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Punjab gets SC notice on teachers’ plea
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PPCC unhappy over drawing of constituencies Maneka
demands arrest of Pataudi
Anjali Gupta’s plea on GCM rejected
SC notice on Bihar
House dissolution
2 Goa BJP legislators move court
No beggar when marks matter
Maharashtra splits power board
Arjun
Singh, NCERT unfazed by BJP allegations Goswami’s
anticipatory bail plea dismissed Joint
Indo-French exercises from June 16 AFSPA
review committee submits report
Best Bakery case term extended
Assembly, LS seats demanded for Kandi area
Entrance tests scrapped for colleges in TN
Quota for Haj pilgrims up
Uttaranchal board results declared
Two Haryana labourers killed in Bihar
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Punjab gets SC notice on teachers’ plea
New Delhi, June 6 A vacation Bench comprising Mr Justice P.V. Reddi and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat, admitting the Special Leave Petition (SLP) of the Government School Lecturers Union (GSLU), said any promotion to the post of principal from among the vocational teachers under the 15 per cent quota, would be subject to the final judgement on the petition. The Bench, however, declined to grant stay on the high court’s order of March 2, upholding the state government’s May 21, 2003 notification reserving 15 per cent quota for vocational teachers for the post of principal. The GSLU in the SLP, moved through its counsel Virender Kumar Sharma, challenged the notification on the ground that the teachers who did not have the minimum basic qualification of B.A with B.Ed or a masters degree, were not entitled to be promoted to the post of principal of a government school due to lack of essential qualification. Since the vocational teachers were only holding a diploma, which was not equivalent to the B.Ed degree, they could not be placed on the same footing with the graduate teachers for promotional purposes. Terming the notification of the government as “illegal, unlawful and ultra vires”, the teachers contended that they had challenged it in the high court soon after it was issued by the state, but the high court had disposed of the matter without hearing it on merit, stating that the affected parties would have the remedy available to them when such promotions were made affecting their right. “As per the law, the headmaster of a school ought to be a B.A with B.Ed as professional degree. But the vocational teachers only have matriculation as basic qualification and diploma in a particular vocational course, hence not competent to be appointed as principals,” the SLP said. They also challenged the validity of the July 8, 1995 order of the Punjab Government, placing the vocational diploma holder teachers in class III category, paving the way for their being considered for the post of principal under the 15 per cent quota system. As per the statutory rules, even for qualified schoolteachers, the next promotion is headmasters or lecturer, not the post of principal, then how could a vocational teacher without having the requisite qualification be promoted to the post, the SLP said.
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PPCC unhappy over drawing of constituencies
New Delhi, June 6 There is a strong opinion in the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) that the delimitation of the Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies in the sensitive border state should be kept in abeyance. PPCC vice-president M.M. Singh Cheema is believed to have raised this issue with Congress president Sonia Gandhi recently and apprised her of the inherent pitfalls on going through with the process of delimitation in Punjab at this juncture. He stressed that the proposed Women’s Reservation Bill, forming, part of the Congress manifesto, should also be taken into account in the overall delimitation process. The reservation among PPCC leaders is that redrawing the Parliamentary and assembly seats under different administrative entities are being merged, physical features like the rivers of Punjab have been overlooked and different areas are brought together without taking into account the distinct subcultures. While impressing upon the associate members of the Delimitation Commission to take up these matters strongly at the meeting, Mr Cheema pointed out that the three regions of Majha, Malwa and Doaba having 27, 25 and 65 assembly coupled with three, two and eight Lok Sabha seats, respectively. Under the proposed delimitation process, the seats of Doaba (Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur) are to be reserved. These are against the guidelines which seeks even distribution of seats in the state, Mr Cheema insists. In other words, the current proportion of 29 reserved assembly segments are sought to be increased to 34 and most of the urban seats like Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana are proposed to be dereserved which is a cause of concern. Mr
Cheema has also met Mr Justice Kuldeep Singh, chairman of the Delimitation Commission, and conveyed to him the widespread apprehension in the political spectrum and urged that the process should be undertaken after evolving a consensus. The meeting of the Delimitation Commission is expected to be attended by several associate members belonging to the Congress, the SAD and the BJP. They are Lal Singh, Kewal Krishan, Jagjit Singh, Preneet Kaur (all Congress), Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Sukhbir Singh Badal (all SAD) and Avinash Rai Khanna (BJP). |
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Maneka
demands arrest of Pataudi New Delhi, June 6 Founder of People for Animals, a voluntary organisation committed to animal welfare, Maneka Gandhi told TNS that she expressed anguish over the killing of black-buck. She said that the Haryana Chief Minister assured her that punitive action would be taken in the case. Gandhi alleged that Pataudi and his wife, Sharmila Tagore who is also the Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, have been hunting and killing animals for years. She drew attention to a case where Pataudi and his wife had killed 2000 birds in a sanctuary outside Srinagar. “At that time they were saved by the then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah under the false premise that the Wildlife Protection Act does not apply to J&K. Their son, Saif Ali khan was with Salman Khan when the latter was caught hunting black bucks. Last month, at a book release function, they said that they were very fond of hunting.” Gandhi wondered why the Haryana government has booked a case of criminal exhumation against Naresh Kumar Kadyan, Chairman of the Haryana chapter of the PFA.
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Anjali Gupta’s plea on GCM rejected
Bangalore, June 6 She had prayed before the court to quash proceedings of the GCM against her, the chargesheet against her and also challenged the convening of the GCM to try charges against her. After hearing the counsel for the parties and going through the records, Justice K.L. Manjunath observed that in the circumstances, the court did not see any reason to interfere with the proceedings and dismissed the petition. The 28-year-old officer is facing charges of indiscipline, insubordination and financial irregularities. At the GCM today, the military court read out proceedings pertaining to cross-examination of the former adjutant of Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment (ASTE), Wg. Cdr. R S Chaudhary regarding flying officer Gupta not attending morning briefings and PT. Flying officer Gupta sought clarifications and made some additions. Her written application seeking a copy of the court recordings since the GCM began its proceedings against her was turned down by the court. Meanwhile, flying officer Gupta has sought change in the venue of the GCM trial, alleging that the ongoing trial at the training command here was “vindictive”, the entire atmosphere “malicious” and the trial “biased”. In a letter to the IAF Training Command Chief, a copy of which had been sent to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi, she said:”For fair, just and reasonable trial, I request for a change in the place of trial, preferably in Delhi”.
— PTI |
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SC notice on Bihar
House dissolution
New Delhi, June 6 Also issuing notice to the Election Commission (EC) on the PIL by Shiv Kumar Prasad Singh, a voter from Gaya district of Bihar, a Bench comprising Mr Justice P.V. Reddi and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat, said the Court would hear the joint writ petition of four former MLAs on June 10 as their counsel Mukul Rohtagi pressed for its urgent hearing. Regarding the PILs on the issue, the court said all public interest petitions would be heard separately after the summer vacation, as it directed the respondents to submit their replies by then. The court also questioned the petitioners for naming Governor a party to the case, reminding that the Court’s jurisdiction about examining his role in such matter was very limited under the Constitution. Mr Rohtagi said as per the apex court’s judgement in the Bomai case, if the Governor had acted in a “mala fide” manner, his action could be challenged in the court of law and he would file an affidavit by next hearing clarifying the position. The court also pointed out that in their petition, the four MLAs — Rameshwar Prasad Chaurasia (BJP), Anil Kumar (LJP), Ram Pravesh Rai (JDU) and Kishore Kumar (Independent) — had not made any “assertion” whether the Governor was aware of the facts as they were or not. “There must be some assertion that facts about realignment or the horse trading were known or not known to the Governor. But this had not come in the petition,” the court observed. When Mr Rohtagi said that in a subsequent statement as quoted by the media, the Governor had said that he had “no evidence” about the horse trading, the court said it could not go by media reports. “The media reports had also stated that there were attempts of horse trading. We cannot go by the media reports,” the Bench observed. Mr Rohtagi said while imposing President’s rule on March 7 after a fractured mandate in the last election, it was clearly stated by the Union Government that the Assembly was kept in suspended animation to enable the political groups to form a viable government as fresh elections could not be held immediately. He also cited the speech of Union Home Minister in Parliament to this effect, contending that till May 18 there was no change in the situation and neither the Governor nor the Centre was much concerned about it.
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2 Goa BJP legislators move court
New Delhi, June 6 The high court had recently set aside the election of Rajendra Arlekar and Dayanand Mandrekar from Vasco and Siolim seats, respectively, allowing election petitions against them on the ground that the two legislators were holding the office of profit while filing their nominations to contest the May 2002 assembly elections. Their counsel Mukul Rohtagi made a special mention about filing of the appeals by the two legislators. A vacation Bench, comprising Mr Justice P.V. Reddi and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat, said the matter would be taken up for hearing. The vacation Bench would now be sitting on June 10. While setting aside their elections on May 27, the high court had kept its order suspended for one month, enabling the two MLAs to file appeals in the apex court.
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No beggar when marks matter
Kolkata, June 6 His father begs the whole day and he had been on a look-out for patrons who could help him with books. The shack where they live is unfit for human life, but he made sure his books found a place safe inside his hollow, come hail or storm. Now Rathin has now become the ‘star’ of his village. But he is not happy with the marks he has scored, as he was expecting over 700. The 15-year-old boy, who lived in utter
poverty throughout his growing years, is now being visited by high-profile guests almost everyday, who pour in to congratulate him. Right from school principal, mediapersons to political leaders everyone wants to meet him and be a part of his story. “I remember his school uniform, which he wore for the past four years. He never had the money for school books, but he crossed all the hurdles successfully,” said Sukhdev Das, Principal of Dopukuria High School where Rathin studied. “I want to study science and become a doctor, but that will not be possible for a boy like me. I know my poor father cannot afford that,” lamented Rathin. His father, Kartik Chandra Mandal, is also proud, but worried about Rathin’s future. “I get a little more than a kilo of rice after begging for the whole day. Even this land is not ours where we live. How could I afford his future studies I don’t know, but I want him to study
further.” After his good performance Rathin was approached by many rich people who are willing to bear expenses of his future studies, informed Rathin’s father. “But,” warns the Principal, “one must be very careful before excepting any such offer. We will choose the right person to sponsor Rathin’s future expenses.” But for Rathin the razzle-dazzle is momentary. The youth has his feet firmly grounded as he knows in the long run he has to fight alone.
— UNI
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Koirala undergoes medical check-up
New Delhi, June 6 Dr S. Chatterjee, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, told TNS here on Monday that Koirala, the octogenarian President of the Nepali Congress, had come to Indraprastha Apollo hospital last year for whole body check up. During his follow up visit, Mr Koirala has been asked to undergo some tests and medical advise would depend on the reports of these tests. Although Dr Chatterjee did not confirm the exact nature of Mr Koirala’s ailment, the former Nepalese Prime Minister’s nephew, Shekhar Koirala told TNS that Mr Koirala had been suffering from acute bronchitis and weakness for some weeks. The former PM is leading a seven party alliance in the fight for restoration of democracy in the Himalayan Kingdom. His nephew said Mr Koirala is expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh and several other leaders to muster Indian support for restoration of
democracy in his country. |
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Maharashtra splits power board
Mumbai, June 6 The break-up of the MSEB into four companies, including a holding company, came into effect today, according to a statement put out by the state government. The management structure of the four companies – the MSEB state holding company, MSEB state generation company, MSEB state transmission company and MSEB state distribution company would be put in place in the coming days, officials said. Energy Minister Dilip Walse-Patil will be the Chairman of the MSEB holding company, Energy Secretary B Pandey will be its Managing Director. The government’s proposal to split the MSEB drew severe opposition from the Peasants and Workers Party which is supporting the Democratic Front Government in Maharashtra. Chief Minister Deshmukh, however, said the concerns of the PWP would be considered while splitting the MSEB. The trade unions have already threatened to launch a strike to protest the splitting up of the MSEB. However the government has warned engineers and other staff of a crackdown. According to the PWP, the break-up of the MSEB would result in higher tariffs. The Socialist parties warned that the results of splitting up electricity boards in other states were not positive.
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Arjun
Singh, NCERT unfazed by BJP allegations New Delhi, June 6 Appearing unfazed by the comments of the BJP, he said, “I will not hurry … the framework for the curriculum has been approved by the executive committee of the NCERT and will be presented to the Central Advisory Board for Education (CABE) tomorrow. There will be a countrywide discussion and debate before it is implemented”. Mr Arjun Singh also refused to comment on the statement made by the education ministers from the BJP-ruled states that they would take legal recourse for not having been given the draft of the framework, 15 days before the CABE meeting. The executive committee of the NCERT, chaired by Mr Arjun Singh, met ahead of the CABE meeting here today to discuss the draft of the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) prepared by the National Steering Committee headed by Prof Yashpal. Reacting to the allegations over the history textbooks, Prof Yashpal said, “what textbooks are they (BJP) talking about. There are no textbooks, where is the question of hurting religious sentiments and besides history is based on facts and evidences, Ramayana and Mahabahrata cannot be part of the textbooks, they are more cultural than historic”. Echoing Mr Arjun Singh’s views, Prof Yashpal said the proposals in the NCF would be implemented after detailed discussions. He added, “We have discussed many issues, but there is more that needs to be discussed. The proposals for on-demand examinations and common school system are feasible, but there has to be a consensus on how they will be implemented”. When asked whether any of the state boards had expressed apprehension about the implementation of on-demand examinations, he said, “there was no opposition, but these things take time and the plan to implement these is yet to emerge”.
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Goswami’s anticipatory bail plea dismissed Patna, June 6 Designated Vigilance Judge Jitendra Mohan Prasad, who earlier reserved his order on conclusion of arguments by Goswami’s lawyer Tuhin Shankar and senior Public Prosecutor for Vigilance Investigation Bureau P P Singh, dismissed Mr Goswami’s anticipatory bail petition. Soon after rejection of his petition, Mr Shankar ruled out surrender before the court by Goswami and said he would soon move the Patna High Court against the order of the Designated Vigilance Judge. Earlier, appearing on behalf of Mr Goswami, Mr Shankar denied allegations of embezzlement and urged the court to grant him bail as he was ready to fully cooperate with the Vigilance Bureau. “My client is also not likely to tamper with the evidence as he is no more a government servant and is not likely to flee,” Mr Shankar said adding Mr Goswami was also ready for interrogation whenever and wherever the Vigilance Bureau wanted. Mr Shankar said not just Mr Goswami but several other officials were also allegedly involved in the relief work being carried out and Mr Goswami had followed the instructions issued by the disaster management department on the issue from time to time. Special Public Prosecutor Mr Singh said the Vigilance Bureau had enough evidence to prove the charges of embezzlement against Mr Goswami and others and, therefore, his bail prayer be rejected. Referring to the argument of the defence counsel, Mr Singh showed a copy of payment of Rs 2 lakh made by Mr Goswami to a fake firm ‘Ambika Coffee House’ for coffee from the funds allotted to him as Patna District Magistrate-cum-Nodal Officer for carrying relief for flood-hit victims in North Bihar in 2004. “The fund for relief was spent on purchasing coffee and that too from a firm which the Vigilance Bureau is yet to locate,” he said. Mr Singh said besides over Rs 1 lakh was also spent on using swimming pools. “It implies that the officials were not carrying out relief but having pleasure swimming,” he said. He said cheques of several crores of rupees were also issued to a fake firm, Baba Sathya Sai Industries (BSSI) instead of the Bihar Small Scale Industries Corporation (BSSIC) towards payment for managing relief. — PTI
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Joint
Indo-French exercises from June 16 New Delhi, June 6 The exercises will be useful for the Indian Air Force in augmenting its power projection skills. IAF’s SU-30s will be competing against the French Mirage 2000-5. Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Ops C&D) Air Vice-Marshal Sumit Mukherji said here today that six Su-30s, an IL-78 mid-air refueller and an IL-76 transport aircraft will be flagged off by Vice-Chief Air Marshal S.K. Malik from Bareilly on June 9 for participating in these exercises. Garuda-I, the first-ever joint exercises with fighter aircraft in India, was held at Gwalior in February 2003. A 120-member strong team of IAF will be participating in Garuda-II, which would include 18 Sukhoi crew, five-man crew for IL-78 and 87 technicians. Garuda-II will be followed by “Cope India-05” with the US Air Force at the Kalaikunda air base in India in the second and third week of November this year.
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AFSPA
review committee submits report New Delhi, June 6 Former Supreme Court judge B.P. Jeevan Reddy, who chaired the committee, is understood to have focused on the harsh provisions of the Act, which lets security personnel raid suspects without warrants and detain people beyond 24 hours. Though
Mr Justice Reddy refused to disclose whether the committee had
recommended replacement of the AFSPA or scrapping it, he said it had “taken
into account the aspirations of all sections of society and the
interests of the security forces” while drafting its report. Home
Minister Shivraj Patil, who received the report in his North Block
office, said the report would be discussed in the Union Cabinet before
deciding which of the committee’s recommendations could be
implemented. “The report would be published along with the decision
of the Cabinet with the approval of the government,” an official press
note said. Presenting the report, Mr Justice Reddy said that the report was prepared after extensive discussions with various sections of society. He said it was an unanimous report. The committee has in the last six months visited Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura, where the Act is in force. It met over 200 people, including civil rights organisations, political parties and NGOs. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh constituted the committee last year after violent protests in Manipur following the death in custody of a woman who was accused of being a terrorist. Over
the months, people and organisations in the five states have been
demanding that the Act be done away with completely. The review
committee was asked to suggest either amendments to the act or its
repeal. At one point, the committee even contemplated introducing
certain provisions into the Act and amending some others. |
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Best Bakery case term extended
New Delhi, June 6 The term of the Special Court had ended on May 25, but trial judge A.M. Thipsy had sent an application to the apex court on May 24 seeking extension as the recording of evidence in the case had not yet been completed. A vacation Bench of Mr Justice P.V. Reddi and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat said the term of the Special Court had been extended till the end of September to enable it to complete the trial proceedings as early as possible. The Supreme Court had ordered retrial in the Best Bakery case, pertaining to the massacre of 14 persons during the riots after a Vadodra Sessions Court had acquitted all 21 accused in the case when key witness Zahira Sheikh, a member of victims family and main complainant, had refused to recognise them in the court allegedly under threat. While ordering retrial last year, the apex court had directed the Special Judge to hold the trial on a day-to-day basis to complete it as early as possible. Zahira since then has taken various flip-flops in the case, forcing the apex court to order an inquiry into the circumstances under which she filed an affidavit before seeking retrial in the case.
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Assembly, LS seats demanded for Kandi area
New Delhi, June 6 “The Kandi area of Punjab has 10 per cent of the total population of the state and is spread over 7 per cent of the area of the state. Hence, 11 to 12 assembly and one or two parliamentary constituencies can be undoubtedly carved out,” the memorandum said. Mr Madan Mohan Singh, convenor of the forum, justifying the demand, said “the carving out of assembly and the Lok Sabha seats would enable the poor depressed and ignored inhabitants of the Kandi area to have a glimpse of progress and development on a par with other parts of the state”. The Kandi area stretches from Lalru in Patiala district, northern part of Ropar, Nawanshahr, Hoshiarpur, and Gurdaspur district (Pathankot region) that falls in the footsteps of the Shivalik Hills. |
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Entrance tests scrapped for colleges in TN
Chennai, June 6 In a statement, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa today stated, “It would be a simple, straightforward and transparent system, which will make education meaningful and a platform for real growth and development.” The professional courses for which common entrance examinations (CEE) have been done away with are engineering, medicine, agriculture, law, architecture, dental and veterinary. She said, “The CEE had become a traumatic experience for parents and children as it appeared to determine at one stroke the future of a child.” Justifying her decision, she said, “Students from rural areas were affected in particular as the examination worked against their chances of securing admissions to professional colleges. The CEE encouraged a pernicious system of teaching shops oriented towards ensuring higher marks for urban students.” Ms Jayalalithaa said, ‘If the Class XII marks alone are relied upon, rural students would stand to get their due share in the admissions.” The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), a constituent of the ruling United People’s Alliance (UPA) at the Centre, had long been demanding abolition of the CEE and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) too has passed a resolution demanding the abrogation of a system in vogue since 1984-85. The change means that the higher secondary school examination certificates would determine the fate of students wanting to pursue professional courses and the difference in gradation of various national boards and that of the Tamil Nadu board will play a definite role in higher education. However, the Chief Minister said: “New applicants could also apply and a revised time schedule would be issued separately ensuring that the counselling process would start early next month as planned before.” The earlier practice of allowing students to appear for the higher secondary examinations again to improve their marks was also being done away with from the current academic year.
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Quota for Haj pilgrims up
New Delhi, June 6 It has also been proposed to add Bhopal or Indore as an additional embarkation point in 2005. Mr Natwar Singh said Jodhpur should also be considered as another embarkation point in view of great demand from that area. During Haj 2006, the State Haj Committees would be allowed to depute one Khadim-ul-Hujjaj for every 300 pilgrims instead of every 500 pilgrims at present. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has sought more than 100 per cent increase in its Haj quota from 3,933 to 8,000, state Minister for Haj and Auqaf Sarfaraz Hussain Khan said.
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Uttaranchal board results declared
Dehra Dun, June 6 Swapnil Pathak from Almora topped in the Class X exams, while Mayank Brijwan from Vikasnagar in Dehra Dun topped in Class XII exams. The results for Class X were 44.5 per cent which is slightly higher than 44 per cent results last year. The Class XII results were 68 per cent, which is about one per cent higher than last year. Girl students humbled the boys in the results of both the classes. |
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Two Haryana labourers killed in Bihar
Patna, June 6 The labourers, identified as Rajiv Kumar (22) and Gopal Singh, (23), were shot dead in their sleep, after their contractor refused to pay “rangdari” (extortion money) to criminals, a police official said. The deceased were working on soil-digging machines as part of a railway project. The police suspect involvement of a notorious gangster behind the killings, and has arrested one person in this connection. The district administration has deployed armed police officials in Muhammadpur, for providing security to the remaining labourers from Haryana and Punjab, hired for the project. In April three labourers, two from Haryana and one from Punjab, were killed in a village near Patna. They were engaged in a development project.
— IANS |
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