Neeta Kolhatkar remembers the housewife who took on mighty Maharashtra politicians over her husband's murder.
More noticeable than the hue of his shirt was his mast style in the witness box. He seemed to be reinventing the truth every few minutes. He yarned on and on, navigating his testimony further and further away from the facts, but he never lost his aplomb.
'You don't want to admit that it is your wife in the video because she said you were arrested on Wednesday (August 19; Shyamvar Rai states he was arrested on August 21, a Friday).'
ndia is today in the grip of conservatism. This shows up in the way we treat our women, or murder those who question our beliefs. Or in the way women are getting raped with little fear of the law or society, says Amberish K Diwanji.
Judge Jagdale, with a severe expression shadowing his face, looked sharply at Manoj Patil, Airtel's nodal officer, and told him plainly: "It is difficult to digest what you are saying (about) giving call data, but not giving call timings and durations."
'There are many serious crimes in which powerful and fake babas have been involved in... The states where this is prevalent are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and even Delhi,' CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat tells Neeta Kolhatkar.
Two armed gangsters, who were gunned down by police in an encounter in Nalgonda district of Telangana, were active members of banned Students Islamic Movement of India and had been involved in a string of terror acts that included triggering of bomb blasts across the country, police said today.
Honour court order or face FIR: activist Trupti Desai to Maharashtra CM over Bombay high court's order facilitating entry of females to places of worship.
Indrani's words were quick, her hand gestures quicker. She kept pointing to certain paragraphs in their consent terms.
And then came the chief moment of Friday. If the courtroom had a soundtrack, Beethoven's 9th would be playing, providing a triumphant, dramatic prologue to the production of this last clip. A woman reporter was asking Mekhail about Sanjeev Khanna. He says clearly, without mincing words, emphatically: 'Never seen him. First time I am hearing his name.'
'Who is the right Mekhail? Mekhail I or Mekhail II?'
Around 25 activists proceeded for the temple on Saturday morning in 2-3 small vehicles.
Shyamvar Pinturam Rai and Pradeep Waghmare. Both erstwhile employees of Peter and Indrani Mukerjea. In the witness stand on Monday, Waghmare came across as a cheerful, straightforward man who is attempting to clamber his way towards prosperity. In the witness stand on Friday, Rai shed his customary jauntiness and broke down weeping, begging forgiveness from CBI Special Judge Jayendra Chandrasen Jagdale.
o attitudes or interpretations of the law on free speech change, depending on which religion is involved?
Pragya Singh Thakur remained at the back of the courtroom during Tuesday's framing of the charges, her face serene, quite different from the fiery person one read about or saw on television. But once the day's proceedings were over and she was wheeled out, the sadhvi decided she actually was very keen to meet the media and headed right out into the melee, says Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com.
There would have been no controversy if the convicted rapists were by now punished according to law and sent to meet their maker, in short hanged! But our criminal justice system remains dysfunctional. Ultimately besides the genuine social reform and gender equality it is the lack of effective laws that are at the root of women's insecurity, says Colonel (Dr) Anil Athale (retd).
Reason must triumph over blind faith, says Praful Bidwai in this tribute to murdered rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.
In the shock after Nathuram Godse murdered Mahatma Gandhi that January evening 72 years ago today, a young American diplomat rushed to capture the assassin. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel traces the memorable life of Herbert Reiner, who History has sadly relegated to a footnote.
Social workers, Right to Information activists and whistleblowers who receive threat will now be given police protection immediately, the Maharashtra government informed the Bombay high court on Tuesday.
Foreigners wearing mini skirts and entering Jama Masjid prompted Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhaktal and his aides to commit a terror strike at the historic mosque in September 2010, the Delhi police told a court.
'The participants and organisers have rejected their own political leadership and shown the door to leaders who have tried to claim power at these rallies.' 'Instead, the Maratha masses have reclaimed their power and stakes in the larger scheme of things.'
Nathuram Godse's nephew and niece in Pune see him as a devout nationalist, not a contract killer.
Peter said he needed a broom to sweep his cell because, he joked, there are no vacuum cleaners in jail.
A look at few gurus who have attracted controversy in recent times.
Peter's lawyer paints Indrani as a master manipulator, looking to waste the court's time and use the media to manipulate public perception about his client. 'She is "trying to exonerate herself," the lawyer argues, and accuses Indrani of "trying to lay a trap" for Peter "and attempting to malign his reputation"...'
'Sriram Raghavan is mainstream Hindi cinema's greatest gift to us,' declares Sreehari Nair after watching the director's latest movie caper.
A look at few gurus who have attracted controversy in recent times.
Does Manmarziyaan feature in your list?
'Very few are lionised like Dhoni anywhere in the world, perhaps not even Messi,' says Dhruv Munjal.
Amit Malviya has been pilloried for allegedly threatening journalists, indulging in fake news and generally bringing a bad name to his party.
A mere pair of shoes sets off the kind of harsh condemnation Indrani draws in these corridors of justice. That she being a woman who killed her daughter -- never mind that she is an undertrial and the crime has not yet been proven -- apart from making her an object of curiosity, also makes her, by perception, more evil than the men that flood these corridors, facing trial for similar or worse crimes.
A group of retired civil servants also called upon the PM to reach out to the families of the victims in Unnao and Kathua and "seek their forgiveness on behalf of all of us".
India has voted against a UN General Assembly draft resolution calling for moratorium on the use of death penalty, saying it fails to recognise each nation's "sovereign right" to determine its legal system and punish criminals according to its laws.
'There are other prisoners too who are behaving in a good manner, but they are not being released sooner.'
The 25 odd witnesses that so far had given testimony had not come up with anything incriminating against Peter or the way Shivade characterised it -- "not even a whisper."
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
'Can't make Munnabhai Chale Amerika kyunki mere ko American visa nahi milta hai, toh Amerika cancel hai.'
'As Rai spoke, in an unbelievably dead pan, almost off-the-cuff tone, about helping plan the murder of two youngsters, drugging them with vodka and whiskey spiked with dava (medicine), smothering one, dragging a body in rigor mortis out of a car, burning a corpse, destroying evidence, and so on, it felt like he was discussing nothing more surprising than the intricacies of the weather.'
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