Nation 5Saturday�December 16, 2017

THE ECHO OF INDIA�PORT BLAIR

CHANDIGARH, DEC 15 /--/Haryana Chief Minister Manohar LalKhattar today held a meeting withsenior home and police departmentofficials over women safety, where healso discussed progress made in theUklana rape and murder case. Themeeting was attended by seniorofficers including S S Prasad, ACS(Home); B S Sandhu, the DGP; Mohd.Akil, ADGP (law and order) and AnilK. Rao IGP, CID. The chief ministerexpressed concern over incidents ofcrime against women and directed thepolice department to take all possiblesteps to prevent them, the governmentsaid in a release. He also directed themto conduct special campaign againstthose indulging in such crimes.A six-year-old girl was murdered allegedly

after being raped in Uklana, 45 kmfrom Hisar in Haryana. Her body wasfound in a deserted street near theTelephone Exchange building inUklana on December 9. Following thedirections of the chief minister, thestate police launched a month-longspecial campaign today to preventcrime against women, detect narcoticssmuggling and track wantedcriminals.

Senior of ficers have also beenasked to follow up on main points ofwomen safety action plan on a dailybasis. They have been told that alleducational institutions must bevisited by senior police officers overthree months and assistance of NGOsmay be taken to organise sensitisationprograms for ensuring safety of

women in districts. Apart fromeducational institutions, factories andbusiness establishments, where a largenumber of women employees areworking shall also be visited.Assistance of civil officers may alsobe sought through DCs to cover all theeducational institutions and businessestablishments, it said. Girl studentswill be encouraged to use women'shelpline (1091) and report incidents ofeve-teasing and other harassmentwithout fear, the release said. Decoysshould be used on sensitive routeswhere frequent incidents of eve-teasing are reported. All suchsensitive schools and colleges must bevisited by senior police officers alongwith NGOs for administering oath forsafety of girl students, it said.(PTI)

NEW DELHI, DEC 15 /--/ TheSupreme Court today asked theCentre and Uttar Pradeshgovernment to expeditiouslycomplete proceedings to declarea businesswoman proclaimedoffender and attach herproperties in India. RitikaAwasty, a promoter of BushFoods Overseas Pvt Ltd, isfacing criminal trial in UttarPradesh on charges of cheating,forgery and criminal breach oftrust but is evading arrest aftershe was allowed to go to London.

A bench of justices Arun Mishraand M M Shantanagoudar saidthat since her bail has beencancelled by the court after shefailed to return to India fromUnited Kingdom, theproceedings to declare herproclaimed offender should becompleted expeditiously. Thebench said that the proceedingsshall also be initiated forattaching the properties in hername or in her husband's name.

The court also deprecatedthe counsel for the woman for

saying that Awasty is gettingthreats from lenders that shewill be molested or raped whenshe lands at Delhi airport

"Don't make such statementsin court. These types ofstatements are not appreciatedin court. Be responsible or wewill refer you to the Bar Councilof India. Since when lawyers arebecoming spokesperson of theirclient," the bench said.

At the outset, AttorneyGeneral K K Venugopal saidthat necessary steps are being

undertaken for her extraditionfrom London.

The bench then askedAdditional Advocate GeneralAishwarya Bhati of UttarPradesh as to whether herhusband has been declaredproclaimed offender or not.Bhati replied that the woman'shusband has already beendeclared proclaimed offenderand necessary steps are beingtaken expeditiously to alsodeclare her proclaimed offenderin the case lodged against her.

The bench then asked as to whatis the status of her properties inthe state. Bhati said that effortsare also being taken to attach thebusinesswoman's properties inthe state.

The bench said that processshould be completedexpeditiously and posted thematter for further hearing on lastweek of January.

Earlier, this week onDecember 12, the apex court hadpulled up the Centre for "noteven bothering about" its orders

on extradition matters andquestioned the government'swill in getting persons evadinglaw back from foreign countries.Awasty was allowed by the apexcourt to travel to London to seeher husband and daughter onJanuary 2016 after giving anundertaking that she will returnby March 31, 2016.

However, the time was laterextended till May 31, 2016, butshe did not return from Londonwhich compelled the apex courtto forfeit her security of Rs 86

lakh, cancellation of bail andinitiation of contemptproceedings.

Awasty had challenged theAllahabad High Court orderrefusing to quash the FIR lodgedagainst her but was granted bailand allowed to travel abroad bythe apex court on anundertaking for looking afterher husband and daughter inLondon. The court had alsorevoked her passport after shefailed to return to India by May31, 2016.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh paying tribute to former Union Minister and Congress leader PriyaRanjan Dasmunsi during a condolence meeting, in New Delhi on Friday.

Sonia, Rahul,Manmohan paytributes to PriyaRanjanDasmunshiNEW DELHI, DEC 15 /--/Congress presidentSonia Gandhi, president-elect Rahul Gandhi andformer prime ministerManmohan Singh paidtributes to former Unionminister Priya RanjanDasmunshi at a prayermeet here today.

Top Congress leadersattended the prayer meetand paid floral tributesat a portrait ofDasmunshi, painted byhis wife and formerUnion minister DeepaD a s m u n s h i .Dasmunshi's sonPriyadeep, who isstudying in London, saidthat he and his motherwould carry forward thelegacy of his father andexpressed his interest injoining politics.Dasmunshi, who hadbeen in coma since 2008,died at the age of 72 at aprivate hospital in NewDelhi on November 20.(PTI

NEW DELHI, DEC 15 /--/ Coldconditions prevailed in north Indiatoday with dense fog covering parts ofPunjab and Haryana, and Kashmirreeling under sub-zero temperatureseven as a medium danger avalanchewarning was issued for some districtsin Himachal Pradesh and Jammu andKashmir. It was a cold and windy dayin Delhi as the maximum temperaturefor the first 14 days of December wasthe lowest today in the last six years.The maximum was at 19.1 degreesCelsius, four notches below theseason's average, a Meteorological(MeT) official said. Shallow foggyconditions were witnessed thismorning as visibility dropped to poorlevels at several places. The minimumsettled at 11.2 degrees Celsius, threenotches above the normal. In a majorrespite for residents in Kashmir,authorities today opened the Sringar-Jammu National Highway restoringthe surface link between the valleyand the rest of the country after twodays. One-way traffic has been allowedon the 300-km highway, the only all-weather road connecting the valley tothe rest of the country, of ficials in

Srinagar said.The road was closed dueto snowfall and landslides at severalplaces, shooting stones at Panthyaland accumulation of snow at theQazigund-Jawahar and Banihal-Jawahar tunnel sectors.

Night temperature across theKashmir division, including theLadakh region, dipped with Pahalgamand Gulmarg registering their coldestnights of the season, the MeTdepartment said. The ski resort ofGulmarg recorded minus 9.8 degreesCelsius while Pahalgam, one of thebase camps for the annual AmarnathYatra, minus 6.5 degrees Celsius. Thetemperature at Leh was minus 8.5degrees Celsius and at Kargil minus 8degrees Celsius. Srinagar recorded alow of minus 1.5 degrees Celsius downfrom the previous night's minus 0.7degrees Celsius. The MeT has forecastlight rain or snowfall at isolated placesin the state over the next 24 hours.

In Himachal Pradesh, biting coldwave conditions swept the hills asminimum temperatures dropped inthe state due to snowfall and rains.Keylong, Kalpa and Manali recordedminus 6.3 degrees Celsius, minus 3

degrees Celsius and zero degreesCelsius respectively. Snowfalloccurred at Keylong and Bharmaur.The areas received 10 cm and 6 cm ofsnow respectively. Naina Devi saw 16mm of rains, followed by 10 mm inSarkaghat and Baldwara; and 7 mm inBaijnath, Dharamshala andJogindernagar. The MeT departmenthas predicted dry weather in theregion over next six days till December20. In Punjab and Haryana, foggyweather conditions prevailed even asminimum temperatures hoveredaround normal levels in both the stateswith Narnaul recording a low of 6.3degrees Celsius. Traffic on severalroads was affected due to fog thatenveloped many places, includingparts of Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar,Karnal, Kurukshetra, Hisar andAmbala. The temperature inChandigarh settled at 12.6 degreesCelsius, five notches above the normal.

However, Haryana reeled undercold weather conditions with Ambala,Hisar and Karnal recording 10.9degrees Celsius, 7.7 degrees Celsiusand 9.8 degrees Celsius respectively,the MeT department said.

Expedite proceedings to declare businesswoman proclaimed offender: SC

Fog in parts of north India;avalanche warning for HP, J-K

NEW DELHI, DEC 15 /--/ BJP presidentAmit Shah today made his parliamentarydebut, occupying a front row seat in theRajya Sabha on the opening day of thewinter session. Shah, 53, who was elected tothe Upper House of Parliament in August,walked in just minutes before theproceedings began. Members of thetreasury benches,including severalministers, stood up towelcome him. Somethumped desks andothers clapped as asmiling Shah greetedthem with folded hands.He then went straight tohis assigned seat in thefront row. Shah has beenallocated the aisle seatright next to the two-seatblock where Leader of the House andFinance Minister Arun Jaitley and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi sit. Rajya Sabhamembers sit in a semi-circle, facing theChair. The semi-circle is divided into sixblocks of seats separated by aisles.

The ruling side is seated on the one sideof the semi- circle and the principalopposition party, Congress on the other.Other parties including allies of the rulingparty or those in the opposition occupy themiddle blocks. Jaitley and Modi have seatsin the front row of the first block. Shah hasbeen allotted the seat in the next blockwhere he has the company of Minister ofConsumer Affairs, Food and Public

Amit Shah makesRajya Sabha debut

Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan and SocialJustice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot.When Shah walked in ministers includingTelecom Minister Manoj Sinha, HRDMinister Prakash Javedkar and I&BMinister Smriti Irani thumped and clappedto welcome him. After he was seated, somemembers walked up to him to greet him. The

seat allotted to Shah waspreviously occupied byM Venkaiah Naidu, whoafter being elected VicePresident in August isnow the Chairman ofRajya Sabha.

The front row seatsin the block next of hishas AIADMK and TMCleaders. The seats in thenext block used to beoccupied by Sitaram

Yechury (CPI-M), Ram Gopal Yadav (SP),rebel JD-U leader Sharad Yadav and BSP'sMayawati till the last session. However, withthe CPI(M) deciding against giving Yechurya third term, his seat is now occupied by hisfellow-comrade T K Rangarajan. While JD-U members have moved near treasurybenches since Nitish Kumar broke rankswith Lalu Prasad's RJD and joined the NDA,its rebel leader Sharad Yadav has beendisqualified. The BSP supremo quit theRajya Sabha in July, complaining that hervoice was being muzzled. After herresignation, her seat has been given herconfidante and BSP leader SatishMishra.(PTI)

Khattar meets home, policeofficials over women safety

Don't say 'beg', we

are a free nation:

Naidu to ministersNEW DELHI, DEC 15 /--/Vice President MVenkaiah Naidu broughtminor changes in theconduct of the RajyaSabha on the first daytoday after taking over asits Chairman, askingministers and membersnot to use colonial termswhile laying papers onthe table. Presiding overthe Upper Houseproceedings on theopening day of the wintersession of Parliament,Naidu said no one shoulduse the word "I beg to"while laying papers onthe table. "Just say I raiseto lay on the table" thelisted papers, he said. "Noneed to beg... this isindependent India." Hemade the observationafter the ministers calledto lay the listed papers onthe table, began theirsentences by saying "I begto lay on the table thepapers listed against myname in today's revisedlist of business." Naiduwas however quick toclarify that this was onlya suggestion and not anorder. This was not onlythe change that Naidubrought in on the first dayas the presiding officer ofthe House. He also stoodup while reading outobituary references. Hispredecessors HamidAnsari and Bhairon SinghShekhawat used to readthe obituary referenceswhile being seated.Lok Sabha SpeakerSumitra Mahajan toostands while reading outobituary references.Naidu took over as theVice President of India inAugust. Vice President isalso the presiding officerof the Rajya Sabha. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, DEC 15 /--/ The SupremeCourt today dismissed the pleas of activistTeesta Setalvad, her husband and her twoNGOs challenging the Gujarat High Courtorder rejecting their pleas for de-freezing oftheir personal bank accounts. A benchheaded by Chief Justice Dipak Misra saidthe pleas are dismissed.

Setalvad, her husband Javed Anandand their two NGOs -- Sabrang Trust andCitizens for Justice and Peace -- hadchallenged the October 7, 2015 verdict ofthe high court in the allegedmisappropriation of funds received bytheir NGOs for Gujarat riot victims of 2002.The apex court had reserved its verdict onJuly 5 this year.

Earlier the top court had questioned thesource of money in the bank accounts ofSetalvad and others which were frozen bythe Ahmedabad Police in 2015 after theallegations of misappropriation hadsurfaced.

One of the residents of Gulberg society,

Firoz Khan Pathan, had filed a complaintagainst Setalvad and others alleging thatmoney was raised to make a museum atGulberg Society in the memory of 69people killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots, butit had not been utilised for the purpose.

The freezing of the accounts byAhmedabad Police had come soon after itscrime branch had started probing a case inwhich Setalvad and others were accused ofembezzling Rs 1.51 crore collected to convertGulbarg Society into a museum.

The high court had upheld the verdictof a lower court in this regard observing thatthe probe was at a serious point in thealleged case of Gulbarg society fundembezzlement. In the embezzlement caselodged by the Gujarat Police, the couplehad challenged the cancellation of bail inthe apex court, while in the alleged FCRAviolation case, CBI has challenged theanticipatory bail granted to them by theBombay High Court. Both matters arepending before the apex court. (PTI)

De-freezing of accounts: SCdismisses Teesta Setalvad's plea

Member of Uttar Pradesh Anganwadi Workers Union holding a protest against state government in support of theirvarious demands at DM office in Mirzapur on Friday.

SRINAGAR, DEC 15 /--/ The Jammuand Kashmir State Human RightsCommission (SHRC) today tookcognisance of a news report about ateacher couple's sacking by a privateschool on their wedding day and askedthe principal to appear before it onMonday.

Justice Bilal Nazki, chairperson of thecommission took serious note of a newsitem and directed the director, schooleducation of the state and principal ofthe Muslim Educational Institute,Pampore, to file a report on Monday, aSHRC spokesperson said. "Besides,principal of the institute is directed to bepresent in person on the said date(Monday)," he added.

Tariq Bhat and Sumaya Bashir,residents of Tral town in Pulwama, wereemployed at Pampore MuslimEducational Institute for the past several

years. They alleged their services wereabruptly terminated by the schoolmanagement on November 30, the day theygot married.

While the principal did not respond tocalls for a comment on the sacking,chairman of the school Bashir Masoodisaid the duo were relieved from theirservices as they were in a "romanticrelationship" before getting married. "Theywere having a romance and it is not good forthe 2,000 students of the school and 200staff members working there. This canadversely affect the students," Masoodisaid.

The couple, however, claimed that theyhad an arranged marriage. "Ours was anarranged marriage. We got engaged a fewmonths ago and the entire schoolmanagement knew about it as Sumayahosted a party for the staff members soonafter the engagement ceremony," Bhat said.

Teacher couple sacked on weddingday in J&K,SHRC seeks report