News Analysis India

Tag: Chhattisgarh

  • Migrant workers ask Chhattisgarh government to involve them in policymaking 

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: Last year’s nationwide lockdown in response to Covid-19 brought much hardship to migrant workers, many of whom struggled without food or pay. 

    To address their issues and to prepare Chhattisgarh to meet similar challenges in the future, a first-of-its-kind initiative was held in Raipur where migrant workers, acting as a jury, recommended measures to the government to improve their lives. It called on the government to consider them in their plan of action.

    Among other recommendations, it requested that everyone get employment from 150 to 200 days under MNREGA so that the need to migrate is reduced. It also suggested that Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for landless migrant laborers be implemented. Other suggestions include life insurance for all migrant workers and a helpline number catering to them. The jury intended to become an empowering tool for the affected segments of the population to influence the policy-making process for their welfare, sources said.

    Seventeen jury members were selected with due diligence and transparent process from around 2.5 lakh migrant workers (gathered from government database) to pronounce the judgment on various issues and concerns faced by migrant labourers.

    Open-ended discussions and group meetings among members of the jury, with the support of ‘Friends of the Jury,’ helped them break down complex issues around their employment conditions, livelihood, portability of schemes, various entitlements and their electoral participation.

    Discussions were held on a range of issues. The jury heard arguments from representatives of the government, society and industries. The organisers highlighted that the elites make policies without proper consultations with the people. 

  • New COVID-19 cases in Chhattisgarh close to combined figures of seven major states

    By Express News Service
    RAIPUR: Over 300 new cases of COVID-19 are now being reported daily in Chhattisgarh, which is close to the cumulative number of cases in seven major states of the country.

    Chhattisgarh recorded 312 fresh cases on Friday, while the combined figures of Uttar Pradesh (77), Rajasthan (35), Madhya Pradesh (15), Gujarat (38), Delhi (66), Jharkhand (52) and Haryana (46) add up to 329 during the last 24 hours.

    The positivity rate in the state remains less than one for the past week but cases continue to reach around 300 daily. The positivity rate on Friday was 0.7 percent.

    “Recently there have been more tests carried out in Chhattisgarh compared to other states. Instructions have also been given to increase the sample testing along with the contact tracing in every district. Consequently more new cases are being recorded in the state,” said Dr Subhash Mishra, spokesperson of the state health department and Director (Epidemic Control).

    The active cases now in the state are 3967.

  • Naxals attack, kill villager in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh

    By PTI
    BIJAPUR: A 50-year-old man was allegedly attacked and killed by Naxals at a village in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police said on Friday.

    The incident took place in Nukanpal village under Modakpal police station limits, where the victim Mura Kudiam, had gone to attend a family function on Thursday, an official said.

    As per preliminary information, some armed ultras dressed as civilians surrounded Kudiam, a native of Usoor area, and attacked him multiple times with sharp-edged weapons and sticks in front of villagers, the official said.

    Naxals dumped Kudiam’s body on the road, before fleeing the scene, he said, adding that the exact cause for the attack is yet to be ascertained.

    A police team rushed to the site and the body was shifted to a local hospital for post-mortem, the official said.

    This is the second such attack in the district this week, as a 32-year-old villager was killed by Naxals in Kutru area of the district on July 11.

    In October last year, the outlawed CPI (Maoist) had claimed responsibility for killing 25 people, including some of its cadres, in separate incidents in the insurgency-hit Bijapur district for allegedly acting as police informers.

  • Chhattisgarh govt nullifies 158 MoUs after being failed to execute them

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: In a major decision, the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh government on Thursday cancelled 158 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for their non-action and failure to execute the plans.

    The decision to nullify the MoUs was taken during the review meeting of the State Investment Promotion Board chaired by the CM Bhupesh Baghel at his official residence in Raipur.

    The annulled MoUs included 103 signed during the Global Investors Meet held in 2012 and the remaining 55 inked between 2001 to 2018.

    ALSO READ | Left parties upset over Chhattisgarh govt ad on road connectivity in ‘Left Front-affected areas’

    The production has already begun in 67 MoUs and the execution plan is underway in 61 other agreements signed with the state and the instructions issued to expedite the implementation of the MoUs that remain effective, according to the official statement issued after the meeting.

    In the Global Investors Meet, as many as 275 MoUs worth Rs 9,3830 crore were signed. However, the capital investment of only Rs 2003 crore in six projects so far has been accomplished in Chhattisgarh, the officials informed.

    The state government has also constituted two separate committees for addressing the issues faced by the industries in the state.

  • Left parties upset over Chhattisgarh govt ad on road connectivity in ‘Left Front-affected areas’

    By Express News Service
    RAIPUR: The Left parties, which recently entered into a poll alliance with the Congress in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, have raised serious objections to the advertisement of the Congress government in Chhattisgarh saying that they alleged used “right-wing terminology to defame Left parties”.

    The advertisement displayed in the regional Hindi dailies stated that “the state is going to have road connectivity by investing Rs 1,637 crore during the next two years across the Left Front-affected areas”.

    They argued that a “wrong impression” has been created as the advertisement apparently seems to have combined the mainstream Left parties with the extremist CPI (Maoist) in words by citing Left-influenced areas which usually is indicative of the Red zone in Chhattisgarh.

    The three Left parties in the state — Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India(CPI), Communist Party of India (M-L) Liberation have written to CM Bhupesh Baghel seeking his attention on the issue. 

    “The word ‘Left-affected’ has inadvertently created confusion. The ‘Left-affected’ and ‘Left-wing extremist affected’ are not the same as their political aims differ. We hope your government meant Maoist-affected areas.

    The Communist parties played a vital role in giving shape to parliamentary politics. We have nothing to do with the Left-wing extremist group”, said Sanjay Parate, state secretary (CPI-M), RDCP Rao (CPI), and Brijendra Tiwari (CPI-ML), in a letter jointly addressed to the CM.

    The Left parties regretted alleging that the Congress government advertisement carried forward the practice of the BJP that always tried to “malign” the mainstream communist parties.

    The Left parties urged the CM to instruct the authorities concerned for correction of the erroneous terminology and further ensure such usage doesn’t recur in the future.  

  • Sukma SP orders surveillance of Christian missionaries’ activities in tribal areas

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: In an official circular that may possibly ignite controversy, the Sukma SP has instructed his subordinates and officers in charge of all the police stations in the district to maintain strict surveillance over the activities of the Christian missionaries and the converted tribals.

    “The Christian missionaries and the tribal Christians are routinely venturing in internal areas of the district and persuading the non-Christian tribals to get converted by enticing and offering them allurement. Owing to this, the situation resulting into a conflict between the local tribals and those converted (to Christianity) can’t be ruled out”, said the official letter issued by Sukma SP Sunil Sharma.

    The SP issued a directive to the district police to keep the intelligence network on alert. “Maintain a consistent watch over the activities of Christian missionaries and converted tribals residing in the district and report if any of their acts perceived as suspicious”, stated the circular.

    The Sukma SP admitted to The New Indian Express of having sent out the letter to the district police officers.

    “The circular is more as preventive in nature rather than prohibitory. Keeping in view some nearby districts where conflicts were reported owing to religious conversions, I intended such a situation shouldn’t arise in Sukma and the social harmony prevails. The police have been asked to gather its own information through their network on religious conversion activities by enticement”, said Sharma and added that all have the right to follow their faiths.

    However, the Christian community felt offended by the internal official communication.

    “This is totally pre-meditated. The district officials are supposed to protect the Constitutional rights of citizens and not trample them. How could the IPS officer conclude that Christian missionaries are involved in religious conversion without any investigation? Every Indian has the right to move to any place and practise his/her faith. The officer should say if he has the figures on how many tribals been lured to convert, what temptations given, and if any case registered during the past two decades in that area? This is an attempt to create animosity against our religion”, asserted Arun Pannalal, president of Chhattisgarh Christian Forum.

    The Christians alleged that the people of their community are repeatedly harassed in the tribal-dominated Bastar.

  • Chhattisgarh: 1000 COVID-19 violation cases among thousands resolved in National Lok Adalat

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: More than 10,000 cases were disposed off during the National Lok Adalat, held in all civil courts across Chhattisgarh.

    The first of its kind Lok Adalats were held right from Taluka to the High Court in the state by the Chhattisgarh State Legal Services Authority for swift disposal of pre-litigation and pending cases through virtual and physical mode while complying with the Covid protocol.

    Over one thousand cases withdrawn on the initiative of the state government were those related to violation of guidelines during the Covid pandemic under Section 188.

    Special cases like Sections 321, 258 (Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973), petty offences, and cases registered under the Disaster Management Act 2005 during the covid-19 lockdown were also resolved.

    Pre-litigation cases not presented in the court were also disposed of through joint agreement of the parties.

    According to the directions of Chhattisgarh High Court acting Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, who is also an executive chairman of State Legal Services Authority, each district has been given the power of special sitting of the magistrate for the Lok Adalat, on the basis of which, small cases were resolved with the approval of the parties.

    A total of 123 cases were also resolved by the High Court in the National Lok Adalat through four division benches.

    The Lok Adalat was held following the instruction by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).

  • Chhattisgarh govt moves SC, files caveats against IPS officer booked under sedition law in graft case

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Chhattisgarh government has moved the Supreme Court by filing caveats against G P Singh, an IPS officer suspended earlier this week in a disproportionate assets case and later booked for sedition.

    The Chhattisgarh Police have booked Singh in the disproportionate assets case following raids at his premises by the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Economic Offences Wing (EOW).

    According to police, the documents recovered during the raids revealed that Singh was allegedly involved in promoting enmity and hatching a conspiracy against the established government and public representatives and was booked under sedition charges.

    The state government has filed two caveats through its standing counsel Sumeer Sodhi seeking to be heard before any order is passed by the court in a case related to suspension of the officer and in the disproportionate assets case.

    Singh was booked under IPC sections 124-A (sedition) and 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc) of the IPC at Raipur’s City Kotwali Police Station late on Thursday night.

    On Friday, the officer approached the high court seeking a stay on the probe of the state ACB and EOW in the disproportionate assets case lodged against him last week.

    The officer, in his petition before the high court, contended that action was taken against him with prejudice.

    Singh has also sought that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or other independent agencies to ensure a fair probe.

    An Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) rank officer of the 1994 IPS batch, Singh, who was posted as director of the state police academy, was suspended on July 5 after the ACB/EOW, on June 29, registered an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the disproportionate assets he had allegedly amassed.

    The ACB/EOW, which carried a three-day search at around 15 locations linked to Singh from July 1 to 3, claimed to have discovered movable and immovable assets worth around Rs 10 crore.

    During the raid at the official residence of Singh, torn pieces of paper were found from the backyard of the house.

    When the pieces were rearranged, serious and sensitive contents were found to be written and typed on it, the FIR said.

    “These papers contained objectionable comments against leaders of reputed political parties along with detailed plans of conspiracy.

    Besides, secret assessments related to representatives and candidates of different assembly constituencies along with comments on serious issues of the concerned area were also written on it.

    The papers also contained critical comments on several government schemes, policies, social and religious issues”, it said.

    Similarly, the raid at Singh’s associate Mani Bhushan’s house here, unearthed a five-page document, in which comments were written in English against public representatives, officials, government schemes and policies, it added.

    The seized documents contain provocative contents that can promote hatred and dissatisfaction against the government, the FIR said.

    PTI MNL RHL 07101347 NNNN

  • Sedition case filed against suspended IPS officer Gurjinder Pal Singh in Chhattisgarh

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: The city police have registered a sedition case against ADG-rank officer Gurjinder Pal Singh based on a written complaint filed by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB). The anti-graft body reportedly seized alleged documents from Singh that were suggestive of a conspiracy against the government. 

    The Kotwali police station has registered the case under Sections 124-A, 153-A (that deals with sedition and treason) of the IPC against the 1994-batch IPS officer who was earlier suspended by the state government on July 5.

    ACB sleuths carried out raids for three days at 15 premises and properties linked to the IPS officer following complains over disproportionate assets.

    After the registering of the case, Singh has been missing from his Raipur home. “We came to know that he has left for Bilaspur but we are verifying the same. His location cannot be traced at the moment,” said an ACB officer.

  • Lightning strikes leave four children dead in Chhattisgarh

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: Four children, all below 10 years of age, died when lightening struck them while they were taking a bath at Bensunga dam on Tuesday. The dam is located at Narayanpur in Jashpur district, about 350 km east of Raipur. 

    According to the district police, all the deceased children belonged to primitive tribal groups. “Two boys and two girls had gone to Bensunga dam when it was raining heavily. Their bodies have been sent for a postmortem examination,” the police said.

    A pall of gloom descended on Korvadera village at Narayanpur in the Pathalgaon block of the district.

    The climate experts stated that early warnings and information can save lives from lightning strikes in future.