Ex-Servicemen stage rally... Maoists start killing Dogs

ANI, New Delhi, Mar 14 : Ex-servicemen from different parts of the country on Sunday staged a rally in the national capital to press for their demand for the implementation of one rank one pension system.

Talking to media, about the protest rally and memorandum, Major General (retired) A J B Jaini said they have yet not been granted one rank-one pension despite the government announcing it in the parliament.

"One rank-one pension has been demanded by different fora of ex servicemen since the last 26 years, but the government is yet to accept this. Even in the parliament it has been mentioned that one rank one rank-one pension has been granted, even in letters it had been mentioned that one rank-one pension has been granted, and even media digested these facts," said retired Maj Gen. Jaini.

"In order to divert public attention published that one rank-one pension has been granted. As against these trends, I am sorry to say that One Rank-One Pension has yet not been sanctioned, else why would we have been here on roads?" Maj Gen. Jaini added.

Lieutenant General Raj Kadyan said the movement will continue and they are sure that the government will have to accept their demands.

"We have many demands but the main is the one rank-one pension. We want that equal pension should be given for equal services, rather than the one who retired earlier are paid less and those who retired later on are paid more," said Lt. Gen. (retired) Kadyan.

This is our main demand which the government has not agreed to till date, but we will maintain our pressure and we are sure the government will have to grant it," he added.

A couple of months ago, hundreds of retired defence personnel from the three wings of services - Army, Navy and Air Force had surrendered their service medals including gallantry decorations to the President of India as a mark of protest for non implementation of the one rank-one pension.
Dog killings
IANS, Ranchi: Carcasses of killed dogs have been found in the jungle areas of Jharkhand and West Bengal, triggering anger among animal lovers who say the Maoists are killing dogs to prevent them from barking and alerting security forces.

The outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has reportedly issued a diktat to its cadre to kill dogs found in bordering areas of Jharkhand and West Bengal. The diktat was issued following the inter-state offensive, known as Green Hunt, launched against the rebels in the two states on Tuesday.

With the inter-state offensive against them on at several places in the state, the Maoists are reportedly facing a problem with dogs alerting security forces and villagers in the deep jungles to their movement.

“We have got information that Maoist rebels have started killing dogs in bordering areas of Jharkhand and West Bengal. Some dead dogs have also been found in jungle areas,” Shankar Hembrom, president of the Nagrik Suraksha Samiti (citizen's protection society), told reporters in Jamshedpur. The NSS was formed against Maoist rebels at the village level.

Animal lovers are unhappy with the Maoist diktat. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) has expressed unhappiness over it. Peta has also written an open letter to the leftwing rebels appealing to them to spare the dogs.

“We appeal to Maoists to spare dogs. Killing dogs will yield nothing to Maoists,” said Ravi Prakash, a Peta member.