Monthly Archives: August 2024

Santosh Gupta Some of the men accused of raping and blackmailing women in Rajasthan in 1992 “My heart is filled with so much pain. Even today, I cry when I think about how that one encounter destroyed my life.” The year was 1992. Sushma* said she was 18 when a man she knew took her to an abandoned warehouse under the pretext of watching video tapes. There, six to seven men tied her up, raped her and took photographs of the act. The men belonged to rich, influential families in Ajmer, a city in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. “After they raped me, one of them gave me 200 rupees [$2; £1] to buy lipstick. I didn’t take the money,” she said. Last week, 32 years later, Sushma saw a court convict her rapists and sentence them to life imprisonment. “I am 50 years old today and I finally feel like I got justice,” she said. “But it cannot bring back all that I have lost.” She said she had endured years of slander and taunts from society because of what happened to her, and both her marriages ended in divorce when her husbands discovered her past. Sushma is one of 16 survivors – all schoolchildren or students – who were raped and blackmailed by a group of powerful men in different places in Ajmer city over several months in 1992. The case became a massive scandal and sparked huge protests. Last week, the court handed out life sentences to six of the 18 accused: Nafis Chishty, Iqbal Bhat, Saleem Chishty, Sayed Jamir Hussain, Naseem – also known as Tarzan – and Suhail Ghani. They have not confessed to the crime and their lawyers said they will appeal the verdict in a higher court. Santosh Gupta The Suzuki van that was used to transport the women So what happened to the remaining 12 accused? Eight were sentenced to life in 1998, but four were acquitted by a higher court, and the others had their sentences reduced to 10 years. Of the remaining four, one died by suicide. Another was sentenced to life in 2007 but was acquitted six years later. One was convicted in a related minor case but later acquitted, and one of the accused is still absconding. “Can you even call this [the 20 August verdict] justice? A judgement is not justice,” said Santosh Gupta, a journalist who had written about the case and has appeared as a witness for the prosecution. It is a thought echoed by Supreme Court lawyer Rebecca John, who called it yet another case of “justice delayed is justice denied”. “This points to a problem that extends far beyond the legal system. Our patriarchal society is broken. What we need is a mindset change, but how long is that going to take?” The accused men used their power and influence to deceive, threaten and lure their victims, said prosecution lawyer Virendra Singh Rathore. They took compromising photographs and videos of their victims and used them to blackmail them into silence or bring in more victims, he added. “In one instance, the accused invited a man they knew to a party and got him drunk. They took compromising photos of him and threatened to make them public if he didn’t bring his female friends to meet them,” he said. “That’s how they kept getting victims.” The accused also had strong political and social connections. Some of them were associated with a famous dargah (Muslim religious shrine) in the city. “They roamed around on bikes and cars in what was a small-town city at the time,” Mr Gupta said. “Some people were afraid of these men, some wanted to get closer to them and some wanted to be like them.” He said that it was their power and connections that had helped keep the case under wraps for months. But there were people – like those working at the studio where the photos were developed and even some police officers – who were aware of what was going on. One day, some of the photographs taken by the accused reached Mr Gupta. They had a chilling effect on him. “Here were some of the city’s most powerful men committing heinous acts with innocent, young girls – and there was proof of it. But there was no major reaction from the police or the public,” he said. He wrote a few reports about it but none managed to blow the case wide open. Then one day, his paper “made a daring decision”, he said. It published a photo that showed a young girl, naked to the waist, pressed between two men who were fondling her breasts. One of the men was smiling at the camera. Only the girl’s face was blurred. The report sent shock waves through the city. The public was outraged and shut the city down in protest for days. Anger spread through Rajasthan like raging fire. “Finally, there was some concrete action from the government. Police registered a case of rape and blackmail against the accused and it was handed over to the the state’s Criminal Investigation Department [CID],” Mr Rathore said. Santosh Gupta A local newspaper clipping from 1992 with the headline: “Blackmail Scandal: Ajmer Shuts Down.” Mr Rathore explained that the trial had dragged on for 32 years because of several factors, including the staggered arrests of the accused, alleged delaying tactics by the defence, an underfunded prosecution and systemic issues within the justice system. When police filed the initial charges in 1992, six of the accused – who were only convicted last week – were left out because they were absconding. Mr Rathore believes this was a mistake, as when the police finally filed charges against the six in 2002, they were still on the run. Two of them were arrested in 2003, another in 2005 and two more in 2012, while the last one was apprehended in 2018. Every time one of the accused was arrested, the

PA Media Environmental campaigners have welcomed the government’s decision The UK government will not fight a legal challenge against the decision to grant consent to drill in untapped oil and gas fields off Shetland and Aberdeen. Greenpeace and Uplift jointly brought judicial reviews to stop the development of the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields. It comes after the Supreme Court ruled that a UK council should have considered the climate impact of new oil wells – setting a precedent for all regulators. The government’s decision does not mean the licences for Jackdaw and Rosebank have been withdrawn. But if the judicial review backs the environmental groups, operators would need to resubmit environmental assessments. This would create more delay and additional costs for Rosebank’s owners, Equinor and Ithaca Energy, and Jackdaw’s owner, Shell. The UK government has pledged that oil and gas would play an important role in the economy “for decades to come” as the UK transitions to clean energy. It is planning to consult later this year on its manifesto position not to issue new oil and gas licences to explore new fields. Energy Minister Michael Shanks said: “We will consult at pace on new guidance that takes into account the Supreme Court’s ruling on environmental impact assessments, to enable the industry to plan, secure jobs, and invest in our economy.” Environmental groups welcomed the government’s decision. Greenpeace said the licences should not have been granted without being “properly assessed” for their climate impact. Mel Evans, Greenpeace UK climate team leader, said: “The two new fields combined would generate a vast amount of emissions while doing nothing to lower energy bills. “The only real winners from giving them the greenlight would be multi-billion-pound oil giants.” Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said it was a “common sense” decision. She told BBC Radio Scotland: “Rosebank is a terrible proposition economically, from an energy-security perspective and environmentally for the UK public. “No government should be prepared to approve a project like that.” Net zero ambitions The government’s decision comes after the Supreme Court ruled in June that the way fossil fuels are used by consumers – known as Scope 3 emissions – have to be considered when environmental impact assessments are being carried out. The decision could still be challenged by oil companies. Industry body Offshore Energies UK urged the government to conduct its consultation “at pace”, warning that uncertainty “further impacts investor confidence”. A spokesperson added: “We remain absolutely committed to operations in the North Sea that meet the UK’s net zero ambitions and support energy security.” PA Media Rosebank has faced opposition from climate campaigners Rosebank off Shetland, owned by Norwegian energy giant Equinor and British firm Ithaca Energy, is the UK’s largest untapped oil field. Consent for drilling there was granted in September last year. Scotland’s then first minister Humza Yousaf said he was “disappointed” at the decision and accused Downing Street of “climate denial”. Shell’s proposals to develop Jackdaw, east of Aberdeen, were approved in 2022 after initially being rejected on environmental grounds. Both Equinor and Shell said they would carefully consider the implications of the government’s announcement. An Equinor spokesperson said: “Rosebank is a vital project for the UK and is bringing benefits in terms of investment, job creation and energy security.” A Shell spokesperson said: “We believe the Jackdaw field remains an important development for the UK, providing fuel to heat 1.4 million homes and supporting energy security, as other older gas fields reach the end of production.” First things first, this does not mean the end for either Jackdaw or Rosebank, but it is another significant victory for environmental groups. They key is whether the emissions from consuming the oil and gas produced is considered in environmental impact assessments. Historically, those Scope 3 emissions were disregarded, but July’s Supreme Court ruling changed that. Now, if the judicial review at two of the most prominent North Sea developments rules in favour of the green lobby, operators will have to resubmit environmental impact assessments to be considered afresh. The regulators could then stick to their guns and approve it again. But this creates more delay and significant additional costs – which environmentalists hope will make fossil fuels less appealing to investors. In its draft energy strategy, published last year, the Scottish government confirmed a “presumption against” any new oil and gas exploration. But First Minister John Swinney said in June that North Sea oil and gas would still be needed “for a period of time” to help the country meet its net-zero emissions target by 2045. Scotland’s acting Energy Secrertary, Gillian Martin, said ministers would carefully consider the UK government announcement. She noted that offshore oil and gas licensing is reserved to Westminster, but said decisions should be made on a “case by case basis and include rigorous assessments of both climate compatibility and energy security”. Following the Supreme Court ruling, the government also walked away from a legal challenge against a new coal mine in Cumbria approved under the previous Conservative administration. source

A power company is to pay a £25m penalty after it was found to have failed to report accurate data on the type of material it burned at its site in North Yorkshire. The Drax power station, near Selby, which is Britain’s biggest, receives large government subsidies for burning biomass wood chips. But energy watchdog Ofgem, which had led a 15-month investigation into the firm after it was accused of using wood from unsustainable sources, said Drax had “no excuses” for giving “inaccurate” information. Drax said there was “no evidence” it had “deliberately misreported” data. Ofgem carried out its investigation into Drax after the company was accused of burning wood from unsustainable sources and claims it was taking timber from precious rare forests in Canada. Environmental campaigners have previously criticised the station, which provides about 5% of the UK’s electricity, for its activities and high emissions levels. On closing its investigation, Ofgem said Drax was found to have lacked the necessary data governance and controls in place. That meant it did not give the regulator “accurate and robust” data on the type of wood it used at the North Yorkshire site, it said. But the watchdog did not find any evidence that Drax’s biomass was not sustainable. Ofgem said Drax would pay £25m to its voluntary redress fund as a result of the findings. Jonathan Brearley, the regulator’s chief executive, said: “This has been a complex and detailed investigation. “Energy consumers expect all companies, particularly those receiving millions of pounds annually in public subsidies, to comply with all their statutory requirements.” Mr Brearley added: “The legislation is clear about Drax’s obligations – that’s why we took tough action. “Drax has accepted that it had weak procedures, controls and governance which resulted in inaccurate reporting of data about the forestry type and sawlog content being used.” Drax Group chief executive Will Gardiner said: “Although Ofgem has noted there is no evidence to suggest Drax deliberately misreported its profiling data, we recognise the importance of maintaining a strong evidence base.” The firm was “continuing to invest to improve confidence in our future reporting”, he said Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here. source

Diet and Exercise: Choices Today for a Healthier Tomorrow  National Institute on Agingsource

Model Health Tips  British Voguesource

Asia’s testbed for smart cities  Singapore Economic Development Boardsource