HYDERABAD: A day after a very severe cyclonic storm Hudhud battered the Andhra coast with heavy rains leaving five persons dead, the state government is investing its energy and resources on restoration and relief works even as it remained on alert in view of heavy rainfall warning.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's Cabinet is expected to be in Visakhapatnam as the government focuses on bringing life back to normal in the districts of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram which bore the brunt of the cyclonic fury.

According to the State's Revenue (Disaster Management) Department, five persons were killed in the incidents of wall and roof collapses and uprooting of trees in the region, which was pounded by rains and gale winds at speeds ranging from 170 to 180 kmph yesterday.

The deceased included one-year-old P Naga Manoj from the port city of Visakhapatnam.

Railway line was badly damaged in Visakhapatnam, where the airport was also affected as heavy downpour and gusty winds downed hundreds of electric poles, trees and hoardings and blew away light-weight objects and vulnerable roof-tops.

Latest weather bulletin said Hudhud lay centred very close to south Chhattisgarh and adjoining southwest Odisha. It would move north-northwestwards and weaken gradually.

Under the influence of the system, rainfall at most places with heavy (6.5–12.4 cm) to very heavy (12.5–24.4 cm) at a few places would occur over Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram and Srikakulam districts of north Andhra Pradesh besides some districts of south Odisha during the next 24 hours.

The government said that district officials, heads of departments and every government employee would be on field for relief, restoration and rehabilitation works. The Chief Minister has directed Hyderabad-headquartered National Remote Sensing Centre to use GIS, GPS and remote sensing technologies to spot the damage and put them on the satellite through geo-tagging. This would enable the government to have the data on damages on the map.

He added that photographs of crop loss, damaged roads, bridges, reservoirs, tanks and railway lines would be made available through satellite technology by Indian Space Research Organisation.

"The government was able to reduce loss of life due to the precautionary measures taken," Naidu said and directed officials to take up restoration work on a war-footing from today.

The state government has issued an order deputing senior officers to supervise rescue, relief and rehabilitation measures and coordinate with Commissioner (Disaster Management), NDMA and NDRF and other authorities.

The government said 2,48,004 people in 320 villages of 44 mandals (blocks) have been affected by the cyclone. As many as 1,35,262 persons have been evacuated and accommodated in 223 relief camps.

As per initial estimates, 70 houses were damaged and loss of animals was put at 34. Officials reported huge damages to railway and power sector in Visakhapatnam. –PTI

Odisha govt steps up relief efforts

BHUBANESWAR: As cyclone Hudhud weakened and moved to Chhattisgarh, Odisha government on Monday braced for relief and rehabilitation in the affected southern districts where its damaged houses and uprooted trees even as heavy rainfall was expected to lash these areas.

While three persons died in Odisha due to the very severe cyclonic storm that made a landfall near Visakhapatnam in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, damage caused by the calamity would be assessed soon, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Mohapatra said.

As a precautionary measure, around 2.33 lakh people had been evacuated from vulnerable areas to safe places in ten districts in view of Hudhud though the intensity of the cyclone was not very fierce, he said.

Stating that uprooting of trees and damage to thatched houses were reported from some of the southern districts, the SRC said immediate step had been taken for clearance of roads blocked due to uprooted trees and other objects.

Rains accompanied by gusty wind continued in several parts of south Odisha including Malkangiri district and officials said the wind speed would gradually decrease.

As the cyclonic storm moved away from the state and proceeded north-westwards continuing to lose steam gradually, rain and thundershower was expected at most places over Odisha till tomorrow, IMD centre here said.

The met office forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at one or two places in districts of North Odisha during next 12 and heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places in districts of North Odisha in subsequent 24 hours.

The deceased were identified as Puja Mallick (6) and Hemant Mallick (11) of Magarkanda village in Kendrapara district and 42-year-old fisherman Sudulu Goraya of Penthakata in Puri district, Mohapatra said.

Mohapatra said that there has not been much damage so far in the storm but scores of trees and electricity poles had been knocked over in Potangi area of Koraput district as the system passed through the region after making landfall near Visakhapatnam.
The SRC said the state government had to make special efforts to get the tribal people, mostly from the Bonda and Didia communities in Malkangiri, to leave their dwellings and move to safety.

As most of the southern region received heavy to medium rainfall, the state government had made preparations for any possible floods in rivers like Bansadhara and Rusikulya. However, the water level in the two rivers was below danger levels, officials said. 

NDRF and ODRAF teams were now gearing up for post-cyclone operations in order to restore normalcy in the cyclone affected areas, official sources said.
Steps have been initiated to restore power supply in some areas in south Odisha wehre electric poles and other systems had been affected, the sources said.
Armed with equipment and machinery, the teams would soon remove uprooted trees, they said.

Free kitchens had been set up in around 2000 shelter homes where the evacuated people were accommodated in the ten districts of Gajapati, Ganjam, Koraput, Malkangiri, Puri, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kendrapara, Kalahandi and Khurda, a senior official said.

Those sheltered in these centres would be able to leave for their homes as soon as the rainfall and situation improves and wind speed falls, he said.

Road and train operations to Vishakhapatanam were suspended during the cyclonic movement yesterday as a precautionary measure in view of the storm. While the state government stopped plying of buses to Andhra Pradesh and many southern Odisha districts, railways cancelled 58 trains and diverted 50 others.

While bus services were resuming to some places today, the railway was also planning to run trains up to Palasa, the sources said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had yesterday spoken to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and apprised him of the Odisha government's preparedness. Similarly, Chief Secretary G C Pati had interacted with Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth thrice over the situation. –PTI

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Visakhapatnam on Tuesday to review the situation in the aftermath of cyclone Hudhud that has left a trail of destruction in the area.

"Will visit Visakhapatnam tomorrow and take stock of the situation," he tweeted.

The Prime Minister said he has spoken to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and has been constantly taking updates.

The very severe cyclonic storm, which made landfall close to Visakhapatnam on Sunday, claimed five lives. 

Naidu's Cabinet is expected to be in Visakhapatnam on Monday as the government focuses on bringing life back to normal in the districts of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram which bore the brunt of the cyclonic fury.

According to the state's Revenue (Disaster Management) Department, five persons were killed in the incidents of wall and roof collapses and uprooting of trees in the region, which was pounded by rains and gale winds at speeds ranging from 170 to 180kmph on Sunday.

Latest weather bulletin said Hudhud lay centred very close to south Chhattisgarh and adjoining southwest Odisha. It would move north-northwestwards and weaken gradually. — PTI

NEW DELHI: The high-voltage campaign in the October 15 Assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra came to an end this evening as Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up his offensive against Congress and other rivals who gave back in equal measure.

The dust and din came to an end at 5 PM when the loudspeakers went silent as political parties asked their cadre to get on with the job of door-to-door campaign for persuading the voters.


Egged on by the massive mandate he got in the Lok Sabha elections just five months ago, Modi unleashed a poll blitzkrieg addressing over 30 rallies in the two states where he took on the opposition over dynastic politics and corruption.


With no local face in Maharashtra which has 288 seats and Haryana which has 90 seats, the BJP banked heavily on Modi for campaigning, especially in Maharashtra where it split with its long term ally, the Shiv Sena.


While he avoided any criticism of Shiv Sena, Modi came down heavily on both the Congress and NCP, saying they were highly corrupt and had looted the state for the last 15 years.


Congress on the other hand projected Prithviraj Chavan while NCP Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray.


With Wednesday's polling in the two states being seen as the first key test of popularity for major political parties after the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP left nothing to chance with Modi addressing over 20 rallies in Maharashtra and 10 in Haryana. Counting of votes will be taken up on Sunday.


The October 15 elections for the Maharashtra Assembly will be the first in over quarter of a century when major political parties are out in the poll arena sans erstwhile alliance partners. 


The BJP is contesting 257 seats while its smaller allies are contesting on 31. Congress and NCP are contesting on all the seats. Some candidates from other parties are contesting on Congress symbol.


The last time Shiv Sena and BJP fought separately was before 1989 - the year their alliance was sealed and for Congress and NCP, it was before 1999 the year the Sharad Pawar-led party was formed.


The main issues which parties highlighted in Maharashtra were Marathi identity, Hindutva, corruption and development.


In the 2009 polls, Cong won 82, NCP won 62, Sena 45 and BJP 47 and MNS 12. Ashok Chavan of Congress was elected the chief minister.


While Congress banked on the development plank, Shiv Sena projected itself as one with a "real identity" of Maharashtra.


The BJP was unsparing in its attacks on the Congress-NCP on the issue of corruption with Modi asking the electorate to "punish" the Congress and NCP which "looted" the people.


The campaign in Haryana saw the Prime Minister targeting Congress exploiting the controversy surrounding the land deals involving Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, saying it symbolised the corruption of 10 years of Congress regime. He sought a majority for BJP, saying a hung assembly will serve no one's interest.


The other top guns battling it out in Haryana are the kin of the three famous 'Lals' including jailed former Chief Minister O P Chautala.


Unlike in the recent past, when the fight was mainly between Congress and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), a number of new players threw their hats in the ring this time.


However, Congress, BJP and INLD are being seen as the main players, with all three hoping to capture power on their own. 


BJP for the first time in the history of Haryana, which was carved out as a separate state in 1966, is contesting on all the 90 seats on its own.


Two new parties—- former Union Minister Venod Sharma-led Haryana Jan Chetna Party (HJCP) and Independent MLA Gopal Kanda's Haryana Lokhit Party—-, besides BSP, Haryana Janhit Congress and the Left parties are also trying their luck.


Two-time Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, son of veteran freedom fighter late Chaudhary Ranbir Singh, is seeking re-election from his Garhi Sampla Kiloi constituency in Rohtak district.


The Chief Minister is faced with the challenge of leading Congress to a third-time win in a row in the wake of anti-incumbency and other factors.


Throughout his campaign in Haryana, the Prime Minister asked the people to shun the "families" that have monopolised power in Haryana by forging "behind-the-scene alliances" for past 25 years.


Congress President Sonia Gandhi on her part launched a twin-pronged attack on BJP and INLD, saying they were only out to grab power. She also accused BJP of being pro-rich and making hollow promises.


In the 2009 elections in Haryana, Congress had won 40 seats, INLD 31, BJP 4 and Independents 7.


While Haryana's famous 'Lals'-— Devi Lal, Bansi Lal and Bhajan Lal-- may have dominated the state's political landscape for decades, years after they are gone, their progenies and kin who are contesting from different seats this time hope to keep the family name flying high.


Devi Lal's son former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and the latter's son Ajay Singh may be out of the contest this time in the wake of their sentencing in the teachers' recruitment scam last year but prestige is at stake for the kin who are in fray fighting from the seats represented by the jailed leaders. -PTI

MUMBAI: Regulator SEBI has barred realty major DLF, as also six top executives, including Chairman K.P. Singh, from securities markets for three years, after finding the company guilty of “active and deliberate suppression” of material information at the time of its public offer.

Those prohibited from the markets, including Singh’s son Rajiv Singh (Vice-Chairman) and daughter Pia Singh (Whole-Time Director), SEBI said in its order.

“I find that the case of active and deliberate suppression of any material information so as to mislead and defraud the investors in the securities market in connection with the issue of shares of DLF in its IPO is clearly made out in this case,” SEBI’s Whole-Time Member Rajeev Agarwal said in his 43-page order.

“I am satisfied that the violations as found in this case are grave and have larger implications on the safety and integrity of the securities market. In my view, for the serious contraventions as found in the instant case, effective deterrent actions to safeguard the market integrity. It, therefore, becomes incumbent to deal with contraventions, digression and demeanour of the erring Noticees sternly and take appropriate actions for effective deterrence,” Agarwal said.

The company and its top executives are found to have violated various regulations including Sebi’s Disclosure and Investor Protection (DIP) Guidelines and the PFUTP (Prevention of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) norms.

As per the order, those facing the ban include T.C. Goyal (Managing Director), Kameshwar Swarup and Ramesh Sanka. All of these persons, including K.P. Singh and his two children, were part of the top management at the time of filing IPO documents.

About G.S. Talwar, who was also a non-executive director at that time, Sebi said it could not be established whether he was involved in day-to-day operations of the company and therefore it was giving him “benefit of doubt”.

DLF had raised Rs 9,187 crore through its IPO in 2007.

SEBI began its probe after a Delhi High Court order in April 2010, wherein the regulator was asked to undertake an investigation into the complaints made by one Kimsuk Krishna Sinha, who had also filed complaints with SEBI in 2007.

The complaints were mainly related to DLF’s dealings with some of its allegedly related entities. Singh's family is also a main promoter of the realty giant.

“In this case, I have already found that the process of share transfer of three subsidiaries of DLF in Sudipti, Shalika and Felicite was through sham transactions as alleged in the SCN (Show Cause Notice) and that the Noticees employed a plan, scheme, design and device to camouflage the association of DLF with its three subsidiaries namely, Felicite, Shalika and Sudipti. In this case under such plan, scheme, design and device, the Noticees suppressed several material information in the RHP/Prospectus of DLF and actively concealed the fact about filing of FIR against Sudipti and others."

“In the facts and circumstances of this case, I find that the case of active and deliberate suppression of any material information so as to mislead and defraud the investors in the securities market in connection with the issue of shares of DLF in its IPO is clearly made out in this case,” SEBI’s Whole Time Member said in his order dated October 10, which was released today.

SEBI said that the the DIP Guidelines require that the IPO prospectus should contain ‘all material information’ which shall be true and adequate so as to enable the investors to make informed decision on the investments in the issue.

Also, “the information should be true and adequate so as to enable the investors to make informed decision on the investments in the issue. ... In this case, all the information which were not disclosed as found herein above, were material information,” Sebi said, while adding that DLF has misled the investors and violated DIP guidelines by “not disclosing material information in the Prospectus and actively concealing them from the prospective investors“.

Besides, the “active and known/deliberate suppression of material information and facts in a RHP/Prospectus so as to mislead and defraud the investors in securities market in connection with the issue of shares would be covered” within the PFUTP Regulations, SEBI said.

There was no immediate reply from DLF on the SEBI order. — PTI

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday stayed the arrest of controversial senior Punjab Police officer Gautam Cheema in cases registered against him.

The court, while staying the arrest till November 3, directed Cheema to join investigation in the cases registered against him. Cheema had been on the run for the last few days and was avoiding arrest.

Cheema, an Inspector General (IG) of Police, was suspended last month by the Punjab government following a complaint filed by three women — Krispy Khera, Maninder Gulati and Amarpreet Verma — against him.

Khera is the wife of property dealer Devinder Singh Gill with whom Cheema and other police officers of Punjab and their relatives had invested crores of rupees in real estate. 

Gill was arrested by the Haryana Police last month in a rape case.

The Punjab Police had registered cases against Cheema last month on the charge of abducting a proclaimed offender (PO) from a police station. 

He was also booked for alleged molestation after Gill's wife Krispy complained to the police that Cheema had allegedly tried to molest her.

Cheema, who was posted in the information technology and telecommunications wing, was booked along with three others, including a woman, for allegedly abducting PO Sumedh Gulati recently from a police station in Mohali, 10 km from here. Gulati had been brought to the police station for questioning.

A number of Punjab officers, including police officers, and their relatives had allegedly invested millions of unaccounted money with Gill in real estate but he conned them. — IANS

NEW DELHI: Cracking the whip, the Congress today removed Shashi Tharoor as party spokesperson for his praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which did not go down well with the Kerala unit of the party.

"Congress president Sonia Gandhi has accepted the recommendation of the AICC Disciplinary Committee to remove Shashi Tharoor from the list of spokespersons of the AICC with immediate effect.

"The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee had submitted a complaint in this regard to the disciplinary committee," said party General Secretary Organisation Janardan Dwivedi in a press release.

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee had prepared a report against Tharoor, which was referred to AICC's disciplinary action committee a few days ago.

The report of the Kerala unit had held that Tharoor's adulatory statements about Modi had hurt Congress workers in Kerala, who had worked sincerely and tirelessly for his victory from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat.

Tharoor had earlier reacted sarcastically to the Kerala unit's move, saying this would mean the state leadership would finally read what he actually wrote instead of oral summaries.

The complaint by the Kerala Congress Committee had come at a time when Tharoor had accepted the invite by the Prime Minister to be a brand ambassador of the "Swachch Bharat" mission of the NDA government.

Tharoor had also gone to the US during the time the Prime Minister was in that country and had appeared on various television channels. Party sources say that nobody was assigned from the Congress to the US during Modi's visit and speak on the party's behalf.

Tharoor has not been briefing media at the AICC from June 4 after his piece in Huffington Post praising Modi kicked up a big row in the Congress.

The Congress leader had said that it would be "churlish" if his party did not take note of Modi's efforts to sound gracious and accommodative and reinvent himself from a "hate figure into an avatar of modernity and progress".

The Congress had snubbed him immediately, describing it as his "personal view". Since then Tharoor did not brief the media from the AICC podium. 

The view in the AICC is that Tharoor should have kept in mind that he holds a responsible position in the party and party interests should come first.

The three-member disciplinary action committee of AICC, which looked into the complaint of the Kerala Congress, comprised Motilal Vora, A K Antony and Sushilkumar Shinde.

Taking strong exception to his repeated praise of Modi and his initiatives like "Swachh Bharat" mission, the Congress in Kerala had sought appropriate action by the high command against Tharoor.

Incidentally, Tharoor's press conference at the AICC were not uploaded on the party website beyond May 7 this year while the site is updated on AICC briefings till October 10.

A senior party functionary said despite the fact that Tharoor's books in past had been "very critical" of late Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, the party made him a minister even when he was the first time MP.

The only other first-time MP to become a Minister in the UPA government was Manish Tewari.

The leader said despite his controversial utterances with which the party had to distance from time to time, the party gave him an opportunity to head the Parliament Standing Committee on External Affairs in September when the government reconstituted Parliamentary panels after the new Lok Sabha came into being.

Tharoor has so far rejected suggestions that he was moving closer to the BJP by asserting that he was a "proud Congressman" and never endorsed the "Hindutva agenda" of the BJP.

In a massive rejig of the AICC media department ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Tharoor was made a national spokesperson in the AICC in January while he was still in the thick of a controversy over his wife Sunanda Pushkar's sudden death.

A number of faces included in the list of spokespersons and television panelists that time were close aides of the Congress vice-president and had Youth Congress or NSUI background. — PTI

Jawan killed in encounter

SRINAGAR: An Army jawan was on Monday  killed in an encounter with militants in Kupwara district of Kashmir.

Security forces launched a search operation in the forests near Petha village in Kupwara this morning following information about presence of militants there, an Army official said.

He said an Army jawan was killed in the initial exchange of firing between the security forces and militants.

"The operation is still in progress and further details are awaited," he added. -PTI

CHANDIGARH: In a shot in the arm for the BJP ahead of Wednesday's assembly polls, the political wing of Sirsa-based sect Dera Sacha Sauda on Monday  decided to extend support to the saffron party on all the 90 assembly seats in Haryana.

The decision was taken today after a marathon three-day meeting of the Dera's 15-member political wing, after which the decision was made to extend support to the BJP, two members of the wing, Kastoor and Rakesh said.

The party has also decided to extend support to the BJP in Maharashtra.

"We will extend support to the BJP candidates in Haryana on all the 90 assembly seats. We have considerable following pan-India and we have also decided to extend support to the BJP in Maharashtra," Kastoor said.

Speaking over phone from Sirsa, Kastoor said the decision has been taken after taking into consideration feedback from the "Saadh Sangat", which has representatives at village and block level, into account.

Kastoor, however, maintained that Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was not involved in the decision on extending support and the final decision had been taken "collectively" by the political wing.

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed an election rally at Sirsa, considered the stronghold of the Chautalas, on Saturday.

BJP is contesting all the seats on its own for the first time in the state. In the past, it has played second fiddle to parties like the INLD, Haryana Vikas Party which later merged with Congress, and even with Haryana Janhit Congress before separating from it recently. -PTI

DHARAMSALA: Pro-independence Tibetan writer Lhasang Tsering recently launched a book titled ‘Random: Ideas and Opinions of a Rebel', which is focused on the freedom struggle against China.

Dharamsala has been the global headquarters of Tibetan exiles since 1959.
Tsering, who is among the Tibetans who opposed the Tibetan leader Dalai Lama's Strasbourg proposal of 1988, which elaborated on the Middle Way Approach, is also a poet. He has always demanded complete independence for Tibetans through his hard-hitting writings.
Tsering said, “After his holiness announced the Middle Way policy, I decided can no longer work for this government whose purpose is to accept that Tibet will remain within the so-called genocidal People's Republic of China.” 
“The price for national political freedom is not, cannot be paid with silver and gold. The price for national political freedom must be paid in the currency of life and blood,” added Tsering.

Thousands of people, including spiritual leader Dalai Lama, had fled into exile in India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule and since then have been living in various refugee colonies, settlements across India.

Representatives of the Dalai Lama held rounds of talks with China until 2010, but formal dialogue has stalled amid leadership changes in Beijing and a crackdown in Tibet.

Over 130 Tibetans have reportedly set themselves on fire in Tibet since 2009 calling for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans.

The book is Tsering's fourth and has been released by a Tibetan writers' group called Tibet Writes, which has till date published 16 books by Tibetan writers. –Agencies

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has termed the Kashmir dispute as one of the biggest failures of the UN, media reported Monday.

Bilawal has asked the UN to implement its resolutions for resolving the issue. He was speaking in an event Sunday, The Nation reported.

He said that according to the UN resolution-1172, Pakistan and India were prohibited to be provided with nuclear technology and its material but the sanctions that were imposed on both nations are not being implemented in case of India.

"The youth will succeed where the old generations had failed," he said, adding that the future generation would not count missiles and other armoury instead they would work for a democratic, prosperous and progressive Pakistan.

"We cannot tolerate such behaviour from a world body towards a democratic Muslim nation," Bilawal said, adding that they had only two ways of either becoming a prosperous Muslim nation or to become a religious fascist state that could not only endanger region's peace but also the world peace. –IANS

MUZAFFARNAGAR: To ensure free and fair elections, 48 checkposts have being set up at the Haryana-UP border for the elections to be held on October 15.

According to the directives issued by election commission, checkposts have been set up in six bordering districts for the assembly elections to be held in Haryana and the bypoll to be held in Kairana assembly seat on October 15, Subdivisional Magistrate and Returning Officer Kairana Suresh Kumar Mishra said.

The checkposts started functioning today in Shamli, Saharanpur, Baghpat, Gautam Budhnagar, Mathura and Aligarh and will be in place till October 15, he added.

Meanwhile, four checkposts were established at Haryana border in Shamli district including two at Yamuna bridge at Kairana, one on Panipat-Khatima highway and another at Bidoli-Yamuna bridge on the highway.

Mishra said in total 16 checkposts have been established in the inter-district border at Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Shamli district. -PTI

SYDNEY: An expert believes that Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius might never spend another night in jail as the double amputee returns to court in Pretoria for sentencing on Friday.

Pistorius was cleared by Judge Thokozile Masipa of the premeditated murder of his girlfriend of four months Reeva Steenkamp, but convicted of culpable homicide or manslaughter after a trial that lasted six months.

And on Friday Judge Masipa would reopen the case and call for submissions from both legal teams before retiring to decide what sentence to impose, News.com.au reported.

According to Dr Llewelyn Curlewis, northern provinces president of the Law Society of South Africa, it is a process that could take weeks and would probably result in a non-custodial sentence.

Curlewis said that first the defence would have the opportunity to provide information on mitigating circumstances, and this could be a written submission, or defence advocate Barry Roux could call witnesses, including Pistorius. He added that the state would have the chance to cross-examine.

The doctor said that when the defence closes its case it would be the state's turn, adding that Prosecutor Gerrie Nel would present aggravating circumstances and may call witnesses, including family members of the deceased. He said Roux would be able to cross-examine.

Curlewis said that this would take several days and his own opinion is that the judge would then adjourn for one, two or three weeks to make her decision, taking into account the submissions and looking at comparable cases of culpable homicide.

The judge reportedly has two options, to impose direct imprisonment of up to 15 years, or non-custodial correctional supervision. Curlewis said that any custodial sentence of under eight years would be seen as very lenient, but you have to take into account that Pistorius is a first offender with no other offences or sanctions on his record.

The doctor said that there are numerous small sanctions that can be included within custodial supervision, such as home arrest, financial compensation to the victim, community service and he believes that the judge would order this because their prisons are overcrowded. 

Curlewis reminded that culpable homicide is a negligent offence, not an intentional offence, and said that so on the facts presented in the case it could be argued that Pistorius is no threat to society. –Agencies