UP Police officials barge into Urdu journalist's home in Lucknow, call him terrorist
Issue apology later
Lucknow, August 18: In what appears to be the case of mistaken identity, the Lucknow police on the eve of India's 72nd Independence Day barged into the home of a senior Urdu journalist, Mohammad Sahid Khan, and called him and his entire family terrorists.
The police later apologised to the journalist and his family verbally after having probed his documents and other details. This was after the intervention of other accredited scribes of Lucknow who took this matter to the senior administrative officials of the state. However, the police have not given a written apology.
The police told Khan and his family that they had received a tip off about two suspects passing through their lane and hence, they acted on it.
“I don't even have any FIRs or a police complaint against me in my career span of 26 years. And all of a sudden, the Lucknow police has dubbed me as a terrorist. My whole family is traumatised because of this,” said Khan.
Khan added that if he would not have been a journalist, the police would have held a press briefing the very next day declaring they arrested a terrorist in Lucknow.
Khan, who works as an editor for Urdu language with the Doordarshan in Lucknow and Akashwani, said the police barged into his home at around 1 pm on 14 August.
“They came during the afternoon. There were many policemen in civil dress along with Cantonment station house officer, Ranjana Sachan, and a sub-inspector. They dubbed me as a terrorist in front of the entire locality,” said Sahid.
The senior Urdu scribe claimed that the following allegations were leveled against him by Sachan: “Tum atankwadi ho aur yaha atankwadi aate jaate hai. Tum to shakal se atankwadi lagte ho. Aaj subah yaha do atankwadi aaye the (You people are terrorists and this is where terrorists roam about. You even look like a terrorist. This morning, there were two terrorists who had come here).”
“After listening to this, I tried to tell the police that I am an accredited journalist and there has been some misunderstanding but the police was not ready to listen to us and the SHO Ranjana Sachan said that I do not believe in government accredited press cards,” said Khan, adding that the police later called his nephew from his workplace.
The police took a group photograph of his family members as they stood in front of the house just before leaving their home. The police also took photocopies of documents like Aadhaar card from the family.
After this incident, Mohammad Sahid reached out to fellow journalists and explained the incident to them. Later, accredited journalists from Lucknow state headquarters raised this matter with senior authorities like Principal Secretary, Information, Awanish Awasthi, Home Secretary Bhagwaan Swaroop, and Additional Director General (Police) Praveen Kumar.
Senior Urdu journalist Syed Husain Afsar demanded a high-level inquiry into this matter.
"This is very wrong policing. How can police dub anyone a 'terrorist' and that too, a journalist? Though the police have apologised for this, this is not done. An inquiry should be ordered against the policemen who entered his house on such a weak and misleading input," demanded Afsar.
The Lucknow Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kalanidhi Naithani later told mediapersons that the action taken by the police was the result of a misunderstanding.
Siddharth Kalhans, a former colleague of Khan, called the series of events that unfolded "very unfortunate".
“He is such an honest and punctual scribe that we used to give his example to our colleagues. This act of police is not acceptable by the journalist fraternity in Lucknow and across the state. We condemn this and demand strict action by the senior government officials,” Kalhans said.
The author is a Lucknow-based freelance writer and a member of 101reporters.com
Courtesy: www.firstpost.com
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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
