Gujarat Govt Spent Crores On Festivals In Two Years

Gujarat government spent over Rs 14.74 crore in organising state-sponsored 'Rann Utsav' and 'Patang Utsav' (kite festival) during 2014 and 2015, the Legislative Assembly was told on Thursday.
In his written reply during Question Hour, Tourism Minister Saurabh Patel stated that more than Rs 7.82 crore was spent in 2014 while over Rs 6.91 crore in 2015, respectively, on the festivals.
Patel was replying to the written query raised by Congress MLA Bholabhai Gohel about the expenses incurred on these state-sponsored festivals during last two years.
Giving the break-up, the minister stated while Rs 4.22 crore was spent on 'Rann Utsav' and Rs 3.60 crore on 'Patang Utsav' in 2014, the expenditure stood at Rs 2.93 crore and Rs 3.97 crore, respectively in 2015.
Replying to a sub-question of Gohel, Patel stated that a total of 24,197 foreigners visited both the festivals in two years.
In 2014, Rann Utsav attracted 2,697 foreign visitors and the number shot up to 4,807 in 2015. In 2014, Patang Utsav attracted 4,383 foreign visitors and 7,210 the next year, the reply stated.

Cop Sacked for Having Sex With Prostitutes on Duty

A police officer has been sacked for meeting prostitutes for sex in hotels while on duty, but his identity has been kept secret.
The independent legal chairwoman of the disciplinary hearing for the Merseyside officer ruled it was “necessary and proportionate” for the officer to retain his anonymity, which outweighed the public interest in naming him.
“Officer A” had breached honesty, integrity and professional standards regulations, the hearing in Wavertree was told on Thursday.
It was found he had arranged to meet a prostitute in December 2014 and then falsified a national intelligence report in an attempt to cover it up. In February 2015 he was found to have engaged in sexual acts with a prostitute while again on duty.
In a pre-hearing order, the chairwoman, barrister Louise Brandon, anonymised the officer following written representations seeking “a departure from the fundamental principle of open justice”.
She ruled: “I have concluded that it is necessary and proportionate to anonymise the name of the officer and that this necessity outweighs the public interest in naming the officer in the course of the hearing and the notice.”
The Liverpool Echo reported that the officer had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and that his identity was concealed because of concerns about his welfare.
In March 2015, the home secretary, Theresa May, announced that police disciplinary hearings would be held in public and led by legally qualified chairs. She said the reforms would overhaul the police complaints and disciplinary system to ensure it was “accountable, transparent and easy for the public to understand”.
Merseyside police said the officer was dismissed after “a thorough and extensive investigation” by the force’s anti-corruption unit.
Deputy chief constable Andy Cooke said: “He was on duty and was there to protect our communities, not to satisfy his own sexual needs. He was in a position of trust and he abused that trust, we expect all of our officers and staff to uphold the highest standards of integrity and honesty and his behaviour fell well short of those standards.
“The majority of people who work for Merseyside police do a really good job day in, day out, and joined the force to serve our communities with compassion and integrity. Sadly, the actions of this officer have the propensity to seriously undermine the good work being carried out by officers across the force.
“The public quite rightly have high expectations of police officers and Merseyside police is committed to meeting those expectations by demanding high standards of professionalism, honesty and integrity.”
Gurdian

Maoists Attack In Sukma, 2 CRPF killed

Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed and 14 others injured in an ongoing encounter between security forces and Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Sukma District on Thursday.
The encounter had started at around 12:30 p.m. today and is still underway.
According to reports, security forces personnel, including those from CRPF, CoBRA and state police, are combing the area.