''Corrupt'' BJP govt caused ''Bundelkhand package scam'': MP Cong
Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Congress on Friday welcomed the state government's decision to get the 'Bundelkhand package scam' probed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and alleged corruption in the then BJP government had led to irregularities in use of the funds.
A Rs 7,226-crore financial package was announced in 2009 by the Centre to develop the backward districts of the Bundelkhand region, which is spread over Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
"During the UPA government's tenure, the Bundelkhand package was sanctioned because of special interest taken by former party chief Rahul Gandhi," state Congress media department's chairperson Shobha Oza said.
Of Rs 7,226 crore, Madhya Pradesh was supposed to get Rs 3,860 crore, but nothing happened on ground because of "rampant corruption" in the implementation of the scheme, she alleged.
"The then BJP government (in Madhya Pradesh) never wanted to develop the region and the funds were misused to such an extend that the registration number of vehicles meant for transporting stones weighing five tonnes were found to be of two-wheelers," Oza claimed.
Even after the scam was unearthed, the then BJP government headed by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was not interested in probing it, she said.
"It is our government's commitment to probe all scams that took place in the state during the BJP regime, including Vyapam (admission and recruitment scam), Simhastha Kumbh scam, irregularities in e-tendering, pension and tree plantation schemes," she added.
Meanwhile, the BJP said the government is free to probe any scam, but it should not politicise the issue by leveling baseless allegations.
"They should first find out how the Bundelkhand package was implemented by the (then) Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh, which was supported by the Congress, and by the BJP in Madhya Pradesh," state BJP spokesman Rajneesh Agrawal said.
The Congress had exposed itself by being unsuccessful everywhere, so they are doing this just to politicise the matter and are not serious about it, he added.
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Kerala: Court imposes 41-year jail term on man for sexual assault of minor
Kozhikode (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 41 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor boy near Valayam in 2021.
Nadapuram Fast Track Special Court judge K Naushad Ali sentenced 64-year-old Panchara Musa, also known as Ganapathiyat Musa, under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), according to special public prosecutor Manoj Aroor.
As the sentences are to run concurrently, the convict will have to serve the highest term of 20 years’ imprisonment, SPP Aroor said. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 52,000 on Musa.
The incident took place in August 2021 when the accused allegedly took the 14-year-old boy to a bus stop in Valayam town and sexually assaulted him, the prosecutor said. The accused also gave Rs 50 to the boy, he added.
Following the incident, the boy and his father lodged a complaint at the Valayam police station.
A case under various provisions of the POCSO Act and the IPC was registered, and the accused was subsequently arrested, the SPP said.
The prosecution examined 16 witnesses and submitted 16 documents to substantiate its case against the accused, he added.
