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thane tragedy
ENGINEERING ADMISSIONS |
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Kunda Triple murder
Maoists blow up buildings, attack
police station in Jharkhand
Hit-and-run: Salman’s appeal to be heard today
Mumbai Metro from August
CBI to probe rhino killings, UAVs to combat poaching
Mulayam yet again praises
Advani, but rules out tie-up
US mom, S African dad in child custody battle
Not enough judges, court work takes a hit in region
Nuclear-capable Agni-II test-fired successfully
No retrial if court martial proceedings annulled: HC
If no water in dam, should we urinate in it, asks Ajit Pawar
Jantar Mantar
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thane tragedy
Informing reporters of Patil's arrest, Thane Police Commissioner KP Raghuvanshi said the police had proof that the builders had bribed Patil to turn a blind eye as they went about constructing the building without the necessary permissions. Following his arrest, the Nationalist Congress Party to which he belongs has suspended Patil from the party. Raghuvanshi also announced the arrest of Assistant Police Inspector J Syed posted at the local police station in addition to Deputy Municipal Commissioner Deepak Chavan, Assistant Municipal Commissioner Babasaheb
Andhale, civic clerk Kiran Madke - who were all allegedly bribed by the builders in order to facilitate the construction of the ill-fated building. Also arrested is one fixer - Jabbar Patel - who mediated between Chavan and builders engaged in illegal constructions. In all nine persons including the two builders, Jameel Quereshi and Salim Shaikh, have been arrested so far. They were produced before a holiday magistrate who remanded them to police custody till April 20. Providing details about the racket, Raghuvanshi said the arrests have exposed a big illegal construction racket in the township. "Civic officials were repeatedly bribed. Even a police constable was bribed," Raghuvanshi said. He added that the anti-corruption bureau of the police has begun raiding the properties of the arrested officials. "We have found Rs 5 lakh from the residence of Deputy Municipal Commissioner Deepak Chavan," the police commissioner said. He added that the police have found proof of the councillor, or corporators as they are called locally, also taking bribes from the builders. He added that the police could arrest more persons as investigations proceed. Bribery doesn’t pay
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ENGINEERING ADMISSIONS
The CBSE conducted the exam in offline mode across 81 cities of India including four foreign locations Bahrain, Dubai, Riyadh and Muscat, with students terming it as “easy to solve”. The lesser level of difficulty of questions means cut-offs - to select the best and draw out a merit list - in specific subject papers will be higher. The online JEE Mains start tomorrow and will continue till April 25 and the facility will be available in 29 cities including three cities abroad - Colombo, Kathmandu and Singapore. “Easier the exam, higher the cut-offs. As more and more students reach a threshold of marks due to low level of difficulty of a question paper, the qualifying marks in the said paper are bound to be kept higher to ensure only the top ones make the grade,” Ramesh Baltish, the Noida head of FIITJEE today said. The test is critical as it will select the top 1.5 lakh students who will become eligible to take the JEE Advanced exam which the IITs will conduct for entry to their system. The selection for IITs will be easier than the past as the IIT-Joint Admission Board this year would have lesser children to test. In the old system, 4 lakh candidates used to take the IIT-JEE exam, which has now been broken into two stages - JEE Mains for screening and JEE Advanced for final admission. As against 41 students competing for each IIT seat earlier, from this year, 15 students will be competing considering 1.5 lakh students will take JEE Advanced for 9,647 seats in the 15 IITs, IT-Banaras Hindu University and Indian School of Mines
Dhanbad. Online exam
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Kunda Triple murder
Lucknow, April 7 The two suspects — Ajay Pal and Vijay Pal — are the sons of Kamta Pal who has a history of enmity with Nanhe Yadav which had turned worse in recent times due to the addition of a land dispute. In recent days, the CBI had been closely probing the role of the Pal brothers. The FIR lodged recognises their father as a rival of Nanhe. The duo allegedly fired at the gram pradhan and is believed to be the key accused in his murder case. They had been mysteriously missing since the day of the murders and had failed to respond to repeated notices of the CBI. The CBI has recovered fired cartridges, SIM cards and other substantial evidence from the arrested Pal brothers. Their arrest and interrogation is expected to shed light on the allegations related to the reported involvement of former minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya and his aides in the sensational triple murder. The CBI is yet to crack the larger conspiracy which may have been behind the murders. It is also probing their role in the murder of Kunda DSP Haq's death. Kamta Pal had surrendered before the police a few days ago. Nanhe Yadav, the first to be killed on March 2, was standing at a tea stall in Kunda when he was attacked. past enmity
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Maoists blow up buildings, attack
police station in Jharkhand
Ranchi, April 7 Another group of Maoists also blasted Chenpur Block Development Office at about the same time in Gumla, he said. There was no casualty as no one was present in both the buildings. The ultras fired at the Chenpur police station in Gumla district in the wee hours. A strong retaliatory action by the police forced them to flee the spot, they said. Giridih Superintendent of Police AV Homkar said a bomb was found fitted on the railway track between Chebro and Choudharybag halts of the district this morning. The bomb was later defused. Some trains were held up for a few hours at various places for the reason, he said.
— PTI
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Hit-and-run: Salman’s appeal to be heard today
Mumbai, April 7 One person was killed and four others injured when the Land Cruiser allegedly driven by Salman crushed a group of people sleeping on the pavement outside a bakery in suburban Bandra in the wee hours on September 28, 2002. The appeal, filed by the actor a month ago, would be heard by Sessions Judge U B Hejib. The actor has not been summoned to appear before the court yet and the matter would be argued by his lawyers in the sessions court tomorrow, sources said. The appeal would be decided first and then the main case would be heard, sources said.
— PTI
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Mumbai Metro from August
"The trial runs are all set to begin in the third week of April and the process of getting certifications from the Commissioner of Railway Safety will be complete by July," said a
MMRDA spokesman. Train services will begin from the first week of August. The first services will run from the Airport Road station near the Mumbai airport and go up to Dadar in the Central suburbs, a distance of 8 km, according to MMRDA. By December, the entire 11.4-km stretch from Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar on elevated tracks will be thrown open to the public, three years behind schedule. As per the original plans of the Maharashtra Government, Mumbai was to have two more metro lines connecting Charkop and Bandra in the Western suburbs to Mankhurd on the Central suburbs, a distance of 32 km. A third line from Colaba in downtown Mumbai to Bandra and onwards to the Santa Cruz Export Processing Zone in suburban Mumbai is to completely link the city from the North to the South. However, the remaining two projects are stuck in red-tape. The Maharashtra Government is now expected to invite fresh tenders after altering the specifications so that the remaining two metro lines run completely underground. Three years late
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CBI to probe rhino killings, UAVs to combat poaching
Environment and Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain said today that the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has sent a communication regarding the CBI probe to the Assam Government yesterday. However, details of the number of cases taken up by CBI and the time-frame for the investigation was yet to be known. "We are awaiting further details. But we welcome the Centre's initiative," Hussain said. "We had suggested that CBI take up all cases up to three to five years old. However, as per their (CBI) proforma they take up investigation based on cases and FIRs filed," he said. Kaziranga National Park (KNP) has witnessed an upsurge in poaching of rhinos since last year. Last year, 25 rhinos were killed in KNP, while 20 have been poached so far this year. In Manas, two rhinos were poached this year and one was killed last year at
Orang. For better surveillance of KNP, Hussain said the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) of the Union Environment and Forests Ministry will undertake test flights of UAVs over the sanctuary from tomorrow. The flights would be conducted till April 11, he said. Besides
NTAC, officials from Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the state government would also monitor the drone flights, he said. The test flight of UAVs at KNP would be taken up from 4 pm tomorrow. Senior scientist from WII Dehradun K Ramesh and WWF International's A Christy Williams will be there," Hussain said. He said the state government has already sent a proposal for use of UAVs in KNP to protect wildlife and to fight against poachers. "The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has already forwarded the request to the Ministry of Defence. So far the MoD has not given its approval," the minister said. He said no MoD official would be present during the test flights. "The test flights would be helpful once we get the MoD approval," Hussain said. For the test flight, 'Hobby UAVs' would be used for which no MoD clearance is required, he said. Hussain said NTCA is also organising a training programme at KNP on April 20 on the subject of investigation and forensic evidence in wildlife offences.
— PTI Under threat
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Maya slams UPA, but says will keep backing it
Chandigarh, April 7 After arriving at the city airport to attend a prayer meeting in the memory of BSP founder late Kanshi Ram's younger sister Gurcharan Kaur, the former UP Chief Minister said keeping in view the prevailing political scenario in the country she would not rule out the possibility of early general elections. “Whether the elections are held before or as per schedule the BSP is ready. Our party is making all efforts. We are mobilising the party cadre”, she added. Pressed further, Mayawati said, “The party is upset with anti-people policies of the Congress-led UPA. Anti-poor policies of the government were affecting farmers, employees and other sections of the society”. Quizzed about her choice of prime ministerial candidate, she avoided a direct reply. When asked about BJP leader and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, she said he was not in her party. Earlier, she said she was saddened by the death of 63-year-old Gurcharan Kaur. “She truly followed in Kanshi Ram’s footsteps and I am saddened by her untimely death,” she said. The prayer meeting was held at Zirakpur, Punjab.
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Mulayam yet again praises
Advani, but rules out tie-up
Varanasi, April 7 “But if a person is truthful and honest, irrespective of the party he belongs to, he should be praised,” said the SP chief, who had earlier described Advani as the “tallest leader” in the country. However, ruling out an alliance with the BJP, he said “I don't agree with the policies of the BJP. Even if all parties become allies of the BJP, Mulayam Singh will not be the one. Our policies will never match with those of the BJP. “But I cannot say something against Advaniji, unless he does something wrong.” The former UP chief minister also praised Jawaharlal Nehru, saying although he was the son of a rich man, he participated in the freedom struggle and suffered a lot. “At the time of the Sino-India war, our neighbour Sri Lanka was with us, among other countries. However, now it has left us,” the former defence minister said. “Godowns are full of wheat and rats are feeding on them. There is also no place to store sugar. But these items are getting out of reach of the common man due to corruption at all levels,” he said. On Advani's remarks that partymen should not to be apologetic about Ayodhya movement and rather take pride in it, BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha said, “Advaniji is a scholar. He carries a persona. Whatever he has said about Ram temple is right and we should be proud of it.” SP leader Azam Khan maintained that Advani had got “nothing” in return for his services to the BJP.
— PTI
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BJP sounds election bugle
New Delhi, April 7 At the meeting of office-bearers to discuss the strategy and issues ahead of polls in six states and the Lok Sabha elections, the party emphasised on the need for discipline and improving its image and cautioned against over-confidence that cost the party the 2004 elections. While the top leadership maintained that the political situation prevailing in the country was “strongly anti-Congress” and in favour of the main Opposition party, there were concerns that the opportunity may be frittered away due to the actions of some leaders. BJP president Rajnath Singh, who convened the meeting for the first time since he announced his team of office-bearers on March 31, said the party was ready for elections but the prevailing “anti-Congress” atmosphere in the country should not be frittered away by creating confusion over the issue of the party’s PM candidate. Warning partymen against speaking without authorisation on issues like its prime ministerial nominee and creating "unnecessary" controversy, Rajnath observed that some leaders had been speaking to the media without being authorised to do so. Some party leaders had been “announcing” names of prime ministerial candidates “virtually on a daily basis” which, he said, was creating unnecessary controversy. This, he said, was getting highlighted, diverting attention from the party's achievements. Coming a day after Delhi leader Vijay Goel created a flutter by batting in favour of veteran leader LK Advani, the party president’s opinion holds significance.
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US mom, S African dad in child custody battle
New Delhi, April 7 A Bench comprising Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Pratibha Rani directed the mother, Dr Neeta Misra, to hand over the child, Hope, to the father, Philip David Dexter, on April 30 in the presence of the Registrar General of the HC. According to Dexter’s counsel Anil Malhotra, Neeta had kidnapped Hope from South Africa in September 2011 after securing permission from a court there for taking the child to London on a holiday for a week. “We have kept in mind the entire family situation, the factual, emotional, psychological and other material placed before us. We have to strike a fair balance between the competing interests of Hope,” the HC said in the 36-page verdict in the case, the first of its kind in India as both the litigants were foreign nationals. Neeta is of Indian origin. The couple had married in December 2004. It was the first marriage for Neeta and second for Dexter who had his first marriage in 1991 and immediately had a son thereafter. He divorced his first wife shortly before marrying Neeta. He also has another son, aged 15 years, from a live-in relationship. Neeta and Dexter obtained divorce on mutual consent in October 2010. After coming to India in September 2011, Neeta obtained an ex-parte injunction from a civil court, restraining Dexter from approaching her and Hope within 100 metres of her as well as from the school where Hope was studying. Dexter had approached the HC, challenging this order. Unique case
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Not enough judges, court work takes a hit in region
The acute shortage of judges can be gauged from the fact that there are 441 judges posted across 17 sessions divisions of Punjab against 5.37 lakh pending civil and criminal cases. The situation is the same in Haryana with 418 judges posted across 19 sessions divisions handling the burden of 5.64 lakh pending cases. Each judicial officer posted across the region is thus burdened with over 1,200 cases while under the norms, a judicial officer should not handle more than 500 cases at an average at any given time. The Chandigarh District Courts ranks lowest in the region in terms of judge to case ratio as it has just 20 judges and 50,000 civil and criminal cases pending. Other sessions divisions are also crying for more judges as the number of civil and criminal cases continue to rise with each passing day. The sessions division of Bathinda has 19 judges and 23,297 pending cases, Sangrur 26 judges and 34,828 pending cases, Patiala 36 judges and 39,065 pending cases and Amritsar 47 judges and 65,522 pending cases. Similarly, in various courts across Haryana, the number of judges has increased over the years with rising pendency, but the figure of judges has remained static in Chandigarh courts. There are 23 judges posted in Bhiwani against 27,303 pending cases, 18 judges in Rohtak against 26,266 pending cases and 28 judges in Hisar against 33,943 cases. On the other hand, Chandigarh is the only sessions division to have just 20 judges against 49,955 pending cases. A proposal to increase the strength of judges in the UT district courts has been pending since 1999. There is a proposal to create additional posts of four Additional District and Sessions Judges and six magistrates.
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Nuclear-capable Agni-II test-fired successfully
New Delhi, April 7 Globally, missiles that can hit targets between 2,000 and 3,500 km are classified as IRBMs. New Delhi has already test-fired Agni-V, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a range of more than 5,000 km. Agni-V is not yet operational. The firing was conducted by the Strategic Forces Command and aided by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The two-stage missile launched from a mobile launcher met all mission objectives, a statement issued by DRDO said. Radars and electro-optical tracking systems located all along tracked and monitored all its parameters. Two Naval warships located near the target point in the Bay of Bengal witnessed the final event, DRDO said. Defence Minister AK Antony congratulated DRDO scientists and armed forces on the success of firing. Today’s launch
The trial of the surface-to-surface missile was conducted from a mobile launcher off the coast of Odisha around 10.20 am. The entire trajectory of the trial was tracked by sophisticated radars and it met all mission objectives.
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No retrial if court martial proceedings annulled: HC
Chandigarh, April 7 The court set aside the conviction and the sentence of dismissal awarded to two Indo-Tibetan Border Police jawans, who were tried on the charges of raping a women while posted to Srinagar, but declined to reinstate them in service. The course adopted by the authorities apparently is in violation of the provisions of the applicable Act and rules. Rather, there is a specific bar for holding a re-trial of a person subject to the Act and in this regard, reference can be made to the provisions of Section 87 of the Act, which prohibits second trial, Justice Ranjit Singh ruled. In their petitions, Head Constable Jai Pal and another jawan had contended that they were tried by a summary force court in September 2000 on three charges which were: not informing the camp sentries of his movements, visiting the house of the said woman without authorisation and making false statements. While they pleaded guilty to the first and the third charge, they denied the second charge. The court of inquiry earlier had found the statements of the woman and her husband inconsistent. They were sentenced to be reduced to ranks. In October 2000, they received another order stating that the proceedings of the trial were annulled on the ground that these are illegal and de novo trial of the petitioners was ordered. The second trial dismissed them from service.
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If no water in dam, should we urinate in it, asks Ajit Pawar
Mumbai, April 7 The NCP leader followed up this comment laced with crass humour with another remark poking fun at load-shedding in the state stating, “I have noticed that more children are being born since the lights go off at night. There is no other work left then.” The nephew of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar later apologised for his remarks made while addressing a public meeting at an interior village in Indapur tehsil of Pune district last night. The remarks were greeted with laughter from the audience. “My comments made at a meeting at Indapur were not aimed at drought-affected people. I apologise if I have hurt the sentiments of the people in the state,” he said in a statement today. Condemning Pawar's comments, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and BJP leader Vinod Tawde said it was a cruel joke on the drought-hit people of the state. BJP's NC Shaina called the comment “disgusting, crude and arrogant.” Referring to the hunger strike by a drought-affected farmer at Mumbai's Azad Maidan, Pawar had said “He has been on fast for the last 55 days. (But) If there is no water in the dam, how can we release it? Should we urinate into it? If there is no water to drink, even urinating is not possible.” Bhaiyya Deshmukh, the farmer from Solapur district who has been on fast, said Pawar had hurt the sentiments of the people with his comments and that it was unbecoming of the Deputy Chief Minister. Pawar said that he was apologising as he did not want his comments to affect drought-relief measures. — PTI offers apology My comments made at a meeting at Indapur were not aimed at drought-affected people. I apologise if I have hurt the sentiments of the people in the state. — Ajit Pawar, Dy CM, Maharashtra
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Jantar Mantar
Keeping fingers crossed
Cheer for builders’ lobby, for now
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Police recovers 151 stolen vehicles
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Mumbai, April 7
New Delhi, April 7
Mumbai, April 7
Guwahati, April 7
Chandigarh, April 7
After the tone was set at the Jaipur “chintan shivir” in January, it was expected that the decision-making process in the Congress would gather pace. But the momentum generated at this party conclave has been lost as the promised changes in the AICC organisation are yet to take place. Although some pending appointments of state party chiefs have been cleared, it appears the larger reshuffle will now take place after the Karnataka Assembly elections and the budget session which ends on May 10. Since Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is to have a major say in the composition of the new team, there is uncertainty in the party as the aspirants and present office-bearers are not sure how they will fare as they are not clear about their equation with the Nehru-Gandhi scion. Besides, Rahul has also indicated that he will like to streamline the structure and reduce the number of general secretaries and secretaries in the party, another reason for worry.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s media managers are a bundle of nerves each time he speaks in Parliament or addresses the media given the number of times he has blundered in the recent past. His officers are keeping their fingers crossed and hoping that all goes well as the gaffe-prone minister is slated to address his monthly press conference next week. While waiting anxiously for this event to be over, Shinde’s officers have reason to feel relieved on another front. The upcoming chief ministers’ conference on security, being organised by the Home Ministry, which normally ends with a media briefing by Shinde is likely to give this mandatory event a miss. The forthcoming meet, to be attended by Chief Ministers like Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee and J Jayalalitha, is to take a call on the setting up of the controversial national centre for anti-terror activities, vehemently opposed by state leaders.
The all-powerful builders’ lobby must be cheering silently as the longstanding Real Estate Regulatory Bill, which seeks to establish a regulatory authority for the realty sector, has been further delayed. It was to be taken up by the Cabinet last week but was put off because Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath were not in town. It is also not likely to be discussed next week as the Prime Minister and several members of his Cabinet will be abroad on official work. This Bill has been in the works for nearly two years but has met with some obstacle or the other. Last year when it appeared the Bill would finally go through, it was
grounded as the Urban Development Ministry wanted to have a say in the draft of the proposed legislation being drawn by the Housing and Poverty Alleviation Ministry. After much to and fro between the two ministries, the turf war was resolved but it appears the builders can continue to celebrate for some more
time.
