News Analysis India

Tag: Rajasthan

  • BJP MP demands compensation, government job for kin of Rajasthan woman raped and killed

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena on Saturday staged a sit-in here demanding Rs 50 lakh compensation and a government job to a dependent kin of a 35-year-old woman who was gang-raped in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district and later died.

    Meena also demanded the arrest of the politically influential people involved in the case. He said he would continue his protest till action is taken against the key accused and negligent police officers.

    He said that family members of the woman are holding a protest outside the Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital mortuary where her body has been kept for postmortem.

    On February 4, two men allegedly raped the woman and left her for dead near a dry pond in Deedwana in Nagaur district after strangulating her. The woman was rescued in injured condition after more than six days of the incident.

    The woman was taken to a local hospital from where she was referred to the SMS Hospital where she died on February 17.

    The Superintendent of Police suspended Deedwana police station SHO Narendra Jakhar and head constable Prahlad Singh for alleged negligence in the case. The accused in the case have been arrested.

  • Asaram Bapu​ claims rape victim tutored by cops, Rajasthan HC summons IPS officer

    By PTI

    JODHPUR: The Rajasthan High Court has summoned an IPS officer for recording his evidence after an appeal challenging the conviction of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu in a rape case claimed that the victim was tutored.

    A lower court had sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment in 2018 for the rape of a minor at an ashram in Jodhpur in 2013.

    Jaipur’s Additional Commissioner of Police Ajay Pal Lamba has now been asked to appear on March 7 as court witness, following the plea by Asaram’s lawyers that a video recording by him might have influenced the testimony of the teenager.

    Asaram has pleaded that the victim’s graphic description of the alleged crime scene – Asaram private quarters, the “kutia” – was influenced by a video recording of the place by the IPS officer when he was serving in Jodhpur.

    The defence argued that it had no idea about the existence of the video clip until they found a mention of it in Lamba’s book, “Gunning for the Godman: The true story behind Asaram Bapu’s conviction”.

    In his book, the then DCP (West) in Jodhpur had said that he filmed the scene of crime on his mobile phone just in case it was needed during the investigation.

    Asaram’s counsel argued that the girl had not given any description of the interiors of the “kutia” in her handwritten complaint or the statement recorded by police on August 20, 2013.

    “Lamba, visited the crime scene the next day on August 21, 2013 and undertook videography of the crime scene which has been described at length in the book,” the petition said.

    This video had been shown to the victim and was the basis of graphic description of the crime scene by her, it claimed.

    The petition argued that till the till the publication of the book, the defence had no idea about the video.

    The petition said the entire prosecution case was “false and fabricated” and the description of the crime scene by the victim in her statements was influenced by the video taken by Lamba.

    The counsel said the circumstances unequivocally supported the defence contention that victim never entered the “kutia’ as alleged in the FIR and in the girl’s subsequent statements.

    The public prosecutor, however, cited a disclaimer in Lamba’s book which said that some parts of the story may have been dramatised.

    The division bench of Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Rekha Borana said it would be premature to comment that the victim was tutored by a video to describe the crime scene.

    But the court expressed displeasure on the release of the book while the matter was still pending at the stage of appeal and said it may be viewed as an attempt to influence the judicial proceedings.

  • REET paper leak: Guilty won’t be spared, says Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said those involved in the REET paper leak case won’t be spared and he accused the opposition of instigating the youth over the issue.

    “The SOG is doing its work impartially that is why the accused are being caught and new revelations are being made every day,” Gehlot said in a tweet.

    He alleged that the opposition is demanding a CBI inquiry into the case so that the state government could be defamed.

    It is not in the interest of the youth and the government will get all the culprits punished, no matter how influential they are, the CM said.

    “I had said earlier also that the easiest thing for the government to do is to cancel the exam and get it re-conducted. In the interest of the youth, the government gave a free hand to the SOG,” he said.

    He said to the satisfaction of lakhs of candidates, the state government has decided to cancel the REET Level-2 exam and re-conduct it by increasing 30,000 posts.

    The CM said, “The BJP, which has been repeatedly demanding a CBI inquiry on every case, should tell the results of the investigations given to the CBI in the last three years,” he said, citing some of such cases.

  • Jaipur Diary: Rajasthan Chief Secretary Niranjan Arya retired on Monday

    Express News Service

    Niranjan Arya retires, Usha Sharma new Chief Secy Rajasthan Chief Secretary, Niranjan Arya (garlanded), retired on Monday. On the day, the outgoing top official along with family members came out of the secretariat to a cordial reception from people present there. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has entrusted him with the responsibility of being his advisor. Senior IAS officer Usha Sharma has been appointed as the new chief secretary. She was relieved from deputation by the Centre at the request of the state. Sharma, a 1985 batch IAS officer, was posted in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and is second woman IAS officer to be elevated to the post in the state. She said all programmes and flagship schemes for women will get focus.

    Central budget fillip to Rajasthan jewellery businessThe Union Budget has come as a gift to the gem traders of Rajasthan due to the reduced customs duty on cut and polished diamonds and coloured gemstones from 7.5% to 5%. Also, the duty on Panna (emerald) has been reduced from 10% to 5%. Moreover, Rajasthan will earn Rs 500 crore after customs duty on colour gemstones is reduced. About 5 lakh people are employed in the gem-jewellery sector in the desert state. Kushal Dhadda, Jaipur’s famous diamond jewellery exporter, said that due to the import duty on cut and polished diamonds the costs will reduce, and export of gem jewellery will increase. Rajasthan exports Rs 15,000 crore worth of gems and jewellery. This apart, a new duty of 20% on imitation jewellery imports is expected to boost export of imitation jewellery from India.

    Army chief at Amer on the sidelines of Jaipur visitChief of Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane visited Jaipur on Monday to take stock of defence and military preparedness. The General held discussions with senior army officers and commanders at the Army’s South-West Command Headquarters and reviewed the operational preparedness of the command. The Chief of the Army Staff, during his interaction with the commanders, praised their “high standard of professionalism and devotion to duty”. Rajasthan shares a long border with Pakistan. He also visited Amer Mahal while accompanied by his spouse and stayed in the Amer Palace Complex.

    Bird lovers give peacock funeral with Hindu ritualsJhunjhunu district witnessed a unique funeral procession on Friday — given to a dead peacock. The procession was joined by a large crowd. The bird was electrocuted in the Mandawa Mod area. The procession was arranged by the acquaintances of a locally recognised bird lover, Anil Khichar – who is a veterinary doctor by profession. It was based on his wish that they decided to perform the last rites of the bird. What his comrades and local residents did thereafter became an example of animal love. Dr Anil Khichar said the national bird was also cremated following Hindu rituals. Jhunjhunu district is has recorded peacock population of over 10,000.

  • World’s ‘third-largest’ cricket stadium coming up in Jaipur

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: The world’s third-largest cricket stadium is going to be built in Jaipur, and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Saturday laid the foundation stone of the project virtually.

    BCCI secretary Jay Shah also joined the event virtually. Before the foundation stone laying ceremony, Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) officials performed a ‘bhoomi pujan’. This stadium is being built on the Jaipur-Delhi bypass, as per an official statement.

    RCA president Vaibhav Gehlot said a target has been set to complete the construction in three years. It will be the second-largest cricket stadium in India and the third-largest in the world, he said, adding that it would seat 75,000 spectators.

    “Today is a golden day for Rajasthan cricket. Former RCA president C P Joshi dreamt of the association having its own stadium in Jaipur. The atmosphere of professional cricket is being created in Rajasthan,” Chief Minister Gehlot said.

    A stadium each will be built in Jodhpur and Udaipur as well, the statement said. Seven out of the 10 big stadiums in the world are in India, and this new stadium of Rajasthan will be in the third place, it added.

    BCCI president Ganguly said that a lot of resources have been developed in the last 10 years. “Today, BCCI is the leading cricket board in the world. Even if we talk about junior cricket or Ranji, the Sawai Man Singh stadium here is the best, but now it is a matter of happiness that we are building the third-largest stadium in the world,” he added.

  • It’s complicated matter, don’t think it requires media trials: Rajasthan Minister Mahesh Joshi on Alwar rape case

    By ANI

    JAIPUR: Rajasthan Minister Mahesh Joshi on Saturday called the Alwar rape case a “complicated matter” in which a specially-abled girl was found lying in a distressed condition.

    “It’s a complicated matter. I don’t think it requires media trials. The investigation is underway and everything will be made clear,” Joshi told media persons today.

    Speaking about the law and order situation of the state, he said that people can today register FIRs without any fear as criminals are afraid.

    “Today people can register FIR without any fear as criminals are afraid because police are doing good work,” he stated.

    Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gulab Chand Kataria said that the party has demanded a CBI enquiry in a time-bound manner.

    “We have demanded a CBI enquiry in a time-bound manner. There should be no delay in the probe and a result should be out soon… It’s state government’s responsibility to nab the accused,” Kataria said.

    Earlier on January 16, the Rajasthan government decided to hand over the Alwar rape case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

    The Alwar case, where a specially-abled girl was found lying in a distressed condition, took a political turn on Saturday after the opposition parties started blaming the ruling Congress for suppressing the case. Earlier, the Police said that medical reports of the girl had ruled out rape.

  • Ready to get intellectually-challenged girl’s case probed by any agency as per family’s wish: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

    Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that an investigation was underway to find out the cause of the girl's injuries.

  • Man kills friend for marrying his sister: Rajasthan Police

    In a case of honour killing, a man allegedly killed his friend for marrying his sister after eloping with her in Churu district of Rajasthan.

  • Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot meets industrialists Ashok Hinduja​, Prakash Hinduja; discusses investment

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Industrialists Ashok Hinduja and Prakash Hinduja called on Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot here on Monday.

    “They discussed about existing investment of the group in the state and further investments in the areas of renewable energy, transport and other sectors,” Gehlot tweeted.

    Shri Ashok Hinduja and Shri Prakash Hinduja of Hinduja Group met me today. They discussed about existing investment of the group in the state and further investments in the areas of renewable energy, transport & other sectors. pic.twitter.com/LLDbi3zhqk
    — Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) December 20, 2021
    The meeting took place at the chief minister’s residence in the morning.

  • Jaipur man arrested for making indecent remarks against deceased CoDS General Bipin Rawat

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: A man was arrested from Rajasthan for allegedly making indecent remarks against Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat who along with 12 others were killed when a Mi17V5 helicopter carrying them crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.

    “The accused Javed Khan (21), a resident of Nazarbag road in the city, was arrested on Thursday,” SHO Kotwali police station of Tonk, Jitendra Singh said. Khan was arrested for making derogatory remarks against General Bipin Rawat on social media, he said.

    Four teams were formed to trace the accused, the officer said. He added that the accused was produced in a local court where the magistrate ordered to send him to judicial custody.