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| Tuesday, September 5, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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BKU mahapanchayat on merger 2 Hizb bombers held in UP HC:
spell out stand on renaming roads Hizbul, APHC meeting likely this week Octogenarian widow
poisoned to death Drugs, RDX seized;
2 arrested Naidu not to
join govt
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Jaya served with charge sheet CHENNAI, Sept 4 (PTI) — The AIADMK supremo, Ms j.
Jayalalitha, leading industrialist A.C. Muthiah and former state Industries Sectretary C. Ramachandran were today provided with charge sheets in a corruption case relating to disinvestment of
government stakes in petro-chemical giant spic in 1992. Special Judge A.C. Aramuga-perumal Adityan, after handing over the copies of the charge sheet, posted the case for hearing on September 25. The CBI had charged Ms Jayalalitha and Ramachandran with abusing their official position to favour spic co-promoter late M.A. Chidambaram to return as the company’s chairman and causing a loss of Rs 28.29 crore by relinquishing its right to invest in a zero interest bond issued by spic. Chidambaram had also been cited as an accused, but charges against him would abate as he is no more. Muthiah was the company’s vice-chairman at the time of the transaction. The
CBI took up the investigation on a direction from a single judge of the Madras High Court in December, 1997, on a writ petition by Janata Party president, Dr Subramanian Swamy, against the disinvestment decision. The case arose out of the directive given by the then government to the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation
(TIDCO) to relinquish its entitlement in the bond issue in favour of Chidambaram and his associates. When Spic announced a rights issue of 6,80,000 bonds, containing 25 equity shares each,
TIDCO, whose holding stood at 26 per cent then, was entitled to 1,76,000 bonds. However,TIDCO'S
then chairman and managing director V.S. Chandralekha questioned the decision and wanted to know how the renunciation price was to be fixed. In response, the government wrote to her that its decision not to participate in the issue was a ‘directive’ in exercise of its power under Article 126 of tidco’s Articles of Association. The price was to be calculated at bond value as on the ‘record date’ of January 24, 1992. Spic paid Rs 12.37 crore as renunciation price based on this calculation. This brought down tidco’s holding to 10.04 per cent. The Madras High Court subsequently held that the date was fixed only to facilitate fixing the price at Rs 2,000 per bond Rs 80 a share) instead of taking March 13, 1992 (the day the government directed
TIDCO to relinquish its right) or March 18, when TIDCO decided to comply. The share price had gone up to Rs 105 on the day of the transaction, it noted. |
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Dilip Kumar surrenders in pollution case LUCKNOW, Sept 4 (PTI) — Matinee idol Dilip Kumar today surrendered before a city court, which had issued warrant against him in connection with a pollution case, and was released on bail. Dilip Kumar surrendered before Special Judicial Magistrate Vidushi Singh, who ordered his release after asking him to furnish a personal bond for Rs 3,000 and two sureties of the like amount. Tight security measures were taken especially in view of the threats by some outfits to kidnap Dilip Kumar in the American Library courts. In 1983, the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board had filed a case under the provisions of the Pollution Act against the directors of M/s Mohan Meakins Breweries Ltd, Lucknow and Ghaziabad. Dilip Kumar, being one of the directors of the company, was served with notices to attend the court. Since he did not attend the court, a warrant was sent to him following which he surrendered today. The court, however, exempted his personal, attendance in the case in the future and allowed attendance through his counsel unless ordered to attend in person. It was in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court that the matter was sent to the Lucknow court. |
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Lab unveils
dust-free helipad JODHPUR, Sept 4 — Loose sand and dust kicked up by the swirling rotors of helicopters has always been an operational hazard in special heli-borne operations. To counter this, a system has been developed by Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur, which can prepare an advance landing ground in just 60 seconds. The system called Airborne Mechanical Spraying System (AMSS) involves spraying the concerned area with a special chemical solution which binds loose sand. The equipment can be carried by a lead chopper flying a minute or two ahead of the main force. The landing ground thus created is good enough to bear as many as ten landings. Special heli-borne operations (SHBO) are a significant part of military operations and used for insertion as well as recovery of men and equipment from an operational theatre. But the SHBOs in sandy terrain are hazardous because of the bowl of dust being formed around a helicopter which is hovering or flying low. This results in loss of visual reference, which is akin to hovering blindfolded. This is likely to cause a chopper to either strike the ground or other choppers hovering in the vicinity. Construction of advance landing grounds to avoid these hazards are not feasible during operations as they would result in loss of the element of surprise — an important factor in war. The AMSS was developed out of this necessity. The system employs spraying of an alkaline, silicate based solution on loose sand so to temporarily stabilize it. On contact with sand, the fluid coagulates, hardens and a crest if formed. This holds the sand together and the landing zone becomes hard enough to cater to safe hovering and landing of choppers without blowing up sand. Being alkaline the solution has no hazardous effect on the environment. The system, which weighs about 1.5 tonnes, can be installed in a chopper by four men in 40 minutes. The system has been extensively used during field trials and training flights as well as during Army and the Air Force exercises. |
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BKU mahapanchayat on merger HARDWAR, Sept 4 — To protest against the merger of Hardwar and Udham Singh Nagar in Uttaranchal, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) led by Mr Mahender Singh Tikait will hold a maha-panchayat of Kisans in Hardwar on September 13. A spokesman of the BKU told TNS on the phone today that representatives of farmers unions from all over the country have been invited to participate. He maintained that the conference was being held in order to safeguard the interest of the farmers of Udham Singh Nagar and Hardwar who had not been consulted before the merger of the two districts into Uttaranchal. He clarified that the culture, mode of living and economy of farmers in the above two districts was totally alien to other areas of Uttaranchal state. He said the farmers of both districts were in a belligerent mood and would not allow the merger. Meanwhile, the agitation of the Hardwar Bachao Sangharsh Samiti and dharna under the directions of Mr Mahender Singh Tikait entered its 34th day today before the offices of the district administration. It is learnt that BKU leaders will hold consultations with Mr Mahender Singh Tikait on the future shape of the agitation on September 7. The traders of Hardwar, especially of western Uttar Pradesh have also joined the dharna along with leaders of the Samajwadi Party, led by its MLA, Mr Ambrish Kumar had also lent its total support to the BKU government. Yesterday, the president of the city Samajwadi Party unit Mr Murli Manohar addressing the dharna said traders of western Uttar Pradesh, especially of Hardwar, did not want to join the proposed state. He said that the merger would adversely affect the trading community. The dharna was also joined by Mr Suresh Gulati — president of the Uttar Pradesh Udyog Beopar Mandal yesterday. Meanwhile, the district administration is making arrangements to keep a check on possible problems on September 13, because of the belligerent mood of the farmers. The administration does not want to leave anything to chance. It may be recalled that in an earlier BKU meeting on August 2, ministers of the Uttar Pradesh Government were held captive for some time at Dam Kothi-II, the official circuit house in Hardwar. The farmers had ever raised a flag of the BKU atop the building to express their anger against the merger. |
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2 Hizb bombers held in UP LUCKNOW, Sept 4 (UNI) — In a major breakthrough, the Uttar Pradesh police yesterday arrested two dreaded terrorists belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen, who had surfaced after the recent series of bomb explosions on the eve of Independence Day in the state. Ex-students of Aligarh Muslim University(AMU) and members of the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), the two were involved in the bomb blast at Agra before the arrival of the American President, Mr Bill Clinton an explosion in the Sabarmati Express at Faizabad and others in Kanpur and Lucknow on August 14 last. Addressing a press conference here today, state Director General of Police Mahesh Chandra Dwivedi said in a joint raid conducted by the Special Task Force(STF), Agra police and Government Railway Police (GRP) yesterday, Maroof was nabbed from Agra and Abdul Mobin from Aligarh. Around 500 grams of RDX was seized from Mobin during the raid. While Maroof was a resident of Ambedkarnagar, Mobin hailed from nearby Siddharthnagar bordering Nepal. The DGP said that both persons had admitted to their involvement in the recent series of explosions in the state and that they were members of SIMI and the Hizbul Mujahideen. He said the police team got a clue to the terrorists after a bomb blast at Agra on August 9 last in which three persons were killed while manufacturing bombs. Maroof was among those making bombs at the time of explosion but he managed to escape. Later, police recovered a huge quantity of explosives and time devices along with the bodies of Hanif, Mohammad Waqar and Sajid from the spot. Mr Dwivedi said the two terrorists had also accepted that SIMI was involved in training youths in subversive activities, however, he refused to give any further details. He maintained that efforts were on to nab other groups involved in the incidents of bomb explosion in the state. The DGP said that out of 26 cases since 1993, the STF had worked out five so far. They also succeeded in nabbing one Dr Jahir Ansari, who was involved in a series of explosions in Rajdhani Express trains in 1993. We are working on four pockets, mainly Faizabad, Kanpur, Agra and western UP , Mr Dwivedi said. |
HC:
spell out stand on renaming roads NEW
DELHI, Sept 4 (PTI) — The Delhi High Court today asked the centre to
make its stand clear on the guidelines about renaming of roads and
streets after prominent personalities. The court also asked the New Delhi Municipal Council
(NDMC) to state the provisions of law under which Connaught Place and Connaught Circus here had been named after former Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi, respectively. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arijit Passayat and Mr Justice D.K. Jain directed standing counsel H.S. Phoolka to get an affidavit from the Centre stating under which authority the Home Ministry had issued the guidelines on September 9, 1996 regarding renaming of roads and streets after prominent personalities. The court said the Home Ministry and the
NDMC'S stands on the issue were at variance with each other. The direction was issued during the hearing of a public interest litigation
(PIL) by the Indian National Centre for Art, Culture and Heritage (INTACH) challenging the government order of August 19, 1995, renaming Connaught Place and Connought Circus after Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi. INTACH
counsel Vijay Shankardass said the government’s decision was not only in violation of law but also improper as Connaught Place had a significant importance in the history of the country. |
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Hizbul, APHC meeting likely this week NEW DELHI, Sept 4 — A meeting between the Hizbul Mujahideen and the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) for evolving a common stand on a possible dialogue with the Government of India is expected to take place this week. The proposal of a meeting between the Hizbul commander, Abdul Majid Dar, along with his colleagues and the APHC leadership was proposed by the Pakistan High Commission during the Hurriyat chairman, Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat’s visit to the capital 14 days ago, the sources said. It may be recalled that both Prof Bhat and the former Hurriyat chairman, Mr S.A.S. Gillani, had an extensive meeting with the Pakistan High Commission officials on August 22. The sources said Islamabad suggested a meeting between the Hizbul and the Hurriyat as differences between the two was affecting Pakistan’s approach on Kashmir. Even the South Block has been supportive of a meeting between the Hurriyat and the Hizbul as it would facilitate the dialogue. The meeting was scheduled to be held last week but it could not take place as a meeting of the Majlis-e-Shaura of the Jammat-e-Islami was going on. |
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Octogenarian widow
poisoned to death MUSSOORIE, Sept 4 — The octogenarian widow of the late Maj-Gen S.C. Wadhwa was found dead in her house at Bermount Estate near Company Bagh here yesterday. According to the police sources, the victim, Mrs Sheela Wadhwa, was poisoned to death. Preliminary enquiries reveal that a property dispute led to her death. Mrs Wadhwa was leading a solitary life since four decades. Her husband died in 1961 and since then she was living alone. Senior police officials say that a few suspects, including a family servant, Umed Singh, have been taken into custody. The family servant and his wife Sunita, had been living in the servant quarter of the house since many years. On Sunday morning, when Umed Singh went to serve a cup of tea to Mrs Wadhwa, she did not open the door of her bedroom. He went to the back of the house where he found window panes broken and saw her lying on the bed through one of the broken panes. He informed the police and a team led by SHO Awal Singh Rawat reached the house and found her dead. The police found a few documents, Rs 3 lakh and jewellary worth Rs 7 lakh in the house. A small bottle of pesticide was also recovered from the site. The sources said the house in which Mrs Wadhwa was living had five partners, including her. The other partners wanted to sell the house but she was not willing. |
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Drugs, RDX seized;
2 arrested NEW DELHI, Sept 4 — The Delhi zone of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Punjab police have seized 18 kg of heroin, 14 kg of RDX, 26 Chinese pistols with 342 rounds of live ammunition for AK 47 rifles and 1395 fake notes of Rs 100 from the occupants of a Maruti van in Amritsar district. The three accused have been arrested. According to sources in the DRI, the seizure was made at a checkpost in Ranike village on Monday. The occupants of the van had reportedly concealed these objects along with a timer, fuses and battery for detonation under the seats and side panels of the van. Preliminary investigations indicate that the contraband was smuggled through the Sambha sector in Jammu and Kashmir and was abetted and organised from Pakistan. |
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Naidu not to
join govt NEW DELHI, Sept 4 — The high-profiled General Secretary of the BJP, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, will stay put in the party and not join the government. The consultation process for the list of office-bearers of the new BJP President, Mr Bangaru Laxman, has been completed and an announcement is expected in the next two days, party sources said. While earlier it was being speculated that Mr Naidu will be inducted into the Union Cabinet, it has now been decided that he will continue to serve the party. The new office-bearers’ list, the sources said, retained Mr K.N. Govindacharya and Mr Narendra Modi as General Secretaries and promoted Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to the post of the General Secretary. Mrs Maya Singh, who was the president of the Mahila Morcha, was likley to be appointed as either a General Secretary or a Vice-President, they said. Her case had been promoted by the immediate predecessor of Mr Laxman, Mr Kushabhau Thakre. Other party leaders on the list, who had been picked by Mr Laxman in consultation with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, and former Presidents Kushabhau Thakre and Murli Manohar Joshi, included the former president of the Delhi unit, Prof Om Prakash Kohli, the Madhya Pradesh unit president, Mr L. N. Pandey, and the Lok Sabha MP from Delhi, Mrs Anita Arya. |
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End pleadings
in 10 days: SC NEW DELHI, Sept 4 (UNI)— responding to the Karnataka government’s submission for fixing an early date for hearing of the special leave petition
(SLP) filed by Mr Abdul karim, father of slain police officer shakil ahmed, against the release of forest brigand veerappan’s associates, the supreme court today directed the parties to complete pleadings in the case within 10 days. The court also asked the parties to file an application after the pleadings for an early fixture of a date of hearing in the case. The direction was given by a three-judge bench comprising Mr Chief justice a. s. anand,
Mr justice n. santosh hegde and Mr justice k. g. balakrishnan when solicitor-General harish salve appearing for the state of karnataka urged the court to fix an early date of hearing of the case in view of the urgency involved in it. |
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No oil price hike till Sept 19 NEW DELHI, Sept 4 — There will be no revision of oil prices at least till the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, returns from his US visit on September 19, the Petroleum Minister, Mr Ram Naik, clarified today. Though the rising international prices have put a severe burden on the oil pool deficit, the government will wait for the meeting of the OPEC countries on September 10 and await their decision. The OPEC countries are under pressure from the USA to increase the output and bring down the prices of crude. Mr Naik said the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, had also gone abroad and the price rise could not be effected now. |
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Vajpayee to open
ayurveda meeting in USA NEW DELHI, Sept 4 — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will inaugurate a two-day international conference on ayurveda in New York during his visit to the USA. Sources in the Health Ministry said the inauguration of the conference by Mr Vajpayee would lend high-level policy support to the Indian system of medicine (ISM). Addressing newspersons here today, Secretary (ISM&H), Mrs Shailaja Chandra, said 18 industries of the ISM drug sector would display ayurvedic products at an exhibition during the conference. The New York branch of the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan would give support to the conference. |
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Nadeem’s plea
rejected MUMBAI, Sept 4 (UNI) — The Bombay High Court today rejected the petition filed by music director Nadeem Akhtar Saifee, one of the prime accused in the sensational Gulshan Kumar murder case, urging the court to allow his lawyers to cross-examine an accused-turned approver Mohammad Ali Hussein Shaikh. Recently, Additional Sessions Judge Hemant Deshpande had rejected the application of Nadeem’s lawyer praying the court to allow them examine the approver, who had written a letter mentioning about the involvement of all alleged accused in the case. While rejecting the application today, Mr Justice Vishnu Sahay said that he was fully satisfied with the lower court’s order and observed that law did not permit such examination. Nadeem is currently in the UK and his extradition has been sought. |
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| Medical services
exam put off NEW DELHI, Sept 4 (UNI) — The Combined Medical Services Examination, 2001, which was originally scheduled to be held on January 7, 2001, has been postponed to January 28. A notification issued by the Union Public Service Commission said that the examination schedule had been changed due to some unavoidable difficulties. |
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1.76 lakh robbed at gunpoint NEW DELHI, Sept 4 — Two motorcycle-borne youths robbed Rs 1.76 lakh from employees of the Auto Link petrol station at Mathura Road near Badarpur in South Delhi this morning. The victims, Mr Gurdayal and Mr Sant Kumar Pathak, were going to deposit the cash at B.R. Cell, another business establishment located nearby when the incident occurred. While they were on the way, the robbers, who were on a cherry colour Yamaha motorcycle, stopped them. They pointed a revolver on their temples, threw chilli powder in their eyes and snatched the bag in which they were carrying the cash. |
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