Condemned To Wait For A Qualified Hangman

By Wasbir Hussain

Guwahati, Jun 9 : Mahendra Nath Das was convicted of a murder so gruesome that India's courts gave him a rare death sentence and the president rejected his plea for clemency. Only one thing is keeping him from the gallows: there is no hangman.

It has been more than two decades since any convict was executed in Assam, and with no qualified executioners remaining, officials in this northeastern state are scouring the rest of the country for a candidate.

In all of India, where the death penalty is handed down in only the "rarest of rare" cases, there have been only two hangings in the past 15 years.

Das was convicted for publicly decapitating a victim. On April 24 1996, he snuck up behind Hara Kunta as the rival official in the local transporters' union sipped tea in a busy market in Assam's capital, Gauhati.

With a swing of his machete, Das decapitated Kunta. Then he carried the bloody head by the hair to a nearby police station screaming, "I have killed him."

Courts ruled that the public nature of the crime, combined with Das's horrifying walk through the streets, warranted the death penalty.

"We have started the process of putting up the gallows," said Brojen Das, the jailer of the prison at Jorhat, 300km east of Gauhati, who shares a common regional surname with the condemned man. But it is unclear when an executioner will be found to use it.

Prison authorities have written to their counterparts in other states but have gotten no response, said a prison official.

Qualified executioners - who know how to prepare the rope and tie the knot so as to cause a swift death - are scarce in India.

The last hanging took place in 2004, when a security guard was hanged in a Kolkata jail for the rape and murder of a teenage girl.

Nata Mullick, India's most famous hangman, came out of retirement at 84 to carry out that execution, earning $435 and a job for his grandson at the jail.

A third-generation hangman, Mullick executed 25 of the 55 people who died on the gallows since independence in 1947.

"It's an art: your skills need to be honed," he said in an interview.

But Mullick died in 2009 and no one has stepped up to take his place. This could have implications for other death row prisoners, including Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

Das's relatives continue to appeal for mercy.

17 Inmates of Manipur Prison Test HIV Positive

An Aerial Shot of Sajiwa Jail, Imphal, Manipur


Imphal, Jun 9 : At least 17 inmates of Central Sajiwa Jail in Imphal East have tested HIV positive, forcing the authorities concerned and NGOs to step up their campaign to combat the menace. With hardly 0.2 per cent of India's population, Manipur contributes nearly 8 per cent of the country's total HIV cases.

According to the latest epidemiological study of the Manipur State Aids Control Society (Macs), there are 38,016 HIV positive people and 10,109 are women and 2578 children. Besides, 9,985 are undergoing anti-retroviral therapy (ART).

A doctor, who is in-charge of therapy and counseling of jail inmates under the project, said 38 blood samples were collected for testing after carrying out counseling of prisoners.

He added that tattooing inside the jail has been banned following detection of the HIV positive cases.

Delhi Reviews Manipur Projects

Imphal, Jun 9 : Officials of the Union ministry of development for North East region (DoNER) have inspected various developmental projects funded by the non-lapsable central pool of resources and other major projects taken up under the Special Plan Assistance (SPA) in Manipur.

This came amid allegations by the opposition and local pressure groups that the government was maintaining quality in various development projects.

Led by the secretary of the ministry, Jayanti Chandra, and director, ministry of finance Vandita Kaul, the team arrived at Imphal airport on Monday on a two-day visit to the state.

The delegation, along with senior state officials, reviewed the construction of Lamlong Bridge, Keishamthong Bridge and National Sports Academy in both Imphal East and West, a source said. Later, Jayanti called on governor Gurbachan Jagat at the Raj Bhavan.

Northeast India May Puncture Maruti’s Drive

Maruti is on a roll in some pockets, but growth roadblocks remain in others. The automaker has made a detailed presentation of its case at the ongoing Citi India Investor Conference.

Maruti looks to ramp up its capacities to 1.9 million units by the end of FY13. Amit Dave/Reuters

The detailed briefing puts you on the inside track.

The Maruti Suzuki management has taken note of public enquiries, which are up 28% year-on-year. But consumers, it said, are holding back on actual purchases due to a string of factors like rising consumer expenditure, inflation and fuel price hikes. The management is all for more incentives to stimulate demand over the next few months.

One look at the growth graph, it’s enough to suggest that regionally South and West India are driving the momentum, but it’s North and East India that are stuttering. Among cities, growth is mostly coming from top 10 cities (10%) and rural India (>15%), but is somewhat losing its way in tier 2 /3 cities.

According to the management, in aggregate it has a cost plus pricing strategy. And within segments, it might not fully pass on costs as it seeks to counter the rising wave of competition. Input costs like steel are up 10% and rubber 20% year-on-year, which the company is still to pass on fully. Over the next 1-2 years, the management is seriously considering stepping up its margin by 100-200 basis points.

The management is looking at 4.5-5 million units as annual sales by 2016. Going forward, the company looks to ramp up its capacities to 1.9 million units by the end of FY13 and will commission a new 1 million unit in Gujarat.

27 People Killed in Assam Fatal Bus Accident

Guwahati, May 31 : At least 25 people were feared killed and six injured in Assam when a bus carrying a marriage party plunged into a gorge after hitting a wooden bridge late Monday, officials said.

The accident took place around 11 p.m. Monday near village Charabari in Kamrup district, about 30 km from Assam's main city of Guwahati.

The dead included the groom and relatives.

The bus was on its way from Guwahati to Tihu in Nalbari district.

"The marriage rituals were to take place early Tuesday, with the bus on its way with the groom to the bride's house in Tihu when the accident took place," police official A. Das said.

According to witnesses, the driver probably failed to notice the wooden bridge without any railings or signposts and then straightway plunged into a deep gorge.

"Six people were rescued by locals and admitted to local hospitals, while 25 bodies were recovered so far with rescue workers trying to fish out more bodies," the police official said.

There were 43 passengers on board the bus.

Nigerian Arrested For Murdering Girlfriend

Chong alias Cecelia

New Delhi, May 31 : A Nigerian national was arrested from south Delhi for murdering his Myanmarese girlfriend and dumping her body in a travel bag earlier this month, police said Monday.

Innocent Nwayo, 31, was arrested Sunday from Kotla Mubarakpur when he came to visit his friend Prince Michael, police said.

He killed his 22-year-old girlfriend May 20 and left the travel bag containing her body in his rented house in west Delhi's Uttam Nagar. After the murder he fled to Mumbai.

"The murder took place after the two entered into a scuffle as the victim suspected that Nwayo was attracted to a girl who came to their house along with three more friends April 28," a police official said.

"The body was found in a black travel bag. When the bag was opened it contained a decomposed body of a woman found wrapped in a blanket and tied with a plastic rope," police said.

The victim, identified as Chong alias Cecelia, was from Myanmar and worked in a beauty parlour at Munirka. She was in a live-in relationship with the Nigerian national, the police said.

She hailed from Myanmar but was brought up in Manipur. She came to Delhi in 2005 with her husband, whom she divorced last year.

Police said after killing her the Nigerian bought a travel bag from INA market to dispose of the body.

Before coming to India, he worked in the Nigerian police force.

Chong alias Cecelia Burial

Mizo Opposition Party Youth

Aizawl, May 31 : The youth wings of three major opposition parties in Mizoram have set June 15 as the deadline for chief minister Lal Thanhawla to roll back the recent hike in sales tax imposed by the Congress government in the state.

On Monday, youth leaders of the Mizo National Front (MNF), the Mizoram People's Conference (MPC) and the Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) threatened to launch a united tirade against the state government if it did not meet their demand.

MNF youth wing president Lalruatkima said at Rs 64.70 a litre, people in Aizawl have to pay more for petrol than their counterparts in New Delhi.

"The price of petrol in Mizoram is second highest in the region, only next to Assam.

The common people of Mizoram will suffer a lot because the prices of essential commodities will go up in the wake of the rise in petroleum produc prices," he added.

The rates of local sales tax were hiked on petroleum products from May 20, a week after Indian Oil Corporation increased petrol price by Rs 5 a litre.

"While the Centre refrained from further hike in petroleum prices to avoid public wrath, it is extremely unfortunate that the state government increased the rates at alarming rates," Lalruatkima said.

On the other hand, the Mizoram Road Transport Union, an umbrella organization of vehicle owners and drivers, and the Zoram Taxi Drivers` Association also criticized the government for "steep rise" in local sales tax rates on petroleum products.

Mizoram Still Highest Consumer of Tobacco in India

Other Northeast states Nagaland and Tripura follow close behind

Mizoram a state couched in north-east India is no doubt permeated with the spirit of natural beauty but it is the same state where 60 per cent of people indulge in smoking. The strange thing that has been put under the light by the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is that 22 per cent women of Mizoram indulge in smoking, compared to the meagre national level of 2.5 per cent, which is indeed startling.

This survey has also revealed the fact, that the ratio of women indulging in smoking have a higher death rate than the women who never smoked.

In the words of Nancy Malsawmtluangi:

I sell minimum 50 packs of cigarettes and 170 paans (betel leaves laved with tobacco) every day.

That can be one of the major reasons, why women of Mizoram are topping the cancer list of the country.

I think government will have to do a lot to check this trend and will have to try hard to make people aware of its implications.

Other News of Today of Mizo Smoking

Agartala, May 30 : Mizoram has emerged as the highest tobacco consuming state in the country followed by Nagaland and Tripura, Dr Goutam Majumder, Superintendent of Regional Cancer Centre said here today.

He said despite imposition of ban on smoking in public places, about 55.9 per cent of people in Tripura had been consuming tobacco (67.2 per cent in Mizoram and 56.8 per cent in Nagaland). According to statistics, while female tobacco users in the state was 48.1 per cent, 63.4 males used tobacco in Tripura.

''Females are found to be using smokeless tobacco than their male counterpart. Tobacco users of below 17 years are found highest in the state that counts for 29 per cent in a day,'' Dr Majumder said, adding that the tobacco using habit among minors had been on the rise.

Population based Cancer Registry Programme of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) shows occurrence of oesophagus, lung, mouth, nasopharynx and stomach cancer are relatively higher in Northeastern states as compared to other parts of the country.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has conducted a comprehensive study into the abnormal cancer growth in NE state during 2003-04, which revealed that Mizoram recorded the world's second highest cancer cases.

According to the report of the Development of Atlas of Cancer in India (DACI), Aizawl district has the highest Minimal Age Adjusted Incidence Rate (MAAIR) in India among women, followed by Serchhip district, which was also in Mizoram.

The study revealed, on an average about 40 people in a population of about a lakh suffer from stomach cancer in Northeast and this was only second to Japan's statistics after analysing the data of 105 hospitals spread over 82 districts across the country.