Daily News Dose: Kerala Guv ramps up attack on state govt, releases evidence | Sept 19, 2022

Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. I'm your host, Susan Joe Philip, and these are the major news stories of the day:

1) Things are heating up in Kerala as governer Arif Mohammed Khan Khan released evidence and ramped up attack on the state government 

2) Controversial IAS officer, Sriram Venkitaraman, the prime accused in an accident that caused the death of journalist KM Basheer in 2019,  filed a discharge petition in court

3) Chandigarh University shut till Saturday after the alleged leaking of objectionable videos of several women students

4) Queen Elizabeth was laid to rest and the state funeral at Westminster Abbey was attended by world leaders

5) Kerala MVD to launch 'Operation Safe Campus' to curb two-wheeler accidents

That's a heavy mix of News. So, Let's get into the details

1) Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday ramped up his attack on the CPM-led Kerala government by releasing videos that he claimed were damning evidence of the latter's conspiracy to intimidate him. The videos were of the heckling incident Khan faced at Kannur University in December 2019 when he went there to inaugurate the Indian History Congress. In the video, KK Ragesh, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's private secretary, is seen confronting the protestors. However, Khan argued that he was preventing the police from discharging their duties and arresting the protestors.

"In a state where people are arrested for wearing black shirts, these things happen. The police personnel tried to control the situation and stopped the people from reaching me. A senior functionary, who is in the Chief Minister's Office, can be seen in the video preventing police from discharging their functions," Khan said. He further added that these protestors were not Keralites, but instead who have come from places like JNU and Aligarh universities.

2)IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman, the prime accused in an accident that caused the death of journalist KM Basheer in 2019, has approached the court with a discharge petition. Sriram argued that there is no evidence that he was drunk driving and that only a civil case has legal standing. Under the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, the discharge petition is the remedy that is granted to the person who has been maliciously charged. It is usually filed in warrant cases for serious crimes that are punishable with death or imprisonment of more than 2 years. The discharge petition of the second accused in the case Wafa Firoz will be considered by the Principal District and Sessions Court here on Monday. The Additional District Court Judge K Sanilkumar will pronounce the verdict.

3) Protests rocked the campus of Chandigarh University in Punjab's Mohali on Saturday night over allegations that objectionable videos of several women students were recorded by a hosteller, following which Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ordered a probe. The protests continued on the campus till late Sunday night with senior officials from the district administration, police and university trying to pacify the students. The university has been shut till Saturday. After a preliminary investigation, police arrested a woman student, while a 23-year-old youth, stated to be her boyfriend, was held in Himachal Pradesh and handed over to the Punjab Police.

The Himachal Police also detained another 31-year-old man in connection with the case. 

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4) Queen Elizabeth was buried alongside her husband Prince Philip in a small chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle in a private ceremony after her state funeral on Monday. Elizabeth's funeral was held at Westminster Abbey.

At 6.30 am, London time, an official lying-in-state period ended after four days in which hundreds of thousands queued to file past the casket of Britain's longest-reigning monarch at London's historic Westminster Hall. Shortly before 11 am, the oak coffin, covered in the Royal Standard flag with the Imperial State Crown on top, was placed on a gun carriage and pulled by naval personnel to Westminster Abbey for her funeral. Among the 2,000 in the congregation were 500 world leaders, including Biden, Emperor Naruhito of Japan, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

5) The State Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) is planning an innovative programme, 'Operation Safe Campus', to inculcate college students in better traffic culture. The department chose college campuses for the drive considering the rising sale of two-wheelers in the State, and the high accident rate involving those in the 18-25 age group.

According to the central Ministry of Surface Transport statistics, youngsters in the age group of 18-25 comprised 21 per cent of total road accident deaths. In Kerala, 19 per cent of deaths were that of youngsters in the same age group. The MVD has also noticed major accidents involving superbikes. Reckless use of such bikes, especially by students and youngsters, has been causing accidents.

As part of 'Operation Safe Campus', the department, with the cooperation of colleges, would identify reckless riders and prepare a database of their vehicles. Modified vehicles, too, would be included in the database. Gates passes would be made mandatory for vehicles in colleges. The details of the enforcement squad would be made public. Guidelines would be issued to check the misuse of vehicles on campuses on festival days.

That brings us to the end of this episode. Be sure to come back tomorrow. As always, thanks for listening to Daily News Dose