Assam Police file chargesheet against 48 in lynching case
Guwahati, Sep 1 : Nearly three months after two youths were lynched by a mob, Assam Police on Saturday filed a chargesheet against 48 persons allegedly involved in the killing of the youths on June 8 this year.
Assam Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia while addressing a press conference in Guwahati said over 70 witnesses were examined during the investigation. The DGP said the police will seek fast-track trial in the case.
"The chargesheet submitted in the Chief Judicial Magistrate court of Diphu in Central Assam's Karbi Anglong district included 48 accused. Besides the 46-page chargesheet, over 800 pages of supplementary documents, including forensic reports, have also been submitted," Saikia said.
The accused were charged under various sections the IPC, he added.
"The chargesheet is filed within a short span of 90 days, which is a big step," he said, addng the police had formed a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to probe the lynching.
The two youths, Nilotpal Das and Abhijit Nath, who had gone to the Kathilangso waterfalls in Dokmoka area of the Karbi Anglong district on June 8, were lynched by a mob suspecting them to be child snatchers.
Police had earlier stated that the main accused Alphajoz Timung, after an altercation with the two, spread a mobile message to some locals saying that two child lifters were escaping the area with a child on a vehicle.
Some of the locals intercepted the vehicle and lynched the two despite their repeated appeals that they were not child snatchers.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Maharashtra secures historic sword of Raghuji Bhosale in London auction
LONDON/MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has acquired the sword of Raghuji Bhosale, founder of the Nagpur Bhosale dynasty and a distinguished commander in the Maratha army under Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, after winning it in an auction in London.
Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar formally took possession of the weapon on Monday. It is scheduled to arrive in Mumbai on 18 August, where it will be received with ceremonial honours, as reported by The Indian Express.
News of the sword’s availability surfaced on 28 April this year. Minister Shelar consulted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, after which the government began preparations to participate in the auction.
A group of Marathi-speaking residents in London gathered to witness the handover. Hemant Dalvi, Deputy Director of the Archaeology Department, accompanied the minister during the formalities.
The sword is an 18th-century Maratha Firangi. It has a straight, single-edged European blade with a gold-inlaid Mulheri hilt and near the hilt is the European manufacturer’s name, while the spine bears a gold-inlaid Devanagari inscription reading “Shreemant Raghoji Bhosale Senasahib Subha Firang,” confirming its connection to Raghuji Bhosale. The hilt’s gold koftgari work and the green cloth-wrapped rounded pommel add to its rarity as Maratha weapons of the period typically lacked elaborate ornamentation or inscriptions.
Raghuji Bhosale I, ruled from Nagpur between 1695 and 1755. He expanded Maratha influence into Bengal, Odisha, Chanda, Chhattisgarh, Sambalpur and parts of southern India. His military campaigns, included victories over the Nawabs of Bengal, Cuddapah and Kurnool. The Nagpur kingdom was also known for its rich deposits of iron and copper, used for weapons and trade.
While few historians believe that the sword left India in the early 19th century, as part of the war booty taken by the British East India Company after their victory over the Bhosales at the Battle of Sitabuldi in 1817, others say it was taken later as a diplomatic gift.
The sword will be escorted from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport to PL Deshpande Kala Academy in Dadar by a ceremonial bike rally upon its arrival in Mumbai next week. A cultural programme titled Gad Garjana will be held the same day in the presence of state dignitaries.
Minister Shelar described the acquisition as an important moment for Maharashtra’s heritage and extended his thanks to the Chief Minister, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar for their support in securing the artefact.
