The Supreme Court on Friday directed the military establishment to take possession of the scam-tainted 31-storey Adarsh Apartments in the heart of Mumbai and maintain the building with 102 flats till the disposal of Adarsh Housing Society’s appeal against Bombay High Court’s April 29order of demolition.
A Bench of Justices J Chelameswar and AM Sapre asked the Bombay High Court’s Registrar to ensure that the housing complex was handed over to the Military Estate Director on or beforeAugust 5 after allowing the society to take away its records and the furniture in the flats.
Arguing for the society, senior counsel Shekhar Naphade pleaded for letting his client continue to maintain the upkeep of the tower till the disposal of the appeal, which normally took not less than five years. But the Bench said there was no question of accepting this plea.
Naphade noted that the Centre and the Maharashtra Government were fighting over the ownership of the land, which once was with the Navy, and as such it would not be proper to let the military maintain it. But the Bench was not convinced.
All the residents vacated the housing complex in 2010 as the municipal authorities cut off water and power supply on court orders.
The high court has also ordered criminal proceedings against the politicians and bureaucrats for their role in the illegal construction of the tower.
N EASTERN LADAKH: PART-V Global warming Army’s new foe
In the wee hours of February 3 this year, an unprecedented ‘ice avalanche’ hit the northern part of the Siachen glacier. It killed 10 soldiers and put spotlight on the new risk posed to troops by global warming on the glacier and the adjoining 18,000-ft-high peaks of the mighty Karakoram mountains.It’s now emerging that the frequency of avalanches has increased by some 30 per cent at Siachen and also on the higher peaks of the Karakoram range on which India has a vital toehold in eastern Ladakh. The range in India largely falls in an area defined by military as the sub-sector north (SSN).(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)A rise in minimum and maximum temperatures has been witnessed, which has led to at least three immediate off-shoots, say Army officials who have been monitoring the phenomenon since five years. The quantum of snowfall has doubled, winter is setting in late and the maximum snow is being witnessed in April; thirdly, the rise in minimum temperature is not allowing the snow to freeze into hard ice. Thus, snow remains moist, resulting in slippery slopes that are avalanche-prone.In the past four to five years, the average minimum temperature has risen. From minus 40°C in 2012, it has risen to minus 30°C this year. Similarly, the average maximum temperature has gone up from 13°C in 2012 to 15.5°C in 2016. The snowfall increased from average 650 cm in 2012-13 to 1,300 cm in the winter of 2015-16.Avalanches are of two types: snow and ice. The latter is more dangerous as blocks of ice — as hard as rocks — fall off from the permafrost of glaciated peaks. This kind of avalanche hit the Sonam post atop the glacier on February 3. A snow avalanche, on the other hand, is loose snow rolling down the mountain slopes in a big mass. Col UB Gurung of the 19 Madras Regiment that faced the ice avalanche says, “We are experiencing avalanches in areas that do not traditionally see these, like the northern parts of Siachen glacier”.At Leh, the headquarters of the 14 Corps — tasked with guarding Siachen and eastern Ladakh — officials say avalanches have increased by 20-30 per cent and new crevices have opened up. The Chandigarh-based Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) has been asked to study the phenomena and prepare a detailed report on what all are new vulnerable spots and which all troop-stationed posts will need special care.Till then, the Army has changed its standard operating procedures for troops atop the glacier and also those stationed at lofty heights in the SSN. These procedures were put in place this winter (October to May). (Series concluded)
Counterstrategy: Changed SOPs, better safety gear
The Army has changed its standard operating procedures (SOPs) atop the glacier and those at the sub-sector
Snow-penetrating radars, thermal imagers, snow drillers and ice cutters are now kept as “stores” at posts
Troops wear rescue suits like a belt, which inflates like a balloon and keeps the person afloat in avalanche
As per new procedures, avalanche deflectors are stationed at vulnerable posts and rescue teams are pre-positioned
Movement control centre controls movement of troops during an avalanche warning period
SRINAGAR: The army on Tuesday expressed regret for the death of three civilians in firing by its troops and announced an inquiry into the incident, while a court directed the police to register a case against one of their own for the killing of a Srinagar resident.
The developments marked another day of tension in Kashmir as the toll touched 44, citizens had to go without newspapers despite the end of a three-day publication ban, and CM Mehbooba Mufti faced criticism over her adviser’s claim that she had not approved the media blackout.
In Pakistan, Lashkar-eTaiba founder Hafiz Saeed led a ‘Kashmir Caravan’ from Lahore to Islamabad to protest the deaths in Jammu and Kashmir. With the Nawaz Sharif government planning to observe a “black day to express solidarity with Kashmiris” on Wednesday, strict restrictions are expected to be imposed in the Valley .
Terming the civilian deaths on Monday in south Kashmir’s Qazigund “unfortunate”, a defence spokesman said, “The army deeply regrets the unfortunate loss of life in the incident… where troops were forced to open fire when a mob turned violent, resorting to heavy stone-pelting, and attempted to snatch the weapons of soldiers. An inquiry has been ordered.”
A man and a woman were killed in the firing while another woman succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday. The police also felt the heat as Srinagar chief judicial magistrate Masrat Shaheen ordered an FIR against a deputy superintendent of police accused of killing Shabir Ahmad in cold blood in his house on July 10. Witnesses and sources claimed Ahmad was targeted as he had a history of stone-pelting. His family maintains he was shot at close range.
Navy sources said that there was no loss of life or collateral damage to other naval assets in the harbour and that a board of inquiry has been ordered into the incident. (Photo for representation only). Reuters file photo
Mumbai, July 19
Two security boats of the Indian Navy used for patrolling of Mumbai waters sank at the naval dockyard on Tuesday after a fire that broke out in one.
Navy sources said that there was no loss of life or collateral damage to other naval assets in the harbour and that a board of inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
The sources said the fire broke out early morning in one of the security boats.
“During the fire fighting, two boats suffered damages and ingress of water and are submerged in shallow waters inside the naval harbour area. Efforts are in progress to salvage the boats,” a navy official said.
He said that the boats are small in size and are immediate support vessels. — PTI
CANDLE LIGHT MARCH FOR RELEASE OF POWS:: ON 16 JUL 2016 AT SECTOR 17 PLAZA,CHANDIGARH FROM 7 P.M ONWARDS
Ex-servicemen and relatives of prisoners of war (PoWs) will take out a candle march on Saturday at Sector -17 Plaza near fountain on 16 Jul 2016 from 7 p.m onward to nudge the Centre to take up their case aggressively with Pakistan government and ensure their return.
Capt Channan Singh, who is spearheading the procession,along with team of Sanjha Morcha( Ex-Servicemen joint Action front) and other ESM organisations,veterans along with their families and supporters from all walks including students,advocates will take out process as scheduled.
There are 54 PoWs still languishing in various jails of Pakistan and have details and proofs of many of the prisoners lodged in Pakistan jails but the government was not doing enough to bring them back.
Ex-Servicemen Says
“We don’t need Dawood or Hafiz Saeed, we need our 54 lions who had fought for the nation,” “if the government didn’t listen to them, the United Front of Ex-servicemen would stop Samjhauta Express, Amritsar-Lahore bus service and also hold a gherao at Pakistan high commission in Delhi”.
Baljinder Kaur, daughter of Sepoy Balwinder Singh who is one among the 54 PoWs, says they wanted to attract the government’s attention. She commented, ‘achhe din’ will only come when our dear ones will be released from dingy cells of Pakistan jails.
The report of south Asian human rights commission regarding the PoW of 1971 war in Kot Lakhpat Jail visited by the human rights team which found the POWS in a Pakistani jail was sent by the South Asian Human Rights Commission with Canada-based Shitaldas Kaler and Amrit Rai Singh as members.
The duo had gone to Kot Lakhpat Jail in 2003 to visit Sarabjit Singh, an Indian, who had been sentenced to death in Pakistan on spying charges. While the duo was in the jail, its attention was drawn by shouts emanating from a particular barrack of the prison:
“We are 1971 POWS. We have been rotting here for the past 35 years. Please get us out of this hell.”
They then found out that 11 of the POWS were lodged in Kot Lakhpat Jail while some were in other Pakistani jails and many had died. Kaler says:
“These Indian POWS are living in a miserable condition in Pakistani jails.
Why our Indian Government does not act.Lets ask the Government to wake up and get them released on humanitarian ground and boost morale of the defence forces
ALL EX -SERVICEMEN OF TRICITY ARE REQUESTED TO JOIN THE MARCH AS A MORAL RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS OUR BROTHRES LANGUISHING IN PAK JAILS.
KINDLY BRIG CANDLES ALONGWITH EVEN MATCH BOXES FOR THE GREAT SHOW OF SOLIDARITY.
LEGAL REPRIEVE Activists say the Apex court’s judgment will ensure those who violate rights or indulge in extra-judicial killings will not go unpunished
The ruling will ensure that those who violate rights or indulge in extra-judicial killings will not go unpunished. A blanket AFSPA on the people of Manipur is in itself a violation of the Constitution… BEENALAXMI NEPRAM, Rights activist This won’t make my son come back to life. But an honest probe should save other fathers in Manipur the trauma of losing their sons to bullets TOKPAM SAMARENDRA, whose son was allegedly killed by personnel of Assam Rifles
GUWAHATI: Tokpam Samarendra waited almost 16 years for justice. He didn’t get it on July 8 when the Supreme Court said the armed forces cannot use excessive or retaliatory force even in areas where the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is in force.
But the 72-year-old man from Manipur saw a ray of hope when the top court sought an independent inquiry into 1,528 cases of extra-judicial killings between May 1979 and May 2012 in his home state. His son, Shantikumar, is on that list. “This won’t make my son come back to life. But an honest probe should save other fathers in Manipur the trauma of losing their sons to bullets,” Samarendra said.
His 19-year-old son was among 10 people that Assam Rifles personnel, reacting to a bomb blast, had allegedly gunned down at Malom near the Manipur capital Imphal on November 2, 2000.
The incident made Irom Sharmila, then 28, go on an indefinite fast against the “draconian” AFSPA, which gives security forces extra-judicial powers during anti-insurgency operations.
Manipur had seen massacres by armed forces before Malom. In March 1984, CRPF personnel gunned down 13 people, including a 10-year-old girl, watching a volleyball match at Heirangoithong on the outskirts of Imphal.
Irom Sharmila, who has vowed to end her fast only if AFSPA is repealed, has been going through a release-and-re-arrest routine and is nose-fed at a government hospital ward, which has been converted into a jail for her.
The CRPF men, a probe panel said later, had reacted after a group of Manipuri militants snatched the rifles of nine constables standing guard near the volleyball court and shot the tenth before melting away.
Operation Bluebird followed three years later at Oinam, a Naga village 95km north of Imphal.
An Amnesty International report said the armed forces tortured the villagers from July to October 1978 after National Socialist Council of Nagaland rebels attacked an Assam Rifles outpost, killed nine soldiers and took away their arms and ammunition.
That period of “punishment” for helping rebels claimed 27 lives, though the official count is 15.
Such incidents of mass killings stirred human rights campaigners into action. Sharmila’s silent protest put the focus on the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and how it gives the security forces the “licence to kill”.
Sharmila, who has vowed to end her fast only if the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is repealed, has been going through a release-and-re-arrest routine and is nose-fed at a government hospital ward, which has been converted into a jail for her.
Imphal-based Human Rights Alert Manipur (HRAM) and Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families Association, Manipur (EEVFAM), which petitioned the top court on the 1,528 cases, say people are often picked up at random and killed in “encounters” — a name given to shootouts with militants, real or staged.
The association’s president, 33-yearold Renu Takhellambam, lost her husband Monghangjao in one such “encounter” on April 6, 2007. “The Supreme Court’s observation in connection with our cases is welcome, but justice still eludes us,” she said.
Babloo Loitongbam, executive director of HRAM, termed the court’s view a small step forward in a long legal battle.
“We have been demanding a special investigation team to probe the 1,528 cases, but we are not clear what this probe (as sought by SC) means,” he said.
The court, said rights activist Beenalaxmi Nepram, has reaffirmed people’s faith in the justice system. “The ruling will ensure that those who violate rights or indulge in extra-judicial killings will not go unpunished. A blanket AFSPA on the people of Manipur is in itself a violation of the Constitution. We will keep fighting for its repeal from the entire country,” she said.
But army and paramilitary officers say they never use excessive force, pointing out that Manipur Police commandos – without the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act shield – are accused in many of the 1,528 cases. An instance is that of Hijam Sanjoy, 26, who the commandos had killed in an “encounter” on June 28, 2008.
“Full removal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is not desirable. But every state should review the situation and remove it from areas where it is not needed.
Tripura decided to lift AFSPA last year while the army does not operate in certain cities of Assam. Manipur too made the Imphal area AFSPAfree, but states troubled by terrorism want the act to stay,” Guwahati-based Ranjit Barthakur, retired brigadier, said.
In 2005, the Justice Jeevan Reddy panel recommended repealing Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and incorporation of its provisions into the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.Manipur’s AFSPA-phobia does not necessarily translate into hostility towards the army or paramilitary forces. But reining in the armed forces and probing the extra-judicial killings, many feel, would go a long way in delivering justice to a scarred state.
Anil Chowdhry
It suits the political masters to keep the police under their tutelage and often misuse it to sub-serve their vested interests. The ordinary citizen is the sufferer.
BYSTANDERS: The ineffective role of the police during the Jat agitation in Haryana was manifestation of the breakdown of a healthy relationship between the political and police leadership. PTI
Safety and security of citizen’s lives and properties, and maintenance of law and order, the basis of police forces the world over, has unfortunately taken a back seat in India. It lies deeply buried in our colonial past and unwillingness of the political and bureaucratic leadership of free India to make the police a service to its citizens, as agents of the law.There are clear and repeated indications that law and order is being allowed to be breached and criminal depredations continue with impunity in some parts of our country. Rioting by a cult mob in Mathura — which took a toll of 29 lives, including two police bravehearts — and the mayhem witnessed for almost 10 days earlier this year in large parts of Haryana are pointers to the dark alleys through which law and order in our country is traversing.The focus of policing created by British rulers vide the Indian Police Act of 1861, coming in the wake of the 1857 uprising, was unsurprisingly to defend their newly imposed (1858) sovereignty against public unrest. The British encouraged Indian police officers to create rutba, a Persian term denoting aura of power, which helped in maintenance of peace. This rutba naturally began diminishing after Independence and has almost disappeared now. Post Independence, it suits our political masters to keep the police under their tutelage and often misuse it to sub-serve their vested interests. The ordinary citizen consequently is the sufferer. But who cares.The Prakash Singh Committee Report pointing to the total collapse of policing and mobs being allowed to indulge in wanton looting and arson in Haryana are indeed shocking. Dereliction of duty and even connivance of certain police officers with the rioters brought out by the report are areas of serious concern and deserve to be taken note of by the highest levels in the government. But will such incidents arouse public ire to the extent of forcing the political masters to put policing in our country back on the rails?The report has generated considerable debate within the police fraternity. Questions are being asked as to how did our policing sink to such depths? Why are police leaders not able to stand up to their political masters politely but firmly? They just have to convey the message that there shall be zero tolerance to those taking the law into their hands. The government too must respond by demonstrating that in the police hierarchy only merit and integrity, and not political loyalty, shall count. But will this happen is another moot point?That the police forces need to be reformed is universally acknowledged but they till this day continue to function by and large under the same archaic law of 1861.Even the directions of the apex court have not been acted upon by most state governments. Debates on the need to reform the police continue. But we are nowhere near the complete overhaul that the policing system requires.Who will do the clean-up? Most of my former colleagues, and many still in service, have become cynical, and throw up their hands in despair.We have faltered in ensuring delivery of police services to our law-abiding citizens. The strength of our civil police has failed to keep pace with the rapid rise in our population. On the other hand, our limited resources have been spent on mindless proliferation of paramilitary police, both Central and state. Manpower of our thanas and police outposts, which are charged with the basic responsibility of prevention and detection of crime and maintenance of peace in their jurisdiction, is totally inadequate. Our citizen-to-policeman ratio as compared to even other developing countries is poor.Multi-tiered recruitments at the level of constables, head constables, sub-inspectors, DSPs and IPS is another fault-line in Indian policing where correction is long overdue. Add to this the poor pay and working conditions of the subordinate police officers who are the cutting edge of our policing and the level at which maximum interaction with citizens takes place.The quality of policemen thus appears appalling, particularly to the higher-income citizens who frequently travel abroad and compare their local beat constable with the London Bobby. Little do they realise that in the wake of a strike by policemen in 1980 and based on the recommendations of a commission on police reforms, the police is the highest paid civil service in the UK and recruitment is only at one level—as constables.The communication between the higher ranks in the Indian police and their subordinates, which was earlier meticulously kept alive via thana inspections, weekly parades in the police lines, visits to living quarters of the constabulary and orderly rooms by district police chiefs, have all broken down under the weight of heavy day-to-day pressures from political masters. Field police officers are being kept occupied in unwarranted meetings and VIP security duties. All this has cost policing benefits to the average citizens dearly and created a severe trust deficit between the police and the people.The writer is former Secretary (Internal Security), Ministry of Home Affairs.
Chennai: A major scam involving the loss of several crores of rupees over nine years through the misuse of smartcards for purchase of subsidised goods, mainly groceries and liquor, from military canteens in Chennai, Bengaluru and Kadapa has been unearthed, top military sources said.
On July 2, 2015, documents available with TOI show, the Chennai military station commander in a complaint to police commissioner S George said grocery items and liquor, meant for defence personnel, were procured from military canteens illegally and sold in the local market with the help of touts.
It named the civilian touts, Army staff, canteen operators and executives of Noida-based Smart Chip Pvt Ltd (CIMS), the authorised firm for issue of smartcards for use in military canteens, as beneficiaries of the scam.
The complaint was then forwarded for further inquiry to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Chennai police. On July 23, the CCB police registered a First Information Report in the scam, estimating the loss to the Army at ’60 crore but the actual loss could be much higher, the sources said. The charge that the city police were dragging their feet on the issue and hinted that the case may be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Old smartcards deposited with CIMS for issue of new ones had to be hotlisted (blocked) to stop their misuse.But the firm violated this.
Since 2006-07, executives from CIMS head office and its Chennai branch with connivance of military canteen staff collected thousands of old cards in Chennai, Bengaluru and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh and reactivated them for fradulent use, top military brass said.
It named the civilian touts, Army staff, canteen operators and executives of Noida-based Smart Chip Pvt Ltd (CIMS), the authorised firm for issue of smartcards for use in military canteens, as beneficiaries of the scam.
The complaint was then forwarded for further inquiry to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Chennai police. On July 23, the CCB police registered a First Information Report in the scam, estimating the loss to the Army at ’60 crore but the actual loss could be much higher, the sources said. The charge that the city police were dragging their feet on the issue and hinted that the case may be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Old smartcards deposited with CIMS for issue of new ones had to be hotlisted (blocked) to stop their misuse.But the firm violated this.
Since 2006-07, executives from CIMS head office and its Chennai branch with connivance of military canteen staff collected thousands of old cards in Chennai, Bengaluru and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh and reactivated them for fradulent use, top military brass said.
Old smartcards deposited with CIMS for issue of new ones had to be hotlisted (blocked) to stop their misuse.But the firm violated this.
Since 2006-07, executives from CIMS head office and its Chennai branch with connivance of military canteen staff collected thousands of old cards in Chennai, Bengaluru and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh and reactivated them for fradulent use, top military brass said.
7th Pay Commission: Know at a glance, see this informative chart
New Delhi: In a bonanza for over 1 crore government employees and pensioners, the Cabinet on Wednesday approved implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, which had recommended an overall hike of 23.5 percent.
