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Thane building collapse death toll reaches 72; two builders arrested
Modi hits out at Rahul for his ‘beehive’ remark
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Advani to cadre: Don’t be apologetic for Ayodhya
Next govt under Advani’s leadership: Delhi BJP chief
Vasundhara builds on Team BJP
Distraught children in endless wait for kin
CBSE to hold JEE Mains today
Kunda triple murder: Fresh case against Raja Bhaiyya
Immolation case: 2 more victims die
Man posing as Army officer cheats martyr Hemraj’s widow of Rs 10 lakh
Interested in Arctic region research, India tells Iceland President Around the world in 150 days!
Corruption a threat to democracy: Pranab
Parched Assam marries frogs to please rain god
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Thane building collapse death toll reaches 72; two builders arrested
Mumbai, April 6 The police said while Shaikh was arrested from Uttar Pradesh, Qureshi was picked up from a relative’s house in Thane where he was hiding since the building came down. According to police and fire brigade officials, rescue work has been completed with 72 bodies being recovered from the crash site. “We have pulled out 62 persons alive while the death toll stands at 72,” Vipin Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Thane) said. Alok Awasthi, Commandant of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) which carried out rescue efforts, told reporters that they “We explored the area eight feet under the
plinth and we are sure there is no one there,” Awasthi said. According to the police, 22 women and 17 children have been admitted to various hospitals in Thane and Mumbai. Sixteen persons have been admitted to various hospitals in Mumbai in a serious condition. Rescuers came with cranes and other heavy duty equipment to pull out concrete slabs which had fallen atop each other. Sniffer dogs were pressed in to identify survivors trapped in the debris. Fire officials say dogs proved to be very useful in pulling out many victims who might otherwise have been missed. Meanwhile, the authorities evicted residents of another building adjoining the collapsed structure which was also built by the same builders. Civic officials said it too was an illegal structure and was constructed illegally on forest land. Thane police officials said this building too would be demolished in a day or two.
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Modi hits out at Rahul for his ‘beehive’ remark
Ahmedabad, April 6 Modi said normally he never "wastes time" listening to the speeches of the Congress leaders because these were "not worth listening to." But he heard Rahul Gandhi at the CII conclave and was "shocked" to learn what a shoddy solutions the "prince," on whom the entire Congress party was "pinning its hopes for the future," had to offer to solve the problems of the country. Addressing a rally of party workers on the 33rd BJP Foundation Day here this evening, Modi and the party national president Rajnath Singh hit out at the Congress and expressed the confidence that the present ruling party at the centre would be "completely wiped out" in the next parliamentary elections. Though it was apparently a show of strength for
Modi, the presence of Singh gave the occasion a national status and again demonstrated that the Gujarat CM had become bigger than most of the other leaders of the party. Singh also publicly acknowledged the fact by admitting at the beginning of his address that Modi had now become "the most popular political leader in the country." Singh, who spoke before
Modi, said he was told by some party leaders that being the president who should be the last to address the gathering. "But how can I deny the fact that Modi now is the most popular leader in the country and, therefore, he would address the gathering the last," he said. Reminding the Congress that Sonia Gandhi's earlier remark against Modi as "the merchant of death" had ensured Congress party's rout in the 2007 Assembly elections, Singh warned that likening Modi again with
"Yamraj" would now bring about the UPA government's downfall at the centre. On the same issue, Modi remarked, "The Congress will never change. It refuses to learn a lesson from its mistakes and you can not expect anything better from the Congress."
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Advani to cadre: Don’t be apologetic for Ayodhya New Delhi, April 6 At the BJP’s Foundation Day function, Advani was quoted as saying, “When people believe and talk of our Ayodhya issue and agitate over it, you should not be apologetic, ever. You should take pride in it.” The veteran leader said he was proud of the fact that the party had raised the issue of Ram Temple and Ayodhya as it was not just a political movement but also a cultural one. Advani’s Rath Yatra in 1992 was the centrepiece of the party’s Ramjanmabhoomi movement, which called for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya. At the same function, Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel created a flutter when he said the next government at the Centre would be formed under the leadership of LK Advani. This comes at a time when there is growing clamour within the party for projecting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial candidate. Goel made the statement in the presence of Advani and party president Rajnath Singh. He later tried to play down the remark saying he actually meant that the next government would be formed under Advani’s guidance.
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Next govt under Advani’s leadership: Delhi BJP chief
New Delhi, April 6 This comes at a time when there is growing clamour within the party for projecting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial
candidate. Goel made the statement in the presence of Advani and party president Rajnath Singh at the BJP’s Foundation Day function. “The next government at the Centre will be formed under the leadership of LK Advani and nobody else,” he said. Goel later tried to play down the remark saying he actually meant that the next government would be formed under Advani’s guidance. Despite growing speculation over Modi’s future prospects, Rajnath has so far been non-committal on the issue of party’s Prime Ministerial candidate. While he hailed the Gujarat Chief Minister as the most popular leader of the country during a television show, he said the Prime Ministerial candidate would be decided by the party’s Parliamentary Board where his personal opinion alone would not matter. “Nobody can overlook this truth about Modi being India’s most popular leader at this moment.... There are no two opinions about it,” he said in the
programme.
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Vasundhara builds on Team BJP
Charbhuja (Udaipur), April 6 For now, Vasundhara is focussing on “Team
BJP” rather than her individual self or achievements to take on the incumbent Congress government. During her “Suraj Swabhiman
Yatra”, as she berated the Ashok Gehlot government, she emphasised on the collective responsibility of “Team
BJP” to get rid of his “misrule”. Those who have been following her political career say she is connecting better with people. Her promises to reorient the government’s priorities towards empowering women and youth are being lapped up by the two crucial segments of the electorate. “I urge you to work with us for another six months and together we will build a new Rajasthan,” she pledges, evoking applause from women and youth at the Charbhuja rally.
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Distraught children in endless wait for kin
Thane, April 6 The two-and-a-half-year-old boy was brought to Thane District Civil Hospital at 3 am on Friday. A couple of hours later, his mother too was wheeled in. Hospital officials said the distraught child, badly wounded in head and eyes, and his mother talked before she suddenly fell silent a few hours later and passed away. The mother’s body was wheeled out and the news of her death not yet broken to the child as the hospital staff taking care of Karan wait for a family member to come and take him. Karan, who made his way out of the vast rubble of concrete and mangled steel in the Shil Phata building collapse on Thursday, may have been orphaned as his father too is missing and feared dead. Sandhya Thakur (6), who was rescued yesterday, after being trapped under the debris for nearly 36 hours, too has nobody from the family to take care of her. Two days into the tragedy, there has been no clue about the parents of the girl, who has suffered multiple fractures, and authorities suspect they might be dead. The hospital staff is taking care of both the kids with the help of some samaritans. Sangeeta Prabhu, from IIT Bombay, saw her story on television and is among those looking after Sandhya. “I feed her milk and pray that the child recovers fast,” said Prabhu. — PTI
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CBSE to hold JEE Mains today
New Delhi, April 6 As many as 13 lakh students will appear for the new format to be held across various centres tomorrow and the top 1.50 lakh students of JEE Mains will be eligible to sit for JEE Advanced for entry to the Indian Institutes of Technology who will hold their own admission test on June 2. The so called 'one nation one exam' proposed by former HRD Minister Kapil Sibal will be keenly watched by examination experts across the country to see if it serves the intended purpose of quality and transparency. But even while the HRD Ministry is happy that the two-format test is finally taking off after much resistance from IITs, apprehensions are already being expressed over the closed manner in which the CBSE has decided to conduct JEE Mains which will determine students' entry into more than 50 Centrally funded technical institutions and several other institutes which depend on JEE Mains merit list for selections. A comparison of the rules set out by the two engineering examination bodies - CBSE for JEE Mains and IIT-Joint Admission Board for JEE Advanced - reveals that the CBSE continues to practice its old, non-transparent manner of examination conduct. For instance, it has said it would not disclose the answer keys of the exam to students whereas IIT-JAB has said it would disclose the answer keys for JEE Advanced. The CBSE has in fact never parted with the answer keys despite several RTI campaigns and several other examination bodies providing the same. Coaching institutes on the other hand publish the answer keys on the day of the exam (AIEEE in the past) and this encourages students to succumb to the coaching culture. Opening up the answer keys actually helps the student in ascertaining the correctness of the question and the answer, something the takers of JEE Mains will be deprived of. Similarly, while IIT JAB has said it would issue even the ORS (Optical Response Sheet) copies to students for self evaluation, the CBSE has said it won't do so. IIT-JAB will further publish the ORS after evaluation and give time to candidates to file objections if any before the declaration of the result but the CBSE won't again do this. In fact the CBSE follows a practice of making ORS available to candidates for Rs 500 after the declaration of results. New chapter in engineering entrance
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Kunda triple murder: Fresh case against Raja Bhaiyya
Lucknow, April 6 The witness, Divakar Tripathi, lodged a complaint at the Sangramgarh police station in Pratapgarh alleging that he had been intercepted by motorcycle-borne men who demand him to withdraw the case or else he would be killed. Tripathi has charged that while he was threatened his driver was beaten up reportedly by the Raja’s men. The fresh case coming after the CBI has already asked Raja Bhaiyya to appear within a week before the CBI camp office in Kunda for questioning clearly adds to the woes of the beleaguered Independent MLA from Kunda. Sources say the former Cabinet minister would be interrogated on his whereabouts at the time of the triple murder. He would also be quizzed on any "insights" into the role of his close aides and a driver, who have been arrested in the case. His cousin, former MP and sitting MLC Akshay Pratap Singh alias Gopalji has already
been questioned twice regarding his role in the triple murder. The investigating team of the CBI has also questioned Kunda Nagar panchayat head Gulshan Yadav, representative of the former minister Hari Om Srivastava, driver Rohit Singh and legislator Vinod Saroj. The clout Raja Bhaiyya enjoys in Kunda can be gauged from the fact that a few days ago the CBI had requested the state government to transfer an ASP level officer and the entire staff of four police stations under Kunda circle expressing apprehension of people not coming forward to cooperate with the probe fearing unarticulated pressure.
Double trouble
The CBI has already asked Raja Bhaiyya to appear within a week before the CBI camp office in Kunda for
questioning
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Immolation case: 2 more victims die
Rajkot, April 6 Rekha Mahendra Vishwakarma (35) and Vasumati (60) succumbed to burn injuries at the Civil Hospital, Resident Medical Officer G H Dambhaniya said. Rekha died early this morning, while Vasumati breathed her last a few hours later, he said. Five members of the Nepalese family poured kerosene and set themselves ablaze in Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC)'s central zone office on April 3, fearing eviction from the house they had been staying in for 30 years. Three of them, Bharat Mansingh Vishwakarma (40), his wife Asha (35) and brother Girish (27), died the same day in the hospital. — PTI
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Man posing as Army officer cheats martyr Hemraj’s widow of Rs 10 lakh
Lucknow, April 6 The widow had received the money in compensation after her husband was beheaded by Pakistan troops along the Line of Control on January 8. This is the second attempt in the past 10 days to defraud the widow who is still recovering from
the tragedy of losing her husband. The widow, Dharmvati, in her complaint said a man, who introduced himself as Amit Kumar and claimed to be an Army officer
sent by the Army Headquarters, came to her native village of Shernagar this morning. Dharmvati had some time ago asked the Commanding Officer of her husband’s unit — 13 Rajputana Rifles — to send someone over to help her invest the relief money. The officer had promised to send someone on April 10. The unsuspecting widow failed to cross-check the man’s credentials and took him for the help sent by the CO who had visited her a few days ago. The widow, her brother-in-law Bhagwan Singh and uncle Gajendra Singh accompanied Amit to the State Bank of India’s Chatta branch from where she withdrew Rs 20 lakh as advised by the accused. “Of this, a fixed deposit of Rs 10 lakh was made in the branch in favour of my daughter Shivani, whereas we planned to deposit
the remaining Rs 10 lakh in a bank at nearby Bukharari village.” Amit kept the remaining Rs 10 lakh in his bag as the four moved towards Bukharari on two motorcycles — the brother-in-law and uncle on one and Dharmvati and Amit on the other motorcycle. As they reached the outskirts of Mathura, the accused stopped his motorcycle at a petrol station for a refill, but sped away with the money as soon as Dharmvati got off the bike. Mathura SSP Pradeep Yadav said a case has been registered under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the IPC. “The CCTV footage of the bank is being examined and the conman would be arrested soon,” he added. The police had instructed the widow to inform the police about any major financial transaction in the future after a similar attempt was made to fraudulently withdraw Rs 60 lakh from her account on March 25, the SSP said. However, the widow did not heed to the advice and was taken in by the conman. Earlier, a man had stolen Dharmvati’s cheque book from the postman and later deposited two cheques for Rs 30 lakh each with an SBI branch in Palwal district in Haryana for withdrawal. But the fraudulent transaction was detected and payment was stopped.
Second time unlucky
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Interested in Arctic region research, India tells Iceland President
New Delhi, April 6 “India has significant scientific capabilities and programme focused on Polar scientific research,’’ President Pranab Mukherjee told the visiting leader at a meeting here. India and Iceland have much in common. Iceland, as the world’s oldest functioning democracy, and India, as the world’s largest democracy, deeply cherish the values of democracy, human rights and personal freedoms and hold similar values on a variety of regional and international issues, Mukherjee added. The Iceland President was earlier conferred Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for 2007. The visiting leader requested India to cooperate and participate in a project to prevent the melting of glaciers and ice, both in the Arctic and in the Himalayan region. India has been seeking the support of countries like Iceland in becoming an observer at the Arctic Council, having begun its scientific endeavours in the frozen sea in 2007. India had also set up a permanent research station there in 2008. The Arctic Council is a high-level inter-governmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the region. It has eight member countries: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. The council currently has six non-Arctic countries as observers — the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands. Experts point out that Russia and Canada are opposed to influential non-Arctic countries joining the league. Given the strategic and commercial importance of the Arctic, some member countries want its role to be expanded to cover security issues and other legally binding decisions.
Keen to be an observer
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Around the world in 150 days!
Mumbai, April 6 “To sustain a long voyage of over 150 days at sea, solo, non-stop, unassisted and sailing through some of the most treacherous oceans of the world, is a remarkable feat. “This rare achievement showcases the spirit of determination, resolve and courage of both the individual and the organisation he represents,” the President said. He was addressing a function after welcoming Lt Cdr Abhilash Tomy whose boat INSV Mhadei reached the Gateway of India after commencing its historic journey from the same spot on November 1 last year. He said solo circumnavigation, apart from being a physically arduous task, also requires very high standards of knowledge of navigation meteorology and boat maintenance. “The circumnavigator not only gets tossed around by the rough seas but also has to fight solitude and the imponderables of life at sea, away from civilisation. Battling wave heights of 9-10 metres and wind speeds in excess of 100 kmph coupled with Antarctic chills can be an extreme test of human endurance,” Mukherjee said. “I am sure that this achievement of Lt Cdr Abhilash Tomy will continue to be a source of inspiration for future generations of young seafarers. His epic voyage has placed our nation into the ranks of a few select countries whose citizens have been successful in braving such an arduous voyage,” the President said. — PTI
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Corruption a threat to democracy: Pranab
New Delhi, April 6 Mukherjee was delivering the 14th DP Kohli memorial lecture to mark the golden jubilee celebrations of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) here today. DP Kohli was the founding director of the CBI in 1963 when it was carved out of the British-era nomenclature Special Police Establishment. Speaking on the topic ‘Good Governance: Empowering Institutions, Society and Public’, Mukherjee said: “Good governance is dependent on the inviolable adherence to rule of law.” This ensures participatory decision-making structure, transparency, responsiveness, accountability, equity and inclusiveness, he said. — PTI
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Parched Assam marries frogs to please rain god
Reeling under a prolonged dry spell, parched Assam residents are working overtime to please the rain god, who is believed to shower his blessings after a ritual of frog marriage, a traditional practice in Assam, is performed with pomp and show. Residents of the entire locality turned up for the ceremony which saw the frogs --- the bride and the bridegroom --- decked up in fine clothes. The marriage was conducted by a priest according to traditional Hindu rituals. There is acute drinking water crisis in the state due to the dry spell. “The government has failed to augment facilities to provide adequate drinking water to the people,” said a resident, pleading anonymity. “Now, we have chosen to seek divide intervention to bail us out of this crisis,” he said. People, irrespective of caste, creed and religion, take part in these frog marriage ceremonies as rain/water is required by everyone. The expenditure is shared by all for holding the ritual. Food is also arranged for everyone who attends the marriage. After the ceremony is over, the frogs are taken back to the place from where they were brought.
Traditional ritual
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Man trampled by elephants
Suspected thief lynched BSP leader assaulted Rs 6 lakh robbed from bank
Annamalai V-C suspended Translocated rhino killed Chiranjeevi game for movie
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The police today arrested Jameel Qureshi and Salim Shaikh, the two builders responsible for constructing the building which collapsed on Thursday evening.
Ahmedabad, April 6
Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel today created a flutter when he said the next government at the Centre would be formed under the leadership of party veteran LK
Advani. This comes at a time when there is growing clamour within the party for projecting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial
candidate.
New Delhi, April 6
Lucknow, April 6
Mumbai, April 6
Guwahati, April 6
