SC/ST Act: Curfew in parts of MP after Bharat Bandh turns violent; 1 killed
Patna: Dalit organisations across the country have called a 'Bharat bandh' on Monday to protest a recent Supreme Court ruling "diluting" the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The Modi government on Monday filed a review petition on the Supreme Court judgment on the SC/ST Act. The protests left one dead in Madhya Pradesh's Morena, where a curfew was later imposed along with parts of Gwalior. Protests turned violent in Rajasthan's Barmer, with cars and property being damaged. Similar reports emerged from Meerut, where cars were reported to have been damaged.
The Bharat bandh has already brought Punjab to a standstill, as CBSE has postponed the board exams scheduled for April 2, and transport services have been suspended. According to an Indian Express report, several army units have been kept on a standby, should the situation take an ugly turn. Internet services in the state were suspended on Sunday and will remain so through Monday.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, will later in the day hear a review petition filed on the matter by the government. The Centre is likely to tell the apex court that dilution of the Act will render it ineffective and prevent the dispensing of justice to the marginalised Dalit and tribal communities.
On March 20, the apex court had introduced the provision of anticipatory bail in the Act while directing that there would be no automatic arrest on any complaint filed under the law.
The Supreme Court said that the change was brought to protect honest public servants discharging duties from being blackmailed with false cases under the Act. The apex court said government servants should not be arrested without prior sanction and private citizens, too, should be arrested only after an inquiry under the law.
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Periya twin murder case: CBI court found 14 guilty including former CPI(M) MLA
Kochi(PTI): A CBI court here on Saturday found 14 accused including a CPI(M) former MLA guilty in the murder of two Youth Congress workers - Kripesh and Sarath Lal at Periya in Kasaragod district of Kerala five years ago.
Of the 24 accused, the court found the first eight accused guilty of murder and conspiracy charges and another six guilty of conspiracy, destruction of evidence and providing assistance for operating the crime, while remaining 10 accused have been acquitted in the case.
The court will pronounce the sentence on January 3.
The case pertains to the murder of Youth Congress workers Kripesh, 19, and Sarath Lal P K, 24, allegedly by CPI(M) workers on February 17, 2019.
The accused found guilty include former MLA and CPI(M) district leader K V Kunhiraman, Kanhangad block panchayat president K Manikandan, former CPI(M) Periya local committee member A Peethambaran, and former Pakkam local secretary Raghavan Velutholi.
According to the prosecution, the twin murders were carried out after politically motivated attacks and counterattacks between the workers of CPI(M) and Congress in the area.
The CBI filed the charge sheet in this case against 24 persons including six CPI(M) workers under various charges such as murder, criminal conspiracy, and unlawful assembly.
The central agency had taken over the investigation from the Kerala Police on October 23, 2019 on the directives of the Kerala High Court.
The crime branch of the state police had filed a charge sheet on May 20, 2019 against 14 accused, but the parents of the victims moved the high court, seeking quashing of charge sheet expressing anguish over the findings of the police.
The Kerala government opposed a CBI probe in the high court and later at the Supreme Court, but the apex court allowed the central probe agency to carry on with its investigation, officials said.
Sathyanarayanan, the father of the deceased Sarathlal, expressed satisfaction with the verdict but added that the legal fight would continue until all the accused are brought to justice. "Ten accused have been acquitted, and we will pursue legal action after consulting with the prosecutor," he said.
