New Delhi (PTI): "I will look into it," Chief Justice of India B R Gavai assured on Wednesday when a plea relating to stray dogs was mentioned for urgent hearing in the Supreme Court.

The plea by the Conference for Human Rights (India) was mentioned before a bench of the chief justice and Justice K Vinod Chandran by a lawyer.

Another bench has already passed an order in relation to stray dogs, the CJI pointed out.

On August 11, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan observed that instances of dog bites had given rise to an "extremely grim" situation and ordered the permanent relocation of all strays in Delhi-NCR "at the earliest".

On Wednesday, the lawyer referred to a May 2024 order passed by a bench led by Justice J K Maheshwari relegating petitions relating to the stray dog issue to respective high courts.

The CJI then assured that he will look into it.

The plea by Conference for Human Rights (India) claims the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules, 2001 mandating regular sterilisation and immunisation programmes for stray dogs to curtail their growing population are not being complied with.

In its August 11 ruling, the apex court also said dog shelters will have to be augmented over time and directed Delhi authorities to start with creating shelters of around 5,000 canines within six to eight weeks.

Besides, the bench warned of strict action against an individual or organisation in case of any kind of obstruction in the relocation drive that might also prompt the court to initiate contempt proceedings.

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Pune (PTI): NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Tuesday alleged that Nashik-based godman Ashok Kharat is prima facie linked to the fatal plane crash involving his uncle and then Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and demanded his interrogation by the CID.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the CID office in Pune to take stock of the status of the plane crash investigation, he alleged that some occult rituals had been performed outside late Ajit Pawar's house through a small political leader in Baramati.

"A goat was found hanging near Ajitdada's house. Kharat had told a farmer that an attack on the Pawar family could happen in the near future. A small political leader from Baramati used to visit Kharat for rituals and was in contact with leaders close to Ajitdada," he alleged.

Why was there a sudden increase in transactions in Kharat's account on January 27 and 28? he asked.

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Kharat was arrested in March for allegedly sexually exploiting several women and cheating people.

"Kharat's involvement appears to be linked to Ajit Pawar's accident, and the CID should investigate him. Kharat had stored some videos for blackmail, while video clips of common women have surfaced," Rohit Pawar added.

On the status of the CID probe, Rohit Pawar said he visited the office to submit "some evidence" regarding the fatal plane crash.

"It's been three months since the fatal plane crash. The first time we came, Sunil Ramanand (ADG, CID) was present. The second time, some other officers were there. Today, key officials were not present; they had gone to Mumbai for a cricket match," he said.

A Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, crashed at Baramati airport on the morning of January 28 while en route from Mumbai to Baramati, killing Ajit Pawar and four others.

Rohit Pawar had lodged the “Zero” FIR last month in Bengaluru under Section 173(1) of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, weeks after the fatal incident.

He alleged that instead of conducting a proper investigation, they (CID officials) are talking about conducting an inquiry.

"The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has sent us information. The aircraft's technical records are stored in the FDA system. The National Transportation Safety Board has been involved in this case. Earlier, they said the CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder) was burnt, now they are saying all the data has been downloaded. However, the real investigation should be handled by the CID," the NCP (SP) leader added.

ADG Ramanand had earlier said that the CID was already probing an Accidental Death Report registered with Pune Rural Police following the plane crash.

"The Zero FIR received from Bengaluru will be treated as a statement under Section 180 of the BNSS and factored into our probe,” he had said.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation is conducting a separate inquiry and submitted its preliminary findings on February 28.