Asaram’s son Narayan Sai gets bail in rape case
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Thursday granted conditional bail of three weeks to Narayan Sai, son of self-proclaimed godman Asaram, who has been behind bars for more than a year in connection with a rape case filed against him by a Surat-based woman. Justice Paresh Upadhyay granted the relief to Narayan, who has been lodged in a Surat jail since his arrest in December 2013, to enable him to attend to his ailing mother Lakshmiben Harpalani. The bail order will be applicable from May 4, the judge said, adding Narayan will be under the police surveilence during the bail period and state DGP will deploy an officer for this purpose. Narayan had said in his plea that his mother had been suffering from a spinal cord-related ailement and that doctors at Ahmedabad’s Sterling Hospital had suggested surgery. The woman had accused Narayan of repeated sexual assault between 2002 and 2005 when she was living at his Surat ashram, following which he was booked under various sections of IPC including rape, unnatural sex, molestation, wrongful confinement etc. Interestingly, the elder sister of the victim had lodged a separate complaint against Narayan’s father Asaram accusing him of repeated sexual assault between 2001 and 2006 when she was living in his ashram on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. Lakshmiben was also booked by police for abetment, but was later granted bail by a local court in 2013. Asaram is currently lodged in a Rajasthan jail since his arrest in September 2013 for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor girl at his Jodhpur ashram. (PTI)
Airport official arrested
New Delhi: An immigration officer, who had sexually harassed a woman passenger verbally at Indira Gandhi International Airport here on March 18, was arrested on Wednesday evening, police said on Thursday.He, however, was released on bail a few hours later.Immigration officer Vinod Kumar had harassed the Bengaluru-based woman passenger who took a flight to Hong Kong on March 18 from Delhi.Kumar was arrested in Delhi under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), police said.He was arrested a week after police recorded the woman’s statement in Bengaluru.”The immigration officer was arrested yesterday (Wednesday), but he got bail a few hours after his arrest as the section imposed on him was bailable,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI airport) M.I. Haider told. (IANS)
Jain appointed as Additional Solicitor General of India
Chandigarh: Senior advocate Satya Pal Jain has been appointed as Additional Solicitor General of India in Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh for a period of three years.His appointment has been notified in the Official Gazette of the Central Government. Jain will represent the Central government in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.Jain has been the All India Incharge of the Legal Cell of the party for about 10 years. A noted constitutional lawyer, Jain has represented the party in various important politico-legal battles like the Liberhan Commission, Karnataka Defection case, and HJC Defection case.He has also been associated with the RSS & the ABVP right from his college days. (UNI)
ISIS threat letter surfaces, police launch probe
Chennai: Office of DGP and Chennai Press Club here have received a letter allegedly sent by terror outfit ISIS threatening to “shoot” at least ten RSS activists in state and carry out bomb blasts in the city next week, prompting police to launch a probe. The letter was received at the office of the Director General of Police here and the Chennai Press Club on Wednesday. A stencilled letter in red ink claiming to be from the “ISIS” said that “identified 50 RSS active terrorists are in Chennai. We swear to shoot at least 10 of them and repeat Kovai blasts by April 24 – ISIS.” “We yesterday received a letter by post which even did not have a stamp on it and it contained the ISIS threat. It was forwarded to police authorities,” Joint Secretary of the CPC, Bharathi Tamizhan told PTI. On February 14, 1998 serial bomb blasts shook Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu in which 58 were killed and over 200 injured. A senior police official said the letter, its origin and other relevant aspects are being probed. (PTI)