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Sunday 29th March 2015, Page: 4
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THE TIMES OF INDIA
India
Beware of draconian counter-terrorism measures,
cautions NHRC chief
A Subramani, TNN | Mar 29, 2015, 05.32 PM IST
MUMBAI: While terrorism needs to be condemned unequivocally, draconian counterterrorist measures, including draconian laws, are matters of concern, said chairperson of
the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and former chief justice of India
Justice K G Balakrishnan on Sunday.
Addressing a gathering of judges, lawyers and law students attending a conference on
international terrorism in Mumbai, Justice Balakrishnan said anti-terrorist laws had put
a large number of people in jail without trial and conviction. "It is a matter of worry," he
said.
Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, Chief justice of Bangladesh, said his country always
supported global war against terrorism, but its ability to combat terrorism was
undermined by weak institutions, porous borders and limited law enforcement capacity.
"At present, the government is trying hard by keeping no stone unturned for reviving a
sense of security among its people so that they can contribute to national economy and
political progress," he said.
Those who hurl petrol bombs on people and destroy people's assets did not have any
share in politics, and they, in no way, could be treated as political elements, Sinha said.
National Green Tribunal chairman Justice Swatanter Kumar likened terrorism to free air
capable of transcending borders and checks. He urged members of younger generation
and students to be aware implications of terrorist acts.
Referring to the November 26 terrorist attack in Mumbai, he said the social fear
psychosis created by that one event had a cascading effect on people.
As for economic impact of a terrorist act, Justice Kumar said governments were
spending billions of dollars on combating and prosecuting terrorist elements. It had an
environmental angle too, he said, adding that a judge from Afghanistan had said people
in that country could not breathe fresh air or grow tree amidst terrorist threats.
Fight for freedom and terrorism had nothing in common, he said, adding, "The two are
poles apart."
Justice Chauhan, chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, said the
government should focus on employment policies across the nation, especially in border
regions, so that hungry and unemployed do not land in the trap of rival nations.
The legislature, the executive and the judiciary must sync with one another, and their
collective aim should be eradicating terrorism, he said.
"Terrorism is not limited to physical threats or cross-border attacks. It has extended its
branch in virtual world which is not generating more threats because of its potential to
reach out to the general masses. Its speed is dangerous enough to ignite emotions of
people in wrong direction within a matter of a few minutes," he added.
Student beaten for 'not paying fees'
Press Trust of India | Ghaziabad March 29, 2015
Last Updated at 00:32 IST
A 7-year-old girl student of a private school was allegedly beaten by a her
teacher for not paying the school fees, promoting parents to approach NHRC.
The incident happened on March 24 in Nand Gram colony under Sihani Gate
police station in the district.
The student's father Khalid complained the matter to District Magistrate on the
same day.
District Magistrate Vimal Kumar Sharma while assuring the victim's father to
initiate appropriate action had forwarded the matter to the concerned authority.
According to a written complaint before the National Human Rights Commission,
the student of 1st standard was thrashed by her class teacher on Tuesday, the
day of her exam as her parents had defaulted in payment of school fees on
time.
As a result of merciless beating the girl allegedly fainted in the class room and
could not write. In a hurry the school management called up her father Khalid
and asked him to take her to home, the human rights activist Rajiv Sharma said.
Traumatised girl narrated the whole incident to her father, who then complained
to the principal, but no action was taken, it said.