Yuvraj Singh arrested in alleged casteist remarks case, released on bail: Haryana police
Hisar, Oct 17: The Haryana Police on Sunday said cricketer Yuvraj Singh was arrested and released on bail in an alleged casteist remarks case in compliance with a high court order.
Singh was accused of making casteist remarks against another cricketer during an Instagram chat last year.
Superintendent of Police (Hansi) Nitika Gahlaut said over the phone, "We only made a formal arrest and he was released on bail in compliance of the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court."
"Yuvraj Singh came to Hansi on Saturday and we made a formal arrest. He was released on bail bond after a few hours," DSP (Hansi) Vinod Shankar said.
While noting that the Haryana police is seeking only Singh's "formal arrest" in the case, the high court had last week directed that upon joining the probe with the investigating officer, if the cricketer is arrested, he would be released on interim bail upon furnishing bail and surety bonds.
The high court was listening to a plea by the cricketer seeking quashing of an FIR filed against him earlier this year under sections of the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act based on a complaint by lawyer Rajat Kalsan at the Hansi Police Station in Hisar.
Kalsan had filed the police complaint last year, alleging that Singh's comment had hurt the sentiments of the Dalit community and a large number of people had watched the video on social media.
Expressing regret over the comments, Singh had earlier tweeted, "I understand that while I was having a conversation with my friends, I was misunderstood, which was unwarranted. However, as a responsible Indian I want to say that if I have unintentionally hurt anybody's sentiments or feelings, I would like to express regret for the same."
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Karnataka government employees demand return of Old Pension Scheme
Bengaluru: Government employees in Karnataka have urged the state government to scrap the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and bring back the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), The New Indian Express reported.
The demand was made by the Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association, whose leaders met senior IAS officer Uma Mahadevan on Monday and submitted a memorandum. The association asked the NPS Review Committee, headed by senior IAS officer Anjum Parvez, to recommend the reintroduction of OPS in the state.
Association president C.S. Shadakshari reportedly said the review committee has already visited Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana where NPS was revoked and OPS re-implemented. The committee is yet to submit its report, but has told the government it will do so soon.
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Shadakshari allegedly said NPS has been in force in Karnataka since 2006. He pointed out that West Bengal never adopted the scheme, while Andhra Pradesh and Telangana replaced NPS with a contributory pension model.
States including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jharkhand have already scrapped NPS through cabinet decisions or budget announcements.
“Under NPS, 10% of the employees’ basic salary and DA, and 14% contribution from the state is credited to the employees’ fund. It constitutes 24% of the total which is non-withdrawable. This is invested in the share market and the final amount depends on the ups and downs of the market,” TNIE quoted Shadakshar as saying.
As per the report, he said that by limiting its contribution to 14%, the government could save up to ₹1.87 lakh crore annually if all vacancies are filled, strengthening the case for bringing back the old pension system.
