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Contrasting moods as D-Day approaches in Andhra
Announce Gorkhaland as well if Telangana gets nod: GJM
IAS assn rallies behind suspended UP SDM
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Jet-Etihad deal cleared, but with some riders
jyoti murder case
NASA, ISRO in discussion for developing satellite jointly
ULFA behind Guwahati blast: DGP
Moral police now target mannequins in M’rashtra
Nitish: Centre's poverty definition cruel joke
TMC leads in WB panchayat poll
36 King Cobras born in captivity
Ishrat Case
Tri-Services delegation to visit China in August
Enough proof to nail
Meiyappan: Police
Norms for quality mid-day meal laid down
Rs 3,510 cr to build SSB infrastructure
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Contrasting moods as D-Day approaches in Andhra
Hyderabad, July 29 The mood was one of heightened expectation in the Telangana region, yearning for a separate state, while a sense of anxiety gripped the other two regions - Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra. As the much-awaited meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in Delhi tomorrow is expected to give its approval for the bifurcation of the state, the protests gathered momentum in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions. The agitators, opposing the division of the state, laid seize to the residences of the Union ministers, state ministers and other elected representatives of the two regions, demanding their resignations to mount pressure on the UPA leadership against splitting the state. Anticipating further trouble after the key announcement on Telangana state formation, security has been beefed up in the vulnerable areas, including Hyderabad which has become a major bone of contention for the protagonists and opponents of the Telangana cause. The truckloads of personnel of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been deployed at strategic positions in Hyderabad and in other major cities across the state. The para-military forces staged march pasts in the streets of major towns including Kadapa, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati. The Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha and the PCC Chief Botsa Satyanarayana have been summoned to Delhi by the Congress high command for what is seen as a final round of consultations before the CWC gives its nod for the bifurcation plan. The pro-united AP students and activists of various political and non-political groups took out rallies, formed human chains and observed shutdown in some parts of Rayalseema and coastal Andhra regions, jointly referred in the media as Seemandhra. The educational institutions remained closed in several towns following a call given by the United Andhra Students' Joint Action Committee. Hundreds of students participated in a rally in the coastal Andhra town of Nellore, demanding that the Centre drop the plans to split AP, the first linguistic state in the country. In Anantapur, protestors laid siege to the house of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) legislator P Keshav, demanding his resignation in support of the united state cause. The political circles here are abuzz with speculation that Kiran Kumar Reddy, whose strong opposition to the division of the state is well known, might resign if the bifurcation became inevitable. According to sources close to Kiran, who hails from Rayalaseema region, he is “extremely upset and feeling helpless” over the moves by the party high command to bifurcate the state. During his recent meetings with the central leaders in Delhi, including the party President Sonia Gandhi, the Chief Minister had made it clear that he would not be a party to the division of the state. “I will not be party to any destructive decision,” he is reported to have told AICC General Secretary in-charge of AP Digvijay Singh. Both the Chief Minister and the PCC Chief, who hails from coastal Andhra region, made out a strong case for maintaining the unity of the state and warned the party leadership against creation of Telangana state. All major parties in the state are divided on regional lines. Cutting across party lines, the leaders from Telangana region have been rooting for a separate state while leaders from Seemandhra are espousing the cause of united AP. At the heart of the dispute is the claim over Hyderabad, the thriving IT-hub with a population of 80 million. The capital city, located in the Telangana region, is a major bone of contention between the supporters and opponents of the Telangana cause.
Security beefed up
* Anticipating further trouble after the key announcement on Telangana state formation, security has been beefed up in the vulnerable areas, including Hyderabad which has become a major bone of contention for the protagonists and opponents of the Telangana cause *
The agitators, opposing the division of the state, laid siege to the residences of the Union and state ministers, demanding their resignations to mount pressure on the UPA leadership against splitting the state
CM Reddy ‘feeling helpless’
The political circles here are abuzz with speculation that Kiran Kumar Reddy, whose strong opposition to the division of the state is well known, might resign if the bifurcation became inevitable. According to sources close to Kiran, who hails from Rayalaseema region, he is “extremely upset and feeling helpless” over the moves by the party high command to bifurcate the state
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Announce Gorkhaland as well if Telangana gets nod: GJM
Darjeeling (WB), July 29 “Our demand for Gorkhaland is older than the demand for Telengana. If the Centre announces a Telengana state then it should also declare a Gorkhaland state,” Gurung told a press conference here. The GJM president said that the bandh would be extended indefinitely till the Centre acceded to the demand. He said he would resign as Chief Executive of the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA), which runs the administration in the hills. “I have some pending work. After I finish it, I will resign as Chief Executive of the GTA in two or three days,” Gurung said. He alleged that the West Bengal government did not cooperate with him and the GTA members for its smooth running. Gurung asked the people of Darjeeling to be prepared for a long agitation till Gorkhaland was achieved. “This 72-hour bandh is just a beginning of a long agitation. Be prepared for more such bandhs,” he said. Meanwhile, 10 GJM supporters were arrested for allegedly burning a motorcycle and a car at Rambi on the National Highway 31, which connects Sikkim with West Bengal, police said. There is a Supreme Court directive that the highway has to be kept free during bandhs and blockades in the hills. Darjeeling town wore a deserted look with traffic off the roads and markets and offices closed. Around thousand GJM supporters were picketing at Chowkbazar with party flags, while large gatherings of party activists were also reported from Jorbungalow, Mirik, Sukhiapokhri, 9th Mile and 26th mile. Roads were barricaded by the GJM supporters in the Kalimpong and Kurseong subdivisions. Some foreign tourists still remained in the hills, while around 2,000 domestic ones left yesterday, police said. Superintendent of Police Kunal Agarwal said that stringent action would be taken for destruction of government property and that the police would ensure that the NH 31 remained opened. District Magistrate Soumitra Mohan also said that strong steps would be taken in case of breakdown of law and order. — PTI
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IAS assn rallies behind suspended UP SDM
Lucknow, July 29 Ranjan admitted that the suspension was too stern a step for the 2009-batch IAS officer who in August 2012 was given her first posting as Gautam Buddha Nagar (Sadar) SDM. A Punjab-cadre officer, Nagpal had requested to be shifted to the UP cadre. While Ranjan assured to review the decision, he refused to accept the charge that the suspension was due to Nagpal taking on the influential sand mining mafia. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav told mediapersons in Bangalore, where he had gone to address a rally, that there was no need to start a debate on Nagpal’s suspension as it was an administrative decision. While Nagpal has officially been suspended for not following the rules in ordering the demolition of the wall of a mosque being built illegally on government land in Greater Noida on July 27, sources claimed she was punished for taking on the powerful and politically connected sand mafia in the area. Last week, she intensified her attack against illegal sand mining along the Yamuna and Hindon in Greater Noida by getting 15 persons arrested and arrest warrants issued against another 22 from the CJM court. Her suspension has proved to be the proverbial last straw for the beleaguered IAS fraternity which is being routinely criticised by the Chief Minister for stalling development in the state. RTI activist Nutan Thakur has requested the Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, for a detailed report on Nagpal’s suspension and demanded the withdrawal of the order if found illegal and improper.
Took on sand mafia
* Gautam Buddha Nagar SDM Durga Shakti Nagpal has been suspended for not following the rules in ordering the demolition of the wall of a mosque in Greater Noida on July 27 *
But the punishment is being seen as an outcome of her targeting the powerful sand mafia of the area *
Last week, she got 15 persons arrested for their involvement in illegal sand mining along the Yamuna and Hindon
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Jet-Etihad deal cleared, but with some riders
“We have approved (Jet-Etihad deal) with some conditions," Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram was quoted as saying. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, who had been at loggerheads with the PMO ever since its early-July communiqué, expressed satisfaction at the “positive development” which, he said, would go a long way in boosting global investor sentiment. All concerns raised have been resolved, said Singh, who had been pushing hard for the deal. He said the deal had been cleared by the FIPB with “minor changes” in the language, such as the use of Indian laws for arbitration, which, sources say, is a major comedown for the foreign partner. However, the clearance by the country’s foreign investment regulator is just the beginning of a long procedural haul that will have to be followed before the multi-crore aviation partnership can take to the skies. It has to get a go-ahead from the Competition Commission of India, the SEBI and the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs. Significantly, the deal is not just being questioned on technicalities and gains for stakeholders, but also on issues regarding funding and security. Sources maintained even though the government was aware that the deal could still attract flak from Opposition parties, the first step -- an FIPB clearance -- was necessary to revive the falling global sentiment. The government body offers single window clearance for proposals on FDI in India that are not allowed access through the automatic route. It had in June decided to put the Jet-Etihad deal on hold since its “effective control” and “ownership” issues were not clear. To safeguard the interest of India and counter the criticism, major changes have been effected in the Share Holders Agreement (SHA) to address the fear that Jet would lose effective control to Etihad after the deal. Apart from the fact that Jet would have to seek prior government approval for any changes in the SHA with its foreign counterpart, all legal arbitrations would have to be under Indian law and not English law, as proposed by the revised document submitted by Jet-Etihad to the foreign investment regulator. Apparently, there are also clear observations that Etihad can cruise with Jet, but only under the Indian flag. Ethiad had already agreed to reduce the number of directors on the 12-member board to two from three, thus leaving effective control with Jet, which would have four directors. The foreign investment regulator had earlier sought details on who would effectively be in control of Jet Airways after the deal. Sources say Jet founder-chairman Naresh Goyal has also been vested with the right to deliver a “casting vote on any matter”. Clearly, to be able to do business in India is important for the Abu Dhabi-based airlines as sources said Etihad had also agreed to make only recommendations about suitable candidates for top positions in Jet as opposed to it getting the right to source senior management, as per the original agreement. Under the original proposal, four directors were to be nominated by Jet and three by Etihad apart from seven independent directors, of which at least six had to be Indian citizens.
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Doon MLA, four others charged with murder
Hina Rohtaki/TNS
Panchkula, July 29
The local court further charged MLA’s brother Harbhajan Chaudhary with harbouring a criminal. Three more accused - Kanwaljit, Nirmal and Baljit - have been charged under Sections 212 and 34 for harbouring Dharampal. Mobile dealer Ashish and two others who provided SIM cards to the MLA on fake documents will now face charges of cheating and forgery. The Doon MLA and four others have been accused of killing Jyoti, whose body was found on a road in Sector 21, Panchkula, on November 22. The Panchkula police charge-sheet claimed Chaudhary eliminated Jyoti with the help of aides as she was coming in the way of his political career by asking him to continue to be in relation with. The accused first strangulated Jyoti and subsequently ran her over with a truck to pass it off as an accident. The counsel for truck driver Tilak Raj said the police charge-sheet claimed Jyoti was half-dead when Raj ran her over with his truck. But the court charged him with murder saying he ran her over with intent to kill.
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NASA, ISRO in discussion for developing satellite jointly
Bangalore, July 29 Charles F Bolden Jr., Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of United States, visited the Space Applications Centre (SAC) of ISRO in Ahmedabad on June 25. He had a meeting with Radhakrishnan, also Secretary, Department of Space, along with senior officials of ISRO to discuss the ongoing cooperative activities between ISRO and NASA and also the potential areas of future cooperation. “...the joint satellite mission is an important step. It’s not making an instrument and plugging it actually. It’s working together. That’s what we are discussing. It (working together) should happen in the next few months”, Radhakrishnan said. “Both organisations are coming together and saying let’s develop it together...use your strength, use my strength. That’s a good way of working”, he said. “It (the proposed satellite) is interesting from scientific point of view, it’s interesting from normal resource management point of view,” he said. Radhakrishnan said NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory would make the radar system “if it (in case of NASA, ISRO deciding to work together on the mission) is getting through”. On ISRO’s role, he said: “We will be working together. Some will be built by us, some will be built by them. So, this (work-sharing) has to be finalised”, adding data generated by the mission would be used by both ISRO and NASA. Radhakrishnan hinted at the possibility of ISRO making the satellite for the joint mission, with launch from Indian soil. In this context, he pointed to the Indo-French joint satellite missions Megha-Tropiques and Saral, with Paris opting for Indian satellites for the ventures with ‘desi’ rockets. India’s 2008 Chandrayaan-1 mission had two instruments from the USA. Mini Synthetic Aperture Radar (MiniSAR) was from Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory and Naval Air Warfare Centre, USA through NASA. MiniSAR was mainly intended for detecting water ice in the permanently shadowed regions of the lunar poles up to a depth of a few meters. Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), an imaging spectrometer from Brown University and JPL through NASA, was intended to assess and map lunar mineral resources at high spatial and spectral resolution. M3 aboard Chandrayaan-1 helped to find the existence of water molecules on the lunar surface. “They (NASA) had two instruments (on Chandrayaan-1). It worked and they got good return out of it”, Radhakrishnan said, noting the finding. He also hinted that ISRO might contribute to NASA’s new asteroid initiative, which includes work to identify and characterise asteroids of all types and a mission to capture and redirect an asteroid into an orbit closer to Earth so that astronauts can visit it. Radhakrishnan said NASA is looking at international space community regarding its perception on the subject (asteroids). “Maybe some joint work will emerge at a later stage. But it’s in a very nascent stage”, he hastened to add. “NASA has a plan to see how they can manage asteroids, and whether they can do some manipulation of its orbit, etc”. ISRO officials noted that India and United States pursue active civil space cooperation mainly in the areas of earth sciences, space exploration, satellite navigation and professional exchange. Last month’s visit was the first by Charles F. Bolden Jr. to any ISRO Centre after he took over as NASA Administrator in July 2009. Bolden is only the third NASA chief to visit ISRO in the past four decades. — PTI
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ULFA behind Guwahati blast: DGP
Guwahati, July 29 Chaudhury said the operation was coordinated by Drishti Rajkhowa, one of ULFA’s most wanted leaders. He said there were inputs that the faction would try to attack police stations. “Militants are now trying to target crowded places like they did yesterday. Preventive measures have been taken on the basis of the input,” the DGP said. The state police chief said insurgency was not yet over in Assam, though most of the insurgent groups had come to the dialogue table. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi admitted that there must have been some security lapse "otherwise the blast would not have taken place". Meanwhile, the Additional District Magistrate of Kamrup (Metropolitan) district has promulgated Section 144 for safety, security and maintenance of public peace and
tranquillity.
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Moral police now target mannequins in M’rashtra
Mumbai, July 29 “Displaying skimpily clad mannequins amount to indecent portrayal of women in public. We cannot allow this,” Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gorhe said. She added that the party’s workers in Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri and Chinchwad are out on the streets to crack down on shopkeepers keeping such mannequins outside their shops. The crackdown on such mannequins is the brainchild of Ritu Tawade, a corporator in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation belonging to the BJP. “Open displays of such mannequins provoke people into committing sex crimes,” Tawade said while pressing for the ban last month. The unofficial ban on display of such mannequins in public has come in for criticism from traders who fear that such measures would hamper their businesses. In the past two months, traders in Mumbai have met with civic officials and party leaders from the Shiv Sena and the BJP to permit these mannequins to be displayed inside their shops. At some places like busy railway stations, lingerie shop owners have dressed up their mannequins in tiny tops and skirts to circumvent the unofficial ban. “We do not have enough space to keep these mannequins inside our shops, so we are keeping these on our doorsteps,” says Abdul Razaak who owns a small shop selling inner wear outside the Borivali railway station in suburban Mumbai. Meanwhile, BMC officials said the ban on mannequins displaying lingerie in public has not been officially promulgated though it was being enforced informally.
Traders resentful
* The unofficial ban on display of such mannequins has come in for criticism from traders *
They fear that such measures would hamper their businesses. * Traders have met civic officials and party leaders from the Shiv Sena and the BJP *
They have pleaded with them to permit these mannequins to be displayed inside their shops
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Nitish: Centre's poverty definition cruel joke
Patna, July 29 “We do not agree with the criteria fixed for poverty... poverty should not be decided in terms of calories and money to purchase food but on the basis of the right to live respectfully,” Kumar told reporters in Assembly premises. The senior JD(U) leader termed as “cruel joke” the latest poverty figures that put anyone earning more than Rs 32 a day in urban areas and Rs 27 per day in rural areas above poverty line. On Congress leader Rashid Masood’s assertion that one can have food in Jama Masjid area in Rs 5 and Raj Babbar saying one can have proper meal for Rs 12 in Mumbai, Kumar said these are ‘hilarious’ examples. “In Delhi, people get free food in langar (community kitchens) in gurudwaras and there is no need to spend any money on food there. Can we say food is served free,” he said. The Bihar Chief Minister disagreed with the estimate that the number of people living below the poverty line has shrunk to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12 from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05. — PTI
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TMC leads in WB panchayat poll
Kolkata, July 29 Altogether 329 counting centres, spread over the 17 districts, would decide the fate of 1.69 lakh candidates, including around 90,000 women. The TMC had won 6,000 gram panchayats and panchayat samities uncontested. The ruling party was much ahead in former Maoist strongholds in Junglemahal in the districts of Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapur, as also in East Midnapur where Nandigram is located till 2 pm. It was also surging ahead in the traditionally Marxist strongholds of Burdwan and Hooghly districts, besides in South and North 24 Parganas, Nadia, Birbhum and Coochbehar. In Burdwan district, the TMC won 96 gram panchayats, Left Front 14, Congress and BSP one each. In Nadia district, TMC captured 40 gram panchayats, Left Front 21 and Congress 6. In West Midnapur, TMC won 59, Left Front 25 and Congress one. The Left Front for whom the election was an opportunity to stage a turnaround after its 2011 assembly poll debacle was ahead in North Dinajpur, Malda and Murshidabad districts. In Murshidabad, seen as a Congress stronghold under MoS Railways Adhir Chowdhury, the Left Front won in 16, Congress 12 and TMC one. The manual counting of votes for nearly 58,000 gram panchayats was taken up first with that of panchayat samities and all-important 17 zilla parishads to start subsequently. The final verdict was expected by Tuesday. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today hailed the results of the just-concluded panchayat poll, declared so far, as a "victory of the people and democracy". "The results show that it is the victory of the people and democracy. It is also a victory of the 'maa-mati-manush'. People have voted at a difficult time of heat, rains and the ongoing Ramzan. We should respect the verdict and behave in a peaceful manner," Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat here. She said that her party had registered an increase in the percentage of votes compared to the percentage of votes it had secured in the last Assembly election. The CPM has failed to keep its dominance in its strongholds like Burdwan, Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore districts and the TMC has performed well there, she pointed out. CPM state secretary and the politburo member Biman Bose said they were not surprised at the results since there were no free and fair elections anywhere. The state had witnessed such mockery of elections in the 1972 Assembly polls when the Congress under the late Siddhartha Sankar Ray's leadership usurped power by winning largest number of seats.
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36 King Cobras born in captivity
Bangalore, July 29 With the assistance of snake lovers, 37 eggs of King Cobras were brought to the park from a farm belonging to an agriculturalist. After these eggs were artificially hatched for 80 days, 36 out of 37 King Cobras were born in the park. The baby snakes are around one to one-and-a- half feet long and are in good health, H J Bhandary, director of the park, said. After sometime, these would be released in forests wherever King Cobras were naturally found, he added. In 2011, 32 out of 147 eggs laid by 'Rani', 'Nagaveni' and 'Nagamani' - female King Cobras at the park - had hatched. The score is hugely better this time. Bhandary said, “One thousand square feet exclusive enclosure in the park for captive breeding of King Cobra, the only one of its kind in the world, has all the necessary biological requirements of the King Cobra. “So far, captive breeding of King Cobra has not taken place anywhere in the world. Though a few others claim to have taken up captive breeding, there are no proper evidences in this regard”, he said. The process of breeding at the park is properly documented to come handy for developing insight into the world of King Cobras and their reproduction cycle.
High success rate
* 37 eggs of King Cobras were brought to Dr Shivaram Karanth Biological Park at Moodushedde near Mangalore *
These eggs were artificially hatched for 80 days * 36 out of 37 King Cobras were born in the park *
The baby snakes are around one to one-and-a- half feet long and are in good health
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‘Absconding’ cop appears in CBI court on stretcher
Manas Dasgupta
Ahmedabad, July 29
Pandey had to appear in the court as per the directive of the Supreme Court which last week gave him time till today to appear before the court failing which the CBI would have the powers to attach his property as the court had already declared him an “absconder” after he failed to respond to the summons for questioning. After the Supreme Court’s order on Friday, Pandey, who had remained underground for the last few months ever since the CBI issued him summons for questioning in connection with the Ishrat Jahan case, surfaced on Saturday and attended his office for a brief period. He, however, on Sunday got himself admitted in a private hospital complaining about “chest pain.” Pandey was taken in an ambulance van from the hospital to the CBI court around 3pm armed with a medical certificate suggesting at least a week’s complete rest. He was taken in the court room in a stretcher and the hospital sources claimed he was suffering from high fever, diabetes and infection. His advocate immediately submitted an application in the court pleading for anticipatory bail. Also present in the court were some of the other accused police officials in the case to receive the complete chargesheet after they had complained that some important pages of the chargesheet were “missing” from the copies handed over to them on July 15. Pandey, then Joint Commissioner in the Ahmedabad crime branch which executed the fake encounter, has been named as one of the seven main accused in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case in the chargesheet filed by the CBI in the court on July 3. According to the CBI, Pandey was in constant touch with Inspector General of Police DG Vanzara, the principal accused in the fake encounter, and the then state chief of the central intelligence bureau, Rajinder Kumar, alleged to be a co-conspirator, during and before the fake encounter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on the morning of June 15, 2004, in which Ishrat and three others including Pranesh Pillai alias Javed Sheikh, Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana, alleged to be operatives of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba, were killed. The chargesheet, however, made it clear that since the CBI had not been able to question Pandey and the investigation into the role of Rajinder Kumar and other officials in the then state unit of the intelligence bureau it could file a supplementary chargesheet later.
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Tri-Services delegation to visit China in August
New Delhi, July 29 The delegation will have 27 officers drawn from the Indian Air Force, Navy and Army. It will largely include junior-level officers and the attempt is to build trust among the men who actually face action and will possibly go on to become future military leaders. The delegation will be in China between August 19 and 23. On July 6, Defence Minister AK Antony and his counterpart General Chang Wanquan had met at Beijing. A joint statement had followed that said: “Defence exchanges are an important facet of the India-China strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity. (They also agreed) on additional exchanges and visits between India and China”. The visit will be just one among the many bilateral exchanges scheduled between the two Asian giants. A series of measures have been initiated to bring about trust since September last year when the then Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie had come to India for talks. From then on, the focus has been on building trust between the militaries on either side. During the last interaction at the Defence Minister-level, the ministers had decided to “focus on building trust. Peace on the border is an important guarantor for the growth of bilateral cooperation. Mutual understanding between the two militaries is important”. Besides this visit, a joint exercise of the two armies is scheduled in October. This will be on counter-terrorism and will be hosted by China. Two such exercises have already been conducted. A delegation of the Indian Navy met the Chinese authorities last week to work out modalities of having more exercises. This is part of the decision between the two countries to have the navies increase ship visits, consider conducting joint maritime search and rescue exercises and continued cooperation in counter-piracy operations. Military training institutions will also strengthen their exchanges at the faculty and student levels, the two countries have decided. Yesterday, Antony had announced that talks to maintain peace along the boundary with China are in ‘final stages’. The two countries are trying to open at least two more points to have meetings between border personnel. These will augment the existing three at Spanggur gap in eastern Ladakh, Nathu La in Sikkim and Bum La in Arunachal Pradesh.
Military cooperation
* The delegation, with 27 officers from the Indian Air Force, Navy and Army, will be in China from August 19 to 23 *
A joint exercise of the two armies is scheduled in October * Military training institutions will strengthen their exchanges at the faculty and student levels *
The two countries are trying to open at least two more points to have meetings between border personnel
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Enough proof to nail Meiyappan: Police
Mumbai, July 29 Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy said the police had a watertight case against Meiyappan to prosecute him in a court of law. “It is not our concern what the BCCI has decided but the Mumbai Police has a strong case against Meiyappan... We hope to nail him in a court of law,” Roy told mediapersons here. He added that investigations were still on and a charge-sheet would be filed in the case in due course.
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Norms for quality mid-day meal laid down
Patna, July 29 According to new guidelines, every school has to purchase mustard and vegetable oil bearing agmark and other items bearing ISI mark, Director of Bihar Midday meal scheme R Lakshmanan said here yesterday. The purchase details were required to be entered daily in the register which would be checked by officials visiting the schools frequently for inspection, he said. Lakshamanan said every school, where the scheme is being implemented, has to put up on the notice board details of foodgrains purchased and conversion cost every day for open scrutiny. The new norms have been laid down in view of complaints of purchase of sub standard raw materials for preparation of midday meals in the state’s schools. Midday meal, flagship nutritional programme of the Centre, has been in force in 70,260 schools of Bihar covering 1.30 crore students and the Chhapra tragedy has brought the scheme under strict scrutiny. The oil used for preparation of the vegetable as part of midday meal in Dharmasati Gandaman school in Mashrakh on the fateful day on July 16 was kept in a dirty bottle that did not carry the name of the manufacturer. — PTI
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Rs 3,510 cr to build SSB infrastructure
Chandigarh, July 29 The money is meant for construction of new border outposts, office buildings, technical facilities and barracks so as to boost its border management capabilities besides providing more amenities to its personnel. The SSB is responsible for the peacetime management of the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan international borders, and is also increasingly engaged in countering the movement of Maoists through these borders. The outlay for infrastructure was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs a few days ago. The committee also approved the construction of 2,000 residential units and 10 barracks at 12 different sites at an estimated expenditure of Rs 414 crore. As with other central armed police forces under the Ministry of Home Affairs, the SSB is also in the process of raising additional battalions, sector headquarters and restructuring its operational hierarchy, for which additional infrastructure and accommodation is mandated. Against a sanctioned strength of about 81,000 personnel, the posted strength of the force is 67,000, making up 61 battalions and associated formations. Out of these, 25 battalions that man 450 border outposts are deployed on the Indo-Nepal border, while 13 battalions manning 130 outposts are deployed along the border with Bhutan.
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A delegation of the association led by secretary Parthasarthy Sensharma and accompanied by the suspended officer today met acting Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan requesting him to revoke Nagpal’s suspension.
New Delhi, July 29
Chaudhary has been charged under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 420 (cheating), 467 (fabrication of documents), 471 (using a forged document as genuine), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), of the Indian Penal Code besides the SC/ST Act. Chaudhary’s two nephews Gurmeet and Dharampal, friend Paramjeet and truck driver Tilak Raj have been charged with murder, destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy.