Madrassa teacher's murder: Kerala Govt issues order to approach high court on appeal
Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 2: Facing intense criticism over the acquittal of RSS activists in the sensational madrassa teacher murder case, the Kerala government issued an order on Tuesday sanctioning the filing of an appeal in the high court to challenge the trial court's decision.
The decision to approach the higher court was taken based on legal opinion received in this regard, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Bishwanath Singha said in today's order.
"As per the legal opinion, sanction is accorded for filing appeal before the High Court of Kerala against the judgment of acquittal passed by the Court of Sessions Judge, Kasaragod," the order said.
Mohammed Riyas Maulavi, a 34-year-old muezzin (a person who proclaims the Islamic call to prayer) and a madrassa teacher from Choori near Kasaragod, was found murdered in his room in the mosque on March 20, 2017.
The court in Kasaragod on Saturday acquitted three RSS activists in the case, saying the prosecution was not able to prove that the accused had any kind of enmity with the Muslim community.
Kasaragod Principal Sessions Court Judge K K Balakrishnan on Sunday acquitted Akhilesh, Nidhin, and Ajesh, all three residents of Kelugude, in the case.
The LDF government came out with a quick decision to approach the high court against the verdict, as the opposition Congress started targeting the government in its ongoing Lok Sabha poll campaign over the issue.
The Congress has continued to criticise the state government over the verdict and demanded a reinvestigation into the case by a high-level police team.
KPCC acting chief M M Hassan said the case should be reinvestigated as the court itself made it clear that the police and the prosecution had failed.
In a statement, he also questioned the state government's decision to approach the high court against the present verdict and asked what was its use after all evidence had been sabotaged in the trial court.
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First direct US-Venezuela commercial flight in 7 years to land in Caracas
Caracas (Venezuela) (AP): The first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela is scheduled to land on Thursday in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, seven years after the US Department of Homeland Security ordered an indefinite suspension, citing security concerns.
The resumption of a commercial flight between the two countries comes in the wake of the US capture of Nicolás Maduro in a stunning nighttime raid on his residence in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, in early January.
It also comes a month after the US formally reopened its embassy in Caracas following the restoration of full diplomatic relations with the South American country.
Flight AA3599 operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, was scheduled to depart from Miami at 10:16 a.m. local time and arrive three hours later in the Venezuelan capital, returning to Florida later in the afternoon.
Earlier, the airline said a second daily flight between Miami and Caracas will start on May 21.
In late January, US President Donald Trump said he informed Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez that he would open up all commercial airspace over Venezuela, allowing Americans to visit.
“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they'll be safe there,” Trump said at the time.
The flights mark the resumption of nonstop travel between the US and Venezuela for the first time since diplomatic ties were severed in 2019. For the past seven years, passengers have relied on international airlines and indirect routes through neighbouring Latin American countries.
In January, when the airline announced the resumption of flights it said it would give customers the opportunity to reunite with families and pursue new business opportunities.
American Airlines was the last US airline flying to Venezuela. It suspended flights in 2019 between Miami and Caracas, as well as flights to the oil hub city of Maracaibo. Delta and United Airlines pulled out in 2017 amid a political crisis that forced millions to flee the country.
