Sikh groups protest outside Rahul’s residence
New Delhi: Around 200 members of the Sikh community on Monday staged a protest outside Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s residence here and demanded the names of and action against the Congress leaders involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
The protest came after Gandhi said in a recent TV interview that “some Congressmen were probably involved” in the anti-Sikh riots following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. The protesters, belonging to the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, raised slogans against Rahul Gandhi while protesting at his Tughlaq Lane residence here.
“They are protesting peacefully so no action has been taken against them,” a police official told IANS. (IANS)
Prisoners go on strike for release in Jharkhand
Ranchi: Over a thousand prisoners went on strike in different jails of Jharkhand on Monday demanding their release, with some also on hunger strike.
Around 700 prisoners are sitting on strike in Jai Prakash Narayan Central Jail, 200 in Garwah jail and 140 in Medininagar jail.
The prisoners, most of them lifers, said they have completed their sentences and that some had served for more than 20 years.
“There is a committee at state level headed by the chief minister. The meeting has not taken place in the last few years,” Inspector General (Prison) Shailendra Bhushan told IANS. “In life term case, a prisoner can be released if the state-level committee decides so. The court advisory is also must in releasing the prisoners facing life term.
“We will soon hold the screening committee meeting and decide on the prisoners’ release whose advisory has reached to us,” Bhushan said. (IANS)
NHRC issues notice to railway min
Bhubaneswar: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the railway ministry on the toilet system in trains that leads to open defecation, a petitioner said on Monday.
Acting on a complaint of Odisha-based activist Akhand, the commission has directed the railway board chairman to file a report within four weeks.
“The toilets in trains contribute to a major chunk of open defecation which litters on railway tracks,” Akhand told IANS. Indian Railways daily runs 8,700 trains, reaching 7,000 stations and handling 2.5 crore of passengers per day, thereby adding to the open defecation menace.
“The existing toilet system in the coaches discharges excreta directly to the ground and the railway tracks. The consequences include unacceptable hygienic conditions, particularly at railway stations,” he said.
“Due to open defecation there are high risks of water-borne or sanitation-related diseases,” alleged Akhand. The petitioner urged the rights panel to issue the order to the ministry to install bio-toilets or any other advanced systems in trains to avoid open defecation. (IANS)