In the eye of the storm, Pragya Thakur asked to keep off road show
Bhopal: On a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he can't forgive her for terming Nathuram Godse a patriot, Pragya Singh Thakur was asked by the party to stay away from a road show on the last day of the Lok Sabha poll campaign Friday.
The Malegaon blast accused and BJP candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat had reached Burhanpur to participate in the road show for party colleague Nand Kumar Chauhan, pitted against former Union minister and Congress candidate Arun Yadav in the Khandwa Lok Sabha constituency.
However, the party asked her to "keep off" from the public, after which she did not lead the road show in MP, a state BJP leader said. As a result, the saffron-clad Thakur stayed put in her hotel room, the leader added. Thakur was unwell and so did not take part in the road show, another state BJP leader said.
Modi Friday said he will never forgive Pragya Singh Thakur for insulting Mahatma Gandhi by calling his assassin Nathuram Godse a true patriot.
Modi said her comments were detrimental to society.
On Thursday, in response to a question over actor- turned-politician Kamal Haasan's remark that "free India's first extremist was a Hindu", Pragya had said, "Nathuram Godse was a deshbhakt (patriot), he is and will remain a deshbhakt.
Those calling him an extremist should look at themselves. They will be given a befitting reply in this election."
Pragya later apologised for her comment and retracted the statement.
"It was my personal opinion remark. My intention was not to hurt anyones sentiments. If Ive hurt anyone I do apologise. What Gandhiji has done for the country cannot be forgotten. My statement has been twisted by the media," she said.
Earlier this month, the Election Commission had barred Pragya from campaigning for three days for violating the Model Code of Conduct by stirring up communal feelings.
The poll watchdog had said that the decision came in light of her comments against slain IPS officer Hemant Karkare and on the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
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.
UP man gets life term for electrocuting mentally challenged wife to death in Bareilly
Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A local court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his mentally challenged wife by repeatedly electrocuting her while she was tied to a cot, lawyers said on Thursday.
Additional district government counsel Harendra Singh Rathore said Additional Sessions Judge Avinash Kumar Singh on Wednesday convicted Vinod Kumar (45) for killing his wife, Satyavati, in Chaina village of Bareilly district and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on him.
According to the prosecution, he was allegedly frustrated with his wife Satyavati's mental illness and often assaulted her.
Rathore said the prosecution examined nine witnesses to establish the charges against him.
As per court records, on the night of May 1-2, 2022, when Satyavati was asleep, Vinod tied her hands and legs to a cot using ropes and then connected an aluminium cable to an electric board to repeatedly administer electric shocks to her.
"She writhed in pain, but the accused continued to electrocute her until she died," the prosecution said.
The court observed that the murder was carried out in an inhuman manner.
After committing the crime, the accused threw the rope and cable on the roof and left for work at a brick kiln around 2 am to create a false alibi.
He later tried to mislead the police and the victim's family by claiming that Satyavati, whose mental condition was unstable, had accidentally died by suicide after grabbing a live electric wire.
However, the victim's brother, Sanjeev, a resident of Shahjahanpur district, suspected foul play and lodged an FIR under sections 498A (husband subjecting wife to cruelty) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at Nawabganj police station.
During the trial, the prosecution relied on the post-mortem report prepared by Dr Faraz Anwar, who stated that multiple electrocution marks found on different parts of the victim's body could not have been self-inflicted.
The police also recovered the rope and electric wire used in the crime on the accused's identification, officials said.
