Thiruvananthapuram: A sessions court in Kerala on Monday sentenced to life 25 people, all workers of the Indian Union Muslim League, for the murder of two brothers in Palakkad district of the state in 2013. Additional district and sessions judge Rajitha TH had on May 12 held the 25 accused guilty of the murder of Nooruddin and Hamsa, who were members of the AP Sunni party, a supporter of the Left front. On Monday, the sessions court sentenced each one of them to life imprisonment under Section 302 (murder) read with Section 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the IPC' "The injuries were inflicted on Nooruddin and Hamsa and prosecution witness-1 (Kunju Muhammed) by the people accused of unlawful assembly in prosecution of their common object," the court said and added that it was clear from the nature of the weapons used and injuries inflicted that the object of the unlawful assembly was the death of the brothers. "Hence, the act of the accused people, who were the members of the assembly, in inflicting injuries on the two people and which resulted in their death is punishable under section 302 of IPC," it said. The court further said that since the acts were done in pursuance of the common objective of the unlawful assembly, all of the accused were liable to be held guilty of the offence under section 302 by virtue of Section 149 of the IPC. The accused were also sentenced to three years imprisonment under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC for the attack on the victims' brother Kunju Muhammed. The court imposed also a fine of Rs 1.15 lakh on each of the accused and the total amount has to be paid to the victims' family. Special public prosecutor TC Krishna Narayanan had sought death penalty for the accused by contending that the case fell in the rarest of rare category. The court, however, said that it was not a fit case for awarding capital sentence. SPP Narayanan said there were initially 27 accused in the case, of whom one was a juvenile and another had died during the course of the trial. One of the motives for the incident, according to the prosecution, was a "stay obtained by Hamsa from the Waqf Board/ court against the collection of funds by the Muslim League's EK faction under the banner of 'thanal'."The other reasons were -- firstly, formation of a new unit of the Democratic Youth Federation of India at Kallamkuzhi (a known Muslim League party village) by one Ansari and Nooruddin with the support of Kunju Muhammed and secondly, assistance rendered by Hamsa to Ansari for filing a complaint against Muslim League supporters including some of the accused in the present case who had assaulted Ansari two days before the murder.Kunju Muhammed survived the attack and was the key witness in the case along with six other eye witnesses of the incident.—PTI

A sessions court in Kerala on Monday sentenced to life 25 people, all workers of the Indian Union Muslim League, for the murder of two brothers in Palakkad district of the state in 2013.

25 Muslim League workers sentenced to life in Kerala's double murder case

Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The Left Democratic Front government in Kerala on Monday directed K-Rail to identify the sites to conduct social impact assessment (SIA) study for the Silverline project, by either the geo-tagging method or by demarcating the boundaries by marking them on permanent structures instead of laying survey stones, which has been receiving stiff resistance from the public. The direction to Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL), or K-Rail as it is popularly known, was welcomed by Congress-led United Democratic Front opposition as they termed it a victory of the first phase of the struggle against the semi-high speed rail corridor.The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is also opposed to the project, said the state government had to bow before public sentiment. Meanwhile, LDF convener E P Jayarajan made it clear that only the survey method has changed and that the project has not been abandoned.Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly V D Satheesan, speaking to reporters in Kochi, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had to back down from his stand that laying of stones would continue irrespective of the protests against it. Next, the Chief Minister will have to climb down from his claims that the project would be implemented no matter what, Satheesan said. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and MP K Sudhakaran also termed the state government decision as a victory of the first phase of the struggle by the UDF against the project. The Lok Sabha member said if the decision was taken to win the upcoming Thrikkakara by-election then it indicates the 'political bankruptcy' of the Left front and would amount to betraying the people of Kerala.Sudhakaran claimed that the Congress had earlier suggested to the Left government to conduct the SIA study using the Global Positioning System (GPS), but they were not ready to accommodate it.The Congress MP said the state government should disclose how much money has been spent till date on laying of the stones and initiate proceedings to recover the same from the persons concerned. Both the Congress and the BJP also demanded that the cases lodged against those who protested against the laying of stones be withdrawn and the fines levied be refunded. BJP state president K Surendran said the state government decided to stop laying of stones as it realised it would not get the central government's approval for the project. He said Chief Minister should be ready to give up the project which the people do not want and added that his party would continue the struggle till the concerns of the public regarding the Silverline project are allayed. The reactions by the political bigwigs in the state came in the wake of a letter from the Revenue department to the K-Rail directing it to 'use either the geo-tagging method using good software or app or through demarcating the boundaries by marking on permanent structures' rather than planting boundary stones. The K-Rail was also directed to 'assist the SIA team to identify the alignment either by Differential GPS (DGPS) survey equipment or mobile phones with GPS facility as proposed so that the SIA team may identify the project affected persons and collect the data properly'. The directions were issued subsequent to a letter sent by K-Rail to the government stating that in view of the violent public protests and resistance to stone laying teams, the alignment of Silverline was finalised using LIDAR survey. LIDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing technology which uses light in the form of lasers to measure distances. K-Rail had also told the government that the alignment can be easily established in the field by GPS coordinates using DGPS survey equipment or mobile phones with GPS facility. Therefore, it had proposed that the boundary stones can be placed where the land owners consent for the same and at other locations the alignment can be demarcated by marking on permanent structures. Subsequently, the state government -- which had been for the past several months refusing to budge from laying of the stones despite the widespread opposition to the same across the state -- decided to go with the GPS method. The decision which comes amidst the Thrikkakara by-election could serve to boost the UDF campaign.The Pinarayi Vijayan administration had backed the laying of concrete stones in the Supreme Court, which had ruled in favour of the LDF government by saying it had a right to go ahead with the survey process. Even a division bench of the Kerala High Court had given the state government the green light to go ahead with the survey process against which several pleas were moved in the high court by persons whose lands were expected to be affected.Subsequently, as the state government tried to lay the survey stones, it received stiff opposition from the locals wherever it tried to install the concrete marks.Though police force was used to lay the stones, in many places the locals removed and threw them away. The Congress-led UDF and the BJP were at the forefront of the protests against the project and the laying of the survey stones. The 530 kilometre long SilverLine semi-high speed rail corridor which starts from Thiruvananthapuram will have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod.The entire journey from one end to the other is expected to take around four hours.—PTI

The Left Democratic Front government in Kerala on Monday directed K-Rail to identify the sites to conduct social impact assessment (SIA) study for the Silverline project, by either the geo-tagging method or by demarcating the boundaries by marking them on permanent structures instead of laying survey stones, which has been receiving stiff resistance from the public.

Silverline project: Kerala govt to use GPS for SIA study

Kerala: As rains continue to lash across Kerala days ahead of the expected onset of Southwest monsoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued a red alert in five districts of the state for Sunday and Monday indicating extremely heavy rainfall. IMD issued red alert in Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikode districts for Sunday. Red alert has been issued in Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur districts for Monday.Except Kasaragod, other districts in the state have an orange alert for Sunday. Revenue Minister K Rajan, who met the media, said directions have been issued to district collectors to deal with any emergencies. "We held a meeting on Saturday, chaired by the Chief secretary. Directions have been issued to all district collectors and other concerned authorities. As of now, the rivers are not overflowing. We have issued special directions to hilly districts and hazard analysts have been asked to closely monitor the situation," Rajan said. He said all departments concerned have been alerted and people from danger-prone areas will be evacuated without delay if necessary. "As of now there is no need for opening relief camps across the state. But we need to be careful as there are chances of landslides if the rain continues," Rajan said. A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while orange alert means very heavy rains from 6 cm to 20 cm of rains. A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm. The weatherman had issued a red alert in Ernakulam and Idukki on Saturday.Most parts of Ernakulam city was inundated on Sunday due to heavy rainfall which lasted the whole night. Two camps have been opened in Ernakulam city to house families affected by waterlogging. A total of nine families from various places have been housed in two camps. As the heavy downpour alert was issued, the government on Saturday evening called a high-level meeting chaired by the chief secretary to assess and take steps for mitigation measures.With the red alert being issued in more districts today, the state government and the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) have asked people to stay away from rivers and other water bodies. The SDMA have also asked people not to travel to hilly regions unless it's an emergency and to avoid night travel until the rain subdues. The IMD has earlier predicted that the Southwest monsoon, which is also known as Edavapathy in the state, is likely to bring its first showers to Kerala by May 27, five days earlier than the normal onset date. Since it was raining in the southern part of the state for the past few days, the district administrations have issued warnings to people staying in low lying areas, on the banks of the rivers and hilly regions to remain vigilant. Kodungallur in Thrissur district received 20 cm of rain on Saturday, as per the IMD website which is the highest rainfall in Kerala in the last 24 hours.Aluva in Ernakulam district received 19 cm of rain while CIAL Kochi in Ernakulam, Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district and Kottarakkara in Kollam district received 17 cm rain each.—PTI

As rains continue to lash across Kerala days ahead of the expected onset of Southwest monsoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued a red alert in five districts of the state for Sunday and Monday indicating extremely heavy rainfall.

Kerala rains: Red alert issued in 5 districts

Thiruvananthapuram:&nbsp;The Indian Metrological Department (IMD) has issued a warning of heavy rain in Kerala for the next five days due to strong westerly winds in the Arabian Sea. Orange alert has been issued by IMD in six districts of Kerala on May 15.In the wake of rain prediction state has made necessary arrangements in all districts. The Chief Secretary has called the meeting of all concerned departments yesterday evening and directed district collectors to intensify the preparations.A 24 hour control room has been started for places prone to flooding. It is also directed to start camps if necessary to shift people living in areas prone to landslides and flooding and to ensure basic facilities including food and water. The arrangements to pump water from water logging areas have also been made. The Disaster management department has asked people to avoid travelling to hilly areas and tourists to stay wherever they are and avoid travelling.The Central Meteorological Department has forecasted that the monsoon will reach the southern Andaman Sea, Nicobar Islands and the southeastern Bay of Bengal today.—ANI

The Indian Metrological Department (IMD) has issued a warning of heavy rain in Kerala for the next five days due to strong westerly winds in the Arabian Sea

IMD issues warning of heavy rain in Kerala for next five days

The Indian Metrological Department (IMD) has issued a warning of heavy rain in Kerala for the next five days due to strong westerly winds in the Arabian Sea.

Thiruvananthapuram: A day after slamming a Muslim scholar who allegedly reprimanded organisers of an event in Malappuram for inviting a girl on stage to receive a reward, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Thursday said he was 'disappointed' by the silence of the political, social and economic leadership of the country on the issue.He also said he was sad at the silence of the leadership in Kerala."I am so deeply disappointed that the whole political leadership is silent about it. And not just the political leadership, even the others are silent about it. I appeal to the national leadership of every party to come forward and protect the honour and dignity of our daughters," Khan said while speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram."I believe I have said much more (than them)," he said of the silence of the leadership in the state.When a reporter pointed out that the person in question was a leader of Samastha which has around 10,000 madrasas in Kerala, Khan responded that their numbers did not matter in a democracy or rule of law and it was not going to make him suppress his conscience."They might be having a hundred thousand madrasas. But because of their strength, I am not going to keep my conscience suppressed. They might be very powerful, but they have no right to humiliate, to insult and to offend the modesty of a young talented girl."They might have any number, these numbers do not matter. You are in a democracy, in a rule of law. Be you ever so high, the law is above you. This is not merely a violation of the clear cut commands of the Qur'an. It is clear cut violations of the provisions of the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution," Khan said.The incident occurred during the inauguration of a 'madrassa' building in Malappuram district, where students were felicitated recently.The memento was handed over to the girl by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader Panakkad Sayed Abbas Ali Shihab Thangal.Soon after the award was handed over, Muslim scholar M T Abdullah Musaliyar questioned the organisers as to why the girl was invited on stage."Who invited a Class 10 girl to the stage? If you do this again... Don't call such girls here. Don't you know the rules of Samastha? Were you the one who called her? Ask her parents to come to the stage to collect the award. Don't do such things while we are sitting here. This will appear in photos and be telecast," a visibly angry Musaliyar was seen telling the organisers, while Thangal was standing next to him.The person who announced the name of the girl was seen apologising to Musaliyar.Taking to Twitter to express his displeasure, Khan on Wednesday had tweeted, 'Sad to know that a young talented girl was humiliated on stage in Malappuram district while receiving a well deserved award simply because she was born into a Muslim family.''This is yet another example of how Muslim clerics continue to push hard Muslim women into seclusion and suppress their personality in total defiance of Qur'anic commands and provisions of the Constitution,' he had said.—PTI

A day after slamming a Muslim scholar who allegedly reprimanded organisers of an event in Malappuram for inviting a girl on stage to receive a reward, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Thursday said he was 'disappointed' by the silence of the political, social and economic leadership of the country on the issue.