The Evening Wrap: West Bengal Assembly passes bill seeking capital punishment for rape convicts

The West Bengal Assembly unanimously passed the the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, with a voice vote on September 3. State Law Minister Moloy Ghatak had introduced the anti-rape Bill during the special session in the Assembly, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called it “historic”. The Bill was tabled in the wake of the rape and murder of a woman doctor at the State-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in August. During discussion on it, Banerjee asked BJP legislators to urge the Governor of the State to sign the Bill. “Rape is a curse against humanity and social reforms are required to prevent such crimes,” she said. “Once this Bill is passed, we will form a special Aparajita Task Force from among police to ensure time-bound completion of probe.” “It is a historic and model Bill, and any well-meaning person will support it,” said Banerjee. “I had told the family of the deceased that we will hand over the case to the CBI if the police was unable to crack it... Now, the case is with the CBI at the directions of the Calcutta High Court. Now, we want justice from CBI. The CBI should hang the culprits,” she said. Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Suvendu Adhikari extended full support to the bill, adding that Opposition BJP legislators want execution of the Bill immediately. The proposed amendments to the Bill moved by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, were, however, not accepted by the House. Following Adhikari’s speech, Opposition MLAs raised slogans and demanded CM Banerjee’s resignation over the rape and murder. Banerjee responded by demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Chief Ministers of all States that have “not been able to implement effective legislations to safeguard women”. “What if I raise slogans against the Prime Minister and the Home Minister for the same reasons you are raising slogans against me?” she asked. States like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have abnormally high crime rates against women whereas in West Bengal, tortured women are getting justice in courts, she claimed. The proposed legislation seeks capital punishment for persons convicted of rape if their actions result in the victim’s death or leave her in a vegetative state. Additionally, it stipulates a life sentence without parole for those convicted of rape and gang rape. The legislation aims to strengthen protections for women and children by revising and introducing new provisions related to rape and sexual offences. Kolkata doctor rape and murder: Centre moves Supreme Court, alleges ‘unpardonable’ non-cooperation by West Bengal The Centre has moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to West Bengal to co-operate and logistically support the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel providing security at the R.G. Kar hospital and college premises in Kolkata following the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor. The Centre said the CISF personnel were faced with accommodation issues. The CISF was deployed at the hospital on the basis of Supreme Court orders on August 20 and 22. The top court had taken suo motu cognisance of the crime and constituted a National Task Force to suggest security reforms, better work conditions and infrastructure facilities for doctors and medical staffers in public hospitals across the country. Actor Nivin Pauly alleges conspiracy behind allegations of sexual abuse against him Actor Nivin Pauly has alleged a conspiracy behind the allegation of sexual abuse levelled against him by a woman on September 3. He termed the allegations ‘fake’ and stated that he will go to any extent to prove his innocence. I will cooperate with the Police in any scientific investigation into the allegations, he said while addressing the media after the Oonnukal Police booked him and five others for a variety of charges, including gang rape. He said that the Station House Officer of the Oonukal Police had contacted him one-and-a-half months back on a similar complaint. However, he told me not to take it seriously while pointing out that a few used to raise such allegations to gain attention. My lawyer also echoed a similar opinion, though I wanted to lodge a complaint, he said. The actor said that he had never seen the woman or met her anywhere. However, he admitted that he had close acquaintance with one of the accused. This person has been providing funds for various Malayalam movies. On whether he was in Dubai in the time period mentioned by the complainant, he said that he was then busy with the shooting of his movie ‘Malayali from India’ and a web series. However, he said that he had met the financier at Dubai mall. A friend of his was also there with his family, he said. The actor said that such fake allegations will affect the industry and needs to be stopped. Pauly was named the sixth accused in the case. Shreya, film producer A.K. Sunil, Binu, Basheer and Kuttan were identified as the first five accused respectively. The third to fifth accused were reportedly the acquaintances of the first accused Shreya. Nine Maoists killed in Dantewada; over 150 killed in Chhattisgarh in 2024 Nine Maoists, including six women, were killed by security forces in an anti-Naxal operation conducted in the forests along the border of Chhattisgarh’s ​​​​Dantewada and Bijapur districts on Tuesday, according to the police. With these deaths, the tally of alleged Maoists killed by security forces this year has crossed 150. Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai said that the operation was carried out by a joint team of District Reserve Guards (DRG), Bastar Fighters, and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). They had recieved a tip-off about the presence of Maoists belonging to the PLGA Company No. 2 and the West Bastar and Darbha Division, in the hilly forested area under Kirandul police station of Dantewada district. “During the search, there was continuous firing between the police party and the Maoists, seven to eight times, starting around 10:30 a.m.,” Rai said, in a statement. Around 1:15 p.m., the police confirmed that nine alleged Maoists had been killed. A large quantity of arms and ammunition had also been recovered, the police said, adding that the search operation was continuing. Around 6 p.m., another bulletin was issued with no further increase in the casualty figures. Prima facie, all the deceased have been identified as members of the West Bastar and Darbha Division Committee and PLGA Company No. 02, said Rai, adding that all members of the security forces were safe. “In view of the possibility of many other Maoists being killed/injured during the encounter, additional re-inforcement teams are searching the area around the encounter site,” he said. Last week too, security forces had gunned down three women Maoists in the conflict zone of Bastar, signalling the continuation of the anti-Maoist drive started late last year even into the conventionally slower monsoon season. So far in 2024, 153 Naxalite bodies have been recovered, 669 arrested, and 656 Naxalites have surrendered, according to Sundarraj, the Inspector General of Police for the Bastar Range, who attributed the numbers to better coordination and strategy by the local district police force, DRG, and central paramilitary forces. In a recent visit to Chhattisgarh, the State worst affected by left-wing extremism, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that Naxalism would be eliminated by March 2026. Non-compliance with Income Tax Act, irregularity in ‘retiral benefit’: Congress questions ‘no salary paid’ to Buch claim The Congress on September 3 questioned ICICI Bank’s assertion that it had not paid any salary or granted ESOPs to SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch after her retirement and asked that if the amount paid to her was her “retiral benefit”, why was it non-uniform both in terms of its frequency and amount. Khera had flagged out the discrepancy regarding the irregularities on the payment paid out to Puri Buch. After ICICI bank explained that the ₹5.03 crores received by Buch was her retiral benefit, the Congress statement pointed out that after receiving the amount in 2014- 2014, she again received the amount starting from 2016 till 2021. Khera claimed that though her salary from 2007 up until 2013- 2014 was ₹130 lacs per annum, the retiral benefit she received from the bank from 2016-17 to 2020-21 averaged to ₹277 lacs per annum. “How can a person’s retiral benefit be more than her salary as an employee?” the Congress questioned in its statement. Pointing out several gaps in the clarification provided by the ICICI bank, the Congress has also alleged that though the bank said that their employees, including the retired employees, are allowed to exercise their ESOPs (Employee Stock Option Plan) anytime up to a period of 10 years, the ESOP policy mentioned in the ICICI bank website states a retired employee can exercise their ESOP within a maximum of three months following their voluntary termination. Buch was able to exercise her ESOPs eight years after her termination. The Congress asked, if there was any changes made to the policy, why it was not made publicly available. The Congress doubted that the ESOPs given to her, might be sourced from other employees in violation of rights of other ICICI bank employees. The party also sought an explanation on why ICICI bank didn’t offer the TDS (Tax Deducted at Sources) amount to Buch as taxable income. “Is this not a clear non-compliance of the Income Tax Act?” the Congress has asked. The Congress alleged on Monday that Buch, who joined the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as a member in 2017 and subsequently, became its chairperson, received ₹16.8 crore from the ICICI Bank as salary and other compensation. In a statement, the bank said, “ICICI Bank or its group companies have not paid any salary or granted any ESOPs to Madhabi Puri Buch after her retirement, other than her retiral benefits. It may be noted that she had opted for superannuation with effect from October 31, 2013.” During her employment with the ICICI Group, she received compensation in the form of salary, retiral benefits, bonus and ESOPs, in line with applicable policies, it added. Maximum graft complaints in 2023 against rail, Delhi local bodies, PSU bank staff, shows Central Vigilance Commission report Of the total corruption complaints received by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) last year, the highest number of plaints was against railway employees, followed by those in Delhi’s local bodies and public sector banks, a report by the anti-graft watchdog showed. As many as 74,203 graft complaints were received against all categories of officers/employees in 2023, of which 66,373 were disposed of and 7,830 were pending, it said. The highest 10,447 complaints were made against railway employees, followed by 7,665 against staffers of “local bodies except GNCTD” (Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi) in the national capital, said the CVC report made public recently. The local bodies include Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd, Delhi Jal Board, Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, Delhi Transport Corporation, Delhi Transco Limited, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, Indraprastha Power Generation Co. Ltd., Municipal Corporation of Delhi and New Delhi Municipal Council. Of the total complaints received against railway employees, 9,881 were disposed of and 566 were pending, the report showed. Giving details of the complaints against the local bodies in Delhi, it said out of the total plaints, 7,278 were disposed of and 387 were pending. As many as 7,004 corruption complaints were received against employees of public sector banks in 2023. Of these, 6,667 were disposed of and 337 were pending. Of the 6,638 complaints of graft against Delhi government employees, 6,246 were disposed of. While 5,313 plaints were made against Delhi Police personnel of which 3,325 were disposed of, as many as 4,476 complaints were against the Housing and Urban Affairs employees and 3,723 of those were disposed of. Netflix India content head meets I&B Secretary over webseries ‘IC814: The Kandahar Hijack’ row Netflix India’s content head Monika Shergill on September 3 met Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju in New Delhi, amid a row over the web series IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack. The meeting at Jaju’s office here lasted for about 40 minutes during which the OTT platform official was apprised of the sentiments expressed by a large section of the society and the need to be sensitive while handling such topics. Voicing concern over the depiction of terrorists in the web series, a senior official has said nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the nation. The depiction of hijackers of the Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to Delhi has stirred controversy with a section of viewers objecting to the ‘humane’ projection of the perpetrators. “Nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the people of this nation. Indian culture and civilisation should always be respected,” another official source said. “Should we allow any foreign people to slipshod over our cultural values,” the source said without elaborating. The sources said filmmakers have to think before portraying something in a wrong manner. “You may be liberal, but you cannot portray institutions in a wrong manner,” the source said. Using hashtags #BoycottNetflix, #BoycottBollywood and #IC814, several X users shared posts claiming the filmmakers changed the names of the hijackers to ‘Shankar’ and ‘Bhola’ to allegedly protect the terrorists who belonged to a certain community. A PIL was filed in the Delhi High Court on Monday seeking a ban on the OTT series over allegations of distortion of facts about the real identities of the hijackers. The plea alleged that the mini-series erroneously shows the real hijackers as having Hindu names, including ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’, the other names of Lord Shiva, which hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community. The petition filed by Surjit Singh Yadav, a farmer and president of Hindu Sena, sought a direction to the Centre and Maharashtra government to cancel the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certificate and ban the public viewing of the series. “The distortion of crucial facts about the real identities of the hijackers not only misrepresents historical events but also perpetuates harmful stereotypes and misinformation, warranting interference of this court to prevent further public misunderstanding and potential harm,” the petition says. Official sources said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had summoned the content head of Netflix India for an explanation on the allegedly contentious aspects of the series portraying the 1999 hijack of an Indian Airlines flight by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. The series, directed by Anubhav Sinha, was released on Netflix on August 29. Haryana Class 12 student mistaken for cattle smuggler, chased, shot dead; five cow vigilantes held A class 12 student was allegedly chased in a car and shot dead on August 23 by a group of five cow vigilantes who mistook the boy for a cattle smuggler, police said on September 3. All the five accused — Saurabh, Anil Kaushik, Varun, Krishna and Adesh — have been arrested, the police said. During interrogation, the accused revealed that on the night of August 23, they had received information that some suspected cattle smugglers driving two SUVs were doing recce in the city. They mistook the victim, Aryan Mishra, and his friends, Shanky and Harshit, for those cattle smugglers and followed their car for about 30 kilometres near the Gadhpuri toll on the Delhi-Agra National Highway, a senior police officer said. The accused told the police that when they asked the victim’s car to be stopped, the driver accelerated, following which they opened fire and Mishra was shot dead near the Gadhpuri toll in Palwal, the police officer said. All the accused have been sent to judicial custody after being presented in a city court, he said, adding that the illegal weapon and the car used in the crime have been recovered. Further investigations are underway, the police said. Zelenskyy says Russian ballistic missile attack on Poltava kills at least 41; over 180 wounded President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said dozens of people were killed in a Russian attack on September on the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, which hit a military educational facility. “More than 180 people were injured. Unfortunately, there are many dead. As of now, 41 people have been reported dead,” Zelenskyy said. Two Russian ballistic missiles hit a hospital and an educational institution, partially destroying one of the institute’s buildings, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said. “The time interval between the alarm and the arrival of the deadly missiles was so short that it caught people in the middle of evacuating to the bomb shelter,” the Ministry said. Rescuers were still at work after saving 25 people, including 11 trapped under the rubble, according to the Ministry. Russian military bloggers had said that the strike targeted an outdoor ceremony. Ukrainian MP Maria Bezugla, who regularly criticises Ukraine’s military leadership, blamed high-ranking officials for endangering soldiers by allowing such events. “These tragedies keep repeating themselves. When will it stop?” she posted on Telegram. Zelenskyy ordered a prompt investigation into the circumstances of the strike and called for more air defence equipment from Ukraine’s Western partners. In Brief: Former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hopsital, Dr. Sandip Ghosh, was sent to 8-day police custody on September 3. The next hearing of the case will be on September 10. The Anti-Corruption Branch of the CBI arrested Dr. Sandip Ghosh, along with three others, over alleged corruption and financial misconduct at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on September 2. Dr Ghosh, two vendors, Biplav Singha, Suman Hazar, and the additional security to Dr Ghosh, Afsar Ali have been arrested by the CBI. Dr Ghosh was under investigation for alleged corruption and financial irregularities at the college and hospital, following a directive from a single bench of the Calcutta High Court, which ordered the CBI to probe the matter. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 03 September 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Anti-rape bill passed in West Bengal Assembly The [West Bengal Assembly unanimously passed the the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024]( with a voice vote on September 3. State Law Minister Moloy Ghatak had introduced the anti-rape Bill during the special session in the Assembly, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called it “historic”. The Bill was tabled in the wake of the rape and murder of a woman doctor at the State-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in August. During discussion on it, Banerjee asked BJP legislators to urge the Governor of the State to sign the Bill. “Rape is a curse against humanity and social reforms are required to prevent such crimes,” she said. “Once this Bill is passed, we will form a special Aparajita Task Force from among police to ensure time-bound completion of probe.” “It is a historic and model Bill, and any well-meaning person will support it,” said Banerjee. “I had told the family of the deceased that we will hand over the case to the CBI if the police was unable to crack it... Now, the case is with the CBI at the directions of the Calcutta High Court. Now, we want justice from CBI. The CBI should hang the culprits,” she said. Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Suvendu Adhikari extended full support to the bill, adding that Opposition BJP legislators want execution of the Bill immediately. The proposed amendments to the Bill moved by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, were, however, not accepted by the House. Following Adhikari’s speech, Opposition MLAs raised slogans and demanded CM Banerjee’s resignation over the rape and murder. Banerjee responded by demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Chief Ministers of all States that have “not been able to implement effective legislations to safeguard women”. “What if I raise slogans against the Prime Minister and the Home Minister for the same reasons you are raising slogans against me?” she asked. States like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have abnormally high crime rates against women whereas in West Bengal, tortured women are getting justice in courts, she claimed. The proposed legislation seeks capital punishment for persons convicted of rape if their actions result in the victim’s death or leave her in a vegetative state. Additionally, it stipulates a life sentence without parole for those convicted of rape and gang rape. The legislation aims to strengthen protections for women and children by revising and introducing new provisions related to rape and sexual offences. Kolkata doctor rape and murder: Centre moves Supreme Court, alleges ‘unpardonable’ non-cooperation by West Bengal The [Centre has moved the Supreme Court]( seeking a direction to West Bengal to co-operate and logistically support the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel providing security at the R.G. Kar hospital and college premises in Kolkata following the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor. The Centre said the CISF personnel were faced with accommodation issues. The CISF was deployed at the hospital on the basis of Supreme Court orders on August 20 and 22. The top court had taken suo motu cognisance of the crime and constituted a National Task Force to suggest security reforms, better work conditions and infrastructure facilities for doctors and medical staffers in public hospitals across the country. Actor Nivin Pauly alleges conspiracy behind allegations of sexual abuse against him Actor Nivin Pauly has alleged a conspiracy behind the [allegation of sexual abuse levelled against him]( by a woman on September 3. He termed the allegations ‘fake’ and stated that he will go to any extent to prove his innocence. I will cooperate with the Police in any scientific investigation into the allegations, he said while addressing the media after the Oonnukal Police booked him and five others for a variety of charges, including gang rape. He said that the Station House Officer of the Oonukal Police had contacted him one-and-a-half months back on a similar complaint. However, he told me not to take it seriously while pointing out that a few used to raise such allegations to gain attention. My lawyer also echoed a similar opinion, though I wanted to lodge a complaint, he said. The actor said that he had never seen the woman or met her anywhere. However, he admitted that he had close acquaintance with one of the accused. This person has been providing funds for various Malayalam movies. On whether he was in Dubai in the time period mentioned by the complainant, he said that he was then busy with the shooting of his movie ‘Malayali from India’ and a web series. However, he said that he had met the financier at Dubai mall. A friend of his was also there with his family, he said. The actor said that such fake allegations will affect the industry and needs to be stopped. Pauly was named the sixth accused in the case. Shreya, film producer A.K. Sunil, Binu, Basheer and Kuttan were identified as the first five accused respectively. The third to fifth accused were reportedly the acquaintances of the first accused Shreya. Nine Maoists killed in Dantewada; over 150 killed in Chhattisgarh in 2024 [Nine Maoists, including six women, were killed by security forces]( in an anti-Naxal operation conducted in the forests along the border of Chhattisgarh’s ​​​​Dantewada and Bijapur districts on Tuesday, according to the police. With these deaths, the tally of alleged Maoists killed by security forces this year has crossed 150. Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai said that the operation was carried out by a joint team of District Reserve Guards (DRG), Bastar Fighters, and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). They had recieved a tip-off about the presence of Maoists belonging to the PLGA Company No. 2 and the West Bastar and Darbha Division, in the hilly forested area under Kirandul police station of Dantewada district. “During the search, there was continuous firing between the police party and the Maoists, seven to eight times, starting around 10:30 a.m.,” Rai said, in a statement. Around 1:15 p.m., the police confirmed that nine alleged Maoists had been killed. A large quantity of arms and ammunition had also been recovered, the police said, adding that the search operation was continuing. Around 6 p.m., another bulletin was issued with no further increase in the casualty figures. Prima facie, all the deceased have been identified as members of the West Bastar and Darbha Division Committee and PLGA Company No. 02, said Rai, adding that all members of the security forces were safe. “In view of the possibility of many other Maoists being killed/injured during the encounter, additional re-inforcement teams are searching the area around the encounter site,” he said. Last week too, security forces had gunned down three women Maoists in the conflict zone of Bastar, signalling the continuation of the anti-Maoist drive started late last year even into the conventionally slower monsoon season. So far in 2024, 153 Naxalite bodies have been recovered, 669 arrested, and 656 Naxalites have surrendered, according to Sundarraj, the Inspector General of Police for the Bastar Range, who attributed the numbers to better coordination and strategy by the local district police force, DRG, and central paramilitary forces. In a recent visit to Chhattisgarh, the State worst affected by left-wing extremism, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that Naxalism would be eliminated by March 2026. Non-compliance with Income Tax Act, irregularity in ‘retiral benefit’: Congress questions ‘no salary paid’ to Buch claim The Congress on September 3 [questioned ICICI Bank’s assertion that it had not paid any salary or granted ESOPs to SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch]( after her retirement and asked that if the amount paid to her was her “retiral benefit”, why was it non-uniform both in terms of its frequency and amount. Khera had flagged out the discrepancy regarding the irregularities on the payment paid out to Puri Buch. After ICICI bank explained that the ₹5.03 crores received by Buch was her retiral benefit, the Congress statement pointed out that after receiving the amount in 2014- 2014, she again received the amount starting from 2016 till 2021. Khera claimed that though her salary from 2007 up until 2013- 2014 was ₹130 lacs per annum, the retiral benefit she received from the bank from 2016-17 to 2020-21 averaged to ₹277 lacs per annum. “How can a person’s retiral benefit be more than her salary as an employee?” the Congress questioned in its statement. Pointing out several gaps in the clarification provided by the ICICI bank, the Congress has also alleged that though the bank said that their employees, including the retired employees, are allowed to exercise their ESOPs (Employee Stock Option Plan) anytime up to a period of 10 years, the ESOP policy mentioned in the ICICI bank website states a retired employee can exercise their ESOP within a maximum of three months following their voluntary termination. Buch was able to exercise her ESOPs eight years after her termination. The Congress asked, if there was any changes made to the policy, why it was not made publicly available. The Congress doubted that the ESOPs given to her, might be sourced from other employees in violation of rights of other ICICI bank employees. The party also sought an explanation on why ICICI bank didn’t offer the TDS (Tax Deducted at Sources) amount to Buch as taxable income. “Is this not a clear non-compliance of the Income Tax Act?” the Congress has asked. The Congress alleged on Monday that Buch, who joined the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as a member in 2017 and subsequently, became its chairperson, received ₹16.8 crore from the ICICI Bank as salary and other compensation. In a statement, the bank said, “ICICI Bank or its group companies have not paid any salary or granted any ESOPs to Madhabi Puri Buch after her retirement, other than her retiral benefits. It may be noted that she had opted for superannuation with effect from October 31, 2013.” During her employment with the ICICI Group, she received compensation in the form of salary, retiral benefits, bonus and ESOPs, in line with applicable policies, it added. Maximum graft complaints in 2023 against rail, Delhi local bodies, PSU bank staff, shows Central Vigilance Commission report Of the total corruption complaints received by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) last year, the [highest number of plaints was against railway employees]( followed by those in Delhi’s local bodies and public sector banks, a report by the anti-graft watchdog showed. As many as 74,203 graft complaints were received against all categories of officers/employees in 2023, of which 66,373 were disposed of and 7,830 were pending, it said. The highest 10,447 complaints were made against railway employees, followed by 7,665 against staffers of “local bodies except GNCTD” (Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi) in the national capital, said the CVC report made public recently. The local bodies include Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd, Delhi Jal Board, Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, Delhi Transport Corporation, Delhi Transco Limited, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, Indraprastha Power Generation Co. Ltd., Municipal Corporation of Delhi and New Delhi Municipal Council. Of the total complaints received against railway employees, 9,881 were disposed of and 566 were pending, the report showed. Giving details of the complaints against the local bodies in Delhi, it said out of the total plaints, 7,278 were disposed of and 387 were pending. As many as 7,004 corruption complaints were received against employees of public sector banks in 2023. Of these, 6,667 were disposed of and 337 were pending. Of the 6,638 complaints of graft against Delhi government employees, 6,246 were disposed of. While 5,313 plaints were made against Delhi Police personnel of which 3,325 were disposed of, as many as 4,476 complaints were against the Housing and Urban Affairs employees and 3,723 of those were disposed of. Netflix India content head meets I&B Secretary over webseries ‘IC814: The Kandahar Hijack’ row Netflix India’s content head Monika Shergill on September 3 met Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju in New Delhi, amid a [row over the web series IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack](. The meeting at Jaju’s office here lasted for about 40 minutes during which the OTT platform official was apprised of the sentiments expressed by a large section of the society and the need to be sensitive while handling such topics. Voicing concern over the depiction of terrorists in the web series, a senior official has said nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the nation. The depiction of hijackers of the Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to Delhi has stirred controversy with a section of viewers objecting to the ‘humane’ projection of the perpetrators. “Nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the people of this nation. Indian culture and civilisation should always be respected,” another official source said. “Should we allow any foreign people to slipshod over our cultural values,” the source said without elaborating. The sources said filmmakers have to think before portraying something in a wrong manner. “You may be liberal, but you cannot portray institutions in a wrong manner,” the source said. Using hashtags #BoycottNetflix, #BoycottBollywood and #IC814, several X users shared posts claiming the filmmakers changed the names of the hijackers to ‘Shankar’ and ‘Bhola’ to allegedly protect the terrorists who belonged to a certain community. A PIL was filed in the Delhi High Court on Monday seeking a ban on the OTT series over allegations of distortion of facts about the real identities of the hijackers. The plea alleged that the mini-series erroneously shows the real hijackers as having Hindu names, including ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’, the other names of Lord Shiva, which hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community. The petition filed by Surjit Singh Yadav, a farmer and president of Hindu Sena, sought a direction to the Centre and Maharashtra government to cancel the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certificate and ban the public viewing of the series. “The distortion of crucial facts about the real identities of the hijackers not only misrepresents historical events but also perpetuates harmful stereotypes and misinformation, warranting interference of this court to prevent further public misunderstanding and potential harm,” the petition says. Official sources said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had summoned the content head of Netflix India for an explanation on the allegedly contentious aspects of the series portraying the 1999 hijack of an Indian Airlines flight by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. The series, directed by Anubhav Sinha, was released on Netflix on August 29. Haryana Class 12 student mistaken for cattle smuggler, chased, shot dead; five cow vigilantes held A [class 12 student was allegedly chased in a car and shot dead]( on August 23 by a group of five cow vigilantes who mistook the boy for a cattle smuggler, police said on September 3. All the five accused — Saurabh, Anil Kaushik, Varun, Krishna and Adesh — have been arrested, the police said. During interrogation, the accused revealed that on the night of August 23, they had received information that some suspected cattle smugglers driving two SUVs were doing recce in the city. They mistook the victim, Aryan Mishra, and his friends, Shanky and Harshit, for those cattle smugglers and followed their car for about 30 kilometres near the Gadhpuri toll on the Delhi-Agra National Highway, a senior police officer said. The accused told the police that when they asked the victim’s car to be stopped, the driver accelerated, following which they opened fire and Mishra was shot dead near the Gadhpuri toll in Palwal, the police officer said. All the accused have been sent to judicial custody after being presented in a city court, he said, adding that the illegal weapon and the car used in the crime have been recovered. Further investigations are underway, the police said. Zelenskyy says Russian ballistic missile attack on Poltava kills at least 41; over 180 wounded President [Volodymyr Zelenskyy said dozens of people were killed in a Russian attack]( on September on the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, which hit a military educational facility. “More than 180 people were injured. Unfortunately, there are many dead. As of now, 41 people have been reported dead,” Zelenskyy said. Two Russian ballistic missiles hit a hospital and an educational institution, partially destroying one of the institute’s buildings, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said. “The time interval between the alarm and the arrival of the deadly missiles was so short that it caught people in the middle of evacuating to the bomb shelter,” the Ministry said. Rescuers were still at work after saving 25 people, including 11 trapped under the rubble, according to the Ministry. Russian military bloggers had said that the strike targeted an outdoor ceremony. Ukrainian MP Maria Bezugla, who regularly criticises Ukraine’s military leadership, blamed high-ranking officials for endangering soldiers by allowing such events. “These tragedies keep repeating themselves. When will it stop?” she posted on Telegram. Zelenskyy ordered a prompt investigation into the circumstances of the strike and called for more air defence equipment from Ukraine’s Western partners. In Brief: Former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hopsital, Dr. Sandip Ghosh, was [sent to 8-day police custody]( on September 3. The next hearing of the case will be on September 10. The Anti-Corruption Branch of the CBI arrested Dr. Sandip Ghosh, along with three others, over alleged corruption and financial misconduct at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on September 2. Dr Ghosh, two vendors, Biplav Singha, Suman Hazar, and the additional security to Dr Ghosh, Afsar Ali have been arrested by the CBI. Dr Ghosh was under investigation for alleged corruption and financial irregularities at the college and hospital, following a directive from a single bench of the Calcutta High Court, which ordered the CBI to probe the matter. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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