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DMK president M. Karunanidhi
Renewing
his demand for abolishing death penalty, DMK chief M. Karunanidhi on
Saturday made a fresh pitch for a state cabinet meeting to adopt a
resolution recommending commutation of the death sentence awarded to
three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
“Our stand
is that capital punishment should be abolished and should be taken off
the law book,” Mr. Karunanidhi said, recalling his remarks that the
death sentence of Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan should be commuted
on humanitarian grounds.
“If the
state government has to approach the problem truly, it should not just
stop after adopting resolutions in the Assembly, but pass a resolution
in a cabinet meeting and send it to the Governor,” the DMK patriarch
said.
His
statement comes a day after the Supreme Court dismissed death row
convict and Khalistani terrorist Devinderpal Singh Bhullar’s plea for
commutation of his death sentence in a judgement that can have a
bearing on the fate of over 20 convicts facing execution, including
those held guilty in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.
On the apex
court’s observation that commutation of death sentence to accused
cannot be done in the case of terrorists or those involved in mass
killings on the ground of delay in deciding their mercy plea, Mr.
Karunanidhi said in a statement “it has come as a very big shock to
many expecting the verdict as well as our thinking.”
Mr.
Karunanidhi cited the example of Thyagu, whose death sentence, he said,
was commuted during his government’s tenure. “When we see that Thyagu
has now become a writer and essayist, is publishing books and has
become a respectable man in society, we should give a life to Murugan,
Santhan and Perarivalan and should use them for society,” he said.
The DMK chief has been repeatedly pressing for abolition of capital punishment.
His earlier
comments in this regard came against the backdrop of the hanging of
26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab and Parliament attack
accused Afzal Guru which triggered a fresh debate on the death penalty
issue.
He had also
virtually backed the demand for a CBI probe into the 1993 Palar
landmine blast case in which four aides of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan
are facing the gallows.
The four
got a temporary relief in February this year with the apex court
staying their execution on their plea seeking commutation of the
sentence citing delay of eight years in disposal of their mercy
petition by the President.
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Sunday, April 14, 2013
#Karunanidhi reiterates # demand for abolishing death penalty#
#Kunda DSP murder: CBI arrests key accused#
Pratapgarh (UP), April 13, 2013
A CBI team visits the Balipur village to probe the killing of DSP Zia-ul-Haq at Kunda in Pratapgarh district. File photo
CBI on Saturday arrested a key accused in DSP Zia-ul-Haque murder and claimed to have cracked the case.
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Babloo
Yadav, son of slain village head Nanhe Yadav who allegedly shot Haque
dead using a country-made gun, was apprehended here, CBI sources said.
The sources
said CBI has detained two brothers of Nanhe Yadav and members of his
domestic staff in connection with the DSP’s murder and is likely to
arrest them soon.
The sources
claimed Babloo, who is over 19 years of age, has, during intense
grilling by CBI officials, confessed to have shot the police official.
The officials were able to reproduce the complete chain of events
which took place on March 2, 2013.
Asked about
role of UP minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiya, in the
murders, they claimed the probe in the larger conspiracy is still on.
CBI sources
claimed Haque, who was posted as Deputy Superintendent of Police at
Kunda, had reached the house of Nanhe Yadav after getting the news of
his murder.
By the time
he approached the site, the news of Yadav’s murder had spread and a
large crowd gathered outside his house which was angry at the alleged
apathy of the police and protested the police’s alleged failure to
stop the murder.
At the
house of Nanhe Yadav, Haque met a mob which entered into a scuffle
with him while his fellow policemen allegedly deserted him, the sources
said.
In the
crowd was Yadav’s brother Suresh who was armed with a rifle. As the
scuffle was on, Suresh was killed after his gun accidentally went off,
they said.
CBI sources
claimed that enraged by the killing of his father and uncle Suresh
Yadav, Babloo Yadav, who had a country-made gun, came out of his house
and shot Zia-Ul-Haque dead who was being beaten up by a mob.
The sources
claimed role of other suspects -- brothers of Nanhe Yadav and his
domestic help -- is also under probe and they are being questioned by
the agency.
The sources said agency has recovered the weapon, allegedly used in the killing Haq, from Babloo.
The agency
has already arrested alleged killers of Yadav -- Ajay Pal and Vijay
Pal -- both sons of Kamta Pal who is also a suspect in his murder and is
absconding, they said.
The Pal family was having land dispute with Nanhe Yadav’s family which resulted in village head’s murder, they claimed.
The case
was handed over to CBI on a request of slain DSP’s wife Parveen Azad
who accused Raghuraj Pratap Singh of having a role in the murder of her
husband. She had also filed an FIR in this regard naming Raja Bhaiya
and his close aides in the murder.
After
getting the case, the agency constituted a team of 10 officers led by
DIG Anurag Garg and SP Rakesh Rathi to investigate the case.
The team
had recently made some important recoveries which included a
blood-stained ammunition belt from a box concealed in a house of Suresh
Yadav, one of the deceased, a bloodstained wooden rod from another
area in the village and service revolver of Haque.
Kunda circle in Pratapgarh district comprises four police stations -- Hathigavan, Manikpur, Kunda and Nawabganj.
CBI has
registered four cases pertaining to the three murders in village
Balipur, police station Hathigawan in Kunda tehsil which included FIR
registered by Haque’s wife Azad who had named five persons as accused
in the murder of her husband.
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UPA #vulnerable after DMK pullout, elections around the corner: Pawar#
UPA #vulnerable after DMK pullout, elections around the corner: Pawar# |
Key UPA ally NCP chief Sharad
Pawar on Saturday said the Centre's ruling coalition had become
"vulnerable" after DMK's pullout and that elections were around the
corner.
Pawar, Union agriculture
minister, also said since Congress was the majority party in the UPA,
his party would respect its view on the alliance's prime ministerial
candidate.
"UPA's position has become
vulnerable after DMK's pullout. We have to prepare and plan for
elections. I have suggested to the UPA chairperson to convene a
meeting to discuss this and she is also of the same view," Pawar told
reporters.
Amid conflicting voices on
who should be the UPA's candidate for prime minister's post, Pawar
said the coalition's spearhead Congress would have to take a call.
"Compared to the last time,
UPA has shrunk. It is only the Congress, NCP and National Conference.
Majority party has to take the call. We will respect the majority
party's view," he said.
Pawar's statement follows
similar hints by Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, who had
last month asked his partymen to gear up for a mid-term poll, citing a
"confidential" report.
"I have come to know about a
confidential report which says that elections will be held in
November. You people start preparing for them," he had said addressing
party workers in Lucknow.
The Samajwadi Party with 22
MPs and BSP with 21 are providing crucial outside support to the
government and bailing it out in times of crises.
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#1993 blasts convict Yakub Memon awarded Master's degree in # English Literature#
Press Trust of India | Updated: April 13,
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Yakub
Memon, the only convict in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case whose death
sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court, has been awarded a master's
degree in English literature by Indira Gandhi National Open
University (IGNOU).
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Memon is lodged in the Central Prison in Nagpur. Alongwith him, seven other convicts, who are serving life-terms, were awarded IGNOU degrees yesterday. The main convocation was held in New Delhi while a simultaneous function was held at the university's Regional Centre in Nagpur. Memon, however, could not attend the convocation as police authorities refused him permission.
Dr
Shivswaroop, Regional Director, IGNOU, told PTI that if the jail
authorities permitted, he would like to hand degree certificate to Memon
personally.
Memon, a qualified chartered accountant, cleared the MA examination with second division last year.
News sourced by
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