SC ruling on Dara 'lenient': Cong
Congress on Friday described as "lenient" the Supreme Court's decision rejecting CBI's plea for death penalty to Dara Singh, convicted for burning alive Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons.
The apex court, while upholding the life term awarded to Dara Singh by the Orissa high court for the January 1999 killings, ruled that the crime was not "rarest of rare" to warrant capital punishment.
"The apex court has really relatively been very lenient in giving the minimum punishment...it was a serious and barbaric event. It was not merely a case of coercion and pressure. This barbaric event led to the destruction of child lives in a brutal and unspeakable manner," party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters here.
While announcing the decision on Wednesday, a bench comprising justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan, while dismissing the agency's plea for death penalty, had said the punishment can be imposed only in the "rarest of rare" cases depending upon the facts and situation of each case.
Dara Singh and Mahendra Hembrom were found guilty of burning to death Staines and his sons while they were sleeping inside a van in front of a church at Manoharpur village in Koenjhar district of Orissa on January 22, 1999.
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Madhya Pradesh rest house care taker suspended for evicting Rajya Sabha MP
A caretaker of the government rest house of Madhya Pradesh's Sagar has been suspended for evicting Rajya Sabha MP Sumitra Valmiki from a room, officials said on Tuesday. District collector Deepak Arya said the rest house care-taker, Harinarayan Kori has been suspended with immediate effect. The action came after a video of Valmiki went viral on social media. Valmiki alleged that the male staffer touched her innerwear.
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Delhi police book Leena Manimekalai over controversial ‘Kaali’ poster
Canada-based filmmaker Leena Manimekalai shared the poster of 'Kaali' on the microblogging website, Twitter, on Saturday and said the documentary was part of the 'Rhythms of Canada' segment at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. It triggered widespread fury on social media and prompted the Indian High Commission in Toronto to ask the authorities in Canada for removal of the posters.
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Consider inviting fresh bids for buying electric buses: HC to BEST
Mumbai: The Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday dismissed the petition filed by Tata Motors, challenging the disqualification of their bids for supplying 1,400 electric buses to the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport. The HC also held that the decision of the civic undertaking to approve bids of Evey Trans company to supply 2,100 electric buses was incorrect and that BEST should consider conducting a new tender process.
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In a first, Delhi police start registration of Kanwariyas
In a first, the Delhi police have started registration of the devotees taking part in 'Kanwar Yatra' to enable better coordination among different authorities to provide assistance and facilitation for the pilgrimage. The yatra, which takes place during the Hindu month of Shrawan, is scheduled to begin from July 14 this year. Suman Nalwa, the deputy commissioner of police (public relations), said that the devotees can register themselves at kavad.delhipolice.gov.in through their mobile phones.
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Four killed in two accidents in Mandi, Shimla
Four people were killed in two accidents in Mandi and Shimla districts on Tuesday. Three workers were killed and one was seriously hurt after the pillar of a gate fell on a tipper truck in the Khaliyar locality of Mandi town. The dead were identified as Rishav Kaushik of Mandi, Gurchain Singh of Rupnagar district and Vinod Kumar of Purnea district in Bihar. Locals informed the police after which a rescue operation was launched.
