New Delhi: A controversial BBC documentary featuring one of the December 16, 2012 gang-rape convicts has been uploaded on video sharing website YouTube by an individual.
However, the BBC site says “BBC iPlayer TV programmes are available to play in the UK only”.
The Home Ministry on Wednesday said orders were obtained from court to restrain the broadcast of the documentary.
The documentary “India’s daughter” by British film-maker Leslee Udwin has kicked up a storm over the interview of one of the six men who raped the 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist on December 16, 2012 on board a moving bus in Delhi. She later died in a Singapore hospital where she had been airlifted for specialised treatment.
IANS
Mumbai: The family of the slain communist leader and social activist Govind Pansare on Tuesday sought to intervene in a public interest litigation filed in the Bombay High Court which has sought a CBI probe into his murder.
Pansare was shot dead near his house in Kolhapur on February 16 by unidentified men.
Social activist Ketan Tirodkar has filed the PIL, seeking transfer of the probe to CBI.
Pansare’s daughter Smita and daughter-in-law Megha Pansare filed an application seeking permission to intervene in the PIL.
Their lawyer, Sandesh Shukla, mentioned the application before the division bench headed by Justice P V Hardas, which posted it for hearing along with the PIL tomorrow.
“Instead of CBI inquiry, the family wants a special investigation team to be formed and the court to monitor the probe. Earlier, the High Court had transferred the probe into the murder of activist Narendra Dabholkar to CBI but to date there has been no break-through. Same goes for the probe into murder of RTI activist Satish Shetty,” Shukla said.
PTI
Mumbai: The bill banning the cow slaughter in Maharashtra, which got President Pranab Mukherjee’s nod, has divided opposition Congress and NCP, with the latter saying that it would cause hardship to farmers.
“Congress welcomes the President’s assent. This bill has been pending for long with the President….But care should be taken that this is not used as a political tool to gather support. The implementation of this law needs to be totally transparent,” Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil told PTI.
But NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said ruling BJP was “misguiding” the people and causing an economic “loss” to the state to please a section of the society.
“A blanket ban will cause the biggest problems for farmers. A farmer has to spend at least Rs 5,000 a month to take care of such animals. It is now the responsibility of the government to come out with a mechanism to take in all unfit animals and take care of them as long as they live,” Malik said.
“Poor farmers had an alternative before but now that is gone. Exports too will be hit as buffalo meat was exported and bull meat was sold in Maharashtra. This will cause an economic loss to the state,” he said.
There is already a blanket ban in the state on slaughter of cows; the amended act bans slaughter of bulls and and calves too.
The offence will be non-bailable and will attract a punishment of upto five years in prison, against the six months till now. The fine, too, has been hiked to Rs 10,000 from the current Rs 1,000.
Thane: Nearly 70 per cent of migrant children in Maharashtra’s Thane and Palghar districts are deprived of education, according to a survey.
Nearly 87 per cent children, mostly of the migrant brick kiln workers, were deprived of education in 2010, 77 per cent in 2011, 60 per cent in 2012-13 and 70 per cent in 2013-14, as per the survey conducted by two Palghar-based NGOs- Shramajivi Sanghatana and Vidhayak Sansad.
Despite the government’s move to provide education to all under the RTE, a considerable number of children were kept away from education and even deprived of the health care facilities, a delegation of the NGOs pointed out while submitting a memorandum in this regard to Governor C Vidyasagar Rao during his visit here yesterday.
Vidhyak Sansad is an NGO conducting survey and analysis of various government and private scheme.
The Shrmjivi Sanghatana works for the uplift of tribals in Maharashtra.
PTI
Kolkata: Criticising Narendra Modi for putting the blame for West Bengal’s “backward slide” in last 34 years on CPI-M, Left Front’s chairman Biman Bose on Wednesday said the Prime Minister was misinformed and should check the facts before speaking.
Bose also alleged that Modi’s outburst against Left rule was actually a prelude to a “covert understanding” between the TMC and the BJP in Bengal.
“I think he is misinformed. He should check his facts and figures before making a statement. He should remember that he is the Prime Minister of the country,” he told reporters here.
Modi had yesterday said that during the 34 years of Left rule in West Bengal, industry and agriculture had suffered in the state.
“The PM should know the situation when we came to power. The development of the state after we formed the government could be seen through open eyes,” Bose asserted.
PTI
New Delhi: US Ambassador to India Richard Verma on Wednesday described Indian Muslims as “vital players” in advancing India and America’s shared value and vision.
Verma was addressing a town hall at the India Islamic Cultural Center (IICC), attended by country’s leading Muslim entrepreneurs, scholars, and clerics.
Noting that “the future of the US-India relationship depends on human capital,” he said, “Your perspectives and contributions are the key asset for its growth”, according to a release by the US embassy here.
The hour-long discussion with over 50 people representing the geographic, professional, and ideological diversity of India’s vibrant Muslim communities highlighted the people-to- people role in strengthening US-India relations, it said.
Verma outlined four broad areas of ongoing US-India cooperation: clean energy and climate change; development, health, and science; economic and commercial; and defence and security.
PTI
New Delhi: Amidst uproar over an interview of a December 16 gang-rape convict, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India on Tuesday evening issued a notice to all television channels asking them not to broadcast the Nirbhaya documentary, official sources said.
The announcement came hours after the Delhi Police stated that it will move court for a restraining order against an interview of Mukesh Singh, a prime accused in the December 16, 2012 ‘Nirbhaya’ rape case.
interview from Tihar jail for a BBC documentary to be aired on March 8, Mukesh Singh said: “A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy.”
While speaking to BBC Four from his cell, Mukesh Singh, one of the five accused convicted of raping and murdering Nirbhaya, said that a girl is ‘far more responsible for rape’ than a boy.
The interview was scheduled to be aired on March 8 by BBC Four on its Storyville programme “India`s Daughter” on Sunday to coincide with the International Women`s Day.
Singh even said housework and housekeeping was the domain of girls and they had no rights to roam or visit discos and bars at night.
“They are doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes,” he said, and added that only ’20 percent’ of the girls were good.
Singh added that executing him and the other convicts in the case will further endanger rape victims as now, when girls are raped, they will not leave the victim but will kill her.
He showed no remorse for the attack, which he referred to as an ‘accident’.
In December 2012, The physiotherapy student was raped and assaulted with an iron rod after she was tricked into boarding an unregistered private bus to go home after watching a movie with a male friend.
Her male companion was badly beaten up and could not come to her rescue while the assault was being carried out in the bus. The two were later dumped naked and bleeding on the roadside.
The woman died 13 days after the attack from the injuries inflicted upon her after being airlifted to a Singapore hospital for treatment.
The attack sparked widespread protests and a campaign by civil society groups for tougher laws to protect women against sexual violence.
One of the attackers was found dead in jail in March 2013. A juvenile member of the gang was sentenced to three years in a reform home.
In a written reply, she said that as per the list given by Pakistan on January 1, 2015, there were 50 civil prisoners and 476 fishermen believed to be Indian in Pakistani custody.
As per the list handed over to Pakistan, there are 253 Pakistani civil prisoners and 132 Pakistani fishermen in India’s custody, she said.
“In addition to the above, one civil prisoner and 172 Indian fishermen were released by Pakistan on February 16, 2015. One prisoner mentioned in the Pakistani list of January 1, 2015 was initially believed to be India, but was later found to be from Nepal. Therefore, the number of Indian prisoners, including fishermen, in Pakistani jail as on date is 352,” Swaraj said.
As per details shared by the Minister, in 2014, Pakistan had released 185 Indian fishermen and 6 civil prisoners. The number of Pakistani civil prisoners released by India in 2014 was 26 in addition to 74 Pakistani fishermen, who were also released.
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.
“A step was taken in the last Budget to encourage Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investments Trusts (INViTs) by providing partial pass through to them,” Jaitley said in his Budget speech.
Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/economy/budget-2015-govt-gives-new-tax-benefits-for-reits-invits_1316624.html?utm_source=ref_article
n a fillip to investments in realty and infrastructure sectors, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday rationalised capital gain tax regime for the sponsors of newly-created business structures REITs and INViTs. In September 2014, market regulator SEBI had notified norms for listing of REITs and INViTs that would help attract more funds in a transparent manner into the real estate and infrastructure sectors. “A step was taken in the last Budget to encourage Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investments Trusts (INViTs) by providing partial pass through to them,” Jaitley said in his Budget speech. These two trusts, which can be listed on stock exchanges, would help channelise both domestic and overseas investments into real estate and infrastructure projects in the country. Stating that these collective investment vehicles have an important role to revive construction activity, the Finance Minister said that a large quantum of funds is locked up in various completed projects which need to be released to facilitate new infrastructure projects to take off. “I therefore propose to rationalise the capital gains regime for the sponsors exiting at the time of listing of the units of REITs and INViTs, subject to payment of Securities Transaction Tax (STT). The rental income of REITs from their own assets will have pass through facility,” Jaitley said. Real estate developers and property consultants have been demanding further tax clarity in REITs to ensure the launch of this trust for commercial assets. “In respect of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (INViTs), it is proposed to provide that the sponsor will be given the same treatment on offloading of units at the time of listing as would have been available to him if he had offloaded his shareholding of special purpose vehicle (SPV) at the stage of direct listing,” Jaitley said. Further, the rental income arising from real estate assets directly held by the REIT is also proposed to be allowed to pass through and to be taxed in the hands of the unit holders of the REIT, he added. REITs, a new investment avenue in India on the lines of one in developed markets like the US, UK, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, can be listed and trading would be allowed in units of REITs like any other security on stock exchanges. INViTs are also set up for similar purposes. The tax incentives on would give much needed relief to the real estate sector, which is facing a huge slowdown in demand from last few years that had led to liquidity crunch and delay in completion of existing projects.
PTI
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