'It exposes authoritarian character of Centre': CPI-M condemns Wangchuk's detention
New Delh (PTI): The CPI(M) on Saturday strongly condemned the detention of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act (NSA) and demanded that he should be released.
In a statement issued here, the Politburo of the CPI(M) said Wangchuk's detention under the "draconian NSA exposes the authoritarian character of the BJP-led central government".
"The Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly condemns the arrest of Sonam Wangchuk, who has been at the forefront of the movement demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution," the party said.
"His detention under the draconian National Security Act exposes the authoritarian character of the BJP-led central government and its contempt for the genuine aspirations of the people of Ladakh," it said.
The Left party said instead of honouring the promises it made to the people of Ladakh, the government has chosen to resort to "repressive measures to suppress the democratic movement" there.
"This constitutes a grave attack on the fundamental rights and democratic freedoms of the people of Ladakh. Such actions will only deepen the alienation of the people of Jammu & Kashmir, including Ladakh," the statement said.
"The CPI(M) demands the immediate release of Sonam Wangchuk, the unconditional withdrawal of all cases foisted on the people, full protection of democratic and constitutional rights, the prompt acceptance of the movement's just demands, and above all Ladakh's inclusion under the Sixth Schedule," it said.
Police arrested Wangchuk on Friday, two days after protests demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh left four people dead and 90 injured in the Union Territory.
Ladakh Director General of Police S D Singh Jamwal on Saturday said Wangchuk is being probed for allegedly having links with Pakistan on the back of last month's arrest of a Pakistani intelligence operative who sent videos of his protests across the border.
Jamwal described Wangchuk as the key person behind Wednesday's violence.
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19-yr-old woman found hanging from tree in UP village; juvenile held
Lucknow/Pratapgarh (UP) (PTI): Police have apprehended a 16-year-old boy for his alleged involvement in the rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman whose body was found hanging from a tree in a village here, officials said on Monday.
Additional Superintendent of Police (West), Brijnandan Rai, said that the body of a 19-year-old woman was found hanging from a tree in an orchard in the Manikpur police station area on Sunday morning. A post-mortem examination subsequently confirmed that she had been raped.
Police registered a case against unidentified persons under sections 103(1) (punishment for murder) and 70(1) (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and initiated an investigation.
During the course of the investigation, the police found that the deceased was in contact with a juvenile who was also her relative.
Acting on this information, during a joint checking operation, sub-inspector Amit Kumar Singh of Manikpur police station and SOG In-charge Amit Kumar Chaurasia, along with their team, apprehended the 16-year-old near the Lehdari Ganga River bridge.
The search for other accused persons is ongoing, police said.
According to the police, the woman had gone to sleep after dinner on Saturday night but was found hanging in an orchard nearly 400 metres away from her home the following morning.
Additional Superintendent of Police (West), Brijnandan Rai, had earlier said that the circumstances suggest foul play.
"The victim's slippers and undergarments were recovered 50 metres away from the spot where the body was found. There are visible injury marks on her body," Rai said.
While locals have alleged that the woman was murdered after being raped, the ASP said that it is "prima facie a case of murder."
"Based on the complaint filed by the victim's brother, a case of murder has been registered against unidentified persons," the officer added.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, in a post on X in Hindi on Monday, said, "The news of the heinous murder of a Dalit daughter in Pratapgarh is deeply tragic and condemnable."
"The question remains: why does the spate of murders of 'PDA daughters' continue unabated in Uttar Pradesh? Are the BJP government's claims regarding women's safety merely hollow rhetoric, or is there, in fact, discrimination even in the provision of security for women?" he said.
"Whenever the 'wandering Honourable (ghumantu maananiye)' finds a moment of respite from election campaigning, he should cast a glance at the plight of the daughters of his own Uttar Pradesh. In any case, apart from injustice and oppression, no sister, daughter, or mother of this state holds any hope from you," Yadav added.
