3CityFRIDAY | 31 JANUARY 2020 | HYDERABADDECCAN CHRONICLE
Support for womenIG, women’s safety, Swati Lakra, saysvictims approaching Bharosa centres wouldhave unhindered access to support services
IN BRIEF14K students skip
TSBIE examHyderabad: About 14,235
students were absent for theEnvironmental Education
exam which was conductedby Telangana State Board of
Intermediate Education(TSBIE) for all the students
on Thursday in all the pri-vate and government juniour
colleges. About 4,68,001students have appeared forthe test out of the 4,82,236
registered students.
Foreign liquor worth `18L seized
Hyderabad: The officials ofexcise enforcement team of
Hyderabad, on Thursday,seized 18 lakhs worth for-
eign liquor and arrestedthree persons involved inthe case. Reportedly, the
accused gang of two mem-bers was illegally smugglingforeign liquor from Shamsh-
abad and Chennai airportsinto the city. Police identi-
fied the accused as Khaleed,29, an employee at a duty-
free shop, and Anil, 31, a for-mer employee. Based on atip-off, the police raided atravels office opposite the
Nampally railway station andseized 12 one-litre bottles of
a top brand of whisky fromanother accused, said T.
Venkatesh, assistant excisesuperintendent (enforce-
ment). Information providedby Venkatesh’s team led
them to arrest Khaleed andAnil. Officials recovered for-
eign liquor of 106 differentbrands. Efforts are underway
to nab the accused.
3 drown to deathin Warangal
Warangal: Three childrendrowned in the Katta
Mallanna tank in Gorrekuntavillage of Geesugonda man-
dal in Warangal Urban dis-trict on Thursday. Being a
holiday on the deathanniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi, the children, IppaPranay, 9, studying in Class3, Akinepalli Ranadheer, 9,
of Class 4 and BarigelaNikitha, 7, of Class 2, went to
the tank to catch fish. Theywere first spotted by the vil-
lagers who warned them to stay away.
They left the spot butreturned when no one was
looking. While playing there,they accidentally slipped
into the tank and drowned.The police registered a case
and further investigationsare underway.
Army officials meet GovernorHyderabad: LieutenantGeneral P Nagesh Rao,
AVSM, YSM, SM, GeneralOfficer Commanding (GOC),Dakshin Bharat Area, accom-panied by Major General RKSingh, GOC, Telangana andAndhra Sub Area called onthe Governor of Telangana,Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan
on Wednesday, at RajBhavan, Hyderabad as a
courtesy visit after havingtaken over as GOC DakshinBharat area, Chennai. They
briefly discussed severalissues related to Ex-service-
men welfare and civil-mili-tary liaison.
Baby steps
On the ocassion of Basant Panchami, parents help their child for Aksharabhyasam (writing first alphabets) at Gnana Saraswati temple inMusheerabad, Hyderabad, on Thursday. — S. SURENDER REDDY
FASTag to be usedin fuel pumps soon
Notice to Shankarover land dispute
IIT-H focuses onreducing stress VUJJINI VVAMSHIDHARA ||
DC HYDERABAD, JAN. 30
A division bench, com-prising Chief JusticeRaghavendra Singh Cha-uhan and Justice A. Abh-ishek Reddy, issued noti-ces to the Special ChiefSecretary (revenue), com-missioner of HMDA andthe Ranga Reddy collec-tor, directing them torespond to a PIL whichchallenged allocation offive acres of prime landlocated in Mokilla, Shan-karpally, to film produc-er-director N. Shankar ata nominal price of `5lakh per acre.
While dealing with apetition filed by Mr J.Shankar, a resident ofKarimnagar, who sought
suspension of the GO.Ms. No. 75, through whichthe land was allotted tothe filmmaker, the benchdirected the authoritiesto submit their conten-tions within four weeks.The court also issuednotices to Mr N. Shankar.
The petitioner submit-ted that the land prices at Mokila were around `5 crore per acre with a registration value of`20 lakh. He said that thebeneficiary was a privateindividual and the landallotted to him would notbenefit people in any way.
GEETA VVALABOJU || DDCHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
In a significant develop-ment, FASTag, the RFIDsystem used for the toll feeon national highways, canshortly be used at fuel sta-tions. Commuters can nowrecharge the FASTag to fillfuel without swiping anycard or paying the amountin cash.
The existing FAStag userscan pre-set the fuel amountsthrough Fastlane mobileapplication. As of nowHPCL is the authoriseddealer in Mumbai and itwould eventually be extend-ed to other agencies.
A Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) readerattached to the fuel nozzlefinds out how much fuel isrequired. The attendantrefills your vehicle car tankand you drive out withoutwaiting to pay the bill. Thisis the scene across severalHPCL petrol pumps inMumbai, Delhi, andBengaluru.
It is expected to be imple-mented in Hyderabad in thenext three months. TheMumbai-based companyAGS transact TechnologiesLtd has developed India’sfirst mobile fuelling solu-tions called Fastlane.
Every Fastlane user is pro-vided with an RFID stickerlinked to Fastlane mobileapp. This enables the user topre-setup the amount beforereaching petrol pump. On reaching, the FastlaneRFID sticker pasted on thecar windshield provides
vehicle identification andfuel type as well as the payment info to the atten-dant. After fuelling is donewith, one will get an instantnotification and the individ-ual can simply move on.
That is the new Fastlanesolution that uses RFID-based technology. HP is thecountry’s first fast fuel pay-ment solution that offersdigital convenience as itworks on automatic deduc-tion. Once the customergives all details, the vehicleis tagged with RFIO code.The fuel nozzles areequipped with special read-ers that verify the RFID tag placed in the fuel tankinlet.
The technology was devel-oped by Mumbai-basedStart-up Fastlane by AGSTransact Technologies Ltdin June 2019. Currently,there are more than 120Fastlane-enabled HPCLpetrol pumps in Mumbai,Navi Mumbai, Thane andPune and many are in thepipeline.
HP Fastlane offers conven-ience to the car owners.Bigger beneficiaries arethose with many cars-pri-vate operators, hotels, cor-porate houses. If one hasmultiple taxes a centralisedpoint will take shape. TheFastlane allows you to keeptrack of how much fuel eachvehicle has consumed,including the amount spenton them.
Fastlane can be used byany vehicle, including cars,trucks, buses and two-wheelers.
Students to be drawn out of hostel roomsRAJESWARI PPARASA ||DCHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
In order to boost the stu-dents’ personality skills,IIT-Hyderabad will makepersonality developmenta mandatory coursefrom the next academicyear.
It was also found thatmost students are con-fining themselves to thehostel rooms with theirgadgets, avoiding anyconversation with fellowstudents. In order toovercome this issue, theinstitute has already sta-rted ‘pod coordinators’who would make surethat there is a qualitydiscussion taking placeamong the students.
A pod is the commonarea between eightrooms and there is oneperson to manage it asthe coordinator for theeight occupants.
“This is purely a stu-dent-run initiative sup-ported by the institutionso as to ensure every-body is connected witheach other. The respec-tive pod coordinatorshave their WhatsAppgroups through whichthey communicate anddecide when they canconveniently meet oncea week. Also, they meetover lunch or dinner forquality discussion oncein a month. The objec-tive of the whole exer-cise is to develop conceptof togetherness amongthe students,” said theIITH official.
As of now, studentshave their own rooms,the institute is aiming toconstruct a separate hos-tel to accommodate twostudents per room at
least for the first year, sothat the students wouldget in touch with the fel-low mates. It was saidthat the students comingfrom ‘coaching centres’are struggling tounlearn what they havealready learnt.
“A major emphasis isbeing placed in reducingstress levels of studentsthrough various initia-tives such as having fac-
ulty and alumni mentorstudents, conductingstress relieving sessionsby renowned psycholo-gists and motivationalspeakers,” said Prof. B SMurty, Director of IIT-H.
Further adding to theefforts, the institute isaiming at introducingmandatory and creditbased courses for personality develop-ment.
Director sets new‘Vision’ for 2024DC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Prof B.S. Murty,Director of the IndianInstitute of Technology,Hyderabad (IIT-H) drewup ‘IIT-Hyderabad’sVision for 2024’ whichenvisages enabling 40companies and 50 start-ups to be set up in theInstitute Research Parkand Incubation Centre.
The new Director alsoset a target of generat-ing `200 crore per yearfor funding research atthe institute by the year2024 through varioussources. The figurestands at `50 crore now.
Addressing the mediaon the IIT-H campus,Prof. Murthy said,“Since August 2019, IITHyderabad has enteredinto four MoUs withJapanese institutes andfive collaborations withIndian research centers,private Companies andthe government ofTelangana state. Nearly
30 assistant professorshave been recruited inthe last three months.We are also keen onbringing in more over-seas students and facul-ty to IIT Hyderabad.”
Prof. Murty added thata research park and anincubation cell spanning1.5 lakh sq.ft each arecoming up, which give amajor boost to establish-ing relations with start-ups and the industry.
The institute is intro-ducing an M.Tech cou-rse in healthcare entrep-reneurship. It plans tolaunch industry-suppor-ted M.Tech. programm-es in sectors such as e-waste management, cyb-er security and adva-nced manufacturing.
IIT-Hyderabad willalso be starting thedepartment of manage-ment and entrepreneur-ship, which will focus onencouraging students tobecome job generatorsthrough entrepreneurialactivities.
ADITYA CCHUNDURU || DDC HYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Users of MyGate, the app-based security manage-ment system for gated com-munities and apartmentcomplexes, have accusedthe firm of collectingunnecessary amounts ofdata. They said that theBengaluru-based start-up isplaying fast and loose withuser data, and sharing itwith third-parties withouttheir consent.
MyGate’s application isused by many gated com-munities in the city. Reside-nts of these communitiescan use the app to manageentry and exit of people. Security guards are givendevices wherein they canenter the details of visitorsbefore they allow theminside.
Interestingly, MyGatedeals with residents welfareassociations (RWA) directly,and not individual reside-nts. Provided the RWA agrees to start usingMyGate, even non-consent-ing residents have no choicebut to be part of the compa-ny’s ecosystem.
Naren (name changed onrequest), resident of one ofthese communities, said,“By default, it is not ‘opt in’but ‘opt out’. You have nochoice but to use MyGate ifyour RWA has decided. Ofcourse, MyGate says thereis a way to opt out but it ishidden behind many set-tings’ screens and verycomplicated. I haven’t fig-ured it out till now.”
Observers have said theamount of data thatMyGate has in its databaseis a matter of concern. Acybersecurity activist fromthe city said, “MyGateknows everything aboutyou — right from the peoplewho visit you through visi-tor logs to the the kind offood you eat through deliv-ery data. It is a data-collec-tion agency masqueradingas a security start-up.” Headded that if this data were
to be stolen or compro-mised, it would be a mas-sive risk to the residents.
Users and activists saidthere are other concerns aswell. Third-parties likeSwiggy and Dunzo (deliveryservices) have entered intoan agreement for data-shar-ing for “silent pre-approvals” of deliveries.
Naren explained, “When aSwiggy delivery person arr-ives, I no longer have to app-rove him. He can come tomy door directly. But here isthe problem: How canSwiggy and Dunzy sharemy data with MyGate with-out my consent? Also, thereis no way for me to opt outof this model as these appsdon’t have this option.”
He added that as a MyGateuser, he felt insecure. “It islike MyGate is a personalstalker who you are payingto stalk. It can go rogue any-time,” he said.
Another resident of one ofMyGate-enabled localitiessaid MyGate was bad forprivacy within the familyas well. “The app is used bythe whole family. So when Iorder for something, thewhole family gets a notifica-
tion. In essence, you can’teven order a surprise cakefor someone!” he said.
There is also the problemof security guards notbeing trained to useMyGate. A visitor to one ofthese apartments said hewas not allowed to visit hisfriend because he refused toenter his mobile phone det-ails in the app. MyGate res-ponded to his complaint onTwitter that providingmobile phone details wasn’tnecessary. However, resi-dents said the app doesn’tallow them to pre-approvevisitors without theirmobile phone details.
On its website, MyGatesays it does not share thedata it collects with anyone.It also claims that the theowner of this data is actual-ly the RWA and not itselfsince it only acts as anintermediary.
MyGate did not respondto Deccan Chronicle’s requ-est for a comment. Narensaid that according to cur-rent laws MyGate is notdoing anything illegal. “Butthe app collects a lot of dataand there are many possi-bilities for abuse,” he said.
Residents using MyGate feel insecureApp controls entry, exit of visitors in buildingsDETAILS | NOTED
■ ■ OBSERVERS HHAVE saidthe amount of data thatMyGate has in its databaseis a matter of concern. Onits website, MyGate says itdoes not share the data itcollects with anyone
■ ■ THE BBENCH directedthe authorities to submittheir contentions withinfour weeks
PAGE
4CityFRIDAY | 31 JANUARY 2020 | HYDERABADDECCAN CHRONICLE
Saving animalsMinister Talasani Srinivas Yadavinaugurates the state’s first-ever mobileveterinary hospital for animals at goshalas
IN BRIEF2 held for fake
auto numberHyderabad: Two persons
who wanted to avoid repay-ment of a loan got caught
because they were habitualtraffic rule violators. The
police arrested Md Jahangir,27, and Avula Ashok, 34, forusing the registration num-
ber of another autorickshaw.Police said one Ram Babu,40, an autorickshaw driver
from Chilakanagar in Uppal,received an e-challan for
`1,135 for his vehicle (TS07UC 0338) for going in the
wrong direction atBharatnagar. He had previ-
ously received eight challansfor `2,945. He approached
the Balananagar police.It turned out that the duo
was using Ram Babu’s rick-shaw number. Police tracedthe duo’s autorickshaw dur-
ing a routine check.
Dowry torture:Woman ends life
Man arrested for`3.2L fraud
2 killed asbikes collide
Hyderabad: Allegedlyharassed for more dowry, a
19-year-old newlywed girlcommitted suicide by settingherself ablaze at her in-laws’
house at Pandivanampallyvillage in Vikarabad district.
The victim, Vijaya Lakshmi, anative of Nacharam in Kosgimandal, was married to oneYadaiah of Pandivanampallythree months ago. Her par-
ents gave seven tolas ofgold, `1.5 lakh cash, a bikeand household articles asdowry. A month after the
marriage, Yadaiah reportedlystarted harassing her for
more dowry, and sheinformed her parents. She
set herself ablaze onWednesday night, and vil-
lagers alerted theKulkacherla police to the
incident.
Hyderabad: A fraudster whocheated a victim of `3.2 lakhunder the pretext of getting
insurance money releasedwas arrested by the
Hyderabad cyber crimepolice. The accused, BanalaMadhu, promised the victimto secure the release of `19
lakh of his father’s insurance.Madhu told the victim thatthe amount would be can-celled if he did not pay up.
Police said Madhu collected`3.2 lakh saying it was need-ed ostensibly to pay tax and
other related charges.Hyderabad cyber crime ACP
K.V.M. Prasad said Madhuwas arrested based on a
complaint. In 2015, Madhuhad cheated several ZPTCmembers in the name of a
non-existent Central govern-ment scheme.
Hyderabad: Two persons ontwo motorcycles were killed
in a head-on collision atJangareddypalli in Amangalon Thursday morning. Three
others, who were on bikes,sustained injuries. No one
was wearing helmets.Thalakondapally SI P. SureshYadav, identified the victims
as Gummadaiah, 36, a masonfrom Jangareddypalli, andMahesh, 19, a student from
Rampur. Gummadaiah alongwith another villager,
Mallaiah, were proceeding toAmangal for work while
Mahesh and his friends Shivaand Naresh were going to
Rampur from Amangal. Thetrio had attended a functionat Amangal on Wednesday.
I thank my God every time I remember you - Phil: 1:3Mr. Darla Ephraim ManoharDOB: 31.01.1944 DOD: 04.04.2019Retd. Survey of India, 49 Party, Uppal, HydWe love you, miss your presence, cherishyour memories and honor your life!Wishing You a Happy 76th Birthday in Heaven!Ardently remembered by Loving Daughter:
Mrs. Norah P SagarSon-in-law: Dr. GD Vivek SagarGrand Children: Shannon Sagar
and Matthew Sagar, USA
76th BIRTHDAY REMEMBRANCE
BIRTHDAY REMEMBRANCEThe memory of the Righteous isblessed. Pro - 10:7IN CHERISHED MEMORY OF
Late Mr. D.E. MANOHAR (Survey of India)
D.O.B: 31.01.1944 D.O.D: 04.04.2019Words cannot express our agony, tearscannot wash away our pain, but ouronly comfort for today is that you arecelebrating your birthday in heaven in thearms of our saviour Lord Jesus Christ.Deeply missed and fondly remembered byWife: Mrs P.L. Devayani, Daughters,Sons-in-Law, Son, Daughter-in-Law,Grand Children, Sisters & Brother.
Ph: 9912124479 / 9705639808
(S/1920/D01744)
75th BIRTHDAY REMEMBRANCE
MOYYA SUKANYAD.O.B: 31.01.1945
Your memories are always remembered in our hearts forever
Inserted by:Husband - Moyya Surender
SE (R&B) Retd.& All Family Members
Ph: 9701236172
OBITUARYWe deeply regret the
sudden demise of
Shri GANJI HANUMANTH RAO GARUD.O.B: 24.02.1928 D.O.D: 30.01.2020Funeral starts today @ 12.00Noon from Begumpet residence toBansilalpet Crematorium.
By: Ganji Family(S/1920/D01766)
OBITUARY
Shri GANJI HANUMANTH RAO GARUWe deeply regret the sudden demise of our Founder Trustee & Chairman
D.O.B: 24.02.1928 D.O.D: 30.01.2020Funeral starts today @ 12 Noonfrom Begumpet residence toBansilalpet Crematorium
By: Padmashali Seva Samajam Trust, Sec’bad
(S/1920/D01765)
MEMORIAL SERVICEPrecious in the sight of the Lord is thedeath of His Saints. Pslams 116:15
MERUGU CHANDRA KANTHD.O.B: 19.02.1956 D.O.D: 27.01.2020Memorial Service will be held on31st January, 2020 at WesleyChurch, Chilkalguda @ 7 p.m. Pleasedo come and support our family.
Inserted by:Sons & Family Members
(S/1920/D01762)
BIRTHDAY REMEMBRANCEMy soul finds rest in God alone (PS 62:1)
B. GRACE HELENW/o Badugula Samson Divakar
DOB: 31.01.1955You are always in our hearts.
Inserted by: Husband,Son - Daughter-in-law,
Daughter - Son-in-law &Grand Daughter - Elena Grace
Ph: 9866121327(S/1920/D01759)
SAD DEMISE
AKSHANTHALA JAMUNADOD: 30.01.2020
We Miss You FriendTEAM OF 4TEEN
(Women’s Wing)(S/1920/D01760)
Kaseem wasunder watchPolice says it has proof on KaseemVUJJINIVAMSHIDHARA II DDCHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
The police told theHigh Court on Thurs-day that Osmania Uni-versity associate pro-fessor ChintakindaKaseem was a commit-tee member of theMaoists, and claimedthey had evidence toprove it. The policesaid Mr Kaseem wasrunning a news maga-zine, NadusthunnaTelangana, on behalfof the Maoists.
Mr P. Narayana,assistant commission-er of police, Gajwel,furnished an affidavitbefore the High Courtdescribing the circum-stances that led toKaseem’s arrest. Adivision bench headedby Chief JusticeRaghavendra SinghChauhan had soughtthe affidavit.
On January 18, MrKaseem’s wifeSnehalatha had filed ahabeas corpus petitionwhen he was taken
into custody. Thepolice produced MrKaseem before thebench headed by theChief Justice onJanuary 19 uponorders of the court.However, the High Co-urt expressed doubtson Mr Kaseem’s arrestand posed five ques-tions to the police.
Expressing surprisethat the police did nottake action on MrKaseem for four yearsand suddenly arrestedhim on January 18, theCJ asked the police toexplain the status ofthe investigation inthe other cases againstMr Kaseem.
ACP Narayana statedthat four FIRs werepending against MrKaseem since 2012 andhe was acquitted in
another two cases reg-istered against him asthe second accused. Hesaid Mr Kaseem oper-ated under the alias of‘Karthik’ for contact-ing the Maoists’underground cadre.
On why action hadnot been taken againston cases registered in2016, the ACP said thatunderground andoverground Maoistcadre were involved inthe crime, and the peo-ple were afraid to giveevidence.
He also submittedthat following the con-fessional statement ofMandala Shyam Sun-der Reddy, who was acourier for Maoistleader Chandrannaalias Atram, policehad put surveillanceon Mr Kaseem to tracehis links with theMaoists. Apart fromhis confessional state-ment, the investiga-tion officer alsorecorded the state-ments of a few surren-dered Maoists, theACP said.
Husband thanks cops,judge for quick justiceDC CORRESPONDENTADILABAD, JAN. 30
Before giving her judg-ment, district and ses-sions judge M.G.Priyadarshini told theaccused, “the mistakeyou have done was nota small one,” andadded, “The crime youhad committedagainst Samata hasbeen proved.”
The judge gave anopportunity to thethree accused tospeak. Sheik Babu, theprime accused, saidthat the police hadfixed him in the casethough he was notinvolved in the crime.He pleaded that he hadthree children and awife, besides old par-ents, who were alldepending on him torun the family.
He broke down whenthe judge said theirguilt was proved. Thesecond and thirdaccused, Shabuddinand Maqhdoom, alsoentered similar pleas.
The victim’s hus-band expressed happi-ness over the verdictand thanked the judgefor “doing justice tothe victim”. He saidthe judgment of deathpenalty to the threeaccused of the rape-murder through a fast-track trial wouldinfuse public faith injudiciary and law.
The victim’s hus-band thanked thepolice department for
getting quick justicefor the victim’s family.He mentioned M.Malla Reddy, SP, Ku-marambheem Asifa-bad district. Inciden-tally, Thursday wasthe last working dayfor Mr Malla Reddy,who will retire fromservice on Friday.
Mr Ramana Reddy,public prosecutor,said, “justice has beendone to the victim’sfamily. The victim’shusband has beengiven a job and prom-ised land.
Defence lawyer A.Raheem, appointedthrough the DistrictLegal Services Autho-rity (DLSA), said thathe had done the jobentrusted to him bythe court and was notconcerned whetherthe judgment was neg-ative or positive.
Family members of
the accused were notseen at the court butreports said the wifeand relatives of theprime accused SheikBabu were present butdid not wish to beidentified.
Sheik Babu’s mother,a resident of Yellapa-tar, expressed dis-pleasure over thedeath penalty, sayingthat they “did not getjustice.”
She alleged that her“son was being framedin the case, though hewas not involved inthe incident”.
She questioned ifanyone had caughthim in the act or ifanybody had seen theaccused while commit-ting the crime. Shesaid that they wouldapproach the HighCourt, seeking repealof the fast-trackcourt’s judgment.
QUICK ACTION■■ Police filed a chargesheet in the Samatagang-rape and murder case in the specialtrack court set up in Adilabad district court onDecember 14.
■■ Court accorded a case number onDecember 16 and trial began on December 23.
■■ Superintendent of police P. Malla Reddy,who retired on Thursday, appeared in courtand filed chargesheet of 13 pages and another83 pages of explanation.
■■ Sheik Babu, Shabuddin and Maqdhoomwere listed as accused in the case.
■■ There were 44 witnesses in the case.
■ ■ ON WWHY action hadnot been taken onKaseem since 2016,the police said Maoistcadre were involvedand the people wereafraid to give evidence
LISBON PUBOWNER BOOKEDFOR HARASSMENT
Bakery owner held forcake that claimed twoDC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Five months after aman and his son diedafter eating the son'sbirthday cake that wasmade using outdatedingredients, Cherialpolice of Siddipetarrested New IndiaBakery owner Hafeezfrom whom the cakewas bought.
To celebrate Ram-charan's birthday onSeptember 4, hisfather Ravi bought acake from New IndiaBakery in Siddipet. Aday after consumingthe cake, Ravi, his wifeNagamani, daughterPujitha and Ramcha-ran were hospitalised.
The mother anddaughter were dis-charged after theyrecovered. Ravi andRamcharan died.
Nagamani lodged acomplaint withCherial police who
raided New IndiaBakery. Police collect-ed samples and sentthem to ForensicScience Laboratory(FSL) in Hyderabad.
The FSL scientistsreported that consum-
ing the cake was madeof products whose life-line had expired andthat had caused thedeath of Ravi andRamcharan. Subse-quently, the Cherialpolice arrested Hafeez.
Unable to start own business,man calls friend and ends lifeJAYENDRA CCHAITHANYA TT.I DDC HYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Depressed at not gettingenough money to start a busi-ness, a 28-year-old man com-mitted suicide by consumingpesticide at a village nearMoinabad, after sending amessage to his friends.
Kantham Bharat Reddy(28), a native of RegadiGhanpur of Chevella man-dal, was working as a privateemployee at Langer Houz andwas staying in a room. Hisparents were also farmers.
About a month ago, Bharatquit his job and wanted tostart a business. Last week,
he went home and asked hisfather K. Venkat Reddy formoney. Mr Venkat Reddyinformed Bharat that theywould get money after sellingthe crops. Bharat had a tiffwith his parents andreturned to the city.
On Tuesday evening, hewent to the outskirts ofReddipally on his bike. Ataround 6 pm, he sent a textmessage to a friend statingthat as he was unable to raisemoney for his business hewas ending his life. Bharat'sfriend approached theLanger Houz police.
Langar Houz inspector ChSrinivas said, "We traced hismobile number's last live
location. However, he hadturned off the mobile atReddipally. A team alongwith Bharat's friend went toMoinabad and searched forhim till night, but could notfind him."
Moinabad inspector GVenkateshwarlu said that ateam of Langar Houz policeand Moinabad policesearched for Bharat till about2 am on Wednesday. Whilechecking CCTV footage,Bharat was seen travellingtowards Veerannapet, hesaid. On Wednesday noon,the missing man was founddead in the fields on the out-skirts of Veerannapet,according to the police.
DC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Panjagutta police bookeda case against Lisbon Pubowner Murali Krishna,who allegedly asked afemale pub employee tosleep with him. When sherejected his advances, heallegedly threatened hewould kill her.
It was around 11.55 pmwhen the dancer went toLisbon Pub when MuraliKrishna asked her tosleep with him. He haddone so earlier also butshe had turned him down,said Panjagutta inspectorM. Niranjan Reddy
On Wednesday at about7.30 pm, he stopped herfrom entering the pub andthreatened her if she didnot oblige. She went to thePanjagutta police whobooked a case of sexualharassment.
Meanwhile, the specialexecutive magistrate rev-enue divisional officerissued a showcause noticeto the Lisbon Pub man-agement and summonedthe pub owner onFebruary 1.
2 NABBED FORSTEALING GOLDHyderabad: Santosh-nagar police arrestedWaseem Akram, 29, andMohammed Ghouse, 21,for impersonating crimebranch police and stealinggold and money from thesalesman of a jewelleryshop. The duo had inter-cepted Subrata Samanthawho was on his way toChelapura from GhansiBazaar after collectingornaments. They forcedhim to withdraw cash andfled with the money andthe gold. “Within 24hours, the crime policeteam nabbed them,” saidMadannapet inspector D.Santosh Kumar.
DC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Two persons who wereindulging in malprac-tice during a JNTUengineering examina-tion at Abdullapur-met were convicted onThursday. The TwentyFourth AdditionalMetropolitan Magis-trate Court sentencedArun Kumar ofDhone, AP, and DurgCharat Mishra of St
Mary’s College to oneyear in jail.
According to theAbdullapurmet police,Kumar was caught byan invigilator atAvanthi’s ScientificTechnology andResearch Academy onMay 1, 2018, when hewas impersonatingMishra. Police saidMishra, a student ofthird-year engineer-ing, was to write hissupplementary exam.
Exam impersonator,student get 1-yr jail
PAGE
5PoliticsFRIDAY | 31 JANUARY 2020 | HYDERABADDECCAN CHRONICLE
Gandhi’s pathKCR says the path of Mahatma Gandhi toachieve peace through non-violence andsatyagraha is always implementable
SHORT TAKES
NOTICE FOR PACPOLLS WILL BE
ISSUED ON FEB 3 DC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Elections to Primary Agricu-lture Cooperative Societies(PACS) will be held onFebruary 15. Notification forthe elections will be issued onFebruary 3, according to addi-tional registrar of cooperativesocieties V. Sumitra, theauthorised election authority,who spoke after the state gov-ernment issued the scheduleon Thursday.
Ms Sumitra said that nomi-nations will be received fromFebruary 6 to 8 and they willbe scrutinised on February 9while withdrawal of nomina-tions will end the next day.
The election authorityinformed that counting ofvotes will take place onFebruary 15 soon after com-pletion of the polling in eachof the PACS and results alsodeclared the same day. Elect-ions of office-bearers will beconducted within three daysfrom date of declaration ofresults.
The State has 906 PACSs,including 77 in Adilabad dis-trict, 125 in Karimnagar, 97 inKhammam, 76 in Mahabubna-gar, 111 in Medak, 110 in Nalg-onda, 144 in Nizamabad, 68 inRanga Reddy and 98 PACSs inWarangal district. The term ofthe previous PACS body endedin February 2018. They havebeen functioning under spe-cial officers, whose term willbe end on February 28.
PERFORM ORPERISH, KTR
WARNS COUNCILDC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
TRS working president K.T.Rama Rao on Thursdaywarned newly-elected council-lors and corporators that thegovernment would not spareanyone found will-fully delay-ing issuing permits for con-struction of buildings.
Interacting with them at theTelangana Bhavan, he said, “Ifsomeone is constructing ahouse on a street, the first toreach the spot are the officersand councillors demandingthe owners for their cut. Thisculture has to stop. If you arenot able to come out of thispractice, then Chief MinisterK. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR)is in no mood to accept anydefence and explanations.”
Reminding that he hadalready asked every candidatebefore the elections to readand understand the newMunicipal Act and then getinto the elections, Mr RamaRao told them, “If you commita mistake, you are bound tolose your position. Although,92 per cent of municipalitiesare with TRS, there is no ques-tion of differentiating anyoneon party lines. All peoplebelong to us.”
Telling them not to commitmistakes and bring shame tothe party, he made it clear thathe will not heed to anyMinisters or MLAs recom-mendations seeking to forgivecorporators or councillorscommitting mistakes. He saidthat they have to be sacked.Mr Rama Rao called for cre-ation of urban infrastructureduring their tenure withoutresorting to corrupt practices.He invited suggestions fromthe new chairpersons andcouncillors on improving theAct and urban infrastructure.
The working president said,“There are engineers and evenIT professionals, who wonmunicipal elections. There isa young lady preparing forIAS exams, who got elected asa councillor.”
Remembrance
Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, along with others, paying floral tribute toMahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary at Bapu Ghat in Hyderabad onThursday. — S. SURENDER REDDY
TRS got ‘welfare votes’S.N.C.N. ACHARYULU II DDCHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
It has become a habit forthe people to vote for TRSin every election since2014. The Congress andthe BJP have both beenclaiming that they arealternatives to the TRSbut in the recent munici-pal elections they failedto match the ruling party.In fact, the TRS got morevotes than the two partiestogether.
In the municipal electio-ns, the TRS got 42.15 percent vote share, the Con-gress 21.7 and the BJP got14.4 per cent vote share.The remaining Theremaining 21.75 per centwas shared by rebels andother political partieslike the CPM and the CPI.
In the December 2018Assembly elections, theTRS got 46.9 per cent vot-es, which fell to 41.29 percent in the Lok Sabha ele-ctions in April last year.In the Assembly electio-ns, the Congress and BJPgot 28.4 per cent and 7 percent vote respectively. Bythe time of the Lok Sabhaelections, the Congressvote percentage went upto 29.48 per cent and the
BJP 19.45 per cent.Between the two elec-
tions, the TRS vote sharefell by 5.61 percentagepoints, while those of theCongress and the BJPincreased by 1.07 and12.45 percentage points.In the recent municipalelections, the TRS voteshare went up by about 1per cent, the Congressplunged by about 8 per-centage points and theBJP vote share 5 percent-age points compared tothe Lok Sabha elections.The municipal electionswere held for 120 munici-palities and 10 municipalcorporations, which arebasically urban areas, butthe voting trend showsthe mood of the people.
Senior TRS leaders saidthat welfare schemes tak-en by the state governme-nt had become the back-bone for the ruling partyin the elections. He saidthat the two important sc-hemes, social welfare pe-nsions and Rythu Band-hu, played an importantrole in the elections. The-se schemes appear to bemore popular than devel-opment schemes. Peopleappear to be giving impo-rtance to welfare schemesfrom which they benefit.
Civic poll results show BJPstronger than CongressDC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JULY 1
The voting percentage inthe recent municipalelections shows that theBJP is better placed thanthe Congress to fight theTRS in the GreaterHyderabad MunicipalCorporation (GHMC).
The results of the civicelections showed that the BJP is stronger in the municipal corpora-tions whereas theCongress is stronger inthe municipalities. Boththese parties are, howev-er, a long way behind theTRS.
In the civic elections,the TRS got 44 per centvote share in the 120municipalities and 36.7per cent in the 10 munici-pal corporations. TheCongress won 23.5 percent votes in the munici-palities and 14.9 per centin the municipal corpora-tions. The BJP got 12.5per cent votes in themunicipalities but in themunicipal corporationsit won 21.5 per cent of thevotes.
If the trend continuesin the GHMC elections,the BJP will get the upperhand over the Congress.To the advantage of the
BJP, it has MP, Unionminister of state forhome G. Kishan Reddy,and one legislator, T. RajaSingh. All CongressMLAs in the GHMC limits have joined theTRS.
Compared to otherareas of the state,Hyderabad is more com-munally sensitive. TheBJP can be expected touse the Hindutva cardagainst the MIM which is strong in the Old City.The MIM is friends with the TRS and thiswill be harped on by the BJP for political gain.
In the 2016 GHMC elec-
tions, the TRS won 99divisions out of 150, theMIM 44, BJP four,Congress two and theTelugu Desam one. TheTRS wants to retain itshold on the GHMC andthe BJP will find it verydifficult to win a majori-ty.
In the 2016 GHMC elec-tions, the BJP had fivelegislators in the GHMClimits but could win onlyfour divisions. At thesame time, it must benoted that the TRS got fewer votes in themunicipal corporationsthan in the municipali-ties in the recent elec-tions.
Uttam slams BJPand TRS alliance
BJP demands inquiryinto TRS’ power misuseDC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Seeking the interven-tion of Governor DrTamilisai Soundar-arajan in protecting theConstitution, the stateBJP demanded a high-level inquiry into theirregularities, misuse ofpower and violation ofconstitutional norms bythe TRS in recently heldcivic body elections.
A delegation led bystate BJP president DrK. Laxman met theGovernor at Raj Bhavanand submitted a memo-randum detailing the
alleged irregularities,misuse of officialmachinery and uncon-stitutional and undemo-cratic methods used bythe TRS.
The state BJP leadersare likely to visit Delhiand submit a memoran-
dum to President RamNath Kovind and Vice-President M. VenkaiahNaidu on theThukkuguda munici-pality case, which theparty lost despite hav-ing the numbers.
Addressing the mediaat Raj Bhavan, DrLaxman said the partyhad urged the Governorto seek an explanationfrom the TRS govern-ment. He alleged theTRS had distribution ofcrores of rupees to lurevoters and did not giveany heed to the com-plaints lodged byOpposition parties.
DC CCORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Telangana Pradesh Cong-ress Committee presidentMP N. Uttam Kumar Reddyexpressed deep concernover the BJP and the TRSnot following the teachingsof Mahatma Gandhi of tr-uth, peace and secularism.
Speaking on the 72nd mar-tyrdom day of MahatmaGandhi at Gandhi Bhavanon Thursday, he said BJPhas no moral right to paytribute to Mahatma Gandhi.He said that the BJP takesout Sankalp Yatra to expr-ess its love for Gandhi whileon the other hand its lead-ers praise Nathuram Godse.
He condemned the BJP fortrying to extract politicalgains out of MahatmaGandhi while ignoring hisideals and teachings.
Mr Reddy alleged that theBJP and MIM were havingunderstanding to gain polit-ical mileage by dividingpeople on communal lines.
He said that the incidentsof violence and the result ofthe Bhainsa municipalityelections were a clear exam-ple of how these parties we-re making political gains bycreating communal divide.
He said that TRS was partof the secret alliancebetween BJP and MIM. TheTRS is having an under-standing with the BJP at theCentre while it is sailingwith MIM in Telanganastate. He said the TRS-BJP-MIM trio were cheating thepeople to extract politicalbenefits. Paying rich tributeto Mahatma Gandhi, he saidthat the Congress was fol-lowing his teachings tobring justice and equality.
PERCENTAGE GGAMESVoting iin ccivic ppolls iis rrevealing
Polls TRS Congress BBJPMunicipalities 44 23.5 12.5Corporations 36.7 14.9 21.5Overall 42.1 21.7 14.4
Elections (Vote %%)TRS Congress BJP
Assembly 2018 45.9 28.41 7Lok Sabha 2019 41.29 29.48 19.45Municipal 2020 42.1 21.7 14.4
IREDDY SSRINIVAS REDDY II DDCHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
In the wake of the allegedattacks on BJP MPs in thestate, the Union home min-istry is said to be planningto provide them securityusing central securityforces. This is based onintelligence agencies aboutthe threat to the MPs.
It is said that the MPswere not feeling securewith the security providedby the state government.
Recently, Karimnagar MPBandi Sanjay Kumar sur-rendered his securitydetail, alleging that Karim-nagar police commissioner
V.B. Kamalasan Reddy hadgiven a report that stone-pelting did not take placeduring Mr Sanjay’s civicpolls campaign. Mr Sanjaysaid he did not need securi-ty from the state police asnone had stopped the stone-pelting.
It is learned that the intel-ligence agencies inquiredinto the allegations andfound that stone-pelting didtake place and stones fell onMr Sanjay and a police con-stable.
Nizamabad BJP MP D.Arvind had claimed thatwhen he was campaigningfor the municipal elections,an attack was planned onhim and his supporterswere targeted and attacked.
Adilabad MP S. Bapu Raois leading a movement toprotect the rights of Adiva-sis living in the forest areasand is fighting against thestate government. As mostof his Lok Sabha constitue-ncy is located in the forests,the intelligence agencieshave given a report to theCentre to increase securityfor him as well. Sources clo-se to the agencies haveshared that the MHA isthinking of providing secu-
rity for the three BJP MPsfrom the Central ReservePolice Force.
Mr Sanjay had even com-plained to the Lok SabhaSpeaker and the privilegescommittee that he was atta-cked during the funeral pr-ocession of an RTC employ-ee who had died during thestaff strike late last year.
The intelligence agenciesare said to have given areport to the privilege com-mittee that the state policewas rude towards the MP.Priveleges committee islikely to hold a meeting andadvise the state govern-ment to take action on onthe police personnelinvolved in the incident.
Threat scares BJPMPs in TSMHA is planning to provide CRPF officials for MPsDANGER | RADAR
■ ■ MPS WWERE not feelingsecure with the securityprovided by the state government
Despite claiming to be alternatives, Cong, BJP failed to match TRS
■ ■ DR LLAXMAN submit-ted a memorandum toGovernor detailing thealleged irregularities,misuse of officialmachinery and uncon-stitutional and undemo-cratic methods used bythe TRS
■ ■ IN TTHE 2016 GHMC elections, the BJP hadfive legislators in the GHMC limits but couldwin only four divisions. At the same time, itmust be noted that the TRS got fewer votesin the municipal corporations than in themunicipalities in the recent elections.
PAGE
6CityFRIDAY | 31 JANUARY 2020 | HYDERABADDECCAN CHRONICLE
Going UAEKTR receives invitation from theUAE government to attend theAnnual Investments Meeting-2020
FROM AP
4 YOUTH RAPE14-YEAR-OLD
BOY IN OWKDC CCORRESPONDENTKURNOOL , JAN. 30
In a shocking incident, a 14-year-old boy was sexuallyassaulted by four youths atOwk village and the incidentwas filmed. The four allegedattackers warned him that theywould make the clip public ifhe talks about it with anyone.
The incident occurred onJanuary 21 but came to lighton Wednesday, said Owk subinspector Srikanth Reddy.
According to the SI, the fourattackers, aged between 22 and24 years, lured the boy into alocal Telugu Desam office inthe town with dinner. Laterthey tortured him sexuallyand put a stick in his rectum.The boy escaped from thembut did not tell anyone.
However, after suffering frompain and bleeding, he narratedthe ordeal to his parents whotook him to a local medicalpractitioner and lodged a com-plaint with the police.
Police booked a case againstagainst the four persons, BulletRaju, Prem Kumar, Raju andSunil, for having carnal inter-course against the order ofnature with the minor boyunder Section 377 of the IndianPenal Code and also the underPOCSO Act. The police tookinto custody two persons andstarted a manhunt for anothertwo.
All I care is price of groceries DC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Dharam Singh moved froma small village in Nepal toHyderabad in 1996. In thepast two decades, he hasbuilt a life for himself inHyderabad. He works as awatchman and does vari-ous odd- obs for the resi-dents of an apartment com-plex in
He and his family arebarely get by. Mr Singhcouldn’t care less about theBudget. In chaste Telugu,he said, “I don’t know howthe Budget affects me. All Icare about is the price ofmy groceries and my chil-dren’s education.”
Mr Singh works as theman Friday for the apart-ment’s residents. Whenthere is repair or construc-tion work, he is tasked withsupervising it. He makes alittle extra upon cleaningthe residents’ cars everymorning. His wife, MsShashikala, works as adomestic help. Together,they bring in around`20,000 a month. “In thelast five years, the prices ofall vegetables and grainshave gone up. Earlier wecould buy rice at just `25,now we have to spend `40,”he said. Mr Singh said thatit has been months sincethe family ate onions andtomatoes.
Recently, they boughtsome onions but they haveto ration the use, to half anonion a day. “If anything, Iwant the government tobring down the prices ofvegetables and food items.It seems their prices areincreasing every month. Atthe end of the month, we
rarely have any savingsleft,” he said.
Singh and Shashikalahave three children –Rajesh, 18, Rahul, 15, andBharat, 12. Rajesh couldn’tpursue higher studies sincethe family didn’t haveenough money when he wasgrowing up. He moved outof the home and recentlystarted working at a restau-rant. Rahul, has specialneeds and had to drop out ofschool a few years ago. Thecouple has set all its hopeson Rahul, a seventh stan-dard student, studying at aprivate school. The familyspends over `70,000 a yearon his education. Mr Singhlaments that education hasbecome expensive.
“Bharat studied in a near-by government school for ayear but the quality of edu-cation was really bad. Hewasn’t learning anything.That’s when we decided tomove him to a privateschool,” he said. He hopesthat the government willmake education cheaper forhim.
Every month, the couplesets aside some money fortheir youngest son’s educa-tion. This money is nottouched, even during emer-gencies.
During emergencies,medical or otherwise, theyborrow. Despite theCentre’s push for the prolif-eration of banking servic-es, Mr Singh has neverbeen able to borrow from abank. He depends on loansharks who charge exorbi-tant interest rates. He isstill paying off loans hetook many years ago. Oneshort-term loan was madeat a five-rupee monthlyinterest, translating to 60per cent annually. Indeed,being poor can be expen-sive. “The money we makeis not sufficient. I can’teven use a bike because Ican’t spend money onpetrol. I use buses for trans-port but even the ticketshave become very expen-sive lately. I don’t know ifthe government even caresabout our problems,” MrSingh said
Budget should giveimpetus to start-upsFamily with over `10 crore income wants GST tweaked
Migrant with `20K income wants low school fix
ADITYA CCHUNDURU II DDCHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
As chairman of a con-glomerate based in thecity, Mr TipirneniSeshagiri Rao is lookingforward to the budgetwith cautious optimism.Rao believes that manysectors of the economyare bogged down due to aslowdown. He hopes theBudget will address theseissues. Mr Rao’s SentiniGroup has recorded rev-enues of over ̀ 2,000 crore.
One of Mr Rao’s biggestgrouses with the govern-ment is corporate tax.“The rates are too high. Itis a burden to most busi-nesses. The multination-als can still bear it butsmall and medium onescannot,” he said. Rao alsosaid the GST regime hadmore of a negative impactthan a positive one. “Thetax rate on some goods isas astronomical as 28 percent. This should not bethe case. We need unifor-mity,” he said.
Mr Rao became anentrepreneur two decadesago, when he was 56. Hesays he knows what abusiness needs to suc-
ceed. “Start-ups need tobe given a boost. The gov-ernment’s schemes forthis are not enough. Forinstance, the MUDRAloans given to micro andsmall enterprises are verylittle amounts. Also, theydon’t check the borrow-er’s credit-worthiness.Start-ups need betteraccess to credit,” he said.Mr Rao also felt that start-ups need to be givenlonger tax holidays.
Indeed, the Tipirnenifamily’s empire is quitelarge. His son Srinivasheads an IT companybased in the USA. One ofhis two daughters, Ms
Padma, runs a hospital inVijayawada while theother, Ms Jaya, is involvedin running other compa-nies of the group.
As an employer, Mr Raosaid, the governmentcould be better to hisemployees. “Employeesshould be exempted frompaying their salary forProvident Fund. Weemployers should contin-ue to contribute butinstead of the employee,it should be the govern-ment that contributes toemployees’ PF,” he said.
Rao hoped the budgetwould give impetus topublic spending. “A year
ago, India was touted tobe the world’s fastestmajor economy. However,in the last year, smallereconomies like Vietnamand Bangladesh have reg-istered a better growth. If,as a country, we want tocome back on the desiredgrowth track, a strongimpetus is the need of thehour,” he said. He saidthe Budget should aim atcreating jobs, increasespending on infrastruc-ture to jumpstart con-sumption. “We should bewilling to sacrifice on fis-cal deficit targets forshort term to pull up theeconomy,” Mr Rao said.
CHIEF SECYSDISCUSS PENDING ISSUESDC CCORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JAN. 30
Chief secretariesNeelam Sawhney of APand Somesh Kumar ofTelangana state methere on Thursday anddiscussed issues relatedto Schedule 9 and 10institutions under theAP Reorganisation Act.
During the last meet-ing of CMs of the Telugustate , it was decided thatthe Chief Secretarieswill meet and try toresolve the issues.
MANUU HOLDSPROGRAMME FORENTREPRENEURSHyderabad, Jan. 30: TheIndustrial Training Insti-tute, MANUU is conductingone week Entrepreneur-ship Development Programunder PMYUVA scheme incollaboration with Associa-tion of Lady Entrepreneur(ALEAP), Hyderabad.
— INN
Sentini Group founder Tipirneni Seshagiri Rao and his family
Mr Dharam Singh and his family clicks a selfie
Not all of Centre’s fixes foreconomy were effective
T.S.S. SSIDDHARTH || DCHYDERABAD, JAN. 30
With just hours left beforethe presentation of theBudget, those earning over`50 lakh annually are hope-ful that the Budget wouldboost the country’s dwin-dling economy.
Speaking to DeccanChronicle, one such person,who earns close to `50 lakhper annum, Anil Guptasaid, “The economy is on adownslide and the GDPgrowth rate is going down.It is not growing as fast aswe expected it to.”
He recalled that PrimeMinister Narendra Modihad said that the countrywould turn into a five tril-lion dollar economy by2024. “In order to do so, we
have to grow at 14 per cent,but we are currently grow-ing at a rate of 6 per cent.This is a matter of con-cern,” he said.
Speaking about healthemergencies, he said: “Thecompany I was employedwith, earlier, provided uswith insurance cover. But,
now I pay using a card.”He, however, has not
applied for any new loans,be it for his house or vehi-cle. “There are certain sug-gestions that politician-economist SubramanianSwamy had written in hisbook. Since I am a greatbeliever of the man, hissuggestions could sway theeconomy. I would say thatfinance minister NirmalaSitharaman is trying toprovide measures but notall of them have been effec-tive,” he rued.
For the betterment of theeconomy, he said, that thegovernment must simplifythe personal income-taxprocedure. “Only those whohave an earning of `10 lakhand above should be taxedten per cent,” he said.
Family with `50 lakh annual income wants incometax only for people earning `10 lakh and above
BUDGET WATCH
PAGE
7NationFRIDAY | 31 JANUARY 2020 | HYDERABADDECCAN CHRONICLE
No CAA in ChhattisgarhThe Bhupesh Baghel Cabinet in Chhattisgarh,passed a resolution against the CAA, terming it‘discriminatory’, and urged the Centre to scrap it
SHORT TAKES
KAFEEL KHANFEELS HE WILL BE
‘ENCOUNTERED’Mumbai, Jan. 30: Child spe-cialist Dr Kafeel Khan, arrest-ed for allegedly makinginflammatory statements atthe AMU during protestsagainst the CAA last month,on Thursday raised apprehen-sion in a court here aboutbeing killed in an “encounter”by the Uttar Pradesh police.
Dr Khan expressed theapprehension when he wasproduced in a court in subur-ban Bandra by the UP policefor seeking his transitremand. He was arrested onWednesday night from theMumbai airport in a jointoperation by the UttarPradesh Special Task Forceand the city police when hearrived to attend anti-CAAprotests in the metropolis, anofficial said.
He was produced in thecourt, which sent him inthree- day transit remand, hislawyers said.
According to his lawyers, DrKhan claimed in the court thathe has been “falsely” implicat-ed in the case by the UP police.
He told the court “there is achance that he will be killed inan encounter if transit(remand) is given”, and insist-ed that he be kept in Mumbai,his lawyers said. — PTI
1,615 NFDB MEN SURRENDER, GET
MODI’S PATMANOJ AANAND || DDCGUWAHATI, JAN. 30
In what has brought an end tothree-decade-old armed con-flict in Western Assam, 1,615cadres of three NationalDemocratic Front of Bodoland(NDFB) factions on Thursdaylaid down arms before AssamChief Minister SarbanandaSonowal and his finance min-ister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The NDFB factions hadsigned a tripartite peaceaccord with the governmenton Monday (January 27) inNew Delhi. The powerful AllBodo Students Union presi-dent Pramod Boro and seniorIntelligence Bureau officerTapan Deka played the keyrole in persuading the armedrebel groups to join the mainstream.
Welcoming the cadres — 836of the NDFB-Progressive, 579of the NDFB-Ranjan Daimaryfaction and 200 of theNDFB(S) led by B Saoraigwra— to join mainstream, MrSonowal said that he was con-fident that the move willinspire others, who were yet togive up arms, to come togetherand work for ‘Team Assam’.
Meanwhile, in New Delhi,Prime Minister NarendraModi said, “I welcome deci-sion of my Bodo friends forleaving violence and reposingfaith in democracy andConstitution,” said Mr Modiin a series of tweets.
SC STAYS HCPROCEEDINGSAGAINST KANI
PARMOD KKUMAR || DDCNEW DELHI, JAN. 30
In a relief to DMK leaderKanimozhi Karunanidhi, theSupreme Court on Thursdayput on hold the proceedingsbefore the Madras High Courtchallenging her elections tothe Lok Sabha fromThoothukudi constituency.
A bench comprising ChiefJustice S.A. Bobde, JusticeB.R. Gavai and Justice SuryaKant stayed the proceedingsbefore the high court as senioradvocate P. Wilson told thecourt that though the matteris pending before the top courtbut the high court has saidthat Ms Kanimozhi was seek-ing adjournments for “pro-longing the adjudication” ofthe matter before it.
The high court had noted thatMs Kanimozhi has soughtrepeated adjournments for fil-ing the written statement andthe time permissible under theCode of Civil Procedure hadlapsed and she was givenanother four weeks time.
Mr Wilson told the court thatthe high court in the last hear-ing of the matter has givenanother one week’s time to filewritten statement. Mr Wilsonwas assisted by advocateJoseph Aristotle.
As the lawyer appearing forthe opposite party objected tothe stay of the proceedings,CJI Bobde asked him to makea statement that he would notinsist on written statement byMs Kanimozhi before the highcourt.
Oppn plan to corner govt in ParlDC CCORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, JAN. 30
With the Budget Session ofParliament starting onFriday, Opposition partieswill meet over the week-end to chalk out a jointstrategy. Various partieshave already held individ-ual strategy meets andwill meet to evolve a jointstrategy to corner the gov-ernment on key issues,according to sources.
These issues include theprotests over the amendedCitizenship Act, price riseand inflation besides thepoor state of the economyand rising unemployment.
The Congress, the princi-pal opposition party, isreaching out to other par-ties to evolve a commonstrategy. The key focus ofthe opposition is going tobe unemployment, eco-nomic slowdown and theCAA protests.
Congress leader RahulGandhi has been holdingrallies in states and high-lighting the economicissues facing the country.The Congress has alsobeen holding detailedbriefings on economicconditions prevailingacross several sectors.
The main demand of theOpposition is expected to
be that the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi speak onthe economy inParliament. Mr. Gandhihad also said that both thePrime Minister andfinance minister NirmalaSitharaman have no clueon how to mend the econo-my.
The Opposition will alsodemand a discussion onthe situation prevailing inJammu and Kashmir andthe detention of formerchief ministers of thestate.
Meanwhile, barely a dayafter patching up with theBJP for the DelhiAssembly elections, the
Shiromani Akali Dal onThursday took on the gov-ernment over the CAAand the NRC, saying thatsuch legislations whichwould “hurt citizens andminorities should not bepassed like this”.
At an all-party meetingcalled by the Centre aheadof the Budget Session ofParliament, Akali RajyaSabha MP BalwinderSingh Bhunder is learnt tohave said: “You cannotpass a legislation like thiswhich would hurt citizensand minorities”.
It might be recalled thatwhile the Akalis had votedin favour of the Bill.
PEN-GAURIAWARD FORYUSUF JAMEELDC CCORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, JAN. 30
Yusuf Jameel, a seniorreporter working inDeccan Chronicle basedout of Srinagar was cho-sen for and awarded the2019-2020 PEN-GauriLankesh Award forDemocratic Idealism forhis pioneering work andfearless journalism inJammu and Kashmir.
In its citation for MrJameel, the jury panelsaid, “The 2019-2020PEN-Gauri LankeshAward for democraticidealism is awarded toYusuf Jameel. His workin journalism shows anexemplary commitmentto professional integrityand ideals of democracy.Starting his career as ajournalist with Aftab,Srinagar-based Urdudaily, in early 1980s, hehas worked for variousnewspapers and mediaagencies since, includ-ing The Telegraph, BBC,Reuters, Time, Voice ofAmerica and The AsianAge. In the context ofrising insurgency in theKashmir Valley in lateeighties and ninetiesand very complex con-flict scenario that hasevolved since, his workas a reporter pioneeredfearless and candid jour-nalism in Jammu andKashmir. As a print andradio journalist workingin both Urdu andEnglish languages forover three and a halfdecades, his work showsa deep level of socialengagement and con-cern and has con-tributed immensely tothe traditions of fair andcourageous reportage.”
The members of theaward jury includedChandan Gowda,Vinutha Mallya andAsiya Zahoor. PENSouth India and PENDelhi have instituted theannual PEN-GauriLankesh Award forDemocratic Idealism tocherish idealism andcommitment of GauriLankesh, assassinatedjournalist and activist.The award is offered toan individual or organi-sation whose workreflects an abiding pas-sion and couragetowards advancing dem-ocratic culture in India.
Offered annually onbirth anniversary ofGauri Lankesh, it car-ries a citation and a cashprize of `1 lakh.
UK SAYS NOTIN 15-NATIONTOUR OF J&KSRIDHARKUMARASWAMI || DDCNEW DELHI, JAN. 30
British High Commissi-oner to India Sir Domi-nic Asquith on Thurs-day said his country hasput in a “standing requ-est” to the Indian Gover-nment for British diplo-mats to visit Jammu andKashmir but clarified, inresponse to a question,that permission had notbeen given so far in thepast few months by NewDelhi.
In response to a ques-tion, he also said Britainhad not been invited tobe part of the 15-mem-ber foreign envoys’ dele-gation that visited J&Kearlier this month. Onprotests in India regard-ing the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA),he referred to the factthat “together with all,development for all andtrust of all (sabka saath,sabka vikas, sabka vish-was) has been the statedobjective of the Naren-dra Modi Government,adding, “I trust that it(the Indian Govern-ment) will be addressingthe concerns that havebeen expressed" onCAA.
Sir Dominic is return-ing to Britain after com-pleting his tenure asHigh Commissioner.
Students try to breach the police barricading during their protest march against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens, near Jamia Millia Islamiauniversity in New Delhi, on Thursday. — PTI
BJP’s Delhi poll ally Akali Dal slams government, says CAA, NRC hurt minorities
NOOSE | DELAYED Curative pleas by rape convicts in Supreme Court holding up executions
Hangman for Nirbhaya accused arrives at TiharDC CCORRESPONDENTwith aagency iinputsNEW DELHI, JAN 30
Pawan Jallad, a hangmanfrom the Meerut Prison,reported to the Tihar Jailadministration onThursday, two days aheadof the Nirbhaya case con-victs' scheduled execution,officials said.
They said Pawan, a third-generation hangman, willbe staying on the jailpremises and check thestrength of rope and otherrelated things on Friday.
The four convicts in thegruesome gang-rape-and-murder case are scheduledto be hanged on February1, but their execution isunlikely to happen as one
of them filed a mercy peti-tion before the Presidenton Wednesday whileanother moved a curative
plea before the SupremeCourt.
The 23-year-old physio-therapy intern, who cameto be known as ‘Nirbhaya,’the fearless one, was gang-raped and brutally assault-ed on the night ofDecember 16, 2012, in amoving bus in SouthDelhi. She died of herinjuries a fortnight later ata hospital in Singapore.
One of the six accused inthe case, Ram Singh,allegedly committed sui-cide in Tihar jail in 2013. Ajuvenile, who was amongthe accused, was convictedby a juvenile justice boardand was released from areformation home afterserving a three-year term.
European House tovote on CAA in MarDC CCORRESPONDENTwith aagency iinputsNEW DELHI/LONDON, JAN. 30
With the European Parlia-ment having postponeduntil March a vote on ajoint motion criticisingthe CAA, India onThursday said it hasnoted a clarification putout by the EuropeanCommission that “theopinion expressed by theEuropean Parliament andits members do not repre-sent the official positionof the European Union(EU)”.
New Delhi said it would
“continue to engage withthe MEPs (Members ofEuropean Parliament)and other stakeholders”on the matter. This comesat a time when India andthe EU are in talks to holdthe 15th India-EU Summitat Brussels that is expect-ed to be attended byPrime Minister NarendraModi.
The European Parliam-ent on Wednesday decid-ed to take up the votingagainst the CAA duringits new session beginningMarch 2.
The debate had openedon Wednesday.
Our duty is to fighthatred, says Rahul
Cop says Jamia shooter is juvenileFROM PPAGE 11
Saying that he was a juve-nile, Delhi police officialssaid the attacker cannotbe named. While beingtaken away, he shouted:“Delhi Police zindabad(Long live Delhi Police)”.
“By the time the policecould react, the personalready fired. Everythinghappened in seconds. Theinvestigation is on and thecase has been transferredto the crime branch,” spe-cial CP (intelligence)Praveer Ranjan told thisnewspaper. “We are inves-tigating whether he is ajuvenile or not.” Thepolice has also seized hisAadhaar card, whichshows he was born onApril 18, 2002.
Soon after the shooting,the locality was heavilybarricaded and trafficdiverted from all roadsnear the area. As nightfell, massive protestsbroke out with agitatedstudents clashing withpolice personnel. Somedemonstrators, includinga woman, could be seenbeing forcibly taken away.Many sang the nationalanthem.
As tension spiralled inthe area, Union home min-ister Amit Shah said hehad ordered stringentaction in the shootingincident and “the culpritwill not be spared”.
Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal alsourged the home ministerto take care of the “deteri-orating” law and order sit-uation in Delhi.
The incident comesagainst the backdrop ofhate speeches during the
campaign for theFebruary 8 Delhi election;Union minister AnuragThakur was caught oncamera encouraging theslogan “Desh Ke GaddaroKo, Goli Maaro S***** Ko(Shoot the traitors)” at anelection rally.
The teenager is fromUttar Pradesh’s Jewar,near Delhi. He had gonelive on Facebook minutesbefore he drew out hisgun. Videos on hisFacebook timeline showed
him walking around inthe crowded road — thevenue of the protest —with a red backpack. Hisprevious posts seemed toindicate that he had comeprepared for the conse-quences of his action. “Onmy last journey, take medraped in saffron andshout slogans of Jai ShriRam,” one of them inHindi read. Another morethreatening post read:“Shaheen Bagh, GameOver”, referring to a mas-sive protest against thecitizenship law.
A Jamia Millia student,who witnessed the terrify-ing incident, said: “Wewere standing near thebarricades when suddenlythis outsider, whom noneof us recognised, tried todisturb the peace of themarch. He marches for-ward with a revolver inhis hand. We were all try-ing to stop him and calmhim down. The policemenwere standing there. Wetried to approach them tostop that guy. But they justkept standing there sim-ply. When we tried to takethe revolver from hishand, he shot one of ourfriends.”
Yusuf JJameel
Fast-paced developments in SCFROM PPAGE 11
The day witnessed fast-paced development withthe counsel for Vinay,Akshay, and Pawan rush-ing to a trial court seekingstay on their executionssaying legal remedies ofsome of them are yet to beavailed.
Special Judge A.K. Jainposted the matter for hear-ing in the post-lunch ses-sion after a five-judgebench of the apex court inthe afternoon rejected thecurative plea of Akshay,saying “no case is madeout” and also declined to
stay his execution.Hours after the apex
court development, thetrial judge issued notice tothe Tihar jail authoritiesseeking their response onthe plea by three convicts,which the prosecutionsaid was a “mockery ofjustice” and was only a“delaying tactic.”
All eyes would be in thetrial court on Friday, whenthe matter would be takenup for hearing at 10. TheDelhi prison rules statethat none of the four con-victs in the same case canbe hanged before the lastone has exhausted all legal
options, including themercy plea.
The apex court guide-lines also stipulate thatconvicts cannot be hangeduntil 14 days after theirmercy plea has beenrejected by the President.
The trial court, onJanuary 17, had issuedblack warrants for the sec-ond time for execution ofall the four convicts—Mukesh (32), Pawan (25),Vinay (26), and Akshay(31)—in Tihar jail at 6.00am on February 1.
The court had, earlier onJanuary 7, fixed January22 as the hanging date.
Shahdab Farooq, a student of the Jamia Millia Islamiauniversity, injured after an unidentified person allegedlyopened fire during an anti-CAA protest, is assisted to ahospital in New Delhi, on Thursday. — PTI
FROM PPAGE 11
“Who is Narendra Modito ask if I am an Indian?Who has given him thelicence to decide who isIndian and who is not anIndian? I am an Indianand I don’t need to proveit to anybody and thereare 1.3 billion people whoneed not prove to thesepeople that they areIndians,” he said.
“Our duty is to fighttheir hatred. Our duty isto confront them peace-fully. We don’t believe inviolence. We believe inlove and affection. Wewill defeat them with loveand affection,” he said.
Mr Gandhi said whenMr Modi is asked what hehas done about the econo-my and unemployment,the Prime Minister sud-denly distracts the coun-try.”
The Congress leadersaid today if one goes tothe US or Western Europeand ask people there whatthey think about India,they would say India haslost its way.
India used to show theworld how a great coun-try behaves. There aremany languages and dif-ferent religions but allworking towards onegoal. Today when theylook at India they find itis at war within itself.People are locked up forsaying what they believe.Thinkers like M.M.Kalburgi and GauriLankesh were shot,women are being rapedevery single day. Theunemployment rate is thehighest in 45 years andgrowth rate has plummet-ed to 4.5 from 9.5. There isno future for youngsters,”Mr Gandhi said.
■ ■ OFFICIALSsaid Pawan,a third-gen-eration hang-man, will bestaying onthe jail prem-ises andcheck thestrength ofrope and other relatedthings on Friday.
■ ■ THE convicts werescheduled to be hangedon February 1, but it isunlikely to happen
