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Helicopter pilot laid to rest
Superior Prahar to replace Prithvi: DRDO
Andhra parties unite to save century-old railway bridge
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Farewell party for top IAF officer causes a flutter
Ailing Mumbai tusker Bijlee dies
CRPF grounds mine-protected vehicles in fight against Reds
Maoists ‘gaining foothold’ in 53 Uttar Pradesh villages
In Bastar, women cadres shed traditional roles
Flood waters enter Kaziranga
Warm farewell to Lt Gen Chachra
UGC-NET exam disrupted
Doctored CAT results: 80 students face music
Goswami takes charge as new Home Secretary
Walmart lobbying probe inconclusive; fresh probe likely
Fraud job syndicates target Reliance, Tata
Army gets new Military Secy
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Helicopter pilot laid to rest
Mumbai, June 30 The atmosphere at the St Anthony's Church at Vakola was sombre with a large number of people showing up to bid farewell to the martyr. Indian Air Force officers, colleagues and friends of the deceased were present as the coffin of Castelino was brought in for the funeral service. Close relatives of Wing Commander Castelino eulogised the departed soul. "I will cherish every single moment of the last 10 years. Till we meet again Darryl," his wife Jyoti said in calm voice. The coffin bearing the remains of Castelino was then taken to the cemetery at Kalina for funeral. On Saturday, the coffin bearing the remains of the deceased pilot was brought to Mumbai from Kolkata where he was based. After being kept overnight at the mortuary at the Nanavati Hospital, the body was brought to the pilot's residence at Diamond Park building in suburban Vakola. Belonging to a family which originally hailed from Mangalore in Karnataka, Castelino, 38, was born and brought up in Mumbai. He was commanding the MI-17 helicopter that crashed on June 25. Castelino and his wife Jyoti had celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary only last month.
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Superior Prahar to replace Prithvi: DRDO
"We are withdrawing the tactical 150 km-range Prithvi missiles and will replace them with the Prahar missiles, which are more capable and have more accuracy," DRDO chief Avinash Chander told PTI here. The tactical versions of the Prithvi missiles would be withdrawn from service and will be upgraded to be used for longer ranges, he said. The DRDO chief said after the withdrawal of the tactical ballistic missiles from service, there would be a gap in strike capabilities in the range of 100 to 150 km-range. "The Prahar missile would be used to fill up that gap," he said. The 150 km-range 'Prahar' is a single-stage missile and is fuelled by solid propellants. It was first test-fired by the DRDO in mid-2011 from its range in Odisha. The uniqueness of the missile system is that it can be fired in the salvo mode also from one launcher vehicle in which four missiles can be fired in one go. This short-range missile would be an 'excellent weapon' which would fill the gap between the 90 km-range of the Smerch multi-barrel rocket launchers and guided missiles like 'Prithvi', which can strike at 250 km to 350 km range. The under-development Prahar missile would be offered to the Army for user trials very soon and after its acceptance, it is planned to be part of its Corps of Artillery. The Prithvi missiles were developed by India under its Integrated Missile Development Programme in the 1980s. The ballistic missile was developed with multiple strike ranges from 150 km to 350 km. — PTI
More firepower
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Andhra parties unite to save century-old railway bridge
Hyderabad, June 30 For the citizens of Rajahmundry in East Godavari district, the Havelock Bridge, constructed across river Godavari in 1897, is not just a physical structure but has immense sentimental value. The 2.75-km-long bridge, constructed with stone masonry and steel girders with 56 spans, was thrown open to the rail traffic in August,1900. It had served the busy Howrah-Chennai line for 100 years before being decommissioned by the Railways. The recent decision of the Railway Board to dismantle the bridge and put the iron scrap on sale has met with stiff resistance from people across all walks of life. Local Congress MP V Arun Kumar has taken up the issue with the Railway Board and requested it to drop the idea of auction in view of the widespread public sentiment against demolishing what has come to be regarded as a symbol of Rajahmundry. "We have also requested the Union Tourism Minister Chiranjeevi and the state Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy to convert Havelock Bridge as a tourism project under the Build-Operate-Transfer system," the MP said. Several proposals have come up to develop it as a tourism spot by providing facilities for heritage walks on the bridge and by setting up a footpath. On its part, the local BJP leaders have taken up a signature campaign in the city opposing the auction of the bridge and are planning to sen a signed petition to the Railway Board. “We have to mount pressure at the highest level to make the Railway Board change its stand on the bridge issue," the BJP national executive committee member Somu Veerraju said. Joining the issue, the city convener of the fledgling YSR Congress party B Raj Kumar said, “If the Railway Board is firm to auction the bridge for Rs 5 crores, we are ready to mobilise that amount and give it to the board.” The main opposition Telugu Desam Party also said it would oppose the auction plan tooth and nail and threatened to launch an agitation if the Railway Board failed to rescind its decision. "For us, any bridge that is 100 years old is considered unfit for movement of trains and such bridges are sold as scrap,” said DP Pande, General Manager of South Central Railway which owns the heritage bridge. However, following stiff opposition from the citizens' groups and political parties, the state government has urged the SCR to keep the proposal under abeyance, the railway official said.
The Bridge Bond
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Farewell party for top IAF officer causes a flutter
New Delhi, June 30 The party organised on June 7 for the Air Marshal-rank officer has raised the hackles of the top brass in the Defence Ministry and security agencies because of the presence of arms dealers and service officials in a private function, sources said here. Under rules governing the code of conduct of officials, "No Government servant shall, except with the previous sanction of the Government, receive any complimentary or valedictory address or accept any testimonial or attend any meeting or entertainment held in his honour; or in the honour of any other Government servant." The IAF has no knowledge of any such private farewell party," an IAF spokesperson told PTI in response to The Defence Ministry also keeps issuing advisories to its officials and the Services against officers hobnobbing with arms vendors in order to maintain transparency and probity in defence deals. Major SS Pandey, an expert on military laws, said, "As per the code of conduct for military officers, any officer attending such parties or farewells has to seek permission from his superiors and also give proper reasons for doing so." — PTI
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Ailing Mumbai tusker Bijlee dies
Mumbai, June 30 "She lost consciousness this morning and all efforts to revive her failed," Ganesh Nayak, member of the NGO Animals Matter To Me (AMTM), said. The body of the elephant was taken by the forest department for autopsy. The police has also registered a complaint under provisions pertaining to cruelty of animals against the owners of the elephant. Earlier this month, Bijlee was found collapsed on a major road as she could not stand on her hind legs which were injured in an accident. Volunteers, who rescued Bijlee, helped her stand after strapping her with a harness which was held up by a crane. Vets, who treated her, said, the elephant suffered from joint degeneration following years of neglect and had maggot-infested wounds. A number of celebrities, including actor Amitabh Bachcan appealed to the public to save Bijlee. Activists said the owners of the elephant used to rent her out at weddings and at various events which entailed her to stand for long hours. At the time of her death, Bijlee weighed 4,500 kilograms, more than 1,500 kgs over weight, due to years of being fed junk food.
Jumbo’s plight
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CRPF grounds mine-protected vehicles in fight against Reds
New Delhi, June 30 This is the first time that the country's largest paramilitary force has issued a complete ban on the use of these four-wheel armoured vehicles. Close to 50 such armoured vehicles in the Maoist hotbeds of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar have been rolled back inside CRPF camps. These MPVs will be used in rare instances only. "I have issued orders to my formations in the Left Wing Extremism areas to shun the use of the MPVs for patrol and other movements. As a result of this decision, this is the first time that no casualties have been reported in IED blasts or from hidden landmines in the first six months this year,” CRPF chief Pranay Sahay said. “What is the fun in using these vehicles if they are not helping my men? This year we have had no casualties from IED attacks. This is a satisfactory achievement," Sahay said. Seventy per cent of CRPF casualties last year were those resulting from IED blasts. The IEDs are buried as deep as 20 ft inside the ground, making it difficult to trace them. The force chief said the MPVs, henceforth, will only be used when the conditions for their use are operationally suitable and are absolutely necessary. The force has provided one MPV each to per battalion deployed for counter-Maoist operations in the violence-affected states. When blown off and toppled, jawans were killed inside the MPVs due to shock waves of the blast. At times, these vehicles were blown to smithereens as Maoists used explosives close to 80 kg. The central paramilitary is in talks with defence research organisations to better the ergonomics of these troop carriers and also strengthen their defence to sustain blast from large volume of explosives. —
PTI
jungle patrols only on foot
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Maoists ‘gaining foothold’ in 53 Uttar Pradesh villages
Ballia (UP), June 30 According to the letter, all socio-economic factors said to give rise to Naxalism are present in Ballia and if remedial steps were not taken, it would take root there, posing a challenge to law and order and development. These 53 villages include Nagwa, the native village of freedom fighter Mangal Pandey, Ojhwalia, the village of noted Hindi litterateur Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, and six villages under Dokati police station area of Jai Prakash Narain. The letter requests the government to provide all facilities in these villages of Ballia which are being provided to the Maoist-infested areas of the state and give priority to development schemes. It also stresses on bringing the backward and poor people in the mainstream to check the youth from being misled. According to police sources, Maoists have been active in the district in some form or the other since 2001 and there are inputs suggesting that a 'daman virodhi morcha' (anti- oppression front) had also been formed here. Police sources said the Varanasi Inspector General of Police has also sent a letter to the police chiefs of Ballia, Mau and Azamgarh to remain vigilant with regard to the activities of 'Bharat ka Janvadi Morcha', CPI Maoists and Nari Mukti Morcha. The letter also states that a two-day meeting of one of these outfits was organised at Nagri Pracharini Sabhagar on October, 2011. According to sources, additional force consisting of one ASP, one circle officer, 15 SIs and 150 constables have been provided and patrolling is being conducted in these 53 villages which share their borders with Bhojpur, Chappra, Buxar and Siwan. A massive community policing system in the three Naxal- infested districts is already in place with camps being held regularly for bringing people into the mainstream and extending help in education, health, employment and computer training among others. — PTI
Top cop raises the alarm
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In Bastar, women cadres shed traditional roles
Raipur, June 30 The women cadres are also being given equal chance in decision-making at a special zonal committee meeting of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist). "Women cadres are actively participating in military operations in large number as compared to their male counterparts. It has been clearly witnessed in recent attacks (Jiram valley attack on Congress convoy) carried by Maoists," Inspector General, Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and anti-Naxal operation, RP Kalluri said. "Women cadres are generally more brutal and ferocious. We cannot rule out their increasing numbers in the movement in Bastar. We have to psychologically deal with the issue," Kalluri said. Intelligence inputs suggest the number of women cadres has significantly increased in the past two years in Bastar region, considered the country's worst Maoist-hit area, and apparently in other states as well. In 2010, women constituted around 40 per cent of the Maoists cadre, which increased to 60 per cent at the beginning of this year. Chhattisgarh leads among Maoist-hit states where recruitment of women cadre is higher. "Women were only recruited to assist men or for ordinary tasks. But now the scenario has changed. With most of the men rebels quitting the movement, it has prompted the Maoist leaders to alter their recruitment strategy. They are giving more preference to females," an IB official said. —
PTI cashing in on Social acceptability
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Flood waters enter Kaziranga
Kaziranga, June 30 The flood waters have entered Burapahar and Bagori ranges of the world heritage site in upper Assam forcing the animals there to take shelter on high platforms built for them, the park sources said. They are being given the special food sent by Wildlife Trust of India by the authorities with the help from NGOs. Some of them were also moving towards the highlands in neighbouring Karbi Anglong district, the sources said. Altogether 125 boats have been kept ready, they said, adding some of them have already been pressed into service for patrolling. Besides, 45 domesticated elephants of the forest department and neighbouring areas will be used for the purpose. Special measures to prevent poaching had also been taken with the personnel in the 150 anti-poaching camps on alert. The elite Assam Forest Protection Force commandos deployed in the Park have been put on round-the-clock patrolling duty along with forest officers, forest guards and home guards. Poachers attempt to take advantage of the floods to attack the displaced animals or those coming out of the Park looking for shelter on the highlands, the sources said. Signboards have been put up on NH-37 along the Park for vehicles to control their speed to prevent hitting wild animals crossing over to Karbi Anglong hills across the road. KNP, the 430 sq km habitat of the one-horn Great Indian Rhinoceros and other fauna and flora, experienced its worst floods last year when over 500 hog deer and other animals were killed.
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Warm farewell to Lt Gen Chachra
Chandigarh, June 30 Lt Gen Philip Campose, a mechanised infantry officer presently posted at Army Headquarters, is scheduled to take over the reins of the Western Command tomorrow. Lt Gen Chachra was given a warm send-off by officers and troops at Chandimandir. Earlier, he paid floral tributes to martyrs at the Veer Smriti war memorial and inspected a guard of honour presented by a contingent from the Dogra Regiment. A second generation Rajput Regiment officer who was commissioned in June 1974, he had taken over as the Western Army Commander in June 2012 and during a span of 13 months, was instrumental in giving an impetus to the operational preparedness of the Command. Besides, his focus had been on issues of development of infrastructure, resolution of land issues with the civil administration, settlement and employment of ex-servicemen in government jobs, provision of a Senior Veterans Home in major towns and launching a youth outreach program to motivate the young students to join the armed forces.
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UGC-NET exam disrupted
New Delhi, June 30 While students said they were unable to find their roll number at the centre, the UGC said they mistakenly noted down the wrong venue.—
PTI
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Doctored CAT results: 80 students face music
Lucknow, June 30 Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Kozhikode has registered a case against the Lucknow-based web management company. This year IIM-K had conducted the CAT examination for entrance to the 13 IIMs and other prestigious private management schools in the country. The HRD ministry has set up a high powered committee to investigate the matter. This year 2, 14,068 aspirants had taken the CAT examination which was held in 36 cities across the country. The results had been declared on January 9, 2013. Following group discussion and personal interviews (GDPI), the admission process had begun earlier this month. The case was filed by IIM-K at the Kummamanglam police station in Kerala against the Lucknow-based company Web weavers, which has been maintaining the CAT website www.catiim.in for the past three years. The investigations with regard to the alleged tampering began following a complaint from the IIM-K. The IIM-K had continued with the arrangement to entrust the US-based multi-national company Prometric to conduct and evaluate the CAT examination. After that the IIM-K had provided a hard disc of the result to the Lucknow-based web company to be uploaded on the website. Following a complaint, the IIM-K compared the result uploaded with the master data CD and detected the fraud after which the case was filed. The tampered disc has been sent to the forensic science laboratory for examination. The case has been filed under IT Act section 65 (tampering of computer source documents), IPC sect 406 (breach of trust), sect 420 (cheating) and 120 B (conspiracy). Incidentally, many of these 80 candidates who results have been cancelled have already secured admission in various IIMs and other management schools at the cost of other deserving candidates. Their names and testing ID numbers have been forwarded to the 13 IIMs and other private business schools which provide admission based on the CAT scores. Web Weave had been awarded the contract to maintain the CAT website three years ago when the CAT examination was conducted by IIM Lucknow.
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Goswami takes charge as new Home Secretary
New Delhi/Jammu, June 30 He is a man who has seen both the best and worst of this Himalayan state and knows everything of this soil where he was born. He was the first Chief Executive Officer of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in 1986, when he was holding the post of Deputy Commissioner of undivided Udhampur - now the district has been split into two, the other being Reasi. It was he and Governor Jagmohan who started an era of new development for the shrine. The successive governors and CEOs and others built upon the shrine facilities because of which more than 10 million pilgrims visit the shrine every year. During the peak of militancy, when holding any position in Kashmir, especially in the Raj Bhavan meant courting disaster, he was the Principal Secretary to the then Governor GC Saxena. He handled the most critical situations with finesse that the Governor could visit the places in Kashmir, which that time were nicknamed as Jafana of Kashmir, where militants ruled without any challenge, whether it was Lal Bazar in Srinagar or Anantnag town in south Kashmir . He also played a crucial role during the 1996 parliamentary elections, which re-opened the gates for other democratic institutions after a gap of more than six and a half years. As Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad (2005 to 2008), he gave a new direction to the development of the state. He identified areas which deserved attention and care. Now, at this juncture, when Kashmir is passing through another critical phase, trying to shed away its past and intends to move forward, his becoming the Union Home Secretary is the best hope for them, a man with secular credentials, with an in depth knowledge of the state, its people and places.
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Walmart lobbying probe inconclusive; fresh probe likely
New Delhi, June 30 The inquiry conducted by the panel remained inconclusive and it was not satisfied with the replies provided by the US-based retail giant on various issues, including on the exact amount spent on its India-specific lobbying activities, sources said. Pursuant to the suggestions made by the committee, which also observed that it lacked necessary "investigative or summoning powers" to conclude that Walmart indulged in lobbying and bribery for India operations, the government is considering initiating further investigations into the matter, they added. Separately, Walmart is already facing a probe by the Enforcement Directorate here for alleged violation of FEMA norms. The committee, headed by former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal, was set up in January after the government announced in Parliament that it would get investigated the issue of Walmart having lobbied hard before the US lawmakers for access to lucrative Indian retail market. —
PTI
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Fraud job syndicates target Reliance, Tata
New Delhi, June 30 After coming across several instances of such fraudulent job offers being made in their name, both the groups have warned of initiating strict civil and criminal actions against these fraudsters and have also issued separate public notices in this regard. According to senior executives at some leading human resource consultants, they have been also approached by certain people claiming to be representatives of these groups and had asked them to arrange for potential candidates for numerous vacancies. However, they got suspicious after they got to know that certain cash deposits were being demanded from the job applicants and they directly approached the internal HR departments of the respective groups, said head of a leading HR consultancy. Subsequently, it was discovered that the job offers were being made by some fake employment syndicates looking to make quick bucks by promising lucrative postings at leading business groups like Reliance and Tatas, he said, while adding that the HR consultants have now become more vigilant for such frauds. Previously, mostly IT companies have been hit by such frauds, which seek to take advantage of the people desperately looking for job offers. Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata group, which has more than 4.5 lakh employees across its about 100 companies, said in its public notice that it has already lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police and Mumbai Police about such fraudulent actions. Reliance Industries, which had a total workforce of 23,519 employees and 29,462 temporary as per its annual report, casual or contractual staff as on March 31, also said it would take possible civil and criminal actions "against such persons who indulge in such illegal activities and are responsible for causing such disrepute to RIL and its group companies". —
PTI
Corporate Menace
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The mortal remains of Wing Commander Darryl Castelino, the helicopter pilot who died in a crash while rescuing the victims of the Uttarakhand disaster, was laid to rest after a Guard of Honour today.
It is a cause that has brought together political parties of all hues, citizens' groups and social
organisations.
Bijlee, the ailing cow elephant, whose plight touched the hearts of Mumbaikars died this morning, the police said.
The elephant died despite concerned citizens and animal rights activists calling experts from different parts of the country to treat
Bijlee.
Senior IAS officer Anil Goswami, a seasoned hand on Jammu and Kashmir affairs,
today took charge as the Union Home Secretary.
Goswami (58), a 1978 batch IAS officer, is the first bureaucrat from Jammu and Kashmir to rise to the post of Union Home Secretary and will have a two-year tenure. He took charge from incumbent R K Singh, who retired today.
New Delhi, June 30
The CRPF Director-General said these vehicles will not be used anymore for jungle patrols and the commanders have been asked to send their patrols only on foot, as part of the standard operating procedures for these areas.
The state has three Naxal-infested districts — Sonebhadra, Chandauli and parts of Mirzapur — and it has been successfully managing to check the menace, but a letter by the Ballia Superintendent of Police in April has highlighted the threat that looms large over 53 villages of the district that share the border with Bihar on three sides.