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Tuesday,
August 14, 2001, Chandigarh, India   |
Red Fort
security tested A security man stands alert during the full-dress rehearsal for the Independence Day celebration at Red Fort in Delhi on Monday.
— PTI photo N-E ultras to boycott
I-day |
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Money
order scam busted in Bihar IYC demands cases against PM, FM on UTI scam
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Laloo invites Sonia,
to ‘maha’ dharna Cong wants
George to depose before JPC Give
autonomy to J&K: CPM 12 days’ remand for Rana’s
brother Uttaranchal
delimitation Sacrilege
at Bheelwada Action
against ‘errant’ TN cops sought NORTH INDIA IN
PARLIAMENT Dum Dum
MC chief shot dead No time frame for lifting
US curbs Naval officer with ISI links held Jaswant
to visit Nepal on Aug 18
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Red Fort security
tested New Delhi, August 13 Senior police, defence and intelligence officers besides those from other security agencies went through the exercise, checking and rechecking the security measures in view of the increased threat perception because of the activities of certain fundamentalist groups which have recently escalated their attacks in the valley and other parts of the country. What has prompted the senior police officers to go in for unprecedented security around the venue of the annual function this year is the intelligence assessment that these groups may try to create trouble. The Red Fort, which houses several Army installations, has been completely sanitised and the entire area around it completely vetted and cleared of pavement settlers. The shops in the adjoining markets have also been ordered closed. Sharpshooters and highly trained commandos are also being stationed on the rooftops of the adjoining buildings and at the approach roads. Highly placed sources said the security personnel had also sought the help of experts to ascertain if there was the possibility of an air attack through an unmanned microlight aircraft or shoulder-fired missile from anywhere around it. The Air Force was being kept on the alert. Senior security officers said they were satisfied with the security arrangements and will go through the exercise once again on the eve of Independence Day to ensure that every measure was in place. Sources admitted the security this year was particularly stringent because of the fundamentalists’ threat and unexplained explosion in the posh South Extension market on Saturday night. The security officials were also keeping in view the fact that the Red Fort security was breached in December last year when some unidentified militants sneaked inside and fired indiscriminately at the Army personnel. |
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N-E ultras to boycott I-day Guwahati, August 13 Extremist groups of all states except Mizoram have called for boycott of the celebrations. In Nagaland the youth and student organisations have decided to boycott the celebration in view of the Naga ceasefire imbroglio. Meanwhile, in Assam a special meeting of the strategic group of the Unified Command of Assam was held at Narangi cantonment today to review the security arrangements. Authorities in Assam have already suspended night running of trains from Sunday to Tuesday to prevent possible attacks by outlawed ULFA or the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). The ULFA, NSCN (IM) and the UNLF are among at least 13 underground outfits that have called for the boycott. The HNLC in Meghalaya has called a 36-hour bandh from tomorrow, while in Nagaland the Naga Student Federation has decided to boycott the day. The Dimapur Naga Students Union has threatened to call a bandh if the students are forced to take part in the celebrations. The strategy group meeting reviewed the security environment and discussed special arrangements. The meeting was presided over by the Chief Secretary and attended by Lt-Gen Mahesh, 4 Corps Commander and DGP H.K. Deka as well CRPF IG P.N. Ramkrishnan to review the situation. They said no subversive activities would be allowed and urged the people to observe the day without fear. The strongest warning has, however, come from the United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) which has issued an order to its cadres to shoot down whoever defies its bandh call. The UPDS is active in the hill districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills and reportedly enjoys a close association with the NSCN(IM). Meanwhile, the Church in Nagaland has appealed to various Naga rebels not to boycott the celebrations keeping in mind the ongoing peace process. But the NSCN(IM) has asked the people to hoist black flags on their houses and not participate in the celebrations in protest against the Centre’s retraction from the June 14 Bangkok Agreement. The Naga Students’ Federation has also directed all educational institutions ‘under its jurisdiction’ not to observe the day. Security has also been beefed up in the otherwise peaceful Arunachal Pradesh in view of the spurt in activities by both the
NSCN(IM) and NSCN (Khaplang) factions. UNI |
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Money order scam busted in Bihar Patna, August 13 The scam was busted on Sunday when the Nawada head post office officials got arrested Shamim and Sunil in this connection. The police also suspect the hand of the ISI as the modus operandi involved a high-level conspiracy. The Superintendent of Post Offices, Mr Asharfi Razaak, said so far six cases of fraud on the money orders were detected, two each in Orhanpur and Kadirganj and one each at Kashichak and Nawada town. He apprehended that similar scams might well be going on in other districts of the state. Owing to the large migrant population, Bihar has a strong money order economy of Rs. 800 crore plus per annum. Earlier too there have been reports of irregularities in the money order delivery system in the state. Mr Razaak also fears that the scamsters might have the involvement with the Postal Department staff. He said he would request the Post Master General of the state to get the scam probed statewide. The Nawada SP, in the meantime, suspected the land of Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI, hand in the scam as he maintained that such a scam could not take place without the assistance of trained saboteurs. The arrested accused has also revealed the name of the mastermind behind the scam, one Mahendra Singh. On interrogation, Shamim revealed the modus operandi of the scam. Shamim used to get access to the money orders send to Nawada post office and add a line on the bottom message space that the sender wished to give a certain ‘fixed’ percentage of the sent amount to one Shamim. Shamim would in advance contact the receiver of the money order and enquire about the money order. Thus the receiver would later, after receiving the money order get convinced of the genuine claim of Shamim. Shamim used to collect its share on the fake claims made in selected money orders. |
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IYC demands cases against PM,
FM on UTI scam New Delhi, August 13 Addressing the rally, IYC chief Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged that not only were the central ministers involved in the UTI scam, the Centre had also failed to curb the growing incidences of terrorism. “While the Finance Minister and Prime Minister’s son-in-law should be arrested, a case should be filed against the Prime Minister in connection with the UTI scam,” Mr Surjewala said. He said corruption had reached new levels under the present government and the menace of terrorism was spreading. The IYC chief said citizens of the country were feeling insecure as violence was being perpetrated in different parts of the country by terrorists, Naxalites and anti-social elements. He said while problems like unemployment were getting worse, prices of essential commodities were rising. “Farmers were unable to get the right price for their produce. Because of hunger, debt and poverty, farmers were being compelled to commit suicide,” he said. The IYC workers gheraoed Parliament to protest against the “inolvement of central ministers in the UTI scam.” Mr Surjewala said such rallies would also be held in other parts of the country to tell people about the “misdeeds” of the NDA government. He said the IYC would soon come up with a booklet listing the “misdeds” of the Centre which would be distributed to households throughout the country. Demanding resignation of the NDA government, senior leaders, including AICC Treasurer Motilal
Vora, Mr Oscar Fernandes, Ms Ambika Soni, Ms Mohsina Kidwai, all general secretaries, and CWC member Ahmed Patel, said people of the country had lost faith in the government
because of its “involvement in corruption.” They said the Congress graph was on the rise and recent media surveys had confirmed this. The leaders said party workers would continue to wage a struggle against the disruptive forces. They said the government had failed to deliver even on the development front with the economy on a downswing and industry facing recession. The Congress leaders alleged that it was at the instance of the PMO and the Finance Minister that hard-earned money of people was invested in “sick and sinking companies” by the
UTI. “Tehelka and the UTI have established that the government was bent upon cheating ordinary people,” said Mr Anil
Shastri, AICC secretary. Urging the Youth Congress workers to take the party’s message across the country, the leaders urged them to fight terrorism and tackle problems of unemployment, corruption and poverty. They called upon the youth to launch a nation-wide agitation to highlight the failures of the government. |
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UTI may advance NAV-based US-64 trading Mumbai, August 13 “I have every intention to commence NAV-based trading good two months before January 2002 and will disclose US-64’s entire portfolio with the same”, UTI Chairman M. Damodaran said at an investors’ meet organised by Forum for Free Enterprise here today. On July 2, while announcing the limited repurchase window for the small investors of US-64, the UTI had said that the pricing for the scheme would be made
NAV-based on or before January 2002. PTI |
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Laloo invites Sonia,
to ‘maha’ dharna New Delhi, August 13 “I met Congress President Sonia Gandhi personally to invite her for the ‘maha
dharna’ and she has agreed to participate in it,” he told reporters after his meeting with Leader of the Opposition. Mr Yadav said he also met former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar and leaders of other Opposition parties, including the Left parties to muster their support for the
RJD-sponsored demonstration. He said the Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav had also been invited for the protest against the government. Lashing out at Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha for his refusal to step down in the wake of the UTI muddle, Mr Yadav said it reflected the “double standards” being followed by the Vajpayee government. “If I was made to quit (in the wake of fodder scam) since I held the finance portfolio, then why the same yardstick does not apply to Mr
Sinha,” he said adding that the “Finance Minister should be jailed.” The former Bihar Chief Minister demanded that the Joint Parliamentary Committee
(JPC), probing into the stock scam and the UTI muddle should have a definite time frame. Mr Yadav also demanded a thorough probe into reports alleging involvement of the PMO in the UTI fiasco and said the hard earned money of millions of small investors was at stake. “After the ‘maha
dharna’ Opposition leaders will tour the country to highlight the failures of the government,” he said adding that the nation-wide campaign would be launched from UP. Asked to comment on the absence of a cohesive Opposition in the Lok
Sabha, Mr Yadav said there was a need for better coordination among the Opposition parties in Parliament.
PTI |
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Cong wants
George to depose before JPC New Delhi, August 13 Referring to the reported statement of Mr Fernandes that it was he who had carried the message from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha about making Mr P.S. Subramanyam the UTI chief, Congress chief spokesman Jaipal Reddy said Ms Jayalalitha had denied the claim. “Assuming that the charge is correct, many questions need to be answered by Mr Fernandes and NDA chairman Atal Behari Vajpayee,’’ Mr Reddy said. Mr Fernandes had been going as a “troubleshooter” to meet sulking partners of the
NDA. “Will he disclose what other messages he had carried in the past,”he asked. Asked if the Congress was demanding that Mr Fernandes depose before the
JPC, Mr Reddy said the NDA convener had “wangled the invitation himself.” Talking about the incidences of violence at a DMK rally in Tamil Nadu yesterday, Mr Reddy said the firing was unfortunate. |
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Give autonomy to J&K: CPM New Delhi, August 13 “The campaign will be aimed at creating an awakening among the people about the issues pertaining to the autonomy issue of the state”, party General Secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet told mediapersons here. The CPM firmly believed that a democratic solution to the problem in Jammu and Kashmir and to end the alienation of the people in the Kashmir valley could be reached only when the Central Government was prepared to take steps to provide maximum autonomy within the ambit of Article 370, he said. Demanding the resignation of the BJP-led government at the Centre, Mr Surjeet said the Central Government had a wrong and harmful approach to the problem in Jammu and Kashmir. The CPM Central Committee met in the Capital on August 11 and August 12 to take stock of the national and international situation. Pointing out that Union Home Minister L.K. Advani categorically rejected the demand for more autonomy in Parliament recently, Mr Surjeet said “the BJP-led government seems to believe that by reliance only on the administration and security operations, the problem in J&K can be solved”. |
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12 days’ remand for Rana’s brother New Delhi, August 13 Raju, whose police custody expired today, was produced before Metropolitan Magistrate V.K. Yadav who remanded him in judicial custody till August 25. He had allegedly forged the documents while furnishing the bail bonds of Shravan, an alibi of Rana, who was in Hardwar jail till July 26, a day after the Samajwadi Party MP was killed. Raju, who is the younger brother of Rana, was sent to police custody on August 11 after the investigating officer had informed the court that his interrogation was necessary to recover the forged documents which he used to execute the bail bond for the alibi of Rana. The prosecution had said he was assigned the task by Rana to ensure the bail of his alibi and was instrumental in forging the documents in which other accused Pradeep Singh and Surinder Singh, alias Suri, had shown their names as Vijay Rana, alias Raju, and Virendra Giri, respectively, in the bail application of Rana’s alibi and Ravinder, alias Rajender. The investigating officer had claimed Raju was with the other accused in Mussoorie, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur after the commission of the offence.
PTI |
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Uttaranchal
delimitation New Delhi, August 13 A broad consensus on the number seats from each of the 13 districts of Uttaranchal was arrived at a meeting between the Election Commission and the newly appointed associate members of the delimitation committee here today. During the first meeting of the associate members, Kedar Singh Phonia, Mohan Singh Rawat, Ajay Bhatt, K.C. Singh ‘Baba’ and Harbans Kapoor, with the three-member commission led by the Chief Election Commissioner, J.M. Lyngdoh, it was decided to hold another meeting on September 3 to finalise the draft before making it public, Election Commission sources said. According to the draft proposal Uttar Kashi district will have three Assembly seats, while Tehri Garhwal (six), Hardwar (nine), Pouri Garhwal (eight), Rudraprayag (two), Chamoli (four), Bhageshwar (three), Almorah (seven), Nainital (five), Champawat (two) and Pithoragarh (five), the Election Commission sources said. During the meeting, there was a consensus that the districtwise allocation of Assembly seats would be based on the 1971 population figures, sources said. It was also decided that no Assembly constituency will fall in two different districts. As for the reserved seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, there was a consensus that 12 seats out of the 70 assembly constituencies would be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and two seats would be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. “Twelve Assembly constituencies having the highest concentration of the Scheduled Castes will be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and two seats having highest percentage of the Scheduled Tribes population will be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes,” a source said. During the meeting the commission made a detailed presentation on the legal position of the delimitation process and the principle according to which delimitation of the present 22 Assembly seats into 70 seats would be done. While arriving at the draft proposal, the commission had taken into account geographical location, administrative convenience and the communication facilities to keep each constituency a compact block, the sources said adding suitable allowance was also given to
sparsely populated areas in the hills. Although a broad consensus had been reached on the delimitation, the draft would be further refined and a complete proposal would be discussed in the next meeting scheduled for September 3, 2001. In the meantime, further verification of the population figures, rechecking of the territorial extents would be undertaken with the support of the inputs from district-level officials, the sources said. By mid-September, the commission is likely to publicise the draft proposal of the delimitation to elicit public view and for the convenience of people the commission will hold camps for public hearing in each of the five parliamentary constituencies in Uttaranchal. Once the delimitation is completed, which is expected by December end, the Election Commission redefine the territorial limits of five Lok Sabha seats in Uttaranchal — Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal, Almorah, Nainital and Hardwar. |
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Sacrilege
at Bheelwada Bheelwada, (Rajasthan) Aug 13 On getting information about the incident, Bheelwada District Collector and the Superintendent of Police rushed to the spot, the police said. Earlier, on July 27, an old Kalandari mosque situated at the Swai Bhoj temple complex at Aseend town in this district was “demolished” by certain persons leading to a dispute between the Gurjar community’s temple trust and the Muslim community. The row is yet to be fully resolved.
UNI |
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Action against ‘errant’ TN cops
sought New Delhi, August 13 Briefing newspersons, BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said the Tamil Nadu Governor had been asked to send his report on the progress made in implementing the Centre’s directives following the midnight arrest of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. “Democracy and Rule of Law are the two major casualties in Tamil Nadu for the last three months”, Prof Malhotra said adding that the Central Government should not accept it as “enough is enough”. Prof Malhotra said the issue before the government was whether it should allow central officers to become “working tools” in the hands of a tyrannical regime. |
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NORTH INDIA IN
PARLIAMENT New Delhi, August 13 The minister said on the charges of misconduct an inquiry against the said 12 employees was conducted by a retired Sessions Judge. The charges were proved by the Inquiry officer. Orders impsing appropriate penalty on 11 out of 12 officials have been issued by the disciplinary authority but orders have not been given effect. However, suspension orders of all these employees have been revoked and they have since joined duty. The Minister for Tribal Affairs, Jual Oram informed the Rajya Sabha that the case of Pahari-Pathari speaking tribes of Jammu and Kashmir is pending before the government for giving them ST status for the 12 years. The minister said the Prime Minister while addressing a public rally at Karnah in Kashmir in 1998, announced that the proposal of Pahari-speaking people seeking ST would receive
consideration of the government. The Minister of State for Water Resources, Ms Biyoya Chakravarty, informed the Lok Sabha that the government of Jammu and Kashmir as per the Water Treaty 1960 with Pakistan, could undertake construction of projects on the rivers Indus, Jhelum, and their tributaries for the utilisation of their water. Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Sharad Yadav, informed the Lok Sabha that Amritsar airport was being upgraded as International airport. The main runway is proposed to be strengthened and extended from 9150 feet to 10790 feet to facilitate operation of medium capacity long-range wide-bodied aircraft. Work for the resurfacing of existing runway, taxi track, had been awarded in April 2001 and was likely to be completed by May 2003. |
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Dum Dum MC chief shot dead Kolkata, August 13 The police suspects Mr Das may have been the victim of the CPM’s group rivalry in North 24-parganas, where the state Sports and Transport Minister, Subhas Chakraborty has been running parallel organisation, Mr Chakraborty’s group title now was controlling the municipality but recently, the official group with Mr Das as chairman dislodged them. Mr Das was shot at around 10 a.m. on way to the Municipal office. When he was about to board his car, parked in front of the house, three armed young men, suspected to be belonging to Mr Chakraborty’s group, suddenly arrived on the spot on a motorcycle and fired at him indiscriminately and so on fled, making Mr Das’ family and the local people awe-struck. Mr Das fell down with blood, coming out from his bullet-riddled body. Hearing sound of bullets, Mr Das’ wife and son rushed out for his rescue. Profusely bleeding, Mr Das was taken to the municipal hospital where he was declared
dead. |
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No time frame for lifting
US curbs New Delhi, August 13 Commenting on the reported statement by US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage that sanctions may be lifted by September a spokesperson for the External Affairs Ministry here said “we welcome the lifting of sanctions whenever they decide to do so.” India had always maintained that unilateral restrictions imposed by the USA were not justified and were counter-productive for laying a foundation for broad-based relations between the two countries.
UNI |
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Naval officer with ISI links held Visakhapatnam, August 13 Rajbir Singh, a deputy petty chief officer in the rank of a junior commissioned officer, has been remanded in judicial custody after being charged with Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Indian Official Secrets Act, city Police Commissioner A.K. Khan said today. The arrest of the 44-year-old official, who is in charge of the photo division of the command headquarters, was made on a tip-off given by intelligence agencies. Also a raid was carried out at the office and residential premises, resulting in the seizure of several sensitive documents, he told a press conference here.
UNI |
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Jaswant
to visit Nepal on Aug 18 New Delhi, August 13 Announcing the dates of the visit a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Nirupma Rao, said the minister would also have a meeting with Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. |
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New Delhi, August 13
