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Mumbai, Dec 30 (IANS) Adopting an aggressive stance, Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale demanded the immediate arrest of the killers of Massajog (Beed) Sarpanch and the cops responsible for the death of a Dalit youth in Parbhani judicial custody, on Monday.

The Republican Party of India (A) President Athawale called on the families of the murdered Sarpanch Santosh Pandit Deshmukh (Beed), and a law student Somnath Vyankat Suryawanshi, 35, (Parbhani) who was nabbed after the violence following the defiling of a statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (December 10).

“The inexplicable delay in nabbing (Deshmukh’s) killers does not portend well. Merely attaching the properties of the absconding killers is not enough. The government must immediately arrest the killers (of Deshmukh),” demanded Athawale in Beed.

The Central minister’s visit came even as an all-party silent protest march was taken out in Buldhana on Monday, after similar marches in Beed and Latur last week.

He met and consoled the widow Ashwini S. Deshmukh, their children Viraj and Vaibhavi and the late Sarpanch’s brother Dhananjay Deshmukh, and promised to ensure justice for Santosh P. Deshmukh.

Athawale pointed out that the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had assured the legislature that strong action would be taken in the matter, while assuring to raise the matter with the MahaYuti state government and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Deshmukh, 45, was abducted, brutally tortured and killed (December 9), after he attempted to foil an extortion racket outside a windmill company, and both incidents have snowballed into a major political row.

Later, in Parbhani, Athawale met the kind of Suryawanshi’s family members and was told that he hailed from Latur, the family lived in Pune, but he (Suryawanshi) was staying in Parbhani to pursue his law course.

“There was intense anger after the desecration of Dr Ambedkar’s statue (Dec. 10). This angst led to violence the next day in Parbhani. However, it was not so serious to warrant such brutal action by the police on the protestors,” observed Athawale.

Besides the police caning (lathi-charge) and hundreds of people, mostly Dalits being rounded up, Athawale said that more than a dozen youth including boys and girls were injured in the police swoop on the protesting crowds (December 11).

“We have demanded action against the police officials who were responsible for the lathi-charge which led to Suryawanshi’s death in judicial custody. The police must also be booked for injuring the boys and girls, as well as the detention or arrests of hundreds of others,” a grim Athawale said.

The Parbhani-Beed incidents have created a national furore with Opposition bigwigs including Congress’ Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi going to Parbhani (December 23), Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar (December 21) and many other state leaders.

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) President has called upon Fadnavis to give compensation of Rs 1 crore to Suryawanshi’s kin and a government job to one of the family members, besides carrying out a survey of all victims of police excesses.

Meanwhile, CDR records of the prime absconder Walmik Karad allegedly linked to the Sarpanch killing reveal that he was on the run, posting photos and greeting from Pune and Ujjain days later.

–IANS

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Thiruvananthapuram, March 16 (IANS) The Kerala Forest Department resumed its efforts on Sunday to capture a tiger that caused panic among residents of Granby, near Vandiperiyar in Kerala’s Idukki.

The animal, which appears weak and injured, has been roaming in the area for over five days, causing panic among residents.

To facilitate the tranquilising operation, a prohibitory order was enforced in Gramby (Ward 15) of Vandiperiyar Panchayat on Sunday.

A Rapid Response Team (RRT) was also deployed to assist in tranquillising and capturing the tiger. Forest officials stated that the tiger’s presence was confirmed after it attacked two cattle belonging to residents, Manikandan and Eshayya.

Earlier, the Department had set up a cage near the Government LP School in Gramby to trap the animal. However, the attempt failed as the tiger was too weak to enter the trap, prompting officials to focus on tranquillisation instead.

Vandiperiyar Panchayat Vice President Sreeraman M said the tiger’s presence sparked panic among plantation workers.

“Officials have urged residents to stay indoors and secure their livestock. The tiger is believed to frequent a water source within a nearby tea estate,” he stated.

According to a Forest department official, the search operation has been challenging due to heavy mist in the area.

While the tiger is believed to be in the vicinity where it was last seen, it continues to move around, making tracking difficult.

Tamil Nadu Forest Department officials are assisting in the search using drone cameras and pug mark tracking to monitor the animal’s movements.

Speaking to the media, Kerala Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran stated, “The Department has a dual responsibility – to protect wildlife and ensure human safety. We are taking all necessary steps and aim to find a solution by today.”

According to official data as of February 28, Kerala has recorded 57 human fatalities due to wildlife attacks in the current financial year (2024-25). This includes 15 deaths from elephant attacks, eight from wild boar attacks, one death from a tiger attack, 32 deaths from snake bites and one death caused by a porcupine attack.

The increasing number of human-wildlife conflicts in Kerala is attributed to its vast forest cover, which accounts for 29.1 per cent of the state’s total geographical area.

More than one lakh tribal residents live within these forests, alongside nearly five lakh non-tribal residents in nearby settlements and border areas.

Rapid population growth and human encroachment into forested regions have intensified these conflicts, leading to widespread destruction of crops, loss of livestock, property damage, and, in many cases, human casualties.

In the financial year 2024-25 alone, over 50 wild elephant attacks have been reported across the state, with a rising number of fatalities.

Authorities are under increasing pressure to implement effective measures to mitigate these conflicts and ensure the safety of people living in and around forest areas.

–IANS

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New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, April 3 (IANS) A week after the Kerala High Court dismissed two pleas seeking a probe by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department into the allegations that IT firm Exalogic of Veena Vijayan, the daughter of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, got a monthly gratification from Kochi-based Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL), for mining sanctions, the Delhi High Court on Thursday refused the mining firm’s petition seeking to stay the ongoing SFIO investigation.

As this case came up in the Delhi High Court on Thursday, it was heard by a new bench as the judge, who was hearing the case till now, has been transferred to the Allahabad High Court.

While the new judge pointed out that he will hear the matter afresh, the counsel for the CMRL sought to stay all proceedings in the case.

This was strongly objected to by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), which pointed out its probe is in its final stages.

Following this, the judge refused a stay as sought by the CMRL.

Kerala BJP leader Shaun George, who is also a party in the case, said now with the stay getting rejected, the SFIO can go forward with their work.

“The probe will go forward without any hitch. Once the Ministry of Corporate Affairs gives prosecution sanction, the SFIO can then file their complaint in the special court,” George said.

The SFIO has all along maintained in the Delhi High Court that the payment made by the mining company CMRL to Exalogic constituted corruption and that the payment was made to ensure smooth operations for the CMRL.

In the Kerala High Court, the same case was brought by Congress legislator Mathew Kuzhalnadan and another person, seeking a Vigilance probe, but the court informed the petitioner that with the present set of evidence produced before the court, it cannot give an order and told him that if he desires, he can return with more authentic evidence.

But in the Delhi High Court, it was the CMRL which approached with a plea that the SFIO probe should be quashed.

This issue first surfaced when an Income Tax Settlement Board statement pointed out that Exalogic received Rs 1.72 crore from the CMRL, and it was illegal gratification, and there was no service the IT firm had provided.

Incidentally, two petitions, filed earlier in the Kerala High Court and the other in the Karnataka High Court, challenging the SFIO investigation into the CMRL-Exalogic transactions, were dismissed.

The only relief that Pinarayi Vijayan and his daughter have so far received is when, last week, the Kerala High Court refused a Vigilance probe.

–IANS

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