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8 killed in police firing in Meghalaya
NCM kept out of Kairon stamp-release function
Sikh made roofless in Lima, mistaken for Osama’s man
Latur region to have 6
N-plants
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Massacre of family: death sentence upheld
Babri case hearing postponed
PIL on tainted legislators admitted
Great Eastern
Hotel closed
Army to buy 12 Nishants
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8 killed in police firing in Meghalaya
Shillong, September 30 Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister, also in charge of Home and Education, Dr Mukul Marda Sangma told mediapersons that “due to bad communication network” details were still awaited while district authorities from Tura of West GaroHills and Williamnagar of East Garo Hills said over the telephone that curfew had been imposed in the two towns. However, the agitated crowd in Tura, which earlier this morning defied Section 144 of the Cr PC, did not pay heed to government diktat and proceeded towards the Deputy Commissioner’s office there carrying the three bodies, that made the situation more volatile. Three dead in Tura included a boy and a girl from Mother’s Union School and another boy from Tura Government College. Reports from Williamnagar said security forces comprising the police, the CRPF and the BSF fired almost simultaneously that left five persons dead. Among the injured five, including the Additional District Magistrate, were reportedly from Tura while six were from Williamnagar. Authorities apprehended that the number of casualties and injured might rise as the entire state machinery was taken to task with the sudden breakdown of law and order. According to reports from Tura, the people, while proceeding to the Civil Hospital and DC’s office were shouting slogans against Dr Sangma, who has a strong base in the belt. People across the state reacted sharply to the incident saying the firing could have been avoided had the authorities gone to the extent of using water canons. The Garo Students’ Union, demanding review of the recent state level committee report on the MBOS this morning organised public rallies in the three districts of Garo Hills, which did not get approval from the district administration. The authorities also held review meeting in Tura and decided not to allow the proposed rallies as according to intelligence reports there was maximum chance of breakdown of law and order situation. This morning, despite heavy security bandobast in Tura in West Garo Hills, people started gathering at the Chanmari Play Ground. As the crowd swelled the authorities asked them not to defy law, which did not find any taker. Initially the police used lathis which was resisted by the surging public. That forced the police to resort to firing. Reports from Williamnagar of East Garo Hills said the police fired there also to disperse the crowd adding the situation was deteriorating in the entire Garo belt. The week-long night road blockade called by the GSU began in the three districts on September 28 while normal activities resumed after the union called off its 10-day non-cooperation movement on September 27. The students made some fresh demands and asked the Meghalaya government to incorporate them in the MBOSE report. It demanded that the office of the Director Administration must be in the headquarters besides the office of the Director Accreditation and Comptroller of Examination, Chief Accounts Officer and Chief Academic Officer. “There should be no ‘Regional office, Shillong’ but only ‘MBOSE office, Shillong,” the GSU said and stressed there was no need of having any Director in MBOSE Office at Shillong. The same may be manned by a Joint Director, they added.
— UNI |
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NCM kept out of Kairon stamp-release function
New Delhi, September 30 NCM Chairman Tarlochan Singh has been pressing the Congress-led UPA government and the erstwhile NDA regime over the past four years for a special commemorative stamp on Kairon whose contribution to Punjab’s development and making Chandigarh a reality are legendary. Now when the NCM chief’s perseverance has borne fruit, the statutory body has been given a go-by by the Communication Ministry. Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Shakeel Ahmed spoke to Mr Tarlochan Singh over the telephone this morning, informing him that the stamp function in memory of Kairon would be held tomorrow under the aegis of the Punjab Government and former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral would grace the occasion. Much to the chagrin of the NCM, the commission has been blacked out even though Mr Tarlochan Singh has been demanding Kairon be suitably honoured with the release of a commemorative stamp. Mr Tarlochan Singh, who was away in Ludhiana for a function, had suggested that the stamp release function be held on October 1, coinciding with the 104th birth anniversary of Kairon and to associate his son and other relatives with the special occasion. As a political leader, Kairon wielded wide influence and was Chief Minister of Punjab from 1956 to 1964. |
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Sikh made roofless in Lima, mistaken for Osama’s man
New Delhi, September 30 He plans to return to India and settle down in Cochin, where he hopes to sustain himself by using his foreign language skills to woo the tourists. The plight of Pratap Singh has been taken up by ‘United Sikhs’, a non-profit human development organisation, working for Sikhs across the globe. It has sought help from the members of the community to enable the family to return to the country. Pratap Singh had been living in Peru for nine years and working as a travel guide and an occasional translator. He supplemented the family’s income by conducting meditation classes. Pratap Singh’s trouble began following the attack on WTC on September 11. “Turbans, beards and uncut hair were viewed with suspicion and fear. Partap Singh’s employer said he looked too much like Bin Laden and encouraged him to cut his hair and do away with his turban,” the United Sikhs said. Their son Vikram was refused entry into the first grade because of his patka and uncut hair. The school was adamant that their dress code required Vikram to have short and uncovered hair. The family had to enroll Vikram in another school, for away where he had to deal with problems stemming from his unique appearance. Putting both their children into an expensive private school was out of question after Partap Singh lost his job. As Partap Singh’s finances became dire, he wrote to several Sikh internet discussion groups, but did not receive any response. Doris Reynoso, a volunteer of the organisation, on a visit to Lima found that Partap Singh’s family living in a small one-room accommodation that served as both kitchen and bedroom for the family of four. “The family was destitute with no money, several months of rent unpaid and hospital bills from his wife’s surgery were unpaid,” it said, adding that Pratap Singh told them, “The conditions became so bad that sometimes people threw stones at me and my family.” |
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Latur region to have 6
N-plants
Mumbai, September 30 As per a proposal cleared by the Union Cabinet today, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) will set up the plants at Jaitapur close to the epicentre of the quake. NPCIL officials confirmed here that experts were conducting seismic testing at the site before the grant of final approval. With the commissioning of the six nuclear power plants in the next five years, Maharashtra would emerge as India’s biggest nuclear power-generating state. At present the state houses three functioning nuclear power stations at Tarapur, outside Mumbai. The fourth plant will be complete in the next few months. |
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Serenading nature
New Delhi, September 30 As one flits from a golden sunrise termed ‘A New Day’ where the sky, the ocean and the sands merge in a tender golden-hued light which pours through the canvas to the verdant greenery of ‘Forest’ reflecting serene nature untarnished by mankind, Nalwa’s canvases please the eye with their softness and gentle theme. She uses knife strokes definitively in her oils on canvas. Nalwa’s sense of colour is eye-catching but the technique could do with a little more refining. Kajol Nalwa’s exhibition is currently under way at the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi and a launch is set for Saturday evening to be inaugurated by Ms Selja, minister of State for Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation. Nalwa says that she is deeply inspired by nature and every place for her is revelling in its beauty, “Wherever I go, whether it is the sea, the mountains or plains I am inspired by nature and look at it deeply. This brings forth the creative urge in me and I paint and paint.” Dynamic space pours out in shades of blue from Nalwa’s huge canvas titled, ‘Divine Footprints,’. The dynamism and mystery of the universe is reflected in the vast empty blue skies where dark and light hued-flowers float effervescently. The theme is poetic and the execution rather pleasing to the eye. However, the dark blue flowers do tend to jar a bit with their incongruity. Nalwa describes her work on this canvas as, “I felt this divine energy everywhere and the flowers floating are like souls floating against the background of this cosmic force.” What Nalwa is struggling to express finds fruition in ‘Timeless Moment’, a truly beautiful painting which grows on the observer with the moment. Misty blue flowers peer out of a surreal green background, reflecting the tranquil moment when thought stopped and wonder dawned. The green mist and fast fading flowers-evoke a feeling of the transitoriness of existence where only the present moment is real. A dawning spiritual theme runs through Nalwa’s canvases awash with drifting flowers and changing skies. Her choice of theme and imagination is wonderful, the colours are bright and arresting but the technique can be worked upon and better evolved. Nalwa has been painting since she was a child studying in Lawrence School, Sanawar, and has exhibited several times since her debut in 2001. She is an upcoming artist to keep a lookout for. |
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Massacre of family: death sentence upheld
New Delhi, September 30 Condemned prisoner Gurmeet Singh, uprooted from Punjab and given land in Terai area of Uttar Pradesh, was sentenced to death for the massacre of his entire family with the help of his friend, Lakha Singh, on the night of August 17, 1986, after serious differences with his brothers, who suspected that his wife had illicit relations with his friend. Lakha Singh had died during the trial proceedings. The Sessions Court had sentenced him to death in 1993, which was upheld by the Allahabad High Court on February 29, 1996. The delay in his execution since then was made the main ground by him for commuting of the capital punishment and converting it into life sentence by him. Rejecting his plea, a Bench of Mr Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Mr Justice Arun Kumar, said, “The appellant did not have even a grain of mercy or human kindness in his heart. We do not think that this is a fit case where the death penalty is to be commuted to life imprisonment.” Those massacred by him and his friend, when they were asleep at dead of the night, were his father, two brothers, their wives, four daughters and two sons of the elder brothers and two sons of the other brother. The only survivors in the family were his another brother and his wife who were not at home on the fateful day and a son of two of the brothers killed. All children killed were between the age of three and nine years. Gurmeet Singh got infuriated as the elder members of the family had taken objection to Lakha Singh visiting their home, suspecting that he had illicit relation with his wife. “We have carefully considered all facts of the case. The appellant along with the co-accused, killed as many as 13 members of his family for flimsy reason. All victims were closely related to him but he killed them in dastardly manner when they were sleeping. He did not spare even small kids,” the court said, holding that the crime fell in the rarest of the rare category, deserving no mercy with the accused. |
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Babri case hearing postponed
Rae Bareli, September 30 Special Judicial Magistrate V.K. Singh posted the matter for further hearing on October 29 next. The case could not be taken up on the previous date of August 30 also following a strike call by the local bar. Charges were framed in the case against Advani, former Union Ministers Uma Bharti and Murli Manohar Joshi, former state BJP president Vinay Katiyar, VHP leaders Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, Vishnu Hari Dalmiya and Sadhvi Ritambhara on July 28. Earlier, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court had quashed the Rae Bareli court’s order discharging Advani in the matter. Speaking to reporters outside the court room, defence counsel M. Rakesh accused the CBI of deliberately trying to delay the case by not producing its witnesses. CBI counsel P.K. Chaubey denied the allegations. Mr Rakesh said the CBI counsel today moved two applications on behalf of two of the six witnesses — Quasim and Awadhesh Upadhyay — stating that they could not come to court owing to sickness and domestic preoccupations, respectively.
— PTI |
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PIL on tainted legislators admitted
New Delhi, September 30 Advocate Ms Lilly Thomas, who filed the petition, contended that these Sections ran contrary to the spirit of Article 326 of the Constitution, which says that the people with criminal background be kept at bay of the electoral process. A Bench of Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti, Mr Justice G.P. Mathur and Mr Justice P.K. Balasubramanyan, issued notice to the Centre and Election Commission, seeking their replies, while admitting the public interest litigation (PIL). Ms Thomas said Sections 8, 9 and 11-A of the RPA allowed convicted criminals to continue as legislators pending their appeals in higher courts, continue them to be registered as voters and allow contesting elections by those given sentence less than two years of imprisonment. These provision ran contrary to Article 326, 84 and 173 and, therefore, a correct interpretation of these Articles was required to prevent “crime tainted” persons from entering legislatures, she contended. The court said an identical petition had earlier been filed, and the matter would be heard together. |
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Great Eastern
Hotel closed
Kolkata, September 30 The employees, who came to the hotel in the morning to attend the office, were not allowed to enter the hotel. They waited outside for several hours but there was none from the government side to talk to them. The CITU leaders also were not there to support the hapless employees. |
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Army to buy 12 Nishants
New Delhi, September 30 Briefing mediapersons after a 90-minute meeting, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while four UAVs along with one system would be purchased in the first phase, eight UAVs and two systems would be procured in the second phase. The CCS, presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was also attended by Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh. |
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