India, England wear green armbands to support BCCI's "Donate Organs, Save Lives" campaign
Ahmedabad, Feb 12 (PTI): India and England cricket teams took the field for the third and final ODI on Wednesday wearing green armbands to support the BCCI's initiative of "Donate Organs, Save Lives" campaign. The BCCI informed this in a statement shortly after the commencement of the match at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
"Both teams are wearing green arm bands to support BCCI's initiative 'Donate Organs, Save Lives'. The initiative is spearheaded by ICC Chairman Mr Jay Shah," the BCCI release stated.
The initiative was announced by ICC chairman and former BCCI secretary Shah on Monday.
Shah wrote on X, "On the occasion of the 3rd ODI between India and England in Ahmedabad on February 12th, we are proud to launch an awareness initiative — Donate Organs, Save Lives."
"Sport has the power to inspire, unite, and create lasting impact beyond the field. Through this initiative, we urge everyone to take a step towards giving the greatest gift of all — the gift of life."
"One pledge, one decision, can save multiple lives. Let's come together and make a difference!" he added.
The initiative was supported by several Indian players, including Virat Kohli and vice-captain Shubman Gill.
"Score the ultimate century. Your organs can help others live beyond your lifetime. Register as a donor and make every life count," Kohli said in a video shared by the BCCI.
Gill added, "Be the captain of life. Just like a captain leads the team to victory, you can lead someone to life by pledging to donate your organs."
Other Indian cricketers to support the initiative were batters Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul.
"One donor can save up to eight lives. Pledge today and hit a six for humanity," Iyer said.
Rahul added, "Play the ultimate winning shot. Your decision to donate your organs can be the match winning moment in someone's life. Be a hero off the field too."
A heartfelt thank you to cricket fans across India and to @BCCI’s captain @ImRo45 and @ECB_cricket skipper @josbuttler for coming together to amplify the message of "Donate Organs, Save Lives."
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) February 12, 2025
Proud to share that we've crossed 22,482 pledges—a testament to the power of sport in… pic.twitter.com/V1uFITLHlC
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Delhi court sentences Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia, associate to life imprisonment
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has sentenced Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia and his associate to life imprisonment under MCOCA provisions, but refused the death penalty saying the offences did not fall under the category of 'rarest of the rare cases'.
Additional Sessions Judge Vandana Jain sentenced Gulia and Dhirpal alias Kana to rigorous imprisonment for life under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
In an order dated December 13, the judge said, "Death sentence can only be awarded in 'rarest of the rare cases' wherein the murder is committed in an extremely inhumane, barbarous, grotesque or dastardly manner as to arouse umbrage of the community at large."
The judge said that on weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, it could be concluded that the present case did not fall under the category, and so, the death penalty could not be imposed upon the convicts.
"Thus, both the convicts are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs 3 lakh each, for committing the offence under Section 3 of MCOCA," she said.
The public prosecutor, seeking the death penalty for both the accused, submitted that they were involved in several unlawful activities while they were on bail in other cases.
He argued that the accused had shown no respect for the law and acted without any fear of legal consequences, and therefore did not deserve any leniency from the court.
The court noted that both convicts were involved in offences of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery, house trespass, and criminal intimidation. Besides, they had misused the liberty of interim bail granted to them by absconding.
It said, "The terror of the convicts was such that it created fear psychosis in the mind of the general public, and they lost complete faith in the law enforcement agencies and chose to accede to the illegal demands of convicts. Despite suffering losses, they could not gather the courage to depose against them."
The court noted that Gulia was involved in at least 18 criminal cases, while Dhirpal had links to 10 serious offences.
It underlined that MCOCA had been enacted "keeping in view the fact that organised crime had come up as a serious threat to society, as it knew no territorial boundaries and is fuelled by illegal wealth generated by committing the offence of extortion, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom, collection of protection money, murder, etc."
Both accused persons had been convicted on December 10 in a case registered at Najafgarh police station. The police filed a chargesheet under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) and 4 (punishment for possessing unaccountable wealth on behalf of member of organised crime syndicate) of MCOCA.
