The Central Bureau of Investigation on March 6 got the custody of suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, in a case involving an attack on Enforcement Directorate officials on January 5.
The handover came a day after a Division Bench of the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, T.S. Sivagnanam, on March 5 ordered that the case and the custody of the accused be granted to the CBI by 4.30 p.m. On March 5, a team of CBI officials visited the State Police Headquarters but had to return empty-handed.
Earlier in the day, the ED moved a contempt petition before a division bench presided by Justice Harish Tandon against the State government claiming that it did not implement the March 5 orders of a division bench.
The Calcutta High Court noted that though the State government pleaded that it has filed before the Supreme Court an SLP challenging the March 5 judgement, there is no interim stay granted on the implementation of the orders till the time it was passing its order.
On March 6, the CID of the West Bengal police handed custody of the accused to the CBI at about 6.40 p.m. Before being handed over to the CBI the CID took Shahjahan to a state-run hospital for a medical check up. The CBI officials took the accused to ESI Hospital and then to Nizam Palace, where Shahjahan will be lodged.
Allegations of land grab and sexual assault by villagers particularly women in Sandeshkhali have been made against Shahjahan and his aides. The region has been on the boil for weeks till the police arrested Shahjahan on February 29.
Panauti jibe at PM Modi | Election Commission asks Rahul Gandhi to be more careful in public utterances
The Election Commission of India asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to be more careful and cautious in his public utterances in the wake of his “panauti” (bad omen) and “pickpocket” jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said.
Acting on a Delhi High Court directive of December 2023, the poll panel also asked Gandhi to follow its recent advisory for star campaigners and political leaders in the right earnest during election campaign.
In the advisory dated March 1, the EC had warned that parties, candidates and star campaigners would face stern action, rather than just ‘moral censure’ for any violation of the Model Code of Conduct. It also said that the star campaigners and candidates who have received notices in the past will face stern action for repeat violations of the model code.
The EC was also asked on December 21 by the Delhi High Court to decide on the notice it had issued to Gandhi for these comments, saying the statement made by the Congress leader during a speech delivered in November 2023 was “not in good taste”.
Disposing off the court directive, the EC has asked Gandhi “to be more careful and cautious in his public utterances in the future”, sources said.
The Commission has further directed Mr. Gandhi, as a star campaigner, to take into notice its March 1 advisory for all parties, star campaigners and candidates in right earnest while making public utterances.
Delhi High Court sets aside suspension of seven BJP MLAs from Delhi Assembly
The Delhi High Court on March 6 set aside the suspension of seven BJP MLAs for interrupting Lt. Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s address in the Assembly last month.
Terming the suspension by the Speaker ‘grossly unconstitutional’, the MLAs — Vijender Gupta, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Anil Kumar Bajpai, Om Prakash Sharma, Jitender Mahajan, Mohan Singh Bisht and Abhay Verma — had approached the High Court challenging the same. They alleged that as the BJP has only eight MLAs in the 70-member Assembly, suspension of seven among them is an attempt to silence the Opposition’s voice during the crucial budget session.
The petitioners submitted that as there were allegations against them that they had disrupted the speech of the L-G, they had apologised to him and had also sent the apology acceptance letter to the Speaker.
Justice Subramonium Prasad passed the order for reinstatement of the MLAs. The court held that the Speaker had not taken the decision independently and maintained that the matter was required to be referred to the Committee of Privileges.
“In the absence of any application of mind by the Speaker in referring the matter to the Committee of Privileges and in view of the fact that the petitioners have not been heard while being given punishment of suspension till the Committee of Privileges decides the matter and since the punishment under Rule 77 of Chapter XI can be prescribed only after a member is heard, the direction for suspending the petitioners till the Committee of Privileges takes a decision cannot be sustained,” the court noted.
“Since the petitioners have already undergone the suspension of 14 sittings, this court is of the opinion that the petitioners should be permitted to re-join the House forthwith,” the order said.
The Rameshwaram Cafe blast | NIA announces ₹10 lakh reward for information on prime suspect
The National Investigation Agency on March 6 announced a cash reward of ₹10 lakh for information about the suspected bomber in the March 1 The Rameshwaram Cafe blast case in Bengaluru.
On its official X handle, the NIA posted a picture of the suspected bomber wearing a cap, mask and glasses while entering the cafe. The agency shared phone numbers and emails where people can send information about the unidentified person, who has emerged as a prime suspect.
The NIA assured that the identity of the informants will be kept confidential.
The probe into the blast at the cafe was handed over to the NIA earlier this week. At least 10 people were injured in the blast at The Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru on March 1.
The explosion is suspected to have been carried out through an IED. Soon after the blast, the Karnataka Police registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosives Substances Act.
Hyderabadi man, forced to fight for Russia, dies
Mohammed Asfan, a Hyderabadi man forced to fight for Russia, has died.
Speaking to The Hindu, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaddudin Owaisi, who has been in constant contact with Mohammed Imran, the victim’s brother, said that after several attempts, his family finally received word of Mr. Asfan’s death on March 6. “An Indian Embassy staffer confirmed that Asfan passed away,” Owaisi said. Though information about his death was received on March 6, it is unclear when he died.
The victim, who travelled to Russia in search of a better livelihood, is one of several Indian youths who found themselves fighting on the frontlines against Ukraine. The victim is survived by his wife and two children.
Imran, Asfan’s elder brother, previously recollected that the victim had travelled to Moscow via Chennai and Sharjah. A travel agent, identified through his YouTube channel Baba Vlogs, had assured him that his work would not involve fighting on the frontlines.
“On November 13, they were made to sign a one-year agreement, which was in Russian, a language he did not know. Believing the agent, he signed the agreement,” Imran said, adding that it was only later that he realised they would be fighting alongside the Russian armed forces. Despite this development, the travel agent assured the family that Asfan would not have to fight.
Will recommend implementation of NRC in Manipur: CM Biren Singh
Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, March 6, said that he will send a recommendation to the Centre for implementing the National Register for Citizens in the State as his government cannot do it alone.
Singh’s statement came a few days after the Assembly passed a resolution urging the Centre to implement the NRC in the State “in the interest of the state in particular and of the nation in general”.
“The State cannot implement it (NRC). We have taken a resolution in the House. We are sending a recommendation to the Central government to do the needful for implementation of NRC in Manipur,” Singh told reporters at the sidelines of a programme. The base year will be 1961, he said.
In 2022, the State cabinet adopted 1961 as the base for identifying illegal immigration for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) which was introduced in the State in December 2019, and came into effect in January 2020.
In Brief
PM Modi meets women from Sandeshkhali
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 6 tore into the Trinamool Congress, asserting that the “storm of Sandeshkhali” will echo throughout West Bengal, where ‘Nari Shakti’ (woman power) would play a pivotal role in decimating the ruling party in the Lok Sabha polls. Addressing a rally in Barasat, the headquarters of North 24 Parganas district, where Sandeshkhali is located, Modi said whatever happened with women in the area “is a matter of shame”. He also met a group of women from Sandeshkhali, shortly after the rally in Barasat.
Nikki Haley suspends campaign, leaving Donald Trump as last major Republican candidate
Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign on March 6 after being soundly defeated across the country on Super Tuesday, leaving Donald Trump as the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination. Haley didn’t endorse the former President in a speech in Charleston, South Carolina. Instead, she encouraged him to earn the support of the coalition of moderate Republicans and independent voters who supported her.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
