NEWS AND VIEWS

PUNJAB

HARYANA

JAMMU & KASHMIR

HIMACHAL

REGIONAL BRIEFS

NATION

OPINIONS

LETTERS

BUSINESS

SPORTS

WORLD

SPECIAL COVERAGE

CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI

L A T E S T N E W S

China acts against locals who tortured Indian businessmen

NEW DELHI: In the wake of torture of two Indian businessmen near Shanghai, China has initiated criminal proceedings against five locals suspected for the act as it promised to address the issue and give due attention to the safety of Indian nationals on its soil.

The assurance was given by Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yan when he met Gautam Bambawale, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the External Affairs Ministry, this afternoon.

The envoy said "serious attention" was being given to the issue related to the two businessmen and hoped that it would be resolved as quickly as possible, sources said.

The Ambassador also assured the MEA that due attention was being given to the safety of Indian nationals and businessmen, they said.

The assurance coincided with the criminal action being initiated against five Chinese nationals who are suspected to have been involved in the torture of the two Indian businessmen, Shyamsunder Agarwal and Deepak Raheja, the sources said.

Agarwal and Raheja have complained of ill-treatment and torture ever since they were "kidnapped" on December 15 by some local people.

The locals, working with a company, have been demanding payment of their dues after the owner of the firm fled.

Agarwal and Raheja say they are merely employees of a company which owed money to its Chinese suppliers and their employer has fled without clearing the dues. — PTI

NRHM scam: CBI raids more than 60 places

NEW DELHI: The CBI today carried out searches at more than 60 places, including the residence of former UP Family Welfare Minister Babu Singh Kushwaha in Lucknow, after registering five new cases to probe alleged irregularities in funds allocated to the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

Besides Uttar Pradesh, the searches were being carried out at other places, including Delhi and Haryana.

Official sources said the cases were registered on January 2 in a designated court at Lucknow after which CBI sought search warrants against the accused people.

The searches began this morning at 60 places, including at the residence of the former minister, who joined BJP yesterday after being sacked by UP Chief Minister Mayawati.

The CBI had filed FIRs pertaining to the scam. Kushwaha has been named as an accused in one of the five FIRs registered against the NRHM officials and private companies in UP. — PTI

2nd Test: Clarke’s double ton shuts door on India

SYDNEY: Captain Michael Clarke struck his maiden unbeaten double century while Ricky Ponting marked his return to form with a sparkling 134 as Australia stretched their lead to a mammoth 291 to bat a hapless India out of the game in the second cricket Test here today.

Clarke, who batted the whole day for an unbeaten 251, and Ponting, who hit his first century in two years, toyed with the ineffective Indian bowling attack as Australia piled up 482 for four in reply to India's first innings 191 all out.

Mike Hussey (55) was giving company to Clarke at stumps on the second day which turned out to be a lacklustre day for the visitors, managing to take just one wicket.

It will now be a Herculean task for the Indian batting line-up, which has come a cropper in three successive innings in the series, to escape from defeat with three days still left on a SCG pitch which does not have much for the bowlers.

India searched for wickets all day, from the old ball to the new ball but they could not stop the home batsmen from plundering runs at will. They could grab just one wicket — that of Ponting — at the expense of 366 runs, the break-up being 120, 123 and 133 runs from the three sessions of play.

Remarkable as Clarke's power of concentration, range of strokes and stamina were, no less notable was the record 288 runs he forged with his former captain Ponting for the fourth wicket, improving upon their own 210 at Adelaide in 2008 — the previous fourth wicket best between the two nations.

While Ponting ended his century drought of two years, 17 Tests and 33 innings — this being his 40th hundred in his 160th Test, Clarke notched up his 18th in his 78th Test. This was Ckarke's second century of the Australian summer this year. — PTI