India's first woman DGP Kanchan Chaudhary, the inspiration behind 'Udaan' TV serial, dies
Mumbai/Dehradun, Aug 27: Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya, the country's first woman DGP and whose inspiring true life story was adapted into a popular tele-serial 'Udaan' aired on Doordarshan in late 80s, died in a Mumbai hospital after prolonged illness.
She was 72.
Chaudhary breathed her last late Monday night at a private hospital in Mumbai, a police official said, adding she is survived by her husband and two daughters.
She was undergoing medical treatment for prolonged illness since the last few months, the Uttarakhand Police said in a tweet.
The state police also remembered Chaudhary, a 1973 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, as the first woman Director General of Police (DGP) of any state in the country.
The IPS Association in a tweet remembered her for her "sterling qualities of head and heart", and an illustrious career "adorned with many firsts and awards".
"We mourn the demise of one of our icons, the first lady DGP and second lady IPS officer of India, Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya," the association said in the tweet.
Born in Himachal Pradesh, Chaudhary was the country's second woman IPS officer after Kiran Bedi.
She led the Uttarakhand Police force as DGP from 2004 to October 31, 2007.
During her 33-year-long career, she handled some sensitive cases, including the killing of national badminton champion Syed Modi and the Reliance-Bombay Dyeing case.
She earlier served as the Inspector General of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
In 1997, she was awarded the President's police medal for distinguished service.
She made a guest appearance in 'Udaan' aired on Doordarshan in late 80s, which was based on her life, showing her struggles to become an IPS officer. The serial was one of the first shows on Indian television to deal with the subject of women empowerment.
The serial was written and directed by her younger sister Kavita Chaudhary who also played the lead protagonist.
After retirement, she joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Haridwar.
Her last rites will be performed at the Worli crematorium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya condoled the death of Kanchan Chaudhary, saying she symbolised women empowerment.
"She was a living example of women empowerment and will remain a role model for generations of women. By rising to the top in the police force she proved there was nothing women could not achieve," the governor said in a condolence message.
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Israel rejects UN allegations that its forces have sexually abused detained Palestinians
United Nations, Aug 12 (AP): The UN chief warned Israel that the United Nations has “credible information” of sexual violence and other violations by Israeli forces against detained Palestinians, which Israel's UN ambassador dismissed as “baseless accusations.”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a letter to Ambassador Danny Danon that he is “gravely concerned” about reported violations against Palestinians by Israeli military and security forces in several prisons, a detention center and a military base.
Guterres said he was putting Israeli forces on notice that they could be listed as abusers in his next report on sexual violence in conflict “due to significant concerns of patterns of certain forms of sexual violence that have been consistently documented by the United Nations.”
Danon, who circulated the letter and his response Tuesday, said the allegations “are steeped in biased publications.”
“The UN must focus on the shocking war crimes and sexual violence of Hamas and the release of all hostages,” he said.
Danon was referring to the Hamas group's surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, where some 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage. Israeli authorities said women were raped and sexually abused.
The Hamas attack triggered the ongoing war in Gaza, which has killed more than 61,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians but that about half were women and children.
Danon stressed that “Israel will not shy away from protecting its citizens and will continue to act in accordance with international law.”
Because Israel has denied access to UN monitors, it has been “challenging to make a definitive determination” about patterns, trends and the systematic use of sexual violence by its forces, Guterres said in the letter.
He urged Israel's government “to take the necessary measures to ensure immediate cessation of all acts of sexual violence, and make and implement specific time-bound commitments.”
The secretary-general said these should include investigations of credible allegations, clear orders and codes of conduct for military and security forces that prohibit sexual violence, and unimpeded access for UN monitors.
In March, UN-backed human rights experts accused Israel of “the systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other gender-based violence.”
The Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said it documented a range of violations perpetrated against Palestinian women, men, girls and boys and accused Israeli security forces of rape and sexual violence against Palestinian detainees.
At the time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at the UN Human Rights Council, which commissioned the team of independent experts, as an “anti-Israel circus” that “has long been exposed as an antisemitic, rotten, terrorist-supporting, and irrelevant body.” His statement did not address the findings themselves.
