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16 radars for 15 Sea
Harriers
Slain militants had plans to attack
IMA
Mohammad Sariq, member of the Lashkar-e-Toiba,
is produced at Tis Hazari Court by the Delhi Police in New Delhi on Sunday. —
Tribune photo by Rajeev Tyagi
PM launches legal literacy mission
Tourists throng Rishikesh
for yoga
Depoliticise office of Governor,
says NGO
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Woman paraded naked on donkey
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A Tribune Exclusive Girja Shankar Kaura Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 6 Sources here in the MoD said that the ministry had given its clearance for the purchase of a total of 16 Multimode Airborne Fire Control Radar systems from Israel for the Sea Harriers to improve their strike capabilities where as the Indian Navy actually has just 15 aircraft in its inventory. The multi-million dollar deal was recently inked between India and Israel’s Elta-Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd (IAI). Israel’s Rafael (Israel Armament Development Authority Ltd) had earlier won a 25 million dollar tender to provide 20 Derby missiles for the Indian Navy jets. Reports here suggested that the anomaly has apparently been brought to the notice of the MoD officials but a corrective action is yet to be taken. Apparently the reason for the higher purchase order than the inventory is that the Indian Navy till recently had 16 Sea Harrier aircraft but one of them crashed leaving the force with just 15 of the British made fighter jets. But despite the loss of one aircraft the MoD has failed to revise its contract with Elta-IAI and has plans to go ahead with the original order of purchasing of 16 of the Elta- EL/M-2032 Multimode Fire Control Radar systems. Incidentally, the Indian Navy has plans to put the Sea Harriers out of service by 2010, the time when their carrier — INS Viraat — is also decommissioned. The EL/M-2032 radars chosen by the Navy for the mid-life upgrade of the Sea Harriers are in fact highly sophisticated radars with a detection range of about 30 nautical miles and the capability of tracking 100 targets at a time. In air-to-air modes, the radar enables long-range target detection and tracking for weapon delivery or automatic target acquisition in close combat engagements. In air-to-sea missions the radar provides long range target detection and tracking, including target classification capabilities. The supply of radars for the Sea Harriers would be another chapter in the Indo-Israel defence relations, especially after Tel Aviv earlier last year approved the sale of 1.1 billion dollar worth sale of the three Phalcon, airborne radar systems for New Delhi, much to the protest from Pakistan. Some of the other critical defence areas where India is looking for help from Israel are submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) programme “Sagarika”, the long-range Green Pine radar system and the EL/M-2080 search, acquisition and fire-control radar, which was developed in conjunction with the US-Israeli Arrow project. The Israeli help in Sagarika project would particularly be critical as India is looking at not only increasing its range from the present 300 km to about 2,500 km. The extending of Sagarika’s range more importantly is intended at giving it a nuclear deterrent capability. After the resumption of diplomatic ties with Israel in 1992, India has emerged as the second largest purchaser of arms and equipment from the West Asian country. The change has come about in the recent past, especially after the initiative taken by the previous NDA government. The improvement in the Indo-Israel defence relationship can also be gauged from the recent presence of the large number of Israeli defence equipment companies at the just concluded Aero India 2005 at Bangalore. However, experts point out that, improving defence relations with Israel should not mean overlooking purchase of defence equipment which is not needed by the Indian armed forces and which would result in loss to the country’s exchequer.
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Slain militants had plans to attack
IMA
New Delhi, March 6 During the raids, the sleuths recovered some documents indicating their plans to attack the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun. The sleuths also recovered some incriminating files and some telephone numbers, which they are in the process of decoding. Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Karnal Singh said that the slain militants identified as Bilawal, alias Mohammad Sariq (24), Shahnawaz (25), residents of Pakistan and Shams, alias Parvez Ahmed (26), a resident of Bihar, had plans to carry out an attack on the Indian Military Academy. He said the sleuths were now investigating how the militants got such crucial information about the IMA. Mr Singh also said the recovered documents also threw light on Shahnawaz and his nefarious designs in this respect. The sleuths recovered three AK-56 rifles, six magazines along with 14 live cartridges, 100 kg of dyanamite, 450 detonators, four hand grenades, Thuraya satellite phone, three jackets for storing ammunition, Rs 24,400 in cash, one mobile phone and a Maruti Zen from their possession. Mr Singh said Hamid Hussain and Mohammad Sariq who are already in police custody had disclosed some valuable information and further interrogation is on to ascertain more details about their plans and their associates. Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Karnail Singh also said that a Pakistani passport of slain terrorist Bilawal, alias Abu Naman, had been recovered in which his name had been given as Saqib Ali, No.2 Mohammad Khaijaban Sirsyed, Sector 2, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Mr Singh said the scrutiny of the passport also revealed that it had been issued on November 13, 2004 and Bilawal had gone to UAE on January 30, 2005 and from there to went to Kathmandu on February 3, 2005. The police also recovered his identity card issued from Pakistan proving the terrorists belonged to Pakistan and were in Delhi to terrorise and destabilise the Indian economy. |
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Tight security at IMA
Dehra Dun, March 6 Security at the academy was tightened early this week following intelligence reports of a terrorist attack threat. Chief Minister N.D. Tiwari, DGP Kanchan Choudhary Bhattacharya along with top officials visited the IMA to discuss the security concerns with the IMA Commandant, Lt-Gen J.K. Khanna. Barracks have been set up in and outside the academy. While the civil police is manning the area around the academy, an added battalion is looking after security inside the campus. Closed-circuit cameras have been put up at strategic places around the academy to scrupulously observe the area. The heavy traffic coming from Himanchal Pradesh has been diverted from the highway in front of the academy, officials said. Civilians have been completely barred from entering the academy. Metal detectors and vehicle check devices are being used to check all vehicles entering the academy. The IMA officials who have served in Jammu and Kashmir have been given more security. The area around the academy is being combed for security reasons. Makeshift police posts have been set up at various places outside the academy. |
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PM launches legal literacy mission
New Delhi, March 6 Launching India’s first National Legal Literacy Mission, designed to empower the citizens, particularly the downtrodden, minorities and women, through awareness and free legal aid, he said the mission aimed at empowering people to enjoy their rights. He said at times even some highly educated people failed to understand the correct meaning of some laws and an attempt should be made to simplify the language of the law so that anyone, who read judgements and law, should be able to understand their real meaning. “From Ignorance to Legal Empowerment” is the goal proclaimed as part of the mission’s emblem and mascot, that was unveiled by the Prime Minister with Chief Justice Ramesh Chandra Lahoti and Law and Justice Minister Hans Raj Bhardwaj. Mr Justice Lahoti said when citizens, particularly marginalised or underprivileged groups, knew what the law had to offer, they would be able to recognise and challenge injustices forcefully and the first step towards that knowledge of the law was legal literacy. |
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Tourists throng Rishikesh
for yoga
Rishikesh, March 6 With the week-long International Yoga Festival under way, about 300 tourists from 34 countries are taking lessons in yoga on the banks of the Ganga. Organised by an ashram along with the Department of Tourism, the festival, in its fourth year, has grown visibly. Begun with the idea to make Rishikesh the yoga capital of the world, the festival still has a long way to go. Adding a dash of celebrity presence is Hollywood Yoga guru Gurmukh Kaur. Gurmukh Kaur, who gives lessons to a number of Hollywood stars says she has seen the festival from its conception as an instructor and it is a labour of love. A packed itinerary with capsule lessons in yoga, meditation, reiki and pranic healing leaves the tourist with little time for anything else. However, with yoga turning into a rage in the west and little time to learn so much that there is to, it, there is no one complaining. “Wellness is one of the words that are hugely misused in the world of selling but it is here that one gets to see what it means,” says Mellisia from Australia. “With each passing day, it is getting better and I am feeling healthier, she said. The town’s 15 minutes of fame in the West came early in the sixties after a duet between a yogi and the Beatles told the world that there was more to the town than the holy faith around it. The diehard Beatles fans who headed for the town all charmed by the idea of visiting the place that was the band’s muse have found more to Rishikesh that is up for grabs. On his fourth visit to Rishikesh, Nick Raymond from the USA says it was the love for George Harrison and other Beatles that brought him and his wife to the town, but this time with the yoga sessions on the banks, they experienced why Rishikesh meant so much to the Beatles. |
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Depoliticise office of Governor,
says NGO
New Delhi, March 6 Stressing the need for making Governors accountable only to the President, not only in words but also in practice, they have suggested that the Governor should not be an active politician and give an affidavit saying that he would not join active politics after his tenure ended. Sakha member Jatin Khosla said the organisation, comprising educated youth and professionals as members, was a platform for this section of society to raise its voice over vital matters concerning the country. It was the duty of every citizen to bring to the notice of the authorities any wrong that they noticed happening, he said. |
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Woman paraded naked on donkey
Allahabad, March 6 The decision to tonsure and parade the woman on a donkey was taken on Friday last week in a Dalit panchayat. The allegation against the 20-year-old Dalit woman was that she had murdered a five-year-old boy and thrown his body in the village pond. —
UNI |
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