Indian rape case

REUTERS

The accused "decided ahead of time" they would look for a woman and "intended to kill her"‚ the police report claims.

NEW DELHI: The gang of men charged with the rape and murder of an Indian physiotherapy student deliberately tried to find a woman to rape and kill and ended the night with blood on their clothes, a police report seen by Reuters said.

Five men, along with a teenager who says he is under 18, gathered for dinner at a dwelling in a south Delhi slum on the evening of December 16 and there hatched the plot to find a target, according to the dossier given to court by the prosecution.

The accused "decided ahead of time" they would look for a woman and "intended to kill her", the police report claims.

The file, which runs to more than 600 pages contains the prosecution's evidence in the case, which it describes as including forensic evidence against the men, along with confessions, witness statements and medical reports.

However, defense lawyers assigned by the court on Thursday said the prosecution's case is marred by lapses in the investigation, not least the long period during which their clients were without legal representation. The defense has not yet filed its reply to the prosecution's dossier.

The court hearing the case took cognizance of the police document, known as a charge sheet, on Saturday. Under Indian law once a court takes cognizance of a charge sheet it becomes public record.

The gang boarded a bus that the alleged gang leader, Ram Singh, drove by day to ferry children to school and went out in search of a victim. They found the student accompanied by a male friend who were looking for transport home after watching the movie "Life of Pi" at a South Delhi shopping mall, according to the report submitted to the court.

Police arrested Singh the next day after tracing the bus using security camera footage from a hotel. He was still wearing a T-shirt stained with the victim's blood and "on sustained interrogation" confessed and led the police to his accomplices, the police report said.

The other accused are Singh's brother Mukesh, Akshay Kumar Singh, alias Thakur, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma, all of whom are expected to plead not guilty when the trial begins. Mukesh Singh claims he was tortured while in police custody, his lawyer said on Thursday.

A sixth member of the gang, a teenager, is being processed as a juvenile, has not so far been charged and will be tried separately. Police have said they are conducting bone tests to determine his age as they suspect he may be over 18 years old.

IRON RODS

After being caught by police, Ram Singh produced two bloodied iron rods from the bus, which had been used to beat the victim and her friend, and were inserted into her body, causing massive organ damage, the report claims.

According to the police dossier, the accused turned the lights out and took turns driving the bus, while two men held the woman down and another raped her. She suffered bite marks on several parts of her body, but also fought back and managed to bite her attackers. Their injuries are part of the case against them, the police report said.

After removing part of the victim's intestines and throwing both her and her companion from the moving vehicle, they then tried to drive the bus over her. But her companion pulled her away, the report said.

They were left "badly injured and bleeding" on a flyover in south Delhi and were found naked by a highway worker who gave the man a shirt and called the police.

The victim, whom Reuters has opted not to name because Indian law generally prohibits doing so, died in a Singapore hospital of infection and "multiple organ failure" two weeks after the crime.

After the attack, Ram Singh tried to wipe the bus clean with the victims' clothes, then made a fire to burn the clothes and other incriminating evidence, the report alleges. Witnesses from the neighborhood he lived in came to the fire to warm themselves, the report said.

The dossier purports to rely on some 80 witnesses, along with DNA matches, mobile telephone tower records, video evidence, stolen goods belonging to the victims in possession of the accused, the bloodied clothes of the suspects, and the weapons used in the attack.

The prosecution will seek the death sentence for murder.

what is law?

KATHMANDU, JAN 10 - TRIAL, a Swiss organisation working against impunity, has urged the government to collaborate with the UK government on ongoing investigations into Nepal Army Col Kumar Lama, who has been charged with acts of torture committed during the armed conflict.
Lauding the arrest of Col Lama in the UK, TRIAL appealed to the Nepal government to stand in solidarity with victims of the conflict by cooperating with his prosecution. Col Lama was arrested last week in the UK under Section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act, which defines torture as a crime having “universal jurisdiction”.
“The arrest of Col Lama in the UK is fully in line with international law and is the natural consequence of the government of Nepal’s failure to investigate and bring to book those responsible for committing serious human rights violations during the conflict,” said TRIAL in a statement on Thursday. 
TRIAL also criticised senior members of the government who deemed Lama’s UK arrest “an attack on the nation’s sovereignty” and demanded his immediate release. According to the Swiss organisation, such statements from Nepali authorities disregard the country’s international obligations to prosecute or extradite those guilty of human rights violations.
Meanwhile, THRD Alliance, another human rights organisation, also commended the UK government for Col Lama’s arrest. 
“The arrest certainly does not breach the nation’s sovereignty as claimed by the political parties,” the Alliance said in a statement. “It is rather related to rule of law, which the government doesn’t seem to be very serious about.”
Justifying Col Lama’s arrest, the Alliance pointed to the government’s failure to form vital transitional justice mechanisms—the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission for the Disappeared—as agreed to by the political parties in the Comprehensive Peace Accord, a deal signed at the beginning of the peace process in 2006.
“The lack of political will to book perpetrators of serious human rights violations is very obvious in the Nepali political arena,” read the statement. “We [the Alliance] urge the government to cooperate with the British police for a fair trial.” 

FREE

JAN 10 - Ours is not a time when impunity on personal liability for international crime should be veiled under the pretext of diplomatic immunity. The development of international criminal law inspired by the aspirations of human rights does not tolerate contempt of human rights. Acts of a government or its officials that are in violation of the peremptory norms of international criminal law enforceable with universal jurisdiction cannot invoke the privilege of diplomatic immunity. 
In recent days, the Nepal government, and politicians are in denial of the self-evident truth on human rights by ignoring the abuses that took place during the 10 years of conflict. A case in point: the recent arrest of the Nepal Army officer, Col Kumar Lama, on a charge of torture in the UK. Col Lama has been charged with intentionally inflicting severe pain or suffering to individuals in two separate incidents between April and May 2005 at the Gorusinghe Army Barracks in Kapilvastu. The public seems happy with the arrest, but the government and political leaders are protesting against the arrest as an assault on Nepal’s sovereignty, a violation of the international law of diplomatic immunity (as a UN peace keeper), and an act in contravention of the general principles of international law. 
Are the arguments of the Nepal government and political leaders used in denouncing the arrest of Col Lama justifiable under the international law? The simple and plain conclusion is no. Instead, their arguments undermine the value of human rights, and the rule of law. Let me support this conclusion with the following. 
First, both Nepal (accession on May 14, 1991) and the United Kingdom (ratified December 8, 1988) are parties to the Convention against Torture (CAT), 1984, which entered into force from June, 1987. Article 5(2) of the CAT requires the State Parties to create a universal jurisdiction in which they should try and penalise acts of torture taken place anywhere in the world. The presence of any alleged offender in the territory of a Party to the CAT requires them to arrest the alleged offender and start prosecution. Thus, the arrest of Col Lama falls under the premise and requirement of the CAT Article 5(2). 
Second, Article 29 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, and Article 31 of its Optional Protocol provide diplomatic immunity from arrest and detention. The contextual question is: has the UK government violated diplomatic immunities in the case Col Lama? This question should be examined in the light of Articles 1, 2 & 4 of the CAT, and the legal principles established under the international law, including in the famous case of General Pinochet. 
CAT Article 2.2 denies any ‘circumstances whatsoever’ to be invoked as a justification for torture. In other words, the veil of state power, office, or position cannot be invoked to escape from the charge of torture. This is made clearer by CAT Article 2.3, which forbids the exoneration of any public officer for an act of torture even on the grounds of following superior’s order. What is more, the offence of torture itself is the product of the abuse of public office or authority. Article 1 of the CAT defines the crime of torture as the severe pain or suffering inflicted by a public officer. It is clear that the CAT does not discount any public officer from the charge of torture on any grounds, including diplomatic immunity. 
The development of the CAT as the segment of the principles of jus cogens or peremptory norms under international law has special significance. The jus cogens principle has institutionalised the CAT as fundamental in international law, and thus obligations arising from it cannot be set aside on any grounds. Especially, the post-war development of international law has featured torture as a crime against humanity. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has clearly recognised torture as a peremptory norm. As a part of jus cogens, the CAT enjoys a higher place in the hierarchy of international law than any treaty or even customary rules. 
Pinochet’s case, decided by the House of Lords of the UK in 1999, explains the relationships between the CAT, diplomatic immunity, and domestic law of the UK. This landmark decision has clearly established a personal liability for a public official of any rank or nationality violating the CAT. The House of Lords observes that, “… it would run completely contrary to the intention of the Convention if there was anybody who could be exempt from guilt.” In short, the Pinochet principle is significant in establishing that anyone who is suspected of torture could be accused under the universal jurisdiction of the Convention. No negotiators ever opposed the inclusion of the principle of universal jurisdiction even during the negotiations. Now, as a party to the Convention, the Government of Nepal cannot simply decline the application of its universal jurisdiction.
Also, the arrest of Col Lama is authorised by Section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1988 of the UK, which fulfills the country’s obligation to have effective legislative, administrative, and judicial measures in place to prevent the acts of torture. 
An official, including a head of state or head of government, is liable to prosecution anywhere in the world as long as the country is party to the Convention. The concern for Nepal’s government, at this point, should not be in engaging in arguments that are contrary to international law. It would instead be better if the government ensured that no human rights violation went unpunished. Still, Nepal’s government has every responsibility to ensure that Col Lama gets fair trial. As they say, until proven guilty, you remain innocent. 

URBAN STREET DANCE IN POKHARA

KATHMANDU, JAN 10 - The World Dance Council—AAL, with the support of Event Extravaganza and Inferno Events, is organising Urban Street Dance, an open dance competition, in Pokhara this month. The event, set to begin on January 26 (from 3:45 pm onwards), will be a fun-filled affair that hopes to promote dance events in the country. 
The two-day programme is an open affair, which means solo dancers, duos, as well as dance troupes are welcome to compete. All performances will be judged on the basis of several voting mechanisms: a panel of experienced judges, votes from the multimedia crew, SMS votes, as well as the number of ‘likes’ the dance videos receive on Facebook. 
Although titled Urban Street Dance, all genres of dance are expected to be performed. The event will even be telecast on national TV via the 
entertainment channel e24. Organisers say that they are currently in talks with a reputed international dance competition organising crew in the hopes of letting the winners of this national-level competition participate in a dance-off of a greater, grander scale.  
The programme will also feature well-known singers, who will be performing in between the dances. Their presence and their music will certainly help attract more audiences at an event which will perhaps be a celebration of dance and music. What’s more, these dances will not be limited to the stage as DJ sessions have been planned for the event. DJs from around the world will be playing some of the biggest hits of the past year and this one so that audiences can party, and have a good time. In a sense, the dance competition itself applies to the 
audience as those who show the best moves off-stage will be awarded handy cash prizes.
The winners of the actual open dance challenge itself will receive cash prizes (six-digit figures that are yet to be disclosed), and will be featured in a number of advertisements, select shows as well as campaigns. 
Categories such as ‘best performing crew’, ‘best performer’, ‘best choreographer’, ‘most-wanted crew’,  ‘multi-media-liked crew’ and ‘viewer’s choice—Facebook Promo’ have already been set. National-level champions will also be selected from amongst the 
participating dancers. 

THE BEST LEADER

JAN 04 - It’s about time our beloved president threw a fit. Our clowns really don’t seem to take him seriously at all. The next time they visit him to request another extension, he should jump from his chair and break a table and throw it out the window. He may need to take a few karate lessons from our martial artists but his ‘break the table’ move could scare the daylights out of our clowns.
The president should lock all these buffoons in his living room and not let them out until they forge consensus and resolve the political crisis. He should not even provide any refreshments or else our freeloaders will spend thousands of rupees in chiya and samosas at the expense of our taxpayers. 
Let them bring their own sleeping bags and cooking utensils. Binod Chaudhary can provide free Wai Wais and our local farmers can give a bora of chiura. The Kalimati Vegetable Market can donate some onions, tomatoes and green chillies. I don’t think we need to teach our clowns how to make a mean Wai Wai Saandheko!  
The Kangaroos are still sticking with old man Sushil. He already has the credentials to be our prime minister. He has at least received love from his own cadres. Jhallu got slapped and he got the 
kurchi. So, maybe the time is right for Sushil da to sleep in Baluwatar. At his age, he should be going on a religious pilgrimage instead of grabbing the kurchi.
Bijaya dai is already the deputy sheriff and he wants to be the first Madhesi prime minister. He has really worked hard to reform the police force by adding more SSPs than needed and transferring crooked cops to lucrative postings. He has wiped out corruption from the police force since most of his pals are on the most wanted list and our senior cops aren’t getting any dough from them.
Some of our clowns have even proposed having co-prime ministers so that both of them can attend ribbon-cutting ceremonies in the East and the West at the same time. If we really want co-prime ministers, then the right candidates would be Madan Krishna and Hari Bansha. Our politicians lack a sense of humour. The Maha-jodi could help relieve the frustration of daily shortages. Instead of listening to the bhajans every morning, we can tune in to our radios and start the day with daily jokes.
Our Emperor is back to his old crazy antics. If he was working for Google, the company would have launched a new product every week. The Emperor probably spends majority of his time thinking of new circus acts. Now, he has proposed having an independent person as the prime minister. Do we really need a civil society leader to sleep in Baluwatar? Most of them civil society leaders are affiliated to major political parties and they already seem to have been in a coma for the past six years. 
The right candidate to lead the consensus government would be Rajesh Hamal. Finally, we will have someone who will not look like a hobbit (with due respect to all the little people) when taking a picture with the Obamas. 
When Hamal addresses the UN General Assembly, other world leaders will actually listen to him because he has a master’s degree in English. He does know when to pause during a speech and knows a thing or two about syllables and pronunciation. He will probably even quote the classics and know when to raise his hand and shake his head to make a point.
Hamal is a hard worker and has been working in the film industry for the past two decades, unlike our clowns who have never held a regular job. While most of our Kollywood actors and actresses seem to lack social etiquette, Hamal is respected by the masses and the so-called classes. 
Our Emperor has his irritating juggling acts, Dr Saheb has his ‘horse’s eyesight’, but our Rajesh dai has his ‘Hand of Iron’. When Rajesh dai speaks, we will listen. When there is injustice, he will be in the front line unlike Dr Saheb who goes to a radio station and apologises but does nothing more. 
Hamal will probably have the right words for all occasions. He must have thousands of filmy dialogues in his head. Unlike our clowns, who blame everyone else except their mothers, Hamal 
will blame himself if he can’t get things done. And if nothing works out, he will go home and make more movies instead of hanging on to power.
Maybe we should have non-political hardworking citizens to fill up the cabinet as well. Puspha Basnet should head the Women & Children Ministry. She is a ‘doer’ and not a ‘talker’. Former finance secretary Rameshwor dai should head the Finance Ministry. Then all our fake VAT bill wallahs will finally pay the taxes they have been evading so far. We need ‘real’ people to lead us instead of fake prophets and their band of snake charmer.

Abin
 
Hang on! Let the President get off first... He may announce another extension..................................................

PHOTO ESSAY

JAN 04 - Four distinct elements—Durbar Square, Taumadhi Square, Dattatreya Square and the Pottery Square—combine to make up the whole of Bhaktapur’s Durbar Square. This is an area rich in cultural heritage, wherein many age-old Newar traditions and rituals still find continuity in the present day life of locals, part of the reason for which it has come to be enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 
What has always separated Bhaktapur most distinctly from other old settlements in the Valley, however, is its architecture. Although the smallest of the three Malla townships, great attention had been lavished here when the economy and patronage for the arts were at their peak between the 14th and 18th centuries, a time when Bhaktapur was practically overrun with prolific architectural activities. 
Over time, however, Bhaktapur’s landscape has been undergoing a steady transformation, first triggered, experts say, in 1769 AD, when Prithvi Narayan Shah amalgamated the towns to unify the country. The subsequent effects of advancements in functional requirements, infrastructural development and urbanisation that came of the years that followed, slowly became visible in changes in the very architectural character of the city.
Today, we find traditional design aesthetics becoming increasingly abandoned in favour of simpler façades. Those exquisitely carved wooden doors and windows, for instance, once a Bhaktapur staple, are slowly but surely disappearing, replaced by convertible shutters—modern, practical, generic. Wells, stone conduits and spouts all around the area are drying up because newly-made concrete foundations have blocked water channels. And these are just a few examples.
There is, right now, a choice to be made; whether to run with the technological advancements and the influence of the West on our design conceptions, or whether to perpetuate that which we’ve been handed down by our ancestors, those cultural gifts that have long made us unique. Perhaps there is a middle ground somewhere, where the aesthetics of the past can be aligned with the functionality of the present, and hopefully, we will be able to find it before time runs out and there is nothing to preserve.