August 2019

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
ASIA
OVER 500 SIKH
pilgrims return from
August 2019
5
Man gives triple talaq
to wife on road in UP
UNNAO RAPE
survivor still in
critical condition
Lucknow : The Unnao rape survivor
was still on a ventilator on Thursday -
the fifth day after the Sunday road accident,
which had left two of her aunts
dead and she and her lawyer injured -
and her condition was still critical, doctors
said.
There was no appreciable upturn in
her condition, which is still grave, said
King George Medical College
spokesperson Sandeep Tiwari, though
the condition of her lawyer Mahendra
Singh had improved marginally.
Singh, who was on oxygen for 10
hours, was then shifted to a ventilator
and this change had been done several
times, he said.
Tiwari said that the CT scan report of
the woman was roughly normal, and her
blood samples have been drawn for various
checks. He said that in such a condition
as hers, no patient is off ventilator
support, which is provided for some
brief periods in order to support the
internal organs.
The rape survivor and her lawyer
were severely injured and both her aunts
killed as a truck collided with their vehicle
on Sunday afternoon as they were on
their way to the Rae Bareli jail to visit
her uncle. Meanwhile, the Unnao
Superintendent of Police has suspended
three of the six police personnel
deployed with the rape survivor for her
protection. According to the district
police chief's spokesman, three police
personnel - Sudesh Kumar, Ruby Patel
and Anita - faced action for not fulfilling
their responsibilities. Of the six police
guards, three were deployed at her home
while three were tasked with accompanying
her when she travelled outside.
When the accident occurred on
Sunday, none of the police personnel
were with her. While police have said
that it is possible that the security personnel
were left behind as there was no
space in the vehicle, however, it was
argued that there were only four people
in the car, including the rape survivor.
New Delhi : The Delhi Minorities
Commission here on Thursday released a fact
finding commission's report on religious
structures in West Delhi and accused
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Parvesh
Sahib Singh of spreading lies. It also demanded
filing of an FIR against him. Singh had last
month claimed that mosques and graveyards
were mushrooming on public land in the
national capital, particularly in West Delhi --
his constituency. He had also submitted to
Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal a list of 54 such
illegal sites. The report rejected the MP's
claims and stated that there were sufficient
PAKISTAN BY ROAD
Amritsar : A 'nagar kirtan' comprising 500
Sikh pilgrims returned to India from Pakistan
via road on Thursday after paying obeisance at
the historic Nankana Sahib, the birth place of
Guru Nanak Dev.
The 'nagar kirtan' or religious procession was
associated with the 550th birth anniversary celebrations
of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of
Sikhism, which would begin on a large scale in
both the countries in November.
Two days ago, the Indian pilgrims had
entered Pakistan's Punjab province to commence
their procession
from the
Nankana Sahib.
On the Indian
side, a sea of
devotees assembled
to receive the
Guru Granth
Sahib, the holy
book, along with
the pilgrims. As
the procession
amidst religious
fervour entered
India from the
Wagah border
crossing, 'Panj
Pyaras' received
the Guru Granth
Sahib.
A red carpet
welcome by
showering flower
petals was given
by the Shiromani
Gurdwara
Parbandhak
Committee
(SGPC), known as the mini-parliament of Sikhs,
where Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal
and his wife and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur
Badal, state Cabinet Ministers O.P. Soni and
Charanjit Singh Channi, and local MP Gurjit
Aujla were among others present on the occasion.
Akali Dal MLA Manjinder S. Sirsa, who is
the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Committee President,
was leading the Indian pilgrims. Besides Sirsa,
Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet
Singh, SGPC President Gobind Singh Longowal
and Chief Secretary Roop Singh, were accompanying
the Sikh devotees.
The devotees crossed the Wagah-Atari joint
check post and were accorded a warm welcome.
They reached Attari, some 28 km from here,
grounds for registering
an FIR against him as
he "targeted a particular
community and
(for) creating communal
disharmony in
Delhi". It also said the
MP had violated the
oath of office and the
DMC should file a
complaint in Lok
Sabha's ethics committee.
With the Assembly polls approaching,
there should be zero tolerance for those
after also paying obeisance at the Kartarpur
Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan's Punjab Province.
The Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, originally
known as Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, is among the
holy shrines which is believed to be the final
resting place of Guru Nanak Dev. Located on the
banks of Ravi river, the Kartarpur Sahib
Gurdwara was built to commemorate the site
where Guru Nanak settled after his missionary
work.
Starting from Nankana Sahib, the 'nagar kirtan'
will visit five 'takhts' (temporal seats) of the
Sikh faith -- Akal
Takht in Amritsar,
Takht Kesgarh Sahib
in Anandpur Sahib,
Takht Damdama
Sahib in Talwandi
Sabo, Takht Patna
Sahib in Patna and
Takht Hazur Sahib in
Nanded in
Maharashtra, before
reaching Punjab's
Sultanpur Lodhi in
November to mark
the 550th birth
anniversary.
The Pakistan government
is likely to
allow pilgrims from
all over the world to
Sikh historical
shrines like Panja
Sahib, Dera Sahib
and Nankana Sahib
during the celebration
in November, a
SGPC official told
IANS here.
"Pakistan feels honoured that celebrations of
the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak are
being started from Nankana Sahib," the Pakistan
High Commission in New Delhi said in a statement
when the Sikh pilgrims left for Pakistan.
Pakistan last month agreed in principle to allow
visa-free, year-long travel to the Kartarpur Sahib
Gurdwara for Indian passport holders and
Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card holders
via the upcoming 4.2-km-long corridor
which is scheduled to be opened by October 31,
a week before the celebrations to mark the 550th
birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
Currently, the devotees from the Indian side
can pay obeisance by seeing through binoculars
the white-coloured Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara
located in Pakistan.
BJP MP accused of spreading lies
about mosques on public land
spreading lies and hates, it said.
The committee, headed by Owais Sultan,
said none of those structures mentioned in
the MP's list were built on public land illegally
or were encroachment.
"The list of mosques, mazaars, graveyards
and madrasas was prepared in a careless and
non-serious manner to spoil the social atmosphere,"
Sultan told media.
The committee's report was submitted to
DMC chairman Zafarul Islam Khan on
Tuesday and was released on Thursday. The
DMC will also submit a copy of the report to
Baijal.
Moradabad : On a day when the country was celebrating
the law against triple talaq, a man in Moradabad district of
Uttar Pradesh announced triple talaq to his wife on a road after
he got into an altercation with his wife.
A video surfaced on the social media on Wednesday in
which the man can be seen fighting with his wife’s brother.
Details of the reason behind the fight were not known. In the
video, the woman can be heard saying that she had earlier
approached the police and complained against her husband.
Police officials said that they were trying to ascertain the
identity of the couple and the truth behind the incident.
Parliament on Tuesday approved a bill outlawing the centuries-old
right of a Muslim man to instantly divorce his wife.
Army chief meets J&K governor;
Assembly polls talk intensifies
New Delhi-Army Chief General Bipin Rawat called on
Jammu & Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik in Srinagar on
Thursday in what was
termed by defence
sources as a general meeting
to review security scenario
in the valley.
The meeting assumes
significance as it comes
days after the Union
home ministry cleared
deployment of additional
10,000 paramilitary
troopers for Jammu &
Kashmir.
Srinagar-based 15
Corps of Indian Army
tweeted from its official
handle, "General Bipin
Rawat, #COAS along
with #ArmyCdrNC &
#ChinarCorpsCdr reviewed security situation in #Kashmir;
lauded exemplary commitment & high morale of troops &
cdrs. Emphasised on Inter-Agency synergy. Later, called on
Hon'ble Governor of J&K and apprised him of overall security."
A senior army officer told IANS, it was a routine meeting
to review security scenario in J&K.
The movement of additional troops into the valley is variously
presumed to be a precursor to the abrogation of Article
35A and Assembly elections. The state is under the President's
rule. Rawat's meeting with the governor is expected to add fuel
to the speculations.
TWO arrested with fake
currency worth Rs 4 lakh
New Delhi : Two persons, including a women, have been arrested
in North
Delhi for
allegedly carrying
fake
Indian currency
notes
worth Rs 4
lakh, the
police said on
Thursday. The
accused duo were arrested from near the Haiderpur Badli Mor metro
station near Shalimar Bagh.
"After frisking the duo, fake currency notes of Rs 2,000 with a
face value of Rs 4,00,000 were recovered from their possession,"
said a senior police officer. Further investigation is underway.