Meerut :A young man from Sofipur village, Meerut, was reportedly assaulted, stripped, and coerced to chant religious slogans, according to allegations made by his family on Monday. The incident occurred on Saturday evening as the victim, Gulfam, was returning home from practice at a private shooting range in Mangal Pandey Nagar, said his father, Aftab.
Aftab claimed that Gulfam was intercepted by three individuals who took him to Victoria Park. There, the assailants allegedly beat him, stripped him, and demanded that he chant "Jai Shri Ram." Gulfam’s family also alleged that the attackers stole his mobile phone and left him unconscious at the scene.
However, local police have rejected the claims of stripping and forced chanting, suggesting that the incident appears to be linked to personal enmity. "There is no mention of any forced chanting in the FIR. It seems to be a case of enmity between local youths," stated Mahavir Singh, Station House Officer (SHO) of Civil Lines Police Station.
Based on Aftab’s complaint, an FIR was filed under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including 351(2) for criminal intimidation, 352 for intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace, and 324 for mischief. Civil Lines Circle Officer, Abhishek Tiwari, confirmed that efforts are ongoing to apprehend the suspects involved.
Gulfam, who is preparing for a national shooting competition, is currently undergoing medical treatment at a private hospital. His family continues to maintain that the attack was religiously motivated, though the authorities have yet to substantiate these specific claims.
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Bhubaneswar, Jan 16 (PTI): The Odisha government will provide a monthly honorarium of Rs 30,000 to each of the Padma awardees of the state from the current month.
The Odia Language Literature and Culture Department issued a notification to this effect on Thursday.
In view of their outstanding contribution to society in various fields, the state government has decided to provide an honorarium of Rs 30,000 to the Padma awardees, the notification said.
All the Padma awardees of the state, who are alive, will receive the honorarium through direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode from January 2025, it said.
The government has asked collectors and culture officers of all districts to submit details of the Padma award winners (who are alive) including the district collector's certificate, bank account details, IFSC code to the Directorate of Odia, Language, Literature and Culture as soon as possible.
In March last year, the previous BJD government had announced a monthly honorarium of Rs 25,000 for the Padma awardees from Odisha. However, it was not implemented yet, an official of the department said.
In November last year, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had decided to provide Rs 30,000 to the Padma awardees of the state. Accordingly, the formal notification was published on Thursday, he said.
The Padma Award was introduced in 1954. The award is given to personalities for their outstanding contribution in the fields of arts, education, science, sports, social work, public service, medicine, literature, etc.
As per the Padma Awards website of the Ministry of Home Affairs, till now, the President has conferred Padma awards on 105 eminent personalities from Odisha, which includes 90 Padma Shri, 11 Padma Bhushan and four Padma Vibhushan.