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12 more bookies held; 2 had made calls to
32 killed in three UP road accidents
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Mumbai cops want Pak umpire extradited
Documents show Guru was CSK boss
Army denies Chinese road on India side
Air hostess suicide: Trial against Kanda begins
Antony opens Sukhoi airbase
Address visually challenged students’ concerns, SC tells DU
Varun’s acquittal in hate
speech cases challenged
Assam village agrees to shift to make way for jumbos
Maoist attack: Security forces lacked synergy
Congress pays homage to its dead leaders
Rains in HP bring respite from sizzling heat
Centre asks Naxal-hit states to revamp security
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12 more bookies held; 2 had made calls to Pak
New Delhi/Panaji/Mumbai, May 27 Two bookies held in Mumbai were allegedly in telephonic contact with their counterparts in Pakistan for accepting bets. The Special Cell of the Delhi Police, on the look out for some bookies after registering a case, had tipped off the Goa police about the presence a few people in its area, police said. After monitoring a casino where the bets for IPL matches were being put, the police teams drew a blank till Goa police apprehended six bookies from a rented accommodation at Candolim, about 9 km away from Panaji. Over two dozen mobile phones, laptops, iPads and huge amount of cash was recovered from the arrested bookies. Initial information was that the arrested persons were from Mumbai. Efforts are on to nab three people who allegedly used to 'fix' deals on behalf of the three cricketers other than those arrested by Delhi Police. The three people, who are being referred as 'fixers' by the Delhi Police, are from Nagpur and Jaipur and their names cropped up during the interrogation of Mohammed Yahya, a bookie arrested by Delhi Police from Hyderabad airport when he was trying to flee the country. In Chennai, an accused in the IPL betting case Sanjay Kumar Bafna, against whom a lookout notice had been issued by police, was arrested. The police said they are also on the lookout for a Chennai-based hotelier, who allegedly led the IPL betting syndicate in the southern city and was a crucial link between CSK team owner Gurunath Meiyappan and actor Vindoo Randhawa, will be issued summons to appear before the Mumbai crime branch probing the racket, police said. "Vikram Agarwal, a hotelier, who was handling Chennai operations of the betting syndicate, and a crucial link between Meiyappan and Vindoo, will be issued summons asking him to appear before us," Joint Commissioner (crime) Himanshu Roy told reporters in Mumbai. Roy claimed, Agarwal, owner of Radisson Blu hotel, was also a "key link" between the betting syndicate and Bollywood celebrities. He did not divulge the names of tinsel town personalities who were in touch with Agarwal. The crime branch chief said a team from Mumbai today searched Meiyappan's yacht at Marina in Chennai and seized a mobile phone which figured during the investigations that led to the CSK honcho's arrest. Two mobile phones and a diary were seized yesterday during the search of Meiyappan's Chennai residence. According to Roy, Agarwal knew Meiyappan for the last 15 years and received important insider information about players from CSK and other IPL teams from him. The diary seized from Meiyappan's residence, he said, contained the names of several players belonging to Chennai Super Kings and other IPL teams and the crime branch was planning to quiz him about the context in which the entries were made. —
PTI
Hotelier received tips from guru
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32 killed in three UP road accidents
Lucknow, May 27 The state transport bus (UP 81 AA 9744) fell into the Sunna canal under Pilua police station in Etah at around midnight. The police rushed to the spot and divers of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) rescued 42 passengers till early morning. While 21 succumbed to injuries, around 22 others have been admitted to the district hospital. Seventeen of the 21 bodies have been identified while four male and a female bodies are yet to be identified. Uttar Pradesh State Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 50,000 to next of kin of those killed in the accident and Rs 5,000 each to those injured. The second accident in which five persons were killed happened in Jaunpur under police station Baksha. An out-of-control truck coming from Sultanpur side collided with a Bolero killing five persons on the spot. All of them belonging to Indauli village in Sultanpur and were aged between eight to 25 years. Six persons travelling in a pickup van died in Sultanpur today when their vehicle rammed into a truck. Eight persons travelling in the van were injured. Only one dead - 50 year old Kalawati, resident of Ramganj in Pratapgarh - has been identified so far.
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Mumbai cops want Pak umpire extradited
Mumbai, May 27 The police are likely to put in a request to the state Home Department so that the Central government begin the formalities to bring Rauf to India for questioning. Rauf left the country suddenly after the spot-fixing scandal broke following the arrest of players like Sreesanth and some big bookies. “We want to question Rauf about the gifts sent to him by the bookies,” a police officer said. The package meant for Rauf included expensive jewellery, high-end wrist watches and smartphones. However, before the bookie who was to deliver the package to him, he was caught and Rauf immediately fled. The police suspect that Vindoo Dara Singh Randhawa may have tipped off Rauf shortly after some bookies were arrested. Vindoo had allegedly collected the package from some bookies and was to hand it to Rauf through a courier, the police said. After Rauf's name appeared in the media, he was dropped from the panel of umpires scheduled to officiate at the Champions Trophy due to be played in England later this month.
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Documents show Guru was CSK boss
Mumbai, May 27 A team of the police from the Mumbai Crime Branch had raided the premises belonging to Meiyappan following his arrest last week for his links with bookies. Shortly before Meiyappan surrendered to the authorities, India Cements, owners of CSK, in a statement denied that he was the CEO or Team Principal of the team. India Cements is headed by Srinivasan. Some of the documents collected by the police include an email sent by IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla which showed that Meiyappan was the CEO of the team. Other material included business cards, letter heads, an official diary belonging to him in the capacity of CEO, Chennai Super Kings, and other correspondence by Meiyappan. Police officials said that they have also seized video footage of Meiyappan addressing owners of other IPL teams in which he was referred to as the owner of CSK. The seized papers also include official letters by Meiyappan in which matters like auction of players etc are discussed. Investigators are also in the process of seizing bank documents belonging to the team in order to further establish proof of Meiyappan's role as the CEO of the team, the police said.
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Army denies Chinese road on India side
New Delhi, May 27 “Regular routine activity, including patrolling, is on in all the sectors along the LAC”, said a top functionary. The Chinese have not build any road in the Siri Jap area, north of the Pangong Lake, after 2008, he said. Reports that emerged yesterday said that the Army had stopped Indian patrols and that the Chinese had built a road five km inside the India’s claim of the LAC. The alignment of the LAC is disputed. Hence, troops on either side patrol as per their perception of the LAC. Incidents of troops coming face-to-face occur and the most of such incidents happened in Siri Jap area. Each time such incident happens, troops withdraw as per the April 2005 protocol. Both sides avoid permanent structures in the disputed areas. Meanwhile Defence Minister AK Antony at function at Thanjavur said “Army is updated about the latest position there. Whenever these kind of incidents happen in the local areas, they handle it”. “India can protect its national interests,” the minister said. The alleged incident took place near Finger-VIII area, also known as Siri Jap, on May 17. When asked about the readiness of the armed forces, Antony said, “We are fully prepared. The nation can be fully assured that our armed forces are fully prepared."
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Air hostess suicide: Trial against Kanda begins
New Delhi, May 27 Kanda is facing trial for alleged offence of rape, unnatural offence and abetting suicide of Sharma, who had worked in his company. His aide Aruna Chadha is also an accused and has been charged with abetting the offences of rape, unnatural sex and the victim's suicide. Eight witnesses were examined before additional sessions judge MC Gupta. They included police personnel and the doctor who had conducted post-mortem of the victim. The matter is now fixed for July 22. — PTI
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Antony opens Sukhoi airbase
Thanjavur, May 27 “Thanjavur airbase is going to be another strategically important airbase of the Indian Air Force. By stationing our frontline fighter aircraft Sukhoi at Thanjavur, IAF can protect vast area of interests,” Antony said after inaugurating the airbase. The establishment of the premier fighter base is important in the view of current geo-political scenario and threat perception in the peninsular region and in the Indian Ocean, the Defence Minister said. “There is a threat of piracy and terrorism and also emerging security scenario around the country is volatile,” Antony said. “Even though we are a peace loving country but we have to be ever ready to face any kind of aggression towards our national security,” he said. The Defence Minister mentioned that the assets envisaged for the futuristic airbase would be able to provide security to all the strategic and vital installations in this region.
—PTI
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Address visually challenged students’ concerns, SC tells DU
New Delhi, May 27 A Bench comprising Justices BS Chauhan and Dipak Misra, however, made it clear that it was reluctant to interfere in the issue as “these are policy matters” which were better left to the University. The court passed the order on a petition filed by an NGO, Sambhavana, challenging the Delhi High Court’s refusal to stay the introduction of the four-year courses. The petition would be taken up again on May 29. According to the petitioner, the new programme would create problems for both the students and the teachers as the assistive devices and screen reading technologies for the visually challenged were not yet available. Further, the teachers would have to be trained in teaching the new subjects sought to be introduced. “The newly drafted syllabuses of political science, English and Hindi literature, history, sociology, economics and social works etc completely exclude disability component and perspective. Hence, before giving approval to these new courses, this lacuna must be removed,” the petition said.
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Varun’s acquittal in hate
speech cases challenged
Lucknow, May 27 Pilibhit District Judge VK Mishra today scheduled the next hearing for May 29 when he would hear the why the acquittal should not be challenged. The appeal filed by lawyer and activist Asad Hayat in the Pilibhit court today challenged Varun’s acquittal in the two cases filed against him for delivering rabble-rousing speeches during the Lok Sabha election campaign in 2009. Earlier this month, the youth icon of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh was exonerated “for want of evidence” by the Pilibhit court in the third and final case filed against him for inciting mob violence and firing at the police. Earlier this year, he had already been acquitted in two cases of hate speech. Interestingly, the then Pilibhit District Magistrate, ADM and 13 other policemen retracted from their previous statements given in court helping Varun Gandhi being cleared of charges due to “lack of evidence”.
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Assam village agrees to shift to make way for jumbos
Guwahati, May 27 “To help secure a migration corridor for elephants in North-East India and thereby reducing the number of human-elephant conflicts, residents of Ram Terang village in Karbi Anglong district have agreed to relocate outside the elephant corridor to provide smooth passage for the roaming elephants,” said Dr Rathin Barman, Coordinator, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). In response to sustained persuasion by conservationists from the WTI, the villagers have agreed to relocate to a proposed model ethnic
village. The foundation of the new village was also laid recently by Rechno Haising Ronghang, titular king (40th) of Karbi Anglong. Ram Terang village has 19 households and it is located in the Kalapahar-Doigurung Elephant Corridor. The relocation of the village will be done as part of the Karbi Anglong Conservation Project. While the new village will have traditional-style houses reflecting culture of the area, it will also be equipped with all basic facilities such as electricity, health care, education etc. Supported by the Elephant Family, IUCN-Netherlands, and the Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund the project is being implemented by the WTI, to assist the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council and the Assam Forest Department in wildlife conservation in the region. Laying the foundation stone, Rechno Haising Ronghang said, “This is a new step that will benefit wildlife as well as people. There should be no barrier when it comes to wildlife conservation. “We need to think of it as something that is necessary for human survival too.” The Kalapahar-Doigurung Elephant Corridor is located about 22 km from Silonijan (Karbi Anglong) on Silonijan-Chokikhola and connects Kalapahar with Doigurung-Nambor Wildlife Sanctuary and Kaziranga National Park. For about 30 years, Ram Terang village has been located in the middle of the corridor that leads to frequent incidents of human-elephant conflicts in the area. There are about 1,800 elephants in the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape, making it a habitat of about 8 per cent of India’s total elephant population.
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Maoist attack: Security forces lacked synergy
New Delhi, May 27 Sources say there were no security preparations for Congress’ ‘Parivartan Yatra’ in Sukma. Under the standard operating procedure of planning and monitoring such events, a DIG-level officer is tasked with charting the route map for senior leaders’ travel. The officer ensures that the route and the surrounding areas are dominated by security forces and makes last-minute changes in travel plans to evade any possible terrorist attack. On Saturday, the entire Congress rally and its handling were left to individual police stations in the area and information was passed on to several police stations en route “to ensure security”. The security was not managed by a senior officer. A CRPF team was present barely 10 km from the scene of the massacre but was not aware of the route that the leaders were to take, sources say. Apportioning equal blame on politicians, sources say the fact that they moved in a big convoy of 25 vehicles was a complete breach of security. Around 25 security personnel travelling with them returned fire but soon ran out of ammunition. The Maoists then surrounded the convoy, took away the mobile phones of the leaders and shot them in cold blood. Reinforcements reached around 6 pm, two hours after the attack. The MHA has decided to hold a high-level inquiry to probe lapses and fix responsibility. A ministry team that returned to New Delhi from Chhattisgarh on Sunday evening found loopholes in security cover. In its report, the team has revealed a complete lack of planning and coordination by the state police for such high-profile political event in the heart of Naxalite territory. The Home Ministry has issued an advisory to all states to “fill in gaps” in the security apparatus and have nodal officers in all police stations. It has also recommended review of security provisions for political parties and their workers. It has been decided to rope in the National Technical Research Organisation to increase the coverage of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flown from an airbase in Hyderabad to assist the security forces in tracking Naxals along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border. The Centre has rushed in 2,000 additional paramilitary force personnel to Chhattisgarh following a request from the state government. The units will reach the state in the next few days.
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Congress pays homage to its dead leaders
New Delhi, May 27 While the party is aware that it has little time to re-energise its state unit before the state Assembly elections to be held in about five months, the mood was that the political leadership across the spectrum would have to collectively tackle the Maoist challenge. As senior Congress leaders arrived to attend the prayer meeting for the dead, Congress Working Committee members said the Saturday attack was not just against a political party but against the political system itself, which was of concern. Over 200 districts of the country are affected by Maoist menace or what the Home Ministry describes as "Left wing extremism". A nodal agency in the Union Home Ministry has been coordinating with states facing the scourge, while the government has been pushing plans to address the socio-economic issues due to lack of development. The Congress, which has been out of power in Chhattisgarh for the past 10 years, had launched a sustained bid to wrest it from the BJP with state party chief Nand Kumar Patel leading the charge along with a clutch of leaders. The death of PCC chief Mahendra Karma is certainly a setback to the party in the state. Some of the prominent names from the state include veteran Motilal Vora, former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, whose mobility is restricted after a road accident a few years ago, and Union Minister Charan Das Mahant, the lone party representative in the 15th Lok Sabha. The BJP appears to be on the defensive since questions are being raised over the security of political leaders, especially those belonging to the Opposition.
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Rains in HP bring respite from sizzling heat
New Delhi, May 27 MeT officials, however, said it was a temporary respite following a western disturbance affecting Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Temperatures may rise again once this subsides, they said. Heavy showers lashed most parts of Himachal Pradesh today while high-altitude tribal areas received another spell of snowfall. The mercury, which was running six to eight degrees above normal, plummeted after rains. — PTI
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Centre asks Naxal-hit states to revamp security New Delhi, May 27 The Home Ministry said the indiscriminate killing of political workers was a new development which needs to be addressed on priority in view of impending elections in many Naxal-affected states. “The level of mainstream political activities in these states will increase. Hence, there is a continuing possibility of more attacks on political personalities and programmes. There is an urgent need to factor this into the security architecture of all the states concerned,” it said. The Home Ministry said this in its advisory to Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. Assembly elections are due in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh in next one year while Lok Sabha elections will also be held by May 2014. “It is advised that a nodal officer be appointed at the police headquarters to coordinate programmes of all political parties. He should also coordinate with field formations on security related matters including security arrangement for rallies, protection along route, carcade plan and enhanced security for persons with high threat perceptions,” it said. The Home Ministry told the states that in political programmes, the Superintendents of Police should issue written orders on all aspects of security plan, conduct rehearsals and the DIG Police and IG Police of the respective ranges should act similarly when programmes cut across districts. “The idea is to provide the best possible security to facilitate mainstream political activities in these areas to the extent possible. The nodal officer can also advise political parties on the security situation in a particular area,” the advisory said. The MHA said such exercises should be carried out to prevent incident similar to the one that occurred in Bastar and also to facilitate mainstream political process in all Maoist-hit areas. Referring to Saturday's attack on Congress leaders, the ministry said the attack in many ways betrays the anti-democratic ethos of the Maoist insurgency and indicated that they were ready to unleash mindless violence to prevent the democratic process from reaching areas which they dominate. — PTI
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It is a gesture of a tribal village in Karbi Anglong hill district of Assam that is bound to be considered as a milestone in the conservation of elephants in the country.
“To help secure a migration corridor for elephants in North-East India and thereby reducing the number of human-elephant conflicts, residents of Ram Terang village in Karbi Anglong district have agreed to relocate outside the elephant corridor to provide smooth passage for the roaming elephants,” said Dr Rathin Barman, Coordinator, Wildlife Trust of India
(WTI).
The Congress top leadership today turned up at the AICC headquarters here for a prayer meeting in memory of those killed by Maoists in Chhattisgarh even as the party braced up to pick up the pieces and gear up for a political battle ahead in the state.
Email sent by IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla