When Kawasi Hidme, a young adivasi woman from Sukma, Bastar district, Chhattisgarh, was released after eight years in Dantewada jail as an undertrial on false charges, her lawyer told her that Bastar’s IG, SRP Kalluri had ordered all his men to look for any case in any thana with the name Hidme on it. Allegedly, the name was all he needed to send her back in jail, on the very day she got out.

Hidme’s story is one that encapsulates the war on adivasis that seems to be going on in parts of India, where adivasi communities are slowly being driven out of their lands and forests. And Kalluri plays a big part in that, given his alleged involvement in assaults, murders, kidnappings. Hidme was picked up when she was 15, shuttled between thanas in Sukma, Dantewada, Bhansi, beaten relentlessly, raped, and after eight years acquitted when the charges of ‘naxal activities’ against her proved false. In jail, Hidme befriended adivasi activist Soni Sori, who has also borne the brunt of state brutality, and post her acquittal has been staying with, which is how she could be in New Delhi on Tuesday, accompanied by Sori and the latter’s nephew Linga Kodopi, to tell the mainstream press just what has happened to her and countless other women at the hands of the police. A writ petition with her video testimony is also being prepared to present in the Supreme Court.

In 2008, on her way to a fair, Hidme was picked up by the police in a case involving the killing of 23 policemen. Senior lawyer, Vrinda Grover, part of the panel that spoke on Tuesday, said that the initial FIR did not have Hidme’s name in it’s long list of suspects. Her name was added five months later. Hidme says that it was given by a woman from her village was had been with the Salwa Judum. On arrest, she was taken to the local thana, then to Dantewada thana, and the next day to Bhansi thana. There, in Bhansi, she was kept tied, blindfolded, her sari and gold ornaments were taken away. She was raped by the policemen and then beaten for six days relentlessly. “It was only when they realised I was going to die, did they give me some water,” said Hidme.

She was hit on the head, her body swelled up so much so she could barely walk, and, she narrated, she was left only in her petticoat, without a sheet to cover herself with or lie down on. She was tortured by electric shocks. “Only when she was sent back to Sukma, was she given her clothes. The policemen there helped get her treated but warned her to not tell the magistrate she had been beaten if she ever wanted to go home. She was not the only one by far. Numerous other women were and are systematically abused in jails, said Hidme, who came across cases similar to hers behind bars.

For years, Hidme was transferred between the Raipur and the Jagdalpur jail, her health deteriorated rapidly, with multiple operations required to treat her. Getting each operation was a task, by her account, as often jail authorities would say they didn’t have enough guards on duty to the hospital.

Grover told the press that this excuse, of a lack of armed guards is also used to make undertrials miss their dates in courts, which is why their cases stretch on for years.

“The actual conviction rate in Chhattisgarh for undertrials is 1 per cent to 3 per cent. A majority of cases are then proved to be false,” said Grover. She added, “one the police puts the tag of a ‘naxal case’, which is not a legal term, on a person, they can carry out any sort of extraordinary treatment without anyone questioning them. Right now, Chhattisgarh’s jails are the most overcrowded according to NCRB data, 260 per cent over crowded.”

On her acquittal, Hidme was received by Sori at the Dantewada jail. However Sori was first stopped by a strange man who insisted he had been sent by Hidme’s family to collect her. By the time Sori stalled him, went inside to bring Hidme out, the man had disappeared. Neither Hidme, nor anyone in her family knows who he is.

The involvement of Salwa Judum in such cases is especially pertinent given talks of its return. This, according to all activists on the panel, has frightened villagers, who are certain they will not survive a return of those horrific years.

Activist Arundhati Roy pointed out that all this is driven by the agenda to acquire land for industrialisation, that adivasis inhabit. She was backed in her claim by activist Himanshu Kumar, driven out of Bastar by state forces, who said that Kalluri once told a lawyer that he was doing what he did to get land. “Kalluri told this lawyer that he would shoot people if he had to, but he would not stop,” related Kumar.

This loss of home is perhaps, the most heartbreaking part of Hidme’s story, as she no longer recognises her village, nor does anyone there know her. She lives with Sori for now, eight years have not only robbed her of a physical and emotional strength but her home as well.

“I need to give her strength again,” said Sori, “I want her to fight. Perhaps we can do something for all women who come out of jail but are still unhappy, to be help them get their lives back.” “Who knows,” Sori added, ” perhaps Hidme can become the strongest fighter of us all.”

Religious, archaeological and cultural sites would be reconstructed in five years

Nepal will reconstruct all private and public properties destroyed by the devastating earthquake within two years, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said as he called on citizens, neighbouring countries and migrant workers to lend their helping hands to the government.

A National Reconstruction Fund of Rs. 200 billion would be mobilised to reconstruct the structures that were destroyed by the powerful 7.9-magnitude temblor two weeks ago, Mr. Koirala said addressing the Parliament on Friday.

Presenting the reconstruction programme endorsed by the Cabinet, he said damaged facilities and services such as schools and colleges, health centres, water supply, electricity and government offices would be restored within two years.

Religious, archaeological and cultural sites would be reconstructed in five years, Mr. Koirala said as he called on all Nepalis, neighbouring countries, migrant workers and political parties including the opposition to lend helping hands to the government in the reconstruction effort.

“No Nepali will be left homeless and let fall victim to malnutrition. Let’s unite to confront the national disaster, seizing this opportunity for transformation,” he said.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the country’s worst disaster in over 80 years rose to 7,912 on Saturday, while the number of injured stands at 16,037, according to Nepal Police.

Nearly 2,90,000 buildings were completely destroyed and 2,50,000 were partially damaged in the quake.

Fresh tremor

A fresh tremor also shook Kathmandu and surrounding areas early this morning, triggering panic among the people still reeling under the impact of some 155 aftershocks recorded within the past two weeks.

A 4.1-magnitude quake was recorded by the National Seismological Centre of Nepal at 3.08 am, with epicentre at Rasuwa situated in northeast Kathmandu.

Govt accepts lapses in disaster preparedness

The government admitted several lapses in disaster preparedness and rescue and relief operations though rescue and relief support poured in from different countries, My Republica reported.

Addressing a parliamentary meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bamdev Gautam said: “The disaster was beyond our expectations and unprecedented in scale. So our efforts could not meet the expectations of quake victims on time.”

The government was well aware of the high risk of earthquakes but lacked an adequate number of experts, technology and the skilled manpower for deployment in the field, he said, adding that at the same time it could not make prompt demands from other countries about the requirements.

Mr. Gautam spoke of the need for trained dogs, equipment used in cutting through concrete blocks, cemented walls and metal rods and rescue-friendly helicopters, cranes, excavators, ambulances, fire trucks, boats and other equipment needed for rescue and relief work.

“We could not mobilise the international rescuers because of our inability to match their expertise with our needs,” he said, adding the government could not state the actual needs in time for lack of proper assessment of the losses.

Bandra East, Mumbai- BMC officals were felling tress at Bandra East CTS No 629. SRA Project This are plot no 6 is around the market area and is conspicuously surrounded by tin barricades for more than a year by builder Balaji Shop Keeper for over a year. Inside the barricaded area are a number of trees which BMC officials were all set to cut it off. When the cutting had almost started our reporter S.M.Fanus arrived and inquired as to what was happening. Real News reporter Fanus wanted to click photographs of this tree cutting when suddenly he was pushed and heaved around by these BMC officials. He also came to know that these BMC officals had no official letter for the same. They had no legal paper for it to justified as legal. As the situation was getting out of hand Fanus called the National Civil and Environment Protection NGO and Real news of India Team With help of Maharashtra President Mr Abdul Shaikh and Director Imran they were able to stop the cutting of trees. Real News of India team and National Civil Protection NGO then went to file a complaint to Khedwadi police station. They have assured by Police that the case will be thoroughly investigated and the culprits will be punished. The nexus between Builder and BMC officials has been destroying the little patches of greenery that are left for Mumbaikars to breathe. If it is left in the mercy of such mercenaries Mumbaikars will face serious breathing problems in the next immediate five years.

Garbage Vigilantes Strike Goa – Green Group Makes Polluters Pay                              

 Anjuna,Goa – March 29, 2015: Is it the first real step towards the solving the serious garbage problem in Goa? On March 18, 2015, an independent reporter whose wish is to stay anonymous,  received the following information, including documentary photos, showing what a group calling themselves “Clean Goa Warriors” claims are the first reprisals in their continuing campaign to rid the state of the garbage menace. The night before, the CGW staked out over a dozen locations in North Goa popular with what they call “Social Retards” who by night dump their garbage by the sides of the roads. With upwards of 200 members including Goans of all backgrounds, Indians from nine states and Foreigners representing seventeen countries they caught seven miscreants and decided to make an example of four of them including a Catholic and Muslim from Goa, a Hindu hailing from West Bengal and though he had a Karnataka gardener doing his dirty work Lord Michael Heseltine, British businessman and one time Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.The UK Prime Minister’s office at 10 Downing Street refused any comment though two independent sources have verified that the story, and an interview with Lord Heseltine, was quietly suppressed after a flurry of calls from unnamed government officials. A screen capture of the unfinished exposé was delivered to GoaGreg.com and has been circulating on various social networking sites. The photo shows Heseltine being interviewed on the garbage strewn lawn of the Maldiva Residency, a Dona Paula mansion, owned by Michael DeSouza, a close friend of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Others captured and punished for dumping household trash include family members of wealthy Muslim trader Mahmud Ben Ahmed, patriarch of one of the oldest  Muslim families in Goa, tracing their ancestry back to the time when the Delhi Sultanate invaded Goa in the early 14th century. Their home on the outskirts of Anjuna village was stinking and swarming with flies by high noon after the entrance to the house was blocked by garbage. Ben Ahmed cried vowing to join the Warriors “…in cleaning up the most beautiful state in India.”

Totally unrepentant was Lazarus Mascarenhas of Moira who was caught along with his two sons Joseph and Felipe dumping several large white bags of waste from their “Gorgeous Goa” restaurant. The contents of the bags included all types of unseparated garbage including recyclable glass, plastic, tetrapaks, wet waste and several dead rats. Mr. Mascarenhas is said to have screamed from the second story of his massive, though withering Portuguese house, “I don’t care. My peons will clean it and it’ll be back where it belongs tonight.” He claims to have called the police, but Atmaram Deshpande of the North Goa Superintendent’s office denied they were contacted. None of Mr. Mascarenhas’ neighbors report seeing any men in uniform or representatives of the local government.

The final target of the “Clean Goa Warriors” strike was Nikhil Chakravorti of Kolkata suburb of Salt Lake. Though he was only caught throwing two medium sized plastic bags from his scooter (GA03AA6147) into the Aswem nullah the CGW covered the dunes in front of the beach facing “Blue Guest House” where Mr. Chakravorti is the manager. All guests demanded their money back and moved out before the 10 am checkout. The soft spoken Chakravorti continuously shook his head repeating, “what can we do?” When questioned he replied, “Years we’ve been waiting for the panchayats, but government seems uninterested and soon tourism in Goa will die. People will go where the place is still beautiful.”

In their statement the CGW says, “In times of chaos, when leaders are incapable or unwilling, when selfish, unthinking and shortsighted individuals carelessly act against the greater good of the people and violate our dear Mother Nature, then it is the right, even the duty, of concerned citizens to act against the criminal behavior by wrongdoers and the leaders who have created the failed ecosystem where our future is in danger. Just as the American colonists, by what the British government considered an act of terrorism, declared their freedom by throwing English tea into Boston Harbor, we promise to disturb and distress the dirty

A two day festival “Just-Ice – Law has never been so cool” commenced yesterday at Bandra’s Rizvi Law College. The theme of the festival is “The Earth has Music for those who listen … Save”. The festival is in its 10thyear. It was inaugurated on 25th February by Dr. Naresh Chandra, Acting Vice Chancellor, Mumbai University. Dr. Chandra urged the Academic Community “to deliver results within 15 days after completion of the last exam”. He told the academic community to “come up with 5 best educational reforms to orient students in the next academic year”. He also said the students should feel free to contact him with their grievances. An Open House has been organized on 3rd March at the University’s Examination House to interact with students. Mr. Y.K. Baramatikar, Director, Khadi Village Industries Commission was present along with principals, educationists and student of various colleges.

　　　　Yesterday, a Parliamentary debate was held on the topic of “Is IT (Information Technology) legitimate for environmental campaign groups to use ecological terrorism to achieve their goals”. Panelists judging the debate were H.E. Mr. Pule Malefane, Consul General of South Africa, Adv. Waris Pathan, MLA and Ms. Anjali Damania (AAP). Dr. Daisy Alexander, Principal, Rizvi Law College said “this year’s festival is dedicated to environment and is in sync with Prime Ministers concept of Swach Bharat Abhiyaan. Prof. Sunil John, Vice Principal, said that “this festival was entirely organized by the student community”. Political Science Prof. Al-Nasser Zakaria said “the idea behind the parliamentary debate was to instill a sense of leadership skills in the student fraternity”. Furthermore, he said that “such debates enrich the mind and encourage youngsters to get into the political process thereby increasing the level of political discourse our country desperately needs”.

Street Dance, Street Play, Fashion Show, Poster Making, Photography, Beat Boxing, Box Cricket, Rink Football were organized. Those participating in this festival included students from Government Law College, D.Y. Patil Law College, Ruia College, NMIMS College of Law, Amity College of Law, PGCL, JCCL etc. to mention a few.