BAHRAICH, AUGUST 31: Fivelabourers were killed and 11 others in-jured when a passenger vehicle in UttarPradesh rammed into a truck inBahraich district on Monday.

All the labourers had returned to theirhomes during the national lockdownand were going back to work, policesaid.

They were travelling in a ForceCruiser from Bihar to Ambala inHaryana when the MUV rammed into astationary truck parked alongside theroad near Sukai Purwa crossing inPayagpur.

Two labourers died on the spot and14 injured were rushed to a hospital,where three more succumbed to theirinjuries.

Superintendent of Police VipinMishra said that all the victims were inthe age group of 18-40.

They have been identified as JitendraGiri, Kanchan Ram, Sanjay Prasad andBasant Prasad -- from Bihar -- andPawan, who is from Gonda in UttarPradesh.

The families have been informed andthe bodies sent for post-mortem.

5 migrant labourers bound for Ambalakilled in UP accident, 11 others injured

BATALA, AUGUST 31:The Batala police have ar-rested six persons, includingtwo ASIs and a policemandeployed with the CM secu-rity, for allegedly killing therelative of a woman excise in-spector following a road ragebrawl in Bhagwanpurai vil-lage late on Sunday.

SSP Rachpal Singh, ac-companied by senior offi-cers, reached the spot and or-dered the arrest of theaccused after conducting apreliminary inquiry.

Those nabbed have beenidentified as ASIs RanjitSingh and Baljit Singh, bothposted with the Amritsar citytraffic staff, Head ConstablesAvtar Singh and BalkarSingh, both doing duty asgunmen with ADGP (retd)Parampal Singh Sidhu,Surinder Singh, a policemandeployed with CM security,and Simrat Singh.

The accused were travel-ling in two cars and wantedto overtake the car ofAmarpreet Kaur, an exciseinspector. However, sourcessay, she did not give way tothe cops because of the nar-row road. After a 15-minutechase, Kaur swerved her carinto a narrow alley of her na-tive village of Bhagwanpur.

The irate cops managed tostop her vehicle and the mo-ment they did so, they

started damaging it. Shecalled her brother-in-lawGurmej Singh (husband'sbrother). Her father-in-lawAmrik Singh is a former SADsarpanch.

In the ensuing altercation,one of the cops shot deadGurmej Singh (28). The copswere surrounded by nearly25 boys who were playingkabaddi under lights nearby.Gurmej himself was akabaddi player.

The SSP said a case underIPC Section 302 has beenregistered at Kotli SuratMalhi police station. A se-nior officer claimed the ac-cused indulged in eve-teas-ing before they shot deadGurmej.

“Despite the fact thatAmarpreet Kaur had dis-closed her identity, the po-licemen started passing lewdremarks against her. This in-furiated her following whichshe rang up Gurmej. How-ever, the accused, who wereheavily drunk, refused to lis-ten to him and instead one ofthem took out his service re-volver and gunned downGurmej from point-blankrange,” he added.

The officer refused to re-veal who was the policemanwho actually shot the de-ceased. “We are still investi-gating and will reveal moredetails soon,” said the SSP.

2 drunk Punjab ASIs, cop deployed in CM security shoot dead woman excise inspector's relative in road rage

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 31: TheSupreme Court on Monday ordered ac-tivist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan to pay aRe 1 fine by September 15 for contemptof court, failing which he will be sent tojail for three months and debarred frompractising law for three months.

A three-judge Bench headed by Jus-tice Arun Mishra -- which had heldBhushan guilty of contempt of court onAugust 14 for scandalising the Judiciaryby his tweets against CJI SA Bobde andfour former CJIs -- took strong excep-tion to the contemnor talking to thepress and releasing his statement tojournalists in advance.

Bhushuan brought further disreputeto the court by giving wide publicity to hisstatements before they were consideredby the top court, said the Bench whichalso included Justice BR Gavai and Jus-tice Krishna Murari.

Bhushan's act of releasing his state-ment to the press before it was consid-ered by the court amounted to interfer-ence in the administration of justice,said the Bench.

The top court had on August 25 re-served its order on sentence after hearingdetailed arguments from senior advo-cate Rajeev Dhavan, representingBhushan and Attorney General KKVenugopal.

A defiant Bhushan had refused toapologise, saying an insincere apologywould amount to “contempt of my con-science and of an institution that I hold inhighest esteem”.

Dhavan had urged it not to make hima martyr. "My humble and most re-spectful submission is don't makePrashant Bhushan a martyr," Dhavanhad said. If the court wanted to debarBhushan from practising law, it willhave to hear him first, he had submit-ted.

Venugopal had said, "My suggestionwould be to give a quietus to this mat-ter without getting into that exercise."

Maintaining that a warning wouldsuffice, the Attorney General had saidBhushan must express regret and with-draw his affidavit justifying his contro-versial tweets against CJI SA Bobde andfour former CJIs.

Justice Mishra – who is due to retireon September 2 – had noted during the

hearing that it was quite painful to de-cide a contempt case just before demit-ting his office.

Maintaining that criticism of judiciarywas welcome, Justice Mishra had saidjudges can’t be attributed motives.“Which judge is left out -- sitting or re-tired?...Judges are condemned, theirfamilies humiliated…and they can’teven speak…Who will protect them, ifnot the Bar?” he wondered.

“It’s about the system. If we (Bar &Bench) are going to destroy each other,who will have faith in this institution?You have to be tolerant, see what thecourt is doing and why. Don't just at-tack. Judges can't go to press to defendthemselves or explain,” Justice Mishrasaid.

In another contempt case initiatedagainst Bhushan in 2009 for his state-ment that half of the 16 former CJIswere “corrupt”, the Bench agreed to referto an appropriate Bench the question ofconflict between right to free speech andsuo motu contempt powers of court.

It had directed that the matter beplaced before the CJI for sending it toan appropriate Bench for further hearingon September 10 after Dhawan saidthese issues needed to be decided by alarger Bench.

SC fines Prashant Bhushan Re 1 for con-tempt, will face 3-month jail if it's not paid

NEW DELHI, AUGUST31: The Supreme Court has is-sued standard operating pro-cedure (SOP) for proposedphysical hearing of the caseswhich will commence on anexperimental basis on the re-quest of various lawyers’ bod-ies.

The apex court has beenholding hearings throughvideo conferencing sinceMarch 25 due to the COVID-19-induced nationwide lock-down and even after the re-strictions were relaxed; it hasdecided to continue with thepractice.

A seven-judge committeeheaded by Justice N V Ra-mana has earlier this monthafter consideration of requestsmade by various Bar Associa-tions has recommended to theChief Justice of India S ABobde, to resume physicalhearing of the cases on an ex-perimental basis while adher-ing to additional safety norms.

However, no date has beenmentioned in the SOPs, asfrom when the physical hear-ing of cases in limited mannerwill commence.

The SOP issued by secretarygeneral Sanjeev S. Kalgaonkarof the top court said, “On anexperimental basis, and as apilot scheme, physical hearingof matters may initially com-mence in three Court-rooms;eventually, number of mattersor the number of Court-roomsmay be increased or reduced,as the situation may warrantor permit.”

It said only such number oflawyers or parties may be per-mitted to appear during phys-ical hearing inside Court-rooms, so that the totalnumber does not exceed theworking capacity of theCourt(s) as determined con-

sidering the physical distanc-ing norms.

“If in a matter the numberof parties is more, then oneAdvocate on Record (AOR)and one arguing counsel perparty will be allowed entry;one registered Clerk per party,as may be chosen by the AOR,shall be allowed entry to carrypaper-books/journals etc. ofthe Counsels upto the Court-rooms,” it said.

The top court administra-tion has said that entry into theHigh Security Zone throughproximity cards/long termpasses shall be kept sus-pended, till further orders.

It said the entry of coun-sels/parties or such otherstakeholders to appear forsuch limited physical hearingwill be through daily “Specialhearing passes” which will beissued by the Registry, on thebasis of authorization by theconcerned Advocate onRecord. The two-page SOPssaid multiple sets of one chairand table are being placed in-side the Court Rooms, in theareas demarcated for Advo-cates/Parties-in-Person, andit shall be incumbent upon theusers to maintain minimumprescribed physical distancingnorms between each set,which should not be removed

from their positions.“Advocates/Parties-in-Per-

son/Clerks or other stake-holders, who have been issuedSpecial Hearing Passes, uponcompletion of necessary for-malities, online or otherwiseas may be notified in due time,shall enter the High SecurityZone through the designatedGate, after subjecting them-selves to the thermal and suchother scanning devices as maybe installed for detecting bodytemperature, infection status,”it said. The administrationsaid on entering the High Secu-rity Zone, Advocates/ Parties-in-Person would proceed tothe staging areas/vacantCourt-rooms as may be desig-nated, and wait for their turnto enter respective CourtRooms where physical hear-ing of their respective case(s)may be scheduled, and theywould proceed only throughthe movement corridors cre-ated and demarcated for thepurpose.

“The entry into and exitfrom each Court Room shallbe by separate doors; entrantsinto the Court Rooms are ad-vised to use the sanitisationdevices for sanitising theirhands and also the papers andother items/articles that theymay seek to carry into the

Court Rooms, with them”, itsaid.

Earlier, the top court ad-ministration had informedbar bodies that three amongthe bigger courtrooms will bereadied within that time forphysical hearing of the finalhearing cases, while adheringto the prescribed distancingand other norms and as permedical advice.

It had clarified that all othermatters, including miscella-neous ones which are listed onMondays and Fridays, shallcontinue to be heard throughvideo/teleconferencing mode,as per existing Standard Op-erating Procedure (SOP) tillfurther orders.

On August 11, a committeeof seven Supreme Courtjudges, which is looking intothe suggestions and requestsfor resumption of physicalhearing, recommended sittingof three out of the 15 benches inthe apex court with some ad-ditional safety measures.

The judges’ panel has metleaders such as Bar CouncilChairperson Manan KumarMishra, Supreme Court BarAssociation PresidentDushyant Dave and SupremeCourt Advocates On RecordAssociation (SCAORA) Shiv-aji Jadhav on the issue of re-sumption of physical hearingsin the top court.

Bar leaders have been de-manding the start of the phys-ical hearings as soon as possi-ble, while continuing withvirtual court hearings with animproved system for limitedtypes of matters.

However, several lawyershave been opposed to the ideaof starting of physical courthearing of the cases while re-ferring to the rise in number ofCOVID-19 cases.

SC to commence physical hearing of cases in limited manner, issues SOP

MUMBAI, AUGUST 31: RheaChakraborty and her brother Showik onMonday once again appeared before theCentral Bureau of Investigation's Spe-cial Investigation Team (SIT) for an-other round of questioning in theSushant Singh Rajput death case.

Rhea and Showik arrived at theDRDO guesthouse for the fourth con-secutive day.

The agency sources said that they willbe questioned about Rhea andSushant's break-up; when she came toknow about the death of the actor andhow she managed to enter the mortu-

ary of Cooper hospital.Rhea will also be questioned about

the drug chats and relations with filmmaker Sandeep Ssingh.

She has been questioned by the CBIfor over 25 hours in the last three days.On Friday she was questioned for over10 hours, seven hours on Saturday andeight hours on Sunday.

Following the Supreme Court's nod,the CBI arrived in Mumbai after theyregistered a case on the Centre's orderson August 6 following the complaint ofSushant's father K.K. Singh in a Patnapolice station on July 25.

CBI has till date questioned Sushant'sflatmate Siddharth Pithani, personalstaff Neeraj Singh, Dipesh Sawant andothers.

Rhea, Showik arrive for CBI questioning

NEW YORK, AUGUST31: An Indian-origin family'scar dealership was set ablazeby rioters in the protest-hitUS city of Kenosha, Wiscon-sin destroying nearly 100 ve-hicles and causing damagesworth $2.5 million, accord-ing to family members.

"Everybody watched itburn to ashes. Nobody didnothing about it, nothing,"Kenosha News on Saturdayquoted family member An-mol Khindri as saying.

The newspaper said thathe estimated the losses afterthe first attack on August 23at about $1.5 million and aftera second the following day at$2.5 million.

Josie Rodriguez, who livednext to the destroyed cardealership, told KenoshaNews that when she phonedthe police and fire emergencynumber, the operators toldher it was not safe for fire-fighters to respond to thescene and did not respond.

Protests erupted inKenosha following the Au-gust 23 police shooting of Ja-cob Blake, a 27-year-oldAfrica-American man.

The motive of the shootingby a white police officer re-mains unknown.

Another member of thefamily that owned the burnt-down car dealership inter-viewed by the conservativeweb site, The Federalist, said:"We didn't have anything todo with this. I am a minoritytoo. I am a brown person. Ihave nothing to do with this.

"This is not the America Icame into. I could not evenimagine (this happening)."The family member told TheFederalist that his parentshad immigrated from Indiaand built the business "tyreby tyre, car by car", after sav-ing money by working inpetrol pumps and restau-rants.

They started with six carsand turned it into a 100-carbusiness which has turned to

ashes, he said."We didn't do anything.

What did we deserve to allthis? My family has been intears for the last three, fourdays. We didn't inherit thisbusiness. We built it from theground up," he added.

According to KenoshaNews, a crowd-sourcingfundraiser for the family hasbeen set up on Go Fund Me,an internet-based site wherethe public can make contri-butions.

The riots in Kenosha andacross the US that are an off-shoot of the DemocraticParty-backed Black LivesMatter movement's protestsagainst racism and the policekilling of African-Americanshave become a politically di-visive issue ahead of the No-vember election.

The violence has come inhandy for President DonaldTrump to project his stridentlaw-and-order stance, whilehis Democratic rival, formerVice President Joe Biden,has been muted in his criti-cism of the rioting, lootingand arson overshadowingthe peaceful protests.

The Black Lives Matterprotests began in May afterthe death of George Floyd, anunarmed African-American,

on May 25 in Minneapoliswhen a policeman knelt onhis neck for about nine min-utes.

White people have joinedthe protests, sometimes out-numbering African-Ameri-cans.

Trump is scheduled to visitKenosha on Tuesday to meetlaw enforcement officialsand survey the damage fromthe riots, but the state's De-mocratic Governor TonyEvers has asked him not tocome.

Evers wrote to Trump thathis "presence will only hin-der our healing" and "delayour work to overcome divi-sion".

Meanwhile, Biden was ex-pected to visit Kenosha onMonday, but will now in-stead campaign in Pennsyl-vania.

Trump, who has threat-ened federal interventions incities overrun by violence,scored a point when Everscalled in the National Guardand also requested assis-tance from three other states.

Trump tweeted on August28: "Success: Since the Na-tional Guard moved intoKenosha, Wisconsin, twodays ago, there has been NOFURTHER VIOLENCE, not

even a small problem." ThePresident had sent federallaw enforcement to Portland,Oregon to guard federalproperty despite protests bylocal officials and Democ-rats.

The Black Lives Mattermovement has called for cut-ting police budgets and suc-ceeded in some places, whilethe Minneapolis City Coun-cil gave in to protesters andvoted to abolish the policedepartment.

There has been a surge incrimes in major cities, whichpolice union officials at-tribute to their demoralisa-tion due to the anti-policesentiments.

The riots accompanyingthe protests have witnessedclashes, some of themarmed, between left-wingdemonstrators and right-wing counter-protesters.

A 17-year-old boy, who isfrom a neighbouring stateand is white, shot and killedto people on August 25 dur-ing a confrontation with pro-testers in Kenosha.

On Saturday, a man be-longing to a right-wing or-ganisation, Patriot Prayer,was shot dead in the middleof a clash between the leftand the right.

Indian-origin family's car dealership worth$2.5 million set ablaze by rioters in US

7THE HIMALAYAN MAIL JAMMU TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 01, 2020

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

CHANDIGARH, AUGUST 31: Akite festival turned into a nightmarefor a three-year-old girl in Taiwan asshe was lifted high into the air aftergetting caught in the strings of a largekite. Captured on video, the incidentoccurred in the seaside town of Nan-liao near Hsinchu in Japan on Sunday.

The girl got wound in the giant long-tailed kite before being lifted severalmeters into the air.

Posted on Facebook, the videoshows the girl getting twisted severaltimes in the air for about 30 secondsbefore being caught by a man on theground.

3-year-old gets lifted into air aftergetting entangled in kite strings