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Delhi’s shame
AIIMS to conduct autopsy on Ram Singh’s body
BJP routed in K’taka local body poll
Bellary votes for Cong again
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Cabinet to take up criminal law Bill today
Modi govt wants farmers to pay for water
IAF tests drug to keep pilots alert for 48 hours
Copter deal: Italy sends papers
CBI registers fresh case in coal scam
Lawyer slapping case gets silent burial
Appointment of Judges
10,000 UP students get free laptops
Monsoon weakening in J&K: Survey
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Divine justice has been done, says
Delhi braveheart's family
Aditi Tandon/TNS
New Delhi, March 11
Dissociating from the debate on whether Ram Singh was allegedly murdered or he died on account of security lapse in the prison, the family said the news didn’t surprise them. “He unleashed untold brutality on my child. She could have been anyone’s daughter. How is the cause of his death relevant? He led the assault. I am sure a sense of regret must have filled his conscience,” the victim’s mother said. The younger brothers of the deceased were more vocal when asked to comment on the developments of the day that left everyone shocked at the state of security in the country’s most high-profile prison. “My sister’s death wish was to set all six accused ablaze in public. What has happened today will soothed her soul a little. We are happy. Our sole prayer since the demise of our sister has been ‘these maniacs should not live’. How death comes is not material, though it’s right to say that hanging Ram Singh, the main accused in the case, would have served as a lesson to the others of his ilk,” the teenaged brother of the rape victim said. The deceased’s mother said, “There was so much I wanted to say to my daughter; so much I wanted to hear from her. When she was alive, we had decided not to mention anything related to the incident to her. I could never even muster the courage to ask her if she was fine. But she kept saying she felt fine. She kept asking us not to worry. And she told the magistrate that she wanted to survive for our sake. But that was not to be. And now we live so we can see her tormentors meet the same end they scripted for my child.”
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AIIMS to conduct autopsy on Ram Singh’s body
New Delhi, March 11 Though the Tihar authorities didn't give any specific reason for changing the venue of autopsy, many feel it could be due to allegations of murder being levelled by Ram Singh’s family. However, the Additional CP V Ranganathan, said, "It was decided by the Metropolitan Magistrate who had ordered inquest proceedings and a board of doctors will be submitting the report." The AIIMS MS received a request during the later half of the day when finally the post-mortem was scheduled for tomorrow. "A team of four doctors will carry out the autopsy," he said. “We have received the body for the post-mortem,” said Dr DN Bhardwaj, HoD of the AIIMS' Forensic Department. On being asked why the venue was shifted, another doctor said, "Given the sensitivity of the case, AIIMS would have been the best choice." Ram Singh's parents have demanded a CBI inquiry into his death. There was some foul play in the death of their son, they said. His mother Kalyani Devi, said, "He had admitted to his mistake and was being tortured in the prison." Mange Lal Singh, his father, also said, "My son was murdered and he has not committed suicide.”
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BJP routed in K’taka local body poll
Bangalore, March 11 Former CM BS Yeddyurappa, who quit the BJP late last year and floated the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP), has apparently played spoilsport for the ruling party, as also the BSR Congress of former BJP Minister B Sriramulu. The KJP and BSR Congress, testing the political waters for the first time, won 274 and 86 wards, respectively, while Independents have emerged victorious in 777 wards and will play an important role in the urban local bodies which have thrown up a hung verdict. Elections to 207 ULBs - seven city corporations, 43 city municipal corporations, 65 town municipal councils and 92 town panchayats - were held on March 7 and their outcome is considered a pointer to the Assembly elections due by May. The BJP’s sorry performance is a repeat of its show in the last urban local bodies elections held over five years back when it came third behind the Congress and the JD-S.
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Bellary votes for Cong again
Bangalore, March 11 While seven out of nine MLAs from the district are from BJP, the Lok Sabha member from Bellary constituency, reserved for ST after the latest delimitation, too, is from the saffron party. “Bellary has always been a Congress stronghold. It was only a matter of time before the area would shun its infatuation with the BJP. The ULB poll results shows that this process has set in”, Anil Lad, Congress Rajya Sabha member, who hails from Bellary, said. K C Kondaiah, a two-time Lok Sabha member from Bellary, who quit his MP seat in 1999 to pave the way for Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to contest from this constituency, claimed that Sonia Gandhi would also take note of the civic poll results of Bellary. “Madam will be very happy”, he remarked. In the Bellary city corporation, the Congress has got 26 out of the 35 seats. The BJP did not get a single seat. There are nine municipal bodies in Bellary district and the Congress has got a huge majority in all nine. “The Reddy brothers raised huge funds by extorting money from the iron ore industry and with that money they changed the political complexion of the area. The money power paid them good dividends in the 2008 Assembly and 2009 Lok Sabha polls also. But since then they have been on the wane and people have returned to the Congress fold”, Kondaiah said. Bellary, which has been among the few constituencies in the country to return only Congress candidates in the elections to the Lok Sabha since 1952, kept its track-record intact when Congress chief Sonia Gandhi successfully fought her first Lok Sabha election from the constituency in 1999 in a high profile contest against BJP’s Sushma Swaraj. Sonia Gandhi, however, retained the Amethi seat which she had won too and resigned from Bellary which was won by a Congress candidate in the byelection held in 2000. The Reddy brothers, who had associated themselves with the BJP, also emerged as strong force in Bellary in the post 1999 scenario and the eldest Reddy, Karunakara, won the seat in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls. The youngest brother, Somashekhara, had earlier won a seat in the city corporation election in 2001. Janardhana Reddy, the second of the three Reddy brothers and the acknowledged leader of the trio, has been arrested by the CBI in September 2011 (he is now in CBI custody in a fresh case). Somashekhara Reddy and B Sriramulu (also a mining magnate like the Reddy and a close associate of the family) campaigned for the BSR Congress floated by the latter after breaking away from the BJP. Somashekhara, though still a BJP MLA officially, has openly identified himself with the BSR Congress.
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Cabinet to take up criminal law Bill today
New Delhi, March 11 Shinde said the Law Ministry has to vet all the proposals before the government takes the next step. The fresh Bill will replace the ordinance on crimes against women promulgated in February, which had prescribed life imprisonment as the maximum punishment for those committing rape. Earlier Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who heads the Group of Ministers on media, had also dismissed reports about differences in the government over the Bill and said there are different points expressed by different people with some suggesting that the word sexual assault must be retained while others favour the term rape. There were reports of difference of opinion over the lowering of consent age for sex from 18 to 16, which was being addressed to. The Home Ministry had held inter-ministerial consultations on the Bill to have a consensus. The Bill will also make it mandatory for all government and private hospitals in the country to provide free medical treatment to women victims of any form of sexual violence. Answering questions if Yasin Maliks passport will be renewed as it is coming up for renewal, Shide said: “I cannot say at the moment. We have taken note of it and will take action at the appropriate time”. On demands of handing over body of Afzal Guru, Shinde said “under jail rules body cannot be given”.
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Modi govt wants farmers to pay for water
Ahmedabad, March 11 The “Gujarat Irrigation and Drainage Bill, 2013,” which was passed by the ruling BJP by a voice vote after the entire Opposition walked out in protest, seeks to make it compulsory for every farmer to secure licence after paying a fee to draw water from any canal or even well or borewell within certain limits to irrigate their farms and seek the government’s permission to dig a well or borewell in his own land for irrigation. The Bill, which is supposed to replace the “Bombay (Gujarat) Irrigation Act, 1879,” gives unbridled magisterial powers to irrigation officials to be designated as “canal officers” or his nominees to enter the houses, farms or any other possession of the farmers on suspicion of evading government dues for irrigation and sentenced the errant farmer to six months in jail and/or fine up to Rs 10,000. The Bill makes all natural sources of water, be it rivers, canals, ponds, wells or even a small natural drainage, as the property of the government and a farmer would be required to take the permission on payment to make use of any of the water resources. If a farmer owned lands with wells or borewells within 200 metres of any such natural sources of water, he would be deemed to have used the “percolated water” and a fee charged for his irrigation. Not only the Congress, which has the political reasons to oppose the Bill, even the social activists and others have called it a “draconian bill” against the small and marginal farmers and heavily weighed in favour of the industrialists and powerful vested interests who were out to grab the lands of the harassed farmers at a throw away price. Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly and former CM Shankarsinh Vaghela said the Bill was originally introduced by the then British government 134 years ago to bring the Indian farmers under control of the British and the present democratic government instead of easing the provisions had sought to make farmers’ lives even more miserable. Another former CM and vice-president of the Gujarat Parivartan Party, Suresh Mehta, believed that the Bill violated the right to liberty and was against the constitution of the country by leaving the farmers entirely at the mercy of the designated canal officers. Several social activists from across the state felt that the Bill clearly demonstrated a colonial mindset where the rulers think that they could arrogate unquestionable powers to themselves to “rule” and abrogate the rights of the ordinary citizens. The state unit of the Peoples Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) held the opinion that the Bill indicated “return of fascism” in Gujarat.
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IAF tests drug to keep pilots alert for 48 hours
Chandigarh, March 11 Disclosing this here today, Director General Medical Services (Air), Air Marshal AK
Behl, said the IAF is now in the process of starting field trials of this pill, known as
Modafinil. “The Institute of Aerospace Medicine is conducting the study in four phases and we are now onto the final operations stage,” he said. “Our trials so far have shown that a pilot can remain awake and alert for 36 hours,” he added. The study aims to keep a pilot alert for up to 48 hours. Under the study, pilots were administered specified doses at certain intervals. “A pilot given a dose 12 hours after he awoke remained alert for another 24 hours,” Air Marshal Behl said. “Modafinil is a certified drug and the best part is that its use has not shown and side effects,” he added. The drug works by targeting and changing the levels of certain natural substances in the brain that control the process of sleep and wakefulness. With the induction of air-to-air refueling capability in the
IAF, the duration of fighter flying has been enhanced considerably and a pilot can remain in air for up to 8-10 hours. Remaining confined to a cramped cockpit for long durations causes enormous fatigue and psychological stress and also has other problems like the need to pass urine. To deal with these issues, the IAF began experimenting on the use of medicines as well as introduced diapers for long duration missions. “It is not that a pilot will remain airborne continuously for such a long duration, but he can undertake a mission and go up again several times with short up in between,” the IAF’s medical chief said. As of now, pilots are advised proper rest and sound sleep for at least hours before a sortie and not to consume alcohol 24 hours prior to flying.
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Copter deal: Italy sends papers
New Delhi, March 11 The government has received the first set of official documents from Italy in connection with the VVIP copter scam, including the warrants issued against former Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi by authorities there. The set of papers have been handed over to the CBI which is probing allegations of illegal pay-offs in the Rs 3,300 crore deal to purchase 12 AW-101 copters, government sources confirmed today. The search warrant against Orsi has been shared with India. This is understood to have details about the alleged payment of money to middlemen engaged by him to tweak the tender in favour of his firm. Orsi was arrested in Italy on February 12. So far, Indian investigations into the case have been stuck in absence of official documents as the Italian court in Busto Arsizio refused to share it with India citing Italian secrecy laws. The government hoping to officially receive the preliminary investigation report filed by the Italian prosecutors in the court of Busto Arsizio. Orsi had allegedly hired middle-men Guido Haschke, Cralo Gerosa and Christian Michel for bagging the deal. The trio was allegedly in touch with the three cousins of former IAF chief S P Tyagi, all of them have been named by the CBI in it preliminary inquiry.
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CBI registers fresh case in coal scam
New Delhi, March 11 The raids were conducted today at 11 places including
Ghaziabad, Ramgarh Cantonment, Hesla, Hazari Bagh, Ranchi, New Delhi, Kolkata and Varanasi on the factory premises and offices of the company and residences of its directors. Various documents and other evidences have been recovered during the searches, the CBI said. The CBI said Jharkhand Ispat Private Limited, a company of RC Rungta Group, was allotted North Dhadu coal block on January 13, 2006, for its sponge iron plant. The firm was allegedly allocated coal blocks on the basis of misrepresentations and false claims in the applications, presentations and connivance with others. While probing the case, the prime investigating agency detected several irregularities in the allotment of coal block after which a case was filed against the Jharkhand Ispat Private Limited and unknown public officials. A preliminary inquiry to examine the irregularities, if any, in the allocation of coal blocks during the period 2006-09 was registered on a reference from the
CVC, in June 2012. Earlier, the CBI had registered nine cases in this regard.
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Lawyer slapping case gets silent burial
Chandigarh, March 11 But, in the process, resentment against senior advocate Anupam Gupta surfaced. Accused of taking the credit for the protest triggered after Khosla was allegedly slapped by a cop, Gupta offered to address the Bar soon after the cancellation of the FIR. But, his request was strongly opposed by the lawyers. After a lawyer requested the advocates on the dais to permit Gupta to address the gathering, almost all lawyers shouted and asked the Executive not to grant the request. Lawyers were resentful of the fact that Gupta was allegedly interacting with the Deputy Commissioner, police and other officials without taking other advocates in confidence.
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Govt planning legislation for an alternative system Vibha Sharma/TNS
New Delhi, March 11 “It is a problem of infrastructure, it is a problem of availability of quality lawyers who are willing to take up position on the Benches,” he said, replying to questions in the Rajya Sabha. The minister, however, assured that the government would shortly bring a legislation for an alternative system for appointment of judges to replace the present mechanism where a collegium of judges had a larger say in such decisions. Advanced consultations were on with political parties to evolve a consensus to evolve the new system for appointment of judges without disturbing integrity of judiciary, he said. Among the reasons of shortfall of judges, the Law Minister listed for the woefully inadequate number of judges was a perceptible change in “attitude” of lawyers. “We have moved far away from a time when it was an honour and a privilege even to be considered for elevation to the Bench. That is no longer so. The top, bright and skillful lawyers do not want to go to the Bench. Therefore, when we tell the Chief Justices of various High Courts to expedite the proposals, their answer is that we must first identify people worthy of being on the Bench. Now that is a function of the way society has moved, the way the profession has moved and the way people look at the possibility of being on the Bench,” he said. And this “attitude” is despite “a vast improvement” in the conditions of service of judges. “Over the years, the salary of judges has increased substantially. A large amount of benefits are also given. But even so we find it extremely difficult at every level to have quality people,” Kumar said. Currently, there are 278 vacancies in various high courts, amounting to 30 per cent of the total sanctioned strength. In the subordinate courts there is a vacancy position of 20 per cent. The strength of judges is about 18,900, which includes 17,800-odd subordinate judiciary. “We need to double the strength of the Subordinate Judiciary because the number of cases pending in the subordinate courts is about 2.7 crore,” he said. Meanwhile, the proposal to have Benches of the Supreme Court in different parts of the states (which has been declined by the Chief Justice of India) will be flagged again at the conference of the Chief Justices and Chief Ministers in April to get his views.
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10,000 UP students get free laptops
Lucknow, March 11 Setting in motion the process of presenting free laptops to over 15 lakh students of the state who had passed the class 12 examination in 2011-12, the Samajwadi Party government looks to target the youth who have just turned voters for the next year’s electoral
battle. Senior Cabinet ministers and government officials were present at the Colvin Taluqdar College grounds where thousands of students awaited eagerly to receive their
laptops. SP national president Mulayam Singh Yadav and Muslim face of the party Mohammad Azam Khan were conspicuous by their
absence. The Chief Minister termed the Internet as the most significant development having far-reaching consequences after the invention of the wheel. “Armed with these laptops a new world will unfold before you - you have become part of a globalised world. Please take full advantage of this window of opportunity. It will help you equip yourself with the changing needs of the job market,” Akhilesh
said. Yadav said the unemployment allowance was not the solution but a stopgap arrangement for the struggling youth. “My government is working towards creating an enabling environment which will attract investment and industry, and in turn create employment.” The Uttar Pradesh Electronics Corporation Limited (UPELC) has entered into an agreement with global IT giant Hewlett Packard for supply of nearly 15 lakh laptops for free
distribution. This is a world record in procurement of laptops anywhere in the world, claimed chief secretary Javed
Usmani. Opposition leader Swami Prasad Maurya, however, said party propaganda could not be allowed at government expense, referring to Mulayam and Akhilesh’s photographs on a screen with slogan “purey hotey waadey” (fulfilling of promises).
The configuration
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Monsoon weakening in J&K: Survey
New Delhi, March 11 A survey of climate change by the Ministry of Earth Science indicates an increasing but statistically insignificant trend in winter precipitation in the Northwestern Himalayas, including J&K. However, a statistically significant (95% level of confidence) decreasing trend in monsoon and overall annual precipitation during 1866-2006 was observed, says Earth Sciences Minister S Jaipal
Reddy. The temperature data also show significant increasing trends especially in winter and monsoon, except over the Karakoram region, he adds.The areal extent of 1,317 glaciers was monitored using satellite data showing overall 16 per cent de-glaciation till 2004 in
Himalayas. Kumdan glaciers of the Upper Shyok valley have been the only exception, which shows advancement in the glacial extent. The retreat during the nineties began to slow down in respect of Siachen glacier, Machoi glacier, Darung Drung glacier, Gangotri glacier, Satopanth-Bhagirath Kharak glaciers and the Zemu glacier and these glaciers have not shown any retreat during the period 2007-09.
Key findings
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New Delhi, March 11
At their humble home in Delhi, the family spent a quiet day after news of the suicide spread. To them, it was a day of “divine justice” for Ram Singh. “The wheel of justice has started to turn. He has met the end he deserved,” said the mother of the trainee physiotherapist. 
With results in 4,952 of the total 4,976 wards announced till 7 pm, the Congress recorded victory in 1,960 wards while the ruling BJP won in 906 wards. The tally of JD(S) of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda is only one less than the
BJP.
At his monthly press conference, Shinde, while talking about the new Bill, dismissed reports of any differences in the Cabinet over the Bill. “There is a difference of opinion on legal points, which is being addressed to and it will be taken up tomorrow at the special cabinet meeting”.