Bhubaneswar, July 1 (IANS) The first case under one of the three new criminal laws that came into effect in India on Monday, was registered at Laxmisagar Police Station in Odisha.

The case (370/24) was registered under different Sections including 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 109 (attempt to murder), 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt with dangerous weapon) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Police registered the case on the basis of a complaint lodged by one Rudra Pratap Das, whose father was attacked by three bike-borne miscreants at Chintamaniswar in Laxmisagar area on June 29 evening.

“The introduction of the new laws will ensure no delay in giving justice to the people. The process has already begun for the adoption of the new laws in the entire legal system. We are taking the issue of sensitisation very seriously and the honourable High Court will also take the necessary steps in this regard,” said Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan.

He also said that the new law will ensure fast justice and solve the problems faced by the common man regarding the non-receipt of FIRs by the police.

Meanwhile, Director General of Police, Arun Kumar Sarangi while speaking to media persons asserted that Odisha Police was fully prepared to implement the new criminal laws.

He stated that all the master trainers as well as the Investigating Officers of the state have been imparted training in both offline and online mode regarding all the new criminal laws.

The Odisha Police has also collaborated with the National Law University for training of senior officers, said Sarangi.

Similarly, police officers have been trained in the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), the platform through which FIRs are registered and charge sheets are submitted by police.

This apart, Sarangi noted that the system and software of all police stations across the state had also been updated.

The police have also set up a help desk at the State Crime Records Bureau to help officials.

The Investigating officials will be enrolled and trained in use of the Sakhya App used for digital recording of search and seizure.

–IANS

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Lucknow, July 1 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in Uttar Pradesh, has started gearing up for assembly by-elections on 10 seats.

The BJP has appointed senior ministers to oversee the by-elections in eight of the 10 assembly segments where polls are due.

It is noteworthy that of the 10 Assembly seats bound for the upcoming by-polls, five were won by the SP in the 2022 elections, three by the BJP and one each by its NDA allies NISHAD party and RLD (an SP partner in 2022).

According to the BJP spokesman, the party has appointed two ministers Swatantra Dev Singh and Ashish Patel (Apna Dal-S) for the Katehri assembly by-elections.

The Katehri assembly seat in Ambedkar Nagar district was declared vacant after its sitting SP MLA Lalji Verma got elected to the Lok Sabha from Ambedkar Nagar.

This seat has been either with the BSP or the SP since the nineties. While the BSP has a strong presence in this area, its candidate was pushed to third place in the Lok Sabha elections.

This has given an edge to the SP in the by-election now. The SP is again hoping to attract the votes of a significant section of the Scheduled Castes with support from the Congress, which was seen in the Lok Sabha polls too.

For the Karhal assembly seat, the BJP has appointed Minister Jaiveer Singh. Jaiveer Singh was defeated in the recent Lok Sabha elections from Mainpuri, of which Karhal is an assembly segment.

The Karhal seat in Mainpuri district was won by Akhilesh Yadav in the 2022 polls. Karhal has been a stronghold of the SP, which has been winning it since the early 1990s.

In the Milkipur assembly seat — a part of the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat — UP Minister Surya Pratap Shahi has been appointed to ensure the victory of the BJP after its defeat here in the Lok Sabha elections.

The Milkipur Assembly seat in Ayodhya district has fallen vacant as its SP MLA Awadhesh Prasad, has been elected as the Faizabad (Ayodhya) MP in the Lok Sabha elections.

The Milkipur by-poll is thus set to be a prestige fight between the BJP and the SP, which has been going all-out now to promote Avadhesh Prasad, who belongs to the Pasi (Dalit) community.

The BJP has already started working on its plan to wrest the seat in a bid to re-establish its dominance in the crucial belt.

UP minister Anil Kumar has been given charge of the Meerapur assembly seat in Muzaffarnagar district which comes under the Bijnor Lok Sabha constituency.

In 2022, RLD’s Chandan Chauhan won the seat in a close fight with the BJP’s Prashant Chaudhary. In the 2017 and 2012 assembly elections, the seat was won by the BJP and the BSP candidates respectively.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, RLD MLA Chandan Chauhan won from the Bijnor Lok Sabha seat, defeating Deepak Saini of the SP by about 37,000 votes. While the Congress is eyeing Meerapur, the SP is also making a claim on this seat in light of its recent performance but the BJP is determined to retain the seat, though the RLD is also eyeing the same.

Senior UP minister Suresh Khanna has been given charge of the Sishamau seat in Kanpur district that has been vacated following the disqualification of its SP MLA Irfan Solanki after he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in an arson case.

The Kanpur Lok Sabha constituency has been won by the BJP in a close contest with the Congress. This has given hope to the Congress to make its claim on the Sishamau seat. On its part, the BJP, which has a strong footprint in the region, has also been looking to clinch the assembly by-poll on the seat.

In Phulpur, the BJP has appointed senior minister Rakesh Sachan as in-charge.

The sitting BJP MLA from the Phulpur seat in Prayagraj district, Praveen Patel, has now been elected on the BJP ticket from the Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency.

SP candidate Amarnath Maurya lost to Praveen in the Lok Sabha elections by just about 4,000 votes. The SP is keen to cover lost ground while the BJP is confident to retain this seat.

UP minister Anil Rajbhar has been given charge of the Manjhwa seat in Mirzapur district.

The Manjhwa seat in Mirzapur district has been vacated as its sitting MLA from the Nishad party, Vinod Kumar Bind, has now won from the Bhadohi Lok Sabha constituency on the BJP ticket.

The BJP is determined to win this seat.

UP minister Sunil Sharma has been appointed in charge of the Ghaziabad seat that was declared vacant after its sitting MLA from the BJP, Atul Garg, got elected from the Ghaziabad Lok Sabha constituency on the party’s ticket.

Atul has won the Ghaziabad Lok Sabha constituency defeating Dolly Sharma of the Congress. The constituency has been a BJP bastion as it had been won by Rajnath Singh and V K Singh in the past.

While the BJP is scaling up attempts to retain Ghaziabad Sadar, the Congress is hoping to get the seat allotted by the SP for its candidate, pointing to its support base here.

The BJP is yet to appoint ministers in charge of the Khair assembly seat in Aligarh and Kundarki in the Sambhal district.

The Khair assembly seat became vacant after UP minister Anoop Valmiki won the Hapur Lok Sabha seat. The Kundarki seat is facing bypolls because its MLA Zia-ur-Rehman Barq is now a Lok Sabha member from Sambhal.

–IANS

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Srinagar, July 1 (IANS) J&K L-G Manoj Sinha on Monday said that the new laws will free the criminal justice system from the colonial mindset.

“Three new criminal laws would liberate the country’s criminal justice system from the colonial-era mindset. These new laws, which come into effect nationwide today, will bring widespread changes to India’s criminal justice system by ending colonial-era statutes,” Sinha said was speaking at the implementation ceremony of the new laws.

He said that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) have been implemented following consultations with stakeholders over the past four years.

“In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed a review of the criminal laws. In August 2019, states, High Courts, the Supreme Court, and MPs were asked for suggestions. Between 2020 and 2021, consultations were held and the government received 3,200 suggestions. Home Minister, Amit Shah participated in 58 meetings,” he said.

Sinha also interacted with social workers and police officers from other districts to gather feedback about the new laws.

The three new laws received Parliament’s nod on December 21, 2023. President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on December 25, 2023, and they were published in the official gazette on the same day.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party MP Bansuri Swaraj, speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address in the Lok Sabha on Monday, listed many achievements of the BJP-led NDA government in the past 10 years and also mentioned how the nation is poised for the golden times of ‘Viksit Bharat’.

Bansuri Swaraj said that the welfare schemes of the Narendra Modi government and `his vision of Viksit Bharat have earned the public’s trust, resulting in a clear mandate for the NDA government for the third consecutive time.

She said that the Modi government fulfils every promise it makes and cited the examples of Article 370 abrogation, the Ram Temple consecration, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), One Rank, One Pension, and Make in India.

Highlighting the robust economic growth under the NDA government, she said, “In the last ten years, India has risen to the fifth largest economy in the world from the 11th rank, all in the times of global instability. Now, it is on its way to becoming the third largest economy in the world.”

Stressing on the vision of Viksit Bharat, she said, “PM Modi has taken the resolution of Viksit Bharat 2047, with focus on four main pillars — youth, women, farmers and the poor.”

The New Delhi MP also highlighted the Standup India and Startup India program of the Centre and said that this has made Indian youth a “job creator, instead of job seeker, “and now, the youth is moving towards “wealth creation,” leading India to become the third-largest Startup ecosystem in the world.

She hailed the new initiatives of the Central government benefitting the youth, including the Mudra Yojana, Digital India, the chip manufacturing and semiconductor industry, Make in India, and Startup India for encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit of the youth.

She spoke about several programs for women’s emancipation and empowerment, including the Ujjwala Yojana and Jan Dhan Yojana, the Lakhpati Didi program, and the Namo Drone Didi scheme.

“Over 50 crore bank accounts were opened under the Jan Dhan Yojana initiative, out of which 56 per cent were of women. Our Prime Minister also ensured that women also have financial support for their businesses under the Mudra Yojana, under which 59 per cent of the loans were sanctioned to women. Similarly, under Standup India, 89 per cent of the loans were sanctioned to women,” she said.

Swaraj mentioned that PM Modi’s Garib Kalyan Yojana has been recognised as the largest welfare development scheme in the world, recounting the government’s focus on the development of the poor. She also mentioned the free ration scheme, claiming that the government is allocating free ration to more than 81 crore people to ensure food and nutrient security.

The BJP MP emphasised the achievements of the PM Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana and PM Swarn Nidhi program, adding that this has extensively benefitted the poor.

She also praised the new criminal laws, stating that they replaced the colonial-era “suppressive” laws and focused solely on “justice,” unlike foreign governance, which aimed to suppress people. She argued that these transformative initiatives are why India has voted for the NDA again.

Drawing parallels with the Mahabharata, she said that Lord Krishna will always support those who perform ‘Karma’ (deeds), referring to PM Modi, and slammed the opposition for imposing an Emergency and trying to destroy the Constitution and democracy.

She accused the AAP of deliberately creating a “constitutional crisis” in the national capital, where people are yearning for water.

–IANS

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Shimla, July 1 (IANS) Lt Gen Devendra Sharma on Monday took over as the 25th General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Army Training Command (ARTRAC) in Shimla.

An alumnus of the Mayo College in Ajmer, the National Defence Academy (NDA), and the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Lt Gen Sharma is the recipient of the coveted ‘Sword of Honour’. He was also commissioned into ‘The Scinde Horse’ on December 19, 1987.

In an illustrious career spanning almost four decades, the General has tenanted important command appointments in varied sensitive operational sectors, counter-terrorism environments, and high-altitude terrains.

He has commanded ‘The Scinde Horse’, an armoured brigade as part of Strike Corps, an Infantry Division and a Corps on the Western Front. Lt Gen Sharma was also the Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Western Command, before taking over as the GO of ARTRAC.

His staff experience includes challenging assignments both in operational and administrative domains.

Lt Gen Sharma has been an instructor at the prestigious National Defence Academy, a Staff Officer Operations in the Indian Military Training Team, Bhutan, and the Chief Military Personnel Officer of the United Nations Mission in Congo.

ARTRAC has been a strategic location of the Indian Army for almost 150 years, It was the headquarters of the Indian Army during British rule from 1864 to 1939.

After Independence, the headquarters of the Western Command was located in Shimla during the India-Pakistan wars in 1948, 1965 and 1971, as well as during the India-China war of 1962.

The Western Command was shifted to Chandimandir in 1985.

–IANS

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