Plot to kill Prof Bhagavan: Charge sheet against nine accused
Bengaluru, July 21: Upparpet police have filed a charge sheet in the 1st ACMM court against nine accused including Sangh Parivar worker KT Naveen Kumar on charges of hatching out a conspiracy to kill rationalist Prof KS Bhagavan.
After interrogating the accused, the investigating officers have filed 671-page charge sheet against nie accused including KT Naveen Kumar, Sujit Kumar, Praveen, Amol Kale, Amith Degwekar and Manohar Yadav. The investigating officers have recorded the statements of more than 100 witnesses and attached FSL experts reports. Sources said that the police have considered the statement of Anil Kumar of Srirangapatna, friend of Naveen Kumar, as a major witness.
The police also found that Naveen Kumar had a conversation with another accused Sujith over phone, They had discussed about planning to kill Bhagavan, purchasing illegal weapons and conspiracy and it was mentioned in the charge sheet.
The SIT officers have taken these accused into custody in related to Gauri Lankesh murder. Naveen Kumar was arrested at Kempegowda bus stand in Bengaluru on February 8. During the interrogation, he disclosed that a conspiracy was hatched out to kill Prof KS Bhagwan. A case was registered at Upparpet police station.
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Ensure paid holiday for postal staff on polling day in Kerala: John Brittas writes to Scindia
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas on Sunday wrote to Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, seeking his urgent intervention to ensure that postal employees in Kerala are granted a statutory paid holiday on April 9 for the Assembly elections in the southern state.
In his letter, Brittas expressed serious concern over the Kerala Postal Circle’s instructions to treat all postal employees as “absentee voters in essential services (AVES)”, directing them to opt for a postal ballot within an “extremely limited” timeframe.
The Department of Posts operates under the Ministry of Communications. Along with the Department of Telecommunications, it is one of the two main sections within the ministry headed by Scindia.
In his letter, Brittas pointed out that the circular dated March 19 required the collection of Form 12D by March 20 (Eid al-Fitr), and submission of the compiled details at the respective collectorates by March 22 (Sunday), both holidays in Kerala, making meaningful compliance difficult and raising apprehensions about the “arbitrary” nature of the directions.
The CPI(M) leader also pointed out that the Election Commission, in a communication dated March 16, reiterated the requirement under Section 135B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, that every person employed in any establishment and entitled to vote shall be granted a paid holiday on the polling day, without any deduction or abatement of wages.
He said even where certain services are treated as essential, the long-standing administrative practice has been to maintain only minimal required operations on polling day, without denying employees the opportunity to vote in person.
Brittas argued that in some other states going to polls this month, including Assam, most postal employees have been granted a holiday on polling day, in accordance with the statutory provisions.
During the 2021 Kerala polls, postal establishments had observed a holiday on polling day, subject only to limited essential arrangements, he claimed.
The present deviation, Brittas said, raises concerns about inconsistency in the application of law and the avoidable curtailment of the democratic rights of employees.
Stating that the right to vote lies at the core of India's democratic framework, Brittas urged Scindia to examine the matter urgently.
“Given the proximity of the polling date, I earnestly seek your kind indulgence to have the matter examined on priority, and to issue urgent directions to the postal authorities in Kerala to ensure that the statutory entitlement of postal employees in Kerala to a paid holiday on the day of polling is duly ensured,” Brittas said in the letter.
The 140 seats in the Kerala Assembly will go to polls on April 9, and the results will be out on May 4.
