Special CBI court convicts Ranchi’s Nirbhaya rape-murder accused after trial.

Source – indiatoday.in

Aspecial Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Friday convicted the main accused in the rape and murder case of an engineering student in Ranchi, Jharkhand, after a swift trial that lasted for a month, officials said.

In a big success in the most brutal crime which took place three years ago on the fourth anniversary of Delhi’s Nirbhaya rape and murder, the probe agency cracked the case using profiles of people in an area to narrow down suspects.

The CBI nailed Rahul Raj, who had absconded after committing the crime on the night of December 15-16, 2016, and used a number of aliases, using DNA lineage of his parents which matched with the sample found on the victim’s body and nails, the officials further said.

Officials said Raj is a habitual offender and is accused in a separate sexual assault case in Bihar and a number of theft cases Uttar Pradesh.

The CBI took over the investigation on March 28, 2018, and managed to crack it open in June this year, arresting Raj from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, where he was in Jail for a separate crime, they said.

The court framed charges against him in the last week of October and in a swift trial, in which 30 witnesses were scrutinised over 16 working days.

The verdict came on a day expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court for raping a minor girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district.

The quantum of sentence for Rahul Raj, a resident of Nalanda in Bihar, by the Ranchi Special court will be pronounced tomorrow.

The gruesome raped and murder case had triggered public outrage with innumerable protests outrage across the country in 2016.

Most Sudan blast victims are from T.N., U.P., Bihar: embassy.

Source – thehindu.com

Most of the Indians hospitalised or reported missing after the LPG tanker blast at a ceramics factory in Sudan belonged to Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and authorities are trying to ascertain the identities of the victims, officials said on Thursday.

The Indian Embassy has issued a detailed list of the Indians who were reported missing, hospitalised, or survived the blast at the Seela Ceramic Factory in the Bahri area in Khartoum on Tuesday that killed at least 23 people. Eighteen Indians were among the dead.

“Six have been identified and the Embassy is contacting families in India to send back their mortal remains,” the Indian mission tweeted.

It said efforts are on to identify other victims. “The bodies have burnt beyond recognition. We are trying to establish their identity,” an Indian official told PTI over phone from Khartoum. The official said one more person died on Thursday and identified the victim as Niraj Kumar Singh from Bihar.

More than 130 people were injured. Seven Indians have been hospitalised and 16 still missing.

Among those missing are Ramakrishanan and Venkatachalem from Tamil Nadu; Ram Kumar, Amit Tiwari and Nitish Mishra from Bihar, Jishan Khan, Mohit Kumar, Hari Nath and Pradeep Verma from Uttar Pradesh, and Pawan and Pradeep from Haryana.

Intezar Khan from Delhi, Bahadurbhai Somabhai Pagi from Gujarat and Rajasthan’s Jaideep are also reported missing.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said 60 Indians were employed in the factory and 53 of them were understood to be present at the factory and the residential area at the time of the accident. “We are working with the Sudanese authorities to facilitate the identification of the deceased at the earliest,” he said, expressing his grief.

Highest number of acute respiratory infections among under-5 children in Bihar.

Source – financialexpress.com

Bihar recorded the highest prevalence of acute respiratory infections among under-five children among the five high-burden states between September 2018 and June 2019. The prevalence of acute respiratory infections among under-five children was 18.2 per cent in Bihar, followed by Uttar Pradesh (15.9 per cent), Jharkhand (12.8 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (11.6 per cent) and Rajasthan (8.4 per cent), according to report — “Situation Analysis of Pneumonia in India” — released on Tuesday.

Household air pollution emerged as the important risk factor for childhood pneumonia.

The report by a non-profit charity organisation, ‘Save the Children’, highlighted that children from households using improved fuel for cooking LPG had a preventive effect. It revealed 2 per cent lower probability of reporting acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in households using clean fuels for cooking.

“ARI prevalence was 4 per cent higher among chidren, wherein breastfeeding was initiated later than one hour after childbirth and 2.4 per cent higher in cases where they were exclusively breast fed for less than 6 months,” the report stated.

According to the report, awareness on signs of pneumonia and importance of early care seeking was poor. This is a critical gap that requires focussed attention.

Almost 81 per cent caregivers preferred private sector for availing medical treatment for pneumonia in children. Under-reporting of pneumonia cases both in public and private healthcare domain, the report stated.

The report encapsulates results from an in-depth assessment of five high-burden states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, mapping the challenges and calling for action.

Dr Ajay Khera, Commissioner, Maternal and Child Health, Ministry of Health, explained how it focuses on improving the quality of care at birth, which involves equipping ASHA workers and mobilizing mothers to healthcare centres.

“Health and Wellness centre is a new entrant in the health system, which will help reaching out to grassroots level. The government has set really ambitious targets to tackle childhood maternity and is totally committed for this cause,” Khera said.

Anindit Roy Chowdhury, Director, Programmes, Save the Children, said, “Pneumonia is still the leading cause of death in children and accounts for 14.3 per cent of under 5 deaths in India, which translates to 1 child death every 4 minutes. India contributes to 17 per cent of global under 5 pneumonia deaths.”

“Addressing childhood Pneumonia is one of the three centenary commitments of Save the Children and we are committed to end preventable pneumonia deaths.This current report, entitled, ‘Fighting for breath in India’, that we are launching, is a step towards that commitment,” Chowdhury said.

Save the Children and UNICEF have entered into a partnership at global level in the fight against childhood pneumonia and is committed to support the health ministry in the roll out of the recently launched SAANS campaign on Pneumonia.

The organisation has also recently collaborated with Philips India to develop and prove low-cost innovative approaches for prevention, diagnosis and management of Childhood Pneumonia.

Lok Sabha question: Uttar Pradesh tops chart in PDS corruption, Bihar 2nd, Delhi 3rd.

Source – cnbctv18.com

As many as 807 complaints of corruption in the public distribution system (PDS) were received across the country till October 31, 2019, of which Uttar Pradesh reported maximum number of complaints, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Raosaheb Danve-Patil has said.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the Union Minister said that UP has topped the list in PDS corruption cases with 328 complaints, while Bihar comes next with 108 complaints.

Significantly, UP has hit the headlines many times earlier for PDS scams. In 2014, a Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the land of the then cabinet minister of the state, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, in a multi-crore food grains scam in the state.

Ravi Kishan, MP from Gorakhpur and Dr Ramshankar Katheria, MP from Agra sought details of these complaints as well as the steps taken to curb it.

Delhi ranks third in corruption cases in PDS with 78 complaints been received. Whereas West Bengal has received 48 complaints in such cases.

However, the states from which no complaints have been received include Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim. Apart from this, no complaints have also been received from the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadar Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep.

The minister said that for the offence of violation of the provisions of the PDS (Control) Order 2015, there is a provision of punitive action under the Essential Commodities Act 1955. Under this order, the state and union territory have the power to take punitive action.

At the same time, to make the system more transparent under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013, an institutional arrangement for monitoring it has been done by vigilance committee, District Grievance Redressal Officers, State Food Commission.The minister said that to improve the public distribution system, the ministry is computerising the PDS operation in collaboration with all states and union territories. Under this scheme, supply-chain management is being computerised by digitising ration cards/beneficiaries and efforts are being made to bring transparency in it, besides, the ration shops will be automated using electronic point of sale (e-POS) devices.

The Buddha of a future age.

Source – dailynews.lk

According to the Cakkavatti Sihanada Sutta, he will be born, when human beings will live to an age of eighty thousand years, in the city of Ketumati (present Benares), whose king will be the Cakkavatti Sankha. Sankha will live in the fairy palace where once dwelt King Mahapanada, but later he will give the palace away and will himself become a follower of Metteyya Buddha.

The Anagatavamsa gives further particulars. Metteyya will be born in a very eminent brahmin family and his personal name will be Ajita. Metteyya is evidently the name of his gotta [caste]. For eight thousand years he will live the household life in four palaces. Sirivaddha, Vaddhamana, Siddhattha and Candaka – his chief wife being Candamukhi and his son Brahmavaddhana. Having seen the four signs while on his way to the park, he will be dissatisfied with household life and will spend one week in practising austerities. Then he will leave home, travelling in his palace and accompanied by a fourfold army, at the head of which will be eighty-four thousand brahmins and eighty-four thousand Khattiya maidens.

Among his followers will be Isidatta and Pūrana, two brothers, Jatimitta, Vijaya, Suddhika and Suddhana, Sangha and Sangha, Saddhara, Sudatta, Yasavati and Visakha, each with eighty-four thousand companions. Together they will leave the household and arrive on the same day at the Bodhi tree. After the Enlightenment, the Buddha will preach in Nagavana and King Sankha will, later, ordain himself under him. Metteyya’s father will be Subrahma, chaplain to King Sankha, and his mother Brahmavati. His chief disciples will be Asoka and Brahmadeva among monks, and Paduma and Sumana among nuns. Siha will be his personal attendant and his chief patrons Sumana, Sangha, Yasavati and Sangha. His Bodhi will be the Naga tree. After the Buddha’s death, his teachings will continue for one hundred and eighty thousand years.

According to the Mahavamsa, Kakavannatissa and Viharamahadevi, father and mother of Dutthagamani, will be Metteyya’s parents, Dutthagamani himself will be his chief disciple and Saddhatissa his second disciple, while Prince Sali will be his son.

At present, the future Buddha is living in the Tusita deva-world. There is a tradition that Natha is the name of the future Buddha in the deva world.

The worship of the Bodhisatta Metteyya seems to have been popular in ancient Ceylon, and Dhatusena adorned an image of him with all the equipment of a king and ordained a guard for it within the radius of seven yojanas.

Dappula I made a statue in honour of the future Buddha fifteen cubits high. It is believed that Metteyya spends his time in the deva-world, preaching the Dhamma to the assembled gods, and, in emulation of his example, King Kassapa V. used to recite the Abhidhamma in the assemblies of the monks. Parakkamabahu I. had three statues built in honour of Metteyya, while Kittisirirajasiha erected one in the Rajata-vihara and another in the cave above it. It is the wish of all Buddhists that they meet Metteyya Buddha, listen to his preaching and attain to Nibbana under him.

Yasa’s initiation

Yasa was a man with great wealth inherited from his father. He had all riches around him, such as music and female company. That night he went to sleep listening to music and feeling the female company. He woke up early in the morning and saw the appalling scene of tired women sleeping here and there. Yasa was greatly frustrated.

The Buddha had a lengthy talk with the young man on generosity, morality, the futility of sensual pleasures and the benefit of renunciation. Yasa could slowly collect his wits and his mind became stable. He had the rare privilege of being a monk straight away when the Buddha called him as ‘Come here, monk’. He became a Sotapanna.

He was the sixth to be a monk as well as an arahant. He is believed to have lived in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in northern India.

The Buddha and his six arahants visited the home of Yasa the following day. Yasa’s mother and his former wife thus became the first two female lay disciples. Upon hearing of Yasa’s ordination, four of his closest friends, Vimala, Subahu, Punnaji and Gavampati followed him into the sangha and they too became arahants. Within two months, a further fifty of Yasa’s friends had joined the Sangha and attained arahantship, bringing the total number of arahants to sixty.

This Yasa should not be mistaken with the namesake monk who played a pivotal role in the Second Buddhist Council, which took place 100 years following the Buddha’s death.

How could Yasa get a chance to become the first Arahant monk after five ascetics? Saddharmaratnavaliya has an interesting account:

Yasa had done a good deal of merits in a time of a certain Buddha. He and his friends were all born on earth in a time when no Buddha was in existence. Still, they did merits such as cremating the poor and needy and those who had no kinsmen.

Yasa’s retinue

Yasa’s family found him to be missing. His father got into the street to locate him but met only the Buddha. He was impressed by the sermon of the Buddha, and became a disciple; he attained Sotapanna too. The scriptures say Yasa’s father became the Buddha’s first lay disciple. He was more than happy to hear of his son’s spiritual achievement and invited the monk community to his home.

Yasa’s family members, mother and wife, became first female disciples and his closest friends, Vimala, Subahu, Punnaji and Gavampati became monks. This was followed by another batch of fifty friends, who all became Arhaths ultimately. Now the monk community consisted of sixty-one altogether. The Buddha knew it was the right time to propagate the teaching now.

Go forth, O monks, for the welfare of the many, for the happiness of the many, of compassion for the world, for the good, benefit and happiness of gods and men. Two must not take the same path. Teach the Dhamma which is excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle and excellent in the end, both in spirit and letter. Proclaim the holy life, perfect and pure.