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Home Ministry sent specific alert to Hyderabad same morning
Pune blasts accused had visited blast site
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8 die in landmine blast by Maoists
Premji transfers Wipro stock worth Rs 12,300 cr to trust
CBI closure report in Sachan case rejected
COPTER DEAL
Asset disclosure
Civilians or not? Plea in HC over status of paramilitary personnel
ASEAN research body to join hands with Gujarat Govt
India to launch US satellite
5 Andaman tribes face extinction
Army to buy 40 Cheetal helicopters
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Home Ministry sent specific alert to Hyderabad same morning
New Delhi, February 22 Acting on intelligence inputs, security agencies conveyed to police of the four southern cities — Hyderbad, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Hubli — and Maharashtra and Gujarat governments about possible attacks by terror outfits to avenge the hanging of 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab and Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and asked them to intensify security in all sensitive areas, government sources said. However, they said it was wrong to blame Andhra Pradesh Police for yesterday's twin blasts in Hyderabad as even though the information was to specific cities, there was no mention of time and place as such details are rarely known. Apart from a general advisory sent to all states on February 19, the specific information was shared with the four cities and two western states on February 21 morning. In their subsequent advisories, the central security agencies asked all states to tighten security in sensitive places as Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizbul Mujahideen and Indian Mujahideen may launch terror attacks. Soon after the twin blasts rocked Hyderabad killing 18 persons and leaving 117 injured last night, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had said all states were alerted about a possible terror strike by militant groups. However, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had said those were general alerts which often keep coming from the Centre. Meanwhile, a forensic expert said the nature of injuries sustained by the victims in the twin blasts now and the 2007 terror blasts were similar. —
PTI
High alert along border
Agartala: High alert has been sounded along India's borders with other countries and special measures taken in view of the blasts at Hyderabad, Director General of Border Security Force (BSF) Subhash Joshi said on Friday. "After the blasts at Hyderabad we have alerted our forces and the border is safe in the hands of the BSF. Special measures have been taken and we are ready to face any challenge," Joshi told reporters here. — PTI
US offers
assistance
Washington: US Secretary of State John Kerry today expressed condolences over the Hyderabad bomb blasts that killed 14 people and injured more than 80 others. He asked the Foreign Secretary about any additional information about the terrorist attack and offered America’s assistance, if any, required. — PTI
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Pune blasts accused had visited blast site
New Delhi, February 22 Sayed Maqbool and Imran Khan, both of whom hail from Nanded district in Maharashtra, told the police during interrogation after their arrest in October that they both did a recee of Dilsukhnagar, Begum Bazar and Abids in the Andhra Pradesh capital on a motorcycle in July 2012. Maqbool was, in fact, arrested from Hyderabad on October 23 where he was hiding to evade arrest. He was in close association with other accused arrested as they allegedly planned to launch fidayeen attacks on the Buddhist shrines in Bodh Gaya in Bihar in retaliation to the alleged atrocities being committed upon Muslims in Myanmar, senior officials of Delhi Police's special cell said. "About a month before Ramzan in 2012, Maqbool helped Imran in doing a recce of Dilsukhnagar, Begum Bazar and Abids in Hyderabad on a motorcycle. This was done on the instruction of Riyaz Bhatkal," the officials said. Meanwhile, a special team of the Delhi Police has left for Hyderabad to assist the Andhra Pradesh police in cracking the case. — PTI
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IAF displays precision firepower capabilities at Pokhran exercise
Showcasing its firepower, the IAF on Friday used the US-built C-130-J tactical lift aircraft in an attack role at a live firepower demonstration for the first time, adding a new machine to its fleet of the attack platforms, which have a Russian and partly European domination.
Also just two days after Defence Minister AK Antony hummed the importance of 'made in India' mantra to curb corruption, the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft,
Tejas, made its debut at the firepower exercise. The Tejas, which awaits final operational clearance, was used in attack role firing at ground targets amid claps from an audience that comprised defence attaches of several countries and service personnel. The
Tejas, powered by US-origin GE engines, has been accorded initial operational clearance and is undergoing weapon testing. The firepower demonstration named the "Iron Fist" lit-up this desert firing and test ranges just 100 km away from the western border with Pakistan. President Pranab
Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshall NAK Browne and
Antony, were among others, who watched the display. More than 230 aircraft of the
IAF, including fighters, attack helicopters, surface-to-air missile systems, transport planes, a UAV and a tactical lift C-130-J took part in the demonstration. This was the first fire-power demonstration in three years after exercise Vayu Shakti in 2010. The importance of the exercise was the debut of the real time connectivity using the Air Force net
(AFNET) providing a battlefield picture from the sky and the ground using a mix of UAV's sensors and high resolution cameras fitted onto planes. Air Chief Marshall Browne said: "We have progressed closer to our goal of executing seamless network centric operations. The execution of coordinated offensive operations today, highlights our renewed focus towards building up a 24x7 capability." The light combat helicopter, powered by French engine
Turbomeca, and built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), did a flying display. The HAL and the IAF are working to get an initial operational clearance for this. The C-130-J demonstrated its capabilities to land on a rough mud paved ground and also flies low and slow to drop
para-commandoes. Besides this, the NSG Commandos did a drill of slithering down to mimic the attack they carried out during the Mumbai attacks.
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Kurien chairs a session in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi, February 22 The Left parties, particularly the CPM that has been demanding that either Kurien steps down or be removed from the post alleging his involvement in the 17-year-old Suryanelli sex scandal, were stumped in the last session when the Deputy Chairman took the chair. Left MPs said it was a dilemma since no member who serve as the vice chair was available this evening and they did not want to disrupt the proceedings when the House was seeking clarifications from the Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde in the light his statement on Thursday blasts in Hyderabad. Earlier in the day, after the Question Hour was adjourned, Congress MP EMS Natchiappan who is one six on the vice chair panel presided in the brief post-lunch session. On part of the government, the statement by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath did not happen and no explanation was offered. Before the start of the session on his part, Nath insisted that the government would not want to discuss the issue of state politics in Parliament and cited that Kurien had been cleared by the Supreme Court in the case. Meanwhile, in two separate developments related to Kurien issue in each House of Parliament, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari directed the government to inquire into a case of manhandling of its member TN Seema by the police while the Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar sought for a factual note on it following a privilege issue raised by MB Rajesh, who represents Palakkad in the House. Both these MPs were part of the protest march held by party and its frontal organisations on Friday demanding action in the Suryanelli case. They said the police had resorted to action that resulted in Seema receiving injuries require hospitalisation. In the Lok Sabha, Rajesh sought to invoke privilege for the manner in which the police behaved with him during the protests amid vocal support from party MPs. The Speaker said she would take a decision after receiving a note.
Rape victim files plaint
Kottayam: The victim in the Suriyanelli gangrape case on Friday lodged a police complaint insisting that Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien (pic) be made an accused. The complaint lodged at the Chingavanam police station also sought Dharmarajan, an absconding convict who had jumped bail in the case and was arrested recently from Karnataka, and two others — Unnikrishnan and Jamal — be arraigned as accused. — PTI
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8 die in landmine blast by Maoists
Gaya (Bihar), February 22 Maoists used Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) to bomb a jeep at Koili culvert around 12.40 pm, he said, adding the vehicle was ripped apart in the explosion. The incident took place at Roshanganj in Sherghati sub-division, on the border of Bihar and Jharkhand. The security forces were going for a campaign run by an NGO to build awareness among the people against Maoists, Hussain said. There have been report of loot of arms of the security personnel in the incident. In the state capital, Director General of Police Abhyanad said that senior police officers have been asked to visit the spot. — PTI
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Premji transfers Wipro stock worth Rs 12,300 cr to trust
Bangalore, February 22 Following this, the trust's shareholding in the company has increased to 19.93 per cent, including 7.93 per cent of shares transferred in 2010 when the trust was set up. The trust will utilise the endowment to fund various social initiatives of the Azim Premji Foundation, a not-for-profit organsiation Premji had set up in 2001, with a view to contributing to a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society in India. "The initiatives (of the Foundation) are expected to scale up significantly over the next few years," the foundation said in a statement here. The foundation works in rural India in partnership with state governments to help improve the quality of school education.
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Marines allowed to visit Italy for voting
New Delhi, February 22 A 3-member bench headed Chief Justice Altamas Kabir permitted them to visit Italy for four weeks. On being informed that their passports had been couriered from Kerala but had not reached Delhi, the SC ordered that they should be allowed to travel on temporary documents. Last year, the apex court had allowed them to go to Italy to celebrate Christmas. The marines, who were guarding Italian vessel ‘Enrica Lexie,’ had shot down the fishermen mistaking them to be sea pirates. The plea for letting them to vote in the elections, both for the Senate (315 members) and the Chamber of Deputies (630 members), had been made by them and the Italian government. Italy does not have the postal ballots facility. The SC clarified that the two accused would travel under the control and custody of the Italian ambassador to India and would report to the Chanakyapuri police station here before their departure and upon their return. On January 18, the SC had rejected Italy’s contention that Indian courts had no jurisdiction to hold trial against the marines and ordered their trial by a special court.
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CBI closure report in Sachan case rejected
Lucknow, February 22 The closure report submitted by the CBI on September 28, 2012, had concluded that Dr Sachan had committed suicide. The CBI special court today dismissed CBI's closure report and directed it to probe the matter further. While the CBI had upheld the police investigation that Sachan had committed suicide, the magisterial inquiry into the murder had raised questions over suicide theory. The case was handed over to the CBI on the direction of high court. However, the CBI in its closure report filed last year said that Sachan had indeed committed suicide. On October 3, 2012, Dr Sachan’s widow Malti Sachan had filed a petition in the court of Special Judicial Magistrate (CBI) Neelkant Mani Tripathi, demanding that the closure report be rejected. Today the CBI court has allowed the objection filed by Malti Sachan. The then Deputy CMO of Lucknow Dr Sachan had been arrested in April 2011 on the charges of plotting murder of his senior CMOs and involvement in the NRHM scam. Later, he was found dead inside the district jail under mysterious circumstances. His family had alleged that he had been killed to protect the big fish. The case
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Finmeccanica replies to MoD notice
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 22 Sources confirmed the Italian company, which was served a notice following the arrest of its CEO, had replied to the notice. A team of the MoD that had gone to Italy in connection with the case is scheduled to return tonight. The team, led by Joint Secretary and Acquisition Manager (Air) Arun Kumar Bal, had been tasked to get as much information as possible related to the facts of the deal and they would be part of the meeting tomorrow. Defence Minister AK Antony has asked the Defence Secretary and the Defence Production Secretary to be present at the meeting. The case relates to the purchase of helicopters from AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica. The Rs 3,500-crore deal was signed in February 2010.
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Maharashtra ministers defy CM’s orders
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, February 22 The revelations come days after income tax sleuths raided the premises of Minister of State for Urban Development Bhaskar Jadhav after he organised a lavish wedding of his children. “Only 22 of the 40 ministers in Chavan’s Cabinet have provided details of their assets to the Chief Minister’s office,” activist Anil Galgali said. Chavan had asked his Cabinet to declare their assets and liabilities in December 2010 followed by a reminder in April the following year. Among those who have failed to declare their assets include Industry Minister Narayan Rane, Home Minister RR Patil, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat, Rural Development Minister Jayant Patil and Cooperation and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshvardhan Patil, besides Jadhav.
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Civilians or not? Plea in HC over status of paramilitary personnel
Chandigarh, February 22 In December 2003, the Department of Economic Affairs had notified that a different scheme - the New Restructured Defined Contribution Pension System - would be applicable to all new entrants to the Central Government service except those serving in the Armed Forces with effect from April 2004. The new scheme has significant financial implications for government employees. In a petition filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court last week, Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force personnel have contended that the opening lines of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force Act, 1992, read: “An act to provide for the Constitution and Regulation of an Armed Force of the Union for ensuring the security of the borders of India and for matters connected therewith.” Given the nature of duties, responsibilities and deployment of the force, ITBP personnel are working on combatised posts and not civilian posts, the petition states. The petition also draws upon two earlier judgements of the High Court that have ruled that members of the Armed Forces of the Union working on posts connected with Defence are not considered civil servants and hence cannot invoke certain constitutional provisions. Further, the organisational structure and the training précis of the ITBP provide for both peace and wartime roles. The ITBP’s charter of duties includes management of the Indo-Tibetan border, checking cross-border infiltration and smuggling, counter-terrorist operations, aid to civilian authorities, security to sensitive installations and undertaking UN peacekeeping missions. The petition, the outcome of which may affect several lakh personnel across all seven CAPFs, earlier called paramilitary forces, has sought exclusion of the CAPF personnel from the ambit of the new scheme on the same line as granted to the Armed Force personnel. In India, traditionally only Army, Air Force and Naval personnel are not considered as civilians. The petition is pending before the High Court for adjudication.
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ASEAN research body to join hands with Gujarat Govt
Gandhinagar, February 22 Hidetoshi Nishimura, founder-executive director of ERIA, which has network in 16 Asian countries for economic research to create a pool of technical professionals, called on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi here today and expressed his desire to partner with the state for human resources development and skill development. An official spokesman of the state government said Nishimura was impressed with Gujarat’s rapid growth in the manufacturing sector and the state’s strong partnership with Japan, which was the co-partner in the recent ‘Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit’, and lauded Modi’s ‘vision’ behind the development of the manufacturing sector in the state. Modi thanking Nishimura for the co-operation extended to the state desired that the ERIA and Gujarat Technological University join hands for human resources development in the field of technology. — OC
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India to launch US satellite
Bangalore, February 22 The PSLV C20, ISRO’s workhorse rocket which is slated for launch on February 25, will put into the orbit the Saphire satellite. Built by the Canadian company Macdonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), the primary mission of Saphire is to carry out space-based surveillance to contribute to the US Space Surveillance Network . The SSN is a critical part of the United States Strategic Command’s mission and involves keeping a watch on artificial objects orbiting the earth. — TNS
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5 Andaman tribes face extinction
New Delhi, February 22 Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of States for Tribal Affairs Ranee Narah today said population of five tribal groups namely Great Andamanese, Onge, Sentinelese, Shom Pen and Jarawa is less than 500 each. As per the 2001 Census, the population of Great Andamanese tribe is 43, Sentinelese 39, Onge 96, Jarawa 240 and Shom Pen 398. Narah said that a scheme for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PTGs) covers 75 identified tribes. — PTI
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Army to buy 40 Cheetal helicopters
Bangalore, February 22 The HAL has signed contract worth Rs 418 crore with the Ministry of Defence for supply of 20 Cheetal helicopters and equipments to the Indian Army over the next four years. The HAL will also provide training to the pilots and technical crew. This maiden contract for supply of Cheetal helicopters to the Army followed the order received by the HAL for 10 Cheetal helicopters from the Indian Air Force. Cheetal is the re-engined variant (developed as company funded programme) of the Cheetah helicopter being manufactured by the HAL for over four decades. Cheetal is equipped with a Turbomeca TM 333-2M2 free turbine turboshaft engine which consumes less fuel than Cheetah and provides higher payload capability of 90 kg at an altitude of 6 km. The helicopter can operate up to 7 km altitude and has a range of 640 km and can remain airborne for over three hours at one go.
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A specific alert warning of an attack by Pakistan-based terrorist group was shared by central security agencies with the Hyderabad Police on Thursday
morning.
The CBI suffered a major reverse today when its closure report into the mysterious death of Deputy Chief Medical Officer YS Sachan inside the Lucknow district jail was rejected by the CBI special court.