SC asks Centre, EC to respond in case against EVMS
Supreme Court on Thursday asked the central government and the Election Commission to respond to petitions that allege electronic voting machines (EVMS) can be hacked, amid row over the devices that transformed polling in India.
The Supreme Court also agreed to hear pleas asking for a paper trail on all EVMS. The court was hearing petitions filed by the Bahujan Samaj Party and a Samajwadi Party MLA, Ataur Rehman.
Three children from Gujarat, considered to be among the heaviest in the world, are likely to travel to Mumbai soon to participate in a drug trial that could rectify the genetic mutation responsible for their severe obesity.
Seven-year-old Yogita Nandwana weighs 45kg, five-year-old Anisha is even heavier at 68kg, and their three-year-old brother Harsh weighs 25kg. Together they eat enough food in a week to feed two families of four for a month.
They will soon be in the care of Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, who recently performed bariatric surgery on Egyptian Eman Ahmed, one of the world’s heaviest women, and reduced her weight from 500kg to less than half that. Dr Lakdawala told HT that as in Eman’s case, a gene mutation was responsible for the children’s severe obesity.
The cause of the Nandwana siblings’ obesity – a mutation in the leptin receptor protein (LEPR) gene – was revealed by genetic marker test conducted in Gujarat.
There is currently no specific treatment for this condition. However, a drug called MC4R Agonist, only available through a pharmaceutical company in the US, could help Eman and the three children. “The drug has been tested on three paediatric patients. We are trying to convince US officials to conduct the trial in India,” said Dr Lakdawala. He added that he is scheduled to meet officials from the US firm on April 20.
As the family – from Vajdi village in Gujarat’s Una district – awaits a response from the hospital, the children’s parents Ramesh and Pradnya are working tirelessly to ensure they don’t go hungry.
“The village is so small we can’t even get one kilogram of sugar at a time. There is not much work here but I work as a labourer and my wife works on a farm,” said Ramesh. They earn about Rs 5,000 a month, which isn’t enough to cover even the children’s food expenses – Rs6,000 to Rs7,000 a month.
“The entire village helps us to feed the children. Some give us rotis while others help out with gravy,” said Ramesh.
In what is deemed as the first step to bring back contro versial televangelist Zakir Naik from Saudi Arabia to India, the Enforcement Directorate (ED obtained a non-bailable warran (NBW) against him from a Pre vention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai on Thursday.
But it remains to be seen i Naik will be brought back con sidering agencies are still find ing it tough to bring back former Indian Premier League (IPL chairman Lalit Modi and liquor baron Vijay Mallya from the United Kingdom.
India also failed to secure the extradition of music composer Nadeem Akhtar Saifi, wanted in the Gulshan Kumar murder case.
The only person who has been brought back was Syed Zabiud din Ansari alias Abu Jundal who faces trial for his involve ment in 26/11 terror attacks.
He was brought back from Saudi Arabia after India signed an extradition treaty with the country in 2010.
To compound the diplomatic and political hurdles one faces for extradition, Naik’s lawyers have already geared up to battle it out with the ED.
Naik’s lawyer, Taraq Sayyed on Thursday objected the ED’S plea of seeking an NBW agains Naik.
Sayyed contended that Naik is presently not an accused before the court hence it has no jurisdic tion to issue a non-bailable war rant.