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bihar Mid-day meal horror
Sena non-committal on backing Modi
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Akhilesh calls on TDP chief; refuels Third Front talk
CAG appointment challenged in HC
9 newborns die in in Odisha hospital
SHO held for BSP ex-MLA’s murder
Former Union minister Khurshed Alam Khan dies
Rs 12.5 crore seized ahead of Andhra Pradesh panchayat poll
UP gang-rape victim succumbs to injuries CBI to shut DA case against
Mulayam?
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bihar Mid-day meal horror
Patna, July 20 The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report found “monocrotophos”, an organophosphorous compound, in the samples of oil from the container, food remains on the platter and mixture of rice with vegetables on aluminum utensil, Additional Director General of Police (HQ) Ravinder Kumar said quoting the report.
Monocrotophos is used as pesticide for agricultural purposes. It is very toxic to human beings and animals, the ADG said quoting the FSL report. The report confirmed the Bihar Government’s apprehension that the food given to the children of Dharmasati Gandaman Primary School was poisoned. In all, 23 children died after consuming the meal, while 24 others and cook Manju Devi were undergoing treatment at the Patna Medical College and Hospital.
“It was also observed from the data available in the FSL report that the peak area of the poisonous substance in the oil was more than five times in comparison to the commercial preparation used as a control,” the ADG said.
The officer said the sample results were compared with a control standard (Hilcron) procured from the market. The peak retention times matched the sample, which again confirmed the presence of the pesticide in the samples. The results were interpreted using NIST library, which is an internationally accepted database.
The FSL scientists tested samples of the suspected poisonous cooking medium found in a plastic container, the cooking utensil and the leftover food from a platter, Kumar said.
The Bihar Government will attach the property of the absconding principal of government primary school in Saran district, Meena Devi. A government inquiry report has blamed her for the deaths of the children on Tuesday.
— PTI 30 students taken ill in Chhattisgarh
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Sena non-committal on backing Modi
New Delhi, July 20 Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, however, made feeble attempts to discount reports of his being less enthusiastic about “Modi as PM” chant reminding that he had extended his “best wishes” to the Gujarat Chief Minister on his appointment to lead the campaign for the BJP for the next general election. Thackeray, who was in Delhi for the first time after assuming the leadership of his party, also sought to clarify the media’s misinterpretation of his remark on country needing a reliable face, saying it was aimed at the Congress. “Just by naming one reliable face will mean running down others. We (NDA) will give a whole Cabinet of reliable people... unlike the Congress that does not have any,” Thackeray said during an interaction with mediapersons here. The Sena chief is said to be averse to the idea of projecting Modi as the prime ministerial candidate considering the Gujarat Chief Minister’s proximity to his bęte noire cousin Raj Thackeray, who heads the Maharasthra Navnirman Sena. On his father Balasaheb Thackeray endorsing Sushma Swaraj during his lifetime, Udhav said there was no other name on the table then. He asserted that Sena’s view on the issue of prime ministerial candidate would be discussed within the confines of partners in the coalition. On the Food Security Ordinance, the Sena chief said while a discussion should have been held, he saw the move as an attempt to woo the voters before elections.
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Akhilesh calls on TDP chief; refuels Third Front talk
Akhilesh, who is on a maiden visit to the state after taking over the reins of Uttar Pradesh, drove to Naidu’s Jubilee Hills residence and the two leaders remained closeted for over 30 minutes. TDP sources said the discussion was centred around national political situation. Both leaders agreed on the need for building a Third Front as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP. They decided to keep in touch and meet again to carry forward the effort. The meeting assumed significance in the light of Naidu’s earlier assertion that the Third Front would capture power at the Centre in the next elections and that the efforts to forge such a formation had already been initiated. Once seen as a “king maker” in national politics, Naidu is now hopeful of a resurgent Third Front, comprising regional parties and the Left, coming to power. He has made public his keenness to associate himself with an alternative front and play a key role at the national level after 2014 elections. “There will be a repeat of the 1996 scenario as the non-Congress and non-BJP formations are gaining strength. We are bringing together all like-minded parties to form the Third Front. It will be either a pre-poll or a post-poll alliance,” said Naidu. Naidu enjoys cordial relationship with Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. Earlier, the UP CM was greeted by a large number of representatives from the Yadav community. Akhilesh is scheduled to address a national convention (Akhil Yadav Mahasabha) at Uppal function hall in Hyderabad on Sunday. It will be attended by a large number of representatives from the Yadav community in the state. The meeting
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CAG appointment challenged in HC
New Delhi, July 20 The petition has been filed afresh as on July 15 an apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir, who has since retired, refused to hear it saying, "The high court is equally equipped to deal with the matter." Now, a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice BD Ahmed of the high court is likely to hear the PIL on July 24. The PIL, filed by lawyer Prashant Bhushan, has sought setting aside of Sharma's appointment contending that it was made arbitrarily and "without any system for selection, without any selection committee, any criteria, any evaluation and without any transparency". The petitioners also included former Chiefs of Naval Staff Admiral RH Tahiliani and L Ramdas, former Deputy CAG BP Mathur, Kamal Kant Jaswal, Ramaswamy R Iyer, EAS Sarma, all former secretaries of various government ministries, former Indian Audits and Accounts Service officer S Krishnan and former IAS officer MG Devasahayam. One of the grounds raised in the PIL was that during his tenure as the DG (Acquisitions) or as the Defence Secretary, Sharma cleared several major defence purchases, some of which have turned out to be a source of embarrassment to the Centre. The defence deals referred to in the petition include procurement of 12 VVIP choppers from Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland for the Indian Air Force at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore, which, according to Italian investigators, involved alleged kickbacks of at least Rs 350 crore. The controversial Tatra truck deal was also cleared by Sharma, it said. It has also sought a direction to the Centre to "frame a transparent selection procedure based on definite criteria and constitute a broad-based non-partisan selection committee, which, after calling for applications and nominations, would recommend the most suitable person for appointment as the CAG". It also claimed the apex court's judgment quashing the appointment of PJ Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner applied to this case as well.
— PTI
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9 newborns die in in Odisha hospital
Sambalpur/Bhubaneswar, July 20 “The nine deaths were reported in the neonatal care centre of hospital since last morning. All of them were kept in incubators as they were premature babies,” Superintendent of the hospital Dr Laxmikant Dash said. Denying negligence on the part of the hospital, he said most of the premature babies were ill at the time of birth, underweight, anaemic and having respiratory problems. One of the babies weighed hardly 560 gram and the deaths in such a short span was just a coincidence, Dash said. “However, the matter is being looked into and I have asked the head of the paediatric department to submit a report immediately,” Dash said. Director, Medical Education and Training, and director, Sishu Bhawan, have been asked to
inquire into the matter, Health Minister Damodar Rout said. Preliminary reports indicated that most of the babies were ill since birth, but a clear picture would emerge only after an inquiry, he said. There was tension in the hospital as parents and relatives of the babies held the hospital authorities responsible. Congress activists held a demonstration and organised road blockade in Burla against the
deaths accusing the hospital authorities of negligence. Senior Congress leader Sriballabh Panigrahi has accused the health minister of neglecting the hospital and doing little to improve its infrastructure and facilities. Senior BJP leader Jainarayan Mishra has accused the BJD government of failing to improve the condition of the hospital where a large number of patients from different parts of the state and Chhattisgarh came to take treatment.
— PTI Deaths within 24 hrs
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SHO held for BSP ex-MLA’s murder
Lucknow, July 20 The audacity of the law enforcing agency in Uttar Pradesh can be gauged from the fact that the very police station that was responsible for the MLA’s security is allegedly involved in his killing. The FIR against sub-inspector Vijay Singh was lodged by slain MLA’s elder brother Santosh Singh. Eight other persons have been named by the family as co-accused in the case. The family claimed the sub-inspector had connived with a criminal, Dhruv Singh, alias Kantu, lodged in the Varanasi jail to eliminate the former MLA. An electoral tussle for the post of block head during the panchayat elections last year was said to be the reason behind the killing. Apart from the two murders, the sub-inspector has been named in another case involving the killing of two persons in police firing after an angry mob tried to set the police station ablaze. While the family has demanded a CBI inquiry, the state government has ordered a magisterial probe into the murder and arson that followed. Sarvesh Singh and Rai were cremated at Dohrighat in neighboring Mau district today.
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Former Union minister Khurshed Alam Khan dies
Dr TS Kler, executive director of the cardiac sciences department at Escorts Hospital said Khan was admitted with fever and chest infection. "But he already had a major problem of Aortic Stenosis (AS), a disease of the heart valves. He (breathed his last) at around 3 am today," he said. Khan, who played a key role in the creation of Jamia Milia Islamia as an independent university through a Parliamentary law, had served as its Chancellor. He had represented Farrukhabad in the Lok Sabha between 1984 and 1989. Son-in-law of the late President Zakir Hussain, Khan served as a Member of Parliament for 15 years. He was in the Rajya Sabha from 1974 to 1984. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has mourned his death. — PTI
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Rs 12.5 crore seized ahead of Andhra Pradesh panchayat poll
Hyderabad, July 20 As many as 327 persons have been arrested and 10,000 election-related cases registered so far. "We have identified 5,810 hypersensitive and 6,189 sensitive villages. Another 770 villages have been identified as Maoist-affected. We are deploying elaborate security in these villages to ensure smooth polling," the SEC said. Over 1.08 lakh employees would be posted on election duties, while 7,300 micro-observers would keep a watch on the polls, Reddy added.
— PTI
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Salem/Chennai, July 20 The 52-year-old Ramesh was brutally attacked by a four-member unidentified gang while he was returning home after visiting the party office to discuss party affairs around 9 pm last night in Salem, Salem range Police DIG Sanjay Kumar said. The police said Ramesh died on the spot. The attack on Ramesh, a chartered accountant by profession and who was also associated with the RSS, triggered protests and sporadic incidents of stone pelting in the state. BJP demanded that the Tamil Nadu government order a judicial probe into the murder even as special police teams were formed to trace the assailants. As a precautionary measure, authorities ordered closure of schools in Salem today. — PTI
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UP gang-rape victim succumbs to injuries Lucknow, July 20 The private tutor was brutally gang-raped reportedly by her fiancé and his four associates at his house where she had gone to meet him. She was later set ablaze when she threatened to report the matter. She had been admitted to the Sefai hospital with 90 per cent burns and finally succumbed to her injuries last night. While the main accused the fiancé Farhan and his father Haseen have been arrested from Ikdil bus station in Etawah last week, the other accused are still at large.
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CBI to shut DA case against Mulayam? New Delhi, July 20 The parties, including BJP, BJD and CPM, said government was behind the agency's reported decision to file the closure report. The BJP alleged the Congress has struck an understanding with the SP in the present Lok Sabha and whenever it has to get the support of the party for passage of a Bill or a resolution, the government uses CBI against Yadav. BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said CBI's decision to file the closure report may have prompted the party to say it will support the Food Security bill. Latest reports, however, suggest that Yadav may oppose it in Parliament. — PTI
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