The Evening Wrap: SC expresses concern over absence of document for autopsy in Kolkata rape case

The Supreme Court on Monday voiced concerns over the absence of a key document that was needed for the postmortem of the medic raped and murdered at the R.G. Kar Medical College in Kolkata and asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate into it. The top court also directed the protesting resident doctors in West Bengal to resume work by 5 p.m. on Tuesday and said no adverse action shall be taken against them on resumption of work. The court passed the direction after the West Bengal Government assured it that no action, including punitive transfers, shall be taken against the protesting doctors on resumption of work. A bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said there was no reference to the ‘challan’ (document) used, and sought an answer from the CBI and the West Bengal Government. “Where is the challan of the body when it was handed over for a postmortem?” the bench also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, informed the bench that the challan was not part of their records. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the West Bengal Government, told the bench that he could not find the document immediately and would get back to the court on this question. The court also flagged at least a 14-hour delay by Kolkata Police in registering FIR in a rape and murder incident. The top court directed the CBI to submit a fresh report by September 17, 2024 on the probe in the case. The apex court also directed immediate removal of photographs of the victim from all social media platforms to protect the dignity and privacy of the deceased. On the issue of security of medical institutions in the State, the Supreme Court said, “All DMs, SPs in West Bengal should take stock of the situation to ensure the safety and security of Government medical colleges”. Earlier in the day, the court perused the report filed in a sealed cover by the Solicitor General. “A status report has been filed by CBI, it appears that investigation is in progress, we direct the CBI to file fresh status report...We don’t want to guide the CBI on its investigation,” the bench said. Rameshwaram Cafe Blast case: NIA files chargesheet, claims BJP head office in Bengaluru was first target The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a chargesheet against four accused in The Rameshwaram Café blast case. A low-intensity IED explosion shook the restaurant in Brookefield, Bengaluru on March 1, 2024, leaving nine injured. In a big revelation, NIA has claimed that the module’s initial target for the terror attack was the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) head office in Karnataka — Jagannath Bhavan in Bengaluru’s Malleshwaram on January 22, 2024, the day Ram Lalla was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple and there were festivities at the BJP office. However, NIA said that the attack failed and they later recouped and targeted The Rameshwaram Cafe on March 1. The accused, identified as Mussavir Hussain Shazib, the alleged bomber at the cafe, and his close associate Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taaha, both hail from Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district. They were also accused in the Islamic State (IS) inspired Al-Hind terror module case and were on the run from security agencies for years till they were arrested from near Kolkata on April 12, 2024. Two youths that the duo radicalised in Shivamogga and Chikkamagalur districts — Maaz Muneer Ahmed and Muzammil Shareef — were also allegedly involved in the terror plot and chargesheeted in the case. They have been charged under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and various other laws. “The two men, hailing from Shivamogga district of Karnataka, were ISIS radicals and had earlier conspired to do Hijrah to ISIS territories in Syria. They were actively involved in radicalising other gullible Muslim youth to the ISIS ideology, and Maaz Muneer Ahmed and Muzammil Shareef were among such youth,” NIA said in a press statement on Monday. Homeless woman in Odisha allegedly gang-raped for over seven months A woman in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district has been rescued after she was allegedly gang-raped for over seven months. The Dhenkanal police have arrested four persons and launched a manhunt for three more suspected to be part of the gang. The incident took place in Mahulapanji village under Dhenkanal Sadar Police Station. The woman, who was poor and homeless, lived with her father, who suffered from depression, in a temporary shelter. Their shelter did not have a door. The culprits, fellow villagers, are accused of taking the woman to a remote location and sexually assaulting her. The rape came to light when she became pregnant. “After cross-verification of the victim’s statement, the accused have been arrested,” said Dipak Kumar Lenka, an inspector with Dhenkanal Sadar Police Station. The police are sheltering the father and daughter in separate places. The incident comes even as Chief Minister Mohan Majhi has directed the Director General of Police to hold a conference orienting senior police officers about expediting the legal process: from filing FIRs to conducting trials in cases of gender-based violence. The Odisha government moved to expedite cases after President Droupadi Murmu condemned recent instances of violence against women. In this alleged gang-rape case, Dhenkanal police are accused of sitting on the case, though the matter was brought to their notice on September 6. Jayant Kumar Das, an activist, has moved the National Human Rights Commission, seeking immediate arrest of all accused, ₹ 10 lakh compensation for the victim, and action against the negligent officials. According to the 2022 report of the National Crime Records Bureau, the conviction rate for crimes against women is 25.3% nationwide. In Odisha, however, the rate drops to just 9.2%. Afghanistan’s London embassy to close after its diplomats were disowned by the Taliban Afghanistan’s embassy in London is being shut down after it was disowned by the country’s Taliban rulers, the U.K. government said Monday. The Foreign Office said “the embassy is being closed following the dismissal of its staff by the Taliban.” Britain does not recogniSe the Taliban government. Ambassador Zalmai Rassoul wrote on the social network X that the embassy would shut its doors on September 27 “at the official request of the host country.” Neither the U.K. government nor the ambassador said what would happen to the embassy’s staff. Diplomats who served under Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government were left in limbo when the Taliban seized Kabul and returned to power in August 2021. Many embassies in Europe and beyond have continued to operate, but have been accused by Kabul of failing to cooperate with the government. Afghanistan has sent Taliban-approved diplomats to some countries, including Pakistan and China. The U.K. decision comes after the Taliban administration announced in July that it no longer recognised diplomatic missions set up by the former government and that documents issued by embassies in Britain and 13 other mostly European countries were invalid. Many Taliban leaders are under sanctions, and no country officially recognises them as Afghanistan’s legitimate rulers, though some nations retain active diplomatic missions in Afghanistan, including Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, and China. The U.K. and other Western countries are grappling with how to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan without recognising the Taliban government, which has dramatically curtailed education, employment and personal freedom for women and girls. UN rights chief urges states to challenge Israel over occupation The U.N. human rights chief said on Monday that ending the nearly year-long war in Gaza is a priority and he asked countries to act on what he called Israel’s “blatant disregard” for international law in the occupied Palestinian territories. Nearly 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza health officials, since Israel unleashed a military campaign in response to cross-border attacks by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and a further 250 taken hostage. The conflict has also fuelled a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. “Ending that war and averting a full-blown regional conflict is an absolute and urgent priority,” the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said in a speech at the start of the five-week U.N. Human Rights Council session in Geneva. “States must not – cannot – accept blatant disregard for international law, including binding decisions of the (U.N.) Security Council and orders of the International Court of Justice, neither in this nor any other situation.” He cited an opinion released by the U.N. top court in July that called Israel’s occupation illegal, and Turk said this situation must be “comprehensively addressed”. Israel has rejected the opinion and called it one-sided. Turk’s comments were given in a broad speech marking the mid-way point of his four-year term as U.N. rights chief where he described massive challenges around the world and a crisis of political leadership. The session will also debate crises in Sudan, Afghanistan and Ukraine. “It seems to me we are at a fork in the road. We can either continue on our current path – a treacherous ‘new normal’ – and sleepwalk into a dystopian future,” he said in a speech met with applause from diplomats. He denounced the increased use of the death penalty and “alarming regressions” on gender equality, in reference to new morality laws in Afghanistan. In Western countries like Britain, Germany and the United States, politicians risk spurring violence by scapegoating migrants and minorities during election periods, he said. Turk, a former lawyer from Austria, also used the speech to defend his record, after criticism from some that his policy of engaging China over alleged abuses has been too soft. “I believe in engagement, frank exchanges and keeping dialogue open, even more so in the face of fierce disagreement,” he said. In Brief:Mpox virus clade-2 confirmed in isolated patient: Health Ministry India has verified the previously suspected case of Mpox as a travel-related infection, the Centre informed in a press release on September 9, 2024. A young male patient, who recently returned to India from a country with active Mpox transmission, had been identified as a suspected Mpox case on September 8. “Laboratory testing has confirmed the presence of Mpox virus of the West African clade 2 in the patient. This case is an isolated case, similar to the earlier 30 cases reported in India from July 2022 onwards, and is not a part of the current public health emergency (reported by WHO) which is regarding clade 1 of mpox,” the Centre said. The patient is currently isolated at a designated tertiary care isolation facility. The patient remains clinically stable and is without any systemic illness or comorbidities. Haryana Assembly elections: Aam Aadmi Party releases first list of 20 candidates as no headway in alliance talks with Congress The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday released its first list of 20 candidates for the October 5 Haryana Assembly elections, hinting at a roadblock in alliance talks with the Congress. The last date for filing nominations for the 90-member Assembly is September 12. The party has fielded its Haryana unit vice-president Anurag Dhanda from Kalayat and Indu Sharma from Bhiwani. Vikas Nehra has been fielded from Meham and Bijender Hooda from Rohtak. The party was in talks with the Congress for a possible alliance in the State. However, the talks have been stuck over the number of seats to be contested by the AAP. According to sources, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party is demanding 10 seats while the Congress is offering five. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 09 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]( Kolkata rape-murder case: Supreme Court expresses concern over absence of document for autopsy The Supreme Court on Monday [voiced concerns over the absence of a key document]( that was needed for the postmortem of the medic [raped and murdered at the R.G. Kar Medical College in Kolkata]( and asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate into it. The top court also directed the protesting resident doctors in West Bengal to [resume work by 5 p.m. on Tuesday]( and said no adverse action shall be taken against them on resumption of work. The court passed the direction after the West Bengal Government assured it that no action, including punitive transfers, shall be taken against the protesting doctors on resumption of work. A bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said there was no reference to the ‘challan’ (document) used, and sought an answer from the CBI and the West Bengal Government. “Where is the challan of the body when it was handed over for a postmortem?” the bench also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, informed the bench that the challan was not part of their records. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the West Bengal Government, told the bench that he could not find the document immediately and would get back to the court on this question. The court also flagged at least a 14-hour delay by Kolkata Police in registering FIR in a rape and murder incident. The top court directed the CBI to submit a fresh report by September 17, 2024 on the probe in the case. The apex court also directed immediate removal of photographs of the victim from all social media platforms to protect the dignity and privacy of the deceased. On the issue of security of medical institutions in the State, the Supreme Court said, “All DMs, SPs in West Bengal should take stock of the situation to ensure the safety and security of Government medical colleges”. Earlier in the day, the court perused the report filed in a sealed cover by the Solicitor General. “A status report has been filed by CBI, it appears that investigation is in progress, we direct the CBI to file fresh status report...We don’t want to guide the CBI on its investigation,” the bench said. Rameshwaram Cafe Blast case: NIA files chargesheet, claims BJP head office in Bengaluru was first target The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday [filed a chargesheet against four accused]( in The Rameshwaram Café blast case. A low-intensity IED explosion shook the restaurant in Brookefield, Bengaluru on March 1, 2024, leaving nine injured. In a big revelation, NIA has claimed that the module’s initial target for the terror attack was the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) head office in Karnataka — Jagannath Bhavan in Bengaluru’s Malleshwaram on January 22, 2024, the day Ram Lalla was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple and there were festivities at the BJP office. However, NIA said that the attack failed and they later recouped and targeted The Rameshwaram Cafe on March 1. The accused, identified as Mussavir Hussain Shazib, the alleged bomber at the cafe, and his close associate Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taaha, both hail from Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district. They were also accused in the Islamic State (IS) inspired Al-Hind terror module case and were on the run from security agencies for years till they were arrested from near Kolkata on April 12, 2024. Two youths that the duo radicalised in Shivamogga and Chikkamagalur districts — Maaz Muneer Ahmed and Muzammil Shareef — were also allegedly involved in the terror plot and chargesheeted in the case. They have been charged under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and various other laws. “The two men, hailing from Shivamogga district of Karnataka, were ISIS radicals and had earlier conspired to do Hijrah to ISIS territories in Syria. They were actively involved in radicalising other gullible Muslim youth to the ISIS ideology, and Maaz Muneer Ahmed and Muzammil Shareef were among such youth,” NIA said in a press statement on Monday. Homeless woman in Odisha allegedly gang-raped for over seven months A woman in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district has been rescued after she was allegedly [gang-raped for over seven months](. The Dhenkanal police have arrested four persons and launched a manhunt for three more suspected to be part of the gang. The incident took place in Mahulapanji village under Dhenkanal Sadar Police Station. The woman, who was poor and homeless, lived with her father, who suffered from depression, in a temporary shelter. Their shelter did not have a door. The culprits, fellow villagers, are accused of taking the woman to a remote location and sexually assaulting her. The rape came to light when she became pregnant. “After cross-verification of the victim’s statement, the accused have been arrested,” said Dipak Kumar Lenka, an inspector with Dhenkanal Sadar Police Station. The police are sheltering the father and daughter in separate places. The incident comes even as Chief Minister Mohan Majhi has directed the Director General of Police to hold a conference orienting senior police officers about expediting the legal process: from filing FIRs to conducting trials in cases of gender-based violence. The Odisha government moved to expedite cases after President Droupadi Murmu condemned recent instances of violence against women. In this alleged gang-rape case, Dhenkanal police are accused of sitting on the case, though the matter was brought to their notice on September 6. Jayant Kumar Das, an activist, has moved the National Human Rights Commission, seeking immediate arrest of all accused, ₹ 10 lakh compensation for the victim, and action against the negligent officials. According to the 2022 report of the National Crime Records Bureau, the conviction rate for crimes against women is 25.3% nationwide. In Odisha, however, the rate drops to just 9.2%. Afghanistan’s London embassy to close after its diplomats were disowned by the Taliban [Afghanistan’s embassy in London is being shut down]( after it was disowned by the country’s Taliban rulers, the U.K. government said Monday. The Foreign Office said “the embassy is being closed following the dismissal of its staff by the Taliban.” Britain does not recogniSe the Taliban government. Ambassador Zalmai Rassoul wrote on the social network X that the embassy would shut its doors on September 27 “at the official request of the host country.” Neither the U.K. government nor the ambassador said what would happen to the embassy’s staff. Diplomats who served under Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government were left in limbo when the Taliban seized Kabul and returned to power in August 2021. Many embassies in Europe and beyond have continued to operate, but have been accused by Kabul of failing to cooperate with the government. Afghanistan has sent Taliban-approved diplomats to some countries, including Pakistan and China. The U.K. decision comes after the Taliban administration announced in July that it no longer recognised diplomatic missions set up by the former government and that documents issued by embassies in Britain and 13 other mostly European countries were invalid. Many Taliban leaders are under sanctions, and no country officially recognises them as Afghanistan’s legitimate rulers, though some nations retain active diplomatic missions in Afghanistan, including Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, and China. The U.K. and other Western countries are grappling with how to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan without recognising the Taliban government, which has dramatically curtailed education, employment and personal freedom for women and girls. UN rights chief urges states to challenge Israel over occupation The U.N. human rights chief said on Monday that [ending the nearly year-long war in Gaza is a priority]( and he asked countries to act on what he called Israel’s “blatant disregard” for international law in the occupied Palestinian territories. Nearly 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza health officials, since Israel unleashed a military campaign in response to cross-border attacks by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and a further 250 taken hostage. The conflict has also fuelled a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. “Ending that war and averting a full-blown regional conflict is an absolute and urgent priority,” the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said in a speech at the start of the five-week U.N. Human Rights Council session in Geneva. “States must not – cannot – accept blatant disregard for international law, including binding decisions of the (U.N.) Security Council and orders of the International Court of Justice, neither in this nor any other situation.” He cited an opinion released by the U.N. top court in July that called Israel’s occupation illegal, and Turk said this situation must be “comprehensively addressed”. Israel has rejected the opinion and called it one-sided. Turk’s comments were given in a broad speech marking the mid-way point of his four-year term as U.N. rights chief where he described massive challenges around the world and a crisis of political leadership. The session will also debate crises in Sudan, Afghanistan and Ukraine. “It seems to me we are at a fork in the road. We can either continue on our current path – a treacherous ‘new normal’ – and sleepwalk into a dystopian future,” he said in a speech met with applause from diplomats. He denounced the increased use of the death penalty and “alarming regressions” on gender equality, in reference to new morality laws in Afghanistan. In Western countries like Britain, Germany and the United States, politicians risk spurring violence by scapegoating migrants and minorities during election periods, he said. Turk, a former lawyer from Austria, also used the speech to defend his record, after criticism from some that his policy of engaging China over alleged abuses has been too soft. “I believe in engagement, frank exchanges and keeping dialogue open, even more so in the face of fierce disagreement,” he said. In Brief: Mpox virus clade-2 confirmed in isolated patient: Health Ministry India has [verified the previously suspected case of Mpox]( as a travel-related infection, the Centre informed in a press release on September 9, 2024. A young male patient, who recently returned to India from a country with active Mpox transmission, had been identified as a suspected Mpox case on September 8. “Laboratory testing has confirmed the presence of Mpox virus of the West African clade 2 in the patient. This case is an isolated case, similar to the earlier 30 cases reported in India from July 2022 onwards, and is not a part of the current public health emergency (reported by WHO) which is regarding clade 1 of mpox,” the Centre said. The patient is currently isolated at a designated tertiary care isolation facility. The patient remains clinically stable and is without any systemic illness or comorbidities. Haryana Assembly elections: Aam Aadmi Party releases first list of 20 candidates as no headway in alliance talks with Congress The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday [released its first list of 20 candidates]( for the October 5 Haryana Assembly elections, hinting at a roadblock in alliance talks with the Congress. The last date for filing nominations for the 90-member Assembly is September 12. The party has fielded its Haryana unit vice-president Anurag Dhanda from Kalayat and Indu Sharma from Bhiwani. Vikas Nehra has been fielded from Meham and Bijender Hooda from Rohtak. The party was in talks with the Congress for a possible alliance in the State. However, the talks have been stuck over the number of seats to be contested by the AAP. According to sources, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party is demanding 10 seats while the Congress is offering five. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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