Three get 7-year jail term in Chinnaswamy stadium bomb blast case
Bengaluru, July 09: The NIA Special Court of the city on Monday convicted three accused who admitted to their involvement in bomb blast near Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in 2010, to 7 year imprisonment.
The convicted Kamal Hasan, Gowhar Azeez Khomani and Mohammed Kafeel Akhtar, who had already spent six years in jail, have to undergo seven years imprisonment including one year rigorous imprisonment. Along with the jail term, the convicted were also slapped penalty of Rs 7.5 lakh each to Khomani and Hasan, while Rs 10 lakh to Akhtar. If the convicted failed to pay the penalty, they have to undergo one more year jail term, the court said.
Judge Siddalinga Prabhu heard the case. Public prosecutor CA Ravindra argued in favour of the government. As the accused had admitted to their involvement in the crime before the court, the judge declared the judgment. In all there were 13 accused in the case including Yaseen Bhatkal and the court has given punishment only for three now.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
