A mass grave discovered in south of Najaf - Iraq

Najaf provincial council announced on Tuesday the discovery of a mass grave containing the remains of people and civilian clothes south of the province, while likely it back to the period of the popular uprising in 1991.

A member of the provincial council in Najaf Jawad al-Ghazali in an interview (range Press) that "one of the citizens of the inhabitants of hand Razavi, south of the city, informed the provincial council discovery of a mass grave through the emergence of Jmjajh and bones and clothes during drilling operations and clean up in the region," noting that "the cemetery includes three skulls and a number of bones and civilian clothes during the initial screening process. "

Ghazali said he had been told the "circle of human rights in the province and we inspect the place on the ground," adding that he "proved after examination and initial inspection and it is a mass grave dating back to the nineties of the last century in the previous regime."

He guessed Ghazali that "the cemetery dating back to the popular uprising that took place during the year 1991, and includes a large number of remains of victims of the intifada," adding that "it was to select the region and fortify the security by the police."

Ghazali noted that "the Council awaiting the arrival of a committee of the Ministry of Human Rights from Baghdad to begin the actual examination process measures by the competent committees of mass graves and find out how many remains and historical era cemetery dating her."

It was the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry announced that, in the (March 6, 2013), from the extraction of the remains of 3180 victims of the former regime of 134 mass grave opened so far, while showed the Martyrs Foundation politicians inclusion of "privileges and rights" that the text of the law, confirmed to the Committee of Martyrs and prisoners Parliamentary politicians refusing to abolish the law of accountability and justice, fearing the return of "ousted" the previous regime for the interface and called to let them "homeless hiding in burrows earth."

The Iraqi government and directed, (17 June 2013), and the Ministry of Human Rights and the Martyrs Foundation, the establishment of a memorial monument to commemorate the martyrs of the mass graves in the provinces which they found on the tombs of, Mukdh that the project will include evidence of a systematic and Museum commemorates the martyrs.

The Human Rights Minister Mohammed Xiaa Sudan, said in a (16 May 2013), the need to bear the judiciary responsible conduct investigations "in-depth" to detect the perpetrators of crimes of mass graves, while announced the discovery of 18 cemetery during the current year 2013, calling on the House of Representatives to speed up the enactment of a law "criminalization" Baath Party as the "guarantor of the non-return of the bloody thought of the political map".

And called for the parliamentary human rights committee, on May 20, 2013, the concerned authorities to work to open all the mass graves to find out the names of the victims, while The Ministry of Human Rights to create a partition to document the abuses of the former regime to be a sign of those "crimes."

The Ministry of Human Rights declared, at the (17 May 2012), the Council of Ministers allocated five billion dinars for the purchase of equipment and supplies for the identification of victims of mass graves.

It is noteworthy that the former Iraqi regime carried out mass arrests and the liquidation of a mass of hundreds of thousands of his countrymen during the uprising in particular the residents of the north and south, because of the activity opposition to him in the two regions, and after the year 2003 discovered the records and documents for the liquidation carried out by the security services and the military to the former regime, also continues to government agencies Current organizations and some parents found mass graves containing the remains of the victims, most of them civilians, women and children.

The uprising occurred in 1991 after the withdrawal of the Iraqi army from Kuwait directly, named Balhabanah because they occur in the month of August of the Hijri year, and participated in 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces, to call for the overthrow of the former regime

Wednesday 14 august 2013

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=451386

Mirzapur Police dumping unclaimed bodies in Ganga River, instead of proper cremation

The inhuman face of the state police was bared when an unclaimed dead body was tied to a heavy stone and then thrown in Ganga River. The incident took place within the jurisdiction of Kotwali Katra police station in Mirzapur district.

Instead of properly cremating the body, which costs only Rs. 50, the police personnel wrapped it in a white cloth and threw into the river.

However, this is not the sole instance. The police have thrown several bodies in the river, in the past as well. Suraj, who helps the police in throwing the body into the river, says he has so far drowned 10 unclaimed bodies in the same way. "The police station gets Rs. 2,700 every month for cremation of unclaimed bodies, but the amount is not spent on it. They (cops) ask me to throw the bodies, saying they will tackle if anyone raise objection," he revealed.

On camera, a policeman and a rickshaw-puller are seen carrying a dead body wrapped in a white sheet to the ghats of river Ganga. They then tie its legs with a rope and abandon it in the water. The footage, filmed by local media in Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, led to a constable being suspended.

Constable Gulab Singh, said in his defense, "we are just following the instructions of the senior inspector who asked us to get rid of this body."

The Ganga flows through the heart of this city, 100 kms from Allahabad.

For the last few weeks, bodies have been washing up on the river banks, prompting local reporters to investigate.

The picture that is emerging is that of corrupt policemen exploiting a government scheme that provides Rs. 2700 for the cremation of any homeless person in the state.

Instead of last rites being performed, the bodies are being abandoned in the river.

Sanjay, a rickshaw-puller, makes his living by ferrying dead bodies from the mortuary of the local state-run hospital to the ghats along the river banks. He usually gets paid Rs. 500 per. For homeless or unclaimed bodies, he says, he is offered Rs. 50. "I'll give another Rs. 200 to the boatman," he says. "We are doing this on the instructions of the inspector, who asks us to get rid of the bodies."

Senior police officials refused to comment on the signs of venality in a ritual meant to endow some dignity and humanity on those who have died without anyone to care for them.

They did not vouchsafe for an inquiry.

Wednesday 14 august 2013

http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/UP-up-police-dumping-dead-bodies-in-ganga-river-instead-of-proper-cremation-4347199-PHO.html

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/in-up-cops-caught-on-camera-abandoning-dead-bodies-in-river-406182

Submarine Sindhurakshak sinks after blast, casualties feared

In a huge setback to the Indian Navy, a conventional submarine exploded after a fire on board and sank in the dockyard here early on Wednesday in which 18 personnel, including three officers, may have been killed.

The explosion resulted in a major fire breaking out on board Sindhurakshak, a Russian-made submarine, shortly after midnight, defence sources said.

A TV footage of the incident showed a huge ball of fire after the explosion lighting up the night sky in Colaba area, where the naval dockyard is located.

There were 18 persons on board the 2,300 tonne submarine, powered by a combination of diesel generators and electric batteries, a defence spokesperson said.

Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony confirmed the death on board the Kilo class warship INS Sindhurakshak but gave no details on the casualties.

“I am saddened by those naval personnel who lost their lives in the service of the country. It is a great tragedy for the Navy,” Mr. Antony told reporters in Parliament House before leaving for Mumbai.

Earlier he briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the mishap. Navy Chief Admiral D K Joshi has also reached Mumbai.

Naval sources said the blast took place in the front portion of the 16-year-old submarine which housed the torpedoes.

The navy has ordered a board of inquiry to probe the explosion and subsequent fire in the submarine, he said.

Fire tenders from the naval dockyard as well as the Mumbai Fire Brigade were immediately pressed into action, he said.

However, due to the explosion, the submarine has submerged at the dock with only a portion visible above the surface, a defence statement said.

The statement said efforts are on to ascertain the safety of the personnel and salvage the submarine.

The submarine had returned after a major upgrade programme in Russia 3-4 months ago and was capable of carrying a potent weapons package including the anti-ship ‘Club’ missiles.

INS Sindhurakshak was not on active duty at the time of the accident, Navy sources said.

The incident has come at a time when the Navy is faced with a depleting submarine fleet.

Commodore (retd) Uday Bhaskar, a former IDSA director, said since the rate of induction of new platforms has not kept up with the kind of wear and tear that a submarine would undertake, the net result is that the Navy’s submarine fleet is depleting and the operation load is increasing.

“The fact that the Sindhurakshak (incident) has happened, it is going to have its own adverse impact,” he said.

Vice Admiral (retd) A.K. Singh said an internal explosion in a submarine could be caused by either material failure or by not following standard operating procedure.

He said he suspected that hydrogen gas generated during charging of the batteries of the submarine could have led to the fire which could have spread to the missile compartment area of the warship, causing the massive explosion.

In 2010, a fire broke out on board Sindhurakshak leaving a sailor dead and two others injured. That mishap was caused by an explosion in its battery compartment.

India had bought the submarine from Russia as part of a deal in the early 1980s and the warship was commissioned in 1997. It was the ninth of the 10 ‘Sindhugosh’ class diesel-electric vessels that the Navy has in its 16-strong submarine fleet.

Former navy chief Admiral (retd) Sushil Kumar said Sindhurakshak was a frontline submarine and had been recently modified.

“It was operational and the mishap is indeed a setback,” he said.

Mr. Kumar said this is not the first time that such an incident has taken place. “There is a professional determination to set things right and everything will be back in order,” he said.

In the last few years, there have been several mishaps involving naval vessels. In 2008, another vessel of the Kilo class, INS Sindhugosh, collided with a merchant vessel off Mumbai while participating in a naval exercise.

In 2011, a surface warship INS Vindhyagiri caught fire when it collided with a merchant vessel near the Mumbai harbour while returning from a picnic with families of group of officers deployed on board.

On its way back, it hit another ship leaving the harbour.

Nobody was injured but the warship was virtually ruined.

Wednesday 14 august 2013

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/submarine-sinks-after-major-blast-casualties-feared/article5020065.ece