Environment ministry sets up new panel replacing SC's Central Empowered Committee
New Delhi (PTI): The Union Environment Ministry has set up a new Central Empowered Committee (CEC), replacing an ad hoc expert panel with the same name which assisted the Supreme Court in matters of forest and environment issues.
The CEC, initially established by the apex court in 2002, served as a watchdog for issues pertaining to environmental conservation and compliance.
Over the years, the committee has played a pivotal role in shaping India's environmental policy and governance landscape.
While its restructuring aims to make it more efficient, questions remain about its independence under the government's complete control.
This development comes shortly after the passage of the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which critics argue weakens existing safeguards in Indian forest law, potentially facilitating construction projects in ecologically sensitive regions.
The Union government will nominate and appoint members to the new CEC, according to a September 5 notification.
Under the revamped structure, the CEC will comprise a chairperson, a member secretary and three expert members, all selected by the Union government.
The chairperson, with a minimum of 25 years of experience in environmental, forestry, or wildlife fields or substantial administrative expertise in government, will serve a maximum term of three years.
The member secretary must hold a rank not lower than deputy inspector general or director in the government and possess at least 12 years of experience in environmental, forestry, or wildlife matters. The three expert members, one each from the environment, forest, and wildlife sectors, should have a minimum of 20 years of expertise.
Critics have voiced concerns that this change concentrates excessive power within the government. Previously, the CEC comprised members nominated by the environment ministry and two NGOs selected in consultation with the amicus curiae, offering a more balanced approach.
"The CEC was constituted in the famous T N Godavarman case by the Supreme Court to monitor its orders in forest and wildlife cases since 2002. The GoI has full control over the constitution of the CEC from now onwards.
"Compared to the previous composition of the CEC as constituted by the Supreme Court, which included a member nominated by the ministry & 2 NGOs selected in consultation with the Amicus Curiae, the current notification introduces a significant transformation," ecologist Debadityo Sinha expressed on X, formerly Twitter
"The notification completely removes non-governmental members from the committee. In the revised structure, the chairman, member secretary, & all 3 expert members will now be civil servants appointed by the MoEFCC," he said.
Sinha further said, "Most of the environmental violation cases involve government actions. The pertinent question arises: How can one anticipate the CEC to function independently or issue impartial judgments when its composition solely consists of civil servants appointed by the government?"
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AI, fake Army officer profiles and blackmail: UP cops bust extortion racket linked to man's suicide
Sonbhadra (UP) (PTI): The Sonbhadra police have busted with the arrest of five people an inter-state cyber crime racket involving blackmail, extortion and impersonation of Army and police officers on social media, which allegedly drove a man to suicide, officials said on Wednesday.
They said the deceased man was allegedly subjected to sustained online harassment and threats. Five accused from Rajasthan were arrested following a multi-state investigation involving technical surveillance, bank transaction analysis and scrutiny of CCTV footage, police said.
The development comes after complainant Ankita Pathak approached Sonbhadra SP Abhishek Verma on April 29, alleging that her husband Rajendra Pathak had died by suicide on the night of April 7-8 at their newly-constructed house.
Initially, the reasons behind the suicide were unclear. However, family members later examined the deceased's mobile phone and allegedly found chats, call records and evidence showing that unknown persons had been threatening and extorting money from him repeatedly.
Additional SP (Naxal) Rishabh Runwal told PTI that bank statements and mobile conversations revealed that Rajendra Pathak had transferred money multiple times to the accused and was allegedly under severe mental distress due to cyber harassment and blackmail.
"Taking the matter seriously, police registered a case at Robertsganj police station under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to abetment and extortion-linked offences, and formed a joint investigation team comprising the cyber crime police station, Special Operations Group (SOG) and surveillance cell," Runwal, who supervised the investigation, said.
Investigators carried out technical analysis of the victim's mobile phone, including chats, calls and video calls, and found that the video calls had originated from Alwar district in Rajasthan.
Police also found that the bank account into which the money was transferred belonged to Maharashtra, while the cash withdrawals were being made from Bhiwadi in Rajasthan.
Based on electronic surveillance and technical evidence, a police team led by cyber police station in-charge Dhirendra Kumar Chaudhary travelled to Rajasthan. With assistance from local police, investigators analysed CCTV footage from bank ATMs and other locations to identify the accused, the officer said.
On May 10, police arrested five accused allegedly involved in different parts of the racket -- threatening victims, withdrawing money and arranging mule bank accounts and ATM cards, he said.
The arrested accused were identified as Afsil Khan, Noor Mohammad alias Nanda, Rashid, Washim and Barish, all residents of different areas of Rajasthan's Alwar and Khairthal-Tijara districts, he added.
Police said the gang operated in an organised manner and used fake social media identities with photographs of Army and police officers to intimidate victims.
According to investigators, the main accused, Afsil Khan, allegedly used artificial intelligence tools to create obscene videos and then threatened people using those fabricated clips to extort money.
Police said Nanda and Rashid withdrew extorted money through ATM machines. Their identities were established through CCTV footage obtained from a Maharashtra Bank ATM in Bhiwadi.
Investigators further found that accused Washim allegedly arranged fake documents to open bank accounts and procure ATM cards, while Barish allegedly helped provide mule accounts used for routing the money.
Police said the accused used to receive nearly 20 per cent commission on transactions routed through the mule accounts.
Five mobile phones, two ATM cards linked to mule accounts, SIM cards used in the operation and Rs 6,000 cash were recovered from the accused, police said.
