Highest number of kidnapping accused lawmakers are from BJP
New Delhi, July 30: At least 16 BJP MPs and MLAs - the highest for any political party in India - have criminal charges related to kidnapping filed against them, according to an analysis of affidavits of 4,867 sitting MPs and MLAs.
The findings were released on Monday by the Association for Democratic Reforms, an NGO that works for electoral and political reforms.
It said the affidavits of 770 MPs and 4,086 state legislators revealed that 1,024 or some 21 per cent of lawmakers in the country have declared "serious criminal charges against themselves".
Among these, 64 have declared charges related to kidnappings. Of them, 17 belong to various political outfits while 4 are independents.
The BJP tops the list with 16 while the Congress and the RJD are at a distant second with six each.
According ADR, the list contains five NCP lawmakers, four each from the BJD and the DMK, three each from the SP and the TDP as well as two each from the Trinamool Congress, the CPI-M, the CPI-ML and the Shiv Sena.
One each from the Lok Janshakti Party, the JD-U, the TRS and the the Nishad Party in Uttar Pradesh are also in the list.
Of the MLAs with declared charges related to kidnapping, the highest number -- that is nine each -- are from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, followed by eight from Maharashtra, six from West Bengal, four each from Odisha and Tamil Nadu, three each from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan and one each from Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab and Telangana.
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Two women died, 6 taken ill after ‘consuming’ mango kernel gruel in Odisha
Bhubaneswar/Berhampur/Phulbani, Nov 1: At least two tribal women died and six others fell ill after allegedly consuming mango kernel gruel in Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said on Friday.
Consumption of mango kernel, prepared by boiling the seeds in water, was reported from Mandipanka village in the district's Daringbadi block, an officer said.
While one of the two women (Rasmita Pattamajhi aged 22) died on Thursday night at Mohana community health centre in Gajapati district where she was undergoing treatment after "consuming the gruel", another woman (Runu Majhi aged 29) breathed her last while being taken to MKCG Medical College Hospital in Berhampur, Gadapur sarpanch Kumari Mallick said.
Six others, who fell ill after allegedly consuming the gruel, were admitted to a hospital and their condition was critical, said Dr Subrat Das, a medical officer of the health facility.
"All the six have been admitted to the hospital in a serious condition. We suspected that they fell sick due to food poisoning. The exact cause of the illness will be ascertained after completion of the investigation," he added.
The six were identified as Pravati Patmajhi, Dranglu Patmajhi, Tuni Majhi, Susama Patmajhi, Jita Majhi and Jibanti Majhi, Daringbadi BDO Pritiranjan Ratha said.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has rejected allegations that tribal people have been consuming mango kernel gruel due to a lack of access to rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Rasmita's husband Anil Pattamajhi alleged that they were denied rice under PDS for the last three months because of which his wife consumed mango kernel.
However, Kandhamal district magistrate-cum-collector Amrit Ruturaj dismissed the allegations, saying the family received rice according to PDS norms. "We are awaiting the postmortem report to determine the facts," the collector added.
Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, who is also in-charge of the women and child development department said, "It is not a case of malnutrition. Mango kernel is part of their (tribal) regular diet. Sometime, the mango kernels get contaminated and lead to such unfortunate incidents. We have been actively spreading awareness about the risks of food contamination."
Health and family welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling, who ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of two tribal women, said a team from the district headquarters hospital and another local team are at the spot to assess the situation and conduct a detailed probe into the incident.
Mahaling said that the government was waiting for the postmortem report for a confirmation on the cause of the deaths. "People in Kandhamal consume mango kernel. It is common in that region and there also have been reports of health complications linked to it in the past," he said.
The Kandhmal incident reminds a similar tragedy involving mango kernel deaths in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, where at least 20 people died in 2001, and two more succumbed to mango kernel consumption in 2016. Additionally, mango kernel has claimed lives in Laxmipur in Koraput district in 2012 and 2013, as well as in Jharigaon in Nabarangpur district in 2018.
