Centre not taking steps for release of Nimisha Priya: K C Venugopal
Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 13 (PTI): AICC general secretary K C Venugopal on Saturday claimed that the central government was not taking any steps to intervene with the execution of Nimisha Priya, a nurse from the state convicted of murder in Yemen.
Venugopal contended that it was "sad" that the Centre was not showing any urgency in the matter despite the issue being brought to the attention of the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Ministry.
The AICC general secretary, who is also the MP from Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency, said in a post on social media platform 'X' that the death sentence imposed on Priya was a "grave travesty of justice".
"She is a victim of unimaginable cruelty and domestic abuse on foreign soil, driven to the brink. She doesn’t deserve to die. I’ve written to the PM seeking urgent intervention to prevent her execution," he said in the post.
Meanwhile, prominent businessman Boby Chemmanur told a TV channel that he has collected Rs one crore towards blood money for the release of Priya and would be flying to Oman soon to meet the person who has promised to help in the negotiations for her release.
He said the funds were collected by the Boche Fans Charitable Trust and expressed that any additional money required would be provided by the Malayali community and the Nimisha Priya Action Council.
Kerala's ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) on Friday urged the central government to step in immediately to secure a commutation of her sentence.
Nimisha Priya, who hails from Kollengode in Palakkad district, was convicted in 2020 for the murder of a Yemeni man who had been her business partner.
The incident took place in July 2017. Her appeal was rejected by Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council in November last year, and the country's public prosecutor has now ordered that her sentence be carried out on Tuesday, July 16.
Priya is currently being held in Sana'a Central Prison.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
