J&K placed under Governor's Rule after President's approval
Srinagar, June 20 : Jammu and Kashmir was placed under the Governor's Rule on Wednesday following President Ram Nath Kovind's approval.
Governor, N.N. Vohra sought Kovind's approval on Tuesday after the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) decision to pull out of the Peoples Democratic Party (pdp)-led state government which was immediately followed by the resignation of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Vohra's recommendations for imposition of the Governor's Rule was made under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution which allows the state to be placed under the rule for six months.
If an elected government fails to take office within the six-month period, the state can then be placed under the President's rule.
Jammu and Kashmir has a constitution of its own which runs concomitantly with the Indian Constitution.
It is for the fourth time that Vohra will be running the affairs of the state administration directly.
The Governor's Rule was first imposed in the state by then Governor L.K. Jha on March 26, 1977, when the Congress withdrew support to the minority government headed by Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.
In March 1986, it was imposed for the second time following the withdrawal of support by Congress to the G.M.Shah-led government.
In January 1990, the Governor's Rule was imposed for the third time when the then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah resigned following the appointment of Jagmohan as the Governor of the state.
It was imposed for the fourth time in October 2002 when Farooq Abdullah refused to continue as the caretaker Chief Minister following his party's defeat in the Assembly elections.
This was the first time Vohra took over as the Governor.
In June 2008, the Governor's Rule was imposed following the withdrawal of PDP's support to the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led government.
In January 2015, following his party's failure to get a majority in Assembly elections, Omar Abdullah refused to continue as caretaker Chief Minister pushing the state into the Governor's Rule for the sixth time.
Following the death of the former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on January 7, 2016, Vohra assumed reins of administration imposing Governor's Rule for the seventh time.
Vohra's term of office was slated to end on June 25. Kovind however, extended Vohra's term of office for three months.
Informed sources told IANS that Vohra has expressed his desire not to seek another term of extension. He will be completing 10 years in office on June 25.
Unless Vohra agrees to continue, the appointment of a news Governor would become unavoidable by September 25.
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'Godman' Kharat held in 8th sexual exploitation case; court denies police remand, sends him to jail
Nashik (PTI): Police took custody of self-proclaimed godman-cum-astrologer Ashok Kharat in an eighth case related to sexual exploitation of women and produced him before a Nashik district court which sent him to jail till May 12 after rejecting the plea for his police remand on Thursday.
On April 29, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik police in north Maharashtra filed a request application in the court demanding Kharat's custody in the eighth case.
After the court granted them the necessary permission, the SIT took custody of Kharat, who was in jail in connection with the seventh case of sexual exploitation registered against him.
The 'godman', named in a dozen FIRs related to rape and financial fraud, was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate B N Ichpurani in the eighth case through video conferencing due to security reasons.
The eighth case related to Kharat allegedly sexually exploiting a woman who had approached him in search of solutions to her family problems, according to police.
During the hearing, the prosecution demanded police custody of the accused in the latest case.
However, the defence strongly opposed the demand and argued that the SIT was giving same reasons for police custody every time and there was no strong reason for accepting their plea.
The court accepted the argument put forth by the defence and remanded Kharat to judicial custody till May 12 in the eighth case.
The SIT will produce Kharat in the court on Friday again and seek his police custody in the ninth case. As the self-styled godman has been granted judicial custody in the eighth case, he will be sent to Nashik Road Central Jail and the SIT will take his custody from there.
Meanwhile, Kharat's judicial custody in the fourth case ended on Thursday. On April 18, the accused was remanded to judicial custody till April 30 in the fourth case of sexual exploitation of women.
In a related development, the SIT conducted a search at Kharat's office in the 'Canada Corner' area of Nashik city on Wednesday. A 'panchnama' (record of search and seizure proceedings) was conducted and the office was locked and sealed again.
Kharat, a well-heeled man with political connections, was arrested for the first time on March 18 after a woman alleged he had repeatedly raped her for three years.
He is accused of sexually exploiting several women by claiming to have divine powers and knowledge of black magic, and also committing large-scale financial fraud.
The SIT is conducting a probe into 12 cases of sexual exploitation and financial fraud registered against the astrologer in Nashik and Ahilyanagar districts.
