Hiked duty on onion exports must be lifted: Sharad Pawar
Pune (PTI): Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has said the 40 per cent duty on onion export must be revoked, and also claimed that the Union government might impose restrictions on sugar exports too.
Speaking at an event in Purandar tehsil of Pune district on Thursday, the former Union agriculture minister said it was the government's responsibility to ensure a fair price for onions.
"For the last few days, farmers in the Nashik region are protesting...they are demanding fair prices for their onion produce. Onions from the country are exported, but the government has imposed a 40 per cent duty on the export. It is the responsibility of the government to give a fair price to onion growers considering the input cost and it is farmers' right to demand it, but no concrete decision has been taken," he said.
The government did announce that it will procure onions at Rs 2,410 per quintal and allow export of 2 lakh tonnes, he noted, adding that in view of the input cost, the procurement price should be increased.
In any case, the 40 per cent duty on the export must be lifted, he asserted.
Pawar also claimed that the Centre is contemplating imposing restrictions on sugar exports too.
"Maharashtra is the second largest sugar-producing state. Brazil is the largest producer of sugar in the world, followed by India. Last year, due to a drought in Brazil, their sugar production decreased.
"As a result, the situation for sugarcane producers in our country was favourable and they planned to export sugar. But now the central government is thinking of imposing restrictions on sugar exports," the veteran leader said.
If this happens, no state government will be capable of giving better prices to sugarcane, Pawar said.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
