Manzar Imam’s wedding is dying mother’s wish

RANCHI: Zadiha Khatun, mother of arrested Indian Mujahideen operative Manzar Imam, wants to see her son get married before she breathes her last.

Manzar's elder sister, Razda Khanam, made public the last wish of her mother, who is in a critical stage of kidney malfunction. "My mother wants to see Manzar married before she breathes her last," she said. On Tuesday, when TOI visited Manzar's two-storeyed house in Bariatu, Khatun could barely speak.

Imam is the fourth of the five siblings. "My third son, Badar Imam (30), got married last year. Now it is Manzar's turn," said Imam's father, Md Ali Imam, who is the president of Bariatu Masjid Committee.

The 25-year-old's arrest has come as a shock to his family members, who are trying to cope with the crisis and still believe that Imam is innocent. "NIA claims that he had taken training in Kerala. In fact, he has never gone out of Jharkhand," his elder brother Safdar Imam claimed.

Imam has been a brilliant student and did his schooling from Government High School in Bariatu, intermediate and graduation from Ranchi College and MA from Ranchi University. In 2007, he received gold medal for topping in Urdu for the masters degree.

Imam was arrested on Monday morning at Kanke, on the basis of an FIR lodged in 2008 in Kerala, while he was on his way to Bariatu to meet his ailing mother. He is alleged to have taken part in a was one of the 43 participants in a terrorist training camp in Kerala's Thangalpara jungle in 2008. He is also wanted in several blast cases, including those in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune and Ernakulam.

However, for the last five years, Imam has been evading arrest.

"We are living under the shadow of fear ever since his name came out in newspapers for alleged involvement in blasts. Our dream of seeing him as a professor at some good college has been shattered with his name appearing on the suspect list in serial blasts cases," said Nazar, Imam's youngest brother.

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TOWERING BATTLE BETWEEN HEALTH AND CONNECTIVITY

RANCHI: The erratic installation of mobile towers in the state have robbed Ranchiites of their sleep. Residents who have base transceiver stations (BTS towers) or mobile towers, installed atop their houses and near their flats are complaining of losing sleep. Some of them have complained of high-irritatibility as well. They are being advised by doctors to shift to a place which has lesser number of mobile towers to get good sleep and restore calm of mind.

M B K Sinha, the assistant professor of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), said it was common for people living in areas dotted with mobile towers to suffer from sleeplessness and irritability.

Sunil Mahapatra (name changed), a resident of Burdman Compound, is one among a growing tribe of people facing such disorders. "I was advised by my doctor to move to a location where there were less mobile towers. I moved to Namkum in a rented flat," said Mahapatra. But unfortunately, the Namkum area is also not free from the menace of mobile tower radiation and Mahapatra has to pop sleeping pills for a peaceful night.

Consultant physician and cardiologist Manoj Kumar Vadani agreed, "Shift ing locations in such cases make a huge difference. Areas with radio frequency levels within the acceptable range cause less harm."

In a number of cases, electromagnetic radiation from mobile towers has led to the impairment of the growth of the foetus in pregnant women, said Gopa Choudhary, assistant professor of gynaecology department at RIMS. "Of late, several incidents of growth retardation in foetus, abnormal birth, and even deaths have been reported owing to mobile tower radiation," she added. Though Choudhary did not confirm any such incident, she said, "It is a countrywide phenomenon. We will now try to find out more about such effects in Ranchi."

It is no surprise then that the largest hospital in Jharkhand is itself situated amidst a jungle of mobile towers. Recently, the Rajasthan high court asked for mobile towers in educational institutions, hospitals, playgrounds, jails and monuments to be relocated elsewhere.

There has been powerful activism against erection of illegal mobile towers across the length and breadth of the city. Ashish Kumar Singh, an advocate who had filed a PIL in 2010 for the removal of the illegal mobile towers in Ranchi, said medical reports have already proved that exposure to electromagnetic waves from mobile towers cause loss of retention power in kids and at times memory loss. "It also leads to cancer," said Singh. A group of environmentalists had also drawn the attention of the high court to the harmful effects of radiation.

Early this year, following the directions of the Jharkhand high court, a high-level team comprising experts from Birla Institute of Technology (Mesra) had been assigned the task of studying the effects of radiation. But the work is still pending because of technical difficulties. Nisha Gupta, the head of the department of electronics and communication, who is heading the team, said, "The study has been stalled because of technical difficulties."

Despite all this, Jharkhand's Telecom Enforcement Resource & Monitoring (TERM) Cell, a watchdog under the ministry of communication and IT department of telecommunications, claims that radiation from mobile towers (base station antennae) are within the limits for general public exposure.

J B Prasad, Jharkhand's deputy director general, TERM cell, said, "Our vigilance experts have conducted an analysis of emission levels on several mobile towers in Ranchi and other districts on a random basis. It has come to our notice that around 100% BTS's located in Ranchi and other districts are complying with the norms".

TERM officials had conducted the sample survey in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Bokaro, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and other districts where the BTS's towers were found 100% compliant, said Prasad.

In 2010, the department of telecommunications (DoT) had issued detailed instructions to telecom service providers across the country for meeting guidelines of International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

" ICNIRP, widely connected to a large community working on non-ionizing radiation protection around the world, is formally recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the field of non-ionizing radiation," said a senior TERM official. Prasad, however, said if someone thinks that any mobile mast in his area is dangerous or emits radiation, he should immediately complain to the department. We shall verify the same and take necessary action." There are around 6000 BTSs of 2G, 3G, GSM and CDMA in Jharkhand. DoT guidelines clearly say that sites found non-compliant by TERM Cells will face a penalty of Rs 5 lakh per BTS. It also adds that the site, found non-compliant, may also be shut down.

Prasad, however, said that there is no government direction about the installation of mobile towers near educational institutions, hospitals, playgrounds and other public places.

RANCHI HAS MORE THAN 1000 ILLEGAL MOBILE TOWERS

RANCHI: Almost 1000-odd base transceiver stations (BTS towers) better known as mobile towers, which can jeopardize several lives any time, have been illegally erected, said Ranchi Municipal Corporation officials. The civic body has already issued a public notice, through newspapers, to all such mobile tower operators urging them to comply with the norms. The RMC authorities will soon sit down for a meeting and decide upon the last date for the mobile operators to take necessary measures to comply with the RMC Building By-laws or else their mobile towers will be sealed or dismantled. The move will break down all mobile networks in Ranchi (because one tower is used by several operators) and affect thousands of lives across the state.

Deputy chief executive officer of RMC Gopalji Tiwari said, "RMC Building By-laws strictly say that mobile tower operators need to obtain no objection certificates (NOC) from the civic body before any of the towers are installed. But none of the existing mobile towers have taken NOC from RMC for the erection of their infrastructures." It may be noted that municipalities in Delhi, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and other cities have already launched similar drivers.

Most of the mobile towers are situated near hospitals, schools, colleges, playgrounds and other public places. RMC claims that none of the towers follow building structural safety norms and their structural safety is unchecked and uncertified. In case, the mobile towers collapse owing to rains or powerful winds, they may lead to serious casualties.

In a sample survey conducted some months ago, RMC had found gross violations of structural safety by these mobile towers. "A meeting of the operators from various companies was called and instructions issued. But only 35 of them have submitted their documents so far," said Tiwari.

It has been over three months since the public notice was released by the municipality. But the civic body has neither sealed the mobile towers nor dismantled them.

A deputy director general rank official in BSNL said on conditions of anonymity, "We do not have any instructions from our ministry to seek such NOC from the local municipality." BSNL has, however, submitted several documents to RMC which it has obtained from DOT. Private mobile operators could not be reached for comments.

ARJUN MUNDA BANKS ON DIVINE INTERVENTION TO SAVE HIS GOVERNMENT

RANCHI: Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda is banking on divine intervention to save his government, as Shibu Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has mounted pressure on him to quit.

Soren on Wednesday insisted that the BJP should abide by an unwritten power-sharing agreement between the two parties that they would run the government on 28-month rotational basis.

Sources in CM's house said Munda and his wife chant Sankat Mochan Hanuman mantras and read Hanuman Chalisa seven times every day. Munda does not even take breakfast before his daily puja.

Acharya Ravi Shastri, who had done vaastu corrections at then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao's official residence in 1995, said he did a similar ritual at Munda's house. "The vastu correction was done to avert political crisis," said Shastri. "No political crisis would plague the government. I had told the same to Rao in 1995 when he had taken me for vastu corrections."

Shashtri said Rao's coalition government was in trouble throughout, but managed to complete its term.

Ajay Shastri, chief priest of the CM's in-house temple, said, "Mundaji does a parikrama of the temple every morning after chanting mantras as advised to him."

It is believed that the one who does this where Lord Hanuman's idol is installed in its Sankat Mochan form is saved from all troubles and enemies. "As advised, Munda has started wearing a Sankat Mochan Kavach (cover) in his neck too," said a source.

Munda is known for his religiosity. He arranged an elaborate 'grih pravesh' after ensuring certain vaastu corrections at the CM's official residence when he took over for the first time in 2002.

He installed a Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple at his official residence to ward off evils that could harm his health and political career after surviving a helicopter crash in May. In July, he even invited a group of priests from Ayodhya for vaastu corrections at his official residence again.

GIRL GETS FORMER BOYFRIEND STONED TO DEATH IN JHARKHAND

RANCHI: The Khunti police have arrested one, Renu Kumari, besides three others, for stoning to death her boyfriend Arun Kumar Mahto at Topra block of the district on October 1.

The twenty-two-year-old Arun was stoned to death by Renu current boyfriend - Nelson Aind and his two friends Alexandra Horo and Dipesh Horo -- with her watching from distance. The police on Tuesday recovered Arun's decomposed body from a jungle in Torpa block.

 Khunti SP Amarnath Mishra said Arun's head was crushed with boulders in the jungle by the trio.

Police said Renu had asked Arun to meet her at Kujri village in Torpa block on October 1. When Arun arrived at Kujri village at around noon he was confronted by Nelson, Alexandra and Dipesh. The trio forced him to go along with them to a deep jungle where he was stoned to death even as his girlfriend watched the gory incident from a distance.

The SP said Arun was Neha's first boyfriend. "The two had met at an ITI centre in Koderma a few years ago. The girl is originally from Simdega district, 50km away from Khunti. Arun even used to visit her in Simdega," the SP said.

Though Renu loved him a lot, Arun was not very attractive. In the meantime, Nelson, who was Arun's friend , came into her life she started going around with him. "The girl has confessed that Nelson met her just a couple of months ago," the SP said. After meeting Nelson, Renu started ignoring Arun and he went into depression.

"I had asked Nelson and his friends to finish Arun," Renu said in her confessional statement to the police. Renu had earlier promised to marry Arun after he completed the technical course, said a police officer. Nelson, Alexandra, Dipesh were also students of ITI in Koderma and hail from Khunti district.

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PEOPLE PEE ANYWHERE IN RANCHI, EVEN AT DHONI’S BUNGALOW

Ranchi: In capital town Ranchi every unoccupied place is a lavatory, or so people think. Not only public places are used to ease even private properties are not spared. On Thursday evening this correspondent caught a man peeing at the backyard wall of Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni palatial house.

“Now newspapers have stooped to this level (reporting peeing activities)?” the middle-aged man quipped as if proud to have peed on Dhoni’s house. He refused to disclose his name. Dhoni’s house is high-walled. As there is no guard at the back door no one forbade him.

A sanitation inspector with Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) said comic is the sense of sanitation in locals here.

“Certain folk, especially those coming from rural areas, never use urinals. They would urinate beside the urinals but not into it,” said the inspector.

He also said, “The other sort of folk not only urinate into the urinals they also shit. I receive daily complaints from my sweepers.”

Gopalji Tiwary, additional municipal commission RMC, said, “laws have been enacted to punish those indulging in the dirty act at public places. Jharkhand Municipality Act 2011 authorizes its civic officials, including RMC to charge no less than Rs 500 from people found doing the “dirty activity” in public places. No one has however been charged so far.

Gopalji Tiwary, said, “NO has been charged for peeing in public. Actually it is difficult to catch such people.”

There are only 46 public toilets and 13 urinals in town where over 11 lakh people reside. Ranchi is spread over more than 175 square kilometer. In such a large place 55-odd toilets are lost and people find it difficult to locate them and urinate wherever they want to.

Men may not mind, but the dirty act has girls hang their heads in shame at city St Xavier College. Over 10,000 girls pass by a urinal near Sadar hospital adjacent to the prestigious college.

“It is a surprise how people manage to do it in an open place,” said Premlata Rani, of St Xavier College. Another girl Ankita Kujur had a suggestion, “Jhakrhand Mukti Sangh should throw acid on these people.” JMS had recently threatened to throw acid on jeans-clad girls in Ranchi.

Similar is the situation at Jakir Hussain Park and St John School where urinals are situated. “We throw little stones at those indulging in the dirty act outside the urinal,” said Spardha Singh, a class X student.

Swati Singh, a doctor, said almost 90% men don’t have any regard for women let alone for people of their own sex. “Until and unless there would be strict punishment, it will continue,” she added.

Amool Ranjan, director Ranchi Institutte of Neuro Physiatrist and Allied Sciences (RINPAS) said, “It has become a habit of these people. It is because there is a severe lack of toilets in the city. People always do it at roadside and have no qualms about it.”

However, those urinating in public places are not exclusively at fault. “Actually no urinal or toilet in Ranchi is clean. It is deathlike to spend even five minutes into them,” said Srikant Chaubey, an employee at Nepal house, the state’s secretariat.

On contract with the Jharkhand government, toilets are maintained in the state by Sulabh International, a sanitation agency. The toilets were constructed with funds from the state government and handed over to the agency which charges Rs 2 for each use. 

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SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE: LIVE-IN COUPLE KILLED BY NAXALS In JHARKHAND

RANCHI: Peoples' Liberation Front of India (PLFI) rebels on Saturday night killed an unmarried couple for maintaining a live-in relationship in Atheldih village, some 50km from here. The victims, Sanjay Purty and Itwari Oriya, were planning to marry next year. In January, the rebel outfit PLFI had killed seven persons for indulging in "immoral activities".

Khunti SP M Tamil Vanam confirmed that the couple was living together for the last two years even though they were not married. "An FIR was lodged against unknown assailants," said the SP. The police said: "They were keen to live their life as shown in movies. Blind to how the villagers look at their relationship, the couple was living in a separate room at a deserted locality in Atheldih village."

Locals said a group of PLFI guerrillas came to their village around midnight. "They warned of dire consequences and asked us not to venture out of our houses," the police quoted the villagers as saying. After warning the villagers, the men broke open the door of the couple's house and fired several rounds of bullets, killing the duo on the spot.

Purty, a 22-year-old farmer and a resident of the neighbouring Kowa village, had fallen in love with Oriya, 17, who hailed from Daugara, another village the vicinity two years ago. They started dating and their love affair became the talk of the town. Etho Panda Munda, father of Oriya, had initially opposed the advances of Purty but could do nothing.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem. An investigation has been launched into the incident. "We are trying to know whether PLFI had given any warning to the couple's parents or not," said Vanam. It might also be that Purty had refused to join their ranks or had done something against PLFI's interests.

The PLFI guerrillas also allegedly killed one of their colleagues who apparently opposed this sort of moral policing. "A body has been recovered from a nearby jungle," said an officer at Murmu police station. "The victim might have opposed the moral act, for which he was killed," said Khunti SP. The body is yet to be identified. "The victim was wearing shoes and that shows he was a militant. "Villagers usually do not go into the forests wearing shoes," said the Khunti SP.

PLFI came into existence in July 2008, when a gang of criminals in rural Ranchi, adjoining Simdega and Gumla districts, adopted Maoist tactics to create terror. Initially, the group was known as Jharkhand Liberation Tigers (JLT) and the members of the group on several occasions were identified by police to have looted and killed innocent people. According to former Ranchi SSP M S Bhatia, who is now IG (Ranchi zone), one Dinesh Gope organised the veteran criminals and ex-Maoists to join his fold under the banner of JLT.


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