New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) A sessions court has upheld the jail term of a man convicted of driving his car in drunken condition, saying he was like a “dead unconscious” man behind the wheels who posed “mortal danger not only to himself but also to all other persons using the road”.

Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal, while dismissing the appeal of Nikhil Shankar, a resident of Karol bagh here, against the two-day jail term awarded to him by a trial court, said, “He was a menace to the public at large” and such conduct must be deprecated.

“The quantum of alcohol content in blood of the convict was very high i.e. 17 times of permissible limit. He, in these circumstances, could be stated to be almost a dead unconscious man behind the wheels who posed a mortal danger not only to himself but also to all other persons using the road.

“He was thus a menace to the public at large. Such type of conduct of appellant/convict must be strongly deprecated and cannot be condoned under any circumstance,” the judge said.

The court refused to show leniency towards Nikhil and said that the fact that he was heavily drunk is itself aggravating circumstance which does not warrant any leniency from court.

“Keeping in view the circumstances in which the present offence was committed, the convict is not entitled to be released on probation of good conduct and thus his plea in this regard is declined,” it said, adding that the trial court had already been lenient by awarding only a two-day jail term.

The court’s decision came on the plea of Nikhil, who was found driving a car in a drunken condition with alcohol content of 524.1 mg per 100 ml blood which was more than the permissible limit of 30 mg per 100 ml blood.

In its May 11 order, the magisterial court had, besides jailing him, imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 and had impounded his driving licence for a year. Nikhil had challenged only the sentence.

In his appeal, he had argued that the trial court had passed a very harsh sentence after convicting him under section 185 (drunken driving) of the Motor Vehicle Act.

Nikhil, who is working as a sales executive in a garment shop, had sought leniency from the sessions court, saying he was a first-time offender and has a two-year-old daughter to look after.

Islamabad, Jul 10 (PTI) Pakistan and Afghanistan leaders today expressed satisfaction over their first official peace talks with the Taliban held this week here to find a solution to the 13-year-old insurgency.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held a meeting with President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) summits in the Russian city of Ufa.

During the meeting, Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to build a positive and forward-looking relationship with Afghanistan.

“The two leaders expressed satisfaction on the progress made in the 7th July meeting between Afghan government and Afghan Taliban to promote peace and reconciliation process,” according to an official statement by Pakistan.

President Ghani appreciated the efforts and role of Pakistan in facilitating peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and expressed the hope that this would lead to lasting peace and stability in the country.

The two leaders exchanged views on how to carry forward the peace process.

They also discussed on the efforts being made by the respective sides to counter terrorism and extremism.

Both the leaders reviewed economic cooperation to achieve the shared objectives of peace, prosperity and development.

Sharif extended an invitation to Ghani to jointly inaugurate with him the Ministerial conference of the Heart of Asia process to be hosted by Pakistan in December.

Pakistan hosted the talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban at the Murree hill resort near Islamabad that began on July 7 and continued through the night. The talks were also attended by US and Chinese representatives.

Afghan and Taliban representatives agreed to meet again after Ramzan.

It is expected that the two sides will try to reach a consensus on ceasefire in the next meeting.

At least 38 people have been killed in a series of landslides caused by heavy rain in the three sub-divisions of Darjeeling district since Tuesday night.

Twenty-one deaths occurred in Mirik alone, where another 13 people were also reported missing, officials in West Bengal’s Disaster Management Department said. The remaining 17 died in Kalimpong-1 and 2, Lava, Sukhia block and Gorubathan, they said.

The landslides in 25 places in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong sub-divisions also caused extensive damage to NH-10 and NH-55, cutting off road link to the region.

Sashastra Seema Bal personnel were carrying out rescue operations and the army’s help has been sought. Twenty persons were also injured in the calamity and 15 people were reported missing at 8 Mile and 11 Mile areas in Kalimpong, SSB officials said.

Border Roads Organisation men were engaged in clearing the blocked roads. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is now in Murshidabad district, is on way to the affected places.

“I am monitoring the situation closely and will go there after the meeting in Murshidabad,” she tweeted. She said that the home secretary was already in North Bengal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed Union Minister Kiren Rijiju to visit landslide-hit Darjeeling to take stock of the situation. North Bengal Development Minister Gautam Deb said that the army’s help had been sought for the rescue operation although various agencies were working there.

NH 10 bore the brunt with the road link to Kalimpong, Lava, Lolegaon and Garubathan snapped. NH 55 connecting Siliguri, Matigara with Darjeeling was also damaged mostly in Mirik and Rohini areas. A bridge on NH 55 has been washed away at Nimbujhora, the officials said.

Landslides occurred at several places between Mongpong and Sevoke Kalibari, leaving people stranded on NH 31 which links these places.

Ufa (Russia), Jul 10 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today accepted an invitation from his counterpart Nawaz Sharif to visit Pakistan to attend the SAARC Summit in 2016 which will be his first to the country.

The two leaders met here for nearly an hour on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and discussed entire gamut of issues between the two countries.

During the meeting, Sharif invited Modi to visit Pakistan for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Summit (SAARC) summit to be held in Islamabad next year.

“Prime Minister Modi accepted the invitation,” a joint statement released after the meeting said.

Modi and Sharif were last together in Kathmandu in November for the SAARC Summit but they did not have a bilateral meeting because of acrimony between the two countries at that time.

Srinagar, Jul 8 (PTI) Pilgrims to the high-altitude Amarnath cave shrine can hope to enjoy uninterrupted telecommunication services this season as state-run BSNL has provided optical fibre connectivity and satellite phones en route the mountainous trek.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has already made available pre-paid SIM cards for the pilgrims at the twin base camps of Baltal in Ganderbal district and Chandanwari in Anantnag district.

General Manager, Telecom, D K Aggarwal told reporters here that “Optical fibre connectivity, V-Sat as alternate media and other satellite phones have been installed for providing uninterrupted telecom services during the yatra period.”

Aggarwal said while 2G services are being provided at all stations en route the shrine, 3G services have also been introduced at various stations for the benefit of the pilgrims.

As part of the Digital India Week celebrations, BSNL has also been holding different programmes at district levels in the Valley.

On Monday, state-of-the-art technology equipment (4K) ? Next Generation Network (NGN), a body of key architectural changes in telecommunication core and access networks, was installed, tested and accepted for commissioning at the Bemina Telephone Exchange here.

Bhopal, Jul 8 (PTI) A stenographer working at the Police Headquarters here was booked for allegedly raping a policewoman on the pretext of marriage.

The accused, identified as Kashiram Pachole, was known to the woman for almost three years and never told her that he was married, an official of Jehangirabad police station said.

He raped the 31-year-old policewoman at a hotel in Ujjain on the pretext of marrying her, following which she filed a complaint with the police, he said.

City Superintendent of Police Saleem Khan confirmed that a case of rape was yesterday registered against the accused in the Jehangirabad police station and said after investigation, further action will be taken in this regard.

Meanwhile, people who had taken shelter in the three relief camps in Tingling and Lamagaon villages following the landslides are gradually returning home, the officials said.

Another landslip occurred in Darjeeling district even as people are returning home from relief camps where they had taken shelter following landslides since July 1 which claimed lives of 40 people.

Disaster management department officials today said the landslip occurred near Kalijhora last evening but there was no house in that spot and no casualty or injury was reported.

Meanwhile, people who had taken shelter in the three relief camps in Tingling and Lamagaon villages following the landslides are gradually returning home, the officials said.
Around 200-250 families have been sheltered in those camps and now only those whose houses have been completely destroyed are staying in the camps, they said.

The Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) has informed the central government about the damages in the three hill subdivisions of the district – Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong – caused by the landslides, said Kalimpong MLA and GTA member Harkha Bahadur Chhetri.

Around 400 houses have either been damaged or destroyed in the disaster, Chhetri said.

GTA chief Bimal Gurung yesterday called up West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had visited the landslide affected areas, to provide an update on the disaster.

The state government is also conducting an assessment of the landslide-battered districts and the report would be sent to the Centre.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, also visited Darjeeling after the landslides.