QKolkata: Birla Student Records Statement; 16th Queer Pride Held

Your daily lowdown on all things Kolkata.

Parents had been protesting in GD Birla for days demanding the removal of the Principal.

(Photo: Gurvinder Singh)

1. GD Birla Student Records Statement

The four-year-old student of GD Birla Centre for Education who was allegedly sexually assaulted by two teachers on campus recorded her statement before a magistrate under Section 164 CrPC on Monday. Her parents also recorded their statements before the magistrate.

A statement recorded before a magistrate under Section 164 is admissible in court as primary evidence, unlike a statement recorded by police.

The child and her parents reached the court around 2pm and recorded their statements before the 10th judicial magistrate, Keya Bala.

The couple and the child were asked to enter the magistrate's chamber separately. The mother was, however, allowed in the chamber when the girl's statement was recorded.

(Source: The Telegraph)

2. Poll Dates First, Exam Schedule Later

The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations will announce the dates of next year's ICSE and ISC exams after the Election Commission announces the poll schedule, council secretary and chief executive Gerry Arathoon said on Monday.

The ICSE and ISC exams are slated between end-February and mid-April. The Assembly elections in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Karnataka are likely to be held in the first half of 2018.

“We will declare the commencement of the ICSE and ISC exams and the detailed exam schedule only after we get the confirmation from the Election Commission that no poll will be held during the period we are planning to hold the exams,” Arathoon told Metro.

More than 1,76,000 students will write the ICSE exams and around 74,000 will appear in the ISC test.

(Source: The Telegraph)

3. We Don’t Speak Language of Hatred, Says Mamata

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday exhorted Trinamool organisers to shun the BJP lingo and speak in a language that does not distinguish between religion, case and creed.

"We don't speak the language BJP does. We have a different culture. We do not make a distinction between Hindus, Muslims, adivasis. To us, the victim in Rajasthan is a human being," the CM said in Paschim Burdwan in response to the brutal killing of Malda resident Afrajul Khan in BJP-ruled Rajasthan. In the same breath, she gave a warning to Trinamool Birbhum president Anubrata Mandal, asking him to hold his tongue while taking on opponents.

Without naming the Opposition, who pointed to the migration of vast sections of rural youths in search of jobs in Rajasthan and Kerala, the CM turned the logic upside down.

(Source: Times of India)

4. 16th Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk: Amend or scrap Transgender Bill, Participants tell Centre

Participants of the 16th Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk Sunday demanded that the Centre amend the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016 or scrap it. “We are opposing the proposed Transgender Bill by the central government, which is going to be tabled probably in this Winter Session in Parliament.

The Bill violates all the articles of National Legal Aids Services Authority (NALSA) and the NALSA judgement. Moreover, the Bill defines the term transgender in a very derogatory way… We want the Centre to either bring amendments to the Bill or scrap it and draft a new one,” Kolkata-based LGBT rights activist and West Bengal Transgender Development Board member Aparna Banerjee told The Indian Express.

Hundreds took part in the Pride Walk — Asia’s longest-running walk for LGBT rights — from Deshapriya Park to Park Circus Maidan. Participants were carrying placards which condemned the Bill. Many painted their faces and shouted slogans demanding scrapping of the Bill.

(Source: The Indian Express)

5. 10 Injured in Political Clash

Ten people were injured in a clash between two groups of suspected Trinamul supporters in the Bodra area in Bhangar on Sunday night. The injured were admitted to a health centre in the area.

Sporadic clashes broke out between supporters of Saukat Ghazi, the Trinamul booth president in the area, and Sadek Mallik, another Trinamul leader, police said.

"Both Ghazi and Mallik have filed complaints against each other. Each accused the other of being corrupt and obstructing the administrative work," an officer of Bhangar police station said.

The clash broke out during a protest by villagers against the forcible acquisition of land for a Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd project.

(Source: The Telegraph)

6. Kolkata Court Sentences Eight More to Life in 2001 Khadim Owner Abduction Case

A Kolkata court on Monday afternoon ordered life imprisonment for three Pakistan nationals and five local criminals found guilty of kidnapping city-based businessman Partha Roy Burman in July 2001.

These men comprised the second set of accused to face sentence in this case. The principal accused, Aftab Ansari, who also masterminded the attack on the American Centre in Kolkata in December 2002 and killing of several policemen, was sentenced to life in 2009 along with four of his associates. Ansari was arrested in Dubai.

Ansari used to work for the al-Qaeda, the CBI and anti-terrorist units of several states later found. Roy Burman is a partner in the family-owned Khadim Group which is best known for its chain of footwear stores.

(Source: Hindustan Times)