Jyoti Punwani writes on human rights issues. You can e-mail the author at jyoti.punwani@gmail.com
Shivaji Pawar made a startling revelation: Though the subject matter of his investigation was the January 1 violence, he had not examined any of the witnesses to that violence.
'I was living in a fools' paradise, thinking I could win over anyone with my good intentions.'
'If you persist in opposing the government, they set the ED or the NIA on you. And the courts have not given us much hope.'
'I'm 79 + now, and I've been doing all this since my late 20s.' 'Sometimes the ideological war extends to the home as well.' 'Many nights I couldn't sleep when someone close to me uttered the smallest insult.' 'It would cause me a lot of pain. But one has to be honest to oneself.'
The foundation of the Bhima Koregaon case was blown to bits by a senior policeman, reports Jyoti Punwani.
'The BJP may no longer be in power after 2024, that doesn't mean we'll stop this campaign against polygamy.'
Police escorted the rally all the way, at one point standing in a row to prevent the rallyists from entering a side road where stood a huge mosque. Across the road, an old Muslim woman asked her Hindu neighbour what the rally was all about. The latter shrugged her ignorance, looking on in bewilderment at the young men with their saffron flags, all of them wearing Bajrang Dal T-shirts.
'As CIC, you have the power to comment on policy matters. 'If you have very strong beliefs and you know your rulings will be reported, you will express your beliefs.'
His spine, his heart, his pancreas -- one by one, all his organs have weakened, given the lack of medical treatment in jail, where he is kept in the notorious Anda cell. Continuous pain, frequent fainting spells, urinary problems, have all become part of his life.
'Sanction serves the salutary object of providing safeguard to the accused from unwarranted prosecution and the agony and trauma of trial, and in the context of the stringent provisions of the UAPA, is an integral facet of due process of law.' If the report to the sanctioning officer for the first five accused in the case lacked the qualities required under the law, then for Professor Saibaba, the sanction came much after his trial had started!
The Sessions Court judge presiding over the trial was appointed to this court just a few months ago. Annoyed at its slow pace, he is cracking the whip on the prosecution.
The ad is one more illustration of the way Maharashtra's new Shinde-Fadnavis government has been milking the Ganpati festival, with CM Eknath Shinde visiting Ganpati Mandals all day these last 10 days.
This is not the first time the Nagpur Jail authorities are being accused of negligence towards their inmates.
For his participation in Netaji's INA, Major Ghulam Ahmed Qureshi was put into solitary confinement in the Red Fort, charged with rebellion against the Crown. Despite Nehru, Asaf Ali and a host of top lawyers defending them, Qureshi and his fellow officers were sentenced to death.
'You know the factors against you and those in favour, and you use the weapons you have in accordance with the strategy you've developed.'
ACP Shivaji Pawar has been asked to file his affidavit by August 15.
'This shows how casually these officials approached a dispute simmering for years which finally erupted into violence.'
It took a five-day hunger strike by the former Delhi University professor, in jail without a break for five years after being convicted of links with Maoists, for the jail administration to agree to his request for a water bottle.
Despite Sharad Pawar's categorical stand, the Maharashtra government has done nothing to ease the suffering of the Bhima Koregaon 16, who have been denied their basic rights to health and to communication with their families while in jail.
The silence is specially deafening from three parties that symbolised hope for Muslims: The Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Samajwadi Party. 'What fear prevents these leaders from at least talking about the way our community is being targeted?' 'Will they really lose Hindu votes if they do so?'
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