Hubli, August 31
A Hubli court today asked the prosecution to submit in writing its request for withdrawing cases against former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti and adjourned the proceedings till tomorrow after slogan-shouting lawyers disrupted the court demanding the setting up of a High Court Bench in Hubli-Dharwad.

As the court met this morning in a surcharged atmosphere, lawyers blocked proceedings following a decision by the Hubli Bar Association to boycott courts to protest against High Court Chief Justice N. K. Jain’s stand that there was no need for a Bench for north Karnataka.

In the midst of the furore, Judicial Magistrate Mohammed Ismail asked Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) N. Nagendra to submit written comments on the withdrawal of cases against Ms Bharti, who is charged with attempt to murder and rioting in connection with violence in the aftermath of the BJP-led agitation to hoist the National Flag at Idgah Maidan in Hubli in 1994.

As the APP did not turn up “in view of being prevented” by advocates, the case had been adjourned till tomorrow, the Judge said in his order.

BANGALORE: Karnataka Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh today asserted that there was no question of the state government making any “U” turn in its stand on the withdrawal of prosecution against Ms Uma Bharti.

Talking to newspersons here, he said the High Court had neither given any direction to the state government nor had the latter given any undertaking for fresh withdrawal of the case.

He said it was for Ms Bharti to take appropriate steps for seeking necessary relief from the High Court as the court itself had observed that Ms Bharti’s counsel had undertaken to file a petition under Section 482 of the CrP C, seeking quashing of the proceedings, before the Judicial Magistrate First Class.

PATNA: Railway Minister and RJD chief Laloo Prasad on Tuesday flayed the Karnataka Government for changing its stance and seeking to drop charges against Ms Uma Bharti, saying he would complain to UPA convener and Congress President Sonia Gandhi against the move.

“It is absolutely wrong and against the law. I will complain to Sonia Gandhi,” he told reporters. — PTI, UNI

New Delhi, August 31
Embarrassed over the Karnataka Government’s perceived flip-flop on the Uma Bharti case, Congress leaders were at pains today to explain there had been no change in the earlier stand seeking the withdrawal of the cases against the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister.

Congress leaders maintained all that the state government had done was to reiterate before the Karnataka High Court, in a hearing on a public-interest litigation, that it stood by its earlier decision not to pursue the cases against Ms Bharti. The court was told that the earlier order of 2002, issued by former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, had not been revoked.

It was explained that of the 10 cases pending against Ms Bharti, the court had dropped eight, but did not permit the withdrawal of two others that related to attempt to murder and mischief by fire. The Judicial Magistrate First Class, Hubli, who was hearing the cases maintained it was not within the court’s jurisdiction to withdraw the cases and that only the Sessions Court could do so.

It was said the state government had “not withdrawn the cases but merely told the High Court it would not pursue the two pending cases.” It was now up to the Sessions Court to take a view, said AICC functionaries.

Senior AICC functionaries were equally quick to dispel the notion that Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh had acted at the behest of the central party leadership when he stepped in earlier to expedite the pending two cases against the BJP leader.

They said since the authorities had failed to execute the non-bailable warrants against Ms Bharti for a record 18 times, the courts had censured the state government for showing laxity in the matter. The Chief Minister, it was said, was only responding to the court directives.

While Congress leaders tied themselves in knots explaining the party’s stand on the case, what was left unsaid was that the party baulked at the negative impact this episode would have in the run-up to the Maharashtra assembly elections. The BJP’s plans to use Ms Bharti’s arrest and the Veer Savarkar controversy as the twin issues of nationalism in these elections also forced the Congress to rethink its stand. Party strategists feel that the BJP would now be deprived of an opportunity to generate sympathy and support.

On the other hand, Congress leaders believe Ms Bharti’s release would put the BJP leadership in a dilemma about her reinstatement as Chief Minister. In case she did not get back her post, the party would have to find a suitable slot for her. This has the potential of stoking rivalries among the BJP’s “Genext” leaders who are all aspiring to don the leadership mantle in the party.

New Delhi, August 31
The BJP today challenged the Congress to present before the nation a report card of its government’s achievements saying “the chaotic conditions which marked the birth of the UPA have bedevilled its first 100 days.”

“The UPA government was born in chaos and is blundering in chaos during and after 100 days. The only achievement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the past 100 days is his ‘impolite’ behaviour with the NDA leaders,” BJP spokesperson Yashwant Sinha told newspersons here.

“Whether it is the economic front or political front or national security front, the Congress-led UPA government has failed miserably, thus, causing extreme hardship to the common man, setting wrong precedents and compromising the national security,” Mr Sinha charged.

“There has been 100 per cent rise in inflation in 100 days, burdening the ‘aam aadmi’ (common man) with a steep increase in the prices of essential goods, sell out of the interests of Indian farmers at the WTO meet in Geneva and nearly 400 farmers have committed suicide in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and other states after the UPA government took office,” he said.

On the political front, Mr Sinha said the Prime Minister, who talks about a code of conduct for political parties, continued to defend the criminalisation of the Union Government, which had happened for the first time since independence with the inclusion of tainted ministers.

“This is the first government since Independence, in which the Prime Minister is not his own master. Indeed, Dr Manmohan Singh is so powerless that he seems to neither control his own ministers nor his party’s chief ministers. At the recent AICC meet, short of booing him out, delegates made it very clear to Dr Singh that they see him as just another ordinary Congressman,” he said.

“In an unprecedented affront to the Constitution, the Congress Chief Minister of Punjab has annulled the river water agreement with the neighbouring states and the Manipur Chief Minister withdrew the Armed Forces Special Powers Act without so much as informing, much less consulting, the Prime Minister,” he said.

On the national security front, Mr Sinha said ever since the UPA government had taken over, the infiltration of Pak-trained terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir, as per the statement of the Army Chief, has doubled, steps taken to repeal the POTA, in utter disregard of the continuing menace of terrorism, has emboldened the terrorist outfits and there had been virtually no new initiative on the foreign policy.

New Delhi, August 31
A city court has ruled that any Congress member is competent to seek damages on account of alleged defamatory material directed against party President Sonia Gandhi.

Rejecting objections raised by Samajik Ekta Sangh (SES) - which made alleged defamatory remarks against Ms Gandhi - Additional District Judge K.S. Mohi, citing a Supreme Court order in a similar case, said the apex court ruling “makes it abundantly clear that in case a defamatory material is levelled against a group of persons, every member of such group can reasonably be expected to feel aggrieved by it”.

“Plaintiff (Ajay Vinayak, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee Secretary) being one of the Congress party members is an aggrieved party and can maintain the present suit,” the court said while dismissing the SES’ objection that Vinayak had no locus standi to file the suit as the alleged defamatory remarks were not directed against him.

The objection of the SES was “devoid of any merit”, the court said and asked the SES to pay Vinayak litigation cost of Rs 2,000. — PTI

Kolkata, August 31
CPM workers and the police fought a pitched battle at Bandel in Hooghly district, about 40 km from Kolkata, over the arrest of two CPI leaders, Nikhil Pande and Benoy Chatterjee, on the charge of murdering another CPM leader, Mr Monoj Majumdar in 2002.

Both Pande and Chatterjee who had absconded, were today arrested from the CPM office in Hooghly.

CPM workers and supporters protested against their arrest and attacked the police party when these leaders were being taken away in a jeep.

The angry people tried to rescue the arrested leaders and started throwing stones at the policemen. Bombs were also hurled at the policemen .

A few rounds were also fired from the pipe-guns, which injured two constables.

The police opened fire in retaliation.

A police jeep was set on fire and over 12 police policemen, including the Bandel thana’s officer-in-charge, were seriously injured and were admitted to hospital.

Over 20 persons, including local CPM leaders, were also injured in the clash.

Immediately after the incident, the CPM blocked the G.T. Road for over four hours.

Pande and Chatterjee will be produced in the Chisura SDJM’s court tomorrow.

New Delhi, August 31
Britain today sent a request to India for the extradition of Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, wanted by Scotland Yard in connection with the rape and murder of 17-year-old Hannah Foster.

The request was received by the Ministry of External Affairs from London Interpol, after which the èCBI alerted its Chandigarh unit to appear at a Chandigarh court tomorrow where Kohli’s bail plea is to come up for hearing, a CBI spokesman said here.

“We will ensure that he does not get the bail till his extradition request is decided upon,” the spokesman said.

The extradition request came from the British police barely 11 days before Kohli could be bailed out after the completion of his 60-day custody ending on September 12.

The CBI had received a letter rogatory from a British Court in April last year, requesting his arrest. Kohli, 37, was arrested at Panighata, near the Indo-Nepal border, about 35 km from Siliguri, in West Bengal on July 15.

Hannah Foster went missing on March 14, 2003, in Southampton, England. Her body was found after two days and a post-mortem found that she had been raped and strangled. Kohli fled England for India within two days of the discovery of the body.

The CBI spokesman said the agency had moved into action already and prevented him from getting bail after the Punjab police withdrew the case of forgery in passports.

“We moved under Section 41 of the CrPC after verifying that he was the person wanted by the UK police in connection with the rape and murder of Foster,” the spokesman said and added that an extradition trial would begin soon after the External Affairs Ministry notified a court for it. CBI sources said the court was likely to be in Delhi. — PTI

New Delhi, August 31
On the occasion of quadricentennial celebrations of installation of Guru Granth Sahib, a Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, Mr Mohinder Singh Gill, today urged the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to take steps to start a regular bus service between Amritsar and Nankana Sahib.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the former CEC said, “Punjabis are the only people who have a severely restricted access to their Mecca.”

“The people of the Sikh faith should be able to go easily across the border to Nankana Sahib and return in a day. Bus service that would take pilgrims 30 miles across the Wagah border in the morning and bring them back by evening, should be started,’’ he said.

Urging the Prime Minister to announce this bus service as a gift on the occasion of the quadricentennial celebrations, he said New Delhi can take up this issue for discussion with the Pakistan Foreign Minister during his visit to the country next week.

Mr Gill also urged the government to start a bus service linking two important cities of Amritsar and Lahore.

New Delhi, August 31
The Indian Army’s first woman Lieutenant- General, Ms Punita Arora is going to take over as the Commandant of the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) in Pune tomorrow.

The name of Lt.- Gen (Ms) Punita Arora, who is at present serving as Additional Director General, Armed Forces Medical Services, was approved for the rank recently and she would also be the first woman to reach the position in AFMC.

In her late 50s, General (Ms) Arora has had many achievements to her credit and has been awarded with more than 15 medals, including a Sena Medal and a Vashist Seva Medal, in her 36-year-long career with the Army.

She graduated from the AFMC and joined the Army Medical Corps in 1968. She did her post graduation in Gynaecology and Obst. from AFMC and was awarded a gold medal for securing the first position in Pune University.

She was awarded Sena Medal for establishing gynae endoscopy and oncology facilities in armed forces hospitals. Her determined efforts also helped in putting up the facilities of Assisted Reproductive Technology at AFMC and Army Hospital (R&R) which have proved to be a boon for a large number of infertile couples in the armed forces.

She has also had the privilege of being a member of the eighth Five Year Plan panel on safe motherhood and polio eradication programme. Her services and hard work as an administrator have also been appreciated.

During the terrorist attack at Kalu Chak she personally supervised the treatment of the victims while commanding the Military Hospital at Jammu and was awarded with a VSM for her services by the President.

Kolkata, August 31
A vast area in the Asansol-Raniganj collieries belt, about 210 km from here, subsided last evening, causing panic in the entire locality.

Already 69 families in the Raniganj colliery “basti” had shifted to safer places near Raniganj town.

The subsidence affected a primary school, a health centre and a police outpost, according to a report received here from the District Magistrate today.

The local administration and the coalmine authorities had taken elaborate rescue and rehabilitation programme for the
safety and security of the people there.

This was the third time in the past two months that subsidence had occurred in residential areas near the Asansol Raniganj, Kulti and Dhanbad collieries under Eastern Coalfield Limited ECL.

The ECL authorities alleged that illegal mining by some private parties which continued despite objections from the coalmine authorities had been responsible for frequent subsidence in the area.

Chief Secretary A. Gupta today sent un urgent message to Coal India Limited (CIL) chairman, requesting him to take appropriate steps for protecting the residential areas.

Thiruvananthapuram, August 31
Mr Oommen Chandy, a senior Congress leader, was today sworn in as the 19th Chief Minister of Kerala in a smooth transition of power after the resignation of Mr A K Antony from the post two days ago.

At a simple function at the Raj Bhavan, Governor R L Bhatia administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr Chandy and four other nominees of the ruling UDF coalition.

The leaders of Kerala Congress-B and Kerala Congress-J and RSP-B, however, did not find a berth in the Cabinet which is to be expanded in the coming days.

While Kerala Congress factions had been kept out for the time being due to a stiff resistance from the Congress leaders, the two-member RSP-B suffered a split following the sharp differences in the choice of a nominee for the Cabinet berth.

The ministers who took oath today along with the Chief Minister were Mr

P. K. Kunhalikutty (IUML), Mr K. M. Mani (KC-M), Mr K R Gowri (JSS) and Mr M V Raghavan (CMP).

Marking a new phase of the Congress politics in the state, which was centred round Mr K. Karunakaran and Mr Antony for the last three decades, Mr Chandy was unanimously elected the CLP leader yesterday.

While Mr Chandy’s elevation was widely cheered, the split in the RSP-B and uncertainty over the inclusion of KC-J and KC-B nominees cast a shadow over the government formation.

AICC observers Pranab Mukherjee, Ahmed Patel, Anil Shastri and Margaret Alva, outgoing Chief Minister A K Antony and Mr K Karunakaran were among the leaders who attended the swearing-in ceremony. — PTI

New Delhi, August 31
Assuring that there was no problem with one of the most lethal weapons in India’s armoury, the indigenously developed Agni II, the outgoing Chief of the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) said today that the test firing of the missile last Sunday was also a scheduled exercise.

Pointing that such tests were needed to apparently check the health of the missiles in country’s armoury, Dr Aatre, who is also the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, said the missile would need to be tested “at least once every year” to check its technical parameters.

He also said India had started deploying both short range 700 km Agni I as well as intermediate range Agni II surface-to-surface missiles, both of which were capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Dr Atre said Indian scientists were also working on developing an anti-missile defence system as well as airborne early warning system.

Dr Aatre’s 25-year-long stint with the DRDO had as major mile stones the development, among others, of the Agni I and II series of missiles, the Tejas Light Commercial Aircraft (LCA), the Battle Field Surveillance Radar (BFSR) and the Pinaka Multi-barrel Rocket Launcher System.

New Delhi, August 31
Charging the Congress governments at the Centre and Assam with “neglecting” the activities of Pakistan’s ISI in the north-eastern region, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today asked the Centre to immediately initiate political dialogue with all insurgent groups in Assam and take steps to check ISI activities.

“After the Congress came to power in Assam, the illegal migration of Bangladeshis have increased and there has been a significant increase in ULFA activities. One of the IGPs of Assam has recently admitted that ISI is behind the violent activities... It is a matter of grave concern, but it is unfortunate that the Centre and state governments are silent,” AGP MPs Sarbananda Sonowal and Arun Kumar Sarma told newspersons here.

“There have been at least 100 killings in several bomb blasts and attacks by the ULFA in the past six months and the Tarun Gogoi’s government itself had admitted to the state assembly that there has been intelligence reports of the ISI hand behind some of the incidents,” Mr Sonowal said demanding effective steps to seal the border to check illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

“Instead of solely depending on intelligence agencies reports, the Union Home Ministry should regularly interact with elected representatives of Assam and other north eastern states and hold dialogues with moderate groups in the region regularly,” Mr Sarma added.

On the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), AGP leaders said such a draconian law should be abolished immediately and asserted that they fully supported the demands of Manipuris.

New Delhi, August 31
The South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) has said all governments of the region must learn a lesson from the gruesome form of protest by women of Manipur as it expresses the sentiments of millions of voiceless women of South Asia.

SAHR Chairperson and former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral and Co-chairperson Asma Jehangir met here yesterday to review the emerging human rights situation in the region. They said the nude protest by women of Manipur in front of the gate of the Assam Rifles base was a cruel reminder to the South Asian society that the lives of women had remained vulnerable and their integrity had been violated time and again with impunity.

The SAHR activists have called upon the governments and civil society of South Asia to find creative means of marginalising intolerant forces and strengthening democratic norms in the region. “The South Asia region is suffering from tensions of conflict and lack of democracy or poor governance. Religious intolerance in all countries of the region continues to be a challenge,” the SAHR has said in a statement signed by Gujral and Jehangir.

The SAHR has warned Pakistan that deviation from the rule of law will give rise to terrorism instead of curbing it.

The activists have expressed deep concern over the political deadlock in Nepal. They have called upon the government of Nepal to immediately hold a comprehensive dialogue with all concerned parties and restore the democratic process in the country. 

Dehradun, August 31
The state government swung into action today after the arrest of five fringe Maoist guerrillas from the Saufutia forests in Nainital district. These arrests confirmed the fears of training schools being run in the Uttranchal border areas by Maoist infiltrators, the police said.

At a top-level meeting in the state capital, officials drew up an action plan and decided to ask the Union Home Ministry for funds to strengthen security in the Indo-Nepal border areas.

Ms Kanchan Choudhary Bhattacharya, DGP, said the police teams set up to carry out combing operations nabbed the five Maoists after raiding the Saufutia forest area on the border of Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts, late on Sunday night. Residents of Uttaranchal, the five Maoists admitted, were put through an induction programme run by a group of over 12 Maoists, including two women, the police said.

Even as the five Maoists trained by the group have been held, the police has no clue to the group running training camps in the border villages for over a year.

The combing operations are on in search of this group suspected to be hiding in the forests of Chorgalia, said Mr Amit Sinha SSP, US Nagar. The group included Nepalese Maoists who carried out induction programmes in the border districts of Uttaranchal, the police said.

The police had seized equipment used to make arms, a banner that reads People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army, about 15 uniforms and some Maoist literature from the five who associated themselves with the Maoist Communist Centre of India.

Their interrogation revealed that the group which trained them ran training schools in hill villages, the police said. They sought to create a rich and poor divide by talking about the inequitable distribution of land in the Terai region, instigating the villagers to fight against the system, the police said. The villagers were taught to use arms and appreciate Lenin’s ideology, the police added.

New Delhi, August 31
In yet another magnanimous gesture, the Railways Ministry today issued orders granting full concession in train fares to unemployed youths appearing in interviews for Central Government jobs from September 6.

The concession will be available to the unemployed youths up-to the age of 35 years, a Railways Ministry spokesperson said.

The free train tickets will be available in basic Mail and Express fares of only non-sleeper second class. All other charges like reservation fee, superfast surcharge and safety surcharge will be realised in full.

The to and fro tickets at full concession fares will be issued by Station Managers and Station Masters on production of a photocopy of call letters along with the original, which would be returned after verification.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had announced this concession in his Rail Budget speech for 2004-2005 in the Lok Sabha on July 6.

For youths travelling to appear in interviews for jobs in state government offices, government undertakings, universities or public sector banks, the existing provision for grant of 50 per cent concession in second or sleeper class will continue. — UNI

New Delhi, August 31
A public interest litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court claiming that a large number of condemned prisoners are living under the shadow of death for a long time in jails across India and requested the Court to commute their death sentence to life imprisonment.

The PIL filed by PUCL cited a recent report in the “Times of India” pointing out the sufferings of 55 prisoners lodged in jails at Bhagalpur, Gaya and Muzaffarpur facing death sentence for a long time.

The petition filed through counsel Sanjay Parikh said the PUCL believed that there were similar prisoners languishing in jails, who have been awarded death sentence, but there was inordinate delay in the execution resulting in violation of right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

“The pitiable condition of the prisoners in different jails of Bihar who have been awarded death sentence is clearly violative of Article 21 of the Constitution. They have been living in the trauma of death for so many years,” the petitioner said.

Inordinate delay in the execution of death sentence was violative of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution and this entitled the convicts to ask for commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment, the PIL said.

It has requested the court to call for a status report from all states and union territories relating to all such prisoners lodged in jails awaiting execution. — PTI

New Delhi, August 31
Finding data relating to 15 per cent all India medical quota seats incomplete, the Supreme Court today gave 12 hours to chief secretaries of six states to furnish the vacancy position in government medical colleges in these states to the Directorate-General of Health Services.

Making the chief secretaries of Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal personally liable for the supply of the data by 9 pm today, the court said it would hear the matter again tomorrow.

A Bench comprising Mr Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Mr Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari called for this information after the DGHS said it has received deficient information.

It said of the 93 government medical colleges which contribute to the 15 per cent medical quota, only 78 had furnished information about the vacancy positions and out of 25 dental colleges 20 had given information.

The DGHS, which conducts counselling for the all India quota seats, was unable to conduct fresh counselling being constrained by the lack of information.

A bunch of petitions filed by candidates aspiring to take admission in medical and dental colleges had complained that delay on part of states in conducting counselling has hampered the admission process and commencement of the academic year. — PTI

New Delhi, August 31
The Delhi High Court today issued notice to Attorney-General (AG) Milon Banerjee, seeking his assistance to decide if interviewing children and their parents was needed for admissions to nursery and pre-primary classes.

“Keeping in view the importance of the issue we have to decide, we think it appropriate to request the Attorney-General to assist this court in the matter,” a Division Bench of Mr Justice D. K. Jain and Mr Justice S. R. Bhat said.

“All bodies, individuals and schools interested in assisting the court in the matter may file their submissions in the form of affidavits within two weeks,” it said.

The Bench, which had earlier issued notice to the HRD Ministry, would further take up the case on September 22.

The court is seized of a petition filed by three parents challenging a single-Bench judgement of the same court that had on January 12 last year rejected the plea for banning interviewing of children and their parents.

Petitioners’ counsel Ashok Agrawal, who has been seeking issuance of some interim guidelines on the issue, told the court that several schools had already put up banners inviting applications for admission to pre-primary classes.

Such a practice was violative of their fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 (right to equality), Article 21 (right to life and liberty) and Article 21-A (right to education for children below 14) of the Constitution as also provisions of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, he contended. — PTI

Vadodara, August 31
The police today summoned Zahira Sheikh, the main witness in Best Bakery case, for recording her statement in connection with a complaint filed by her brother Nafitullah against the BJP MLA Madhu Srivastav and three others for allegedly threatening them to turn hostile during trial last year.

“We have sent summons and telephonically informed Zahira’s custodian in Mumbai Teesta Setlavad,” Police Commissioner Sudhir Sinha said.

Meanwhile, police sources revealed since October 6 last year, they had tried to contact Zahira 13 times but they were stopped by Teesta Setlavaad, who insisted that she was not available.

Zahira had also filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court alleging she and her family members were threatened by Srivastav, his brother Chandrakant, alias, Bhathu and two others, during the trial in a fast-track court.

Zahira and many others turned hostile during the trial in the fasttrack court following which all 21 accused were acquitted.

The Gujarat High Court too had upheld the acquittal but the Supreme Court quashed it and ordered retrial of the case in Maharashtra. — PTI

Ahmedabad, August 31
Contradicting the claims of former Gujarat Director-General of Police, the then Intelligence chief, Mr R. B. Shreekumar, today told the Godhra Inquiry Commission that the state Intelligence Bureau did have information from the Lucknow police regarding the return of Karsevaks from Ayodhya on February 22, 2002, itself.

“The state IB did get a fax message from the Lucknow SP about the return of karsevaks from Ayodhya on February 22, 2002,” Mr Shreekumar told Justice G. T. Nanavati and Justice K. G. Shah, probing the train carnage and its aftermath.

When asked whether the information on the return of karsevaks was passed on to his higher officials and whether any action was taken subsequently to protect them, he said: “I cannot comment on this. Only my predecessor can do so. In another disclosure, Mr Shreekumar said that on April 18, 2002, he had forewarned authorities regarding a possible attack by fundamentalists. — PTI