Court stays DIG Ashok Kumar’s arrest till today
Arrest delayed for one day for the prosecution (state) to file response to the bail application
AMBALA: A day after the Ambala Police booked a 54-year-old deputy inspector general (DIG) of the Haryana Police for allegedly assaulting and misbehaving with state home minister Anil Vij’s brother Kapil Vij at a club in Ambala Cantonment, a court stayed the arrest of the officer till Tuesday.
During a hearing on the anticipatory bail plea moved by DIG, Vigilance Bureau (Ambala
Range), Ashok Kumar, the court of additional sessions judge Sundeep Singh delayed the arrest for one day for the prosecution (state) to file response to the bail application.
Kumar’s counsel Satinder Singh Garg said that the case itself is false and no rules were followed by the police due to political pressure from Anil Vij.
“To file an FIR against a serving IPS officer, the police have to seek permission from the Union and state governments. However, in this case, due to political pressure of the state home minister, no such permission was sought. Moreover, the minister has some personal grudge against Kumar as he didn’t follow his instructions in a few investigations in the past. It was a perfect occasion for them to take revenge as they gathered in a party on Sunday,” the advocate said.
SSP Hamid Akhtar said, “This claim wasn’t taken up during the first hearing today. We’ll respond when it is contested in the next hearing.”
Kapil, 61, in his police statement, said, “I went to the birthday party of former chairman of the phoenix club, Rakesh Aggarwal’s grandson at Sirhind Club in Cantt with Rajesh, of Shastri Colony, and Ajay Aggarwal, of Guru Nanak Marg. When we were about to have lunch, one Ashok Kumar, who we later found is DIG (vigilance), under the influence of alcohol and without any provocation started abusing me and my family, and also threatened me of dire consequences.”
“He said that he is DIG (vigilance) and nobody could harm him. He also made obscene gestures at me while leaving,” Kapil added.
Acting on his complaint, a case was registered against the DIG under Sections 294 (obscene act), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Ambala Cantt police station.
Akhtar said that multiple teams are investigating the facts and the crime spot that was an open place without any CCTVs.
People close to Kapil Vij said that both Vij and Kumar were sitting on separate tables, when the latter interfered and argued on some issue.
“Kapil was discussing about the vaccine that his brother was administered during the trial, at his table and the officer, in an inebriated condition, later interfered during lunch saying that the infection and vaccination is a fraud itself.,” a local said.
SHIMLA: The glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) at Joshimath in Uttarakhand has once again put the spotlight on the 1,600 glacial lakes that have formed in Himalayan river basins in Himachal Pradesh and pose a threat to settlements and ecology in case of a rupture.
The formation of these lakes, which vary in size from five to 10 hectares, has been primarily attributed to global warming, climate change and local factors. SS Randhawa, principal scientific officer at the State Centre on Climate Change, said, “The situation in Himachal Pradesh is no different from that in Uttarakhand. The lakes pose a grave threat to all that lies downstream.” “Glacial lakes that are over 10 hectares in size pose a greater threat and have to be monitored regularly,” Randhawa said.
2005 lake burst
An artificial lake formed in a geomorphic depression in the course of Parceehu River had burst in 2005 when rapid glacial melting in summers had increased the water level in the river. The lake burst had caused extensive damage along the Sutlej River. The resulting flood had washed away at least 12 bridges in the Kinnaur-Rampur belt and several villages, including Leo village in Kinnaur. Sutlej’s water level had increased by an unprecedented 25 metres. The damage to government properties was estimated to be around ₹800 crore.
Rapid increase in lakes over last 5 years
Himachal Pradesh Council of
Science and Technology monitors lake formation in river basins through remote sensing and satellite data. Studies have revealed that rapidly melting glaciers have led to the formation of numerous lakes in the basins of perennial Himalayan rivers, including Sutlej, Chenab , Beas and Ravi and their tributaries, over the last five years. The number of lakes has been increasing at an alarming rate, say studies.
Data collected between 2015
and 2018 shows that there was a 36% drop in lakes in the Beas basin. However, there has been a 32% increase in lakes in the Chenab basin, 94% increase in the Ravi basin and 97% increase in the Sutlej basin.
Sutlej has most glacial lakes
An analysis of images captured between 2015 to 2018 revealed that the Sutlej basin has 769 lakes, of which 663 are below five hectares, 57 lakes have an aerial range between five to 10 hectare and 49 lakes extend over 10 hectares. An additional 127 lakes have sprung up in the basin since 2017, indicating an overall increase of around 16% lakes in the basin. In the Chenab basin (Chandra, Bhaga, Miyar), 254 lakes were delineated, of which 64 were in the Chandra sub-basin, 84 in the Bhaga subbasin and 106 in the Miyar subbasin. The Chenab basin had 192 lakes in 2015. However, the count had increased to 254 in 2018. Notably, only 55 lakes had been reported in the Chenab basin in 2001.
Aerial measurements indicate that 240 lakes are less than five hectares, 10 between five to 10 hectares and four extend over 10 hectares, which indicates a 20% reduction in bigger lakes.
35% decrease in Parvati sub-basin
There was a 35% decrease in lakes in the Parvati sub-basin in 2018 in comparison to 2017. Scientists attribute this anomaly to the high cloud cover in the Jiwa basin. Of the 65 lakes in the subbasin, 58 lakes were small, with an area below five hectares, four lakes had an aerial range between five and 10 hectares and three lakes had an area of more than 10 hectares in 2018, indicating an overall reduction of around 36% for small lakes and a drop of 25% in case of bigger lakes since 2017. No change was apparent in lakes with an area between five to 10 hectares.
In the Ravi basin, 66 lakes were documented in 2018, while only 54 had been mapped in 2017. Studies indicate three lakes were over 10 hectares, two lakes were between five to 10 hectares and 61 lakes were spread over less than five hectares.