Woman dragged into car, molested in suburban Mumbai

Mumbai:  A woman in her 20s was forced by a group of four men into a car in Mumbai's Goregaon area on Wednesday afternoon; she says she was then blindfolded and molested.
She was exiting a cyber-cafe when the men grabbed her.  They robbed her of the jewelry she was wearing as well.
They allegedly allowed her to leave the car when she told them she was pregnant.
A case of attempted rape and robbery have been registered by the police.

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Tainted Congress leader Kripashankar Singh's security withdrawn

Mumbai:  A day after the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police raided and attached properties owned by former Mumbai Congress chief Kripashankar Singh and his family, the Maharashtra government has withdrawn his security.

Mr Singh, who is alleged to have amassed assets worth over Rs. 300 crore, disproportionate to his known sources of income, had resigned from his post soon after the Bombay High Court ordered his prosecution for "criminal misconduct" under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Since then, he was untraceable. The tainted leader returned to Mumbai today.

In its February 22 order, the court had asked Mumbai Police to collect documentary evidence regarding all movable and immovable properties owned by Mr Singh and his family. The court had also ordered that the role of his family members be investigated. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by activist Sanjay Tiwari, who alleged that the Congress MLA had amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Speaking to NDTV in Mumbai today, Mr Singh said, "A PIL alone cannot be used as the basis for levelling charges against me. Allegations against me have wrecked my career."

"I am not guilty. I am not absconding. I have done nothing wrong. I will fight as per law," he asserted. "The media targeting me and my family is wrong. I do not own those many properties as are being shown," he added.

Yesterday, 12 properties owned by Mr Singh and his family members were attached by the Mumbai Police. This after over 120 police personnel spread across the city and raided the premises. The attached properties include a duplex flat with terrace in Jupiter building in Vile Parle, Tarang bungalow, two flats, two offices and a plot in suburban Bandra, a shop at Bhandup and a shop and two flats including one he obtained through Chief Minister's quota in suburban Powai and a flat in Kurla. Only one of these properties in the metropolis is in the name of Mr Singh, the rest are owned by his wife, son, daughter and son-in-law.

The attachment of his properties at Panvel, Ratnagiri and Uttar Pradesh is likely to happen today. The raids are also said to be on for the second day. Sources say the Congress leader and his family members will be questioned after documents recovered during the raids are scrutinized.

During the searches conducted yesterday, Mr Singh's two BMWs were also seized. The police also found 400 live cartridges at his residence "Tarang", located in upmarket Bandra. The police are now trying to probe whether Mr Singh and his family have the necessary arms licences.

The once powerful Congress leader yesterday failed to secure from the Supreme Court an interim stay or quashing of the Bombay High Court order on his prosecution.

KRIPASHANKAR'S SON APOLOGISES

In a display of arrogance, while raids were on at tainted Mumbai Congress chief Kripashankar Singh's properties yesterday, his son Narendra Mohan flipped off mediapersons.

Today, he released a statement aplogising for the obscene gesture. "I regret the incident that took place. I am a responsible citizen and do respect freedom of press. My action though wrong, was a consequence of being under pressure at this juncture. I apologise to all media persons," the statement read.

Mr Singh also said, "What my son did was wrong and I apologise on his behalf."

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Centre puts off meet on NCTC to March 12

New Delhi:  The Home Ministry has postponed a meeting of top police and civil officials of all states scheduled for March 9 to end the logjam on NCTC and it will now be held on March 12.

The meeting of the Chief Secretaries, Directors General of Police, state Home Secretaries and Chiefs of state Anti-Terror Squads was convened by the Union Home Secretary to discuss in detail the scope and functions of the NCTC.

Home Ministry officials said the decision to reschedule the conference to March 12 has been taken following requests from several states that due to Holi festival and a long week-end, many of the officials would not be able to attend the meeting.

Some of them also conveyed their inability to attend the crucial meeting on March 9 citing the short notice given to them and pre-scheduled engagements.

In the wake of strong protests by non-Congress Chief Ministers, the Centre has put on hold the operationalization of the National Counter Terrorism Centre from March 1 and decided to discuss with the state governments before going ahead with the plan.

In his letter to 10 Chief Ministers, Home Minister P Chidambaram had assured that the "next steps" on NCTC will be taken only after the meeting of the top officials of the states.

The Home Ministry officials are expected to allay the apprehensions of the states which said empowering NCTC with Section 43 (A) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act would infringe on the state's powers. Section 43(A) of UA (P) A gives an officer power to arrest and search.

Chidambaram had said the powers conferred under Section 43(A) of the UA (P) Act must be read with the duty under Section 43 (B) to produce the person or article without unnecessary delay before the nearest police station (which will be under the state government), and the SHO of the police station will take further action in accordance with the provisions of the CrPC.

"I am confident that this meeting will find a way forward. My note (sent to the Chief Ministers) is self explanatory. I think the note should, I believe, have allayed many of the apprehensions including apprehensions of a section of the media and therefore let us hope that the meeting convened by the HS will find a way forward," he had said.

However, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who spearheaded protests by over a dozen Chief Ministers on the issue of setting up of NCTC on the ground that it would erode states' powers, in his third letter on NCTC to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opposed the government calling the meeting of top state officials.

"It is imperative that instead of a meeting chaired by the Union Home Secretary, an immediate meeting of Chief Ministers may be called by you to address the concerns of the states on this very urgent matter regarding the security of the nation," he told the Prime Minister

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Andhra Pradesh policemen caught on camera slapping teen repeatedly

Hyderabad:  On camera, a policeman is seen slapping a young boy repeatedly.  That footage - filmed by a local TV channel in Karminagar in Andhra Pradesh, has prompted an inquiry by the state's human rights commission (NDTV did not film the incident; the footage used is courtesy TV9 channel).
"This incident appears to be barbaric and violates the human rights of the boy, who was dealt with unlawfully," said a member of the commission, Kakumanu Peda Peri Reddy.
The boy who is assaulted repeatedly and with full force is 16 years old.  The police has been asked to explain what happened by March 7.
Circle police inspector Deva Reddy and constable Ganga Reddy suspected that the teen was guilty of stealing petrol and spare parts from parked cars.
His family says that the policemen hit him on his hands with a stick and that the inspector took out his revolver and pointed it at him.
After a local television channel telecast the footage, senior policemen conducted an inquiry.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) A Rama Rajeshwari said the inspector and constable were guilty of "high-handedness" and has recommended disciplinary action against the duo.
"I also saw the original video footage and the cops prima facie seem to be responsible for the high-handedness and I recommended for disciplinary action against them," she told PTI, adding the locals handed over the boy to the police when they caught him "indulging in theft".

As part of the investigation, the inspector had taken the boy to scene of offence and while being examined the CI and the constable seem to have slapped and hit the boy with a stick, she explained.

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Anupama Chopra's review: Paan Singh Tomar

By Hindustan Times

Movie: Paan Singh Tomar
Direction: Tigmanshu Dhulia
Actors: Irrfan, Mahie Gill
Rating: ***

There is an understated elegance about Irrfan (he dropped the last name Khan some time ago) in Paan Singh Tomar. He plays a national level athlete who becomes a dreaded dacoit in the Chambal Valley. Tomar sprints over hurdles with breathtaking ease and eventually displays the same stubborn determination while murdering men who have robbed him of his ancestral land. Irrfan imbues Tomar with grace and a quiet dignity. So even when he meets the inevitable fate of a bandit and his body riddled with bullets, collapses into the dusty ground, there is something heroic about him.

Paan Singh Tomar is fiction inspired by true events. The story is remarkable –Tomar is an army subedaar who gets into athletics only because sportsmen get more to eat. After a race, the first thing he does is grab and devour a bunch of bananas. Tomar keeps his faith in the system and doesn’t resort to violence until a lethargic, blatantly corrupt cop refuses to register his complaint and instead asks Tomar, who has travelled abroad for sporting competitions, why foreigners wear such few clothes. Hurt and angry, Tomar wonders: Desh keliye faltu bhagey kya?

The moment has genuine pathos. As does Tomar’s wounded declaration to a journalist that despite being a seven-time National Games winner, he remained anonymous, while murder and kidnapping brought him fame. But despite the rich raw material and quality performances, Paan Singh Tomar doesn’t soar. Stretches of the screenplay are sluggish and strangely inert. More critically, I never got a sense of what Tomar’s conversion from an army man to a murderer did to his psyche. Yes, he resorts to violence only because he is provoked but subsequently, he seems oddly at ease with his criminality. Director Tigmanshu Dhulia establishes a loving relationship between Tomar and his wife, Indra, played by Mahie Gill. But Indra and his two children largely disappear from his life when he becomes an outlaw and we never really see him ache for them.

Dhulia was a casting director on Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen. In interviews, he has said that he first heard about Paan Singh Tomar while working on that film and decided that some day he would make a film on him. Tomar was a confrère of Phoolan Devi. Naturally then, we see some of the same motifs – the spidery curves of the ravines that seem to swallow up the dacoits, their habit of announcing their presence on loudspeakers, a massacre that leads to a police clampdown. But Paan Singh Tomar doesn’t sock you in the gut like Bandit Queen did, partly because none of the supporting characters have enough flesh on them. The villains are especially non-descript, nasty but not menacing.

Paan Singh Tomar has good intentions but not enough emotional heft. I wanted to feel more. But what Dhulia and Irrfan do give us is a fascinating character who was at once, complex and childlike. He makes it worth watching.

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