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Did think of changing team, says Anna; to quit blogging
Phones tapped, says Kejriwal
Godhra riots witness stabbed to death
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UP cop speaks against graft, sent to hospital
Rahul’s ‘ascension’
2G: Kani, 3 others move HC for bail
Bail for 9 accused in Malegaon blast case
At NCW, police apathy cases outnumber rapes
Lokayukta police files FIR against BJP MLA
No joint military drill with China even in 2012 SBI officers’ strike deferred CAT grants relief to thousands of pre-2006 pensioners Gender inequality puts India behind China, Pak Bhanwari Case
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Did think of changing team, says Anna; to quit blogging
New Delhi, November 5 The row erupted when blogger-journalist Raju Parlekar made public today an unpublished post on Hazare's blog to apparently negate his claim that the Gandhian had not spoken to him about reorganising his core team. Parulekar claimed Hazare "spontaneously" wrote the blog on restructuring the team on the afternoon of October 23 "when he made up his mind to get away from Kejriwal, Bedi and Bhushan and their pawns in the Core Committee". "Sureshbhau Pathare (Hazare's close aide) was present there. He tried to stop Annaji but Annaji was unstoppable. Then Sureshbhau requested me not to upload this particular blog at least immediately,” said Parulekar. Hazare while rejecting suggestions that he was going to change his team said he would block his blog soon after reaching his native village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra. He also suspected a conspiracy against him and his team. "I have thought of changing my team many times as I heard about the allegations again and again. But you cannot say anything till I announce my decision," he told reporters. Asked whether the letter posted in the website was his, Hazare said, "If there is my signature in the letter, then only you consider it as mine. If the signature is not there, then it’s not mine." The row between Hazare and Parulekar erupted after the Gandhian claimed that he never ever spoke to the journalist or met him on the issue of re-structuring of the Core Committee and forming a new pan-India organisation with immediate effect. Parulekar posted his version as well as an unpublished blog by Hazare in Marathi along with its English translation in the Gandhian's blog this morning, claiming that he had not uploaded an order dictated by Hazare after October 30 following a Core Committee meeting asking him to hold it back. Reacting to Parulekar's claim, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi said, "It appeared that someone had a bigger gameplan and it has got exposed just in time." — PTI
‘Govt attempting multiple bills’
Key Team Anna member N Santosh Hegde on Saturday accused the government of trying to bring in multiple legislations by splitting provisions mooted by the civil society group. "There is an attempt to make multiple bills," he said, pointing out that the bills such as Right to Service and Judges Accountability that are being talked about by the government, are in fact part of suggestions mooted by Team Anna in their draft Bill. |
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Phones tapped, says Kejriwal
New Delhi, November 5 "Phones of all Team Anna members are being tapped... Day before yesterday, one of Anna’s assistants read out his note to me which said that Anna would like to go to Rajghat for a while when he came to Delhi. He wanted that this should not be disclosed to anyone as he wanted to sit there alone in peace for sometime. Within 15 minutes of this conversation. Our office got a call from the police asking us to give all details of Anna’s visit to Rajghat. We were completely shocked," Kejriwal said. — PTI
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Godhra riots witness stabbed to death
Ahmedabad, November 5 The incident took place this morning when Sayed left his house around 0700 hours, and the assailants stabbed him with sharp weapons several times and fled. Sayed was rushed to VS Hospital by his family members but was pronounced dead on arrival by the doctors. The attackers are on the run and their identity was not yet known, police said. The deceased was a witness in the Naroda Patiya case where 95 persons were killed on February, 28, 2002 during the communal violence that erupted after the Godhra train-burning incident. The court where the case trial was on, had recorded Sayed’s statements a couple of months back. Sources close to Sayed said he was also a police informer in some cases, and his murder had some connection with the clash between the slaughterhouse owners and police early this week where two policemen were injured and a police jeep was torched by a mob. The police said a case has been registered against the unknown persons and further investigations were on. Sayed was also an RTI activist and he had raised many queries on the Godhra riots and related incidents.
—PTI
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UP cop speaks against graft, sent to hospital
Lucknow, November 5 The DG would also investigate the reported indiscipline of the DIG who “broke the service rules by speaking to the media about matters pertaining to his official charge”, principal secretary home Kunwar Fateh Bahadur Singh said here today. Meanwhile, DIG Mishra has been admitted to the Psychiatry Department of the Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University (CSMMU) Hospital where he is under supervision of five doctors. After his interaction with the media wherein he expressed he feared for his life due to his detecting a multi-crore scam in the fire department, he had been forcibly admitted to the trauma centre of the CSMMU Hospital, from where he was today shifted to the hospital’s Psychiatry Ward. Late last evening, DIG Mishra spoke to the media about the alleged widespread corruption in the state. He claimed that top officials had embezzled crores and were pressurising him to clear files. The 1992-batch IPS officer charged a senior minister and a senior IAS officer in the Department of Home with conspiring to have him murdered for detecting the scam. According to the Principal Secretary Home, talking to DIG Mishra’s family had revealed that he was suffering from depression, was not eating and sleeping properly and was showing signs of irritability. Dr PK Dalal, senior professor in the Psychiatry Department of the CSMMU Hospital has, in his preliminary report, stated, “On the basis of these findings, there is a provisional diagnosis of under observation for bipolar affective disorder current episode manic without psychotic symptoms”, quoted the Principal Secretary Home. All political parties have condemned Mayawati government’s decision to forcibly dispatch DIG Mishra to the mental ward of the CSMMU Hospital.
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Rahul’s ‘ascension’
New Delhi, November 5 As speculation about Rahul’s appointment as working president or full-fledged president gains ground, party insiders said the leadership is weighing the pros and cons of going ahead with the change before the next year’s crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections or after the polls. There is one view that Rahul Gandhi should be given a larger role in party affairs well before these polls as it would galvanise party cadres and boost the party's electoral prospects in UP where it is locked in a tough contest with the BJP and powerful regional parties like the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP). It is critical to send out a positive message to the state unit at this juncture, it is said, as young Gandhi will be leading the poll campaign in UP. On the other hand, it is argued that it would be prudent to wait till after the Uttar Pradesh elections. In case the Congress improves its tally, the leadership will find it difficult to ignore the growing clamour for Rahul Gandhi's ascension to the party throne. His promotion would then be looked upon as being a logical and appropriate step. However, if the Congress fares badly, Rahul Gandhi could opt to keep a low-profile for some time as it would appear a trifle odd if he was asked to shoulder the party's responsibilities soon after a poor performance in an election in which he had been the key strategist and campaigner. While the debate on Rahul Gandhi's future plans rages on, Congress spokespersons have denied any knowledge of an imminent change as there are reports that he could be appointed working president on Indira Gandhi's birth anniversary on November 19 or on the Congress foundation day on December 28. At the same time, party leaders also admit it is a given that Rahul Gandhi will eventually take over the Congress reins. The timing, they said, will be decided collectively by the three family members - Sonia, Rahul and his sister Priyanka. As it happens, Rahul has been taking greater interest in party affairs but only covertly. Senior party leaders and even chief ministers call on him routinely to brief him about the ground situation in their respective states while young Gandhi has been proactive on policy issues like the framing of the land acquisition Bill. Speculation about Rahul’s future plans picked up speed in August when Sonia Gandhi went abroad for a surgery for an undisclosed medical condition and included him in a four-member group to run party affairs in her absence.
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2G: Kani, 3 others move HC for bail
New Delhi, November 5 The three others are DMK-run Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar and Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd directors Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal. DMK supremo Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi has been confined to Tihar Jail since her arrest on May 20. She was denied bail on Thursday by the trial court despite CBI not objecting to pleas for bail by her and four others. Special Judge O P Saini denied them the bail saying the charges against them are of grave nature and the CBI's concession of not objecting their bail pleas was of "no consequence in the eyes of law". — PTI
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Bail for 9 accused in Malegaon blast case
Mumbai, November 5 Designated judge YD Shinde of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) granted them bail on a surety of Rs 50,000 each. The court also asked the accused to report to local police station once in a week. The nine accused who got bail are Salman Farsi, Shabir Ahmed, Noorulhuda Doha, Rais Ahmed, Mohammed Ali, Asif Khan, Javed Sheikh, Faroogue Ansari and Abrar Ahmed. Of them, Asif Khan and Mohammed Ali will not be released as they are also held in 2006 Mumbai train serial blast case.The rest would get out of jail after completing formalities on November 8, said defence lawyer Jaleel Ansari.
— PTI
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At NCW, police apathy cases outnumber rapes
New Delhi, November 5 Analysis of complaints received by the National Commission for Women (NCW) over a three-month period from August to October 2011 shows that cases of police apathy and atrocities far outnumber those in other listed categories of crimes against women, including rape and domestic violence. Out of all the 4,680 complaints registered in the stated period, the maximum - 1,119 - are listed in the category of police apathy as against 181 complaints of rape. This means cases of police inaction and injustice comprise 25% of the entire complaint burden with the Commission that is planning to launch the ‘Women’s Rights Campaign’ on a pilot basis in Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Kerala and Rajasthan. To be held at the divisional headquarters of these states (which showed the maximum response in this direction) between November 19 and 23, it would later be launched across the country. After police apathy, the maximum 1,105 complaints have been received in the category of domestic violence and matrimonial disputes. Cases related to property disputes - involving widows and claims over “stree dhan” (dowry) - are next and number 326. Rape occupies the fourth slot on the table, with 181 complaints received between August and October, followed by 158 cases related to harassment and violence by parents-in-law. “It is not a happy scenario. Cases of police apathy abound. This only shows lack of sensitisation and we would like to cover all these areas of concern during our pending drive in five states,” NCW chairperson Mamta Sharma told The Tribune. Individually, Uttar Pradesh leads the tally of woman-unfriendly states in the country, accounting for more than half of all complaints registered and investigated by the National Commission for Women over the three-month period. Of the 4,680 cases of crimes against women, UP contributed 2,853, followed by national capital Delhi at 526; Rajasthan at 372; Haryana at 217 and Madhya Pradesh at 139. Sharma admitted that the safety of women in Uttar Pradesh continued to be of grave concern, and recalled that it was only following their report and investigations that the UP Police registered cases of rape against cops involved in the rape of women in Bhatta and Parsaul villages during the anti-land acquisition campaign against the state government.
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Lokayukta police files FIR against BJP MLA
Bangalore, November 5 FIRs were also filed against four others including Tahsildar Ranganath and Revenue Inspector Suresh, Lokayukta ADGP J V Gaonkar told PTI here. FIRs against Muniraju and four others have been filed under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC sections 464 (making false document), 468 (forgery for cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 120 (concealing design to commit offence punishable with imprisonment) Gaonkar said. The Lokayukta Court had on November 2 directed Lokayukta police to investigate and report on November 19, a complaint against Mauniraju for alleged transfer of title of land in his favour in collusion with revenue officials. The complaint against Muniraju and four others was filed by one Puttaswamy who alleged he had grabbed 21 guntas (40 guntas is one acre) of his mother-in-law's land in Yeshwanthpur Hobli in Bangalore north taluk by transferring the title in his name in collusion with the others. The land was acquired by the state government in 1995 under the Urban Land Ceiling Act but granted it back to her in 2006. She subsequently requested the government to include her name in the revenue records. However, Mauniraju in 2009 claimed the land belonged to him and allegedly got the title transferred in his name with the assistance of revenue officials, the complainant alleged.
— PTI
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No joint military drill with China even in 2012 New Delhi, November 5 Well-placed sources confirmed the calendar for the Indian military exercises during 2012 does not include China and also added that India will allow Vietnam, among a list of other countries, to come and train at the specialised Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte, Manipur. Vietnam, which does not have a good relationship with China, is slowly inching closer to India at the military level. In the past, India had deepened military relations with Japan, South Korea and also with Mongolia - all not very comfortable with China. It was in 2008 that the Indian and Chinese forces had last conducted a joint exercise at Belgaum in South India. The first edition was in 2007 at Kunming in China. The military exercise was ironically named “Hand-in-Hand” and both forces indulged in tactical manoeuvres, interoperability training and it once even had “a joint counter-terrorist operational exercise against a simulated enemy”. Sources said, there has been no decision on resuming the exercise as New Delhi believes Beijing needs to firm up its stand on various bilateral issues and stick to it. Also the Indian establishment has expressed it displeasure over the presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and is edgy over growing Chinese aggressiveness in Tibet and also the unbridled aid and military supplies to Pakistan. New Delhi suspended military exchanges with China in August 2010 after it refused a visa to the then Northern Army Commander Lt-Gen BS Jaswal, who was slated to go an official visit. China had then taken a stand that Jammu and Kashmir was a “disputed” territory. As a fallout, India refused to hold the third round of Hand-in-Hand exercise with China and had put all other military exchanges on hold. It also refused visas to Chinese military officials. It was only in June 2011 that a thaw was seen. An Indian military delegation headed by a Major-General, serving in J&K, visited China in June this year. This was the outcome of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao’s meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in April to discuss trade, commerce, military, and resumption of defence exchanges. China had then said it was “vigorously committed” to developing military ties with its “important neighbour” and was ready to resolve the visa row through friendly consultations. The Indian military delegation visited after an apparent move by China to reverse its two-year policy of giving stapled visas to people hailing from J&K. Meanwhile, sources said among the countries that have recently availed the jungle warfare training at Variegate included Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal and Tajikistan among others. So far, around 30 nations have availed themselves of the facility besides the Indian paramilitary forces deployed in anti-Naxal operations.
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SBI officers’ strike deferred New Delhi, November 5 The call given by the All-India State Bank Officers Federation (AISBOF) for a two-day countrywide strike on November 8 and 9 has been deferred, union sources said. A decision to this effect was taken late this evening, they added. Details about what transpired at the conciliatory meeting could not be ascertained immediately as office-bearers of the union could not be reached. The bank has about 13,560 branches across the country.
— PTI
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CAT grants relief to thousands of pre-2006 pensioners Chandigarh, November 5 Anomalies in pay and pension fixation consequent to implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission had resulted in pre-2006 retirees drawing pension lower than post-2006 retirees. The CAT decision affects thousands of central government employees. The CAT has held that the term “minimum of pay in the pay band” would mean minimum of pay corresponding to the scale held at the time of retirement and not minimum of the entire pay band itself as interpreted and implemented by the government through a clarification. The Sixth Pay Commission had created four broad pay bands. Each band had, within it, several different scales corresponding to the rank and grade of an individual. The trouble had arisen when the pension of the individuals concerned was fixed at the minimum of the entire pay band instead of the minimum of the scale corresponding to his rank. “The CAT judgment is on the same lines as the decision of the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal in the SS Matharu Vs UOI case,” Maj Navdeep Singh, a local lawyer dealing with service matters said. “It would go a long way in bridging the gap between pre-2006 and post-2006 pensioners,” he added. CAT observed, “What is worse is that there is no application of mind even at the level of Director and Secretary, who merely sign the note and the clarification is issued after obtaining finance concurrence and approval of Minister of State (PP), without going back to the Cabinet for such a modification.”
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Gender inequality puts India behind China, Pak
While we are worrying about high total fertility rates (TFRs) of 2.6, new data points out that our adolescent fertility rates (AFR) are even more shocking at 86.3. Adolescent fertility rate - defined as the number of births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 -- is among the highest for India in South Asia. Only Nepal and Afghanistan have higher rates at 103.4 and 118.7. One of the main drivers of high gender inequality in India which has the poorest - 129th -Gender Inequality Index rank in South Asia (leaving aside Afghanistan which is poorer at 141), high adolescent fertility rate reflects that our child marriage prevention laws have simply not worked and our contraception prevalence rate remains poor at 54%. Even Sri Lanka has a higher contraception prevalence rate at 68%. On gender equality, India lags far behind China which is ranked a handsome 35 in the world (lower the rank on GII, better the state of gender equality). In China adolescent fertility rate is just 8.4 while TFR is also low at 1.6. In entire South Asia, India has the highest TFR except Pakistan and Afghanistan where the rate is 3.2 and 6 respectively. This also contributes to India’s poor gender equality HDI value of 0.617 (higher the value, worse the performance) as against comparative GII value of 0.573 for Pakistan, 0.419 for Sri Lanka, 0.550 for Bangladesh and 0.558 for Nepal. Even on the other two major components that drive gender equality - women’s representation in national parliament and the participation of age 25 years plus women in economic activities - India is far behind many even in South Asia. Nepal is the best in this category with 33.2% women in Parliament while China and Pakistan have 21.3% and 21% respectively - much better than India’s 10.7%. The report makes a strong case for women reservation in the Parliament, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh today said that had Panchayati Raj institution reservation been factored in, India’s gender performance would have shot up. As far as people who have attained secondary education are concerned, in India the percentage is 26.6 for women as against 50.4 for men - indicating a wide gap which is also seen in labour force participation where women make up 32.8% workforce as against 81.1% men.
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Bhanwari Case Jodhpur, November 5 Both of them are in judicial custody and have been interrogated by the CBI and confronted with Shahabuddin in the Jodhpur Central Jail. Shahabuddin was produced before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (CBI) Jagdish Jyani who sent him to judicial custody. He had surrendered before the court on October 22 and was under CBI custody since. The court had extended his CBI custody twice on October 24 and 31. The CBI also produced his medical examination report before the court in compliance of the court's order to get him medically examined every 48 hours during custody. The counsel of the CBI, S S Yadav, moved an application before the court to declare Sahi Ram Bishnoi, dubbed as "conspirator" by the police and at large, an absconder. Yadav said the court had issued a warrant against him on October 22 but the CBI was yet to serve this on Bishnoi.— PTI
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New Delhi, November 5
Ahmedabad, November 5
The Mayawati government today ordered a probe by Director General Corruption Bureau Atul Kumar into allegations of corruption levelled against higher-ups in the government by DIG Fire Services Dev Dutt Mishra last evening.
The DG would also investigate the reported indiscipline of the DIG who “broke the service rules by speaking to the media about matters pertaining to his official charge”, principal secretary home Kunwar Fateh Bahadur Singh said here today.
New Delhi, November 5