Chennai, May17
Amid apprehensions that some militant outfits, blamed for the bomb attacks in the country, were trying to establish terror modules in Tamil Nadu, the police claimed to have thwarted plans to kill police officials and leaders of Hindu outfits by arresting three members of a fundamental organisation two days ago.

“Besides Hindu leaders, the group had planned to eliminate some police officials and the people who opposed their mission. They were preparing a master plan for it. We had thwarted their plan with the arrest of three members of the group on May 15,” top police officials said here today.

They said group leader Taufeeq, a native of Adhirampateenam in Pudukottai district, organised “Kangaroo courts” and wanted to “eliminate” Muslim women who were going against the principles of Islam. Taufeeq, for whom the police had launched a manhunt, was involved in many cases in the state and was also acquitted by a POTA court for his alleged involvement in a bomb blast case in Mumbai.

A special team had spread the dragnet for both Taufeeq and his close aide Abu Dhabeer, who escaped when the police arrested the three at Mannadi here. The arrested, identified as Hiral, alias Syed Hassan, Ummar, alias Kalimuthu and Abdul Khader, alias M. Khader, were being interrogated, the official said. The state has experienced terror attacks in the past, especially in 1998 when a series of bomb blasts rocked Coimbatore coinciding with the visit of BJP leader L.K. Advani. — PTI

Aluva, May 17
A gun-toting self-styled godman, Himaval Maheswara Bhadrananda, accused of threatening journalists of a local newspaper, tried to shoot himself at a police station here but escaped with injuries after police snatched the weapon from him in time.

A tense situation prevailed at the Aluva police station as police grappled with Bhadrananda to snatch the gun from him. In the ensuing melee, two shots were fired one of which injured the ‘swami’ on his left palm.

The entire incident took place before a strong contingent of mediapersons as Bhadrananda had called up a television channel journalist and informed her that he was going to commit suicide.

The journalist informed her office which in turn called up the police.

A police contingent, which rushed to his house, brought him to the police station with the loaded gun in his possession. On seeing the mediapersons, Bhadrananda tried to pull the trigger but the police managed to snatch the weapon.

Rural SP M. Padmanabhan said two cases — attempt to commit murder and attempt to commit suicide — have been filed against Bhadrananda.

Yesterday, Bhadrananda, also known as Ernakulam Swami, who used to move around in a car with beacon light, had surrendered before police after a case was registered against him for trespassing into the office of Malayalam daily ‘Mangalam’ and threatening its journalists for publishing a series of articles against him.

The incident comes a few days after police registered cases against another self-styled godman Santosh Madhavan, alias Amrita Chaitanaya, for at least three offences including rapinga minor girl and cheating an NRI woman of Rs 45 lakh. — PTI

New Delhi, May 17
Less than a month after China’s new nuclear submarine base came to light, latest satellite images revealed by international watch groups show that Beijing is upgrading and extending its nuclear missile deployment site that is nearest to India.

The worry for India could be China’s upgrade from liquid to solid fuel for its intermediate missile range to match the AGNI-III that was successfully tested fired by the former about ten days ago. China intermediate missiles have a range between 2,200 km and 3,000 km. The switch from liquid to solid fuel means it will reduce the logistics for China enabling shorter launching time and increasing the chances of a pre-emptive strike.

China has the longer versions of the inter-continental missiles. But the upgrade of the missiles recently replaced its older generation DF 4 missiles, which needed a two-three hours preparation time before launch, at a base with the newer solid-fuelled DF 21 missiles that can be launched within a few minutes of reaction time.

The images reveal that the Delingha missile base, located 1,900 km northeast of New Delhi in the central province of Qinghai, has recently been upgraded and new missile launch sites have been added at the military facility. The base, complete with extensive underground storage facilities, houses China’s DF 21 Medium Range Ballistic Missiles (MRBM) that have a range of over 2,200 km and can target most cities in northern India and southern Russia. New Delhi has been keeping the base -- built in the late 1970s -- under regular surveillance.

Experts analysing the new satellite imagery have identified 58 launch pads, many of which have been added within the last four years. New command and control facilities and missile deployment equipment are also visible at the base.

While the upgraded base does not change the situation much for India -- it has been within the reach of Chinese nuclear missiles for years. China appears to be building/ upgrading launch pads in the area, but that is to escape the US and Russian counterforce targeting. India is still many years away from a counterforce capability, experts believe. While the base was built in the 1970’s when Russia was a major military threat to China, experts say that the missiles deployed there are likely to be targeted only against threats from India and Russia. Other traditional rivals, like Japan, Taiwan and the US are out of reach from the base.

New Delhi, May 17
The government is mulling inclusion of milk among foods being served under its flagship Mid-Day Meal (MDM) programme.

The consideration follows an exhaustive proposal made to this effect by the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India (NCDFI), the apex body controlling milk supply through milk cooperatives across the country.

In a presentation made to the ministry of human resource development (HRD) last week, the NCDFI vehemently argued in favour of serving milk to schoolchildren being covered by the MDM, on grounds that it was an ideal food.

It contains 14 out of 18 minerals and vitamins required by the human body, and fills nutritional gaps, NCDFI officials said. They propose to serve 200 ml of milk per day per child under the programme.

Within the ministry, however, there are concerns regarding cost of milk even while there is a positive view on including milk in the MDM.

The programme covers roughly 14 crore children during their 200 days at school. At the existing cost, milk would cost the government some crores to serve 200 ml of milk to every child every day.

“When compared with the total budget for the programme, which is Rs 8,000 crore for the current year, the cost of including milk in the MDM appears prohibitive. But we are looking at ways of factoring in the cost,” the ministry sources said.

One view within the ministry is to reduce the quantity of milk to be served. Right now, Puducherry is the only region in the country serving milk under the MDM programme. It is serving 150 ml milk per child per day, and is using its own budget to do so, the HRD ministry officials said, also voicing concern with regard to storage and freshness of milk

The NCDFI for its part rules out storage problems, saying it would supply milk at a notice of 50 minutes wherever needed, including at the village level.

“By virtue of our countrywide reach, we will not have any problem in supplying milk anywhere. We are already marketing milk through cooperatives like Verka, Vita, and Mahanand in Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra, respectively. We also have reach in southern states, so managing the supply of milk is very easy for us,” a senior NCDFI official today told The Tribune.

The NCDFI has 1.22 lakh village-level cooperatives, 198 district-level processing units and 28 milk federations, through which it proposes to give effect to plans of serving milk to schoolchildren under the MDM scheme.

“All cooperatives milk unions and federations are our members and under our direct control. We have no problem procuring or supplying fresh milk,” NCDFI contends.

The ministry will place the proposal before its nutritional norms committee scheduled to meet later this week.

Hyderabad, May 17
There are "formidable basis" for Pakistan to extradite underworld don Dawood Ibrahim to India for trial, senior BJP leader L K Advani said on Saturday.

Welcoming Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's recent statement that his country would consider deporting Dawood Ibrahim if New Delhi provides "authentic proof", the BJP leader said it was first time that Islamabad had officially admitted that the notorious gangster was taking shelter in their country.

"The Interpol has declared Dawood Ibrahim as absconder and United States declared him as an international terrorist. The Indian courts have also declared him as absconder. These are formidable basis for Pakistan government to carry out its promise and hand him over to India for trial," Advani told reporters here.

Accusing the UPA government of failing to check terrorism, he said none of the perpetrators of terror strikes during the last four years had been brought to book and not a single case had been fully investigated.

"The UPA government's weak approach to fighting terrorism is guided solely by vote-bank considerations. For its short-term electoral gains, the Congress is making India pay a very heavy price in the form of blood of innocent citizens," he said.

Advani, who made a transit halt here on his way to Karnataka on an election campaign, criticised the Centre for failing to check large scale illegal infiltration from Bangladesh. — PTI

Amethi (UP), May 17
Rahul Gandhi faced the brunt of the simmering discontent within the Congress, when his motorcade was stopped while on the way to his Lok Sabha constituency here from Lucknow.

The issue came to a boil after he addressed party workers at Jagdishpur village, 70 km away, saying he had received complaints about internal squabbles and it amounted to “indiscipline”.

As he started out for the town, a local Youth Congress leader and several party workers squatted in front of his motorcade, forcing it to a halt.

When Rahul asked them what the trouble was, they accused him of not fulfilling his promise made six months ago and that not one of those displaced by the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) plant set up at Jagdishpur had been given a job.

The incident came even as the Congress general secretary and his mother UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had been touring Uttar Pradesh, especially pockets of drought-hit Bundelkhand, on implementation of the Centre’s flagship National Rural Employee Guarantee Scheme by the Mayawati government.

Party sources said the activists were also peeved at Rahul for “not spending enough time with them”, perhaps a reference to speculation about him being projected as a national leader.

“He has taken a note of their demand on the BHEL project and would be talking to the higher authorities,” they said. — PTI

Dehra Dun, May 17
According to Hindu beliefs, a pilgrimage to “Char Dham’ ensures ‘moksha’ for the pilgrims. However, the roads to these four Hindu revered pilgrim places of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri situated in Garhwal Himalayas are dangerous and called ‘killer roads’ due to large number of accidents occurring on these every year.

This year, the “Char Dham” yatra started on May 5 with the opening of the portals of the temples on May 7 but already 154 persons have lost their lives on the serpentine roads of the state this year. Since the new state came into being, on an average more than 500 pilgrims have lost their lives as their vehicles rolled down the steep slopes into the fast flowing rivers in the valleys. Thousands have been injured.

However, this year, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Maj-Gen. B.C. Khanduri (retd) has taken it as a challenge to streamline the transport system by ensuring greater security and safety for the pilgrims. In a decision, Khanduri has directed all district authorities as well as the transport officials to be accountable for any accident occurring on the roads.

He has also asked the police and transport officials to ensure that pilgrim and tourist vehicles coming from all over the country do not over speed. “We have directed that the speed on the hill roads should not be more than 30 km per hour,” said Banshi Dhar Bhagat, Uttarakhand transport minister.

“The state government was concerned about the bad name these fatal accidents were bringing to Uttarakhand. There was need to check the trend to invite pilgrims and tourists to a safer Uttarakhand,” Bhagat added.

A number of other steps have also been taken to ensure that only those drivers with hill driving licenses drive buses on the hill roads besides being strict about their working hours, rest and training.

Safety records of Uttarakhand buses had remained dismal as more than 500 persons dying every year particularly during yatra season, which coincides with monsoon season. Drunken driving, overcrowding in the buses and other four wheelers, particularly by the pilgrims to ‘Char Dham’ yatra and Hemkund Sahib in Garhwal, rash driving and lack of repairs of the old state transport buses are some of the major reasons for the reoccurrence of such road accidents.

“A tendency amongst the transporters to make maximum money by making maximum number of trips to ‘Char Dhams’ has also led to frequent accidents. Magisterial inquiries are announced but the fate of such initiatives had remained unknown.

As per official records, a total of 869 persons lost their lives in road accidents in 2005 while 1842 got injured. Next year the number of dead increased to 975 while the number of injured were 1910. In 2007, a total of 991 persons lost their lives with the number of injured soaring to 1988.

While, the Chief Minister Khanduri has been strict in implementing his orders, transport officials maintain that acute shortage of man power would be a big hindrance in keeping a check on erring drivers. Out of total strength of 816 employees, the transport department has only half of the staff. “ We are trying to recruit new staff,” said Bhagat.

BRIEFLY

Bihar transport minister resigns
PATNA: Sate minister for transport Ramanand Prasad Singh on Saturday resigned after disclosure of his being chargesheeted in a corruption case. Singh went to official residence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and submitted his resignation, a senior official at CM’s house confirmed. The Chief Minister forwarded his resignation to Governor R.S. Gavai who accepted it. Singh resigned after disclosure of his being chargesheeted by the state Vigilance Bureau on May 24, 1990, in a case charging him with being involved in purchase of pipe of inferior quality. — PTI

Hospital staffer felicitated
ROORKEE: The Rotary Club, Chandigarh, has felicitated Shashi Kumar Saini for his commendable efforts in implementing the polio eradication programme here. Saini, working as junior assistant at the local civil hospital, besides a stringer for Dainik Tribune, has successfully organised as many as 120 rallies and over 100 seminars to sensitise people regarding polio, since 1995. Club president Shahazu Peter lauded the efforts of Saini, but said a collective effort was needed to completely eliminate polio. — TNS

Man held for marrying minor
Chennai: A 45-year-old man was arrested on the charge of marrying a minor girl and forcing her into prostitution, here. Police said Pavithra (15), a tenth class student, from the suburban area was sold to Abdul, hailing from Coimbatore, by a woman Aaisha and her ally Sateesh for Rs 50,000. Soon after the deal, Abdul had married the girl and tried to push her into prostitution. — UNI

5 hurt in communal clash
Ahmedabad: Five persons were injured in a clash between groups of two different communities, leading police to fire five rounds to disperse the unruly group in Ankleshwar town of Bharuch district, official sources said on Saturday. The incident took place late on Friday night after a fight between youths belonging to different communities in the Gopal Bazar Chowk area of the town. Both groups indulged in heavy stone pelting. The Police first tried to bring the situation under control by cane charge and firing teargas shells. However, when it failed to control the stone pelting, they fired five rounds, they added.—PTI