MUMBAI: A Mumbai court on Wednesday framed charges against actor Salman Khan for culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the hit-and-run case for which he may face a jail term up to 10 years, setting the stage for trial.

Apart from section 304(2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), the Bollywood star was also charged under sections 279 (causing death by negligence), 337 (causing hurt by an act), 338 (causing grievous hurt), 427 (causing damage or mischief to property) of IPC, and provisions of Motor Vehicles Act and Bombay Prohibition Act.

The actor, however, pleaded not guilty to all these charges.

Clad in a grey shirt and black trousers, Salman appeared before Sessions Judge U. B. Hejib, who had on July 19 summoned him for framing of charges for starting afresh the trial in the 11 year-old case.

The actor moved an application seeking exemption from personal appearance during the trial which was granted.

He was, however, directed to be present before the court whenever required.

At the beginning of the proceedings, the judge expressed his inability to take up the case for framing the charges as he has been transferred.

However, prosecutor Shankar Erande pleaded that charges should be framed on Wednesday as the actor was going abroad for two months which could further delay the trial.

At his request, the judge read out the charges to Salman.

One person was killed and four others were injured when a Land Cruiser, allegedly driven by Salman Khan, crushed a group of people sleeping on the pavement outside a bakery in suburban Bandra on September 28, 2002. — PTI

NEW DELHI: Senior CPM leader Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday denied having signed any letter seeking denial of US visa for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, saying it suggested a "cut and paste" job.

"I deny having signed any such letter. It is neither in my character nor in the principles of my party — the CPM — to petition any sovereign country on matters that fall strictly within the sovereign domain of that country," he said in a statement here.

"It is this very principle that leads us to strongly oppose and denounce any external interference into India's internal affairs undermining its sovereignty," Yechury said.

His statement came amid reports that he was among 65 Members of Parliament who had written letters to President Barack Obama, urging the US Administration to maintain the current policy of denying visa to Modi.

Observing that "much of this controversy is taking place in cyberspace," he said, "The one circulating in cyberspace, now many months after it was allegedly signed, is typed on the letterhead of a Member of Parliament which carries the insignia of our national symbol, the Ashok Chakra.

"The heading under which some signatures are appended says, 'Names and Signatures of Indian MPs'. Strange. Which other country's MPs would sign on the letterhead of the Indian Parliament? This, itself, suggests some efforts at cut and paste," Yechury said.

The CPM leader had on Tuesday made a similar statement when he was contacted for his comments on the matter.

He had said that "I would be the last person to write to the US administration and to do something like this. We don't want anyone to interfere in the internal affairs of the country. These are issues which will have to be settled in India politically." — PTI

Thiruvananthapuram: Categorically ruling out his resignation in the wake of critical observations by the high court in the solar panel case, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday said the court had not passed any sharp remarks against him as reported by the media.

“There is no question of resignation. That is not going to happen. The court has not made any remark against me,” Chandy told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.

The Congress leader said he was making this clear after getting all the details of what had transpired in the court on Tuesday from the Director-General of Prosecution and the Advocate General.

Referring to the opposition demand that he should step down and order judicial probe, Chandy said that was not warranted as his office had nothing to do with the scam and he had nothing to hide.

“I am not scared and I have nothing to hide. Nothing connected with the scam has happened in my office,” he said.

Chandy refuted the claim of businessman M.K. Kurvila in his petition that one of his relatives and a member of the personal staff cheated him of Rs 1.03 crore.

“I have no such relative, named Andrew as mentioned in the complaint and anybody on the personal staff called Daljith.”

Chandy also justified steps taken by the government on complaints pertaining to the solar panel scam by carrying out prompt action and investigation. On the other hand, the previous LDF government did not treat it as a serious case.

Asked whether he would restrain government Chief Whip P.C. George from fulminating against the ministry, Chandy said “I am not going to do anything.” — PTI

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday agreed to hear two separate PILs challenging appointment of Shashi Kant Sharma as Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and asked the Centre to file its response by August 8.

“Let them file an affidavit. As the matter requires hearing, put up on August 8,” a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice B.D. Ahmed said.

The Bench was hearing two separate petitions filed by nine eminent persons, including former CEC N. Gopalaswami and advocate M.L. Sharma on the issue.

The PILs allege that the Union of India has arbitrarily appointed the CAG, keeping aside all the established practices provided by the Supreme Court in its judgement relating to appointment of Central Vigilance Commissioner P.J. Thomas and the appointment made in the Punjab Public Service Commission.

“This person (Shashi Kant Sharma) has got the highest degree of conflict of interest than anybody else in the country, as he happens to be the key person in all the defence procurements from 2003 till the date of his appointment as CAG,” advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is appearing for the petitioners, contended.

He also said that defence procurement deals are usually the subject matter of auditing by the highest accounting body and moreover, CBI has also registered a case in relation to one such defence deal undertaken during Sharma’s tenure as Defence Secretary.

The petitioners have 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 CAG”.

The PILs contend that Sharma’s appointment was made “without any system for selection, without any selection committee, any criteria, any evaluation and without any transparency”. — PTI

SRINAGAR: Tension gripped Bemina area of the city in the early morning on Wednesday following a murderous assault by unidentified assailants on the family of a local cleric, which left his two minor children dead.

The assailants barged into the house of Iftikhar Ahmad at Iqbalabad in Bemina while he was away in the local mosque to lead the pre-dawn prayers, police said.

The assailants slit open the throat of Ahmad's wife, Naseema, and two children with a sharp-edged weapon, the police said.

The trio, lying in a pool of blood, was rushed to hospital when the cleric, who hails from Gurez area in Bandipora district, returned home from the mosque, they said.

While the children — Mohammad Hasim (2 years) and Aalia (3 years) — were declared dead on arrival, Naseema was battling for life, the police said. — PTI

NEW DELHI: Stung by the mid-day meal tragedy in Bihar, the Centre on Wednesday asked all states to put in place a contingency plan to deal with such incidents and ensure strict compliance of guidelines like teachers tasting food before it is served and procurement of foodgrains in sealed containers.

School Education Secretary R. Bhattacharya, who held deliberations with all state secretaries through video-conferencing in wake of the incident, emphasised on an effective contingency plan to tackle such untoward incidents.

As many as 23 children died after consuming mid-day meal in Bihar's Saran district on July 16.

The secretary directed the states to adhere strictly to guidelines such as teachers and a member of the school management committee tasting the food before it was served to the children, senior HRD Ministry officials said.

The meeting is understood to have discussed the good practices followed in states, like Maharashtra, where the foodgrains and oil are procured in sealed containers. The states were told to ensure that the materials for food preparation were of standard quality.

According to the ministry officials, Chhattisgarh also came in for praise because of active community participation in implementation of the scheme.

Some structural issues about the execution of the scheme and the lacunae also came up for deliberation, sources said.

Meanwhile, the new monitoring committee announced by the ministry would not only review effective monitoring of the scheme but also ensure quality, safety and hygiene aspects.

The probe report of Commissioner (Saran) and Deputy Inspector General of Police (Saran range) Binod Kumar, submitted to the state government, has also blamed the school principal for the tragedy.

Confirming the presence of poisonous pesticides in the meal, Forensic Science Laboratory said the contaminated food contained monocrotophos, an organophosphate insecticide, after experts examined samples of oil from the container, food remains on the platter and remains in the utensils. — PTI

MUMBAI: Heavy rain lashed Mumbai, Konkan and other areas of Maharashtra on Wednesday, prompting the civic agency in the financial capital to advise people to stay at home and schools to shut as a precautionary measure. 

Rail and road traffic was also disrupted due to the heavy rains which have disrupted normal life in the metropolis.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) today advised people not to undertake travel in the city unless essential. The civic body has also asked schools to shut following heavy rains as a precautionary measure.

The Met department has predicted more heavy rains in Mumbai and other areas in the next 48 hours.

BMC said that in Mumbai, a high tide is expected this afternoon with forecast of 4.9 metre high waves.

Several low-lying areas in the city were inundated after the incessant heavy rains. Many private schools were shut and the authorities of some schools have also asked parents to collect those children, who had already left home for school.

Trains on Western, Central and Harbour lines were running late.

Till 8 am (since yesterday), Colaba recorded a rainfall of 158.6 mm and Santacruz 168 mm.

Meanwhile, a nearly one km-long stretch of Mumbra bypass on the outskirts of the city caved in this morning due to incessant rains and has been closed for vehicular traffic, the police said.

"Due to heavy rains, around one km-long stretch of the Mumbra bypass has developed huge craters and has been badly damaged. As a precautionary measure, the traffic on either side of the road has been diverted," a police officer said.

However, the closure of the bypass has led to traffic snarls in the internal parts of the city.

The Mumbra bypass on the National Highway 4 (Mumbai-Pune highway) is a crucial link to traffic from Delhi-Ahmedabad-Mumbai (NH3) and Agra-Nashik-Mumbai (NH8) going towards Panvel, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Pune and beyond, and is mostly used by heavy vehicles. — PTI