NEW DELHI: Calling him "chor", a man from Gwalior today threw ink on the face of Sahara chief Subrata Roy when he was brought to the Supreme Court amidst chaotic scenes.

Calling himself an investor, the man in his 30s, Manoj Sharma, waited for Roy, who was wearing his trade mark waist coat and tie, to get out of one of the cars of the police convoy that had brought him a little after noon from nearby Noida to the court premises and blackened his face.

Shouting "Sahara chor hai" (thief), Sharma threw a bottle of black ink on him. The man was beaten up by some lawyers who had gathered and he was removed by the police to Tilak Marg police station.

The attempt of security personnel to bring Roy inside the Court premises through another gate did not bear fruit as waiting photo journalists rushed to the place where Roy Chief got down from the police vehicle.

Sharma, who reportedly has a previous record of having thrown a shoe at Congress MP Suresh Kalmadio when he was being brought to a court, removed his shirt and shouted that "He is a thief. He has stolen people's money and I am against thieves".

The Uttar Pradesh security personnel, in whose custody he has been since Friday, got entry passes issued for themselves and the Sahara Chief to ensure his presence before a bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar at 2 PM.

To ensure smooth entry of Roy inside the court building, the security personnel ordered temporary closure of one of the two entry gates around 1 PM.

The bench had earlier taken serious note of Roy's absence before it and had issued non-bailable warrant against him and production by 2 PM today. The subsequent last-ditch effort to get the arrest warrant recall did not fructify as the bench had rejected the plea.

The order to arrest Roy was issued after his failure to appear before the apex court in the contempt case arising out of non-refund of Rs 20,000 crore to investors by two of his companies. 

The court had issued non-bailable warrant against Roy after he failed to appear before it on February 26. Roy had sought exemption from personal appearance on the ground of ill-health of his 92-year-old mother.

The Sahara chief had on February 27 approached the apex court tendering an "unconditional apology" for his non-appearance in the contempt case and had sought recall of the NBW. The plea was declined by the court.

Roy was arrested in Lucknow on March 1 after he surrendered to police.The three directors of Sahara Group, who were also summoned along with Roy, had appeared in the court.

The court had on February 20 come down heavily on the Sahara group for not refunding the investors' money despite its order and summoned Roy, Ravi Shankar Dubey, Ashok Roy Choudhary and Vandana Bhargava, directors of its firms Sahara India Real Estate Corp Ltd (SIREC) and Sahara India Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHIC) to be personally present before it. - PTI

AIBA terminates India

LAUSANNE: Furious with the current logjam in the suspended Indian Boxing Federation, the International Boxing Association has terminated the IBF from its fold stating that the current set of office-bearers are “damaging the image, reputation and interest” of the sport.

In a tersely-worded statement, the AIBA said it is not in a position to make a “proper” judgement on how to handle India’s case after receiving conflicting communications from various stakeholders. The boxers and coaches will, however, continue to remain unaffected by the development and can participate in international events under the AIBA flag till the time the crisis is unresolved.

“It is with much regret that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Executive Committee (EC) has decided to end any official relationship with its current suspended member, the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) after an extensive evaluation and assessment of all issues surrounding the sport of boxing in India,” the world body said in its latest missive.

AIBA president Ching Kuo Wu said the IBF is unlikely to be re-recognised till the time a new set of officials take charge after fresh elections, the screening of candidates for which would be done by the world body.

“As AIBA president and on behalf of the entire boxing family, I am expressing my deepest regret and sadness that we had to make this decision,” stated Dr. Wu.

“AIBA has always regarded India as one of the most important members of its family, but it has become impossible for us to bear the hard feelings, the pain and suffering the boxers as well as the boxing family in India had to go through under the past and recent leadership which has also been damaging the image, reputation and interest of our sport in the country,” he added.

Sources said the latest AIBA diktat is the result of a letter sent by IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta in which he sought to persuade the body to recognise the present set of IBF office-bearers. The request was not taken kindly by the AIBA, which decided to terminate India.

After provisionally suspending the IBF on December 6, 2012, AIBA has not recognised any official activities and did not support the Indian officials for almost 16 months.
However, AIBA promised to review the situation when the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had its suspension lifted by the IOC. - PTI

WASHINGTON: Yoga - the 5,000-year-old Indian meditative practice - can benefit women who are undergoing treatment for breast cancer, as it regulates stress and fights fatigue, a new study has found.

For women with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy, yoga offers unique benefits beyond fighting fatigue, researchers said.

The study by Lorenzo Cohen, from University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center is part of an effort to scientifically validate mind-body interventions in cancer patients.

Researchers found that while simple stretching exercises counteracted fatigue, patients who participated in yoga exercises that incorporated controlled breathing, meditation and relaxation techniques into their treatment plan experienced improved ability to engage in their daily activities, better general health and better regulation of cortisol (stress hormone).

Women in the yoga group were also better equipped to find meaning in the illness experience, which declined over time for the women in the other two groups.

The study also assessed, for the first time, yoga benefits in cancer patients by comparing their experience with patients in an active control group who integrated simple, generic stretching exercises into their lives.

"Combining mind and body practices that are part of yoga clearly have tremendous potential to help patients manage the psychosocial and physical difficulties associated with treatment and life after cancer, beyond the benefits of simple stretching," said Cohen.

Participants in the yoga and stretching groups attended sessions specifically tailored to breast cancer patients for one-hour, three days a week throughout their six weeks of radiation treatment.

They were asked to report on their quality of life, including levels of fatigue and depression, their daily functioning and a measure assessing ability to find meaning in the illness experience.

Saliva samples were collected and electrocardiogram tests were administered.

Women who practiced yoga had the steepest decline in their cortisol levels across the day, indicating that yoga had the ability to help regulate this stress hormone.

Higher stress hormone levels throughout the day, known as a blunted circadian cortisol rhythm, have been linked to worse outcomes in breast cancer, researchers said.

After completing radiation treatment only the women in the yoga and stretching groups reported a reduction in fatigue, they said.

At one, three and six months after radiation therapy, women who practiced yoga during the treatment period reported greater benefits to physical functioning and general health.

They were more likely to find life meaning from their cancer experience than the other groups.

The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. - PTI

PANAJI: The Bombay High Court today began in-camera hearing on the bail petition of Tehelka Founder Editor Tarun Tejpal, accused of sexually assaulting a woman colleague in a lift of a star hotel here.

The single bench of justice U V Bakre here agreed for the in-camera hearing of the case after both prosecution and defence lawyers unanimously opined that a lot has been written about this case in the media already.

The court took up the case around 10.30 AM and began the hearing in-camera. The 50-year-old journalist has been behind bars for allegedly raping a junior woman colleague during Tehelka's Thinkfest in Goa in November last year.

He sought bail after Goa Crime branch filed a charge sheet against Tejpal for rape, outraging modesty and sexual harassment of the woman journalist.

On February 18, the Goa bench, refusing to give any immediate relief to Tejpal had posted the matter for today and asked the prosecution to table the copy of the charge sheet filed against him.

Tejpal is presently lodged in Sada sub-jail in Vasco, 35 kms from here. - PTI 

AGRA: The Uttar Pradesh government's nod for acquiring around 50 acres of land for constructing a new terminal at Agra's Kheria Airport, which is part of an Indian Air Force base, has raised hopes of majorly boosting the Taj city's tourism industry.

The state government has sanctioned Rs.60 crores for the land acquisition, though farmers' bodies have been demanding compensation at the prevailing market rates. The district authorities have been advised to negotiate one-to-one and speed up the acquisition process so that work can start before the model code of conduct kicks in ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

"The lone flight we now have is erratic, does not stick to schedule and there are abrupt cancellations. Tourists are, therefore, hesitant to book tickets," Rajiv Tiwari, a senior tourism industry leader and president of the Federation of Travel Agents Associations of India, told IANS. adding the new development augers well for the industry.

"We had demanded VAT reduction to 4 percent on aviation fuel for all airlines landing in Agra, but the ministry has only allowed the reduction for airlines that fly 60,000 kms in UP (Uttar Pradesh). The benefit should be extended to all without pre-conditions because only then will airlines take interest in operating flights to Agra," Tiwari said. 

Soon Delhi-Taj drive without entering Agra

AGRA: In two years, tourists from Delhi and Kanpur will be drive to the Taj Mahal from the Yamuna Expressway without entering the congested Agra city. 

This will be made possible by the Rs.306 crore inner city Ring Road that will connect the Yamuna Expressway with Fatehabad tourism complex near the Taj Mahal, the foundation stone of which Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav laid Monday evening, along with that for a long-pending Rs.108 crore Taj Ganj beautification project.

Agra Development Authority (ADA) secretary Ravindra Kumar said the Jaipur company which got the contract for the Ring Road began work after the "bhoomi pujan". 

The work will be completed in two years. In the first phase the 10.9 km elevated stretch will have six lanes. Two more lanes will be subsequently added. New hubs of activity will develop on either side of the Yamuna Expressway. The Agra-Lucknow Expressway project cleared by the state government will further help connectivity, as the two roads will meet at Kuberpur in Agra's Etmadpur tehsil.

After the Yamuna Expressway, a project of the previous Mayawati government, became operational in August 2012, demands were being made by the local tourism industry to connect the Expressway with the Fatehabad road across the Yamuna, in close proximity to the 17th century Taj Mahal. Currently, vehicles coming to Agra from Delhi-Noida via the Expressway have to enter the city and waste precious hours in negotiating traffic to reach the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Ganj beautification project will be a big boost to tourism as the entire area around the Taj Mahal will be spruced and the amenities for tourists streamlined. 

"There will be parks, landscapping, new toilets, better roads, lighting, underground cables, shelters, activity zones, covered drains, a golf course, medical facilities and a whole lot of smaller projects that would help tourists spend more time around the Taj Mahal," an ADA official said. - IANS

NAGPUR: The Union Health Ministry, which has drawn new guidelines for treating rape victims, has asked all hospitals to set up a designated room for forensic and medical examination of victims besides outlawing the two-finger test performed on them, dubbing it as unscientific.

The Department of Health Research (DHR) along with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) with the help of experts formulated this set of national guidelines for dealing with criminal assault cases, which will hopefully put an end to the “horrendous” medical process, which the victims are subjected to after the sexual abuse.

The DHR has also drafted a new manual to address the psycho-social impact of sexual violence including counselling that the victims should receive to alleviate her woes.These guidelines have been made available to healthcare providers who work with victims of sexual violence.

A experts’ group on Gender and Health was formed by Dr V M Katoch, Secretary to GOI-DHR and Director General ICMR in November 2011 under the chairmanship of Dr M E Khan (Secretary, Sexual Violence Research Initiative) to formulate these guidelines which can be used at Primary Health Centres and district hospitals whenever a rape victim approaches them.

Later, Indrajit Khandekar, in-charge Clinical Forensic Medicine Unit (CFMU) & Associate professor at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS) Sevagram-Wardha (on whose study report titled “pitiable & horrendous quality of forensic medical examination of sexual assault cases” a PIL was filed in Bombay High Court) was given the responsibility to draft these guidelines.

The guidelines drafted were made available to public and experts and their opinion was sought. Following this, the guidelines were released for circulation on December 16, 2013. Dr. Khandekar, who pursued the matter single handedly, told PTI that he had successfully impressed upon the state government on how to handle such cases and now at national level too, the Centre has come out with fresh guidelines.

“It has been observed that the rape victims are usually put under a horribly judgemental microscope from the moment they call up the cops. They are often subjected to judgmentally attitudes by both the doctors and other medical staff in the hospital. The new guidelines include that every hospital must have a designated room to deal with Medico Legal Cases (MLC) of sexual assault to provide privacy to the victim and must have essential equipments listed in the guidelines,” he said.

There must be provisions to provide alternative clothing for the victims and smooth collection of MLC evidence keeping in mind the sensitivity of the circumstances.

Also, there must be training sessions for sensitising doctors and other medical staff for the protocols and guidelines for MLC examination/reporting of such cases, it has been outlined. As per the guidelines, while carrying out medical tests no third person must be present in the room other than the doctor. If the doctor is male, a female attendant must be there, Dr. Khandekar said.

The new set of rules also provide comprehensive care which must address issues such as physical injuries, STDs, HIV, Hepatitis B, etc. Also the psychological effects must be recognised and the patient shall be provided counselling, social support and appropriate referrals, it said.

The maligned two-finger test that was used by doctors to opine whether the girl is habituated to sexual intercourse or not, has been outlawed and the manual recognises that it is no way scientific and shall not be performed. Doctors are asked not to use word rape in their opinion, as it is a legal definition and not a medical diagnosis.

For the first time, names of samples, its preservative and purpose of analysis for forensic lab has to be printed itself on the form before sending it to FSL (forensic science lab). This will avoid inadequate preservation of sample and analysis of sample for wrong purpose, the guidelines said.

A provision for DNA analysis has also been done. A separate form for medical management as a check list has been provided too.

In the past, rape survivor examination was done only after receiving police requisition. Now this is not mandatory for a rape survivor seeking medical examination and care. The doctors should examine such cases without an FIR if the survivor reports to the hospital first. Also, it is now mandatory for the forensic medical report to state precisely the reasons for each conclusion. - PTI