6804 Indian Citizens in Foreign Jails

6804 Indian Citizens in Foreign Jails

Over 40 percent Caged in Arabia and UAE

JAMMU,04/JUNE/2016: As per latest data available with the government of India, at least 6804 Indian Citizens are Languishing in foreign Jails and over 41 percent of them are caged in Jails of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates alone.

The Information in this regard has been provided by the ministry of External Affairs to a Jammu based RTI Activist Raman Sharma in response to his online RTI application submitted to the ministry last month.

In its response, vide letter no . T.551/RTI/08/2016 dated 23/05/2016 , the director cum Public Information officer of the Consular, Passport & Visa (CPV) Division of the ministry of External Affairs it is being replied that there are 6804 Indian Nationals are currently lodged foreign Jails.

In its response the MEA has also admitted that many western countries do not share any information about the nationality of the Jail inmates. “Due to strict provisions of their privacy laws, many western countries do not share information about foreign nationals who are in their jails”, reads the reply furnished by the ministry.

The communication of the ministry also reveals that since 2013, at least 49 Indians died in prisons of different countries.

Citing different reasons for Indian National being jailed abroad, the MEA official has stated “ Indian Prisoners Lodged in foreign Jails for crimes such as violation of immigration/visa rules such as overstay and illegal entry, non possession of valid travel documents, economic offences, violation of employment contracts, working without any visa/permit”. The reply also cites consumption of alcohol  as a reason for arrest of Indian Nationals in such countries which have prohibition of alcohol. Though some Indians are also jailed for grave offences like drug trafficking, theft and murder.

Though the ministry has denied giving Male/Female and Major Minor wise information of Indian nationals in foreign jails and advised the applicant to approach respective Indian missions of different countries to get this information as they are designated public authorities.

The data provided in RTI discloses that Saudi Arabai and United Arab Emirate alone housed over 41 percent of total Indians Jailed abroad. In Saudi Arabia there are 1696 Indian prisoners followed by UAE and Nepal that have 1143 and 859 prisoners of Indian origin respectively.

Three other nations that have maximum number of Indians in their Jails are Kuwait-434, Malaysia-356 and U.K-356.

In Pakistan there are 230 Indians imprisoned, USA have jailed  188 Indians and in China there are  161 Indian citizens in jails.   

At least over 100 Indians are also languished in each country like Bangladesh,  Qatar, Singapore,  Oman and Bahrain that have detained 137, 129, 115, 113 and 107  Indians respectively.

Countries having least number of Indian Prisoners are Japan-7, Denmark-8, Kenya-5, Egypt-3, Prtugal-4 and Uzbekistan, Armenia, Fiji, Georgia, Hungary, Malta, Niger, Senegal only one Indian in their jails.

While giving his reaction over the reply and logic for seeking such an information, the applicant Raman Sharma said that he has no sympathy with the hardcore criminals of Indian origin and they must meet the designated punishment as pronounced by the foreign court but his concern is innocent Indians who fall in trap of fraudsters. He said he  simply wanted to raise this issue of Innocent Indians in foreign Jails who are not hardcore criminals but just in search of a better job become victims of the fraudsters and enter the foreign countries without valid Visa and travel permission and in such cases the government of India must provide all legal help to the Indians in foreign countries.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/jammu-kashmir/6-804-indians-languish-in-foreign-jails/246844.html

Funds for MGNREGA, PMGSY, Social Welfare Schemes Curtailed During Last Two Years

Central  Allocation  to  J & K

Jammu, 29/May/2016: During the last 2 years, the union government has curtailed financial allocation to Jammu and Kashmir State for various central sponsored schemes.

In different  communications received by RTI Activist Raman Sharma under right to information act from different ministries of government of India it has been revealed that the Union government has curtailed its funding to the Jammu and Kashmir government even for  flagship programs like Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA, Pardhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojna and for social welfare schemes like Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, Indira Gandhi National Window Pension Scheme, Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme, National Family Benefit Scheme and  Annapurna etc.

As per the RTI information provided Rural Connectivity division, ministry of Rural  Development , Government of India , during the financial year 2011-12, for implementation of much talked Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojna or PMGSY Scheme, the GOI provided a financial assistance of Rs. 762 Crore to the state of Jammu and Kashmir , which though saw a steep reduction in the following year and only an amount of Rs. 266 Crore was provided to the state during the period 2012-13. In year 2013-14 again the then government increased the amount to double and provided financial aid of Rs. 523.24 Crore for the PMGSY.

However during the financial year, 2014-15 and 2015-16, the central assistance remained Rs. 416.60 Cr and Rs. 488 Crore respectively. It is pertinent to mention here that under the PMGSY scheme  the rural habitation of  Jammu and Kashmir state (as special category state) having population of 250 persons or above is eligible for road connectivity though for most of other states the minimum population criteria is 500 persons.

Similarly for the  implementation of National Social Assistance Program for implementation of Social welfare schemes likes IGNOAPS, IGNWPS and others for the welfare of the disables, senior citizens, widows etc the government of India provided an amount of Rs. 3453.06 Lacs during the financial year 2014-15 and Rs. 3435.47 Lacs during the last financial year, the central assistance to the Jammu and Kashmir state  for the same schemes was Rs. 4173.95 Lacs during the financial year 2013-14.

For the implementation of much talked Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment  Guarantee Act, MGNREGA also the Union government has limited its funding to the state of Jammu and Kashmir during the last 2 years, during the financial year 2014-15 the ministry of Rural Development (GOI) released only an amount of Rs. 52171.08 Lacs which was miserly increased in the year 2015-16 where the government released an amount of Rs.  55801.83 Lacs for implementation of MGNREGA scheme in Jammu and Kashmir State.  However during the previous years  the Union Government had provided a  whooping amount for MGNREGA scheme and during the financial year 2013-14 (Rs. 60315.73 Lacs) , in Financial year 2012-13 (Rs. 76276.16 Lacs) and  in Financial Year 2011-12 Rs. 78130.96 Lacs were provided to the state government.

Students Should Seek Evaluated Answer Sheets Under RTI Act

To

The public Information Officer,
JK  Board of School Education, Rehari,
Jammu_180005

SUBJ: Application under JK RTI ACT 2009.

Sir,

I have appeared in class 10th (2016) board exam as a regular candidate under Roll no.................  Board Registration Numb...................

 .
Kindly provide me information under the provisions Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act 2009. I am a resident of Jammu and Kashmir state and entitled to seek information as per section 3 of the act. The requisite  fees of Rs 10-Ten is enclosed herewith as Indian Postal Order bearing no..............

INFORMATION SOUGHT :

1.      Kindly provide me certified photo copies of all my Evaluated Answer Sheets of All the subjects i.e. Hindi, English, Maths, Social Studies and Science.

NOTE: The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of CBSE & Anr Vs Aditya Bandhopadhaya & Ors (Civil Appeal no. 6454 of 2011 arising out of SLP(C) No. 7526 of 2009) decided on 9/8/2011 has held that evaluated answer sheets of Universities, State Education Boards, Competitive Examinations, Recruitment Test, and Selection Tests etc are “information” within the meaning of RTI Act and therefore required to be disclosed under Right to Information Act. The PIOs are therefore under obligation to supply copy of evaluated answer sheets to the examinees.

Date:

Yours faithfully,          

Name of student:
Father's Name:
Address;

SAMPLE IPO.........NOT ORIGINAL....

Don’t Pay hefty Fee, Seek Evaluated Answer Copies Under RTI

Jammu, 13/May/2016: The students need to pay hefty fees to seek copies of their answer sheets from the state board or from university instead they should seek certified copies of evaluated answer sheets under Right to Information Act paying only Rupees ten.

RTI Activist Raman Sharma has appealed the parents and regular students of class 10^th whose result was declared 2 days ago by the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education to use the provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act 2009 to get certified copies of evaluated answer sheets from the board.

He said the parents and the students need not to pay hefty fee or visit the board office and they can send their RTI applications along with an Indian Postal Order of Rupees 10 as RTI fees via registered post.

Sharma Informed  that the State Board is under legal obligation to provide the copies of the answer sheet under RTI Act as well,  as  this was ordered by the honourable Supreme Court in 2011, in case titled CBSE & Anr Vs Aditya Bandhopadhaya & Ors.

Sharma said not only class 10^th regular candidate but even private students of other higher classes  can similarly get certified copies under RTI law from the board. In the meantime  he has also uploaded a sample copy of the RTI application on his blog   jkrtiact.blogspot.in.  

TOURISM..

A

Interaction with Journalists at Dainik Jagran Office. Jammu

chai pe Charcha

Inviting Tragedy

Awaiting  Tragedy                                                                                           Construction of Bikram Chowk Flyover on Without Any Safety Measure

Bikram Chowk Flyover Bridge Construction                                             

Administration Closes Eyes, No Safety  at Construction Site

Jammu, 28/Apr/2016:Taking no cue from the Kolkata flyover bridge collapse that took lives of at least 21 innocent civilians on 31^st  March this year, the Jammu and Kashmir government and especially the local officers of the administration have closed their eyes as they are not paying any heed to the ongoing construction of flyover bridge at ever busy Bikram Chowk-Satwari Road of Jammu where the construction is in full swing but there are no safety guidelines followed.

The necessary safety arrangements have not been done, the vehicular traffic has not been diverted and everyday thousands of vehicles besides pedestrians pass through this construction site risking their lives.

Weighing 100s of tons of under construction pillars and concrete slabs are erected at the construction site and the innocent citizens in Vehicles and on foot are passing through this  it just inches away.

There are no safety norms followed by the construction company nor any other officer or official of any government department remain present there on the site to at least keep people away from this gigantic and  colossal construction material hanging in the air.

Though a petition in this regard was also submitted to the deputy commissioner Jammu copied to SP-City South, SDPO City South and SHO Police Station Gandhi Nagar, Jammu wherein RTI activist Raman Sharma has asked the authorities to take necessary steps in this regard. He has submitted to the district magistrate “ As you are well aware that the Construction of Bikram Chowk, Fly Over Bridges is going on & the department of traffic police has not diverted the traffic to any other route therefore thousands of vehicles & pedestrians cross this construction site of the flyover bridge”.  The petitioner besides blaming  the private Construction Company has also raised the issue of the negligence of the Economic Reconstruction Agency(ERA),   “This is really astonishing that neither the private construction company nor the ERA(the govt agency) took any Safety measures to ensure compliance of SOPS, Standard Operating Procedures & safety guidelines of civil constructions on a Public Place”, his plea to the DC reads.

Sharma has stated that there is hardly any arrangement made by the construction company to keep people away from the construction site, the under construction slabs & heavy pillar structure of the bridge passes through the main road & there is free movement of vehicular traffic.

While expressing concern, the activist has prayed to the DC to take immediate cognizance of the issue “ God forbids but if any vehicle even in low speed touch these under construction pillar & slabs there may be huge loss of precious human lives” he feared.

The petition was submitted in the DC office and other offices on 22/April under a proper receipt but even after loss of almost a week’s time no action yet been taken to ensure safety of the citizens.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

To                                                                                         

                                                                                       MOST IMPORTANT/URGENT

The District Magistrate,                                                                                     22/04/2016

Jammu.

Subject: Criminal Negligence of the Construction Company / Risk to Lives of Citizens near the construction site of under Construction FlyOver Bridge from Bikram Chowk towards Satwari .

Respected Sir,

I am a resident of Jammu and through this petition seek your kind intervention at an earliest, as the matter relates to precious lives & safety of innocent citizens. The details are as follow:

As you are well aware that the Construction of Bikram Chowk, Fly Over Bridges is going on & the department of traffic police has not diverted the traffic to any other route therefore thousands of vehicles & pedestrians cross this construction site of the flyover bridge.

This is really astonishing that neither the private construction company nor the ERA(the govt agency) took any Safety measures to ensure compliance of SOPS, Standard Operating Procedures & safety guidelines of civil constructions on a Public Place.

There is hardly any arrangement made by the construction company to keep people away from the construction site, the under construction slabs & heavy pillar structure of the bridge passes through the main road & there is free movement of vehicular traffic.

God forbids but if any vehicle even in low speed touch these under construction pillar & slabs there may be huge loss of precious human lives.

We all are well aware of the recent tragic incident there at Kolkata (West Bengal) where a flyover bridge collapsed causing loss to dozens of lives.

Hope, you take cognizance of this petition & direct the concerned authorities to take necessary steps so that no untoward incident happens.                                           

                                                                                                                        Yours faithfully,                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                       Raman Sharma,

                                                                                                                          [  Applicant    ]

Applicant: Raman Sharma, 236,Mast Garh, Jammu 180001.

Mob: 9796811012, e,mail: jkrtiact@gmail.com.  

Copy to:  Worhty SP South,  SDPO-Gandhinagar,  SHO , Police Station:  Gandhi Nagar,                                         In-charge P/P: Ware House,    Jammu.

                                                                                                                        Raman Sharma.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Jammu University students seeks NHRC intervention on NIT Srinagar

NIT Srinagar Row

Jammu University  students seeks NHRC intervention on NIT Srinagar 

 Threats to Non-Kashmiri Girls: JU LaW Students’ Plea to NHRC

Jammu, 11/April/2016: The issue of brutality against the non-local students at NIT Srinagar have  finally reached the National Human Rights Commission with the plea of Law students of Jammu University. In a petition addressed to the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, the students have asked the Human rights panel to send a fact finding team to NIT Srinagar to interact with the students to find their grievances and for allowing media to enter the NIT Campus. The petitioners have urged the apex rights body to issue appropriate directions to the J & K Government to take strict action against the police officials who used cruel and brute force against non-Kashmiri students.The  petitioner-students citing threat of security and personal safety of non-local students there at  NIT Srinagar who  have been virtually made state’s prisoners and are confined in the campus without their will and choice have urged the NHRC to ensure their safe return to their homes.The state of affairs and security situation of students is so worse and serious that non-Kashmiri girl students are even threatened of rape and molestation. The media is not allowed to enter the NIT Srinagar campus which further exposes the State’s intention to stifle the lawful voice of non-Kashmiri students. The non- Kashmiri students have been beaten mercilessly and treated with brutality by the J&K Police personals, which further has aggravated the miseries  of students and has  created an atmosphere of terror and fear for the non-Kashmiri students inside the NIT Srinagar campus, read the petition. The plea also mention the threats of rape and molestation to the non-local students who are harassed in the campus. It is being submitted that the non-Kashmiri students are not allowed to interact with the media and the state government is also misleading where at one hand it saying the situation under control and on the other hand it has imposed civil restrictions under prohibitory  order using section 144 inside the campus violating the constitutional rights of the students.Giving chronological background of the incident to the human rights panel, it  have been informed “This all started on March 31, 2016 when a clash took place between the Kashmiri and non-Kashmiri students after the end of cricket match between India and West Indies. The non-Kashmiri students were assaulted which resulted in injuries to some non-Kashmiri students.  That on 5th of April 2016, the non-Kashmiri students held a peaceful protest inside the campus against the assault but the Personals of J&K police used cruel and brute force against the peacefully protesting non-Kashmiri students, which resulted in grievous injuries and fractures to many non-Kashmiri students”.          The petitioners have also demanded immediate registrations of FIRs on the statements of the non-kashmiri girls on their allegations of rape threats by the miscreants. The petition is jointly signed and endorsed by Law Students of Jammu University namely Harsh Dubey, Deepak Sharma, Alok Singh Chib, Dinesh Kumar, Vishav Sharma, Kulveer Singh Parihar, Manmohan Kumar, Hiteshwar Kesar, Sohit Lalal, Aakash Manhas, Karan Kapoor, Prashant Jiyal and others 

J & K: BSNL gets Over 5700 Complaints in Less than a Year

Poor Mobile Connectivity

Jammu, 16/04/2016: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, BSNL in an RTI reply has admitted that it has received over 5000 complaints from mobile subscribers across the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

In an RTI reply to the information seeker RTI activist Raman Sharma the DGM(CM) cum Public Information officer of the BSNL informed that during 11 months’  period from April-2015 to Feb-2016, the total number of complaints received by the company is 5780, during this period, 563 complaints of Call drops and 5217 regarding poor network connectivity were received.  

In the communication letter sent by the BSNL to Sharma vide their letter no. 1-288/DE/Plg//RTI Cases/2010-11/24 dated 29/03/2016, the PIO has also informed that as on date there are total  12,58507 registered mobile subscribers with the  company in Jammu and Kashmir including  973684 pre-paid connections and 284823 mobile subscribers.

The RTI reply also states that during the financial year 2014-15, at least 526 mobile subscribers moved to other companies using mobile-portability facility and during the financial year 2015-16 the number of mobile subscribers shunned BSNL gone more than double and during the last financial year, 1123 Mobile subscribers preferred other companies using Mobile Portability service.

The year wise information provided by the BSNL also reveals slow pace of  growth of the company in Jammu and Kashmir, in long time of even 5 years BSNL added less than 3 Lac new mobile subscribers in all 22 districts of the state.

Shockingly the data reveals that in the Financial year 2014-15 the company lost at least 10,000 mobile subscribers, in the year 2013-14 BSNL had 926045 pre-paid and 248208 post mobile subscribers (total 1174253) that witnessed a steep downfall and in the year 214-15 the company had only 887713 Pre-paid and 275829 post paid subscribers a loss of total 10,711 subscribers.

Interestingly, during last 2 years 7757 mobile  subscribers shifted to BSNL network using mobile portability, 1873 in financial year 2014-15 and 5884 in 2015-16.

Raman Sharma, the information seeker also informed that BSNL has denied him information regarding total amount of money it earned by selling Vanity/VIP numbers and also information regarding the detail about vanity numbers given free of cost by the company and for it he would be submitting proper appeal before higher authorities of the company.   

Attached Link : http://jkrtiact.blogspot.in/2017/04/500-new-subscribers-join-bsnl-everyday.html