Shravasti, July 12 (IANS) Three youth have been arrested on Thursday for forcing a Dalit minor to drink urine two days ago in Uttar Pradesh’s Shravasti district, the police said.

The victim, who is 15 years old, works as a technician, setting sound mixers and audio systems at social and cultural events.

He was on his way home after work on Tuesday night when he was accosted by Kishan Tiwari, Dilip Mishra and Satyam Tiwari, who were in an inebriated state.

According to the police, Dilip Mishra urinated in a liquor bottle, while Satyam and Kishan pinned the boy down and forced the bottle into his mouth.

The accused were allegedly peeved over the boy’s family charging them extra for an audio system they had installed for a function at their house, the police added.

“The accused also misbehaved with the minor and thrashed him, and one of them shot a video of the entire incident,” said Gilaula police station Station House Officer Mahima Nath Upadhyay.

The boy reached home and narrated the ordeal to his elder brother. Next day, his parents and brother lodged a police complaint.

Police conducted a preliminary probe and arrested the accused on Thursday, based on eyewitness accounts and the video circulating on social media.

According to police sources, the accused claimed the boy and his family ran a DJ in the village, and charged a hefty amount. During a function, the victim had stopped the DJ, citing lack of fuel in the generator, which had further fuelled the animosity between them, the sources said.

–IANS

amita/khz

Lucknow, July 12 (IANS) Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan has been duped by a cyber fraudster who withdrew $383 from his credit card account.

Alok Ranjan received the transaction message and promptly got the credit card blocked.

He also filed a case at Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar police station.

Ranjan, who lives in Vivek Khand, said that he received a call on July 8 at around 12 noon regarding an outstanding SBI credit card bill.

The caller introduced himself as an employee of SBI.

He said that there is an outstanding amount of Rs 1.09 lakh on the credit card. He also told me the card number.

“When the caller told me the wrong number, I interrupted him. The caller then asked me to press 9 on my mobile. I pressed 9, thinking this was a genuine call. Thereafter, the caller said that you should contact the bank, but the call got disconnected. At 6.30 pm, I received a transaction message on my mobile,” he said.

He added that he got information about $383 (Rs 32,000) being withdrawn from the account.

“Thereafter, a complaint was made by calling SBI customer care,” he said.

The Gomti Nagar police said that cyber fraudsters had made online purchases from the credit card of the former Chief Secretary. The police are tracking down the fraudsters with the help of the Cyber Cell.

A few days ago, poet Naresh Saxena was digitally arrested by cuber fraudsters. During this time, he was locked in a room of his house for one-and-a-half hours.

The fraudsters kept listening to his poems and kept taking details of his bank accounts.

When the daughter-in-law got suspicious, she wrote ‘fraud call’ on a piece of paper and showed it to her father-in-law. Then they went into the room and snatched the phone.

The incident is also from Gomti Nagar.

–IANS

amita/khz

Lucknow, July 12 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh government is planning to convene the Monsoon Session of the State Legislature, either by the end of this month or in the first week of August, a senior Cabinet Minister said.

It is constitutionally bound to convene the Legislature before August 10, as there should not be a gap of six months between two sessions.

The State Legislature’s Budget Session, which had commenced on February 2, was adjourned sine die on February 10.

The provision of Article 174 of the Constitution of India reads, “… six months shall not intervene between its last sitting (of the State Legislature) in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next session.”

Under the provisions of the new Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly-2023, the state government needs to give a week’s notice (against the 14-day notice provided in the rules earlier) to convene the session.

“The state government may convene the session by the end of July 2024. We do not have much pending business for the legislature’s approval. So, the session is likely to be brief. But the state Cabinet may soon take a call to convene the Monsoon Session in the next few days,” said a senior Minister in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government.

The ruling BJP and the Opposition led by the INDIA bloc (comprising the Samajwadi Party and the Congress) will come face-to-face in the House for the first time after the 2024 Lok Sabha poll results.

The Samajwadi Party (SP), the leading opposition party, is yet to name the new Leader of Opposition (LoP).

SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav, who held the office of LoP in the state Legislative Assembly, has resigned as MLA following his election to Lok Sabha from Kannauj.

The SP will have to appoint another party leader as the new LoP and take a call on the strategy to be adopted in the legislature.

SP Spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said, “The state government must convene the Monsoon Session. It is bound by the Constitution to do so. Many districts are affected by the floods. Agitating youth, the law-and-order situation, and rising inflation are important issues. As far as the issue of LoP is concerned, the party’s leadership will take a call soon.”

Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ said, “We have major issues to raise concerning the youth, farmers, and rising inflation. We want a longer Monsoon Session so that these issues can be debated in the House.”

–IANS

amita/khz

Saharanpur, July 12 (IANS) Nineteen brokers/middlemen were caught and sent to jail in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, following a surprise inspection at the regional transport office and tehsil office on Thursday, a government spokesman said.

“Monitoring of all government offices in every district is being done. The Chief Minister has said that direct action will be taken against middlemen if found in government offices,” a government spokesman added.

Additionally, senior officials of the concerned office will face action,” he said.

Officials found involved will face termination too.

The surprise inspection was conducted under the direct supervision of the Chief Minister.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has already suspended six police and administrative officers/employees, including two Sub-Divisional Magistrates and tehsildars, in Firozabad and Banda, initiating investigations into their conduct recently.

The Chief Minister instructed officials to hold public hearings for two hours daily at the scheduled time and stressed the importance of a corruption-free work culture.

He said that if middlemen are found in any government office, action will be taken against them, and the accountability of the officers will be fixed.

–IANS

amita/khz

Lucknow, July 12 (IANS) A Lucknow court has issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and Nishad Party MLAs in connection with an 18-year-old question paper leak of the Railway Group D Recruitment examination, said police officials.

The court of special magistrate Pushkar Upadhyaya has issued the NBWs against SBSP MLA Bedi Ram and Nishad Party MLA Vipul Dubey.

Bedi Ram is a two-term MLA from the Jakhania Assembly constituency of Ghazipur district, and Vipul Dubey was a first-time MLA from the Gyanpur Assembly constituency of Sant Ravidas Nagar district.

While both parties that are allies of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh did not officially react to the development, sources said that the court decision has led to tension in the parties, and their leaders “expected the state government to intervene in the matter”.

–IANS

amita/khz