From Our Other Editions Today

Ambedkar house

Mumbai
Govt may let students stay at ‘Ambedkar house’
The Maharashtra government, which is in the final stages of purchasing a house in London where Dr BR Ambedkar had lived as a student, is considering opening it up for visitors or students to stay.

Minister for Social Justice and Special Assistance Rajkumar Badole led a three-member delegation, including Minister of State Dilip Kamble and Principal Secretary Ujjwal Uke, to finalise the purchase of the house on King Henry’s Road in North London. Ambedkar had lived here when he was studying at the London School of Economics (LSE) between 1921 and 1923.

The minister also initiated talks for a chair in the name of the Indian Constitution’s architect at LSE, linking it with two new scholarships for Indian students.

Badole said: “There is a basement and three more floors to this house. We are exploring various options — whether to open it for visitors or let two fellows studying at LSE stay here. We will have a library and a memorial.”

The Indian High Commission in London is facilitating the purchase for the Maharashtra government. The house is approximately estimated to cost Rs 35-40 crore. The annual maintenance of the house is pegged at another Rs 60 lakh.

Kolkata
Followers of Ananda Margis sect to take out rally today
Followers of Ananda Marga, a socio-religious sect, will take out a procession Thursday to commemorate and pay tribute to the 17 Ananda Margis who were burnt alive near Bijon Setu in South Kolkata in 1982. The procession will begin from Deshapriya Park and end at the Bijon Setu where a meeting will be held.

Acaharya Divyachetananand —a spokesperson for the Ananda Margis— said the sacred procession would be held despite the bandh called by Left parties on Thursday. The group sought permission from the police for the event and have acquired the necessary sanction for it.

Acharya Divyachetananand said that in 1982, as many as 17 Ananda Margis, including a woman sanyasin, were burnt alive by Communists near the Kasba overbridge.

The Ananda Margis demanded punishment of the culprits, including bringing the truth behind the killings before the public. Acceding to their demands, CM Mamata Banerjee set up an inquiry commission known as Justice Amitava Lala Commission in 2012 to probe into the mass killings.

Ahmedabad
2002 Sabarmati Express burning case:

HC reserves order The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on a set of petitions, including petitions of 31 convicts challenging the order of the trial court, in the 2002 Sabarmati Express train-burning case, in which 59 persons were killed. The incident had led to widespread riots in the state in which hundreds of people from the minority community were killed. The order is likely to be pronounced post summer vacation in June.

In 2011, 31 persons were sentenced by a special SIT court in 2011 and 63 were acquitted. While 11 convicts were sentenced to death, the remaining 20 were sentenced to life imprisonment. All the convicts have challenged the trial court’s order in the High Court. Some of the convicts who were awarded death sentence include Haji Bilal, Mohammad Kurkur, Binyamin Behra, Hasan Charkha,Yusuf Zarda, Mehbub Ahmed alias Latiko, among others.

On the other hand, the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team have moved before the court for confirmation of death sentence to 11 convicts.

Source:: Indian Express