Centre's responsibility to provide security to people in hit list of Gauri murder accused
Siddharth Varadarajan responds to reports on SIT chargesheet
New Delhi: The security of all the 26 people named in the hit-list of the accused arrested in the Gauri Lankesh murder case is the responsibility of the Central Government, senior journalist and the Editor of thewire.in Siddharth Varadarajan told Vartha Bharati.
He was responding to the reports that the charge sheet filed by the Karnataka SIT in Gauri Lankesh murder case has mentioned that the hit list of the accused had his name along with 26 others including journalists and thinkers.
"I have known it for some time as the Delhi Police Special Cell had offered me security, which I had denied since they did not share a proper threat assessment with me," Varadarajan said.
"The police have a responsibility to act against fanatical groups like these, which put out hit lists. The security of all the 26 people on their list is the responsibility of the Central Government, the various state governments and their law enforcement and intelligence agencies. There has been little information or threat assessment sharing by the officers of the Special Cell and my local police station that can allow someone like me to take a decision on what the next course of action should be, " the senior journalist added.
When asked if he will take security, Varadarajan replied: "The police asked whether I would like a PSO, but I said the offer, in the absence of proper background information, is not something I can evaluate and accept".
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
