There is no question of protecting anybody, want truth to come out: Minister on Dharmasthala case
Bengaluru, Jul 17 (PTI): Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Thursday said the state government is not protecting anybody in the Dharmasthala burial case, in which a witness is complaining of disappearances, unnatural deaths, and sexual assaults.
“There is no question of supporting or protecting anybody. We do not want to sensationalise the case, but we certainly want to pursue the truth. We want the truth to come out,” said the minister to reporters on Thursday.
On allegations that the accused are being “protected”, the District In charge Minister of Dakshina Kannada said if there is evidence on the ground, and if the proof emerges, then strict action will be taken as per law.
“As far as the police of Dakshina Kannada district, they have been told to get to the truth, no matter what.”
He said the information that has been provided by the witness is "shocking".
“It shook all of us up. Proper investigation is definitely required. If whatever the witness is saying holds true, then definitely it has serious implications,” Rao said.
Meanwhile, a group of lawyers, led by retired Supreme Court judge V Gopala Gowda, who had handed over a memorandum to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging him to form a Special Investigation Team for an impartial probe into the case, reiterated on Thursday their concern that the investigation in the case is not on the proper lines.
“There are lapses on the part of the police investigation agency in this matter. It is the cardinal duty of the police investigation agency to unearth the truth by exhuming the bodies, but that is not happening,” said Gowda in a press conference organised by legal professionals in this regard.
Gowda said the witness' statement has got evidentiary value at the time of conducting the trial before the jurisdiction trial court.
On July 11, the witness produced some of the skeletal remains of a body that he claimed to have exhumed on his own, before the Principal Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate First Class, Belthangady court, and gave a statement regarding the same.
“It has disclosed who are responsible in committing murders and mass rapes. Names of certain persons are also disclosed. The information is in the public domain,” said Gowda.
According to him, due to the delay that is being caused for the last three weeks, the public could only infer that there must be strong vested interest behind it.
Besides an SIT team, the lawyers also demand comprehensive forensic support for collecting irrefutable scientific evidence, video recording of investigation as well as immediate arrest and custodial interrogation.
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Bangladesh court sentences Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in corruption cases
Dhaka (PTI): A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in two separate corruption cases related to alleged irregularities in allocations of land in a government housing project.
Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-4 Judge Rabiul Alam handed down the verdicts, sentencing Hasina to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment — five years in each case, state-run BSS news agency reported.
The court sentenced 78-year-old Hasina, her nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq, and her nieces, Tulip Rizwana Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq, and others in the cases over alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol.
The judgment was pronounced at around 12.30 pm.
Tulip Siddiq was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment — two years in each case — while Radwan Mujib Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq were each sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment in both cases.
Rajuk member Mohammad Khurshid Alam, the only accused to surrender before the court, was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment in each case, totalling two years.
The court also fined all convicted persons Tk1 lakh each and ordered them to serve an additional six months in prison in default of payment.
Hasina has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the face of the massive protests. She was earlier declared a fugitive by the court.
The cases were filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over alleged abuse of power in the allocation of two 10-katha plots.
According to the prosecution, the accused manipulated the allocation process and violated existing rules and regulations of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk).
