Riz Defeated CPIM in JNU!
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashchandrabiswas@gmail.com">palashchandrabiswas@gmail.com
The All-India Student Association (AISA) has grabbed all four seats in this year's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students' union poll.AISA candidate Sandeep Singh won the President post, while Sephalika grabbed the post of Vice-President, the election officer said.
Pallavi won the General Secretary post, while Mavin Alam won the Joint Secretary post, the officer added.The Student Federation of India (SFI) candidates came second in all the slots.
Khalid Abdallah, 29-year-old Sudanese student contesting the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students' Union polls, has won the election - he is the first African student to win an election in the history of JNU.JNU went to polls on Friday with 5,500 students eligible to cast vote. This year's electiona saw a whopping 68 percent voting turnout, three percent more than last year.
"I have won the councillor post at the School of International Studies (SIS). Of the 23 candidates contesting for five councillor posts, I have won one seat," an elated Abdallah told IANS.
"Of the 600 votes, I got 192 votes. Of the five candidates who won the five posts, I stood at number three," said the M.Phil scholar.
Abdallah, who contested the election under the All India Students Association (AISA) banner, said he joined the fray to learn politics in India and restore democracy back home in Sudan.
"Like Pakistan, my country is suffering from dictatorship. People in Sudan need efficient people to restore democracy and my contest in the JNU elections is a step in that direction," he said.
"The post I won is not a high-profile one, but this is stepping stone in the direction of learning the democratic electoral process. After I return to my country, I can use my experience," he said, adding that for the last 18 years "people in Sudan have not been enjoying real democracy".
Abdallah said he has a "long way to go" but the JNU elections would help him understand Indian politics closely.
Expressing happiness over the win of Abdallah, AISA president Awadhesh said: "We are proud that an African student won the elections, defeating 18 others from India."
"He made history by becoming the first African student to win any post in a students' union polls," he said.
The posts of five councillors in the School of Language, Literature, and Culture Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University here have gone to two candidates each from the Students Federation of India and the All-India Students’ Association and one to the National Students’ Union of India.Of the 31 newly elected councillors from different schools and centres at JNU, two are independent, nine are from the Youth for Equality, seven from the SFI, six from the AISA, four from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and three from the NSUI.
NSUI satisfied
Satisfied with his party’s performance, NSUI spokesperson Kuntal Krishna said: “This is the first time that the NSUI has won seats in two major schools at JNU. In the School of International Studies, our candidate Zothanpuii got the maximum number of votes. It proves that students support the nuclear deal. We are happy that we got a foothold in JNU and are ready for a bigger role on the campus.”
Court reprimands Delhi Police in missing woman case
The Delhi High Court Monday pulled up the Delhi Police when it admitted that the pregnant wife of a slain Uttar Pradesh gangster was not in their custody and it did not know where she was.
JNU shame for SFI, blame on Nandigram
CHARU SUDAN KASTURI
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071105/asp/nation/story_8511345.asp
CPM leader Prakash Karat addresses a seminar on the Indo-US nuclear deal at JNU. (PTI)
New Delhi, Nov. 4: Nandigram has handed the CPM-backed Students Federation of India its worst rout in campus polls at Jawahalal Nehru University in at least a decade.
The All India Students Association (AISA), student wing of the ultra-Left CPI-ML, has for the first time won all four central panel posts after a campaign targeting the SFI’s “hypocrisy”.
“They tried to justify Nandigram in a politically aware campus like JNU’s. They suffered the consequences,” said Sandeep Singh, the new students’ union president.
The SFI, traditionally the strongest political group on the campus, failed to win even second place in two of the four central panel posts, getting pipped by the anti-quota Youth for Equality.
“This is embarrassing for us... coming behind even YFE, but we will fight back,” a senior SFI leader said.
Politics is serious business at JNU and, unlike most other campuses, student elections here are fought primarily on issues in the national limelight.
For nearly a month, student groups — most backed by some political party or the other — paint posters, prepare bills listing candidates and hold marches just as the parties themselves do in the run-up to Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Yet, academic standards and “social consciousness” are not the only reasons that draw students to the campus. Accommodation is highly subsidised by the Centre, and civil-service aspirants joining a course just for a hostel room are not uncommon.
And although some students go on to join politics professionally — like the CPM’s Sitaram Yechury did — most go job-hunting after collecting their degrees.
A senior SFI leader admitted that Nandigram was a major reason for the defeat. “Our position is that Nandigram happened because of the Trinamul Congress and the Naxalites. But yes, we obviously failed to convince people.”
When CPM cadres were killed in police firing in Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh a few months ago, the SFI did not hold a protest march at JNU because of its embarrassment over Nandigram, an AISA leader said.
“We were the ones who held a march condemning the firing in Andhra.”
Voting was held for 31 councillors’ posts in the various university departments apart from those in the students’ union central panel. In addition, two students were elected to the university’s “gender sensitisation committee against sexual harassment”.
The AISA won six councillors’ posts. One, at the School of International Studies, went to Sudanese student Khalid Abdallah. Last year, American Tyler Walker Williams had won the post of vice-president, also on an AISA ticket. Abdallah is the first African to win any election at JNU.
The SFI won seven councillors’ seats and the YFE nine, all in the science departments. Four seats went to the BJP-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, three to Congress affiliate National Students Union of India and two to Independents.
AISA and SFI candidates won one seat each on the sexual harassment committee.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Monday interrogated a senior police officer who had said he was witness to threats from the Kolkata Police to deceased Rizwanur Rahman's friend and marriage witness Sadiq.CBI officers quizzed Inspector General of police (Enforcement Branch) Nazrul Islam at his Bhawani Bhawan office in connection with the death of graphic designer and teacher Rizwanur Rahman. Meanwhile,West Bengal police have started their probe into the unnatural death of Jatin Sarkar, a key witness in the serial killings of children and young women of Nithari village in Noida, two months after his body was fished out of a river in the state's Murshidabad district, officials said.On the other hand,An association of the Bengali community in Jharkhand has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the killing of Ashish Dey, co-owner of shoe company Sreeleathers.Dey, 52, was gunned down by motorcycle-borne assailants near his home at Saket Bazaar in Jamshedpur in Jharkhand Friday.He had apparently refused to pay the Rs.30 million demanded by the extortionists, who pretended to be members if the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).On Sunday, members of the Bengali community took out silent processions in Jamshedpur to protest Dey's killing.
Nazrul Islam, who is known for his moral and upright stand against corruption and injustice, had earlier said that threats were issued to Sadiq from Kolkata Police's Lalbazar headquarters right before his eyes.
Sadiq is a witness to the legal marriage between Rizwanur and Priyanka Todi, daughter of industrialist Ashok Todi.
Krishnendu Das, a sub-inspector of the anti-rowdy section of the Detective Department of Kolkata Police, was the policeman who reportedly intimidated Sadiq when he had gone to meet Nazrul Islam to report the harassment and threats.
'I had asked Das not to act like that,' Nazrul Islam earlier said.
Das has reportedly told CBI that he acted on the orders of his seniors.
Besides the junior officers, the CBI has interrogated Indian Police Service officers Gyanwant Singh and Ajoy Kumar, both of whom allegedly acted at the behest of Ashok Todi to pressure Rizwanur to annul his marriage with Priyanka.
Rizwanur, a 30-year-old graphic designer, was found dead with his head smashed on Sep 21 by the railway tracks, barely a month after his marriage with Priyanka.
Before his death, Rizwanur had mentioned the names of Gyanwant Singh, Ajoy Kumar, Sukanta Chakraborty and Krishnendu Das as the ones who harassed him.
Todi allegedly threatened his son-in-law with dire consequences and put pressure on him through the police.
Rizwanur's death sparked public outcry forcing the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government to remove the tainted cops, including police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee, who tried to defend Todi and his IPS colleagues in the case.
CBI grills eyewitness to abduction
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrsess=1&id=175464
KOLKATA, Nov. 4: Mr Indranil Ghosh, who told a Bengali news channel last night that he had witnessed Rizwanur Rehman’s “abduction”, today claimed before CBI sleuths that one of the “abductors” Anjan Dey was the person who had allegedly murdered his brother-in-law Anup Das in 2006.
Mr Ghosh, a resident of Santoshpur near Jadavpur, was grilled by the CBI sleuths for several hours after he claimed that he was an eye-witness to the ‘abduction of Rizwanur’ and has also identified one of the ‘abductors’. Interestingly, Mr Ghosh’s claims came a few days after media had reported that two persons had written letters to the APDR claiming to have witnessed Rizwanur’s abduction.
A senior CBI official said that according to Mr Ghosh, Rizwanur who was in a taxi was abducted from near Khanna cinema around 10 a.m. on 21 September. Mr Ghosh was heading to Dakshineshwar and was waiting there for a bus when, he claimed, the incident occurred. Rizwanur was forced into a green Ambassador which then sped towards Ultadanga. Mr Ghosh said Anjan had been absconding since Anup’s murder. Police had arrested Anjan’s son who was later released on bail.
Mr Ghosh lives with his mother, wife, who is pregnant, and his father Mr Satyaranjan Ghosh, a retired Central government employee, in a flat rented by his father. A neighbour said Mr Ghosh was a garments seller with a poor income. Family quarrels over financial problems were frequent and police had to intervene to settle a dispute a few days ago. CBI joint director Mr Arun Kumar said: “We have examined him and the authenticity of his statements needs to be verified”. Asked if Mr Ghosh was trying to mislead the CBI, he said: “There are several people who are trying to mislead the CBI’’ n SNS
Daddy Cool of a Calcutta where crime is a way of life
Bad boys of Beckbagan
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071105/asp/calcutta/story_8512311.asp
Metro infiltrates the bylanes of Beckbagan to know more about some of the names that have cropped up in the Rizwanur Rahman case. To protect our sources — yes, they fear for their lives — we will not name them. But they have all been close associates of the men we are about to unmask.
Abdul Majid shot into limelight in the Rizwanur case when the CBI came calling on October 22. He led the sleuths to Imtiaz and then to Imtiaz’s brother Hasan Ali.
Known to everyone in Calcutta’s underworld — from Tollygunge to Patipukur — as “Daddy” or “Uncle”, Majid has always been Mr Cool, trusted by CPM politicians, local policemen and criminals.
Once a talented footballer, the resident of Bright Street is a popular figure for his “straightforward dealings” — even if the dealings once meant arms smuggling and now revolve around illegal construction or being the middle man for criminals and cops.
“Majid, who does not drink or smoke, is never ruffled. He lives with his wife, rides his scooter and chats with the para boys. He is unlettered and blunt,” says an associate.
The crime trail of the man with a limp, now in his early 40s, can be traced back to the start of the Nineties, when he got involved in the most lucrative business of the times — smuggling of branded arms.
He formed a formidable triangle with Nata Eliyas (the don of Darga Road) and Hidayat Khan (known as the 10th don of Jamshedpur). “With an army of smugglers and wagon-breakers, they flooded the Calcutta market with branded guns to be distributed all over eastern India,” recounts Majid’s associate.
The unholy trinity was shattered after Nata Eliyas was convicted for murder. Majid then started working in a leather unit on Darga Road and shifted his focus from smuggling to the construction boom in the Park Circus belt.
“The job is just a front. From 6pm to midnight, Majid and his friends gather on the terrace of a Shamsul Huda Road building that belongs to Midnapuria Anwar. They play cards throughout the evening and strike business deals. This is where Majid meets people,” says an associate.
Majid cashed in on his proximity with both the police and criminals by playing mediator in dubious deals. This apart, he would play a part in almost every contentious construction in the area.
Majid’s associates (Naata Eliyas apart), says a former confidant, range from the dreaded Chunna-Munna of Rajabazar to Kallu and Vinod of Tollygunge to Deepak and Hatkata Dilip of Dum Dum-Patipukur — where Rizwanur’s body was found on the tracks on September 21.
But the biggest name linked to Majid is Hasan’s. The Palm Avenue-based promoter — who was approached by the Todis to break up Priyanka and Rizwanur’s marriage — “trusts” Majid and often “turns to him” to sort things out.
It was no different on September 2, when Majid was sent to meet Rizwanur’s uncle Jalisur Rahman — Majid and Jalisur have known each other for years, being in the same para — and urge him to persuade Priyanka to return to her parents.
Though Majid hardly ever visits Hasan’s Palm Avenue address, he is always a call away for Hasanbhai.
“Majid was bindaas till the CBI probe began. But everything has changed after October 22. He has been keeping a low profile, spending a lot of time with Hasan and is even refusing to speak to some of his closest associates. For the first time in two decades, Majid knows he is in trouble,” says an associate.
Uncle and colleague questioned
A STAFF REPORTER
Rizwanur Rahman’s maternal uncle Taj Mohammad and his colleague at Arena Multimedia, Mohammad Rafique, were questioned by CBI officials on Sunday.
A team of officials, led by Zaki Ahmed, asked Taj Mohammad if Rizwanur had spoken to him about his problems. He could not provide any lead, said a CBI official.
Rafique was questioned for an hour and a half from 11am. “We found his cellphone number on Rizwanur’s phone. He had spoken to Rafique a couple of days before he died. We will not disclose what they discussed for the sake of the investigation,” said another official.
The officials said they might visit the office of Nazrul Islam, the inspector-general of police (enforcement branch). “He had heard sub-inspector Krishnendu Das threatening Rizwanur’s student Sadique,” added the official.
The CBI on Sunday also questioned Indranil Ghosh, a youth who claims to have witnessed Rizwanur’s “kidnapping” at the Khanna cinema crossing on September 21.
“We spoke to him but did not record his statement. There are many people trying to mislead our probe,” said CBI joint director Arun Kumar.
Probe begins, two months after death
- Last minutes of Nithari witness replayed
OUR CORRESPONDENT
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071105/asp/bengal/story_8512779.asp
Behrampore, Nov. 4: Murshidabad police today began probing the death of Jatin Sarkar, over two months after he died and three days after the Supreme Court rapped it for not having registered an FIR.
Jatin, a key witness in the Nithari killings case, apparently drowned in the Bhagirathi in Murshidabad on September 1, nine days before he was to depose in a Ghaziabad court.
His widow had alleged that he was killed and dumped in the river, but the police had refused to register the FIR.
Behrampore police today tried to reconstruct the drowning, like the CBI had attempted to enact Rizwanur Rahman’s death on the railway tracks in Calcutta.
The police called Sankar Sarkar, who saw Jatin being washed away about 200km from Calcutta. Sankar, 52, a neighbour of Jatin who was bathing in the river, saw him in waist-deep water.
“He was still breathing and I took him to the Behrampore Sadar Hospital. Doctors declared him dead there,” Sankar told Behrampore inspector-in-charge Dilip Ganguly.
He also told the police that he had talked to Jatin half an hour before he went to the river.
Ganguly asked Sankar to stand at the spot from where he saw Jatin. A local youth, Shasthi Haldar, was told to act as Jatin.
Ganguly asked Sankar whether Jatin smelt of alcohol. “I told the inspector that I did not smell any alcohol and that Jatin was gasping when I pulled him out of the river.”
The riverside was apparently deserted around 10.30am, when Jatin was found. “There were only a few women,” Sankar said.
“It is too early to comment,” Ganguly said.
Asked if the CBI director and two others named as co-accused in the complaint lodged by Jatin’s widow Bandana would be questioned, Ganguly said he did not know. “The law does not prohibit us from interrogating anybody in connection with a case,” he added.
Jatin, who used to pull a rickshaw in Noida, was the father of one of the Nithari victims, 19-year-old Pinki.
He sought a reinvestigation of the case in the court of the special CBI judge in Ghaziabad on April 28. At least 19 human skulls and bones were dug up from near the house of Maninder Singh Pandher in Noida in December 2006.
PM concerned over Nandigram violence
Kolkata, Nov 05: Expressing concern over violence in Nandigram, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked Union Home minister Shivraj Patil to look into it urgently.
The Prime Minister communicated this to Saifuddin Choudhury, president of the Party for Democratic Socialism (PDS), a constituent of a Trinamool Congress-led outfit spearheading the agitation against land acquisition.
Singh, in reply to the PDS chief`s letter about attacks on the people of Nandigram allegedly from CPI-M stronghold of Khejuri, said, ``I am concerned about the developments there and have spoken to the Home Minister to look into these urgently.`` Singh, however, did not mention about deployment of CRPF at Nandigram as sought by West Bengal government to restore peace in the trouble-torn area.
Earlier in the day, West Bengal Home Secretary P R Roy said he had no information when the Central forces would be despatched to Nandigram.
He said the CRPF would be under the state government but act independently.
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has demanded that CRPF should not be put under the control of the state government.
Nandigram has been the scene of recurring clashes since January resulting in deaths, including 14 in police firing and violence on March 14 when villagers resisted the police from entering.
