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Monday,
February 3, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Kalpana was unfazed
by risks
India not to join war on Iraq |
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3 JuM ultras get life term for murder INSAT-3A launch after Feb 28 Judges given clean chit in sex scandal Court directive to Air France 4 battalions to be raised
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Kalpana was unfazed by risks New Delhi, February 2 "She did not care about risks and was very passionate about her job," Mr Sanjay Chawla, elder brother of Kalpana, said. Kalpana, the youngest of the four siblings, was "very confident and cheerful" before taking off on her second space mission, Mr Chawla said. He said she had interest in outdoor activities like diving, trekking and wildlife, adding Kalpana developed a love for nature and environment after her first visit to space. Kalpana was very cheerful about her latest space mission, another relative Anil Nagpal said. The family, however, was "very apprehensive" about the mission and gave her an emotional send off, Mr Nagpal, whose sister is married to Kalpana's brother, said. PTI |
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Kalam condoles Kalpana’s death New Delhi, February 2 In a message to US President George Bush, Mr Kalam said as a member of the space community and as the President of India, "I feel deeply pained to learn about the great loss of the Columbia space shuttle and the brave crew members". "Allow me to convey my heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved family. It all started with the courage of the brave human beings starting from persons, including the Wright brothers, who gave marvels in
aerospace exploration harnessing it for the benefit for all humanity", the President said. In a separate message to Haryana Governor, Mr Kalam has
conveyed condolences to the family of Kalpana Chawla who belonged to Karnal. Asking the Governor to convey his condolences to the bereaved family, the President said, "India had been especially proud that our own Kalpana Chawla was part of the space mission". US Ambassador to India Robert Blackwill also expressed condolences to the families of Kalpana Chawla and six other crew members of the ill-fated Columbia space shuttle which exploded while returning to the Earth yesterday. In a statement, Mr Blackwill said, "We watched the shocking news reports of the space shuttle with disbelief and profound sadness... All members of the US mission in India extend their heartfelt condolences to the families of the courageous astronauts of the Columbia, including the family of Kalpana Chawla." Quoting US President George Bush, Mr Blackwill said, "In an age when space flight has come to be seem almost routine, it is easy to overlook the dangers of travel by rocket and the difficulties of navigating the fierce outer atmosphere of the Earth. These astronauts knew the dangers and they faced them willingly, knowing they had a high and noble purpose in life. Because of their courage and daring and idealism, we will miss them all the more." Bharatiya Janata Party president M. Venkaiah Naidu has also expressed shock over the death of the astronauts. |
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Vajpayee calls Bush New Delhi, February 2 “India shares the sorrow of the American people. I am confident that the United States will leave this setback behind and achieve much greater successes in space in future”, Mr Vajpayee told the US leader. Mr Bush thanked the Prime Minister for the telephone call as also for his letter following yesterday’s tragedy, an official spokesman said. During the conversation, the US President described Ms Chawla as a “brave and courageous star born in your great country”. Mr Vajpayee, in turn, said “she symbolised the kind of cooperation that India and the United States have recently developed in advanced areas of research and development.” The two leaders shared the view that bilateral relations were developing well with regular exchange of visits by leaders of the two countries. |
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Sonia offers condolences New Delhi, February 2 In a personal letter to Kalpana’s brother Sanjay Chawla, Mrs Gandhi said she was shocked and grieved by the tragic loss of your beloved sister and added that her thoughts and prayers were “with you and your family”. “Kalpana died after successfully
accomplishing two path-breaking missions that will push forward the frontiers of human knowledge, undeterred by the risks and dangers they involved. Her bravery, commitment and brilliance will inspire and motivate young Indians for generations to come. She will always have an honoured place in the history of our country and the world”, the Congress President said. “You and your parents were blessed and privileged to have such an extraordinary person in your family. Kalpana had the vision and courage to reach for the stars. She had the determination and dedication to make her dream come true. Her shining
career in space exploration brought glory and pride to India,” Mrs Gandhi said, adding that “today all of us share your pain and your tears, as we mourn Kalpana’s loss”.
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ISRO shocked, to continue activities New Delhi, February 2 The reusable vehicle that is under development for conducting microgravity experiments “will have a robot and not humans,” he said. Mr Krishnamurthi said ISRO is planning to send an unmanned spacecraft to orbit the moon sometime in 2005 but this does not require re-entry technology.
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India not to join war on Iraq New Delhi, February 2 “When we are taking a position that a war against Iraq should be averted, India cannot take any part,” Mr Fernandes observed during a function organised to give away prizes to various states, which had participated in the Republic Day parade. India has opposed any unilateral action against Iraq and asserted that if any action was to be taken, it should be under the UN resolutions. Asked if the USA had sought from India any kind of assistance (like refuelling) in the event of an attack on Iraq, the Defence Minister said he did not think that the USA needed any facility. The USA had amassed an armada and had all the troops and logistic support. “I don’t think the USA will need any support,” he pointed out. The minister said the Indo-US relations were not something that should disturb anybody in the world. The relations had to do more with economic development and therefore, there was no need for anybody to get upset about it, he said in an obvious reference to Pakistan. India was primarily concerned with fighting terrorism through a global coalition, he added. |
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3 JuM ultras get life term for murder New Delhi, February 2 Allowing an appeal filed by the CBI against their acquittal, a Bench of Mr Justice S. N. Variva and Mr Justice B. N. Agrawal took a diametrically opposite view on the admissibility of the evidence in the case based solely on the confessional statements of the three militants recorded under Section 15 of TADA. The other two sentenced to life were lecturer Shafiq Khan and Gulam Qadir. In November 1992, the JuM militants kidnapped Wanchoo from his house in Srinagar, took him to Bal Garden and shot him dead. The CBI had chargesheeted 12 accused, of which four died and five were declared absconders. The other three were acquitted by the designated court at Jammu. The TADA court had rejected the evidence on four counts. Firstly, the police official concerned did not ask the accused whether they were making the confessional statements voluntarily. Secondly, the CBI SP did not tell the accused that the confessional statement could be used against them as evidence. Thirdly, the statements were recorded in Hindi which was not the official language of the court and lastly, the SP did not ask the accused whether they wanted to add or subtract anything from their confessional statements. After going through the confessional statements of the three accused, the Supreme Court was of the opinion that all procedures, which the TADA court thought were not followed, were actually scrupulously followed. “We are, therefore, unable to accept the reasoning of the designated court that the confessional statements are not in conformity with the provisions of the law,” the Bench of Mr Justice Variava and Mr Justice Agrawal said, adding that the designated court was wrong on all four counts on which it had rejected the evidence. Mr Justice Variava, writing for the Bench, said: “In the confessional statements, each of the respondents admits that they were part of the organisations and that they had taken part in the conspiracy to eliminate H. N. Wanchoo.” Referring to the role of Qadir, the Bench said: “He had actually participated in the kidnapping of Wanchoo and had then given orders in writing that Wanchoo be killed. Therefore, the offence under Section 3 of the TADA Act as well as under Section 302 read with 120B of IPC is made out.” Saying that the approach of the present government in Jammu and Kashmir was to give a healing touch, counsel for the accused B. B. Singh pleaded that leniency should be shown to Khan as the latter was a lecturer and had joined the terrorist group because of threats of torture. Rejecting the argument, the Bench said: “In our view, having seen the activities of the respondents and that they had conspired and murdered Wanchoo, this is a fit case where the sentence should be life imprisonment.”
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INSAT-3A launch after Feb 28 Bangalore, February 2 "The launch window will be open for a week from February 28" the Director of ISRO Satellite Centre and Space Commission Member, Dr P.S. Goel, said here. Dr Goel said INSAT-3A had transponders in C, extended C and KU bands and would have applications in the communication and meteorology. The spacecraft also had a transponder for search and rescue, he added. INSAT-3A would be lifted into space by European space consortium, Arianespace, from Kourou in French Guyana. Arianespace officials said INSAT-3A, a hybrid satellite, would weigh slightly over 2000 kg at lift-off.
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Judges given clean chit in sex scandal New Delhi, February 2 The committee, in its report submitted to the Chief Justice of India, said it found "no evidence" against the judges of the Karnataka High Court, Mr Justice N.S. Vervadraiah, Mr Justice Chandrasekhariah and Mr Justice V Gopalagowda, authoritative sources told PTI. The report of the committee, which comprised Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court Mr Justice C.K. Thakkar, Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court Mr Justice J.L. Gupta and Senior Judge of the Orissa High Court Mr Justice A.K. Patnaik, comes after an extensive probe lasting more than two months. During the probe, the committee spoke to a cross section of people, including the owner of the resort in question at Mysore and a few journalists, the sources said. The voluminous report was submitted by the members of the committee to the Chief Justice of India V.N. Khare at his residence this afternoon. The sources said the committee gave extensive detail of its probe but concluded that it could not find any substantive evidence against the three judges to link them to the alleged sleaze activities. The inquiry committee was set up by the then Chief Justice G B Pattanaik on the basis of a report submitted by the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court on the allegations about the involvement of the judges in the scandal.
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Court directive to Air France New Delhi, February 2 “When a person is in a foreign land and if he has lost his clothes and essential articles, the mental agony cannot be imagined and it will only be felt by the person who undergoes such a trauma,” the New Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum said in a recent order given over six years after the incident happened. Noting that only after 18 days Air France admitted that they could not locate the baggage of the North Delhi-based Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police P.S. Bhushan, the consumer court said “for all the agony and mental torture he had undergone, we direct Air France to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation.” The complainant, who had gone on a holiday to Europe, missed the entire fun of it and had to waste his time locating the baggage, Forum president L.C. Jain, members Janak Juneja and R. Narayana said. The forum also asked the international airliner to pay the complainant Rs 20,310 for the lost baggage in addition to Rs 10,000 as costs. In his complaint, Mr Bhushan alleged that the suitcase containing his clothes, video camera and other valuables were missing when he reached Hamburg on June 8, 1996. The complainant alleged that he could not avail his Eurail ticket worth Rs 15,000 as he got stuck at Hamburg trying to locate his luggage, the loss of which he had brought to the notice of the Aviation Handling Services (AHS) there. On learning about the incident from AHS, Air France asked the complainant to contact their office at Frankfurt, saying the missing suitcase might have reached there. However, the complainant said he did not get any reply for 18 days. In its reply, Air France said since according to the general condition of the Carriage by Air Act, the complainant was entitled to $ 20 per kg and it had paid Rs 20,310 as compensation with weight of baggage calculated to be 20 kg. But the consumer court rejected this claim as Air France did not produce any receipt of the payment of Rs 20,310. As the international carrier failed to pay this amount, it was found to be negligent in service, the consumer said. Furthermore, as the complainant was stranded at Hamburg without his baggage, Air France should have paid a minimum amount to meet his immediate requirements, it said, adding Air France “had failed to do the same and is found negligent to that extent also.”
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4 battalions to be raised New Delhi, February 2 The proposal for raising these new elite commando forces, especially in “irregular warfare”, has been cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) and additional funds have been allocated for it, highly placed army officials told PTI. The officers and men from these newly-raised battalions would be sent to Israel for special anti-insurgency warfare training, the officials said. A high-level Defence Ministry delegation is scheduled to visit Israel next week as part of the moves to clear the decks for training of special forces. India and Israel recently signed a $ 30-million agreement to arm these special forces with the Israeli tavros light weapons systems. The system is said to be the most advanced in contemporary warfare.
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