hi: A Delhi court on Tuesday issued fresh summons to a 52-year-old Danish woman, who was allegedly gang-raped by eight persons here last year, to appear before it on July 1 for recording of her testimony.

The court issued the summons again as the earlier one, issued on January 13, could not be served upon the woman to secure her presence as a prosecution witness and Delhi Police had sought some time for calling her here.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Kaveri Baweja directed that fresh summons be issued to the woman, who is residing in Denmark, as per the guidelines of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) which require a processing time of at least three months.

“I have been informed by the investigating officer (IO) today that some correspondence is going on with the authorities concerned at Denmark.”

“It is directed that fresh summons be issued to the victim as per the guidelines of MEA which require at least three months time for processing. It is directed that summons be issued to the victim for July 1,” the judge said.

The police, in its chargesheet, had said that the eight persons, all vagabonds, had robbed and gangraped the Danish tourist at knife-point on the night of January 14, 2014 after leading her to a secluded spot close to the Divisional Railway Officers’ Club near New Delhi Railway Station.

The eight accused, including two juveniles, were arrested in the case. The two juveniles are facing an inquiry before the Juvenile Justice Board here.

Meanwhile, the court recorded statement of prosecution witness, Kuldeep Singh, who was earlier a receptionist at JPN International Hotel where the woman had stayed during her visit when the incident took place.

Singh, whose part statement was recording earlier, today brought a DVD containing the footage of CCTV installed at the Hotel showing the woman going out of the hotel in the morning and returning there in the evening after the incident. The DVD was played in the court on a laptop.

The witness identified the woman and also submitted that when she had gone out in the morning, she was wearing slacks and on returning to the hotel in the evening, she was seen wearing a loose lower (pyjama).During cross-examination by the counsel for the adult six accused, the witness denied the suggestion that the woman appeared to be intoxicated when she returned to the hotel and this was the reason that she denied undergoing medical examination.

He also said the police had requested her several times to undergo medical examination but she refused.

He had earlier deposed that the woman was staying in the hotel since January 1, 2014 and on the night of incident when she came back, her clothes were torn and she looked nervous.

He had said after some time, he saw the victim talking to a Canadian woman, who informed him that she has been raped and robbed by eight-nine persons.

The court has now fixed the case for March 31 for recording of statements of prosecution witnesses.

The court had earlier directed the IO to furnish a report regarding the procedure to secure the victim’s presence before the court for recording her statement in the absence of mutual legal assistance treaty between India and Denmark.

The court’s direction had come after the IO had informed it that the summon issued to the woman has returned unserved as India does not have a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) with Denmark.

The six adult accused — Mahendra alias Ganja (24), Mohd Raja (22), Raju (23), Arjun (21), Raju Chakka (22) and Shyam Lal (55) — are in judicial custody and facing trial.

The total eight accused have been booked under Sections 376(2)(g) (gangrape), 397 (robbery or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 392 (robbery) of IPC.

New Delhi: Almost three years after they split, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday shared stage with Anna Hazare extending his full support to the Gandhian’s agitation against the land acquisition ordinance and said the law will make the Centre work like a “property dealer” for the corporates.

Signalling a rapprochement, Hazare welcomed his one-time protege at the stage of the protest venue as almost all AAP MLAs and senior leaders of the party joined the social activist in his agitation.

In his brief address, Kejriwal came down hard on the Centre for the controversial legislation and said BJP was punished in the Delhi assembly elections for their anti-poor policies though the same was given a massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections.

“If the amendment bill is passed, then this government will become a dalal, it will become property dealer for big companies. We vehemently oppose the bill. The current government should learn a lesson. People had whole-heartedly supported BJP in May and ensured their victory in the Lok Sabha polls. But after 8-9 months, due to their policies, people have uprooted BJP,” the Delhi Chief Minister said.

Kejriwal and Hazare, the two most prominent faces of the Lokpal movement fell apart after Kejriwal decided to launch a political party in October 2012.

“In the country, if any government makes law against the poor, makes laws against the farmers, the public will not let it last. They will teach them a lesson. We support the country-wide agitation against the law under the leadership of Anna Hazare. We support and today as Chief Minister of Delhi, I want to announce that no one will be allowed to take land forcibly in the city,” Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal was among a host of leaders cutting across party lines who joined the agitation on a day the government introduced the land acquisition bill in Lok Sabha amid a walk out by the opposition.

Though Hazare had earlier ruled out sharing stage with any politician, political leaders including CPI’s Atul Anjan and Vaiko of MDMK were among those sitting on the dais. Slamming the Modi government over the land ordinance, the Delhi Chief Minister said interests of the poor and farmers must be protected and assured the gathering that compensation as per market rates will be given to anyone for land in Delhi.

“If we want to develop this nation, then we have to take the public along. We cannot do by running bulldozer over them. Then the public will run the bulldozer over you,” he said.

Calling Hazare his “guru” and someone like his father, Kejriwal said he supports the Gandhian’s movement with “heart and soul”.

“I want to tell Annaji that I always consider him my guru, someone like my father, and I want to say Annaji that we are with you and support this movement with our heart and soul.”

“If the government wants to do development, if we want to open schools, build hospitals, if we want to build metro, if we want to give facilities, I’ve seen that public will willingly give their land,” he said.

The Chief Minister called the compensation prescribed in the law as “betrayal”.

“What they are claiming to be four times the rate is actually a betrayal. Just now someone told me that in Meerut, the circle rate is Rs 2,000, the market rate is Rs 20,000. These people say they will pay 4-times which will be Rs 8,000 while the market rate is Rs 20,000. This is betrayal, the entire law is betrayal,” he said.

Earlier, Kejriwal waited for sometime near the stage at the protest venue as Hazare had said politicians will not be allowed to share the dais. But the Delhi Chief Minister was welcomed to the stage where he sat next to Hazare.

A number of AAP leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and almost all party MLAs, participated in the protest. The Delhi Chief Minister had called on Hazare at the Maharashtra Sadan last evening.

Hazare started his two-day protest yesterday. He had said a ‘jail bharo’ movement will be launched from the Ramlila Ground after holding “padyatra” across the country for three-four months against the land ordinance.

New Delhi: Members of several farmers’ unions from across the country on Tuesday marched to Parliament House to register their opposition to the government’s land ordinance with social activists Anna Hazare and Medha Patkar joining the protesters here.

Raising slogans like “Scrap land acquisition ordinance, ensure land rights” and “bhoo adhigrahan nahi, bhoo adhikar chahiye” (we want land rights, not land acquisition), members of several unions of farmers and agricultural workers marched from Kerala House at Jantar Mantar to Parliament Street.

Hazare — who himself launched a two-day stir here yesterday against the ordinance — and Patkar were greeted at the protest venue on Parliament Street by MDMK leader Vaiko, CPI leader and All India Kisan Sabha general secretary Atul Anjan and CPI(M) leader Hanan Mollah.

“We are meeting the President (Pranab Mukherjee) at 6 pm today. He had supported the law when he was a minister. We will request him to not sign on anything which is not in the interest of farmers and, hence, of the country,” said Mollah.

It is an-eight member delegation comprising the leaders of various farmers’ unions which will be calling upon Mukherjee.

“The Narendra Modi government is acting only in favour of corporates and not farmers. The law which was brought after years of struggle, deliberations and discussions, it only took nine months for the BJP-led government to do away with it,” he added.

Slamming the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojna, Anjan said, “Modi ji, you became Prime Minister by promising to deposit Rs 15 lakh in everybody’s account in 100 days. However, we are giving you one year’s time. If you fail to do so, we all countrymen will cordon off Parliament. The day you would call a joint session, all opposition would join hands and you would face your worst-ever defeat.”

A leader of the Bhartiya Kisan Union said, “In the past nine months, the Modi government has not taken even a single decision to benefit farmers; rather it has taken all decisions to benefit only the corporates.”

CPI’s All-India Kisan Sabha, Bharatiya Khet Mazdoor Union and CPI(M)’s All-India Agricultural Workers’ Union have also written an open letter to all MPs and political parties urging them to unite against the land ordinance in Parliament.

“We appeal to you to rebuff the BJP-led government’s undemocratic move to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, through an ordinance.

“It goes against the established norms of parliamentary democracy and is clearly aimed at promoting profiteering and real estate speculation by corporates and land mafia,” the letter says.

P Krishna Prasad, treasurer of All-India Kisan Sabha, said,” The ordinance is merely an instrument for speedy appropriation and facilitation of land acquisition in a quick, cheap and easy way with little concern for consent, just compensation, effective rehabilitation and resettlement of land owners and the others dependent on land.”

Kolkata: The Missionaries of Charity on Tuesday rubbished RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s claim that religious conversions had taken place under Mother Teresa’s leadership of the organisation, saying he was ‘misinformed’.

“He is misinformed. It should be absolutely clear that conversion was not going on when Mother was there, nor it is going on now. The whole motive is to serve the poor selflessly, bring joy and dignity into their lives,” Sunita Kumar, spokesperson of the organisation founded by Teresa in 1950, told a news agency.

A close confidante of Mother Teresa for many years, Kumar said, “I never saw anything like that (conversion) happening. It is all rubbish.”

She said when the sisters and nuns of the missionary organisation served people they never look at which religion they belonged to.

“A Muslim is treated like a Muslim and a Hindu is treated like a Hindu. I am myself a Sikh and that never affects my relationship with the Missionaries of Charity,” she said, adding that there are regular all-faith meetings in their premises.

Teresa, who died in 1997 in Kolkata, was conferred the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and beatified as the “Blessed Teresa of Calcutta” in 2003.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had yesterday triggered a controversy by saying that “Mother Teresa’s service would have been good. But it used to have one objective, to convert the person, who was being served, into a Christian.”

Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto)’s Sister SM Cyril, who knew Mother Teresa closely, said it was silly and stupid to think like that.

“It is completely wrong that they have been propagating conversion. She never hoped that those who are serving will convert to Christianity. She had selfless love for people in her heart and that is why she served them,” said the Padma Shri awardee who has served as the principal of Loreto Day School, Sealdah.

Thane: The city police has booked former Maharashtra cabinet minister and NCP MLA of Kalwa-Mumbra MLA Jitendra Awhad as well seven Thane Municipal Corporation corporators for allegedly defying prohibitory orders and leading a protest rally, police sources said here on Sunday.

Police sub inspector A M Kolekar of the Naupada police station told PTI that protesters wearing black bands around their mouths had marched towards the Gadkari Rangayatan on Friday evening.

They were charged under Section 37(3) of the B P Act and Section 135 which was clamped in the city during the period.

Others who have been booked include NCP corporators including Nazeeb Mullah, Milind Patil, Ameet Sarayya, Manohar Salvi, Suhas Desai, Shannu Pathan and Mukund Kini.

Also booked were around 100 activists who had joined the protest rally.

In a related development, the city police had refused permission to a symposium organised by the Muslim Youth Forum about Shivaji Maharaj.

The police claimed that allowing such a symposium which dealt Shivaji’s views on Muslims would give rise to law and order issues, due to which permission to the event was denied.

Organisers had never asked permission for the event which the police learnt about through the media.

Meanwhile, Awhad and others condemned the police for not allowing the symposium and termed it “crushing democratic rights”.

Mumbai: Firing a fresh salvo against the BJP-led government, Shiv Sena on Monday said nothing has changed in Maharashtra despite change of regime and ridiculed the Devendra Fadnavis government over the failure to arrest killers of communist leader Govind Pansare.

In a veiled attack on the Chief Minister, an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece said, “What has changed with the new government? If someone knows please tell us.”

The Sena ridiculed the state government over failure to arrest the killers of the anti-toll tax campaigner, who died on Friday after being shot at in Kolhapur.

“This is a repeat of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar’s murder,” the Sena said.

“The Chief Minister and the government have changed but the system is the same. People are asking for the Chief Minister’s resignation as he is the Home Minister,” it said.

“Fadnavis said if police put in all their might they may catch the killers,” the Sena said, adding the remarks tantamount to distrust of police.

The latest remarks indicate the unease in the BJP-Sena alliance. After BJP snapped the 25-year alliance ahead of October 15 Assembly polls, Sena joined the government on December 5 as BJP with 122 MLAs did not have a clear majority in the 288-member House.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Governor and Chancellor of universities in the state C Vidyasagar Rao has convened a meeting of Vice-Chancellors of non-agricultural universities on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Finance and Planning Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, Higher, Technical and Education Minister Vinod Tawde, Ministers of State and senior government officials will attend the meeting, which will be held in Sahyadri State Guest House at 5 PM, a Raj Bhavan spokesperson said.

The meeting comes after Mumbai University Vice-Chancellor Rajan Welukar was on February 19 removed from his post after being found that he did not qualify for it.

The previous meeting of the Joint Board of Vice- Chancellors was held on September 3, 2013.

The governor will also present President’s Police Medals and Police Medals for Distinguished and Meritorious Service to 57 police officers and personnel at Darbar Hall in Raj Bhavan tomorrow evening.

The police medals were announced on the Republic Day in 2013. Fadnavis and senior police officers will be present on the occasion.