Should I count how many mosquitoes I killed: V K Singh on Balakot casualty debate
New Delhi: Union minister V K Singh on Wednesday used a mosquito metaphor to address the debate on casualty figures in the Balakot air strikes, asking if he was expected to sit and count how many he killed at night or "sleep in comfort".
The tweet from the minister of state for external affairs came a day after he slammed the Congress for demanding the data and said it was not a "game of marbles" where an exact score can be kept.
"There were a lot of mosquitoes at 3:30 am at night. So, I used Hit (mosquito repellent) on them. Now, should I sit and count how many mosquitoes I killed or sleep in comfort," Singh tweeted on Wednesday in an apparent reference to Congress demands from the government on proof of casualty figures in the air-strikes.
On Tuesday, Haryana minister Anil Vij had tweeted a similar comment. "The next time there is a strike on Pakistan-based terrorists, then one of mahagathbandhan leaders should be made to stand there so that they can count the bodies," he said.
The opposition has been asking the government to reveal the official death count in the strike which was conducted days after the February 14 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel died.
While IAF chief B S Dhanoa said in a press conference that the force does not count bodies, BJP president Amit Shah claimed at a political rally that over 250 terrorists were killed.
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NIA court to complete framing of charges against 2010 hand-chopping case accused on May 15
Kochi (PTI): A special court here will complete proceedings for framing charges against the prime accused in the 2010 hand-chopping case involving professor T J Joseph, in which PFI activists were accused of attacking him at Muvattupuzha.
Ernakulam Special Court for NIA cases judge P K Mohandas, on April 30, heard the arguments of counsel for accused Savad and Shafeer C and decided to proceed with framing charges against the duo.
A group chopped off Thodupuzha Newman College professor Joseph's right hand in July 2010, accusing him of religious blasphemy in a question paper he had prepared.
The case, later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), resulted in the conviction of 19 accused.
The first accused, Savad, who allegedly chopped off Joseph’s palm, was arrested in Berram in Mattannur, Kannur, in January 2024, where he had allegedly been hiding under the pseudonym Shajahan.
The NIA also arrested Shafeer, who allegedly arranged shelter and provided logistical support to Savad at Chakkad and Mattannur in Kannur since 2020.
On April 30, the court heard the counsel for the accused and the NIA prosecutor on framing charges against the duo.
"On going through the documents and evidence in the case and on hearing the counsel for the accused and the prosecutor, I am of the opinion that there are grounds for presuming that the first accused has committed offences punishable under provisions of the IPC, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and that the second accused has committed offences punishable under the IPC and the UAPA, and there are materials for framing charges under these provisions against the accused," the court said.
The court directed that Savad be produced and Shafeer, who is on bail, appear before it on May 15 for recording their pleas as part of the charge-framing process.
After framing the charges, the court will schedule the trial in the case.
