Gauri Lankesh's sister to oppose CBI probe
Bengaluru, Dec 27 : Slain journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh'ssister Kavitha Lankesh Thursday came out against any move to handover the probe in the case to the CBI, saying the Special Investigation Team of the Karnataka police had made a lot of progress, arresting 16 suspects.
Kavitha said if the state government agreed to the CBI probe, she would seek to implead herself in the matter in the Supreme Court and oppose it.
Her comments come in the backdrop of the apex court recently favouring CBI probe into the murders of Gauri Lankesh, rationalist M M Kalburgi and social activist Govind Pansare if there was a "common thread" in these incidents which occurred over the last five years.
"The SIT led by IG B K Singh and investigation officer M N Anucheth did a brilliant work byarresting the accused in the case. It filed two charge sheetsalso. When there is so much headway, it does not make anysense to hand over the case to CBI," she told PTI here.
However, Kalburgi's son Sreevijaya said he was having faith in judiciary and whatever it did will be in the best interest of his family.
"We will go by whatever judiciary feels good. At the end of the day we want justice in the case," he said.
On December 11, a bench of justices U U Lalit and Navin Sinha of the Supreme Court had asked the CBI, already probing the killing of social activist Narendra Dabholkar, to inform it by January first week whether it would like to investigate the three other cases also.
It observed that one probe agency should investigate all the four cases, if prima facie it appears that there is a "common thread" in the murders.
Earlier, the Karnataka police in its status report told the top court that there appears to be an "intimate connection" between the murders of Kalburgi in 2015 and Gauri Lankesh in 2017.
Gauri Lankesh was shot dead in front of her house here on September 5, 2017 and the SIT has so far arrested 16 people for their alleged involvement in the killing while two others are still at large.
Some of the people arrested in the case are allegedly linked to Sanatan Sanstha and its allied outfit Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
