IAPL is no Maoist front, says activist Ferreira's lawyer
Pune, Oct 15: Indian Association of People's Lawyers (IAPL) to which activist Arun Ferreira belonged had no connection with the Naxals, his lawyer told the court here Monday.
Ferreira was arrested by Pune police for alleged Maoist links.
Arguing on Ferreira's bail application before additional sessions judge K D Vadane here, his lawyer Sudeep Pasbola also said that mere possession of incriminating documents can not prove membership of a banned organisation.
"There is no material to indicate that Ferreira is member of Communist Party of India (Maoist)," he said.
"This lawyers' organisation (IAPL) fights legal battle for the downtrodden and marginalised and this legal battle is within the four corners of the Constitution," Pasbola argued, and dismissed police's claim that it was a front organisation of the CPI (Maoists).
Ferreira is IAPL's treasurer, he said.
On police's claim of seizing "incriminating material" (documents) from the possession of the accused, Pasbola said such material of banned organisations is easily available and merely possessing it does not make one a member of the organisation.
Ferreira was earlier prosecuted in 11 cases but was acquitted in all, the lawyer said, adding that there was no evidence to suggest that he supported or participated in violence.
Left-wing activists Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Telugu poet Varavara Rao are currently under house arrest in the case after their arrest in August. Another accused, Gautam Navlakha, was freed by the Delhi high court.
They were arrested during police's probe into alleged Maoist connection to Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017 which allegedly triggered violence at Bhima Koregaon in the district the next day.
Bail applications of Gonsalves and Bharadwaj are likely to be heard Tuesday.
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After fake ID crackdown, IRCTC daily new accounts down to 5000 from one lakh: Railways
New Delhi (PTI): With a new, stringent system to establish user identity, the number of new user IDs being added daily on the IRCTC website has declined to about 5,000 from nearly one lakh, officials said on Saturday.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw noted that the crackdown by Indian Railways on train ticket booking through fake identities is yielding positive results, according to a press note.
Before the latest reforms, this number had touched nearly one lakh new user IDs per day, it said.
"Following the introduction of a stringent system to establish user identity and detect fake IDs, about 5,000 new user IDs are now being added daily on the IRCTC website," the note said.
The officials stated that these steps have already helped Indian Railways deactivate 3.03 crore fake accounts.
"Another 2.7 crore user IDs have either been temporarily suspended or identified for suspension based on the suspicious activities they are indulging in," they said.
The Union minister directed officials to ensure that the ticketing system is reformed to a level where all travellers are able to book tickets easily through a real and genuine user ID, the press note added.
Additionally, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed officials to provide local cuisine of the region in Vande Bharat trains.
Introducing local cuisine that reflects the culture and tastes of the regions being traversed will significantly enhance the passenger experience, officials said.
This facility will be expanded to all the trains progressively in future, they added.
