Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 05 July 2014

Maharashtra had the highest number of police suicides

Maharashtra has had the highest number of recorded suicides by police personnel in the past year, according to latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau.
The State recorded 40 cases of suicides by men in uniform in 2013, edging out Tamil Nadu (31) and West Bengal (29) to top the charts. Overall, 222 police suicides were reported from all States last year.In 2012, the State ranked second with 28 police suicides.
Between 2006 and 2013, the State reported 267 police suicides, the highest among all States including Uttar Pradesh, which has the largest police force in terms of sanctioned strength. During the same time period, Tamil Nadu stood second with 216, while West Bengal was a distant third with 96.
Maharashtra has consistently been among the two worst performers for the past decade.distant third with 96. Maharashtra has consistently been among the two worst performers for the past decade.

The Supreme Court has held that only persons related to a husband by blood, marriage or adoption can be prosecuted for dowry death offences.
In a ruling, a Bench of Justices C.K. Prasad and Pinaki Chandra Ghose said under Section 304-B of the Indian Penal Code when a woman dies in circumstances other than normal within seven years of marriage, her husband or any relative of his should be deemed to have committed the offence of dowry death if it was shown that the woman was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband, or by any relative of her husband before her death.
This section therefore, exposes the husband of the woman or any relative of her husband for the commission of offence of the dowry death.It is well settled that when the words of a statute are not defined, it has to be understood in their natural, ordinary or popular sense.
The term “relative” must be assigned a meaning as is commonly understood. Ordinarily it would include father, mother, husband or wife, son, daughter, brother, sister, nephew or niece, grandson or granddaughter of an individual or the spouse of any person.
In the present case Gurjit Kaur, wife of Paramjit Singh, died of burns within seven years of marriage. The respondent Gurmit Singh, brother of Paramjit Singh’s aunt, was also cited as an accused. Gurmit Singh argued that he was not related to the husband of the deceased in any manner and, therefore, could not be prosecuted.

“It’s our second life,” said a relieved Sona Joseph as she arrived at the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) along with her twin sister Veena Joseph and 44 other Indian nurses on special Air India flight, AI 160, from Erbil in strife-torn Iraq.
In what came as a relief to the Modi government after days of planning a rescue mission in Iraq, the plane carrying 183 evacuees, including workers from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, touched down safely at Kochi though five hours behind schedule.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who was at the airport with a host of leaders and officials, attributed the successful evacuation to the concerted and coordinated efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs, the State government, and the Indian embassy.

Several people were killed when a powerful suicide car bomb exploded near Somalia’s Parliament in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday, police and witnesses said.
Al-Qaeda-linked Shabab rebels claimed responsibility for the bombing, the latest in a surge of attacks in Mogadishu during Islam’s holy month of Ramadan.
A car loaded with explosives was intercepted near the Parliament and it went off..
Police and witnesses at the scene said three police officers and the suicide bomber died in the blast.

After one of its worst years, the automobile industry in India is seeing early signs of recovery and renewed confidence among consumers, according to Cyrus Mistry, Chairman, Tata Motors.
A turnaround of the industry by the later part of this financial year with a hope that the government would also come out with policy interventions that support the growth of the automobile industry.
The rising inflation and high interest rates for most of last year led to relatively low consumer interest in buying new vehicles and in many cases, postponement of purchase.

Chess greats Viswanathan Anand (India) and Boris Gelfand (Israel) have been selected for the Russian Federation’s ‘Order of Friendship’ award.
The awards recognise foreign nationals’ contribution to expanding friendship and cooperation with the Russian Federation and to the development of economic, scientific and cultural ties.
Anand and Gelfand played the FIDE world chess championship match at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow in 2012.