India

New Delhi, Apr. 20 (ANI): Congress President Sonia Gandhi has condemned the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl in the national capital, and demanded strict action against the accused.

“Congress President Sonia Gandhi has condemned the heinous crime that took place with a five-year-old girl child. She has told the government and the administration that it is time for action, not words and strict measures should be taken,” said Congress General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi.

New Delhi, Apr. 20 (ANI): In the wake of massive protests in the national capital against the rape of a five-year-old girl and demand for action against policemen who allegedly tried to hush up the case by offering money to the victim”s parents, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Saturday promised tough action against the cops who are found to be guilty.

Expressing shock over the rape of a five-year-old girl, former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and activist Kiran Bedi on Saturday called for a change in the mindset of the people, and asked the parents to inculcate the right values in their son.

“Today, we are saying that we are shocked and sad, but did any of the lawmakers talk about the law against the rape in their constituency. Did they make the people aware or did they educate them. Did they conduct any corner meetings? In the corner meetings, did they explain the people that there is a new anti-rape law?” asked Bedi.

The Delhi Police Saturday imposed prohibitory orders in the India Gate area to forestall protests after the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl.

“Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) has been imposed near the India Gate and no gathering would be allowed there,” a senior police officer told IANS.

Following the imposition of prohibitory orders, the India Gate was got vacated in the afternoon and vendors were asked to leave the area.

The Aam Aadmi Party and several NGOs had called the people to gather at the India Gate for a candlelight march in the evening.

–IANS

Street protests erupted in the national capital Saturday against the barbaric rape of a five-year-old girl who doctors said would need major reconstructive surgery as her private parts had been badly damaged, even as police nabbed the accused from his in-law’s house in Bihar in an early morning raid.

India received $69 billion remittance in 2012, the highest in the world, followed by China with $60 billion and the Philippines $24 billion, World Bank data showed.

Other major recipients of foreign remittances were Mexico with $23 billion and Nigeria and Egypt with $21 billion each, according to the latest edition of the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief released here Friday.

Stung by scams in acquisition from foreign vendors, the Defence Ministry today finalised a new procurement policy under which Indian public and private sector will be given first priority for military procurements and will help in plugging loopholes that allow corruption.

To avoid scams such as the AgustaWestland chopper deal and enhance transparency, the Ministry also approved a proposal under which Services headquarters would be required to freeze specifications of the desired products before they are approved by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).

Maintaining that the Land Acquisition Bill dilutes the rights of tribals in scheduled areas, CPI(M) Politburo member Brinda Karat on Saturday demanded that the UPA government refer the proposed legislation to a Select Committee of Parliament for further discussion.

A broad consensus was reached among political parties on the contentious Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, at a meeting convened by the government in New Delhi on April 18.

Stung by scams in acquisition from foreign vendors, the Defence Ministry on Saturday finalised a new procurement policy under which Indian public and private sector will be given first priority for military procurements and will help in plugging loopholes that allow corruption.

To avoid scams such as the AgustaWestland chopper deal and enhance transparency, the Ministry also approved a proposal under which Services headquarters would be required to freeze specifications of the desired products before they are approved by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).

Terming as “a deadly attack on Hindus” the Gujarat government’s nod for seeking death penalty for former BJP minister Maya Kodnani and nine others in the 2002 Naroda Patiya massacre case, Shiv Sena on Saturday said Hindus have different expectations from Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

“There is a feeling that Modi is a protector of Hindus. Seeking death penalty for Kodnani and Bajrangi is a deadly attack on Hindus, who have different expectations from Modi,” an editorial in Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said.

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has advised young professionals selected for a rural scheme fellowship to keep aside theoretical knowledge they have gained in educational institutes and learn from on- field experience to usher in change at the grassroots level.

“Unlearn all the garbage that has been put into you in professional schools,” he told fellows of the Prime Minister Rural Development Fellows (PMRDF) scheme here last night.

A 40-year-old woman, said to be an “illiterate” Indian, was beaten, raped and given out-of-date food and passed between three middle-class families as a slave for many years in Britain, a daily reported.

The woman made desperate pleas for help to Hertfordshire police as well as charities and other state agencies. But when police officers spoke to her, one of her “powerful and well-connected abusers” was used as an interpreter, The Independent said.

UNICEF India Saturday condemned the rape of a five-year-old girl here and called for stronger and immediate action to improve safety for girls in the country.

“The rape that took place in the past days in Delhi where a five-year-old girl is now fighting for her life, is yet another sign that urgent and concerted action is needed to make sure that girls and women in India can feel and be safe on the streets, in school, at work and at home,” the organisation said in a statement.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Saturday assured that proper action would be take in the rape case of the five-year-old girl here Saturday.

“An inquiry has been ordered. Proper steps will be taken after the inquiry report will be handed over to us,” said Shinde.

He said that he was informed of the details of the rape case Friday and that the the accused had been arrested and will be brought to Delhi from Muzaffarpur in Bihar.

Replying to a question about the victim’s condition, Shinde said: “We are trying to ascertain the her medical condition.”

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today met the family of the five-year-old rape victim at AIIMS and enquired about her health.

The minister assured the girl’s parents of all help and medical care of the victim. He also met the doctors looking after her treatment and instructed them to provide best medical treatment.

The minister stayed in the hospital for 15 minutes.

The rape victim was shifted to AIIMS last evening.

Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar, who lost her life after being denied an abortion at a hospital in Ireland, died of “medical misadventure”, a jury at her inquest on Friday ruled unanimously.

The ruling at Galway Courthouse found there were systemic failures or deficiencies in the care given to 31-year-old Savita, originally from Karnataka.

“You showed tremendous loyalty and love to your wife. All of Ireland followed the case,” coroner Ciaran MacLoughlin told Savita’s husband Praveen Halappanavar as he released the verdict at the end of the seven-day inquest today.

The condition of the five-year-old girl, who was raped allegedly by a 22-year-old man after holding her captive, was stable even as protests erupted in the capital on Saturday against the grisly crime.

Doctors attending to the victim at the AIIMS said the girl’s condition was stable. She was shifted to AIIMS on Friday evening.

Protests erupted at AIIMS and Police Headquarters on Saturday morning demanding justice for the victim and punishment to policemen who allegedly did not help locate the girl who went missing on April 15.

Questioning why West Bengal was being ‘singularly deprived’, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday alleged political discrimination against the state by the Centre, a day after it approved a Rs 12,000 crore special package for Bihar.

“Very recently, few states have been granted thousands of crore of rupees by the Central Government. It is very good. We support that all states must get financial help,” Banerjee said in a Facebook post.

“But let us know why West Bengal is being singularly deprived? Is it a political vendetta, guided by narrow politics?” she questioned.

President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday expressed shock and anguish over the rape and brutality committed on a five-year-old girl, saying that urgent steps must be taken to bring the perpetrators to immediate justice.

In a statement, Mukherjee said: “I am shocked and deeply anguished at the latest incident of sexual assault and rape of a five year old child in Delhi. I join her family in praying for a speedy recovery and call upon concerned authorities to ensure the best possible medical attention for her.”

In a deep incursion, Chinese troops have entered the Indian territory in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector in eastern Ladakh and erected a tented post, setting the stage for a face-off with Indian troops.

A Platoon-strength contingent of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) came 10 km inside the Indian territory in Burthe in DBO sector, which is at an altitude of about 17,000 feet, on the night of April 15 and established a tented post there, according to highly placed sources, which said that a Chinese Army Platoon usually consists of around 50 men.

The management of a madrasa in Banda, 212 km from here, has banned the use of multi-media phones by students. Authorities burnt many such phones found in possession of students at the Madrasa Jama Arabia Hathaura.

Madrasa authorities however made it plain that there was no objection to the use of ‘simple phones’.

The head of the madrasa, Maulana Kari Habeeb told IANS: “The decision was a considered one, taken after it was noted that students were browsing anti-religion websites and immoral stuff.”

Unhappy with the tardy progress in initiatives to deal with the outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in the eastern districts of Uttar Pradesh, the government has fixed time lines for completion of pending projects, an official said Saturday.

At a high-level meeting, Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani directed officials to ensure that a paediatric intensive care unit (ICU) was established on a turn-key basis and becomes functional by July 15.

Two accused in the case relating to planting of a pipe bomb allegedly targeting BJP leader L K Advani during his “Jan Chetna Yatra” in 2011, today moved the Madras High Court bench here for bail. A Judicial Magistrate court had remanded Syed Sahabuddin and Darvish Moideen, who were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Explosives Substances Act, to custody last month. Syed Sahabbudhin alleged he had been falsely implicated in the case.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the development that took place in Gujarat over the last 12 years has contributed immensely to the growth of the nation. Speaking at an event, he said “they may like it or not but political pundits and economists have to accept that in the last 12 years, the development that took place in Gujarat has contributed immensely to the growth of the nation”.

Two Delhi Police officials were suspended for “misbehaving” with the family of the five-year-old rape victim, while an assistant commissioner of police (ACP) was suspended for slapping a girl protestor, said police Friday.

“Dharampal Singh, SHO (station house officer) of Gandhi Nagar police station where the victim’s missing person’s report was registered April 15, and the initial investigating officer of the case Mahavir Singh, a sub-inspector (SI), were suspended with immediate effect Friday,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Prabhakar.