News and Events - AUGUST 2009

[I-G]

Minor girl sacrificed in Kheri, three arrested

Minor girl sacrificed in Kheri, three arrested
TNN 29 July 2009, 06:20am IST


LUCKNOW: A farmer chopped off the head of a five-year-old girl in Lakhimpur Kheri to please a deity so that he be blessed with a son. The accused
farmer, tantrik (self-proclaimed god man) and his associate were arrested soon after the incident came to light in wee hours of Tuesday.

IG, Lucknow, AK Jain has ordered the Lakhimpur police to invoke the Gangster’s Act against the accused. By Tuesday evening the police had initiated the proceeding to slap National Security Act (NSA) against the trio.

Kheri SSP Piyush Mordia identified the deceased as Vandana (5), daughter of Gaya Prasad of Murdia Hemsingh village under the Bheera police station. “Victim’s parents told the police that Vandana was found missing early Tuesday morning,” Mordia said.Subsequently, a manhunt was launched, which led the family to the farm of Ram Niwas, a local resident. Vandana’s headless body was recovered from the field and subsequently the police were informed. The police recovered half burnt incense sticks, herbs, oil, flowers and other things required for rituals from the site. A pair of slippers was also recovered. It was later traced to Mewalal, the next door neighbour of Gaya Prasad.

Mewalal was arrested while trying to flee the village along with his nephew Ram Niwas. The duo confessed to their crime and revealed that Mewalal’s assistant Yusuf was also involved in the crime.

Minor girl sacrificed in Kheri, three arrested - Lucknow - City - NEWS - The Times of India

 

[I-G]

Girls must carry blades, knives, chilli powder: Guj DGP

Girls must carry blades, knives, chilli powder: Guj DGP

Updated on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 20:11 IST Zeenews Bureau

Ahmedabad: Gujarat’s Director General of Police S S Khandwawala on Wednesday advised females to carry chilli powder before venturing outside.


In a bid to sound protective towards the girls, he told them through the media to even take blades and knives with them to protect themselves from potential molesters.

His statement holds in the wake of increasing rape incidents. Off late there have been a few incidents of rape and molestation and such cases have seen a consistent rise in the country.


Earlier in the day, a woman in the Yavatmal district of Maharashtra was allegedly gangraped and is now struggling for life with 95% burns.

There is a serious need to curb gender crime and the DGP’s suggestion is very practical considering the prevailing scenario in the country.

Girls should carry blades, knives, chilli powder: Gujarat DGP

 

[I-G]

I-G's news update thread.

Headscarves issued to policewomen in UK

Updated on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 18:14 IST London: Though the French are proposing to ban the Muslim veils, across the channel, the British with a longer history of dealing with the minorities have issued headscarves to women police officers for use while entering mosques.


The female bobbies are being issued headscarves in two colours -- one matching the black of a police officer's uniform and another that goes with the blue uniforms worn by the community support officers.

The headscarves are being given out by Avon and Somerset Police, and have the force's emblem sewn on. They have already been given to seven officers, including Assistant Chief Constable Jackie Roberts and eight community support officers who work with Muslim groups in the area.

Roberts said: "It recognises and respects the cultural and religious practices of our communities. This is a very positive addition to the uniform and one which I'm sure will be a welcome item for many of our officers."

The force said the scarves which cost 13 pounds can be used in other religious settings also, as a mark of respect - for instance to cover the shoulders of a non-uniformed officer in a church.

Islamic customs expects women to cover their head inside a place of worship.

During an official visit last year, the Queen wore a headscarf to tour a historic Islamic shrine in Turkey
.
Headscarves issued to policewomen in UK

 

[I-G]

Oz man jailed for killing Chinese mistaking him for 'Indian'

Oz man jailed for killing Chinese mistaking him for 'Indian'
Updated on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 15:56 IST

Melbourne: An Australian man was Wednesday sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing a Chinese researcher after mistaking him for an Indian in a racially- motivated assault, sparking fears of a backlash from the Chinese community over the "inadequate" punishment.


The Victorian Supreme Court handed down the prison term to 21-year old John Caratozzolo from Melbourne, with Justice David Harper saying that racially-motivated attacks had no place in a multi-cultural society like Australia.

Before committing the crime, Caratozzolo had told his friends that he wanted to get a mobile phone from an Indian student, because they had better phones, Herald Sun reported.

Caratozzolo along with his six friends then attacked 41-year-old Chinese researcher Zhongjun Cao, who they took to be of Indian descent.

The court heard that Caratozzolo and his accomplices attacked Cao as he walked home from work at Victoria University, Footscray, in January last year. Cao fell to the ground before a laughing Caratozzolo kicked him in the head with enough force to damage his own foot.

After the fatal bashing, the group went on to attack another man, an Indian student, the report said.

Justice Harper said a second assault by Caratozzolo on another victim that night was also racist, adding Caratozzolo had learnt to swear at Indians in Hindi and had also memorised words and phrases "designed to cause maximum offence."

Oz man jailed for killing Chinese mistaking him for `Indian`

 

[EnlightenedMonk]

Good, they are taking good action... a lot more like this should happen and they should make examples of these blokes... that will deter them from such nonsense...

 

[I-G]

>>wearing trousers in violation of the country's strict Islamic law.

What's the basis for banning trousers? Trouser like dresses(shalwar kameez) are worn by millions of muslim women.

She says she has done nothing wrong under Sharia law, but could fall foul of a paragraph in Sudanese criminal law which forbids indecent clothing

Sudanese criminal law includes elements from British colonial penal law, Egyptian civil code, Islamic law and local custom.

The real case is something different .. this female is a journalist who works for the UN mission in Sudan and relations between sudanese government and United nations are not good after the arrest warrant issued by hague courts for Sudanese President .

 

[I-G]

Page last updated at 12:27 GMT, Wednesday, 29 July 2009 13:27 UK
E-mail this to a friend Printable version

Sudan 'trousers trial' adjourned


The trial of a Sudanese woman charged with wearing "indecent" clothing has been adjourned, but will continue after she decided to waive her immunity.

A Khartoum judge told Lubna Ahmed Hussein she could have immunity because she works for the UN.

But Ms Hussein, who claims she was arrested for wearing trousers, said she wanted carry on with the trial because she wanted to get the law changed.

Under Sudanese law she could face 40 lashes if she is found guilty.

"I wish to resign from the UN, I wish this court case to continue," she told a packed courtroom.

The woman - a journalist who works for the UN mission in Sudan - had invited journalists and observers to the trial.

She was arrested in a restaurant in the capital with other women earlier this month for wearing "indecent" clothing.

'Unconstitutional law'

She said 10 of the women arrested with her, including non-Muslims, each received 10 lashes and a fine.

Ms Hussein and two other women asked for a lawyer, delaying their trials.

She says she has done nothing wrong under Sharia law, but could fall foul of a paragraph in Sudanese criminal law which forbids indecent clothing.

"I want to change this law, because hitting is not human, and also it does not match with Sharia law," she told the BBC.

The BBC's James Copnall in Khartoum says Ms Hussein is determined to generate as much publicity as she can.

Meanwhile another female journalist who wrote an article supporting Ms Hussein has been charged with defaming the police, which can carry a hefty fine.

Amal Habbani wrote an article for Ajrass Al-Horreya newspaper following the arrests entitled "Lubna, a case of subduing a woman's body".

BBC NEWS | Africa | Sudan 'trousers trial' adjourned

 

[EnlightenedMonk]

What are they expected to wear ??? A grass skirt ???

 

[bhramos]

why the F**k he taught to kill an Indian?
he was sentenced because he killed an chinese guy???????

 

[EnlightenedMonk]

^^ I'd look at it more optimistically Bhramos, atleast the action is coming... they are definitely taking action now... better late than never, I'd say...

 

[I-G]

What are they expected to wear ??? A grass skirt ???

Northern Sudan have different dress code and Southern Sudan have different one .

Dress code is supposed to prohibit southern Sudanese women from wearing short and tide dresses. It is also alleged that, southern Sudanese women ought not to imitate European way of dressing because it does not conform to our culture in southern Sudan.
Sudan Vision Daily News Paper Official Website - CONTEMPLATIONS,Dress Code for Southern Sudanese Women

Southern Sudanese predominantly practice traditional indigenous beliefs and Christianity and Northern Sudanese Practice Islam and have islamic dress code involving local custom .

 

[I-G]

Saif tenders apology for trimmed beard in Love Aaj Kal

Saif tenders apology for trimmed beard in Love Aaj Kal
PTI 29 July 2009, 09:45pm IST


MUMBAI: Actor Saif Ali Khan on Wednesday gave a written apology to the All India Punjabi Cultural and Heritage Board. The board had earlier alleged
that his debut home production Love Aaj Kal is offensive to the religion of Sikhism.

In a letter, Khan explains the "trimmed beard" of the Sikh character he is playing in the film by saying that he had grown the beard over the past six months.

The board president Charan Singh Sapra said that Saif has conveyed in the letter that the beard looks trimmed because of "less facial hair growth".

Sapra said that the actor has also agreed to delete the scenes where his Sikh character is wooing a girl in a Gurudwara as well as the shots of langar being served in plates made of leaves.

"In a particular scene where Saif's character cracks a joke, he has agreed to edit the word 'Sardar' with 'Ek aadmi'," Sapra said.

He said that the decisions were made at a meeting that took place today at the head office of the All India Punjabi Cultural and Heritage board which was attended by the actor, his partner Dinesh Vijan and director Imtiaz Ali.

Saif tenders apology for trimmed beard in Love Aaj Kal - India - NEWS - The Times of India

 

[I-G]

Indian priests attacked in Nepal

Indian priests attacked in Nepal
TNN 29 July 2009, 08:53pm IST


KATHMANDU: Father Sanjay Ekka came to Nepal nine years ago to teach underprivileged children as part of the mission undertaken by the Catholic
priests belonging to the Society of Jesuits. But today, as the 40-year-old Oraon priest from Jharkhand struggles with pain and disbelief in Kathmandu's Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, he feels like returning to India.

The reason: On Monday, the priest was attacked by a group of seven people in his own room in Baniyatar in northern Kathmandu. While six of them wore masks, the seventh disdained to use any disguise. He was recognised as a teen resident of the Loyola Students' Home in Baniyatar run by the Catholics for Tamang families, one of Nepal's poorest and most exploited ethnic groups.

The student, Minesh Tamang, had been expelled two days ago and decided to take revenge. In a pre-planned move, the gang set upon the shocked priest with knives and screwdrivers. When his cries brought the neighbours to his room, they tried to flee. However, the youngest member of the gang was caught and handed over to police. Police said the boy, Suresh, was only 13.

Father Ekka's left arm has been badly slashed, he has also received deep cuts on his hip and head injuries. A year ago, Fr John Prakash Moyalan, a Catholic priest from Kerala who was principal of the Don Bosco school in southern Nepal's Sirsiya town, was shot dead in his own residence by Hindu extremists. Police are yet to catch his killers.

"Indians are targeted because their government does not take up the matter strongly with the Nepal government," Nepal's first Catholic bishop Father Anthony Sharma told TNN. "If the attacked priests are from other countries, their governments make a hue and cry."

Two months ago, an explosion went off in the Assumption Church of Kathmandu, killing three people at prayer. Two of them were Indians. However, while the American ambassador to Nepal attended the memorial service in solidarity with the community, there was no sign of the Indian ambassador. The mastermind behind the blast is also at large. The community says he is roaming free in Nepal, making threatening calls to Protestant and Catholic pastors.

While the attack on Ekka was probably motivated by the thought of individual revenge, three Indians who head Catholic organisations have received threat calls, asking them to leave Nepal. They are Father Boniface Tigga, principal of the renowned St Xavier's School, that started in 1951 upon the invitation of the then Rana prime minister of Nepal; Sister Nancy, who heads the St Mary's High School, and Sister Teresa Mandassery, who looks after the Navjyoti Day Care Centre in Kathmandu meant for mentally disabled children.

While Tigga is from Madhya Pradesh, the two nuns are from Kerala.


Indian priests attacked in Nepal - India - NEWS - The Times of India

 

[I-G]

Existence of untouchability is a sad commentry on Indian society(which is used by some to malign Indian society and Hinduism) It is time to do away with this practise. I personally feel that the solution is two pronged. Laws and law enforcers must not allow such practices to continue. Secondly, the religious scholars and heads(of Hinduism) must guide the society out of these practices..

There are already strict law imposed against this caste system practices but these things can be changed via education .

And those(the so-called higher castes) who practise such customs ought to remember that these are the things that make people(dalits) vote for persons like Mayawati. And in the end, everyone is a loser. Time to change it

There are more bigger things then this vote bank politics , Lower caste people are giving up thier religion and embracing other religions . So in real hindu community has to think about it .

By the way are u Christian johnee ?

 

[I-G]

RSS activist shot

RSS activist shot

Patiala: Some unidentified persons shot at and seriously injured an RSS activist here, police said on Wednesday. Three persons came to Rulda Singh’s shop-cum-flat at grain market on Sirhind road on Tuesday night and opened fire at him and fled, the police said. Singh was found in a pool of blood by his son and immediately taken to a hospital from where he was shifted to PGI Chandigarh. Police have registered a case and started search operations to nab the miscreants. Singh was elected president of the state unit of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, an RSS wing, some time back. Akal Takht had recently issued an edict that Rashtriya Sikh Sangat was anti-Sikh.
The Hindu : Other States / Punjab News : RSS activist shot at

 

[I-G]

Babbar Khalsa claims responsibility for attack on RSS activist
GAGANDEEP AHUJA
Thursday, 30 July 2009

PATIALA: The Babbar Khalsa Internationl (BKI) has claimed responsibility for the attack on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist Rulda Singh, head of the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat.

Rulda Singh was shot at and injured by two youths in his shop at grain market situated on Sirhind road in the city last night. He has been admitted to the PGI at Chandigarh.

In a e-mail sent to media persons here, BKI activist Jagtar Singh Tara claimed responsibility for the attack while accusing Rulda Singh of indulging in anti-Sikh activities.

The mail stated that Rulda Singh had been warned not to link his RSS agenda with the Sikh community. Even the Akal Takht, highest temporal seat of Sikhism had declared his 'Sikh thoughts' as anti-panthic and had issued an edict against him, the mail stated.

"Despite warnings he went ahead with his agenda and was dealt with accordingly", the mail said.

Besides Tara, other names mentioned in the mail are those of Baaz Singh Mohali, Ranjit Singh Babbar, Jagmohan Singh and Maha Singh Nihang.

Tara is wanted in the Beant Singh (former chief minister) assassination case. He alongwith Jagtar Singh Hawara had escaped from Chandigarh Burail Jail in 2004. Though Hawara was later apprehended, Tara still remains at large.
PunjabNewsline.com - Babbar Khalsa claims responsibility for attack on RSS activist

 

[bhramos]

what a hell, is Babbar Khalsa movement coming again up?

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

PM, President to get swanky copters

NEW DELHI: After getting three desi versions of US president’s 'Air Force One', the Indian President and PM are now all set to also acquire 12 swanky and secure helicopters for VVIP travel on the lines of ‘‘Marine One’’.
The multi-million dollar deal to procure the 12 EH/AW-101 helicopters, manufactured by Italian aviation major AgustaWestland, is in the concluding stages now, say defence ministry sources. "The Cabinet Committee on Security will have to give the final nod before the contract is inked," said a source. This will be the third major deal in recent years to ensure Indian netas and other VVIPs can travel in fully-secure comfort in and around the country.
First, the Rs 727-crore deal for five mid-size Embraer 135BJ Legacy jets was inked in September 2003. Then, the 937-crore contract for three Boeing Business Jets (BBJs), with advanced self-protection suites to guard against missiles and other threats, was signed in October 2005. With the Legacy jets and BBJs already inducted, the VVIPs will also get the 12 helicopters to travel around in style. This, incidentally, comes at a time when the upgrade of the US presidential helicopter fleet is embroiled in a funding controversy.
Though not as high-tech as Barack Obama's "Marine One", the call sign of the US Marine Corps helicopter which ferries the US President, the Indian EH-101 helicopters will have self-defence systems like missile-approach warners, chaff and flare dispensers and directed infra-red electronic counter-measures to protect the VVIPs on board. The new helicopters will replace ageing Russian-origin Mi-8s and Mi-17s being operated by IAF's elite Communication Squadron, which ferries around the President and PM, just like the Legacy jets have replaced the old HS-748 Avros and the BBJs the two 737-200 aircraft bought in 1983.
The AW-101 helicopters were pitted against the American Sikorsky's S-92 Superhawks during field trials held last year, overseen by both IAF and SPG. The AW-101, which can carry around 40 combat troops but will ferry 10 passengers in the VVIP configuration, and has three engines for better power and safety, was found more suitable. One particular SPG requirement was that the helicopters have "a high tail boom'' since it would allow the VVIP cars to come right next to the rear exit staircase and not "expose'' the protected persons to a threat from anyone in the vicinity. Moreover, the AW-101 was found to be a rugged helicopter, with crashworthy and damage-tolerant features, capable of hovering even in winds over 80 kmph. "We also wanted a helicopter with a service-ceiling of over 4.5 km and capable of operating at night,'' said an official.

Link

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Pics

 

[I-G]

13 million abortions every year in China: Report

13 million abortions every year in China: Report
AP 30 July 2009, 09:10am IST


BEIJING: China performs about 13 million abortions every year, mostly for single young women who experts say know little about contraception, state
media said on Thursday in a rare disclosure of sensitive family planning statistics.

The China Daily newspaper said the real number of abortions is believed to be even higher since the 13 million accounts for procedures in hospitals but many more are known to be carried out in unregistered rural clinics. Also, about 10 million abortion pills are sold every year in China, the paper said.

It quoted Wu Shangchun, a government official with the National Population and Family Planning Commission, as saying that nearly half of the women seeking abortions in China had used no form of contraception.

China imposed strict birth controls in the 1970s, limiting most couples to just one child. Sterilization and the use of intrauterine devices, or IUDs, for women are widely promoted - and subsidized - forms of contraception for married women. However, the policy tends to overlook the contraception needs of unmarried women even as attitudes toward casual sex have dramatically liberalized.

The report said around 62 percent of the women undergoing abortions were single and aged between 20 and 29 years old.

It called the widespread use of abortions ``an unfortunate situation'' but did not directly say whether abortions were on the rise. No year to year statistics were given.

Wu told the paper that reducing the number of abortions was a tough challenge facing the country.

Peking University professor, Li Ying, was quoted as saying that sex education needed to be improved at the university level and that Chinese parents also needed to teach their kids more about sex.

The government says its family planning controls since the 1970s - including contraception, sterilization and abortion procedures - have prevented an additional 400 million births in the world's most populous country of 1.3 billion.

About 1.2 million women have abortions each year in the United States, which has a population of just more than 300 million people.

13 million abortions every year in China: Report - China - World - NEWS - The Times of India