01-07-2021 The Asian Independent

16 01-07-2021 to 15-07-2021 NEWS
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Gauri Lankesh murder: SC notice on dropping
of organized crime Act against an accused
New Delhi : The Supreme Court on
Tuesday sought a response from the
Karnataka government on an appeal
filed by filmmaker Kavitha Lankesh,
sister of journalist Gauri Lankesh,
challenging the Karnataka High Court
order quashing charges under the
Karnataka Control of Organised
Crimes Act (KCOCA) against one of
the accused in the murder of her sister.
The plea claimed the investigation
by SIT has revealed that Respondent
No. 6, Mohan Nayak, is part of the
syndicate led by Amol Kale which has
committed multiple organized crimes
apart from the murder of Gauri
Lankesh.
The plea said charge-sheets have
been filed with respect to the murders
of Dr Narendra Dabolkar in 2013,
Govinda Pansare in 2015, Dr M.M.
Kalburgi in 2015 and conspiracy to
murder Prof Bhagavan in 2018.
"Accordingly, the condition of at least
2 charge-sheets having been filed
against the syndicate in the last 10
years along with cognizance by competent
court stands fulfilled and invocation
of KCOCA against Respondent
No. 6 stands justified", added the plea.
The plea added that Nayak had
moved the Karnataka High Court for
bail after charges against him under
Stalin sanctions
Rs 100 cr to face
'third' Covid wave
Chennai : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
M.K. Stalin on Tuesday sanctioned an
amount of Rs 100 crore from the Chief
Minister's Public Relief Fund (CMPRF)
towards procuring liquid oxygen for treating
Covid patients. The sanctioned fund
would also be used to take precautionary
measures to face the possibility of a third
wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
An official statement from the Chief
Minister's Office said that an amount of Rs
353 crore was received by the Chief
Minister's Public Relief Fund (CMPRF).
The Chief Minister had earlier sanctioned
Rs 50 crore from CMPRF towards
procuring essential medicines and another
Rs 50 crore for sanctioning RT-PCR test
kits. The official statement said that the
Chief Minister had sanctioned an amount
of Rs 41.40 crore for importing oxygen
concentrators and other equipment, while
Rs 25 crore was allotted for buying essential
medicines to treat patients infected by
Mucormycosis (black fungus).
KCOCA were quashed by the High
Court, and the bail hearing has been
completed in the matter. A Bench of
Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh
Maheshwari and Aniruddha Bose after
hearing arguments by senior counsel
Final easing of
curbs in England
set for July 19
London : UK Secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed
that the final easing of coronavirus lockdown measures
in England is set for July 19 as planned.
In his first statement in the House of Commons
since taking on the new role as Health Secretary, Javid
said on Monday: "We see no reason to go beyond the
19th of July. Because in truth, no date we choose
comes with zero risk for Covid. We know we simply
cannot eliminate it, we have to learn to live with it.
"We also know that people and businesses need
certainty, so we want every step to be irreversible.
Make no mistake, the restrictions on our freedoms
must come to an end. July 19 remains our target date."
Javid made the remarks as the UK reported another
22,868 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period,
the highest since January 30 this year, according to
official figures released Monday. The total number of
coronavirus cases in the country now stands at
4,771,289, while the death toll stood at 128,367.
Javid's statement came less than 48 hours after he was
named the Health Secretary following his predecessor
Matt Hancock's resignation on June 26. Hancock
resigned after admitting that he broke social distancing
guidelines during an alleged affair with his aide,
which caused an outrage in the country.
Huzefa Ahmadi assisted by advocate
Aparna Bhat, representing the petitioner,
issued notice to the Karnataka
government and scheduled the case
for further hearing on July 15.
The High Court on April 22
Kathmandu : Nepal on
Monday launched a digital visa
system to replace its 45-yearold
hand-written visa regime.
Deputy Prime Minister and
Home Minister Bishnu Prasad
Paudel inaugurated the new
system under which visas are
produced digitally from the
integrated information system
of the Department of
Immigration, the Xinhua news
agency reported.
According to a statement by
the Department of
Immigration, key features of
the digital visa system include
hologram and water mark as
security features and QR code
in visa sticker with details of
the visa enabling authorities to
determine whether the visa is
authentic with the help of QR
code readers. The department
said that as the digital system
generates visas, their details
cannot be tempered. Likewise,
the software system itself will
generate visa numbers and
three visas can be accommodated
on a single page of passport.
"With the new system, the
security and management of
visas is expected to be strengthened,"
the department said.
"Currently, we issue visas by
quashed the order of the Bengaluru
Commissioner of Police passed in
2018 and the supplementary chargesheet
filed thereafter. Offences under
Sections 3(1)(i), 3(2), 3(3) and 3 (4) of
the Karnataka Control of Organised
writing manually on a printed
copy of visa sticker and such
visa is pasted on the passport of
foreigners," Jhanka Nath
Dhakal, information officer at
the Department of
Immigration, told Xinhua.
"Under the new system, nothing
should be done manually to
issue the visa." He said the new
system would pave the way for
the issuance of e-visas in the
future.
On the day, over 150 digital
visas were issued to foreigners,
with a Portuguese citizen being
Crime Act, 2000 against Mohan
Nayak were, thereby, dropped.
The top court observed that the
accused cannot be granted bail till the
plea is heard and disposed off by the
Supreme Court.
The plea claimed Nayak has been
actively involved in providing shelter
to the killers prior to and after committing
the offence and has participated
in a series of conspiracies, abetting,
planning, providing logistics. "With
regard to Respondent No. 6's involvement
in the murder of Gauri Lankesh,
the investigating agency has collected
sufficient material to connect him with
the case and establish his intimate
nexus with the mastermind behind the
entire event i.e. Accused No.1 Amol
Kale and master arms trainer Accused
No. 8 Rajesh D. Bangera who are part
and parcel of an "organized crime syndicate"
from its inception", added the
plea. The plea said: "The High Court
has failed to appreciate that on a bare
perusal of several judgments on the
question of invoking provisions of
KCOCA, it is revealed that the
requirement of one or more chargesheet
relates to unlawful activity of an
organized crime syndicate and does
not pertain to a particular member of
the crime syndicate."
NEPAL introduces
digital visa system
the first to receive such a visa,
said Dhakal.
The Department of
Immigration started the new
system at its headquarters, but
it aims to introduce it to all of
its offices within four months
after the new 2021-22 fiscal
year begins in mid-July.
While launching the digital
visa system, Paudel said it
would make Nepali visas more
credible and help ensure
national security, according to a
press statement released by the
Home Ministry.