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CBI gets nod to prosecute Dawood, 2 gutkha barons
Cop’s letter gives new turn to Jessica case
India, US still in touch to clinch N-deal
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EC bans graffiti
Khurshid for
President’s rule in UP
Byelection in UP on March 25
Bird flu in south Gujarat
PIL on ‘foreign funding’ of Narmada campaign
Left leader moves court against Ramdev
Setback for Sadhu Yadav
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CBI gets nod to prosecute Dawood, 2 gutkha barons
New Delhi, February 25 Other accused against whom the CBI has received the sanction are Abdul Hamid Antulay and Salim Mohammad Ghaus Shaikh. The receipt of sanctions has paved the way for the investigating agency to file a supplementary charge sheet against the accused, which the CBI sources say will be done soon. The CBI has already completed its investigation in the case in India and abroad, the agency has sent Letters Rogatory to United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan in the middle of last year, which are pending execution. The CBI is pursuing the case against Joshi and Dhariwal for allegedly meeting fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim in Karachi to settle a business dispute between them. The two gutkha barons are alleged to have settled the dispute and in return parted with the gutkha recipe with the don to assist him set up a gutkha manufacturing unit at Karachi. They also allegedly helped in shifting the machines required for the purpose. The two gutkha barons have been denying the prosecution charges. The case was initially registered by the Mumbai police on October 2004 against four persons—Zamiruddin Ansari, alias Jumbo, Rajesh Pancharya, alias Rajubhai, Anees Ibrahim Kaskar and Farooq Mohammad Ansari on the complaint of one Mustapha Kabir, an exporter, that he was threatened at gun point by Zamiruddin Ansari and by Anees Ibrahim to forcibly purchase five gutkha pouch packaging machines from Raju Pancharya and thereafter send those to Karachi via Dubai for use in his gutkha factory in Pakistan. After investigation, the Mumbai police filed a charge sheet against the four accused under the MCOCA. Even as the Mumbai police obtained permission from the jurisdictional court to conduct further investigation, the Maharashtra Government transferred the case to the CBI to find out the nexus between the two gutkha businessmen and the organised crime syndicate of Anees and Dawood Ibrahim. The CBI had registered the case on February 9, 2005. The CBI claims it has established that one gutkha manufacturer was abetting the continuous unlawful activities of the organised crime syndicate of Dawood Ibrahim by supplying his brand of gutkha to one Golden Box Trading Company of Dubai owned by the brother-in-law of Dawood Ibrahim and thereby providing pecuniary gain and advantage to this organised crime syndicate. |
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Cop’s letter gives new turn to Jessica case
New Delhi, February 25 Mr Paul had questioned the intention behind sending empty rounds of bullets fired at the Tamarind Court party for forensic examination to the CFSL when the weapon of offence had not been recovered. “It is obvious that this complication is more or less self created. Empties should have been sent for comparison/testing only when the weapon had been recovered,” Mr Paul, who conducted an internal inquiry in the investigation on the murder case, said in his report to Mr Ajai Sharma in 2001. He also suggested that a separate case of forgery be lodged. “The original case is of murder at a particular time and at a particular venue, the offences which are now being suspected are of a different nature and though have bearing on the original case, they are not related to the venue,” he said. He also suggested that a change in the investigating agency would draw adverse comment from the media. — PTI |
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India, US still in touch to clinch N-deal
New Delhi, February 25 The US Embassy here came out with a terse but significant statement which clearly indicated this. The one-para statement said: “Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns left New Delhi this morning. The U.S. and India held extensive talks over the past three days. There are remaining differences but the U.S. hopes they can be closed before the President visits India.” Authoritative sources told The Tribune that the prospects were bright that the deal could be clinched early next week, before Mr Bush leaves for India, the US Congress may move for considering a legislation to lift restrictions on India. During the February 23-24 Burns-Saran talks, a document came up for pointed discussion which New Delhi had provided to the Americans about a week ago. During these talks the Americans provided some additional ideas and response. Mr Burns left for Washington this morning at the scheduled time and he would report about the talks to higher authorities. He did not delay his departure as the two sides were confident of resolving the “remaining differences” through telephonic calls or video-conferencing. Mr Burns and Mr Saran continued their informal talks till late last night before, during and after a working dinner hosted by Mr Saran. Though the two sides are tightlipped about what the “remaining differences” are, it is understood they relate to three things. (I) Whether India’s future nuclear reactors should be under safeguards or not; (ii) how many nuclear facilities in the civilian list (under international safeguards) would be credible and acceptable to the Congress and the NSG; and (iii) how India will dispose its spent fuel. President Bush’s National Security Advisor went on record yesterday saying that an agreement between the US and India to expand civil nuclear cooperation not only will help India’s development of nuclear energy, but also will cause India to accept proliferation restrictions that are in accordance with much of the international community.
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EC bans graffiti
Kolkata, February 25 Though the election dates were not announced, the CPM had started these wall writings from the very day of the finalisation of their candidate lists on February 16 and writings in many places were also completed. But in other areas, the cadres have been still busy in the writings with colourful paintings and decorations to make them more attractable and meaningful to the voters. In these wall writings, the party already spent a huge amount of money by hiring several hundreds professional artists and painters, the party sources admitted. But most of other political parties like Congress (I), the Trinamool Congress and the BJP were yet to start their graffiti as they had not finalised their respective candidate lists. The other Left partners, namely, the CPI, the RSP, the Forward Bloc and other small allies, though finalised candidate lists, so far had not started their campaign full-swing like the CPM. But now after the Election Commission's order which reached the state government on February 22, these writings and graffiti will have to be erased and the walls be repainted for bringing them back to their old position. The CPM party secretary, Mr Anil Biswas, however, was not ready to immediately act as per the Election Commission's directives. Instead, he was seeking the legal opinion against the decision. He also wrote to the commission seeking certain clarifications of the order. But the veteran Mr Jyoti Basu said they would be carrying out the Election Commission's order even if it did not suit them and the decision could not be challenged. The state electoral officer, Mr Debaish Sen, said as soon as he received the commission's order on the wall the writings, he conveyed it to all the political parties and it was now for them for carrying out the order. However, still if any parties were disobeying, necessary legal actions would follow, he warned. The commission's order will also be applicable to four other states, namely, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondichery where the Assembly elections will be held simultaneously with West Bengal sometime in May-June, the CEO said. The state Congress (I) leader, Mr Somen Mitra, said the wall writings had been a common practice during the elections, which almost all the political parties in the state so far utilised according to their respective strength and control in the localities. But in the 2001 Assembly elections and subsequently, in the Lok Sabha polls, following the Calcutta High Court's ruling, the wall writings and graffiti in the government premises and the private houses were restricted. |
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Khurshid for
President’s rule in UP
Lucknow, February 25 Speaking to the media, Mr Khurshid said Mr Amar Singh accepted during an interview to a news channel that he and Mr Mulayam had discussed the conduct of certain judges and their being favourable or otherwise to the present regime. “It has put a question mark on the system, an impression which should not be allowed to prevail,” he said. Demanding criminal action against Samajwadi Party general secretary under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Mr Khurshid said Mr Singh could get away by publicly claiming to be a wheeler dealer as he holds a Cabinet rank in UP by virtue of being the chairperson of the UP Development Council. Referring to Mr Anil Ambani reportedly asking Mr Singh in the tape to collect “aarti” for some deal given to a UP industrialist he had sent, Mr Khurshid said whatever Mr Singh might say to defend himself, “everyone knows what accepting ‘aarti’ means in common parlance”. Pointing out that Mr Yadav was close to the US, he said Clinton had taken out four hours from his schedule to visit Lucknow. “If Mulayam was not close to him, why was Rs 2 crore spent on his reception,” he asked. |
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Byelection in UP on March 25
New Delhi, February 25 The seat fell vacant following the September 29, 2005, Supreme Court order, confirming the October 28, 2004, Allahabad High Court judgement declaring as “void” the election of Ram Bhual from the constituency. The commission said though Mr Bhual had informed the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker and the EC that he had filed a review petition in the Supreme Court, “no further order/direction” of the apex court had so far been brought to its notice. “Therefore, a clear vacancy has arisen” in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the constituency, the commission said, and pointed out that under the provisions of Sections 150 and 151-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the EC “is dutybound” to hold the byelection within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy. As the remaining tenure of the state Assembly was more than a year, the commission said it was announcing the byelection. Nominations would open on March 1 and the last date for filing papers was March 8. |
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Bird flu in south Gujarat
Gandhinagar, February 25 "Seventyfive medical teams from Surat Medical College have fanned out in the rural areas of Uchhal and its surrounding districts. Uchhal borders Navapur in Maharashtra. Poultry deaths in the Navapur-Nandurbar-Uchhal belt had been taking place for sometime but these were attributed to ranikhet disease. Mr Rao said the government laboratory in Bhopal had communicated last night about the samples testing positive. "Within the past 24 hours, 14,587 birds have been culled and another 12,000 would be culled soon,” he said. |
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PIL on ‘foreign funding’ of Narmada campaign
New Delhi, February 25 The direction to this effect was issued by a Bench of Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, Mr Justice C.K. Thakker and Mr Justice R.V. Raveendran to the NCCL counsel yesterday. The court allowed the NCCL three weeks’ time to furnish details about the action taken by the government on its report and directed that it should submit a affidavit. The NCCL, which is pitched against the NBC, alleged that the police, which had confiscated Banerjee’s Pathar’s associate computer and other documents on June 5, 2001, had gathered information that he had got $ 42,000 from Mc Arthure Foundation. “The computer also provided information about the NBC receiving foreign assistance from Rights Livelihood Foundation”, the counsel and Goldman Foundation the counsel quoted the police report as saying. |
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Left leader moves court against Ramdev
Patna, February 25 Mr Singh claimed that the Marxists were no less patriot than others who had fought for Independence, besides contributing significantly towards the making of modern India. “Such uncalled for remarks are unfortunate and I have thus approached the court to intervene in the issue,” he said. Earlier, CPM Politburo member Brinda Karat had charged Baba Ramdeb with mixing bones in his medicines, besides violating labour laws in his factory at Hardwar. Baba Ramdev is scheduled to come to Patna on March 18 to organise his week-long camp at Gandhi Maidan here, beginning March 19. |
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Setback for Sadhu Yadav
Patna, February 25 Designated Vigilance Judge R.N. Prasad, who had earlier in the day reserved his order on the MP’s petition on conclusion of arguments by Sadhu’s counsel Janardan Rai and Special Public Prosecutor (vigilance) P P Singh, rejected his prayer. The MP’s counsel Janardan Rai said his client would move the Patna High Court against the lower court order.
— PTI |
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