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Dharmasthala horror: Karnataka government sets up SIT to probe the case

Dharmasthala horror: Karnataka government sets up SIT to probe the case

India Today4 days ago
The Karnataka government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of disappearances, sexual abuse, and mass murders in the temple town of Dharmasthala. The investigation was initiated after a former sanitation worker came forward with claims that he was forced to bury hundreds of bodies, many of whom were women and girls, over nearly two decades, from 1995 to 2014. The whistleblower stated he was ordered to dispose of dead bodies, many of which bore signs of brutal violence and sexual assault. He claims influential people are involved and has been granted witness protection before he names the accused.
The SIT, headed by top police officer P. Mohanty, will now investigate these decades-old allegations. This move comes amid calls for a court-monitored probe to ensure a fair investigation and prevent witness intimidation. Additionally, a political storm is brewing in Andhra Pradesh, where former Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy has been named in the CID's remand report concerning an alleged ₹3,200 crore liquor scam. In other news, the Enforcement Directorate has summoned Tollywood stars including Rana Daggubati and Vijay Devrakonda for promoting illegal betting apps, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has been hospitalised after experiencing mild giddiness.
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Gurugram digital arrest scam: Court rejects bail plea of key accused, points to bank chairman role
Gurugram digital arrest scam: Court rejects bail plea of key accused, points to bank chairman role

Indian Express

time5 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Gurugram digital arrest scam: Court rejects bail plea of key accused, points to bank chairman role

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Expeditiously decide appeals in anti-Sikh riots cases: SC tells Allahabad HC
Expeditiously decide appeals in anti-Sikh riots cases: SC tells Allahabad HC

Hindustan Times

time5 hours ago

  • Hindustan Times

Expeditiously decide appeals in anti-Sikh riots cases: SC tells Allahabad HC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday told the Allahabad high court to expeditiously decide 'out of turn' the appeals in the 1984 ant-Sikh riots cases, emphasising that the four-decades-old tragedy was investigated only upon the court's intervention and any further delay would result in evidence of vital witnesses being lost. A view of Supreme Court building (Sonu Mehta/HT FILE PHOTO) The court order came on a public interest litigation filed by the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee that complained about the slow progress of anti-Sikh riots cases in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh and sought the court's intervention to expedite the appeals pending before the high court seeking re-investigation. 'Keeping that in view, and most importantly the fact that with the passage of time, production of vital witnesses has become a difficult task, we request the high court to take up these matters on an out-of-turn basis and expeditiously,' a bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said, The court reviewed the UP government's status report, which indicated that the trial had been stayed in three of the 11 appeals pending in the high court. 'What bothers us is that in the 11 cases where the trials commenced pursuant to the charge sheets filed by the SIT, the high court has stayed the proceedings in three cases,' the bench said. The court stated that it did not wish to comment on the issue, as it might impact the accused's rights, but requested the high court to bear in mind that the investigation into these cases was initiated at the top court's intervention. '..all that we request is that the high court may take up these matters out of turn for their adjudication in accordance with law. We say so for the reason the unfortunate tragedy took place way back in the year 1984 and it is only because of repeated efforts made by this court that the investigations were revived, SIT was constituted and on completion of investigation, the chargesheet has now been filed,' the top court said. The UP government informed the bench that in most cases, the high court has condoned the delay in admitting appeals after a gap of more than 8,000 days. The court directed the state's Advocate General to deploy its best law officers having expertise in criminal law to assist in the hearing of the pending appeals. It further directed its order to be placed before the high court bench for necessary action. The petitioner, represented by advocate Jagjit Singh Chabra, requested the court to monitor further progress of the cases. SImilar monitoring is being done by the top court of appeals pending in the anti-Sikh riots cases pursued before the Delhi high court. The top court's attempts to bring justice to the victims of the 1984 riots had led to the constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) headed by former Delhi high court judge, justice (retd) SN Dhingra who analysed the riot cases that were closed. In a petition by S Gurlad Singh Kahlon, a former DSGMC member, the top court was informed of the shoddy probe conducted by the Delhi police which clubbed multiple murder cases into a single FIR and failed to register separate offences involving sexual assault, murder, etc.

Teacher recruitment scandal: Koppal DDPI moved from post following probe
Teacher recruitment scandal: Koppal DDPI moved from post following probe

Time of India

time6 hours ago

  • Time of India

Teacher recruitment scandal: Koppal DDPI moved from post following probe

Pic: Srishail Biradar Koppal: DDPI Srishail Biradar, the main accused in the teachers' recruitment scandal in Bidar, was removed from his position as DDPI of Koppal on July 24 evening. The state govt ministry's notification dated July 24 cited Rule 5 Sub-rule (6) of the Karnataka State Civil Service Rules, 2015, which states: "If any officer is serving in an executive post and a departmental inquiry or criminal case is initiated against him or if a penalty is imposed, he shall be transferred to a non-executive post." The notification highlighted that under Rule 2(a), a case was registered against Srishail Shantappa Biradar, DDPI (administration), Koppal, regarding irregularities in primary school teacher recruitment in Bidar district. According to the govt order, dated Sept 5, 2022, a criminal case was filed at the Vidhana Soudha Police Station, Bengaluru, with instructions for CID investigation. Due to ongoing departmental inquiry and criminal proceedings, DDPI Biradar was ordered to report to the govt for immediate reassignment, considering public and administrative interests. Biradar faced additional accusations in Koppal district, including involvement in unauthorised teacher deputations and smart class irregularities. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Beyond Text Generation: An AI Tool That Helps You Write Better Grammarly Install Now Undo Education department sources indicate that the enhanced CID investigation might uncover additional misconduct. In response to this situation, ZP CEO Varnit Negi informed TOI: "Yelburga BEO Somashekaragouda Patil has been assigned the charge. Given the urgent need to enhance the educational conditions in the district, steps will be taken to appoint a new DDPI shortly."

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