Month: April 2022

Hasdeo: Protests Against Tree Felling Continue, FIR Against Activists for Rioting

As part of protests, families are camping out in the forests in shifts to protect trees. After the approval was granted on April 6, women of the region also hugged the trees, in an echo of the famous Chipko movement.

This article was originally published on The Wire Science, our website dedicated to science, health and environment reportage and analysis. Follow, read and share.

New Delhi: Despite a decade-long resistance against mining activity, displacement and deforestation, the Chhattisgarh government, led by the Congress, gave its final go-ahead for tree felling and initiation of mining activity in Hasdeo on April 6. The final approval allows for the non-forest use of land for the Parsa opencast coal mining project, which falls in the Surajpur and Surguja districts.

The deforestation and mining will likely displace over 700 people and threaten the independence and livelihoods of tribal communities in the area, activists say citing a study. The Parsa coal block has been allocated to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited while coal mine developer-cum-operator operations have been awarded to Adani Enterprises.

As part of protests, families are camping out in the forests in shifts to protect trees. After the approval was granted on April 6, women of the region also hugged the trees, in an echo of the famous Chipko movement.

Activists said the local administration wants the protests to stop asap. 

A first information report (FIR) has been filed against 10 local activists in connection with the protests. The FIR was registered on April 15 based on the complaint of one Anupam Dutta, who activists claim is an Adani employee. The FIR has invoked sections of the IPC related to fraud, rioting, unlawful assembly, intent to cause hurt and criminal intimidation, among others.

“An FIR has been filed against activists and locals participating in protests, as all attempts are being made to suppress the movement,” Bipasha Paul of the Chattisgarh Bachao Andolan told The Wire. “On April 25, trees were marked and numbered” – and they were cut down at night. 

“This was an attempt to evade the protestors, since the protests were on throughout the day.” According to Paul,  the cutters accessed the trees via routes through the adjacent villages of Janardanpur and Tara under the cover of darkness.

Trees that were felled in Hasdeo, Chhattisgarh for a coal mining project. Photo: By arrangement

According to activists, at the last hearing at the Bilaspur high court, on April 28, a transit bench had taken cognisance of the protests and allegations pertaining to the approval for mining under the Coal-bearing Areas Act 1957.

According to local activists, local authorities had faked the consent of the gram sabhas for the mining activity and that of the Adivasis was overlooked.

Protestors had organised a sit-in in December 2019 against these alleged actions and marched for a 300 km march to Raipur last year urging chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and governor Anusuiya Uikey to take action. Baghel had then promised to take action and order an inquiry, but there has been none so far.

Hasdeo resident Ramlal, who has been named in the FIR, said, “We have been protesting relentlessly for the past 10 years. We protested for 75 days straight last year … All the assurances given to us have proven to be hollow.”

“We are continuing our resistance and we will not back down at all,” he added. “They cut our trees at night – ye chori nahi toh kya? [‘Is this not theft’]? This is nothing but the prioritisation of corporate interests over the lives of common people.”

Amid the protests, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), has sought an explanation from Chhattisgarh’s chief wildlife warden on tree-felling for mining operations at the Para coal block without mandatory prior approval from the National Wildlife Board (NBWL) and itself.

The NTCA letter followed a complaint filed by the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan alleging that authorities hadn’t received this prior approval.

“The fact that these trees are being felled is a massive failure of the Congress government’s leadership and its hollow promises to us,” Alok Shukla of the Chattisgarh Bachao Andolan, told The Wire said. “At this point, both legal [options] and resistance are taking place simultaneously.”

Police have been deployed in Hasdeo, Chhattisgarh, as people protest against felling of trees for a coal mining project. Photo: By arrangement

According to the Hindustan Times, the Chhattisgarh government allocated the Parsa east & Kente Besan block to the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited for second-phase mining, after the first phase wrapped up in March 2022.

“The Rajasthan government has been allowed to divert 1136.328 ha of land for the second phase, which the Chhattisgarh-based activists claimed would mean cutting of around 2,42,670 trees in the jungles of Parsa and Kente villages, of Udaipur tehsil of Surguja district,” the newspaper wrote.

The Hasdeo forest in Chhattisgarh’s Korba, Sarguja and Surajpur districts covers an area of 170,000 ha. It includes an important elephant migration corridor. It also encompasses the catchment area of the Hasdeo river, the largest tributary of the Mahanadi. The Union government declared the area to be declared a ‘no-go zone’ for mining in 2009 – but mining in the area has continued unabated only because the policy for the zone is yet to be finalised.

Kerala Priest Sentenced to 18 Years in Jail for Sexually Assaulting Teen Boys

Four cases had been registered against Thomas Parekkulam, 35, when he was working as a parish priest in 2017 in the Kollam district.

Kollam (Kerala): A Kerala court has sentenced a Christian priest to 18 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually abusing four minor boys of a seminary in the Kollam district five years ago.

Fr Thomas Parekkulam (35), a member of Chennai-based SDM minor seminary, was on Friday found guilty of the crime registered by police in Puthoor under Kottarakkara circle in the commission of offences punishable under Section 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code and other relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act, 2012.

The young victims, all aged 16 at the time of the incident, were the students of a seminary in Pullamala in the district wherein the accused was serving as a rector.

Sentencing the priest to five years each in three cases and three years sentence in the fourth case, Additional District and Sessions Judge (POCSO) K N Sujith also ordered him to pay a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each for every case.

Considering the trauma suffered by the victims of the sexual attacks, the court also recommended to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to award adequate compensation to the victims commensurate to the physical as well as mental trauma suffered by them.

“The factual circumstances emerged in the instant case would show that, attributing to sexual attack the victim boys were subjected to, they had suffered physical as well as mental trauma and ergo, it is necessary to rehabilitate them,” the court said.

The accused, who went absconding after escaping from police custody, was arrested in Chennai, the office of the district public prosecutor said.

The case was registered and investigated based on a complaint received by the Child Welfare Committee in Thiruvananthapuram, the office said.

‘Who Do You Blame Now? Nehru, States or People’: Rahul Gandhi’s Dig at Modi Over Power Crisis

With large parts of the country facing long power cuts, Congress has been hitting out at the government for its ‘misgovernance and mismanagement’, which led to the ‘artificial’ crisis in the scorching summer.

New Delhi: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the current power crisis and asked whom would he blame for his failure on this front.

He asked whether PM Modi would blame former premier Jawaharlal Nehru, state governments or the people of the country for this power crisis.

“The prime minister’s promises and intentions have always been disconnected. Modi ji, who will you blame for your failure in this power crisis? Nehru ji or states or people?” Gandhi asked in a tweet in Hindi.

He also tagged a video showing past speeches of Prime Minister Modi promising in 2015 to make electricity available 24 hours across the country and claiming in 2017 that one no longer heard headlines of power crisis or coal crisis.

The video clip of nearly one minute highlights news headlines of the current power crisis with a businessman saying he can’t even sleep after a day’s labour.

With large parts of the country facing long power cuts, the opposition Congress had said on Friday the Union government’s misgovernance and mismanagement led to this “artificial” crisis in the scorching summer.

The party alleged that the Modi government was not providing logistical support for coal distribution to power plants across the country, leading to the crisis.

‘Let’s Not Talk About This Nonsense’: Nitish Kumar on Loudspeaker Row

“It is known to all that in Bihar we do not interfere in religious practices of any sort. Of course, some people think it is their business to make a fuss and they keep at it,” the chief minister said.

Purnea (Bihar): Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday, April 30, dismissed the controversy around the use of loudspeakers at places of worship, asserting that his government does not interfere in religious practices.

Talking to reporters in this remote north Bihar district on the sidelines of a function, Kumar reacted to the controversy with barely concealed distaste.

“Let us not talk about this nonsense. It is known to all that in Bihar we do not interfere in religious practices of any sort. Of course, some people think it is their business to make a fuss and they keep at it,” said Kumar.

Also Read: On Adityanath’s Orders, up Removes Nearly 11,000 Loudspeakers From Religious Places

His remarks came close on the heels of demands by BJP leaders in the state that Bihar follow the “Yogi model” of adjoining Uttar Pradesh where thousands of loudspeakers have recently been removed from places of worship, citing health hazards posed by high decibel sounds.

Kumar’s averment may be seen as an indirect snub to BJP leaders like Janak Ram, his cabinet colleague, who had on Friday asserted that the crackdown “in the largest state of the country (UP)” was bound to have an effect in Bihar.

The chief minister, a socialist, has tried to maintain an ideological stance distinct from the BJP notwithstanding his alliance with the saffron party that dates back to the 1990s.

(PTI)

MP: Cops Arrest Man for Supplying Pistol Used for Firing at SP During Khargone Riots

Toofan Singh Sikligar, who supplied arms to Mohsin accused of firing at Khargone SP, was arrested. Six others were also arrested later.

Khargone (MP): Police have arrested a man for supplying a pistol to a person, who used it for firing at superintendent of police (SP) Siddharth Choudhary during the violence on Ram Navami in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone, an official said on Saturday, April 30.

Six other persons involved in making weapons were arrested along with him and a total of 17 pistols were recovered from them, he said.

Communal clashes had broken out in Khargone city on April 10 during a Ram Navami procession, which triggered arson and stone-pelting, leading to the clamping of curfew. Among the injured was Choudhary, who was hit by a bullet in his leg. Police have already arrested a man, identified as Mohsin aka Waseem, for the firing incident.

“Toofan Singh Sikligar, who supplied arms to Mohsin accused of firing at Khargone SP, was arrested. Based on the information given by him during his interrogation, six others involved in supplying arms were also arrested. Seventeen pistols were recovered from them and six factories were busted”, IPS officer Ankit Jaiswal, who has been temporarily posted to the district, said.

These accused were involved in supplying illegal arms in different states, he told reporters on Friday night and added that police were interrogating them to know about their network.

Meanwhile, curfew was relaxed for nine hours – from 8 am to 5 pm – on Saturday, he said.

Watch: | Ram Navami Violence: Is This Modi’s New India?

Curfew was clamped in the city after the violence. But since April 14, the local administration has been relaxing the curfew for some hours everyday.

As per the district administration’s order, the curfew relaxation will not be applicable to petrol pumps and for the sale of kerosene from Public Distribution System (PDS) shops.

During the curfew relaxation period, shops selling milk, vegetables, medicines, and barber’s shops among others, are allowed to remain open, but religious places have been asked to be kept shut.

(PTI)

ED Seizes Rs 5,551 Crore From Xiaomi India for FEMA Violation

The seizure was made in connection with a probe that was launched by the federal agency against the company into alleged “illegal remittances” sent abroad by the Chinese firm in February.

New Delhi: Funds worth over Rs 5,551 crore of Chinese mobile manufacturing company Xiaomi India have been “seized” for violating the Indian foreign exchange law, the Enforcement Directorate said on Saturday.

The action has been taken against Xiaomi Technology India Private Limited. The company (also called Xiaomi India) is a trader and distributor of mobile phones in the country under the brand name of MI.

“Xiaomi India is wholly owned subsidiary of China-based Xiaomi group. This amount of Rs 5,551.27 crore lying in the bank accounts of the company has been seized by the Enforcement Directorate,” the agency said in a statement.

The seizure of funds has been done under relevant sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) after a probe was launched by the federal agency against the company in connection with alleged “illegal remittances” sent abroad by the Chinese firm in February.

Xiaomi started its operations in India in 2014 and started remitting the money from the next year, it said.

“The company has remitted foreign currency equivalent to Rs 5,551.27 crore to three foreign based entities which include one Xiaomi group entity, in the guise of royalty,” the ED said.

Such huge amounts in the name of royalties were remitted on the instructions of their Chinese “parent group” entities, it alleged.

“The amount remitted to other two US-based unrelated entities were also for the ultimate benefit of the Xiaomi group entities,” the ED said.

It said while Xiaomi India procures completely manufactured mobile sets and other products from the manufacturers in India it has not availed any service from these three foreign based entities to whom such amounts have been transferred.

“Under the cover of various unrelated documentary facade created amongst the group entities, the company remitted this amount in guise of royalty abroad which constitute violation of section 4 of the FEMA,” it said.

The said section of the civil law of FEMA talks about “holding of foreign exchange.”

The ED also accused the company of providing “misleading information” to the banks while remitting the money abroad.

Earlier this month, the ED had also questioned the global vice president of the group, Manu Kumar Jain, at the agency’s regional office in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Heroin Worth Rs 450 Crore Seized in Gujarat’s Pipavav Port

Friday’s seizure is the third such haul in two weeks. A container was filled with yarn, but an examination showed that the threads were laced with a heroin derivative.

Ahmedabad: Indian authorities seized 90 kg (198 lbs) of drugs worth Rs 450 crore from a port in the western state of Gujarat, a police officer said on Saturday, the third such haul in two weeks.

Friday’s seizure was made from a container that arrived in the port of Pipavav at a time when India has stepped up vigilance on its western border to prevent drug smuggling from Iran and Afghanistan.

“The container was filled with yarn, but an examination showed that the threads were laced with a heroin derivative, before being dried and converted into bales,” a state police official told Reuters.

The heroin mixed in the threads would have required to be extracted, the federal government said in a statement.

This week, police seized 56 kg (123 lb) of heroin worth $37 million and arrested nine Pakistanis in a marine operation. Authorities also seized 205.6 kg (453 lb) of heroin, valued at $188 million, from the Gujarat port of Kandla this month.

India has accused neighbour and arch rival Pakistan of encouraging drug mafias to run networks across the border, a charge that Pakistan rejects.

Former Tennis Champion Becker Jailed in UK Bankruptcy Case

Becker was found guilty of transferring money to his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Sharlely after his 2017 bankruptcy.

London: German tennis great Boris Becker was jailed for two years and six months by a London court on Friday, April 29, for hiding hundreds of thousands of pounds of assets after he was declared bankrupt.

Becker was convicted earlier this month of four charges under Britain’s Insolvency Act, including failing to disclose, concealing and removing significant assets following a bankruptcy trial.

The 54-year-old six-times Grand Slam champion was found guilty of transferring money to his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Sharlely after his 2017 bankruptcy.

“It is notable you have not shown remorse or acceptance of your guilt”, judge Deborah Taylor told him as she sentenced him at London’s Southwark Crown Court.

“While I accept the humiliation you have felt as a result of these proceedings, you have shown no humility.”

She said Becker would serve half his sentence behind bars and the remainder on licence. Becker, whose partner Lillian and son Noah were in court, looked straight ahead and showed no emotion as the sentence was handed down.

He was previously convicted of tax evasion in Germany in 2002, for which he received a suspended prison sentence.

Former tennis player Boris Becker arrives with his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro at Southwark Crown Court to face sentencing after being found guilty of four charges earlier this month, in London, Britain, April 29, 2022. Photo: Reuters/John Sibley

Career in ruins

The trial had heard details of Becker‘s career and how the former world number one, who won the Wimbledon championship three times, lost his fortune following his retirement.

The jury heard how he claimed not to know the location of some of his trophies, how he took a high-interest loan from one of Britain’s richest businessmen, and tried to avoid bankruptcy by claiming to have diplomatic protection from the Central African Republic.

Becker‘s lawyer, Jonathan Laidlaw, had told the court that the tennis player had been left with “literally nothing to show for what was the most glittering of sporting careers” and his case was “nothing short of tragedy” as he appealed for leniency.

When Becker won his first Wimbledon final in 1985 aged 17, he was the youngest and first unseeded player to claim the men’s singles title. He went on to two win more Wimbledon titles.

Becker wore a tie in the purple and green colours of the Wimbledon tournament as he appeared in court on Friday.

Prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley accused Becker of “playing the system with bad faith” by concealing and transferring assets, and had deprived creditors of more than 2 million pounds ($2.51 million) in assets, none of which had so far been paid back.

“When it suited him, he made full disclosure, when it didn’t, he didn’t”, she said as she urged the judge to pass a custodial sentence.

The former tennis champion was made bankrupt in connection with a debt to private bankers Arbuthnot Latham & Co, and under the terms of the bankruptcy order, he was bound to provide full disclosure of assets.

He was convicted of failing to declare a property in Germany, hiding an 825,000 euro ($870,127) bank loan and shares in a Canadian technology firm.

“We have noted the verdict regarding Boris Becker with regret”, the German Tennis Federation (DTB) said. “We wish him a lot of strength for the future. He will forever be part of our tennis family.”

Becker, who was head of men’s tennis at the DTB from 2017-2020, had denied all the charges, saying he had cooperated with the bankruptcy proceedings – even offering up his wedding ring – and had relied on his advisers.

Becker was acquitted at the trial of 20 other counts, including charges that he failed to hand over other assets, including two Wimbledon trophies and an Olympic gold medal.

“His reputation, an essential part of the brand, which gives him work, is in tatters”, Laidlaw said. “His fall is not simply a fall from grace and amounts to the most public of humiliations.”

(Reuters)

Ayodhya: Prime Accused in Attempt to Stir Riots Is a History-Sheeter, Muslim Baiter

On multiple occasions, Mahesh Mishra has vowed to ‘kill’ Muslims, called for the economic boycott of the minority community and claimed to have a ‘hit-list of anti-nationals’. He has seldom faced any action.

New Delhi: Mahesh Mishra is the prime accused in the recent incident in Ayodhya, where a group of persons threw pieces of pork, letters abusing Muslims and torn pages of an Islamic text at some mosques and shrines in the town in an apparent attempt to instigate communal violence.

An investigation by The Wire into his social media profiles has revealed that Mishra is a habitual offender. Infamous in Ayodhya for inciting violence in the past, Mishra, on multiple occasions, has vowed to “kill” Muslims, called for the economic boycott of Muslims, and claimed to have prepared a “hit-list of anti-nationals” whom he wants to be killed.

More often than not, his rabble-rousing speeches and bigoted views have attracted no criminal charges and punishment. 

According to the Uttar Pradesh Police, a Hindu fundamentalist outfit ‘Hindu Yodha Sangathan’ headed by Mishra was responsible for the the attempts to instigate communal violence in Ayodhya. It was thwarted by the police. Mishra, a “history-sheeter”, has four criminal cases registered against him. 

Also read: ‘Attempt to Provoke Riots’: Seven Arrested for Throwing Pork, Abusive Letters Into Ayodhya Mosques

Four first information reports (FIRs) have been registered in connection with the latest incident that took place at the Taatshah Jama Masjid, Ghosiyana mosque, a mosque at the Kashmiri Mohalla and a mazar known as Gulab Shah Baba in Ayodhya. 

“It was an attempt to create communal violence and incite riots in Ayodhya,” the police said, after nabbing seven people who conspired to foment trouble. 

Mahesh Mishra’s antecedents

In 2016, Mishra was briefly jailed for allegedly organising an arms training camp for children, where they were trained to attack and kill men dressed as Muslims. He was charged for vitiating communal harmony and promoting hatred. Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Champat Rai – who is now the caretaker of the Ram temple trust – had supported Mishra and his arms training camps. He had called the arrest “unlawful”.

On December 6, 2017, as the chief of the local unit of Bajrang Dal, Mishra led a rally in Ayodhya to celebrate “Shaurya Diwas” which marked the 25th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The police had reportedly denied permission to the event and imposed Section 144 in the area.

In the last two years, Mishra has been relentlessly spearheading a campaign to ban meat in parts of Ayodhya. He has also appeared as a panellist in polarising “Hindu versus Muslim” debates on News Nation.

His social media is also replete with messages to kill the “anti-nationals”. Sample this video which he tweeted in September 2021 issuing a “warning to anti-nationals”.  

In the video, a livid Mishra claims that he has a “hit-list of anti-nationals”. He says, “Listen carefully you anti-nationals, we are preparing your hitlist now. Each one of you will be pulled out of your home and killed…Hindus are now awake. Each one of you will be chased and killed”

In another video, he issued a call for the economic boycott of all Muslims, whom he describes as “funders of terrorism”.

“[Let’s take a vow] that we will not have any economic ties with Muslims. These Muslims receive money from us [Hindus] and give a part of it to mosques and madrasas from where this money goes to terrorists. A bullet that kills our soldiers and Hindus is funded by Hindus indirectly. We should not have any money-related relationship with Muslims.”

While most of his social media posts usually target Muslims, he has also, at times, unleashed criticism against chief minister Yogi Adityanath, calling him a “Brahmin hater”.

Screenshots from Mahesh Mishra’s social media posts.

In another video uploaded by one Archana Giri with the caption “impure land”, referring to a Muslim shrine, Mishra and his associates can be seen reciting Chalisa at the site to “purify” it. 

Most of the residents of Ayodhya that The Wire spoke to were united in the opinion that Mishra is infamous locally for inciting communal violence.

Imran Hashmi, a local student leader, said that Mishra had previously filmed himself urinating on a poster of B.R. Ambedkar. In another audio recording, Hashmi alleged, Mishra can be heard hurling communal slurs and targeting a local dargah.

“There is a pattern associated with Mishra. However, he has not faced any repercussions. These elements are attempting to provoke riots in our city, and we are demanding that stringent action must be taken against these men,” Hashmi appealed to authorities.  

As per the reports, the Uttar Pradesh Police may invoke the National Security Act and Gangster Act against all those who are accused in the latest incident. 

India’s Economy May Take More Than a Decade To Overcome Pandemic Losses: RBI Report

“The pandemic is a watershed moment and the ongoing structural changes catalysed by the pandemic can potentially alter the growth trajectory in the medium-term,” the report said.

New Delhi: The Indian economy may take more than a decade to overcome the losses emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The report has estimated the output losses during the pandemic period at around Rs 52 lakh crore.

“The perturbations from repeated waves of COVID-19 have come in the way of sustained recovery and the quarterly trends in GDP essentially followed the ebbs and flows of the pandemic,” said the chapter titled ‘Scars of the Pandemic’ in the Report on Currency and Finance for 2021-22.

Following a sharp contraction in the first quarter of FY21, the economic momentum progressively picked up till it was hit by the second wave in April-June 2021. Similarly, the impact of the third wave in January 2022 partially dented the recovery process.

With the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the downward risks to global and domestic growth are getting accentuated through a surge in commodity prices and global supply chain disruptions, it noted. “The pandemic is a watershed moment and the ongoing structural changes catalysed by the pandemic can potentially alter the growth trajectory in the medium-term,” the report said.

The pre-COVID-19 trend growth rate works out to 6.6% (CAGR for 2012-13 to 2019-20) and excluding the slowdown years, it stands at 7.1% (CAGR for 2012-13 to 2016-17). “Taking the actual growth rate of (-) 6.6% for 2020-21, 8.9% for 2021-22 and assuming growth rate of 7.2% for 2022-23, and 7.5% beyond that, India is expected to overcome COVID-19 losses in 2034-35,” the report said.

It pegged the output losses for individual years at Rs 19.1 lakh crore, Rs 17.1 lakh crore and Rs16.4 lakh crore for FY21, FY22 and FY23, respectively.

The report has been authored by officials in the RBI’s Department of Economic and Policy Research. The central bank, however, said that the findings and conclusions expressed in the report are entirely those of the contributors and do not represent the views of the banking regulator.