All-party MPs meet separatists
Delegation discusses issues with APHC leaders Geelani, Mirwaiz, JKLF chief Malik
Srinagar, September 20
As the all-party delegation led by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram listened to various delegations, groups of the visiting parliamentarians met separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik separately here today. The historic move forward was taken even as the separatists had rejected the Central government’s invitation to hold talks with the all-party delegation.

P Chidambaram, Farooq Abdullah, Pawan Kumar Bansal, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley in Srinagar. Tribune photo: Mohd Amin War

Babri verdict
Troops deployed near airports, media barred
New Delhi, September 20
Electronic and the print media will not be allowed in the court when the verdict is pronounced on the title suit of the Babri Masjid on Friday this week. Lawyers representing the two sides will brief the media at the office of the District Magistrate in Lucknow and present the verdict to the nation.

3-judge HC Bench split over rejected deferment plea
Lucknow, September 20
In a curious twist to the Babri title suit judgment, one of the three judges of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court today disagreed with the other two judges’ decision to reject the plea for deferring the Ayodhya verdict.

SLP likely in SC soon

SC rejects plea, sends Sajjan on trial
New Delhi, September 20
Rejecting Congress leader Sajjan Kumar’s plea for quashing the charges framed against him in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, the Supreme Court today vacated its stay on the trial and directed the trial court to deliver justice “as early as possible”.

The Tribune Ladakh Relief Fund: An Appeal To Readers

Accident victims left in lurch
n A goods train overshoots red signal to ram into stationary passenger express
n Liquor bottles found in station master’s chamber; probe ordered
Shivpuri (MP), September 20
All Railway employees, including the Station Master of the Badarwas Railway Station in Madhya Pradesh near Guna, are reported to have abandoned their posts early on Monday morning after a goods train rammed into the stationary Indore-Gwalior Inter-City Express. Twenty passengers were killed and 50 injured, according to the Railways.

Haryana village turns garbage to gold
Kurukshetra, September 20
Village refuse means money in Sanwla. That’s probably why the entire village with a 1000-strong population has decided to commit itself to its total sanitation. Not surprisingly, Sanwala wears a clean and green look-no polythene bags littered in open spaces, no garbage heaps and no flies to greet visitors.

Yuvraj dropped from Oz series
Chennai, September 20
Out-of-form Yuvraj Singh was today dropped while young Saurashtra batsman Cheteshwar Pujara was selected in the 15-member Indian squad for the two-Test series against Australia, starting October 1 in Mohali. (Details on Sports page)