Court orders brawl case convict to plant trees, offer Namaz 5 times daily instead of imprisonment
Mumbai (PTI): A court at Malegaon in Maharashtra's Nashik district has convicted a Muslim man in a case of road accident brawl but instead of imprisonment, it has ordered him to plant two trees and offer namaz (prayers) five times a day for 21 days.
Magistrate Tejwant Singh Sandhu in the order passed on February 27 noted that provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act granted powers to a magistrate to release a convict after admonition or appropriate warning to ensure he or she does not repeat the offence.
The court said in the present case, mere warning would not be sufficient and it is important the convict remembers his conviction so that he does not repeat it.
"According to me, giving appropriate warning means, to give an understanding that the crime had been committed, the accused has been proven guilty and he remembers the same so that he does not repeat the offence again," the order said.
The 30-year-old convict, Rauf Khan, was booked in a 2010 case for allegedly assaulting a man and hurting him over a road accident brawl.
The court while convicting him in the case noted that during trial, Khan had said he was not offering regular namaz.
In view of this, the court ordered him to offer namaz five times a day for 21 days starting from February 28, plant two trees in the Sonapura Masjid premises and also care for the trees.
Khan was booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
The court held Khan guilty under IPC Section 323 and acquitted him of the other charges.
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T'gana RTC strike: Talks between govt, employees successful
Hyderabad (PTI): Talks between employees of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (RTC) who were on strike and the state government concluded successfully on Friday as the government agreed to the key demands of the workmen.
Following a day-long marathon of talks between the leaders of the employees' Joint Action Committee (JAC) and the cabinet sub-committee, the government announced after midnight that it acceded to the demands, including a merger of RTC with the government, 11 per cent pay revision and elections to the employees' unions.
A committee comprising officials and employee leaders would be appointed over the merger of RTC with the government, it said.
The RTC management has also agreed to address the remaining issues as well, an official release said.
The employees would call off their strike and the RTC buses would hit the roads shortly, it said.
The employees had been on an indefinite strike since April 22 over a series of demands, including the merger of RTC with the government.
Earlier in the day, a driver of the RTC, who attempted suicide on April 23 during the strike, died at a hospital here in the early hours of Friday.
Shankar Goud, a 55-year-old driver, set himself ablaze by pouring petrol at Narsampet in Warangal district when the employees were staging a protest on Thursday in support of their demands.
Goud suffered serious burns, was initially admitted to a state-run hospital in Warangal, and later shifted to a super-speciality hospital in Hyderabad for advanced treatment.
"He succumbed (to injuries) at about 1.30 am on Friday," a senior official said.
The driver’s body was taken to his relative’s village, Muttojipet in Warangal district, for funeral rites.
Tension prevailed in Muttojipet as his family members and RTC employees attempted to take the body to the Narsampet bus station, where he worked, to enable his colleagues to pay their last respects. However, police did not permit this, citing law-and-order concerns.
This led to a deadlock before the funeral could proceed.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar criticised the Telangana government for not allowing the body to be taken to the Narsampet bus station.
Kumar, Minister of State (Home), visited Muttojipet village in Warangal district, where the funeral was held, and paid homage to Goud.
“They (family members) want to take the body to the bus depot for five minutes. Is the RTC bus depot in Pakistan or Bangladesh? They are emotionally attached to taking the body there. The government is hurting sentiments and creating fear among RTC employees,” Kumar told reporters.
He also expressed anger at the police for not allowing the body to be taken to the bus station and staged a protest, according to a release from his office.
RTC employees and BJP workers attempted to take the mortal remains in an ambulance to Narsampet, but were stopped by the police.
Later, after discussions with the police, the family members and RTC employees agreed to conduct the funeral in the village.
Sanjay Kumar, stating he would abide by the family’s decision, left the village after the funeral was conducted there.
Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh, a house, and a government job would be provided to the kin of Goud.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed shock over the employee’s death and conveyed deep condolences to the grieving family, according to the release.
The RTC employees’ JAC had earlier announced an agitation programme from April 24 to 29, including silent marches and submission of memorandums to MLAs and other leaders.
