The News Caravan

Tag: criminal

  • Why is divorce criminal for Muslims alone? Asks Kerala CM

    Why is divorce criminal for Muslims alone? Asks Kerala CM

    [ad_1]

    Sounding like a rebel with a cause, Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala Chief Minister has made many heads turn around, with his remarks that may not be music to the ears of the people in the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party at the center.

    While delivering the speech inaugurating the ruling CPM’s march ‘Janakeeya Prathirodha Jadha’, in Kasaragod on February 20, 2023, CM Vijayan gave some contrarian views that have all the ingredients to spark controversy.

    First, he spoke about the BJP’s move to criminalize divorce for Muslims alone, and then he tried the BJP’s move to make religion to be the basis of citizenship, and he also took a dig at the law minister criticizing the Supreme Court of India and finally expressing reservation at the Parliament’s inability to agree on the basic structure of the Constitution.

    Pinarayi Vijayan on Triple Talaq said, “Divorce happens in all religions. All others are seen as civil cases. But in the case of triple talaq, it is made a criminal offense for Muslims alone? Can we use a different mode of punishment for each religion? For a person following a certain religion, there’s one law and for another, there is another law. In the case of a divorce, if it’s a Muslim, then he can be jailed, and others are not punished. “Isn’t this what we are seeing in the case of triple talaq ?” he asked.

    On the issue of citizenship, the Chief Minister said, “We are all Indians. Can we say that we got our citizenship because we were born into a particular religion? Has religion ever been the basis for citizenship?”

    ‘The Centre used religion to decide citizenship through the Citizenship Amendment Act, CM alleged, adding, “We have already cleared our stand on it. Citizenship Amendment Act will not be implemented in Kerala at any cost.

    Vijayan said, “Our parliament cannot decide on the basic principles of our Constitution. This was decided by a 13-member constitution bench of the Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharati case.”

    The Sangh Parivar knows that the judgment is not in favor of their agenda and that’s why they denounce the landmark judgment by the Supreme Court.

    Vijayan said, “The Vice-President is a constitutional post but he still chose to denounce the judgment in the Kesavananda Bharati case.”

    The Chief Minister also criticized India’s Vice-President and Law Minister for attacking the Supreme Court’s Collegium system. ‘The law minister often criticizes the Supreme Court,’ he said.

    Meanwhile, BJP leaders have come down heavily on Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over his remark on triple talaq and said that the CM is indulging in appeasement and wanted to create a narrative that does not exist.

    [ad_2]
    #divorce #criminal #Muslims #Asks #Kerala

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Criminal wanted in several bank heists held in Bihar’s Purnea

    Criminal wanted in several bank heists held in Bihar’s Purnea

    [ad_1]

    Patna: The Bihar police have arrested a wanted bank robber from a village in Purnea, an official said on Saturday.

    Accused Raja Sahani alias Munna Michel was active in many districts of Bihar including his native place in Begusarai. He was involved in a bank heist in Darbhanga and looted Rs 1.10 crore. Similarly, he looted Rs 60 lakh from a bank in Khagaria, Rs 70 lakh from Araria, Rs 42 lakh in Khagaria, and Rs 20 lakh in Madhubani among others.

    Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Purnea Surendra Kumar Saroj confirmed Sahani’s arrest on Saturday. The raid was conducted on Friday.

    “The accused recently took a house on rent in Jafri Nagar under Milki Tola Panchayat in Purnea district. We received a tip-off about a person having suspicious activities. Accordingly, we constituted a team to raid at the place. After seeing the police team, Raja Sahani and one of his aides tried to escape from the spot. Raja Sahani was nabbed by the police team but his associate managed to escape,” Saroj said.

    During interrogation, he confessed the crime.

    Revealing his modus operandi, he said that he used to go to various districts and contact local criminals with fake identity. He becomes the kingpin of the gang and commits the crime. He used to make “meticulous” plans to commit bank or petrol pump robbery and leaves the district after committing the crime. Even if local criminals get arrested, they do not know the real identity of Sahani.

    “Sahani was involved in murder of a fuel station owner Laxmi Narayan Singh during the loot bid in Hardaria locality in Begusarai district. Begusarai police managed to arrest seven local criminals but they could not nab Sahani as his original identity was not known by the local criminals of Begusarai,” Saroj said.

    The accused had taken a room on rent in an isolated locality of Jafri Nagar four days ago. Sahani used to go to a farm land in the evening and stay there for long hours. The local villagers suspected his activity and informed the police. “He goes to farm land to contact local criminals on the phone so that no one could listen to his plan,” Saroj said.

    [ad_2]
    #Criminal #wanted #bank #heists #held #Bihars #Purnea

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Appeals court backs N.C. attorney general in battle to avoid criminal libel prosecution

    Appeals court backs N.C. attorney general in battle to avoid criminal libel prosecution

    [ad_1]

    Freeman, O’Neill and Stein are all Democrats.

    At Stein’s request, U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles briefly blocked any prosecution, but she later withdrew the temporary order and allowed the prosecution to proceed. Stein appealed to the 4th Circuit, which granted an injunction pending appeal and in the new ruling said Eagles erred when she turned down Stein’s request to block the prosecution.

    Criminal libel prosecutions in the U.S. are almost unheard of in recent decades, but Freeman’s office argued that a 1964 Supreme Court decision upholding a similar Louisiana statute has never been overturned by the high court and remains good law. However, the unanimous three-judge appeals court panel said the North Carolina statute is constitutionally suspect because it appears to ban some truthful statements and because it imposes greater limits on speech related to political campaigns than on other topics.

    “Under this law, prosecutors need never show—or even allege—a ‘derogatory’ statement was false so long as they contend the speaker acted with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity,” Judge Toby Heytens wrote in a 15-page opinion joined by Judges Albert Diaz and Allison Rushing. “Nothing more is needed to show this Act is likely unconstitutional.”

    Heytens is the appeals court’s newest judge and an appointee of President Joe Biden. Diaz was appointed by President Bill Clinton and Rushing is an appointee of President Donald Trump.

    Freeman, the Wake County district attorney, argued that North Carolina courts would interpret derogatory to mean false and that the chance of a prosecutor seeking to apply the law against reckless but truthful statements was remote, but the appeals court disagreed.

    The appeals judges also said the statute’s focus on political speech was problematic. “The Act’s careful limitation to only a subset of derogatory statements to which elected officials may be particularly hostile—those harmful to their own political prospects—raises the ‘possibility that official suppression of ideas is afoot,’” Heytens wrote, quoting another Supreme Court precedent.

    The appeals court ordered the case returned to Eagles for further action, instructing her to consider other factors related to a preliminary injunction against prosecution of Stein and others. But the 4th Circuit’s declaration that the underlying law is probably unconstitutional makes it highly likely the lower court will now block it, unless Freeman agrees to halt any enforcement.

    Freeman’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.

    [ad_2]
    #Appeals #court #backs #N.C #attorney #general #battle #avoid #criminal #libel #prosecution
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • DeSantis rolls out sweeping criminal justice package

    DeSantis rolls out sweeping criminal justice package

    [ad_1]

    “One juror should not be able to veto that,” DeSantis said Thursday. “I don’t think justice was served.”

    DeSantis also wants lawmakers to crack down on colorful fentanyl pills that look like candy and are commonly referred to as “rainbow fentanyl.” His proposal would make it a first degree felony to possess, sell, or manufacture fentanyl that resembles candy. It would also make it a $1 million penalty for trafficking those pills to children. It’s the second year in the row DeSantis focused on fentanyl. Last year, he championed increased mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl trafficking.

    Crafting policies that are tough on crime has been one of DeSantis’ hallmarks in recent years as he has risen through the ranks of the national Republican Party and eyes a likely 2024 presidential bid.

    In what amounts to a jab at mostly Democratic-run areas that have done away with cash bail, DeSantis also wants to limit who can be released prior to a first court appearance after being arrested. DeSantis wants to give judges more discretion over those decisions.

    “We have rejected in the state of Florida the idea you get rid of cash bail like they did in New York,” DeSantis said. “When the policy first went into effect…there was a woman that was arrested, released, and re-arrested four times in seven days.”

    DeSantis also wants to consider allowing the death penalty for child rapists and at least make sure they serve life in prison. He also wants to eliminate “gain time,” which offers reduced sentences for good behavior, for those convicted of attempted sexual misconduct or battery.

    Under his proposal, which is not yet a filed piece of legislation, law enforcement agencies would be required to report missing persons in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System rather than just the Florida Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center. He also wants to set aside $5 million for strike forces he created last year to try and crack down on human trafficking and to seize illegal weapons.

    The proposal, once filled, would be another in a long line of high-profile proposals DeSantis has pitched focused on changing law enforcement.

    Last year, he also secured funding for $5,000 bonuses to attract police officers to move to Florida. Officers who come to Florida from another state or those who are native to Florida but have become police officers for the first time are eligible.

    [ad_2]
    #DeSantis #rolls #sweeping #criminal #justice #package
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Delhi cop in ICU after being stabbed by known criminal in Chhawla

    Delhi cop in ICU after being stabbed by known criminal in Chhawla

    [ad_1]

    New Delhi: A Delhi Police head constable was stabbed and sent to ICU when he was trying to quell a fight between an auto-rickshaw driver and some men in southwest Delhi’s Chhawla area, police said on Monday.

    The accused has been arrested, they said.

    The incident took place on Sunday evening when Assistant Sub-Inspector Sunil and head constable Rinku were on patrolling duty in the Qutub Vihar area, and got a call at 8.35 pm about a fight in the area, a senior police officer said.

    When the patrolling staff rushed to the spot, they found that some men were having an argument with an auto driver, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Harsha Vardhan said.

    As police intervened, one of the men fighting the auto driver stabbed Rinku twice and ran away. The man was identified as Sunny alias Shooter, a known criminal of the area.

    Rinku was taken to a hospital with deep stab injuries, the DCP said.

    He is currently in the ICU, police said, adding that senior officers have visited him and are ensuring the best possible medical care.

    A case under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (common intension) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at the Chhawla police station, they said.

    After the incident, the police launched a manhunt for Sunny and his accomplices and got a tip off that he was at a house on Bhai-Bhai Road in Qutub Vihar.

    When police raided the house around 2.30 am, they were fired at by Sunny. Police also fired three rounds, hitting him in his legs.

    Sunny was arrested and taken to a hospital where he is under treatment, Vardhan said.

    In all, police nabbed three people from the house and seized a country-made pistol, three live cartridges, and a knife from them. A hunt is on to nab other people involved in the incident, police said.

    Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora met Rinku in the hospital and praised him for his brave action, officials said.

    He also spoke to the doctors treating Rinku whose condition condition is improving, they added.

    Earlier on January 8, Delhi Police’s assistant sub-inspector Shambhu Dayal (57), a native of Sikar district in Rajasthan, died days after being stabbed multiple times by a man he nabbed for allegedly snatching a mobile phone.

    Dayal is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.

    Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora paid homage to Dayal in the office complex of DCP west in Janakpuri and consoled the bereaved family.

    Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Sagar Preet Hooda and other senior officials also paid homage to Dayal.

    [ad_2]
    #Delhi #cop #ICU #stabbed #criminal #Chhawla

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Abbott under criminal investigation over baby formula crisis

    Abbott under criminal investigation over baby formula crisis

    [ad_1]

    A handful of congressional Democrats have encouraged federal probes into Abbott’s handling of the contamination of formula products, which ultimately triggered a major recall and shut down a key plant located in Sturgis, Mich. last February. A whistleblower alleged Abbott employees falsified documents and covered up food safety violations from FDA inspectors before the recall.

    The DOJ and FDA declined to comment on the investigation.

    The Sturgis plant had produced about one-fifth of the nation’s infant formula supply, and the closure triggered massive shortages that rippled through the country and months later sparked a political crisis for President Joe Biden.

    The DOJ investigation comes just a few weeks after Abbott and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the company’s plans to build a new $536 million manufacturing facility in the state to produce specialty and metabolic formulas for medically-vulnerable children and adults who were hardest hit by the shortages. Abbott has struggled to ramp up production of the special formulas at its Sturgis plant, and has recently pushed back the availability of a slate of metabolic formulas to April.

    [ad_2]
    #Abbott #criminal #investigation #baby #formula #crisis
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )