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Tag: Kerala news

  • Kerala Forest Minister accused of intervening in molestation case filed in opposition to get together chief

    In contemporary headache for the Kerala authorities, Minister for Forest and Wildlife Protection AK Saseendran, has been accused of intervening in a case of molestation filed in opposition to a pacesetter of his get together and exerting strain to suppress it. Saseendran is a pacesetter of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), a associate within the LDF authorities in Kerala.
    The sufferer, daughter of an area NCP chief in Kollam district’s Kundara, had filed a case of molestation in opposition to G Padmakaran, a member of the NCP state committee, on June 28.
    According to the sufferer, the accused had touched her hand inappropriately when she visited his store on March 6. The accused purportedly held a grudge in opposition to her as she had contested the native physique elections in December final yr as a candidate of the BJP. He reportedly requested her if she acquired cash from the BJP for combating on the get together’s ticket. If so, he may provide her the identical cash, he advised her, in a disparaging tone.
    The sufferer advised reporters Tuesday that a number of NCP district and state leaders referred to as her on the insistence of Saseendran and Varkala Ravikumar, a celebration chief, to request her to not go forward with the grievance. In the primary week of July, Saseendran himself telephoned her father asking him to ‘settle it in a good way.’
    “The minister called my father and he knew what the issue was. The voice clip (of the call) clearly indicates that he knew what the case was about…when my father asked him how he should ‘resolve’ it, the minister hung up after a while,” she mentioned.

    The name recording, now public, confirmed Saseendran’s dialog with the sufferer’s father. When the daddy asks him if he was speaking concerning the case filed in opposition to Padmakaran, the minister is heard saying, “Yes, yes, you must settle it. I heard about it and that’s why I’m telling you.” When the daddy asks him how he ought to ‘settle’ it, the minister smiles and says, “You know how to do that.”
    Saseendran, on his half, claimed that he didn’t realize it was a case of molestation. “I thought it was a dispute between two workers of the party. When I understood that it was more than that, I withdrew,” he mentioned.
    The Congress and the BJP have demanded the minister’s resignation.

  • SC raps Kerala govt for relieving Covid-19 curbs for Bakrid

    The Supreme Court Tuesday took the Kerala authorities to process for relieving Covid-19 curbs within the state for the Bakrid pageant, even in areas with a excessive take a look at positivity charge (TPR). The bench headed by Justice R F Nariman stated that strain teams of any sort, spiritual or in any other case, can not in any method intrude with the suitable to life.
    The court docket directed the state authorities to comply with its orders given within the Kanwar Yatra case. Earlier, Justice Nariman had directed the state of Uttar Pradesh to rethink even permitting a symbolic bodily Kanwar Yatra given the worry of a 3rd Covid-19 wave after taking suo motu cognisance of a report in The Indian Express on UP’s resolution to permit the Kanwar Yatra through the pandemic.
    A petition had been filed within the apex court docket difficult the convenience in lockdown for 3 days, starting Sunday, in Kerala for the Eid-al-Adha. On Monday, the state authorities filed its response within the court docket stating that curbs put in place to cope with Covid-19 have put folks in loads of distress and merchants who had stocked up items had been anticipating Bakrid gross sales to alleviate their distress to a sure extent.

    Senior Advocate Vikas Singh in flip argued that India has at the moment 30,000 instances, “only because of 15,000 in Kerala.” The bench termed the choice, “alarming” that each one outlets, even non-essential, had been allowed to open in class D, which refers to a extreme class of infections. The state authorities has blindly recorded that opening of outlets will strictly comply with Covid protocols, Justice Nariman stated.
    “What is extremely alarming, is in category D where infection rate was higher than 15 percent a full day of relaxation was granted, which was yesterday,” he stated.
    The state authorities had cautioned the general public that “as far as possible” solely these vaccinated with no less than one dose ought to go to the outlets. However, the bench acknowledged that utilization of “as far as possible” and assurances from merchants don’t encourage any confidence in folks of India.
    “We direct state of Kerala to give heed to Article 21 read with Article 144 of the constitution of India and follow our orders given in the Kanwar yatra case,” the bench concluded.

  • Conscience doesn’t allow funding of even one rupee in Kerala: Kitex group chairman

    My conscience now doesn’t allow me to take a position even a rupee in Kerala ever once more, Kitex group chairman Sabu Jacob mentioned on Sunday after coming back from his journey to Telangana.
    He mentioned he has plans to initially make investments Rs 1,000 crore in Telangana and had given assurances to them to that impact.
    Speaking to the media after touchdown on the Cochin International Airport in Nedumbassery right here, Jacob additionally took a dig at Congress MLAs and MP Benny Behanan, who had made complaints in opposition to his models, by saying that he was “indebted” to them for exhibiting him what was a enterprise pleasant ambiance and for opening the way in which for him to earn crores of cash.
    “I am grateful to them (the Congress MLAs and MPs),” he added.
    He, nevertheless, declined to react to what Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan mentioned on Saturday that claims of Kitex that Kerala was not funding or business-friendly was a “planned and deliberate” transfer to humiliate the state.
    Jacob mentioned he has quite a lot of respect for the chief minister who has the suitable to scold him or criticise him and subsequently, he was not going to react to what Vijayan mentioned.
    Referring to his two-day go to to Telangana on their invitation, he mentioned that an aerial survey of the economic parks and the services was facilitated by the state authorities there and earlier than leaving he had discussions with the industries minister and different officers there.
    He mentioned that his firm plans to initially make investments Rs 1,000 crore there within the first section and assurances to that impact have been given to the Telangana authorities.
    After technical evaluations are carried out throughout the subsequent two weeks, a name can be taken on whether or not to extend the funding there, he added.
    He additionally mentioned that his firm has determined that by the top of this month, a ultimate settlement with Telangana will probably be arrived at and thereafter, throughout the subsequent two years a sure amount of cash can be invested there.
    Jacob mentioned that if the folks in Kerala come to know of the services and gives given to him, not a single enterprise or trade would stay within the state and added that this journey that he took can be an inspiration to all businessmen and industrialists right here.
    He mentioned he will probably be holding a press meet on Monday to present additional particulars relating to his funding plans in Telangana and the gives made to him by that state.
    On the facet of gives, he mentioned Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, known as him inviting him to satisfy Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.
    On whether or not he was open to discussions with the Kerala authorities, he mentioned he was all the time open to talks with them. “Even if that they had despatched a clerk or a peon, I might have been open to talks. I’m nonetheless open to talks with them.
    However, my conscience in the intervening time doesn’t allow me to take a position even a rupee in Kerala ever once more,” he mentioned. Jacob mentioned he has been going through issues for a very long time, however he held on as he was involved concerning the hundreds of individuals he has employed in his corporations.
    However, he was repeatedly surrounded, hounded and pushed right into a nook and subsequently, he lastly determined that he can not proceed like this, he informed the media.
    He mentioned irrespective of the place in India he units up his enterprise he’ll present jobs there to each Keralite who approaches him. He mentioned if his actions can carry a change in Kerala, it could solely assist the long run generations of the state.
    Alleging harassment by Kerala authorities officers, Jacob had within the final week of June mentioned his group was withdrawing its Rs 3,500 crore mission from the State.
    Two days in the past, the Kerala authorities had mentioned it has an “open approach” in the direction of points raised by Kitex group, at the same time as the corporate caught to its choice to again out from a Rs 3,500crore funding plan within the state, with its chairman alleging that he was being “hounded and kicked out.”
    “The government is still open…issues can be discussed with the investors and take things forward,” Industries Minister P Rajeev had informed reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. He was responding to Jacob’s assertion that he was not leaving his residence state on his personal, however was being “hounded and kicked out.”
    Before leaving for Hyderabad, Jacob had alleged that the Kerala authorities authorities didn’t trouble to intervene even after his announcement of withdrawal from the multi-crore funding mission from the state.
    He had reiterated his cost that the ambiance in Kerala was not conducive for launching enterprise and mentioned no different investor ought to face such an expertise within the state.
    The industries minister, nevertheless, had rejected the costs, saying the state has a conducive ambiance for launching industries and younger buyers in numerous start-ups would inform their higher expertise with the state authorities.
    Kitex Garments Ltd had mentioned it has determined to withdraw from the mission signed in the course of the “Ascend Global Investors Meet” organised by the Kerala authorities in Thiruvananthapuram in January 2020, alleging that it was troublesome for the corporate to run the prevailing industrial models within the state.

    Jacob had alleged that numerous models of Kitex have been raided 10 instances by officers from numerous departments in the course of the previous one month.

  • Don’t need Tom, Dick and Harry to gather cash: Kerala HC on crowdfunding for therapy of uncommon illnesses

    There must be some authorities management over the cash being collected by way of crowdfunding for therapy of uncommon illnesses and each “Tom, Dick and Harry” can’t be permitted to boost funds like this, the Kerala High Court mentioned on Friday.
    The excessive courtroom mentioned it was involved that each “Tom, Dick and Harry” was accumulating funds by way of crowdfunding for therapy of the youngsters affected by uncommon illnesses and requested the state authorities whether or not it has any management over such transactions.
    Justice P B Suresh Kumar mentioned the courtroom doesn’t need to interdict the crowdfunding course of, however it needs the funds to go to the federal government as an alternative into the account of some personal people who could or could not give it to those that require the cash.
    “I do not want every Tom, Dick and Harry to collect money. Is there any state control over this collection of funds via crowdfunding? We should know where the money is going,” the courtroom mentioned and added that if personal people and entities can acquire crores of rupees in a brief span of time, why the federal government can’t?
    “For providing free vaccines the state government could collect only Rs 68 lakh, while 18 crores was collected in a week (for treatment of a boy suffering from spinal muscular atrophy),” the courtroom mentioned.
    “I do not want to interdict the process of crowdfunding, but I want government control over it,” Justice Kumar mentioned throughout the listening to of an autorickshaw driver’s plea looking for free therapy for his six-month outdated toddler son who’s affected by spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) as the medication for it prices round Rs 18 crore and he has no means to boost that form of cash.
    In his petition, filed by means of advocate P Chandrasekhar, the daddy – Arif – has mentioned that whereas he obtained permission for importing the required medication – Zolgensma Onasemnogene injection – he can’t afford to purchase even one dose as the identical prices Rs 18 crore.
    During the listening to, the Kerala authorities additionally expressed apprehensions concerning the supply of the cash being collected by way of crowdfunding.
    The courtroom additionally noticed throughout the listening to that such transactions if left unsupervised might destabilize the economic system.
    It has by itself additionally impleaded the Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) within the matter.
    The courtroom mentioned it might be passing an in depth order within the matter.
    Arif has moved the courtroom, claiming that he can’t guarantee his son’s therapy with out the help of the state authorities.
    The authorities, in a press release filed in courtroom earlier, had mentioned that neither the Health Department nor the Kerala Social Security Mission (KSSM) was able to increase monetary help for bearing the massive value of the therapy/medication required by Arif’s son, who has been admitted within the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital and is on ventilator help.

    The authorities had additionally mentioned that in line with the National Rare Disease Policy,2021 of the Union Health Ministry Ministry, Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is categorised in Group 3, for which the price of therapy could be very excessive, and it recommends a digital crowd funding platform be leveraged for mobilizing the required funds.
    It had additional mentioned that there are round 102 sufferers within the state affected by SMA, a uncommon genetic dysfunction, of whom 42 have obtained the therapy underneath the compassionate use programme prolonged by pharmaceutical corporations.
    The state additionally mentioned that the funds it has, Including these underneath We Care scheme, will not be even adequate to satisfy the wants of varied well being schemes of the KSSM, which supplies help to the aged, most cancers sufferers under 18 years of age and minors requiring emergency therapy for varied different illnesses like coronary heart illness.
    “In these circumstances, it is humbly submitted that the Health department and KSSM is not in a position to extend financial support for bearing the huge expenditure of SMA,” the state had mentioned in its assertion and sought dismissal of the the petition.

  • Kerala: DYFI employee arrested for rape, homicide of minor woman

    Kerala Police on Monday arrested a neighborhood employee of DYFI, the youth wing of the ruling CPI(M), for allegedly hanging a six-year-old woman after raping her. The incident was reported in Idukki district.
    Police stated that Arjun, 22, repeatedly sexually abused the woman for 3 years.
    The physique was discovered hanging in a room on the plantation quarters of her dad and mom.
    A police officer stated, “The incident, which occurred on June 30, was reported as an accidental death. We were told that a shawl accidentally got tied around her neck while she was playing. The parents were away at work. However, the postmortem revealed that the girl had been subjected to sexual abuse over a long period, which made police look into the murder angle.”
    Police sources stated the accused confessed that he abused the kid for 3 years, and used to lure her with sweets.
    On June 30, he allegedly sneaked into the woman’s home. “The girl fell unconscious during the assault and the assailant feared she may have died. Subsequently, he hanged her from a rope in the room using her shawl,” stated a police officer, quoting the youth.
    Arjun, a member of DYFI, has been doing social work within the area, significantly as a volunteer in the course of the pandemic.

  • Youth Congress chief complains to youngster rights panel in opposition to Kerala MLA Mukesh over remarks to class 10 pupil

    The nationwide coordinator of the Indian Youth Congress on Monday shot off a criticism to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in opposition to CPI(M) MLA M Mukesh for his remarks in opposition to a category 10 pupil throughout a phone name.
    In his criticism letter, J S Akhil, has termed as “derogatory” the way through which the actor spoke to the boy and likewise alleged that the Kollam MLA had “humiliated” and “threatened” the kid. “It is most unfortunate that a cine artist by profession and a person occupying the high chair of MLA who has high responsibility and commitment to the society at large fails to address the issue of a juvenile,” he has stated in his criticism.
    According to a recording of the telephonic dialog between Mukesh and the coed, the MLA shouted on the boy from Palakkad for calling him up for assist as an alternative of the legislator of the boy’s personal district. Mukesh, thereafter, in a video claimed that the telephone name was a part of a “politically motivated plan” to “harass him and corner him” right into a scenario, which might spark an outburst from him.

    Mukesh instructed the media that ever since he has been re-elected from Kollam, he has been receiving calls in any respect hours of the day on frivolous points like why is the practice late, when electrical energy provide will likely be restored, and so on, and charged that each one these have been a part of a “major plan” to harass him.
    In the audio clip, which went viral, the coed will be heard saying that he had known as asking for some assist and he acquired the quantity from a good friend. However, an irate Mukesh doesn’t ask what the coed’s grievance was and shouts on the boy, saying that he ought to have known as the Palakkad MLA, who shouldn’t be lifeless, for assist earlier than calling him.
    He can be heard telling the coed that he ought to slap his good friend on the face for giving the variety of the actor as an alternative of the Palakkad MLA. When the boy says he doesn’t know who the Palakkad MLA is, Mukesh stated that had the coed been standing earlier than him, he would have caned him as a category 10 boy ought to be conscious concerning the legislator of his constituency. He instructed {the teenager} to search out out who the Palakkad MLA is and to talk to her or him and to not name him once more with out first contacting the legislator of that constituency.
    Explaining his conduct, Mukesh stated in his video that the coed had known as him six occasions previous to the recorded dialog and every time he had instructed the boy that he was in a zoom assembly and would name him again. However, the boy stored calling and the assembly acquired cutoff, he claimed and stated if the boy was actually harmless he wouldn’t have recorded the dialog.

    The actor additional stated that his comment concerning caning the boy was simply an expression as his conduct in direction of youngsters will be ascertained from the youngsters’s present he had hosted. He stated there was no want to show him how one can behave with youngsters as he has youngsters, at all times tries to encourage youngsters to realize their greatest and by no means misbehaves with them and the incident in query was a properly conceived plan todistress him.
    The actor had additionally stated that he could be submitting a criticism with the Cyber Cell of the police and shortly it could be revealed who all have been behind the incident. This shouldn’t be the primary time Mukesh has been the centre of an issue over his response to a phone name. A couple of years again he had ranted at a caller who had known as him at 11 pm.

  • Kerala Police: Woman abandons child for FB lover; two family behind ‘prank’ finish life

    The police hunt for a Facebook buddy of a lady, who deserted her new child as a situation to dwell with him, ended on Saturday when it got here to gentle that the Facebook account was run by two of her family — the 2 girls allegedly died by suicide as a consequence of worry of being caught by the police and embarrassment over their prank having gone awry.
    Reshma (24) has been arrested for allegedly killing the newborn by abandoning the new child close to her dwelling at a rubber plantation at Kalluvathukkal village in Kollam district. The youngster later died at a hospital.
    Police zeroed in on Reshma by gathering DNA samples of a number of girls within the space and arrested her on June 22.Reshma informed the police that her Facebook buddy had put a situation that he would settle for her with one other youngster.
    “She had not revealed to her husband or other family members that she was carrying,” mentioned ACP Y Nizamudheen who led the probe.
    Reshma’s husband Vishnu had moved to the Gulf 4 months in the past and returned after listening to concerning the arrest of his spouse.

    Police discovered that Reshma was utilizing a SIM card taken by her cousin Arya, who was summoned following the arrest because the police suspected that the SIM was used to contact the Facebook buddy.
    However, a day after the discover, Arya (23), together with Greeshma (22), the daughter of Reshma’s sister-in-law, had been discovered lacking. Their our bodies had been discovered at a waterbody within the locality the place they lived. The two had been shut buddies.
    “We acquired a breakthrough from Greeshma’s lover. Greeshma had informed her lover that they had been pranking Reshma and issues had gone out of hand… after police issued summons, Arya had confessed to her mother-in-law the story about Reshma’s Facebook lover and the SIM utilized by her. After the mother-in-law went for NREGS work, Arya jumped into the river together with Greeshma,’’ Nizamudheen mentioned.

  • Kerala freeway theft: Cops summon state BJP chief for questioning

    Kerala Police on Friday issued a discover to BJP state president Ok Surendran to look for questioning on Tuesday in reference to its probe into the freeway theft of Rs 3.50 crore forward of the Assembly elections.
    Several BJP leaders in Thrissur district, BJP state basic secretary (group) M Ganeshan, Ok Surendran’s workplace secretary Dipin and his driver Libeesh have earlier been questioned.
    The case was registered primarily based on a criticism of the driving force of the looted automotive. He mentioned the looted Rs 25 lakh money belonged to Kozhikode-based RSS employee A Ok Dharmarajan and the quantity was being ferried to Kochi for enterprise functions. Police arrested 21 folks and recovered Rs 1.25 crore, giving credence to the idea that the looted quantity was Rs 3.50 crore.

    Dharmarajan had moved a courtroom in Thrissur in search of a route to police that the recovered cash ought to be handed over to him. In a counter-affidavit to this petition, police indicated that the cash was a part of BJP’s election fund, meant to be exhausted in central Kerala. Police mentioned state stage leaders of BJP had been aware of the motion of the cash. The courtroom posted the petition for listening to on July 13.

  • Anil Kant new Kerala police chief

    Senior IPS officer Anil Kant would be the new chief of Kerala police, succeeding incumbent DGP Loknath Behera who retired on Wednesday, authorities sources mentioned.
    A 1988 batch officer, Kant is presently serving because the Road Safety Commissioner within the state.
    A cabinet assembly chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan picked Kant for the highest submit from the record of officers advisable by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), they added.
    The collection of Kant, who all the time selected to maintain a low profile all through his profession, got here as a shock for a lot of because the media had identified Vigilance Director Sudesh Kumar and Fire and Rescue Services Director General B Sandhya as the primary contenders for the submit.
    Significantly, he’s thought of to be the primary Dalit officer to adorn the highest place within the police division within the southern state.
    Hailing from New Delhi, Kant had begun his police profession within the Kerala cadre as an assistant superintendent in northern Wayanad district.
    He additionally served as assistant director within the Intelligence Bureau earlier than working beneath varied designations within the state together with because the chief of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Prisons and Correctional Services and Fire Force.
    A recipient of President’s police medal for the meritorious providers, Kant has solely seven extra months of service however might get extension as per the brand new tips concerning the appointment of the state police chief.
    Interestingly, he’s nonetheless Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) and can be promoted to the DGP rank solely by the top of subsequent moth, sources mentioned.
    Meanwhile, Behera, who retired ending his 36 years of service, burdened the necessity to regulate the usage of drones within the state in view of the latest terror assault in Jammu airport utilizing the unmanned aerial car.
    In his farewell speech on the Special Armed Police floor right here, he mentioned he has submitted sure solutions to the federal government on this regard.
    An emotional Behera, an Odisha native, additionally mentioned he’s a Malayalee at coronary heart and would proceed to put on ‘mundu’, the normal Kerala dhoti as a part of his love for the state.

  • Beating odds: Single mom in Kerala promoting lemonade now sub-inspector

    The story of a single mom in Kerala who struggled towards all odds to turn out to be a police officer has gone viral on social media, with congratulatory messages and notes of reward flowing in from throughout, together with politicians and movie stars.
    Ten years after she ran a lemonade stand at Varkala city, S P Aanie (31) returned to the native police station as a sub-inspector on Saturday.
    Aanie, a local of Kanjiramkulam in Thiruvananthapuram district, had rebelled towards her dad and mom and married in her first yr of faculty. Within two years, Aanie and her husband, who had a baby collectively, had separated. However, her dad and mom refused to just accept her, and so, in tow together with her eight-month-old son, Aanie, aged simply 21, sought refuge in her grandmother’s home.
    Though she continued her training by ending her graduate diploma and later did a post-graduate diploma via distance studying, Aanie struggled to land common employment, as an alternative dabbling in a sequence of odd-jobs, from promoting merchandise as a door-to-door salesperson to promoting insurance coverage insurance policies at banks.
    Later, somebody advised her in regards to the comparatively good revenue margins of promoting lemonade and ice cream at pageant grounds and vacationer venuesin and round Varkala.
    As a single mom, Aanie usually discovered it tough to get homes on lease and needed to transfer continuously. Thus, she chopped off her hair, saying the “boy cut” saved her a whole lot of undesirable stares. “I realised that I can live and sleep anywhere with that haircut,” she mentioned.
    At this level in her life, a relative inspired Aanie to use to the police as an officer and loaned her the cash for the examination. “It was my father’s dream to make me an IPS officer. So I studied very hard and it became my mission to get a job. It’s no use crying over the circumstances of our life. We have to make a leap. It’s not a defeat until we decide that we have lost,” she advised a information channel.
    Aanie cracked the police examination and have become a civil police officer in 2016, and three years later, she cleared the sub-inspector’s examination. Following a 18-month coaching course, she took cost as a probationary sub-inspector on the Varkala police station on Saturday.

    She wrote on Facebook, “Ten years ago, I sold lemonade and ice cream to people coming for the Varkala Sivagiri pilgrimage. Today, I return to the same place as a sub-inspector of police. How better can I take revenge on my past?”
    The official Facebook account of the Kerala Police shared her story with a observe: “This is the story of a struggle. The life-story of our colleague who firmly stood up to challenges.”
    Aanie’s story has received her admirers throughout Kerala. Actor Unni Mukundan posted, “Women empowerment becomes a reality not through big bindis, but through big dreams. The real fighter. Inspiration for all.”

    Health Minister Veena George wrote on Facebook, “Even when her husband and parents abandoned her on the street, she fought against life’s challenges and earned graduate and postgraduate degrees, while raising an infant on her own. From starting out as a hawker to becoming a sub-inspector, she’s a source of energy for women across the world.”
    Congress MP Shashi Tharoor wrote, “The life-story of SP Annie the warrior mother is very inspiring. She’s a model of success of life and mental strength.”