QBullet: Beti Bachao ‘Scam’ in UP; Delhi Blast Convict Gets Bail

Read The Quint’s round-up of stories making headlines in the national dailies.

(Photo: Lijumol Joseph/ The Quint)

1. Lakhs in UP Duped to Fill Fake Beti Bachao Forms

The Union ministry for women and child development has been receiving lakhs of application forms, filled up and signed by parents of girl children from Uttar Pradesh seeking cash benefits under the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' scheme of the Centre.

The problem is, the scheme in reality does not have any cash benefit component at all. However, parents across the state have been buying fake forms which are being distributed by virtually everyone, from stationery shops to Jan Suvidha Kendras, for as little as Rs 5-10.

The parents are told that the form will entitle them to cash benefits worth Rs 2 lakh each in the name of their daughters, and that the money would be credited to their accounts when the girl reaches the age of 18.

An estimated 30,000 of these forms have been sent from virtually each district in the state in the past fortnight.

On 16 February, the Union ministry issued a warning notice to the public to beware of such fraud, clarifying there was no such provision to dispense cash under the scheme.

(Source: The Times of India)

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2. Auto Driver’s Son, Mohammed Siraj, Joins IPL’s Million-Dollar Club

For Mohammed Siraj, the first thing on his mind is to buy a house for his father Mohammed Ghaus and mother Shabana Begum in a good Hyderabad locality.

And why not? The speedster has landed a Rs 2.6 crore deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad, thanks to a brilliant first class season that saw him get India A and Rest of India call-ups.

Today, I remember my first income playing cricket. It was a club match and my maternal uncle was the captain of the team. I got 9 wickets for 20-odd runs in that 25 over game. My uncle was so happy he gave me Rs 500 as a prize... But today when the bid was raised to Rs 2.6 crore, I just went numb.

Coming from a lower middle class family, it is but obvious that he is indebted to his parents for their sacrifices in making him a professional cricketer.

(Read the full story on The Quint)

3. Same-Sex Attraction Is OK, Boys Can Cry, Girl's No Means No

The legality of homosexuality may still be an open question for the judiciary and the Government is yet to change the law but resource material prepared by the Health Ministry for adolescent peer educators has taken a step in the sensitive direction.

It tells young people that it is alright to “feel attraction” for the opposite sex or the same sex during adolescence. The crucial aspects of all such relationships, it says, are consent and respect.

“Yes, adolescents frequently fall in love. They can feel attraction for a friend or any individual of the same or opposite sex... It is important for adolescents to understand that such relationships are based on mutual consent, trust, transparency and respect… Boys should understand that when a girl says ‘no’ it means no,” reads the resource material that is going to be circulated to states as part of the adolescent peer-education plan.

In a bid to reach out to 26 crore adolescents in the country on health issues, the Ministry has decided to involve 1.65 lakh peer educators called “Saathiya”.

(Source: Indian Express)

Also Read: Curing Homosexuality, Baba Ramdev Way: The Quint’s Sting Operation
Educated Girls Can’t Allege Rape After Pre-Marital Sex: Bombay HC

4. Palanisamy is Sasikala’s Proxy: Stalin Questions Legitimacy of Tamil Nadu Govt

DMK working president MK Stalin on Monday upped the ante against Tamil Nadu’s new chief minister Edappadi Palanisamy. He threatened to move another no-confidence motion against Palanisamy while describing his government as a “proxy” of the convicted AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala.

Stalin left no one in doubt that it is not former caretaker chief minister O Paneerselvam but the DMK that is leading the charge against the Sasikala faction of the ruling AIADMK.

Stalin also questioned the legitimacy of the current state government and said that the party would be seeking an appointment with President Pranab Mukherjee to submit a report about what happened during the trust vote on Saturday.

Promising that the opposition would push for a no-confidence motion in the next Assembly session, Stalin termed the events of Saturday, where all 89 of the DMK’s MLAs were expelled by the speaker, as being “against the laws of the Assembly.”

(Source: Hindustan Times)

Also Read:
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5. Golf Fetches 16-Year-Old Autistic Boy Bheem Award

A 16-year-old autistic golfer, studying at Scottish High International School in Gurgaon, was conferred with the Bheem award on Sunday – an honour bestowed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on those having outstanding achievements in various sports.

Ranveer Singh Saini, the second of three children, was introduced to golf when he was nine.

Seven years on, his mother describes it as his “biggest obsession”. Ranveer has earned laurels for the country, including a gold medal at the World Special Olympics in Los Angeles in 2015.

Stating that the sport has helped reduce some of the symptoms of autism, his mother, Bakhtawar Saini, said, “Golf requires focus and patience, which were skills that he, as an autistic child, lacked. The sport changed this and also gave him greater confidence. As a result, he is a lot more comfortable around people now.”

(Source: Indian Express)

Also Read: World Autism Day: A Mother’s Struggle From Heartbreak To Hope

6. Over 80% of Anti-Sikh Riot Cases Closed, SC Wants Another Panel to Monitor SIT

With at least 240 of the 293 cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots being closed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the central government, the Supreme Court on Monday indicated that it wanted a “high-level committee” to monitor the probe and trials, observing that “these cases concern the entire country.”

Why can’t you have a high-level committee? Whatever has happened has happened, but you should now have a high-level committee in place to monitor the investigations and progress of trials in this case.

Supreme Court Bench

Sikhs attend a protest against Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, who were accused of leading anti-Sikh riots in New Delhi. (Photo: Reuters)

The court remarked that the high-level committee could also ensure that investigations are completed in a time-bound manner and trials are conducted on a day-to-day basis — a submission also made by senior lawyer Arvind Datar.

Datar was appearing for S Gurlad Singh Kahlon, a member of the Delhi Gurudwara Management Committee, who has sought various directions to the SIT for speedy justice.

(Source: Indian Express)

Also Read: How I Remember my Balcony: Charpoys, Coolers and Anti-Sikh Riots

7. Terrorists Killing Innocents Won't Get Bail, Parole, Says Supreme Court

Taking a tough stand against convicted terrorists, the Supreme Court on Monday said those lodged in prison for long years for slaughtering people could not be given parole or interim bail because of family exigencies.

If you are involved in such [a] heinous offence of [the] indiscriminate killing of innocents, you cannot be seen to plead that you have a family and its responsibilities. The moment you get convicted in such offences, that is end of your ties with your family and your family life.

Supreme Court

US terrorist-turned-approver David Headley. (Photo: The Quint)

This remark came as a petition for interim bail for Mohammad Naushad was dismissed, who was convicted by the trial court and the Delhi High Court for the 1996 Lajpat Nagar bomb blast that killed 13 people and injured 38.

The trial court had awarded him the death penalty but the HC reduced it to a life sentence, finding that he was among the conspirators.

(Source: The Times of India)

Also Read: False Terror Cases: Can Compensation Assuage a Victim’s Trauma?
False Terror Cases: Harsh to Say Police Driven by Religious Bias

8. 2005 Delhi Serial Blast Convict Tariq Dar Granted Bail in Money Laundering Case

Tariq Ahmed Dar, the sole convict in the 2005 Delhi serial blasts case, will walk out of jail a free man late on Monday after being granted bail in a related money-laundering case.

A Delhi court noted Dar’s prosecution for economic offences was based on the same banking transactions relied upon by the prosecution to charge him under stringent anti-terror law provisions in the main Delhi blasts case.

He was cleared of those charges last Thursday while being convicted under minor sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Additional sessions judge Reetesh Singh also noted that Dar had already served more than five years in jail for offences with a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment.

Last Thursday, Dar – who hails from Srinagar – was convicted in Delhi’s worst terrorist attack that saw three separate blasts rip through the heart of the Capital, killing 67 people and wounding 225.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

Also Read: One Convicted, Two Acquitted in the 2005 Delhi Serial Blasts Case

9. 14 More Medical Devices May See Price Regulation Soon

More medical devices that are rampantly sold at inflated rates in hospitals, could see a price regulation in the coming months. The list includes orthopedic implants, intraocular lenses and artificial heart valves to consumables such as syringes, needles and catheters.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has begun scrutiny of such devices, even asking makers to log in every detail about their manufacture and cost. 

A more expensive, but less frequently used variety – the bioresorbable stents – also fall under the ambit of this price regulation. (Photo: The Quint)

NPPA chairman Bhupendra Singh told TOI, "We are collecting data on these devices on a war-footing. It will give us a fair idea about the volume of consumption, cost of manufacturing and price at which they are supplied to a patient. Exorbitant pricing in the health system will be dealt with strongly."

The imported hip and knee implants easily see profit margins in the range of 500-1,000%, industry insiders said. Indian implants too are sold at margins of 200-500%, though surgeons often prefer imported types.

The cost of intraocular lenses also varies widely depending on the hospital and the operating surgeon. Consumables, on the other hand, are not just sold at arbitrary MRPs, but also billed in bulk to make money.

(Source: The Times of India)

Also Read: Govt Caps Stent Prices, Patients Caught In the Nexus of Corruption

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