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Nepalese poachers arrested in Hardwar Haridwar: Police in Hardwar town recently recovered two tiger skins, worth Rs 200,000, from Nepalese poachers. The tiger skins were seized in an overnight raid at a hotel by a forest officer, posing as a poacher. Hardwar, on the banks of the Ganga river, is in Uttaranchal, home to two tiger reserves, Rajaji national park and Jim Corbett national park. Police said four Nepalese nationals, active in the illegal trade since 1999, have been arrested. They said the poachers used to supply the skins to Hindu holymen. "Near Hardwar, there are a lot of Hindu holymen who buy these skins. They sit on it and preach. These skins were also to be bought by some of these holymen," said Arun Kumar, sub-divisional forest officer.
Bir Bahadur, one of the arrested Nepalese poachers, said he was just
acting as a conduit. "I was paid Rs. 15, 000 for giving the skins to
the holymen. I was arrested by the police while I was on my way," said
Bahadur. Hindu holymen have a fascinaton for tiger skin as many believe
that during ancient times seers sat on them while preaching to their
disciples. Trade in wildlife products is banned in India, but skins
and bones of animals which are believed to have medicinal values are
in great demand in both domestic and international markets and the trade
has flourished despite awareness about tiger conservation and ban on
killing. World Wildlife Fund for Nature estimates there are just about
5000-7500 tigers remaining, most of which are in national parks and
protected areas. Brides deserted by NRI husbands (Go to Top) Chandigarh: Girls marrying youths settled abroad and later being cruelly deserted by them has become a frequent incident now, especially in the villages of Punjab. So much so that the issue now touches the headlines. A group of thus affected women recently moved government authorities in the capital for action. The stories they have to relate speak of the cruelty of fate indeed. Jaswant Kaur's wedding to Surinder Singh in March last year was supposed to the confirmed passport to a dream world for her - to go abroad, be looked upon as an NRI sending home money. Fate, though, threw at her this vicious nightmare. Perhaps deliberately, big promises came to nought and she fights on. "He used to come every year and promise that he would take me with him. Once I even got an interview call from the embassy. But my case was refused because my husband didn't have a job, and I had no proof of my marriage to him. Later too, he promised several times but they were all lies," Jaswant relates. "Once he came after 2 1/2 years and asked for Rs 8 lakh saying he would take me through a private agent. My parents had already given a huge amount on my marriage and subsequently too, and they couldn't afford more. We finally decided to lodge a case in the Patiala court. But little action has taken place. I remain where I was." There are over a thousand of victims in Punjab state alone. A seven-month pregnant Virpal Kaur faces an uncertain future, as despite several attempts at reconciliation she stands abandoned and alone. For an Indian girl's psyche, it is life dying a slow, painful death. "I was married on Feb 26, 2002 to Napinder Singh. He left the same day. I went there on 11th September. There, after the first couple of months, he started torturing me mentally and I was brought to India on the pretext that my sister was ill. There was no such thing. My mother retired on March 30. He put forward a demand for money to arrange for my immigration. Then he just left. I don't know where he has gone," says Virpal Kaur. Some
of these women, married for the last 20 years and more, have never lived
with husbands for more than a fortnight at a stretch. Some of them under
a collective forum gathered to petition their cause to the government
- asking that the guilty be brought to book before they ruin other lives,
just as theirs have been. The system itself requires a relook to stem
the evil. B S Ramoowalia, a former Member of Parliament and social worker
has been lobbying the cause of these young girls. Most often, the youth
to blame get out because of loopholes in the system and procedures of
law, wherein the buck for their arrest is passed on from this country
to that, and justice fails. The evil has assumed the spectre of organised
crime and speedy measures are required to stamp it down. Doctor killed in Gorakhpur, for ransom (Go to Top) Gorakhpur: A doctor was killed by unidentified assailants in Gorakhpur on Wednesday. KP Singh, a child specialist, was shot dead outside his house by miscreants, who, the family says, had been trying to extort money from him for a week. "He opened his car door and was talking to two persons. We were inside. There were shots of fire which we mistook for crackers. We wondered as to why he was not coming. Then we saw him lying in a pool of blood," said Markendeya Singh, the doctor's father. BB Bakshi, city's senior superintendent of police, said investigations are on.
"We are looking at this particular angle in which people may have been
threatening and extorting money from him. There are certain clues but
it is not appropriate for us to disclose anything in detail at this
moment," said Bakshi. Police has not ruled out personal enmity or property
dispute. As soon as the news of Singh's killing spread, doctors across
the city took out a protest march demanding security. Doctors alleged
they were receiving extortion calls and were not being provided enough
protection. According to the police figures, it could be the fifth killing
for extortion in the last five months. In Gorakhpur kidnapings for ransom
and extortion have assumed the shape of an industry due to growing unemployment
and poverty. Tripura police arm villagers to fight criminals (Go to Top) Sidhai (Tripura): Police in troubled Tripura are giving arms training to people in border villages to help curb trans-border crimes. Tripura, which juts into Bangladesh, shares a 856 km long porous border with the neighbouring nation. The villagers are easy prey for the criminals, most of them operating from neighbouring Bangladesh, who often plunder their houses for money and food, and sometimes seek shelter. Living in remote regions, the villagers, armed with little more than bows, arrows and spears, were no match for the gun-toting criminals. Most villages do not have police posts and the nearest police station is as far as 50 kilometers away.
Police say giving arms training to the locals, mostly youth, has helped
bring down the dacoity rate in the region by over 50 percent. "This
village is located in the interior close to the border so it is greatly
effected by trans-border insurgency and crime. It is to counter it that
we have formed the village resistance or defence committee. Earlier
the villagers used to guard themselves with spears, bows and arrows
etc but the criminals are much stronger and advanced so keeping that
in mind we are giving the villagers arms training so they can deal with
theft and dacoity," Rajendra Datta, officer incharge at Sidhai, one
of the villages where the training is in progress, said. Dreaded Bhind dacoit gunned down by police (Go to Top) Bhind (MP): The police in Bhind region of Madhya Pradesh, a haven for dacoits, gunned down a dreaded bandit, wanted in over a dozen cases of murder and extortion. Acting on a tip-off, the police tracked on Friday Kallu Jatav alias Kalia to a hideout in the dense forests that surround the region. He was killed after an over two-hour encounter. Three of his accomplises managed to escpae.
An influential gang-leader, Jatav was carrying a reward of Rs. 25,000
on his head and was wanted by police in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh as
well. Area superintendent of police Sajid Farid Shapoo termed the operation
as a major step in curbing the gangs. "Kallu alias Kalia was the head
of the dacoits. He was carrying a reward on his head from both Uttar
Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh governments. He had spread much terror in
the entire region. He had been especially very active in the northern
parts and had earlier escaped from the custody of Uttar Pradesh police,"
Shapoo said. Famous as the terror valley, the Bhind-Chambal region has
the maximun number of dacoit gangs in the country. Dozens of juveniles escape from remand home in Patna (Go to Top) Patna: Dozens of juveniles overpowered their guards to escape from a remand home in Patna. The delinquents reportedly snatched the keys from the caretaker, injuring him slightly in the process. Police say 12 of the delinquents reached their homes only to be sent back by parents who feared a crackdown by the authorities. A search is on to nab the rest. "At least 76 children overpowered the staff on Friday, snatched the key and fled from the juvenile home. Twelve of them have been sent back by their parents," Deepak Kumar, district magistrate of Patna, said. Four constables and a beat officer have been suspended in connection with the incident and an inquiry is on. Bihar
is one of the poorest and most chaotic states, where murder and kidnapping
are the order of the day, corruption is rife, rebels wreak terror and
infrastructure is non-existent. And in addition to its poverty, Bihar
is racked by caste wars that have killed thousands. It has India's highest
crime rates and records frequent violence by leftist rebels. Tripura police recover lost Buddha idol (Go to Top) Agartala:
Police in West Tripura's Bishramgunj area have recovered a gold
image of Lord Buddha from two businessmen. The 900 grams idol was reportedly
smuggled into the state from neighbouring Bangladesh. Police here are
suspecting the hand of international smugglers. Investigations are on
to nab the culprits, they said. |