M A I N   N E W S

 Hindujas to appear in court on Jan 19

NEW DELHI, Jan 17 (UNI) — The Hinduja brothers, accused in the Rs 64 crore Bofors pay-offs case, will appear before the CBI special court on January 19 to give their clarification on the charge sheet.

The three brothers, S.P. Hinduja, G.P. Hinduja and P.P. Hinduja, were yet to receive the summons, but they would come, their counsel Ujjwal Anilchandra Rana told UNI here today.

“I had a talk with them on Tuesday (24 hours ago) and they are coming,” he said.

The CBI had informed the Special Judge Ajit Bharihoke on January 10 that the investigative agency was withdrawing the “look-out notice” and immigration authorities had been instructed not to detain the three brothers on their arrival in India.

Shiv Sainiks ‘demolish’ mosque
From Vimal Sumbly
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Jan 17 —An ancient mosque was allegedly demolished by activists of the Shiv Sena in Dhaliwal town of Gurdaspur district on January 14. The Shiv Sainiks allegedly installed an idol of Shiva after demolishing the mosque. However, the police removed the idol from the demolished structure and also detained several Sena activists.

The incident has created fear and panic among the seven Muslim families living in the town. About a dozen members of the community arrived here today and met the state president of the Indian Muslim Council (IMC), Mr Atiq-ur-Rehman, urging him to take up the case with the Chief Minister for safeguarding their life and property.

An eyewitness told TNS here today that on January 14, a group of about 20 Shiv Sainiks descended on the mosque at about 5 p.m. and allegedly threatened some Muslims who had gathered there for the prayers. The eyewitness, who did not want to be identified, revealed that they were prevented from offering the prayers. Subsequently, the Sena activists started demolishing the mosque.

Immediately after the incident, the police reportedly detained some Shiv Sena activists and also removed the Shiva idol from there. The Sainiks were reportedly released later.

While the police managed to evict the Shiv Sainiks from the spot, tension prevails in the town.

The mosque is about 100 years and the Muslims had been regularly offering prayers there.

Meanwhile, the state unit of the IMC has submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, demanding security for the Muslims in Dhaliwal.