Alwar lynching: Police to probe delay in taking Aakbar to hospital
Jaipur, July 23 : The Rajasthan Police on Monday formed a high-level team to probe the reasons for the alleged delay in taking to the hospital a man who died after being allegedly thrashed by a mob of 'gau rakshaks'.
Director General of Police O.P. Galhotra said the team will find out why there so much time was wasted in transporting Rakbar alias Akbar to a hospital that was just four kilometres from the site where he was beaten up on Saturday.
The team shall include senior officers N.R.K. Reddy, P.K. Singh, Hemant Priyadarshi and Mahendra Singh Chaudhary.
The team has been asked to probe why if the policemen reached the site at 1 a.m., the victim was taken to the hospital only at 4 a.m., said a police official. It is alleged that the policemen stopped on the way to have tea before heading to the hospital.
According to Naval Sharma, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Gau Raksha cell chief in Ramgarh, the FIR says that the police reached the site at 12.41 a.m. and the victim was taken by them by 1 a.m.
However, surprisingly, the police reached the hospital at 4 am. The postmortem report says the victim died at 3.40 a.m.
A social worker of the region, Vijay Kumar, told IANS that Akbar and Aslam were taking bovines from the fields at midnight. When the animals cried out, some villagers came out and thrashed Akbar.
As it was raining heavily, Akbar fell on the muddy field and his companion Aslam escaped. By then, the police reached the spot. However, as the victim was covered in mud, the police refused to take him in their vehicle and asked villagers to clean him
The villagers poured water on him. Dharmendra, who was later taken as an accused by the police, brought clothes from his house. Vijay Kumar says the policemen were drunk and they too might have beaten him as the victim had earlier records of cow smuggling.
According to him, when Akbar died, the police came to the village to arrest the witnesses to save their skin. The cows, meanwhile, were shifted to a 'gaushala' at 3.26 a.m. in a three-wheeler.
Alwar Superintendent of Police Rajendra Singh told the media: "We will investigate the matter thoroughly and take action against the accused."
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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
