Wednesday, September 30, 1998

Miscreants throw acid on girl
NEW DELHI, Sept 29 — Two unidentified persons threw acid on a 27-year-old girl here yesterday. She was to get married tomorrow. The victim worked as a telephone operator in the AIIMS.

Docs on fast for yes to Bill against quacks
NEW DELHI, Sept 29 — Determined to have the Bill against quacks cleared in the ongoing session of the Delhi assembly, doctors of the Delhi Medical Association led by their president, Dr Rajesh Chawla, are on an indefinite fast at Rajghat here.

Advani promises probe into attack on missionaries

NEW DELHI, Sept 29 (UNI) — Union Home Minister L.K. Advani, during a meeting with the Archbishop of Delhi and other senior Bishops here today, promised a high-level inquiry into the recent attacks on missionaries and their institutions, including the incident of rape in Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh.

Auxiliary Bishop of Delhi Vincent Concessad said at a press conference that Mr Advani expressed sympathy with the community and promised to do something about the recurrent attacks on institutions of a particular community.

Mr John Dayal of the All-India Catholic Union, who was a part of the delegation, said Mr Advani directed Home Secretary B.P. Singh to ask the state governments to conduct a high-level inquiry into certain incidents mentioned in a memorandum presented to him by the Archbishop of Delhi and President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India Alan de Lastic.

Apart from the rape at Navapara Bhandaria in Jhabua on the night of September 22, the other incidents to be probed were looting of a building in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh on the night of September 23, burning of religious books in Rajkot, Gujarat, and exhumation of a coffin in Kapdwanj, also in Gujarat.

While not directly blaming any particular group for the attacks, Bishop Concessad said these were “an outcome of fundamentalist thinking which considers those different as outsiders”. In reply to a query, he said that incidents in Gujarat indicated “some collusion between the state government and the elements behind the attacks on Christian institutions.”

The Congress today charged the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal with launching organised attacks on institutions of a particular community at different places and said these organisations were engaged in “anti-Hindu activities”.

Congress spokespersons Girija Vyas and Ajit Jogi said the central and state governments must take action against these elements. The RSS elements were engaged in organised attacks on institutions of a particular community in several states, besides Madhya Pradesh, they alleged.

Interestingly, VHP general secretary Giriraj Kishore, while condemning the rape of four nuns in Madhya Pradesh, has blamed local Congress leaders for the same.

In a statement, said VHP’s Delhi unit leader B.L. Sharma Prem’s statement had been “distorted and mutilated” by the media and he “never supported rape or robbery”.

The BJP today distanced itself from the statements of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other organisations by stating that the party condemned the incident of rape of workers of a particular community in Jhabua and accused the state government of trying to shield “Congress men” involved in the crime.

Spokesman of the party Venkaiah Naidu told mediapersons the BJP did not agree with the statement of the VHP which stated that the rape incident was a result of conversions.

BKKP, RLD merge with Lok Dal

NEW DELHI, Sept 29 (PTI) — Mr Ajit Singh’s Bharatiya Kisan Kamgar Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal merged into the Lok Dal here today.

Mr Ajit Singh was elected president of the revived Lok Dal (LD) at the national council and general body meeting of the parties which formalised the merger. The meeting was also attended by the RLD general secretary Ramesh Chandra and LD president Durgesh Singh Baghel.

Mr Ajit Singh later told mediapersons that the LD would follow the policies enunciated by the party founder, the late Charan Singh, 11 years back.

On his stand on a tie-up with the Congress, Mr Ajit Singh said alliances were a must in today’s politics and he was open to pacts with like-minded parties for fighting communalism in the country.

Supporting reorganisation of states into smaller provinces, he said the policy had to be uniform and a commission should be set up to look into the issue.

“The BJP decision to carve out smaller states is not a policy-decision but a political one”, he said and asked if Uttaranchal could be formed, why not Bundelkhand.

BJP for CBI probe into Coimbatore blasts

CHENNAI, Sept 29 (PTI) — The BJP today demanded a CBI probe into the serial bomb blasts at Coimbatore on February 14 this year and setting up of a special court for trying those charge-sheeted in the case.

BJP Tamil Nadu unit general secretary L. Ganesan said the charge sheet filed yesterday in the blast case had mentioned two incidents — the blast at the RSS office here and Hindu Munnani leader Rajagopalan’s murder which were being probed by the CBI.

“A complete picture might not emerge if cases involving the same group of persons were investigated by different agencies,” he said.

He said the BJP’s stand about the presence of a “human bomb” targeting party leader L.K. Advani had been vindicated by the charge sheet’s contents which revealed that “seven human bombs” were present there on February 14.

The BJP had also been alleging the ISI’s involvement in the blasts, which was also denied by the state government, and the party’s stand could be proved by a thorough CBI investigation, Mr Ganesan said.

Subedar to get pension after 32 years
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Sept 29 — The Delhi High Court has directed the Defence Ministry to pay pension to a Subedar, who was dismissed from service 32 years ago.

Mr Justice Vijender Jain, in his order, said the Defence Ministry’s order rejecting Subedar Maya Ram’s claim to pensionary benefit was “without authority of law”.

The Subedar, who was dismissed from service in 1966, after rendering 21 years and 19 days of service, is 73.

The court, observing that the petitioner was entitled to pension, ordered the Defence Ministry to pay the withheld amount of pension within three months.

In December 1945, Subedar Maya Ram, then 19, was enrolled in the Jat Regiment of the Army. In 1966, by an administrative order, he was dismissed from service. He was charged with acts of omission and commission during the 1965 Indo-Pak war. His pension was also withheld by the authorities.

The Subedar’s counsel, Mr J S Manhas, submitted that the seniors of Maya Ram had failed to take right decisions during the war and the petitioner was made a scapegoat.

The court order said that the Defence Ministry had admitted that Subedar Maya Ram was dismissed from service without holding any inquiry or summary court martial.

The counsel submitted that the petitioner was eligible to pension as he had completed the minimum qualifying service period under the pension regulations and that no punishment depriving him of pension under the Act had been passed.

Mr Justice Vijender Jain, in the order, observed that “it cannot stand to reason as to how in the absence of any court martial or inquiry under the Act and rules, pension benefits could be denied to the petitioner.”

“More so, when administrative order of dismissal does not talk about pension benefits. Even otherwise, no opportunity was granted to the petitioner before forfeiting his pensionary claims,” the judge noted.

The order said “pension is neither a bonus nor a charity, which is given by the respondent under a gratuitous or benevolent act.”

“It is something which every employee has earned in view of the service rendered by him. If that entitlement is to be denied, there has to be an inquiry, opportunity of being heard and the principle of natural justice has to be followed, which in this case has not been done,” he added.

Warrants issued against 7 cops

NEW DELHI, Sept 29 (PTI) — A Delhi court has issued non-bailable arrest warrants against seven cops for allegedly causing death of a person, torturing his family members and implicating them in a false case in December 1992.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Mr Prem Kumar issued the warrants recently against Sub-Inspector Ramesh Narang, Constables Bal Kishan, Meer Singh, Rohtash Singh, Jashveer Singh, Pawan Kumar and Mohsin Khan after taking cognisance of a CBI charge sheet.

All of them were posted at Samaipur Badli police station in North Delhi at the relevant time.

Describing the incident as an “example of police excesses”, the magistrate said the accused should be produced in his court on October 8.

Miscreants throw acid on girl
From Our Correspondent

NEW DELHI, Sept 29 — Two unidentified persons threw acid on a 27-year-old girl here yesterday. She was to get married tomorrow. The victim worked as a telephone operator in the AIIMS.

The victim, Alka, was going home along with her sister and niece in R.K. Puram in South West Delhi when the incident occurred. She saw two youths sitting on a scooter, near her house.

One of them asked Alka’s name, when she reached near him, the other took out a bottle of acid and threw it on her. Her face, neck and hands were burnt. Her sister and niece also received burn injuries. They were admitted to Safdarjung Hospital.

In her statement to the police she said the culprits were wearing jeans. They were in the 25-27 age group. The reason for the attack could not be ascertained.

Docs on fast for yes to Bill against quacks
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Sept 29 — Determined to have the Bill against quacks cleared in the ongoing session of the Delhi assembly, doctors of the Delhi Medical Association led by their president, Dr Rajesh Chawla, are on an indefinite fast at Rajghat here.

The DMA president told TNS that the Bill was expected to be tabled on Wednesday by the chairman of the select committee, Mr Alok Kumar.

He said the Capital had atleast 15,000 quacks.

Dr Chawla said that after the select committee drafted the Bill last year, the government sought the recommendations of the DMA. He said the DMA has asked the government to include fine as punitive action against quacks and those awarding false degrees.

Undertrial dies
NAGPUR: A 30-year-old undertrial, lodged in central prison here, died under mysterious circumstances on Sunday last, according to a delayed report received here on Tuesday. The accused, Anil Laxman Kosare, who had been remanded to judicial custody for murder, was rushed to Government Medical College Hospital following serious injuries on his head but succumbed to his injuries on admission. According to police Anil allegedly banged his head against the iron gate of the barrack in a fit of anger. — PTI

AP human resource index
HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding for preparing the human resource index in the state, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced. Releasing the UNDP’s human development report here, he said the index would be utilised for framing policies for education, health and other development programmes in the state. — UNI

Gandhi award for 2 organisations
BHOPAL: The Acharya Kul Institution, Wardha, (Maharashtra), and the Bharatiya Adim Jati Sevak Sangh, Delhi, have been selected for the prestigious Mahatma Gandhi National Award for 1997-98 and 1998-99, respectively. Both the institutions will be presented Rs 5 lakh each and plaques of honour on October 2, here by Chief Minister Digvijay Singh. The award is given by the Madhya Pradesh Government. — UNI

Noted novelist dead
VARANASI: Renowned story writer and novelist Shiv Prasad Singh died here on Monday morning, after a long illness. He was 70. Dr Singh was a winner of several literary awards, including the Sahitya Academy Award, the Sharda Award and the Vyasa Award. He was suffering from serious ailments and was admitted to the Sir Sunder Lal Hospital. Dr Singh was associated with the Hindi Department of Banaras Hindu University for four decades. — UNI

Marsh crocodiles born in zoo
CALCUTTA: For the first time in its 124 years of existence, the Alipore Zoological Garden has witnessed the birth of a litter of marsh crocodiles. Ten young crocodiles were born in July in an artificially-created breeding pool which had sandbeds and an island, the zoo director, Mr A.K. Das said. The young ones were fed with shrimps by the zoo authorities and, when five-inch long, were found moving along with their mother. — PTI

22 jawans hurt as bus overturns
NEW DELHI: Twentytwo jawans were injured on Tuesday when their bus overturned near Ladhakh Vihar in North Delhi. They were admitted to Hindu Rao Hospital. Bus driver Umedh Singh was allegedly driving at high speed. When the bus reached Ladhakh Vihar, it hit the pavement and overturned. The driver has been arrested, police sources said. — FOC