The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Jalandhar varsity turns fortress for high-profile convocation Deepkamal Kaur/TNS Jalandhar, May 17 Preparations for the third annual convocation of Lovely Professional University on May 20 are in full swing. President Pranab Mukherjee will be the chief guest on the occasion. During the convocation, Mukherjee will share the dais with his Afghanistan counterpart Hamid Karzai who will be conferred the Honoris Causa degree for his work in the social uplift of the country. While Mukherjee will first land at Adampur Air Force base from where he will be flown to the campus, Karzai will be flown to the campus on a helicopter from Chandigarh. Shivraj V Patil, Governor, Punjab, will preside over and Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, Punjab, will be the guest of honour at the convocation. The campus, spread over 600 acres, has already been converted into a cantonment with the deployment of over 1,000 Punjab Police personnel. Massive security drills are being conducted under top police and administrative officials of the city. Elaborate security check of visitors is being done at all gates of the campus. Metal detectors have been put up at almost all 57 blocks surrounding the main ‘pandal’ area. Police and intelligence forces already have the detailed list of all 25,000 students and 3,500 staff members of the campus and random checking of their antecedents is being done from their native places. President Pranab Mukherjee is also scheduled to inaugurate a gate on the campus fitted with metal detector devices. All cars and two-wheelers of the university staff and students will have a metal chip pasted on them allowing them passage through four automatic barriers put up at the main gate. A special concrete stage fitted with ACs is being constructed next to the students’ facilitation centre. The entrances have been decked up with four-side glow signs having portraits of Mukherjee. Aman Mittal, Director, Corporate Relations, LPU, said that separate teams for various jobs had been formed to streamline the arrangements. The LPU, which already has hundreds of students of various nationalities, including 20 from Afghanistan, intends to have more tie-ups. Prez to confer 19 gold medals During the convocation, President Pranab Mukherjee will award 19 gold medals to toppers from various departments. The university will also be awarding 8,501 degrees to regular and distance education students of the 2012 batch.
	Aarushi Case HC reserves judgment on Talwars’ plea Tribune News Service Lucknow, May 17 The Allahabad High Court today reserved its judgment after hearing arguments of both sides in the petition of dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar seeking summoning of 14 witnesses in the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case. The bench of Justice Rajesh Dayal Khare heard both sides and reserved the judgment in the matter which had earlier been rejected by the Supreme Court. On May 12 the Supreme Court had turned down the plea of the Talwars against the May 4 trial court order refusing to summon the said 14 witnesses, including former CBI joint director Arun Kumar. The apex court order had ticked off the Talwars for adopting “a wrong procedure” by directly approaching the Supreme Court without first having moved the Allahabad High Court. It had given them two days time to do so. In today’s petition the Talwars have challenged a CBI court order of May 4 which had turned down their request for summoning and recording statements of 14 witnesses, including top IPS officer Arun Kumar who is at present the ADG (Law and Order) of Uttar Pradesh and was a Joint Director of the CBI during the probe. According to their lawyer there were 140 witnesses while the CBI had recorded statements of only 39 leaving out some key witnesses. Meanwhile, the CBI court in Ghaziabad would record the Talwars’ statement on May 20 when they would be asked 200 questions based on the accounts of 30 witnesses.
	UPA, BJP headed for confrontation on food Bill Vibha Sharma/TNS New Delhi, May 17 The BJP seems to be headed for a confrontation with the UPA on Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s dream project — the National Food Security Bill — thereby putting a big question mark on its feasibility and future. The saffron party is in no mood to allow the Bill to sail through Parliament in the present form and let the ruling dispensation walk away with the accolades. Hitting back at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his remarks that Opposition was responsible for the failure to pass the Bill, the BJP today asked the government to amend its “half-hearted” draft by emulating the Chhattisgarh Food Act, terming it “far more inclusive”. Senior leader Prakash Javedekar specified that the food Bill should resemble the BJP-led state government’s existing legislation for the government to hope for any support from the Opposition party. “The UPA’s proposed food Bill covers only 67 per cent of the population, thereby increasing the risk of exclusion-and-inclusion error. The Chhattisgarh Food Security Act covers 90 per cent of the population and excludes only the income-tax payers and big land holders,” he said. Javadekar said 12 states have objected to the Bill in its present form and their concerns should be addressed.
	CBI unfair, working at Cong behest: Amit Shah Dinesh Manhotra/TNS Jammu, May 17 Amit Shah, a close aide of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the newly appointed national general secretary of the BJP, today reviewed functioning of the party’s state unit. The much publicised meeting was seen as an attempt of Modi to extend his footprint in J&K through his trusted lieutenant. Shah during the two-hour marathon interaction sought a detailed feedback from party leaders about prospects of the BJP in next Lok Sabha elections. Although Shah was officially here to review preparation of “Jail Bharo Andolan”, to be started from May 27, he made use of the opportunity to assess the ground situation in the bordering state. Sources said some officer-bearers of the party during the meeting said that any delay in announcing Modi as its prime ministerial candidate would prove disastrous for the BJP in the ensuing polls. Shah, however, maintained a guarded silence on the issue.. “The Congress is ruling the country, so let the UPA announce its Prime Minister nominee first, the BJP will follow the ruling party”, he said. Shah also sought to play down the recent statement of party leader Uma Bharati, who had “indirectly opposed Modi as the PM nominee of the party.” Shah, who is out on bail after spending three months in jail in the Soharabuddin fake encounter case, questioned credibility of the CBI and alleged that the premier investigation agency was working at the behest of the Congress to frame Opposition leaders. Shah said allegations against him were politically motivated. “After falsely implicating me in the Soharabuddin encounter case, the CBI has now chargesheeted former Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria in the same case,” he said. He slammed the CBI saying it cannot be trusted to carry out a fair probe. “We can't expect the CBI to probe fairly and freely. We now know how the CBI operates, especially after the recent coal scam case”, Shah said. I was framed, claims Shah BJP leader Amit Shah questioned the credibility of the CBI and said the recent coal scam probe report was an ample proof that it cannot carry out a fair probe The Congress is using the agency to frame Opposition leaders in false cases. The allegations against me were politically motivated After falsely implicating me in the Soharabuddin encounter case, the CBI has now chargesheeted former Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria in the same case — Amit Shah, BJP leader
	HC orders police help for ex-CJ ‘traumatised’ by son Sets 24-hour deadline Copy of order sent to SSP through special messenger Saurabh Malik/TNS Chandigarh, May 17 Two days after retired Chief Justice Shanti Sarup Dewan and his wife Romilla Dewan accused their son of “traumatising” him, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the Chandigarh Police to step in within 24 hours. Coming to the rescue of its 85-year-old former Chief Justice, the high court on Friday directed the Chandigarh Police to intervene within 24 hours and gave the UT Senior Superintendent of Police the liberty to initiate steps to ensure “protection of the life and liberty of the petitioners”. Mincing no words to say that Justice Shanti Sarup Dewan was a “man of exalted stature and status”, the Bench, in fact, directed the SSP or “any other officer deputed in this regard” to visit the petitioners at their Sector 11 residence. For the purpose, Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa gave the police “24 hours from the communication of this order”. Justice Dhindsa further directed the officer to “interact with them and take stock of the situation”. “Liberty is granted to the SSP to thereafter take all such necessary steps as deemed fit so as to ensure the protection of the life and liberty of the petitioners,” Justice Dhindsa added. Taking note of the urgency in the matter, Justice Dhindsa directed the High Court Registry to supply the order’s copy to the SSP forthwith through a special messenger. In his detailed order, Justice Dhindsa said: “This petition voices an apprehension to the life and liberty of the petitioners at the hands of respondent (son Suvir Dewan). Even though the pleadings on record may be construed as insufficient to wholly substantiate such assertion, this court cannot proceed oblivious of the fact that petitioner number one (Justice Dewan) is none other than a former Chief Justice of this Court and, as such, is a man of exalted stature and status. “Petitioner number two is his wife. It would be safe to presume that it is only under compelling circumstances that the petitioners were constrained to approach this court seeking directions for grant of appropriate police protection”. Referring to the issue of evicting the son from the Sector 11 house, Justice Dhindsa added the matter would “necessarily entail the determination of the nature of the property, as to whether the same is self-acquired or ancestral… Such questions would require formulation of triable issues, which would be best left for adjudication at the hands of the Civil Courts. “Accordingly, the prayer of the petitioners in this regard is declined. However, it is clarified that nothing shall preclude the petitioners from availing of their alternate and efficacious remedy strictly in accordance with law”. Justice Dhindsa added directions for setting up a “special cell” to deal with the complaints of senior citizens and parents were not called for, as The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, was already in place. In their petition, Chief Justice Dewan and wife Romilla alleged that their son Suvir Dewan and his wife have “traumatised” them and “made their lives a living hell, bereft of any human dignity or human existence”. From the pleadings, the petitioners’ Sector 11 house allegedly came out to be the reason for the discord. “Once a protector of protector of constitutional rights and value, the petitioner is approaching the high court for the safeguard of his own constitutional rights,” his counsel Puneet Bali contended. Justice Dewan was elevated as a high court Judge in 1977. In October 1989, he became the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and continued on the post till he retired in December 1989. The petition had quoted at least 11 instances to underline the alleged friction. In one of the instances, the petitioners stated that Justice Dewan once said at the breakfast table that the Sector 11 residence was a family house and Suvir ultimately had to shift to Panchkula. Reacting, his wife allegedly said, “Give it to the daughters…” Property dispute Punjab and Haryana High Court's former Chief Justice Shanti Sarup Dewan (85) and his wife Romilla Dewan alleged that their son Suvir Dewan and his wife "traumatised" them and "made their lives a living hell, bereft of any human dignity or human existence" Justice Dewan say their Sector 11 residence is a family house and their son has been given a house in Panchkula where he should be ordered to shift Pleadings indicate the fact that the Sector 11 house is not just for the son as the reason for the alleged discord The Dewans' petition quoted at least 11 instances to underline the alleged friction
	Thrashed by teacher, boy dies in hospital Canning/Kolkata, May 17 A class III student has died after his teacher allegedly banged his head against a wall for playing with another student in the classroom, prompting the authorities to order an inquiry and arrest the lady teacher. The teacher, Champa Mondal, of the Nirdheshkhali Shishu Shiksha Kendra in South 24 Parganas district allegedly banged the head of nine-year-old Bapi Joardar as punishment for playing with his bag with another student on April 15, police sources said. The boy was grievously injured and was rushed by his parents to a hospital in Canning from where he has referred the same night to the National Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The boy died of his injuries in the hospital last night, the sources said. — PTI
	Arrest warrants against two in 1993 blasts case Tribune News Service Mumbai, May 17 The special court set up under the Terrorism and Disruptive Activities Act today issued arrest warrants against Zaibunissa Kazi, 70, and Sharif Parkar, 82 after they failed to surrender today. While the whereabouts of Kazi are not known, Parkar was admitted to a hospital earlier this week. According to the police, he was admitted to Prince Aly Khan Hospital at Byculla where he is to undergo angioplasty. Parkar’s lawyer had filed an application before the special court with details of his health problems. Parkar, who hails from Mahad in the Konkan, had developed health problems and was shifted to Mumbai for treatment. Sources here say the police may be asked to take technical custody of Parkar without being produced in the court. He would then be allowed to continue with his treatment. Earlier, Kazi’s daughter had told reporters that she was suffering from age-related ailments and was undergoing treatment for kidney cancer. Kazi’s lawyer had also told the court that she needed regular medical treatment and needed a full-time attendant to be with her. Kazi has been sentenced to serve five years’ imprisonment for her role in the 1993 blasts.
	After Bansal’s exit, Rahul gauges party mood Aditi Tandon/ TNS New Delhi, May 17 Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today held a meeting with BB Bahl, chief of the Chandigarh Congress, to discuss ways of strengthening the party in the Union Territory ahead of elections to the Lok Sabha in 2014. The meeting assumes significance in the wake of former Railway Minister Pawan Bansal’s exit from the Union Cabinet after he was embroiled in a controversy following the arrest of his nephew for bribery. The CBI had arrested Vijay Singla, Bansal’s nephew, on May 3 after finding him guilty of accepting a bribe in exchange for a promise of a plum position in the Railway Ministry. For Rahul Gandhi, it will be important now to determine the fallout of Bansal’s exit and its consequences in Chandigarh, the Lok Sabha segment which the former Railway Minister represents. The image of the party in the wake of Bansal’s exit is another important concern the Congress will have to bear in mind while finalising its future strategy on the seat and on Bansal. There was no official word though on whether Bansal was discussed in the meeting or not. It was, however, reliably learnt that Rahul sought information from BB Bahl on the long-pending problems of the residents of Chandigarh, especially the issues that could not be solved locally. He took note of the burning problems — conversion of industrial plots from lease hold to freehold on the pattern of Delhi; further easing of building bylaws for commercial establishments in the city in view of the changed living conditions and space constraints and allowing more floors (multi-storey complexes) for housing and rehabilitation projects involving economically weaker sections — being faced by city residents as conveyed by Bahl. The meeting lasted for more than half an hour. No outsiders at Rahul meetings The AICC office on 24 Akbar Road was kept out of bounds for everyone till the time Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi held official meetings inside. Of late, it has become fairly routine for the security to shut out the AICC headquarters to outsiders, including the media, during the period of Rahul’s presence. The practice has generated a lot of angst and naturally so.
	Indigenous hand-held explosive detector on cards Vijay Mohan/TNS Chandigarh, May 17 With the growing threat of terrorism and frequent bomb blasts ripping through populated areas casting a shadow on the security environment, scientists are putting their heads together to develop a new state-of-the-art portable hand-held explosive detector to scan luggage and packages in transit or during search operations. The project has been directly awarded by the Prime Minister’s Office and it involves four major scientific establishments - Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), both based at Chandigarh, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, and Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. Each laboratory is responsible for developing a particular technology or component. At present, Indian security agencies have to make do with imported explosive detectors which are very expensive. The Chandigarh Police recently procured four Finnish hand-held detectors that cost about Rs 14 lakh a piece. Scientists expect indigenous detectors to cost a fraction of this price. Many detectors are able to sniff out explosive material from among other items, but the challenge is to detect explosives that are heavily packaged or buried deep inside the luggage where the vapours remain trapped inside, a scientist said. Further items like perfume or pesticides can trigger false alarms. The technology being developed here, scientists claim, has not been patented by anyone so far. The device being developed will be about a foot long and weigh 2-3 kg. It will have bio-sensors based on the employment of antibodies and fluorescence light that would be able to detect microscopic quantities of explosive vapours. Antibodies are atomic particles that are able to bond with or absorb specific molecules. These are developed from molecular substances. The antibodies would be integrated on a disposable silicon chip that would be replaced after use. Significantly, the device being developed will have the capability to identify the type of explosive that has been detected, whether it is TNT, PETN, RDX or ammonium nitrate. A similar device was developed by IIT Mumbai recently, but while it could sniff out explosives, it could not identify its type. Various levels of success have been achieved in developing the technology and components by the establishments involved and the detector is expected to be ready for commercial production in a year’s time. Team of four Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, Chandigarh Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai
	Sharad Yadav visits ailing Chautala Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 17 A day after BJP president Rajnath Singh called on INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala in RML Hospital, the ailing Haryana leader today received another prominent visitor: JD-U president Sharad Yadav. The convener of the BJP-led NDA was with Chautala, currently serving a sentence in the Tihar Jail after being convicted in the Junior Basic Training (JBT) scam case, for around 20 minutes. Though the meeting is again being called a courtesy call but coming a day after the top BJP leadership met Chautala, speculations about a political alliance between the INLD and the NDA have started gaining further ground.
	Manager, 3 others of chit fund firm held Chandannagar, May 17 The manager and three others of Tower Group, a chit fund company, were arrested today at Arambag in Hoogly district. The police said the manager of Tower Group, Somsubhra Chatterjee, and three other staff of a branch office at Arambag were arrested today on the charge of cheating people. The police raided the office after over 100 depositors complained against the four employees of the branch office. The depositors complained that they were being denied of their dues when they applied for the premature withdrawal of money, sources said. Meanwhile, with investors across Odisha demanding action against the chit fund companies which duped them of crores of rupees, the opposition BJP and the Congress today demanded judicial probe and CBI investigation into the matter, respectively. — PTI
	India opposes Lanka move to remove powers from provinces Ashok Tuteja/TNS New Delhi, May 17 India today conveyed to Sri Lanka its firm opposition to Colombo’s proposal to remove land and police powers from the provinces prior to the elections in the Northern Province, emphasising that the island nation must resist any attempt to go back on its own commitment with regard to the 13th Amendment of the Constitution. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid telephoned his Sri Lankan counterpart G L Peiris and also raised the issue of 26 Indian fishermen who are in detention in his country while seeking their early release. He also sought the release of five other Indian fishermen who have been languishing in Sri Lankan jails since November 2012. According to official sources, the conversation also focused on the elections that are to be held in the Northern Province with Khurshid expressing his concerns regarding media reports referring to some consideration being given to removal of land and police powers from the provinces prior to the polls. “In this context, he urged the Sri Lankan Government not to take any step in the light of its own commitments relating to the 13th Amendment and their expressed intention to build upon it,” the sources said. Khurshid also referred to some reports about the army acquiring private land in the Northern Province for high security zones. Khurshid expresses concern External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid telephoned his Sri Lankan counterpart and raised the issue of 26 Indian fishermen’s detention in his country He sought the release of five other Indian fishermen who have been languishing in Sri Lankan jails since November 2012 The conversation also focused on the elections that are to be held in the Northern Province Khurshid expressed his concern regarding media reports referring to some consideration being given to removal of land and police powers from the provinces prior to the poll
	Court orders DNA test on Bitti Mohanty Kannur, May 17 A Sessions Court here today ordered DNA test on Bitti Mohanty to obtain scientific proof for establishing his identity following his arrest in March after being on the run for several years. Bitti remained absconding by jumping bail following his conviction for raping a German woman at Alwar in Jaipur. Additional Sessions Judge KV Jayakumar issued the order today on Kerala Police's plea seeking permission of the test to obtain scientific proof for establishing Bitti's identity, who had been impersonating here as Raghav Rajan. Earlier, a magistrate court at Payannur in the district had rejected the police plea for DNA test. Bitti, son of former Odisha DGP BB Mohanty, had been living in Kannur for the past two years as Raghav Rajan and had obtained a bank job before he was arrested on March 9 by the Kerala Police. Bitti was charged with impersonation, cheating and forgery. After his arrest, a police team was sent to Odisha to question Bitti's father and he had subsequently identified his son through photographs shown to him. After jumping bail, Bitti had spent few months in Puttaparthi, where he had enrolled as student in a private institution in Kannur allegedly using forged documents, before obtaining a bank job. — PTI
	TN farmers threaten mass suicides if power tariff hiked Coimbatore, May 17 Farmers in the Coimbatore region today threatened that they would resort to mass suicides if the government went ahead with its plan to increase power tariff. Representatives of various farmers associations told a public hearing on tariff revision here that the agriculture sector in Tamil Nadu is already in the doldrums due to failure of monsoon and resultant drought. "Any upward revision of tariff will be strongly resisted by all farmers in the state, who, as part of their fundamental rights, are receiving free government subsidised power," Balasubramanian, secretary, Tamilaga Vyavasaigal Sangham (Tamil Nadu Farmers Association) said. He said failure of monsoon and farmers's failure to repay agricultural loans had already led to some suicides in various parts of Tamil Nadu. Marginal farmers would suffer the most if there was a hike in power tariff, leaving them with no option but to resort to mass suicides. The hearing was got up on a tariff revision petition filed by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation and Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation before Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission. Prof Govindasamy of Kongunadu Munetra Dravida Katchi and S R Ragagopal, President, Parambikulam-Azhiyar Irrigation Scheme demanded that TNERC withdraw the plan to hike the Rs 1,750 annual charges for one Horse Power agricultural pumps to Rs 2,500.— PTI
	Absconders in Staines case arrested Bhubaneswar/Keonjhar, May 17 Two absconders in the case in which Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons were burnt alive by a mob in Odisha in 1999, were arrested today by the CBI, with the agency later taking them on remand for four days. The two absconders, Ghanshyam Mahanta and Ramjan Mahanta, were caught in Anandpur area of Keonjhar district by CBI sleuths in the early hours, Inspector In-Charge of Anandpur police station, Abhay Shankar Kar said. Ghanshyam was arrested from Gayalamunda village and Ramjan from nearby Bhaludhera and immediately whisked off to Bhubaneswar, he said. “Both the accused were taken to the CBI office in Bhubaneswar and interrogated,” CBI DSP B K Pradhan said. — PTI