In view of a Statewide ‘bandh’ call by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other organisations over violence in Chhattisgarh’s Bemetara district, workers of the outfit and those of BJP, which has lent support to the protest, have urged people to close their businesses on Monday.
On Saturday, 22-year-old, Bhuneswar Sahu, was killed in a clash between two groups in the Biranpur village. Three police personnel were also injured in the incident. Raipur Additional Superintendent of Police Abhishek Maheshwari said, “Today a bandh has been called by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal. An additional police force has also been deployed in all police stations. More than 400 police officers have been deployed in all the police stations, Extra patrolling is also being done.”
“We’ve got information that they plan to hold a ‘chakka jam’ at three to four locations. We will try to disperse them as soon as possible,” the police official said.
BJP district president Jayanti Patel said the decision for a ‘bandh’ was necessary due to the violence in the state. He said that BJP is supporting the call for the bandh.
Superintendent of police (SP) of Bemetara, Indira Kalyan Elesela had said yesterday, “A bandh has been called tomorrow in view of yesterday’s incident. We are ready for this. We hope everything remains peaceful.”
“We are fully prepared. The crowd has been controlled by installing barricades at many places,” he added.
Earlier on Sunday, State BJP spokesperson Kedar Gupta said, “Bharatiya Janata Party will join the Chhattisgarh bandh called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad over the incident in Bemetara that resulted in the death of one youth and the bandh will be held on Monday.”
“… the incident took place in Saja Vidhansabha. There were continuously eight cases of love jihad in that area and Sahu Samaj was creating public awareness that Love Jihad is a crime”, Gupta said.
He also alleged conspiracy behind the youth’s murder and the government was supporting the accused.
Meanwhile, amid heavy police deployment and imposition of Section 144 in the area, the last rites of Bhuneswar Sahu, was performed on Sunday.
According to police, as per preliminary information, on Saturday (April 8) a fight broke out between children belonging to two groups in Biranpur village and subsequently tension escalated leading to a clash between members of two groups.
Police have so far arrested 11 people in connection with the violence and are investigating the case. (ANI)
Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) fresh action in Chhattisgarh has stroke a ‘war of words’ in the political arena here as Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel called the raids a politically motivated move.
At the same time, the BJP rejected the allegations and questioned the role of those arrested by the central agency in the politics of Congress. “BJP questioned two officials (who were arrested by ED) against whom the central agency conducted a probe under the most stringent law in the country. As nothing was found against them, the case has been given to the state for undertaking the probe,” said CM Baghel, questioning that if they (ED) would have found anything concrete, the question of forwarding the case to the state would not arise.
Baghel stated this while talking to the media at Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur on Monday.
Following the letter received from the ED Director, the state government has launched a probe but what about the letters we have sent to the agency requesting to probe the chit fund and NAN (civil supplies corporation) scam, said Baghel.
When would the ED, which is probing the NAN scam, reveal who is CM sir and CM madam and when they will conduct a probe against people indulged in chit fund scam, questioned the Chhattisgarh CM.
“Congress and Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel are repeatedly levelling allegations on ED that their actions are political. I wanted to ask them businessman Suryakant Tiwari, officer Saumya Chaurasia and IAS Sameer Vishnoi, who were arrested by ED in connection with an alleged coal levy scam, were holding which post in Congress,” said IAS-turned-politician OP Choudhary, who is a BJP spokesperson.
He said what relations these people have with the politics of Congress and if they don’t have any connection with the ruling party then why is CM Baghel not taking action against them?
The name of the officer was also not removed from the government website, Choudhary alleged.
It may be recalled here that earlier, in the case, ED had arrested IAS Sameer Vishnoi, businessman Sunil Agarwal and Suryakant’s uncle Laxmikant Tiwari on October 13. ED arrested Suryakant Tiwari on October 30 and on December 2 the federal agency arrested Saumya Chaurasia. On December 9, ED filed a prosecution complaint against Suryakant Tiwari, IAS Sameer Vishnoi, Laxmikant Tiwari, Sunil Agarwal, and others before the PMLA Special Court, Raipur.
The money laundering investigation was launched after the ED took cognizance of an Income Tax department complaint. The financial crimes probe agency in October carried out multi-city raids in the state as part of its probe.
The ED on March 29 had carried out searches against Congress leader and Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, his brother Anwar Dhebar, liquor businessman Baldev Singh Bhatia alias Pappu Bhatia and others. (ANI)
In a feat that could not be accomplished in the past seven decades, the Centre’s flagship ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ started supply of potable tap water in areas inhabited by the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) ‘Pando’, a special backward tribe in Chhattisgarh’s Balrampur district.
The locals heaped praise on the central government as well as the central team that arrived for inspection in the remote village.
Pando community is a backward tribe with a population of just over 35 houses. They inhabit the Dhauli village of Libra in North Chhattisgarh, which is situated merely 1 km away from the Jharkhand border.
The villagers had to toil and face and lot of hardship to fetch drinking water. Rural women had to travel 1-2 km to fetch water from handpumps.
Now, with the supply of tap water through the Centre’s Jal Jeevan Mission, water connections have been provided to all residents of Libra village.
The villagers are now receiving an uninterrupted supply of water through taps.
The district officer of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department said the central team carried out inspections, which eventually led to the launch of the scheme in the remote area. (ANI)
Union Ministers Mansukh Mandaviya and Ashwini Vaishnaw flagged off a Jan Aushadhi Train (Chhattisgarh Samparkranti Express) in New Delhi on Friday, said a press release by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
This train has been wrapped with the branding of the Jan Aushadhi scheme to spread awareness about Jan Aushadhi Generic medicines which are available through more than 9000 Kendras at affordable prices. This train will travel through more than four States for two months, added the press release.
Also, a similar train from Pune to Danapur has been flagged off covering 4 States for 2 months for generating awareness amongst the general public about the Jan Aushadhi scheme.
The third day of Jan Aushadhi Diwas, 2023 was observed as ‘Jan Aushadhi – Ek Kadam Matri Shakti Ki Ore’ across the country. women beneficiaries attended in large numbers at 34 locations in all States/UTs at Jan Aushadhi Kendras where interaction was conducted in the presence of women public representatives, women doctors, NGO’s and information sharing about the Health benefits of Jan Aushadhi medicines was done.
Special discussions about menstrual health were also conducted. Kits containing women-centric products were distributed to more than 3500 women at designated locations.
Mandaviya said that Jan Aushadhi Kendras provide quality and affordable medicines. More than 9000 Jan Aushadhi Kendra are working to ensure that people would get quality medicines at affordable prices and these Kendras are gaining popularity amongst the public.
Mandaviya further stated that Railways is also carrying a special campaign for the publicity of affordable generic medicines which in turn will create awareness among the public and will also save them money.
Union Minister informed that Railways Ministry has decided to open Jan Aushadhi Kendra at some big railway stations. This will prove beneficial for the commuters as they can buy medicines from these kendras at stations and they don’t need to go anywhere.
The Minister also informed that Jan Aushadhi Kendra can be opened by any private individual. 20 per cent commission is provided to him so that he can not only get medium of employment but also of service. He further said, while inexpensive and quality medicines are available at Jan Aushadhi Kendras throughout the country, these Kendras are also providing sanitary pads to women at the price of just Re 1 per pad. (ANI)
Caretakers of an ashram in Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund district allegedly thrashed and burnt the face of a minor girl over a petty issue.
The shocking incident took place at Jai Gurudev Manas Ashram located in the district’s Baghbahara block recently, said Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Akash Rao Giripunje.
A dispute broke out between the minor girl and caretakers over the issue of offering ‘Bhog’ and the latter allegedly thrashed the former, said the officer, elaborating that the accused persons allegedly burned the face of the minor girl.
Following a complaint received from the victim’s brother, police registered an offence against the accused trio and arrested them, ASP Giripunje said.
The arrested accused persons were identified as Sonu Patel, Bhoj Sahu and Rakesh Diwan, the officer added.
The victim was admitted to the hospital where she is under the observation of the doctors, the ASP said.
According to the officer, the victim’s brother along with family members visited the ashram on February 20. While the entire family returned back, the minor girl stayed at the ashram. A dispute broke out between the caretakers and the minor girl over the issue of offering ‘Bhog’ and aggrieved by the incident, the accused trio allegedly thrashed the victim and also burned her face. Moreover, the accused persons allegedly intimidated the victim’s brother and asked him not to share the incident with the police.
Based on the investigation findings, police registered an offence against the accused persons and arrested them, the officer said and further informed that a probe in this connection is underway. (ANI)
On a query over the Directorate of Enforcement’s ongoing raids on Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said no action is executed with a sense of revenge.
At the post-Budget press conference in Jaipur, the finance minister said, “Any agency first collects data and only then action is taken. No action is executed with sense of revenge.” She also said that Congress should learn to listen while sitting in the Parliament.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Monday conducted fresh searches at nearly a dozen locations in Chhattishgarh in mining and alleged coal levy scam. The places searched include residential and office premises of various Congress leaders namely Ram Gopal Agarwal, Girish Devangan, RP Singh, Vinod Tiwari ad Sunny Agrawal, said sources.
The Finance minister also said if any party or state government wants to bring petrol and diesel under the purview of Goods and Services Tax (GST), then it would be discussed only once it is placed before the GST Council.
The Finance minister was addressing a query about bringing petrol and diesel under the ambit of GST and on the rising price of cooking gas at a press conference in Jaipur on Monday.
She said it does not depend on the government and only the GST Council can decide on this, adding that if any party or state government wants to bring petrol diesel under the purview of GST, it would be discussed only after placing before the Council.
The Finance minister added that it can be brought within the ambit of GST only with the consent of all states.
The conference was also attended by the Union ministers of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad. Finance Secretary TV Somanathan and Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran were also present at the conference.
During the post-Budget conference in Mumbai on February 11, Sitharaman said Indian regulators are “very experienced” and seized of the matter related to the Adani Group and are “on their toes” to handle the situation that has arisen following a report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research.
Addressing mediapersons in Mumbai, Sitharaman said the regulators “are on their toes as always, not just now”.
Recently there was a major crash in the Indian stock market in the wake of a report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research on the Adani Group.
The US firm has accused the Indian conglomerate of engaging in fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, which the Adani Group has denied. (ANI)
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday, wrote a letter to PM Modi requesting him to direct authorities to release the Census schedule soon.
In the letter addressed to PM Modi, Baghel said that Census helps in formulating the developmental policies of the country. “For the last 150 years, Census is being conducted every 10 years. It helps in collecting data related to the social, cultural and economic changes in the last ten years. It helps in formulating the developmental policies for the country,” Baghel said in his letter.
He said that the data provided by the last Census, conducted in 2011, are not applicable 12 years later, in 2023.
“In 2011, for the first time, social, economic and caste census was also conducted, based on which the current welfare schemes are being carried out. But, the census data was only applicable for a period of 10 years. The data provided are not suitable after 12 years. It would be better if a new survey is carried out at the earliest. In the survey, it should also be found how much benefits actually reached to the deprived sections,” the letter further read.
CM Baghel urged PM Modi to direct the relevant authorities to fix the date for conducting the census.
“Keeping in consideration the importance of the census, and interests of the poor, I request you to kindly notify that the dates for the census program soon,” Baghel added. (ANI)
About 25 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were admitted to a hospital in Bacheli in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada due to food poisoning, an official said on Sunday.
The official informed that nearly 18 out of the 25 jawans were discharged from the NMDC Apollo Hospital after initial treatment while the rest were being treated further for their earlier medical history. The incident took place on February 17 afternoon when some jawans of the 230 Battalion Nerli headquarter of Dantewada faced issues of vomiting after the meal.
“We received the information on February 17 that some of the jawans are facing issues like vomiting and food poisoning. We told them to get them admitted to the hospital. Nearly 25 jawans were admitted. Minor issues were there including vomiting. There was no major problem. Nearly 18 jawans were discharged on the second day,” Dr M S Haque, Chief Medical Officer, NMDC’s Apollo Hospital said.
“The rest of them are being treated but they cannot be said to have food poisoning. Some had their earlier medical history like blood pressure and platelets issues. Those with food poisoning (18 jawans) were kept under observation and were discharged,” he added. (ANI)
I knew there would be a fire, waiting for me. I had seen that fire in my dreams. Home and hearth. However, I did not know that the fire will be so sparkling, serene, and sublime. And, that the warmth and repose it would give to a tired and aching body in this cold weather would heal my one hundred years of solitude.
In the end, finally, there is always a twist in the tale. Even a hardened journalist like me knows that.
I am traveling into the deep, and often inaccessible, tribal zones of the indigenous communities of India, concealed in the forests. I am looking for their ‘Residence on Earth’ as Pablo Neruda wrote. I want to write about their geography, politics, and history, their life and times during these bleak and difficult times, their struggles, resilience and dreams, their defeats and victories, their soft silences and strong stories. I want to share the warmth of the fire with them, around a rough circle in a dark and dense forest, listening to their untold tales. Old stories. New stories. Stories of hundreds of years of solitude. And, songs, played with a drum, all night, with dancing and love.
Indeed, it was a vast and healing terrain of solitude I entered after almost 40 hours on the road for two days and on miscellaneous platforms of obscure railway (and bus) stations selling huge omelets even as the chill of the open-air theatre would arrive with a cyclonic wave with a super fast train which would never stop.
One train barely stopped. Several women got down, holding headloads, baskets, and sacks. I knew who they were; local, daily wagers and villagers selling vegetables, etc, in the nearest town, returning home so late at night after a long day of hard labor. It was almost near midnight; life is hard and tiring out here.
So there I was, finally, inside a general compartment of a long-distance train to eternity, the wind flowing in like frozen memories from a frozen past from all directions, even as long-distance migrant workers, many of them young with barely one shirt (and a fancy Chinese mobile with a charger) curled up on the bare births, dreaming of home, perhaps. One young boy in tight jeans got up in a daze while we were crossing the mythical Chitrakoot forests of UP, and, asked, in a haze, “Have we reached Samastipur?”
As he speaks, in half-dream, Samastipur sounds like a utopia. The way this train, from somewhere in Maharashtra to somewhere in Bihar, was moving or choosing not to move, he should simply curl up and lose himself in his chilled-out dreams, the mobile safe in his pocket, before he hits mofussil Bihar.
Surprisingly, near the bathroom, stinking, yes, doors wide open, there is a metallic, framed, sticker with a familiar and forgotten message, perhaps put up in those idealistic Nehruvian days by an idealistic railway staffer: ‘Saare jahan se accha, Hindostan hamara’. Some things just refuse to change – even during ‘acche din’.
From the forests of Chitrakoot to the distant forests of Sonebhadra: I cross a typical UP town, Robertsgunj, in a packed and khatara bus, where every second wall on the main road has a profound message of ‘cleanliness’ – Swachh Bharat; while every square inch of public space is as filthy as it used to be since times immemorial, even while people enjoy hot jalebis and mashed samosas, next to an open drain full of provincial flies. Suddenly, river Son in the green distance looks so inviting that all the hard feelings of the journey seem to melt away. I know, I am near a forest, I can smell it.
After a jumpy ride, in an all-woman passenger tempo with loud music proclaiming unrequited love, and a quick ride on a TVS through the hilly zigzag, driven by a young, wiry, handsome tribal farmer who looks like a film star, a white turban wrapped around his head, I reach my destination. Truly so, a fire is waiting for me, sparkling, serene, and sublime.
These are the unimaginable perks of journalism on the ground. I inhale the refreshing air, as original as it can be. It smells of the mysteries and fragrances of the forest. In the expanse, I can sense the density of the green in the twilight turning nocturnal, the hills so close by, the celestial stars touching me like old buddies, with young trees, flora, and fauna, speaking a language unheard of in cities, even as the expanse becomes distant and so close at the same time. I am in Central India, across the ancient, merging borderlines of a long chain of forests, stretching beyond across the primordial adivasi hinterland, from UP to MP to Jharkhand to Chhattisgarh to Western Orissa to Andhra Pradesh.
I am in a beautiful village of the Gonds, one of the largest and most ancient communities who inhabited this land and the forests, amidst their humble, thatched mud huts with open doors, or wooden doors, no windows, their open-to-sky courtyards, and vast, open outside spaces, their long, unwinding, zigzag by-lanes into the forest and beyond, their kitchens so cozy with their little chulhas, and food so delicious, grown in their fields, with hard labor and love.
Home and hearth, sitting in a circle around a fire, surrounded by a dense forest. This is a dream come true, yet again. From the thick darkness, an old woman emerges, holding a lathi and a solar torch. She joins us silently. I am listening. The night is as nuanced and magical as a fairy tale.
I know so well, in this fairy tale, there are twists. I will discover them in the morning. There is no electricity in this village. Unimaginable in the Vishwaguru ‘modern, superpower, nuclear-power India’ – but true. There is no drinking water in this village. Women trek long distances balancing pitchers on their heads. Unimaginable, but true. There is no health center or doctor around this village, or in the neighborhood. The school for children is badly run, often with a solitary teacher, and even the humble mid-day meal (no eggs) seems brazenly unattractive.
Over the next many days, I live with them in their huts across many villages, I see this story repeating itself – like history – in many adivasi villages across vast distances, where there is no public transport, and people walk long distances for this or that. It’s the same old story, once again.
Beautiful, big-hearted, honest, hard-working, unassuming, pure, innocent, magnanimous – the adivasis in this entire ecological geography of incredible beauty and magic, which they have nourished and sustained over centuries, have been used, bullied, ravaged, exploited, and oppressed. So much so, vast tracts of their own, inherited land have been snatched and captured by all kinds of cold-blooded creatures, with tacit and overt support of a cunning establishment. It’s a tragic story. And it’s not new.
However, since the adivasis are never truly defeated or destroyed, come what may, over the last decade, they have turned the historic dialectic upside down – and peacefully, with protracted non-violent resistance and rebellion. They have rightfully re-claimed their inheritance, their forests, and land, against all odds, with the entire establishment, including the Forest Department, pitched against them. They have faced brutality, filthy abuses, imprisonments for long spells, and terror, and they continue to face it. And, yet, they have tasted victory. Undoubtedly, this is a special victory, earned through endless sacrifices. And that is the breaking news story.
Not surprising, therefore, that the fire in this expanse, with adivasis sitting in a circle around the fire, telling me ancient and new stories of struggles and dreams, speaks of great life affirmation. No wonder, this village, far away from Jharkhand, has been named ‘Birsanagar’. It has been named after the legendary revolutionary, Birsa Munda, perhaps as young as Bhagat Singh, who led a unique uprising against the ‘Dikhus’ – outsiders in Jharkhand. He was arrested and killed quickly in jail by the British. But the adivasis have long memories, across vast distances. They know how to live their memories. Not digitally. In real, tangible, timeless time.
A court of Ajay Singh Rajput in Raipur on Tuesday granted four-day custody of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s Deputy Secretary Soumya Chaurasia to ED in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
The court also extended the judicial custody of the other accused Suryakant Tiwari, Sameer Vishnoi, Laxmikant Tiwari and Sunil Agarwal till December 10.
ED Lawyer Saurabh Pandey said the four accused, who were already on judicial remand, were produced before the court along with Deputy Secretary Chaurasia on Tuesday.
“We were asked by the court to record the statement of the accused on December 3 and 4. When we recorded their statements in jail and checked various documents. We have to investigate the context of certain details pertaining to the case. So during the hearing, we requested the court to extend their judicial custody for further investigation,” Pandey said, adding that the court accepted our arguments and extended the judicial custody till December 10.
Pandey added, “During Chaurasia’s interrogation, many facts came to light. We demanded her custody for further investigation. The court accepted our argument and granted four-day custody to ED.”
The next hearing into the matter will be held on December 10. (ANI)
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