By Ankur Sharma
New Delhi [India], March 23 (ANI): Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday informed Lok Sabha that a total of 94 cases have been registered regarding terror funding.
In a reply to a question on whether cases of terrorist funding in various parts of the country have come to the notice of the government and if Government proposes to investigate them Home Ministry said, “”Police” and “Public Order” are state subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. therefore, State Police has the primary responsibility of prevention, detection, registration, investigation and prosecution of crimes.”
“Besides, the Central Government has also entrusted 94 cases of terror funding to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for investigation, so far,” MHA said.
The whole gamut of terror financing has been criminalised under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, which is the principal legal regime against terrorism including terror financing. The Law Enforcement Agencies of the Centre and the States take action against offences of terror financing as per the extant provisions of law,” the Ministry said. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 23 (ANI): In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Tuesday said that the foreigners covered under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) may submit applications for grant of Indian citizenship after appropriate rules are notified by the Central Government.
“The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) has been notified on December 12, 2019, and has come into force from January 10, 2020. The foreigners covered under this Amendment Act may submit applications for grant of Indian citizenship after appropriate rules are notified by the Central Government,” said Nityanand Rai replying to Congress MP VK Sreekandan’s question whether the process of granting Indian citizenship to refugees under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will begin once the process of COVID-19 vaccination ends.
MoS Home further added that the Committees on Subordinate Legislation, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have granted time up to April 9, 2021, and July 9, 2021, respectively to frame these rules.
The CAA was passed by the parliament in December 2019. The law grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and came to India before 2015.
The NRC for Assam is a record maintained by the Central Government for the people of Assam. It contains names and certain relevant information for the identification of citizens in the state. Currently, the register exists only for Assam. However, on November 20, 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah declared during a parliamentary session that the register would be extended to the entire country soon. The register was first prepared after the 1951 Census of India. (ANI)

Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 23 (ANI): Ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly polls, supporters of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi candidate (VCK) Aloor Shanavas on Tuesday painted pot symbol on their bodies before going for the election campaign.
As Shanavas was allotted pot as their election symbol, his supporters drew the pot symbol on their bellies before going for the election campaign.
They were seen raising slogans in support of Shanavas and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Alliance.
As many as 6,28,23,749 electors will choose candidates for the sixteenth legislative assembly in the state.
The 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly election will be held in a single phase on April 6 and the counting of votes will be done on May 2. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 23 (ANI): The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday informed the Parliament that the Border Guarding Forces (BGFs) are working in coordination with the customs department to prevent the smuggling of counterfeit and unsafe products.
“Border Guarding Forces (BGFs) are working in coordination with the customs department to prevent smuggling of counterfeit and unsafe products. The measure adopted to prevent smuggling of counterfeit and unsafe products includes the construction of border fence, installation of floodlights construction of Border Out Posts (BPOs), deployment of hi-tech surveillance equipment, sharing of information and conduct of joint operations by BGFs and customs department,” said Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in a written reply to Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi.
Rai further said that advanced technologies are being used to prevent illicit bade and the smuggling of counterfeit and unsafe products. These include risk management, non-intrusive inspection system such as container scanner, explosive detector, Hand Held Thermal Imager (HHTI), Night Vision Devices (NDV), etc, the union minister informed. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 23 (ANI): President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday expressed grief over the death of passengers in a road accident in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior earlier today.
“The news of the death of the passengers, mostly women, in the road accident in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, has deeply saddened me. My heartfelt condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in this heartbreaking event. I wish for the injured people to get well soon,” the President tweeted (in Hindi).
At least 13 people were killed after a bus and an auto-rickshaw collided in Gwalior district on Tuesday morning.
“The head-on collision took place in Purani Chhawani area of Gwalior,” the police said.
The police further informed that nine women and the auto-rickshaw driver died on the spot, while those injured were rushed to a nearby hospital with severe injuries.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also paid condolences to the deceased and announced compensation to their families.
“I am saddened by the untimely loss of precious lives in the deadly collision between bus and auto in Gwalior. I pray to God to grant the departed souls a place at his feet and their relatives to bear this tragedy. Om Shanti!” Chouhan tweeted in Hindi.
“I and the people of the state are with bereaved families in this hour of grief. They should not consider themselves alone. The state government will give Rs four lakh to the families of each deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured,” he added. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 23 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Union of India (UOI), after hearing petitions seeking compensation to Vishnu Tiwari who was wrongfully convicted to life imprisonment over rape allegations and Provisions of Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
“We will issue a notice to the respondent number 1 and 2, [UOI, and Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department)] in the matter,” a three-judge bench of the Apex Court, headed by Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and also comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and K M Joseph said today.
The Apex Court heard the petitions filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, Kapil Mishra and Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking compensation to Vishnu Tiwari who was wrongfully convicted to life imprisonment under the allegations of rape and Provisions of Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Upadhayay sought guidelines for compensation to victims of wrongful prosecution, as he highlighted and submitted the example of Vishnu Tiwari, who was acquitted after 20 years of imprisonment.
Senior lawyer Vijay Hansaria, Arijit Prasad and Ashwani Kumar Dubey appeared for the petitioners in the case before the Supreme Court.
Mishra had filed the PIL in the Top Court seeking compensation to Vishnu Tiwari who was wrongfully convicted for life imprisonment under the allegations of rape and Provisions of Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The petitioner, Mishra, also sought a direction if the Apex court can frame guidelines and make a mechanism to take strict action and prosecute the fake complainants.
The petitioner also sought to frame guidelines to pay adequate compensation to the victims of wrongful prosecutions and implement the recommendations of the 277th Law Commission Report on the miscarriage of justice.
The petitioner also sought a mechanism for speedy disposal of the cases pertaining to the under-trial prisoners prosecuted in special acts and frame guidelines for the under-trial prisoners to decide their cases in a time-bound manner.
The petitioner also sought to frame rules to release the poor persons who are victims of malicious and vague prosecution who are facing jail in the absence of not furnishing the adequate sureties/bonds.
“The law is being misused and abused by filing fake and malicious complaints and no action is taken against the culprit in the absence of an effective statutory/legal scheme for providing mandatory compensatory relief,” the petition filed by Dubey, for Kapil Mishra, said.
The petitioner also sought to prosecute the fake complainants pertaining to the Special Acts, Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, fake sexual assault cases as well as to provide monetary benefits to the victims of wrongful malicious prosecutions.
The petitioner also sought direction from the Apex Court that those persons be prosecuted who allegedly involved in the incarceration of innocents as the same infringes the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 and 21 of the constitution of India. (ANI)