Observer & Busness 5 May 2012 - Oman Daily Observer

SUKMA district collector Alex Paul Menon (3R), completes paperwork after being released by Maoists at Chintalnar
police base in Sukma district 481 km northeast of Hyderabad, in the Chhattisgarh late on Thursday. — AFP
Call to expedite Madani case
By Ashraf Padanna
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — Prominent
human rights activists, writers and
lmmakers have signed an online petition
to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan
Singh asking for the unconditional release
of Abdunnasar Ma’dani lodged in
a Bangalore jail.
“We are shocked at the way Abdunnasar
Ma’dani, his family and supporters
have been harassed for a long period
by the Karnataka government. Earlier
Ma’dani, falsely accused in the Coimbatore
blast case, was in jail for more than
nine years after which the judge felt he
was innocent,” they said in the petition
posted on change.org.
The signatories include Dr Binayak
Sen, Aruna Roy, Anand Patwarthan, Civic
Chandran, Jameela Prakasham, Neelalohidadasan
Nadar, Dr Sebastian Paul,
BRP Bhaskar, T V Chandran, Kamal,
K R Mohan, K P Kumaran, Lenin Rajendran,
P T Kunhu Mohammed, K G Jayan,
M J Radhakrishnan, Sunny Joseph, Ambikasudhan
Mangad, Rajeev Vijayaraghavan,
P Baburaj, Manilal, V R Gopinath,
Deepesh and Deepu.
According to them, the incarceration
itself is a statement on the way the executive
machinery, judiciary and legislature
Maharashtra caste
panels struck down
MUMBAI — The Bombay High Court yesterday struck down
the Maharashtra government-appointed caste scrutiny committees
which issued around 27,000 caste verication certicates
in the past few months.
Accordingly, all certicates issued by these panels have
been automatically rendered void.
The ruling by the division bench of Justice Ajay Manikrao
Khanwilkar and Justice Nitin Jamdar put a question mark on
the future of hundreds of elected representatives who used provisional
certicates issued by these panels for ling nominations
for local body and civic elections.
The order came on a bunch of 100-odd petitions led by
candidates who lost the elections and alleged that bogus certicates
were issued by the committees.
The court struck down a state government decision of July
30, 2011 that ordered the setting up of the caste scrutiny committees
in districts.
The judges ordered the government to conscate all caste
certicates issued by these committees so far within the next
three months.
The court stayed the operation of the order for 10 weeks
to enable the state government le an appeal in the Supreme
Court.
In the past few months, elections were held for several zila
parishads, panchayat samitis, municipal councils and municipal
corporations. Provisional caste verication certicates were
issued to thousand of candidates by the district collectors.
In earlier elections, the candidates who won the elections
were given a few months’ time to submit their caste verication
certicates. — IANS
PATNA — Road accidents
claimed more than 1,500
lives in Bihar in the rst four
months of this year, with negligent
or drunk drivers being
responsible for an overwhelming
number of accidents, ofcials
say.
Police as well as experts
attribute the alarming rate of
road accidents to trafc rule
violations.
“Violation of trafc rules is
rampant and use of alcohol by
drivers is common. These two
factors caused road accidents,”
a police ofcial said here.
Saket Kumar Singh, a
transport expert, said that till a
few years ago bad and rough
roads were blamed for road
accidents, but that was no
more the case.
works in India and if it had happened in
any other country, he would have been
legally provided compensation for the
human rights violation he suffered due to
his wrong arrest under fabricated charges.
“The human rights violation of
Ma’dani is also a symbol of the way religious
minorities have become second
class citizens in the world’s largest democracy.
We demand immediate release
of Ma’dani as well as withdrawal of false
charges against minorities dalits, adivasis
and people’s movements,” the petition
said.
“We are also shocked at the way the
Indian media in general has reported the
case giving only the viewpoint of the police
and the state. At the same time when
independent journalists like Shahina of
Tehelka dared to investigate the case
and expose the scandal the Karnataka
state administration foisted false charges
against her too! The persecution of Shahina
is a grave threat to the freedom of
speech and to the fundamentals of Indian
democracy itself,” the petition said.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen
Chandy had recently written to his Karnataka
counterpart C V Sadananda Gowda
seeking his intervention for ensuring
better healthcare facilities for Ma’dani
“Smooth roads are causing
more road accidents, thanks to
outing of trafc rules.”
Another police ofcer,
posted with the trafc police,
said most of the road accidents
take place due to negligence of
drivers and trafc violations.
“We have rarely come
across accident cases caused
by failure of vehicle breaks,
bursting of tyres or anything
related with vehicle problems,”
he said.
According to police of-
cials, accidents involving
marriage parties is common.
“Drivers consume alcohol after
sleepless nights to continue
work in the day,” police said.
In 10 days, more than 70
people, including a groom,
were killed in a tragic road ac-
cident in Aurangabad district
that also left the bride critically
injured, Singh said.
He said rash driving, mostly
by teenagers or youths, are
killing people.
The ofcial data of deaths
in road accidents in the last
four months this year is shocking.
There has been a spurt
across districts.
About 150 people were
killed in such incidents in Muzaffarpur
during the period,
followed by 119 in Begusarai,
112 in Patna and 91 in Gaya
district. Last year, during September-October,
more than
500 people were killed in road
accidents in Bihar.
In May 2011, a nationwide
survey conducted by the Ministry
of Road Transport said
and speedy disposal of the cases pending
against him.
Ma’dani, who was acquitted in 2008
after spending nearly a decade in Tamil
Nadu jails as an under-trial in the 1998
Coimbatore serial blasts, has been an
ally of the opposition Left Democratic
Front (LDF) until his arrest on August
17, 2010, in connection with the 2008
Bangalore blasts in which one woman
was killed.
Karnataka Police registered the case
against Ma’dani following the arrest of
Thadiyantavide Nazir, an activist of the
now-defunct Islamic Sevak Sangh, which
Madani headed before he dissolved it to
oat People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
which was an unofcial ally of the Left
Democratic Front (LDF) in the 2009 general
elections.
Ma’dani claims he was framed and
at least two of the prosecution witnesses
have since denied to have given statements
against him and they were forced
to sign in documents written in Kannada
which they cannot read or write.
However, the police in the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)-ruled neighbouring
state assert that it gathered strong
evidences against Ma’dani and the law
would take its course. The Supreme Court
also rejected his bail plea in January.
Rs100 crore ne for
violating green laws
SHIMLA — In a landmark judgment, the green bench of the
Himachal Pradesh High Court yesterday imposed Rs 100 crore
in damages on Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), a subsidiary
of the JP Group, for having set up a cement plant and the dismantling
of a thermal plant, both in the state’s Solan district,
by violating environment laws and making false pleas before
the authorities and the court.
The bench cancelled permissions for the 62 MW captive
thermal plant and directed that it be dismantled within three
months.
The court also set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to
x ofcial responsibility for allowing the illegality.
The court’s order came on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL)
led by Nalagarh-based environment NGO Himparivesh Environment
Protection Society, which had been ghting the battle
against the company on different fronts.
The division bench, comprising Justice Deepak Gupta and
Justice Sanjay Karol observed that the entire foundation of the
environmental clearance obtained by JP Associates is based on
falsehood as the company lied about the cost of the cement
plant.
The court said that JAL managed to get permission for the
thermal plant without Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)
clearance. “Even after it was brought to the notice of the company
that EIA clearance was required, it continued to build the
thermal Plant,” it said.
The court observed that JAL successfully misled and hoodwinked
the state government, H P State Pollution Control
Board, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Environment
Appraisal Committee and all other authorities. — IANS
the number of accidents in
Bihar had almost doubled over
the last four years.
According to the survey
report, the number of road accidents
in Bihar, which was
5,594 in 2006, shot up to
10,065 in 2009.
In sharp contrast, New Delhi
and states like Maharashtra
and Gujarat have recorded a
drop in the number of road accidents,
the report said.
India has the world’s largest
number of road accident
deaths — the National Crime
Records Bureau (NCRB) put
the gure at 130,000 in 2010
— with most lives lost to reckless
driving, poor roads and
lack of proper regulation and
enforcement. — IANS
10 INDIA
OMAN DAILY Observer
SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012
Chhattisgarh denies deal
over collector’s release
SUKMA/NEW DELHI — Thirteen days
after he was kidnapped by Maoists, District
Collector Alex Paul Menon was received
at home in Sukma by his joyous
and relieved family yesterday. Soon after,
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman
Singh said no secret deal had been struck
with the rebels to secure his release.
Menon, a 32-year-old Indian Administrative
Service ofcial from Tamil
Nadu, had emerged on Thursday from
captivity at 6.30 pm, accompanied by
Maoist mediators, in Tarmetla, a tiny
forested hamlet.
He reached his Sukma home yesterday
where he was greeted by wife Asha.
He had been abducted from a forested
area in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh
April 21. The Maoists took him away after
murdering his two bodyguards Amjad
Khan and Kishen Kujur.
He is believed to have been held by
Maoists deep in a forest, amid multiple
layers of security. A visibly fatigued Menon,
who suffers from asthma, said he
was feeling “ok” after emerging from
Maoist captivity. He spent the night at
CII to promote Kerala
By Ashraf Padanna
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — The Confederation of Indian
Industry will launch a campaign to make Kerala the Finest Place
to Live and Work ensuring the best in class health, good education
and high standard of living, its ofcials said here yesterday.
The CII’s Kerala chapter will take concerted efforts in areas
like managing the perception of the state, promoting target industries
where the state has intrinsic strengths and creating an
enabling ecosystem for industrial growth. It has formed sectorwise
promotion panels for the year 2012-13 led by people of
eminence in their areas of operation.
The priorities include creation of a centre of excellence in
entrepreneurship and innovation, especially for the small and
medium enterprises, solid waste management and high-speed
rail corridor.
“India is in the midst of unprecedented economic challenges
and it makes our role not only more demanding but more relevant.
Thankfully we have in Kerala, a government which is
extremely open to suggestions and ideas from the industry. CII
proposes to make best use of this opportunity to groom the state
into an investment destination of choice” said V K Mathews,
chairman of CII Kerala chapter, who heads Kerala-based IBS
Software.
The CII team met top government functionaries, including
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Industry Minister
P K Kunhalikutty and Labour Minister Shibu Baby John, and
presented their agenda for the state. CII is also partnering with
the state in the Emerging Kerala campaign.
“We are extremely pleased and encouraged by the response
of the Kerala government and hope to partner with them meaningfully
in some of the select projects and initiatives,” said vicechairman
C J George, who is the managing director of Geojith-
BNP Paribas Financial Services.
AGARTALA/AIZWAL — The longawaited
repatriation of Reang tribal
refugees from Tripura to neighbouring
Mizoram began yesterday but there is
uncertainty over whether all the migrants
will return home, ofcials here said.
The repatriation of the Reangs, sheltered
in six Tripura camps for the past 15
years, ran into rough weather yesterday
itself, with the majority of inmates declining
to return to their homes in Mizoram
“unless they got written promises of their
safety, security and livelihood”.
“On the request of Mizoram, the Tripura
government had arranged 22 vehicles to
carry around 600 Reang refugees to their
villages in western Mizoram’s Mamit district.
But most refugees were reluctant to
go to their homes before getting written
guarantees from Mizoram,” Sandeep R
Rathore, sub-divisional magistrate of Kanchanpur
in north Tripura said by phone.
“Of the scheduled 600 refugees, only
a Central Reserve Police Force (CPRF)
camp at Chintalnar, 80 km from Sukma
town.
His release sparked off celebrations
by his family here in Sukma town as well
as in Tamil Nadu where his parents live.
Menon’s freedom was ensured after
Maoist interlocutors and government
mediators Nirmala Buch and S K Mishra
signed a two-page agreement on Monday
night.
In line with the pact, a high-powered
committee will be set up to look into all
demands made by the Maoists. These include
considering the release of Maoists
jailed allegedly on fake charges.
Raman Singh denied any secret agreement
with Maoists in exchange for Menon.
“The agreement with the Maoists is
not a secret document and has been put
in the public domain on the website,” Raman
Singh told reporters in Delhi.
He was reacting to reports of Maoists
claiming that the Chhattisgarh government
had agreed to release some prisoners
from jail.
The government panel to look into the
GUWAHATI — Lack of any
quick response team (QRT)
in lower Assam’s Dhubri district
as well absence of any
life-saving equipment on the
vessel led to a high number
of casualties in Monday’s
accident when a ferry, with
almost 350 people on board,
capsized in stormy weather, a
disaster management authority
ofcial said.
Of the total passengers,
only 80 could be rescued,
while around 70 bodies have
been recovered and the remaining
are still missing,
The district administration
has been continuing
with search operation with
the help of National Disaster
Response Force (NDRF), the
Border Security Force (BSF)
and the army, since Tuesday.
An NDRF ofcial, who
spoke on the condition of
anonymity, said the incident
recorded such a high casualty
gure as there is no QRT
operating in the area. The
presence of QRTs in the area
37 went to their villages in Mizoram yesterday
after a lot of day-long persuasion
by the Tripura and Mizoram government
ofcials,” Rathore said.
He added: “The refugees are adamant
not to go back home unless their 18-point
charter of demands are fullled by the Mizoram
and the central governments.”
The demands include a written agreement
between Mizoram, Tripura and the
central government and refugee leaders,
ensuring the livelihood of Reang tribals in
Mizoram and the constitution of a monitoring
committee to supervise the settlement
of home-bound refugees, sheltered
in Tripura for the past 15 years.
A Tripura government ofcial said:
“A team of Mizoram government ofcials
led by Koarta sub-divisional magistrate
Benzamin Lalzama has been camping in
Kanchanpur since Wednesday to take back
the refugees. They also held meetings with
Tripura’s district ofcials. The Tripura
demands of Maoists will be headed by
Nirmala Buch, former Madhya Pradesh
chief secretary. The Chhattisgarh chief
secretary and police chief will also be
part of the committee.
“The committee has started its work
and it will look into cases registered
against innocent people across state jails
and will accordingly make recommendations
to the courts,” he said.
“Nothing else has been agreed to,” he
said.
He also said that he wanted Menon to
continue as the Sukma district collector.
Replying to a question on Operation
Green Hunt — the paramilitary operations
launched against Maoist guerrillas
in the country, Raman Singh said: “There
was no such operation and it does not exist
in state government’s dictionary.”
Asked about the activities that took
place in the name of Salwa Judum, he
said: “People stepped out for their protection,
they just called it something, Salwa
Judum does not exist.”
He also called for a national policy to
deal with hostage crises. — IANS
High toll in ferry
tragedy was avoidable
could have rescued more victims,
the ofcial said.
“The National Disaster
Management Act makes it
mandatory to have QRTs
— formed by training local
volunteers in swimming and
rescue operation, who can
save the lives of the people
immediately after the incident,”
said the ofcial.
“States like Bihar and
Maharashtra have formed
QRTs long time back in all
the sensitive areas. They are
being given honorarium from
the funds under the Jawahar
Rajgar Yojana (JRY). The
services of the QRT are very
important as they can start
the rescue operation immediately.”
The NDRF ofcial also
blamed it to the overloading
of ferries as one of the
major reasons for the tragedy
and said that none of the
ferries that ply during the
day has any life jackets
to be used during any disasters.
— IANS
BOYS dive into the sea at a shing harbour to cool themselves on a hot day in Chennai yesterday. Temperatures
in Chennai yesterday reached 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), according to information
posted on India’s metrological department website. — Reuters
Road mishaps spiral in Bihar; 1500 die Reang refugee repatriation to Mizoram begins
government would provide all logistical
support for the purpose.”
The repatriation of the next batch of refugees
to Mizoram is scheduled on May 8.
“A total of 669 tribal families comprising
about 3,655 men, women and children
are scheduled to be sent back in ve phases
from April 26,” North Tripura district magistrate
Parshanta Kumar said by phone.
Meanwhile, Mizoram Home Minister R
Lalzirliana said in Aizawl that preparations
to receive the Reang tribal refugees have
been made by the Mamit district administration.
“We want all the genuine residents of
Mizoram to return. The state government
and the people of Mizoram would welcome
them,” Lalzirliana told reporters.
The minister regretted that inuenced
by some anti-repatriation leaders, the refugees
were not willing to return to Mizoram
and created problems. — IANS