Uttarakhand: More villages covered by regular cops

15-02-2023

DEHRADUN:  In Uttarakhand, 6 new police stations and 20 new police posts have been opened, handing over revenue police areas to regular police. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami virtually inaugurated these new police stations and outposts from the Secretariat on Monday. After the Ankita Bhandari murder, demand for opening regular police stations in revenue police areas had gained momentum.

Taking a big lesson from the manner in which the revenue police investigated the murder of Vantara resort receptionist Ankita Bhandari, the government has taken this step in the first phase of its commitment to replace the revenue police with regular police.

The new posts inaugurated include Lakhamandal in Dehradun, Birokhal in Pauri, Gaja, Kandikhal and Chamiala in Tehri, among others.

 Express News Service

NGT plea against new Assembly building in Uttarakhand

The plea contends that the project at Gairsain area of Chamoli district in central Uttarakhand has been started without obtaining environmental clearance

An environmental activist has moved the National Green Tribunal seeking a stay on the construction of a new legislative assembly building of Uttarakhand on the ground that the project lacks mandatory clearances.

The plea contends that the project at Gairsain area of Chamoli district in central Uttarakhand has been started without obtaining Environmental Clearance and consent as required under Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and Water (Prevention and Control) Act, 1974 in eco-fragile area of the Himalayas.

The plea moved by environmental activist Vikrant Tongad has made Ministry of Environment and Forests, Uttarakhand government, State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, State Pollution Control Board, National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd. and Central Ground Water Authority as parties in the case.

Tongad states the project, which will come up on a 100-acre land parcel, will have the assembly building, offices catering to the assembly, MLA hostels for 60 residents, officers’ hostel for 60 residents, VIP residences for 16 ministers, residence for chief minister, speaker and deputy speaker and a helipad.

“The construction of Legislative Assembly building is being done in 100 acre land and total built up area is 20, 812 sq.m without obtaining Environmental Clearance under Environment Impact Assessment notification, 2006,” it said.

The plea, filed through advocate Rahul Choudhary, claims that the sewage generated during the operation will be around 65 kilolitre per day, but no provision for installation of sewage treatment plant has been made to treat this huge amount of sewage.

“Pass an order staying the ongoing construction of the new legislative assembly of the State of Uttarakhand at Bharisain, Gairsain at the Chamoli district in the central part of Uttarakhand till the disposal of the plea,” the petition said.

Tourism to get industry status in Uttarakhand: CM Harish Rawat

Dehradun:  Tourism would soon be given status of an industry in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Harish Rawat announced on Monday.

After a review meeting of the tourism department, Rawat said fresh impetus to the tourism sector was required as the hill state offered unlimited potential for domestic as well as international tourists.

He directed officials to make a concrete action plan to ensure more footfall in the state.

http://www.indiatvnews.com

Alert in Uttarakhand after downpour

Dehradun: Heavy rains lashed Uttarakhand on Monday, and the Met department forecast more rains in the coming days.

Nainital, a tourist haven, was among the major places that got more than 75 mm of rains in a day, a weather official told IANS.

With the Met department predicting heavy rains over the next 48 hours, the government asked the state disaster management units to remain on high alert.

Officials warned of landslides due to the downpour and asked people to avoid hill tracts.

IANS

Third expert panel to review Uttarakhand dams

The environment ministry has constituted a third expert body to review hydropower projects on the Ganga basin in Uttarakhand.

This is in contrast to what it had told the Supreme Court (SC). It had said the government would let the existing expert body, along with four more scientists, take a final call on the dams. It has now set up a new committee, removing some of the non-official members who had conveyed critical views on the 100-plus dams planned in the river basin after the Uttarakhand tragedy of 2013.

Officials of the ministry defended their decision, saying the new panel was constituted according to court orders and by law.
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In its previous affidavit to the SC, the  ministry had told the courts, “The proposed study ... would be carried out by the already constituted expert body with wider representation, with a seismologist, a social scientist, a climatologist and a glaciologist.”

In the later part of the affidavit, the ministry said, “A decision has been taken that the report dated Feburary 12, 2015, will be examined by an expert body in detail, so that the government can take a final view.”

Based on the representation made by the government, the court had recorded in its orders, “A decision has been taken that the report dated 12.02.2015 will also be examined by an expert body in detail in order that the government takes a final view. The expert body will be constituted in the next few days... we are sure that the Union of India will be able to proceed with the matter, as undertaken in the affidavit.”

The earlier expert body had in April 2014 submitted a critical report, warning that the series of dams proposed in Uttarakhand should not be permitted in the wake of the 2013 tragedy. The ministry had taken the April 2014 report on board, admitting to the court that hydropower dams had played a part in the 2013 tragedy, where thousands were killed after a cloudburst.

Another four-member panel, formed on the SC’s orders, had rejected six projects, warning these could lead to a disaster in the state. The government initially did not present the four-member panel’s report to the courts. But after it was reported in the media, it said it would ask the existing expert body, which had studied all the dams, to take a final view on “seismological vulnerability of the region, glacial movement and likely impacts on hydro-power structures, cloudburst phenomenon, socio-economic impact impacts of the projects, identification of no-go areas for hydro projects, design of future projects, modification in existing ones and ecological carrying capacity analysis of disaster- affected river valleys.”

But sources in the ministry said the existing expert body had finished its work and its term had expired. Court orders, too, mentioned that ‘a’ expert body would be constituted, which the ministry has now done, they said. “The operative part of our affidavit said we would constitute a panel and the court’s order also says as much,” official told Business Standard on condition of anonymity. He said the bit in the affidavit about expanding the existing panel of experts might have been an “error”, overlooked while submitting the affidavit to the court.

While Business Standard could not ascertain the names of the members of the third panel, the group would now have to take a view on the future of all dams on the upper Ganga basin in six months. If this panel gives a go-ahead to the dams that have been stayed, the government can then overlook all previous studies in the matter.

BS

Amid rebellion, Uttarakhand BJP to finalise list by March 13

  The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttarakhand is facing rebellion from senior BJP leader B S Rawat who said his name was missing from the list of probable candidates who would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from the State.

Mr. Rawat, who has been in politics since 1969, has served four terms as an MP and two terms an MLA. He was former Union Minister and was former Deputy Minister in Uttar Pradesh.

While addressing the media Mr. Rawat said, “State Parliamentary Board meeting was held in Dehradun on February 13. Three or more names from each of the five constituencies were brought in the meeting. From the three names that were decided upon from the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar constituency, there was Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, Balraj Passi, and my name.”

Mr. Rawat said it was decided that State BJP President Tirath Singh Rawat would suggest the names of probable candidates to the Central Parliamentary Board.

“I was disillusioned that my name was not in the list. However, a leader from the Central Parliamentary Board told me that there was only one name from the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar constituency,” Mr. Rawat said.

The names should have been decided on in a democratic manner, he said.

Calling Mr. Tirath Singh Rawat’s decision “undemocratic,” Mr. Rawat, on Sunday, resigned from the post of member of BJP State Parliamentary Board, and the State Working Committee, among other positions.

However, Senior BJP leader Ajay Bhatt said on Monday, “There has surely been some miscommunication. If a leader of Mr. B S Rawat’s stature, who has served four terms as an MP and two terms as an MLA, said that [the party has wronged him] then the party must analyse the issue.”

Mr. Tirath Singh Rawat said, “We have spoken to the leader [B S Rawat]. There seems to have been some misunderstanding [on his part].”

Mr Bhatt said, “Mr. Tirath Singh Rawat was given the authority to give the names of three probable candidates from each parliamentary constituency here. He has submitted the names and the decision will most probably be taken on March 13 by the Central Parliamentary Board.” 

the hindu

GROUP- C - RECRUITMENT In Uttarakhand

Various Departmental Vecency in GROUP-C RECRUITMENT in Uttarakhand

More details:

GROUP-C-RECRUITMENT-ADVERTISEMENT-8-9-10-11-19 FEB-2014 

Uttarakhand seeks Rs 15 crore for disaster-hit schools

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand government has asked the Centre to sanction Rs 15 crore for the repair and reconstruction of 139 middle schools destroyed in the mid June calamity in the hill state.

The demand was raised by Uttarakhand Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani at the 62nd meeting of Central Education Advisory Board held in the capital yesterday, which was presided by Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Jitin Prasada.

According to an official statement, Naithani also placed a demand for increasing the fund amount from the sanctioned Rs 35.94 crore to Rs 88.56 crore for the completely destroyed 131 primary schools, 28 upper primary schools and 577 partially damaged primary school buildings.

He urged the Centre to approve funds in the ratio of 90:10 as in the case of northern region states.

Thousands of lives were lost and infrastructure was damaged in the devastating floods, cloudbursts and landslides in Uttarakhand in June.

The union government gave an assurance to consider Naithani's proposal in the budget, the release said.

He also suggested appointment of a yoga and an exercise teacher in every school to be approved at the central level, saying this will not only ensure mental and physical fitness of students, but also give a boost to employment in large numbers.

The minister also suggested relieving teachers of the responsibility of keeping an account of ration received under midday meal scheme and devising an alternative system for it.

Naithani said teachers should not be given assignments like population count as it hampers education-related work.

Listing the steps taken by the state government to boost education of the girl child, he said cycles have been distributed among girls in the plains, while Fixed Deposit of a decided amount has been deposited in their accounts in hilly areas.

Rs 500 is being given to each student in disaster affected areas to purchase education related material, he said.

PTI

Uttarakhand pushes for hydro-power projects

 The State Government is seeking forest clearance for the 300 MW Lakhwar hydroelectric power project even after the Supreme Court on August 13 directed the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the State Government not to grant clearance for hydroelectric power projects in the State until further orders.

Last week Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar met the MoEF Secretary Dr. V. Rajagopalan to get the clearance for the Lakhwar project.

Further, on August 12, the State Government had received the Ministry’s clearance for a 120 MW Vyasi hydroelectric power project.

Mr. Subhash Kumar said, “The Ministry gave the clearance to the Vyasi project on August 12. However, the Supreme Court’s order to prohibit work on the projects was given on August 13. We are seeking the advice of the law department on whether the work on the Vyasi project can begin or not even though it has received the Ministry’s clearance.”

These proposed projects are located in the Upper Yamuna River Basin in Dehradun district. Himanshu Thakkar of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People (SANDRP), said, “There is a risk of dam breakage since the spillway capacity of the Lakhwar project has been underestimated. This poses danger to Delhi, which is situated downstream of the river and can be flooded.”

Vimal Bhai, a member of Matu Jan Sangathan that works on dam related issues, said, “A village in the premises of the Lakhwar project is sinking due to geographical factors. The reservoir, if constructed, will exacerbate the situation and ruin the villages in its premises.”

Mr. Kumar said, “There is no ban on processing. We have given the file to the Ministry for forest clearance of the Lakhwar project.”

However, Mr. Thakkar said, “This seems like unnecessary pushing for project clearance even after clear instructions from the Supreme Court.”

These projects had received clearance in 1986 when they were under Uttar Pradesh’s Irrigation Department. Work continued till about 1992. At present the projects are under the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL). A change in the authority undertaking the project requires a new clearance, which is what the State Government is trying to seek.

Mr. Kumar said 3 kilometres of tunnelling was done when the project was under the Irrigation Department. Also, work for Lakhwar project’s power house had started before the project was transferred to the UJVNL.

“About 35 per cent work has been done in the Vyasi project,” Mr. Kumar said.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) considered the Lakhwar project in November 2010 for environmental clearance. However, many unresolved issues were raised by the EAC including the ones related to construction of the barrage and usefulness of the project. Mr. Thakkar said, “None of the issues have been resolved yet; there has been no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Lakhwar and Vyasi projects, then how can the government seek for project clearance?”

The State Government has been pushing for the projects even after facing objections from environmentalists. According to the data in SANDRP, in the Yamuna River Basin one project is under construction, 17 are completed, and 20 are proposed. While many are demanding for the revival and restoration of the Yamuna, no cumulative assessment of the impact of the hydro-power projects in the Yamuna River Basin has been done by the authorities, Mr. Thakkar said.

On April 22, 58 organisations and individuals issued a statement projecting concern over the proposed Lakhwar and Vyasi projects. The statement was sent to agencies including the concerned EAC members and the Planning Commission.

the hindu

ADB to sanction $300 m loan to Uttarakhand: Bahuguna

 Dehradun, Mar 30: 

The Asian Development Bank has decided to extend a loan of $300 million to Uttarakhand to help the state government accelerate work on power generation and transmission projects, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has said.

At a review meeting with power department officials, Bahuguna said the ADB loan will be disbursed in phases and asked them to take up power generation and transmission work across the state on a large scale with the amount through Power Transmission Corporation of Uttarakhand Ltd (PTCUL) and Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (UJVNL).

PTCUL MD S S Yadav said the corporation would strengthen the transmission system at a cost of Rs 1,464 crore. He said PTCUL was setting up a 400 KV substation at Srinagar which would provide electricity in Alakananda River valley area.

A 400 KV sub station is being set up at Pipalkoti using GIS technique, he said adding a 150—km line from Srinagar to Kashipur is also being installed.

A 220 KV, a132 and a 33 KV stations will be set up in Dehradun by May this year, Yadav said.

MD of UJVNL J P Patel said five mini hydropower projects were being set up by the Nigam namely Kaliganga 1(2x2 MW), Kaliganga 2 (2x3MW), Sobla 1 (2x4MW), Madhmaheshwar (3x5MW), Kaldigar (2x4.5 MW).

Kaliganga 1 has already started production while all the others will be completed by December 2015, he said.

Uttarakhand wants Rajaji Park under Project Tiger

 Rishikesh, April 1:  The Uttarakhand Government will send a proposal to the Centre seeking inclusion of Rajaji National Park under the ambit of Project Tiger, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said on Monday.

“Bringing Rajaji National Park under the purview of the project is a must to give a boost to the tiger population at the park,” Bahuguna said at a function at Dhikala range of Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) to mark four decades of tiger conservation efforts in the country.

It was on this day in 1973 that India’s first Project Tiger was launched from CTR’s Dhikala range here.

Praising the efforts made by wildlife activists over the past 40 years in the field of tiger conservation, he said a lot more needed to be done for a substantial rise in tiger population across the country. According to an official estimate, the tiger population in the country has risen from 268 in 1973 to 1,468 at present.

The Chief Minister also announced that the Doggada range of Lansdowne forest division in Uttarakhand would be made part of the CTR.

Bahuguna also met representatives of the Van Gujjar community living close to the CTR and Rajaji National Park and assured them that steps were underway to provide them with permanent settlements.

Protests in Uttarakhand over Delhi gang-rape

Dehradun: Demanding stern punishment for the culprits, people from different walks of life, especially students and women, on Friday hit the streets across Uttarakhand in protest against the Delhi gang-rape incident.

Holding placards and banners, school students took out a procession at city's busy Rajpur road to express solidarity with the rape victim, and demanded toughest punishment for the culprits.

A similar demonstration was held by schoolgirls at Lalkuan in Nainital.

Expressing abhorrence at the brutal assault of the girl who studied at an institute in Dehradun, a student in Lalkuan said culprits should be hanged to give a strong message to potential wrongdoers.

Women burnt effigies at Jhoolaghar in Mussoorie to register their protest against the incident.

Uttarakhand has been witnessing a spurt of protests for the past few days with students of DAV College, Uttarakhand Mahila Manch, Pradesh BJP Mahila Morcha and many other outfits holding rallies in different parts of the state.

Women members of Uttarakhand Bar Association have also demanded execution of the culprits, saying stringent punishment to them alone can serve as a deterrent and prevent such incidents.

PTI

Mehwish Receives Rs 5 lakh Cheque From Uttarakhand CM Relief Fund

Bulandshahr: Honor killing victim Mehwish, who gave birth to a girl on December 9, received a cheque of Rs 5 lakh from Uttarakhand Chief Minister Relief Fund on Wednesday.

Although, the dosh from the relief fund cannot replace the damage that Mehwish suffers with, but it will at least give her support and time to get back on her feet. Here, the fact to watch out for is that government has always acted a snail in either providing security, or further assistance like this, which is very saddening. The question that arises here is, will government ever be able to subdue any given situation before hand, without being knocked and criticized?

Aamir lately, sent clothes, toys and economic assistance to Mehwish on the day when later, she delivered a baby girl.

Mehwish’s husband Abdul Hakim was slain by her family members after the two married against family’s will. The married duo, who appeared at special episode on honor killing at Aamir Khan hosted Satymev Jayate, were jolted with the immoral and orthodox deed that left Mehwish and her children with a void that cannot be filled.

http://www.pardaphash.com/

Godiyal appointed Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee chief

Dehradun: Congress MLA from Shrinagar in Uttarakhand Assembly Ganesh Godiyal has been appointed the new chief of Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee.

Godiyal has been appointed to the post for a tenure of three years, official sources said here on Friday.

The Congress MLA, who takes over from BJP's Ansuya Prasad as the president of the committee also holds the charge of the state Assembly's Parliamentary Secretary.

Godiyal's appointment to the post comes after a controversy erupted over allocation of the committee president's additional charge to its chief executive officer B D Singh following conclusion of Prasad's tenure.

Terming it a violation of the Temple Committee Act, opposition BJP had threatened to take the matter to Governor Aziz Qureshi if the Act was not followed in its letter and spirit.

PTI

After missing out in Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat gets Cabinet rank

New Delhi: Union Minister Harish Rawat, after being denied chief ministership of Uttarakhand, was all smiles today as celebrations broke out at his residence over his elevation to the cabinet rank.

Mr Rawat, who had a trail of sweet and sour relationship with the party high-ups, was today made a cabinet minister in-charge of Water Resources replacing Pawan Bansal, who got the key Railway Ministry.

Mr Rawat was earlier minister of state for agriculture, food processing industries and parliamentary affairs.

A Lok Sabha member from Haridwar, he was an undeclared face of the Congress for the Assembly elections in the state in March this year and a near rebellion had broken out when Vijay Bahuguna was made Chief Minister ignoring his claim.

After a couple of tense days, a compromise was arrived among the warring factions.

Mr Rawat had represented the state in Rajya Sabha from 2002 to 2008. He had joined politics as a trade unionist and then represented Youth Congress. He entered the Lok Sabha in 1980 by defeating BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi from Almora seat, which he represented for three consecutive terms. He vacated the seat in 2009 when it became reserved after delimitation.

Mr Rawat also headed Congress Seva Dal before being elected as Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee chief in 2000.

In Dehradun, Mr Rawat's supporters danced to the beating of drums and distributed sweets as the news of his elevation to the cabinet rank reached the Pradesh Congress office.

There were reports of similar celebrations by his supporters in Haridwar too.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and PCC chief Yashpal Arya congratulated Rawat. "Uttarakhand in particular stands to gain immensely from his promotion to cabinet rank," Mr Bahuguna said. 

Report on BJP scandals to come by Oct-Nov:Congress

Dehra Dun: The K L Bhati inquiry commission would complete its report on the alleged scandals of the former BJP government in Uttarakhand by October-November, a top Congress leader has said.

Congress general secretary and in-charge of party affairs in Uttarakhand, Chaudhary Birendra Singh told reporters here last evening that after the completion of the inquiry report, the government would initiate legal action against the guilty. 
A decision to this effect was taken by the coordination committee of the ruling Congress, he said, adding, "those who have looted Uttarakhand should not go scot-free".

"We have decided that the report on the BJP scandals should come by Oct-Nov so that legal action can be initiated as early as possible," he said.

In this regard, he cited the example of the previous BJP government which failed to bring the report in its five-year old tenure on the alleged scandals of the N D Tiwari government. "We don't want any inquiry where the report never comes. We have told the chief minister that we want the report and guilty should be punished".

In April this year, Bahuguna set up a one-man inquiry commission headed by Bhati, a retired IAS officer to probe a series of scandals that rocked the BJP government.

In June last year, the state Congress has submitted a chargesheet to the then president Pratibha Patil against the BJP government headed by Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on the scandals.

The commission is probing alleged irregularities in allotment of 56 hydro-power projects, Citurgia housing project, maha kumbh mela and various other projects during the tenure of former chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank which also forced the BJP high command to go for a change of guard in September last year, just few months before the Assembly elections.

PTI  

Uttarakhand CM Bahuguna gives land ownership rights

Dehra Dun: Fulfilling his election promise, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Friday began the process of distributing papers related to land ownership rights to people in his Sitarganj constituency in Kumaon region. In the first phase, Bahuguna presented papers to Jaswant Acharya, Vaidyanath, Ramakant, Ashutosh Acharya, Prabhash Goldar and Sandhya during a public meeting. He also laid foundation stone of Degree College and Polytechnic Buildings at Baruabagh in the area. People in Sitarganj, who are mostly Bangaldeshi settlers, were given land on lease decades ago. But before the July 9 bye-election, Bahuguna had promised that all the people would get the ownership rights in Sitarganj for which the government issued the necessary order. (Agencies)

Uttarakhand needs dams

N. P. Todaria/Sabyasachi Dasgupta, The people are not against dams. But the Government has been carried away by the assessments of self-styled environmentalists. As a source of water, Himalayan Rivers, especially the Ganga, have been crucial for many human settlements. The stretch of the Ganga beyond Rishikesh fulfils the demands of many industries, including irrigation and transport. Economic activities, including its use as natural sewers, have placed a heavy burden on this river, but much of it has happened outside Uttarakhand. Development in Uttarakhand, especially in its mountainous regions, is restricted. Presently, only two sectors — tourism and hydropower — have the potential to improve the economic condition of this mountainous region. In these hills, hydropower projects are the only means by which the unused water can be used to uplift the economic status of the people. Run-of-the-river hydropower projects will not withhold the water and the question of discontinuity of water flow does not arise. Hydropower is more environment-friendly, compared with the other uses to which the river is put. Primary stakeholders, like the hill people living in the Ganga basin, must have the same opportunities as the downstream people to use the river water for their economic development. HYDEL PROJECTS WELCOMED Hydropower projects are almost always welcomed by the local people. The resistance expressed by the people is not against hydropower projects, but is aimed at securing their rights in terms of livelihood and proper compensation. Self-styled environmentalists who cry for saving the Ganga neither have the scientific background nor an understanding of the socio-economic conditions of the hill people, to make a critical assessment of hydel projects. The Central Government went overboard and intervened in developmental projects like hydropower on the insistence of such people and organisations. MISLEADING REPORT A very recent example of this is the Cumulative Environmental Impact Assessment (CEIA) study awarded by Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, to Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, and Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun. A quick and unscientific approach to CEIA by a reputed institute like WII has already started misleading decision-makers. The interim report of WII — full of mistakes and written with little scientific facts — was the basis of MoEF's decision to stop three major projects and permit two others. The final report of WII changed the entire approach of evaluation and is totally different from interim report. In fact, the final report hides the mistakes that were made in the interim report. The team members of the study did not make any effort to understand the designs of various projects, before actually studying their impact. We feel this report should not be used for verifying facts or making any policy decision. Such misleading reports may further strengthen vested interests that are already active in stalling hydropower development in the state. (The authors are with the Department of Forestry, HNB Garhwal University.) (This article was published on May 31, 2012) http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/article3477033.ece

Ranbir encounter: Warrants against 11 Uttarakhand cops

A Delhi court has issued non-bailable warrants against 11 Uttarakhand policemen accused in the 2009 fake encounter case in which an MBA student Ranbir Singh was murdered allegedly by the cops in Dehradun.

The case was transferred to Delhi by the Supreme Court on the plea of Ranbir's father Ravindra Singh.

Special CBI Judge V K Maheshwari directed issuance of NBWs against 11 of the 18 accused Dehradun police personnel, seeking their presence in the court on June 5.

The NBWs have been issued against the then constables Satbir Singh, Sunil Saini, Chander Pal, Saurabh Nautiyal, Nagendra Nath, Vikas Chandra Baluni, Sanjay Rawat, Mohan Singh Rana, Inder Bhan Singh and Manoj Kumar and Head Operator at city control room Jaspal Singh Gosain.

The constables are among the 18 policemen chargesheeted by the CBI in connection with the Ranbir Singh encounter case that rocked the hill state in July 2009.

They were arrested in wake of evidence that 22-year-old Singh, an MBA student from Ghaziabad, was allegedly gunned down by the Uttarakhand police after being caught at Mohini Road, where he and his companions were allegedly trying to commit some crime on July 3, 2009.

Singh's father Ravindra Singh had alleged that his son had gone to Dehradun in search of a job where he was arrested by the police on July 3 on the pretext of being involved in some robbery. 

He had alleged that on the same day, 29 bullets were pumped into his body and the incident was camouflaged as an encounter.

Besides these 11 policemen, others who are accused in the case and presently lodged in Tihar Jail are the then inspector Santosh Jaiswal, Sub-inspectors Gopal Dutt Bhatt, Rajesh Bisht, Neeraj Kumar, Nitin Chauhan and Chandra Mohan and Constable Ajeet Singh.

All the 18 policemen have been charged for various offences such as murder, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence.
pti

BJP’s U’khand, Punjab lists out

More Uttarakhand News, about Uttarakahnd and more http://uttarakhandnews2k.blogspot.com/

Retaining many of its sitting ministers and MLAs in Uttarakhand and putting up candidates in only 20 seats in Punjab, the BJP Monday night released its list of candidates for the two states out of five going to polls. CM B C Khanduri will be contesting from Kotdwar while his predecessor Ramesh Nishank Pokhriyal, will be fielded from Doiwala.

The BJP parliamentary party headed by L K Advani cleared names for 48 out of the 70 seats in the state.

In Punjab, the party came out with a list of 20 names. It has left the remaining seats in the 117 seat Assembly for its senior partner SAD.