Indian sportsman held in US for sexually abusing minor girl

New York, Mar 3, 2017 (PTI)

A 24-year-old Indian sportsman has been arrested here on charges of sexually abusing a minor girl, days after he arrived in the US from Kashmir for a snowshoe competition.

Tanveer Hussain arrived in the small village of Saranac Lake in New York state for the World Snowshoe Championships.

Hussain was initially denied a visa, but managed to travel after campaigning by US activists and senators.

Police said he has been charged with first-degree sexual abuse, a felony, and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

Police arrested Hussain on Wednesday after the girl, who is under the age of 13, accused him of sexually abusing her, a report in the Adirondack Daily Entreprise said.

In a statement, police said the charges stem from Hussain "engaging in a passionate kiss" with a 12-year-old victim.

"He further was accused of touching her in an intimate area over her clothing," the statement said. "There was no accusation of force. The charges are a result of the age differences of the individuals. There were no other allegations made against Hussain," the statement said.

Police Sergeant Casey Reardon said the girl and her parents reported the abuse to police. It took place around Monday evening in the village. After the complaint, Reardon said police located Hussain who has been cooperating in the case, the report said.

Hussain had garnered much attention before arriving for the championship after the US Embassy in New Delhi denied him and another athlete Abid Khan visas around the same time President Donald Trump had issued an order barring people from seven Muslim-dominant countries to the US.

Though India was not among the seven countries, the denial of visa was seen associated with the executive order.

Hussain was allowed a visa to enter the US for the competition following intense lobbying from local officials and residents in the Adirondacks, as well as by US Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer.

Hussain was arraigned and his lawyer entered a not-guilty plea on Hussain's behalf.
"I could not have entered anything else but a not-guilty based on the information I had," his lawyer Brian Barrett said.

"They are merely allegations alone. Not only is he innocent, he is presumed innocent by law. That is how he should be seen in the community and by anyone paying attention in this case," Barrett said.

Hussain and Khan had planned to return home this week. It said "a visibly upset Hussain", with hands shackled and still wearing a maroon World Snowshoe Championships hat, pleaded with the judge not to send him to jail, the report said.
"Sir, please. Help me," Hussain said.

The judge decided not to accept a plea because he was not sure if Hussain fully understood the charges against him. He remanded him to the Essex County Jail in Lewis in lieu of USD 5,000 cash bail or USD 10,000 bond. A preliminary hearing on his case is scheduled on next Monday.

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Maneka calls for 'zero tolerance' on child begging

New Delhi, Mar 3, 2017 (PTI)

Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi today pitched for "zero tolerance" for child begging.

"We have decided to come down heavily on children begging. I am planning a meeting with the Commissioner of Police and say zero tolerance (sic). I am not against begging but there should be no children on the street for begging," Gandhi said at a conclave hosted by FICCI Ladies Organisation.

She said she will also meet the Delhi Police Commissioner to curb child begging in the national capital.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)- the apex body for children under the Women and Child Development Ministry- had recently released its 'Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Children in Street Situations'.

The SOP lays down a sequence of actions to be taken for restoration and rehabilitation of street children. It has assigned NGO 'Childline' to be "the first point of contact" for rescuing street children.

Children recovered by the NGO will next be produced before a Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

Thereafter, the CWC will pass an interim order for short-term care and will send the child to the nearest Child Care Institute (CCI) or a "fit person" until his or her family can be contacted.

The SOP also aims to provide these children with an Aadhaar card, a bank account, health insurance as well as a sponsorship scheme to help meet educational, nutritional and medical needs.

Save the Children, an NGO which helped NCPCR formulate these guidelines, had also announced last month that they plan to provide Aadhaar cards to all 50,000 street children in Delhi in the next six months. 

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2 security personnel killed in face-off with Naxals in C'garh

Raipur, Mar 3, 2017 (PTI)

Two security personnel were killed and as many injured in an exchange of fire with Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district today, police said.

The skirmish took place near Cherli village under Mirtur Police Station limits when a joint team of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and district police was out on a road security operation, IG (in-charge), Bastar Range, Sundarraj P told PTI.

The team was on patrolling duty to ensure security of the under-construction Gangaloor-Mirtur road.

As they were cordoning-off a patch near Cherli, around 450 kms from state capital Raipur, the security personnel came under heavy firing from a group of ultras, leading to a fierce gun-battle, the IG said, adding the Naxals fled the spot soon after, he said.

"Constable Hemant Kumar, belonging to CAF's 10th battalion and district force's assistant constable, Gubba Ram (corrected name), were killed, while two other jawans were injured," Sundarraj said.

The injured have been identified as CAF constable Sahdev Rajwade and district force's assistant constable Muddaram, he said.

Reinforcement was rushed to the spot, he said, adding efforts are on to evacuate the injured personnel and bring the bodies of Kumar and Ram out of the forest.

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Akhilesh refutes PM's claim of ISI role in Kanpur train mishap

Ghazipur (UP), Mar 3, 2017 (PTI)

Refuting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim of ISI hand in the Kanpur train accident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today alleged that BJP leaders were used to seeking votes by "misguiding" the people.
"Our railway minister could not take care of the tracks in Kanpur and gave a false report to the prime minister that the ISI had damaged the tracks. I want to say that since the incident occurred in Uttar Pradesh, at least I should have been informed about it...But, no information...no truth in it," he told an election rally here.

Akhilesh also alleged that the leaders of the saffron party were "used to seeking votes by misleading the people".

Ghazipur is the Lok Sabha constituency of Union Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha.
As many as 150 people were killed in a train mishap in Kanpur on November 20, 2016, and on December 28, another train got derailed there. It was said that Pakistan's ISI was responsible for the incidents.

Regarding Union ministers and senior BJP leaders campaigning for the ongoing Assembly election in the state, the chief minister said, "Had the prime minister brought his work here (in Uttar Pradesh), his ministers would not have been required to campaign for his party."

In a veiled reference to the ongoing campus row in Delhi University involving the BJP's students wing ABVP, Akhilesh said, "I want to ask those patriotic people of the BJP, who are displaying their nationalism in Delhi, what have they done for the soldiers who laid down their lives for the country. What help was extended to their families."

"Only the SP government helps the families of soldiers who laid down their lives," he added.
The Samajwadi Party chief claimed that his party has already secured a lead in the first five phases of the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh Assembly election due to the works of its government and added that the "demoralised faces of the BJP and BSP leaders" said it all.

The sixth phase of the polls will be held tomorrow and the seventh and final phase on March 8. Results will be declared on March 11.

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Mercedes recalls 1M vehicles worldwide due to fire risk

Detroit, Mar 3, 2017, AP:

Mercedes is recalling about 1 million cars and SUVs worldwide because a starter part can overheat and cause fires.

The recall covers certain C-Class, E-Class and CLA cars and GLA and GLC SUVs, all from 2015 through 2017, including nearly 308,000 in the US.

The German automaker reported 51 fires worldwide, with about 30 in the United States. The company has no reports of any injuries.

Mercedes said in US government documents released today that if for some reason the engine and transmission won't turn over, a current limiter in the starter motor can overheat from repeated attempts to start the vehicles. That can cause the current limiter to overheat and melt nearby parts.

Mercedes began investigating the problem last June after getting field reports of "thermally damaged" current limiters.

Owners will be notified this month and again when replacement parts are available in July. It will take about an hour for dealers to install another fuse to prevent the problem. The repair will be done free of charge.

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