Massive protest in Sri Lanka mounts pressure on President Rajapaksa to quit
Colombo(PTI): A massive anti-government street protest demanding Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation has turned into an all-night vigil as over 10,000 demonstrators gathered at the Galle Face Green urban park amidst the unprecedented economic crisis in the island nation.
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from the UK in 1948.
People have been protesting for weeks over lengthy power cuts and shortage of gas, food and other basic goods.
Since mid-day Saturday, the protesters from all walks of life marched into Galle Face where Rajapaksa's secretariat is located.
By evening, the main Galle Road was completely blocked with protesters bringing the traffic to a standstill.
We are still here , a participant at the site had a social media posting by 6 AM on Sunday. They claimed that mobile phone signals had been jammed in the area.
Eyewitnesses said that a section of the protesters had remained for the all-night vigil. They were chanting Go home Gota', urging the President to resign.
This is not a joke, we are here because we have no electricity, gas, fuel and medicine, a protester told reporters.
They must go, they have no solutions, another said, adding that they have no political leaning.
The massive protest was meant to draw a million people to demand the Rajapaksa family's resignation.
The mass scale street protests began after a gathering opposite Rajapaksa's private home was tear gassed on March 31 when several people were arrested and later granted bail.
Since then, the protesters have surrounded the homes of parliamentarians at different places.
The government has accused the Opposition parties, mainly the Janatha Vikmuthi Peramuna (the People's Liberation Front), for organising the demonstrations.
The call for the President's resignation is unconstitutional and the Opposition parties were accused of driving the island into anarchy.
Party sources said that talks on methods to end the current political and economic impasse would be held on Sunday.
The 10-party alliance of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition is due to meet President Rajapaksa to discuss the formation of the all-party interim government.
The main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) said that they are to meet to take forward the process of moving a no-confidence motion against the government.
The SJP has started taking signatures of MPs for the no-confidence motion.
President Rajapaksa and his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, continue to hold power in Sri Lanka, despite their politically powerful family being the focus of public ire.
The President has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven with the island nation's tourism revenue and inward remittances waning.
Sri Lanka is scheduled to start talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on April 11. The talks would lead to a possible bailout, including assistance on restructuring foreign debt.
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IAF personnel acquitted in POCSO case after minor says 'assault' was in a dream
Kanpur (UP), Mar 11 (PTI): A special court here has acquitted an Indian Air Force personnel accused of molesting his minor sister-in-law after the complainant revealed that the alleged incident was only a dream and her raising an alarm was a misunderstanding, officials said.
The case was registered at the Naubasta Police Station on August 3, 2019, based on a complaint by a 15-year-old girl who alleged that her brother-in-law, Anurag Shukla, had molested her earlier that year while she was asleep.
According to the FIR, the alleged incident took place on the night of March 8, 2019, when the girl was staying at her sister-in-law's house in Khadepur under Naubasta police station limits.
During the trial, however, the girl told the court that she had been on antibiotics and was in a semi-conscious state that night and had "felt in a dream" that Shukla had grabbed and molested her, following which she woke up frightened and raised an alarm, defence counsel Karim Ahmad Siddiqui told PTI on Tuesday.
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Her father, Vijay Tiwari, and elder sister, Shivani Tiwari, who is married to Shukla, also told the court that the complaint had been filed under a misunderstanding.
Shukla had married Shivani Tiwari on February 10, 2019. At the time of the alleged incident, he was living in Khadepur and has since shifted to Bithoor.
Speaking to PTI, Shukla said he was arrested on September 29, 2019, and spent 19 days in jail before being granted bail on October 17 that year.
A chargesheet was subsequently filed, and the special court framed charges in November 2019 under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, including molestation and sexual assault of a minor.
During the trial, the complainant retracted her earlier allegations.
Taking note of her testimony and statements of family members acknowledging the misunderstanding, the special court presided over by Judge Rashmi Singh acquitted Shukla of all charges on March 7, holding that the prosecution had failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Shukla told PTI that the case caused him severe mental stress and harmed his social reputation and career prospects. He claimed he could not secure a promotion to the rank of corporal in the IAF in 2020 and continues to serve as a leading aircraftman.
