Monday, March 29, 1999
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N A T I O N |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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ISI wants to push in more
mercenaries Parties
hail package for Bihar |
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Probe sought into
‘fake’ encounter
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Plea to bring back
Netaji’s ashes
Khalsa
Panth greeting cards Rangretta
march from Delhi begins |
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ISI wants to push in more mercenaries NEW DELHI, March 28 (PTI) — Pakistan’s ISI, apparently bypassing the political leadership, is almost certain to intensify efforts to push in more mercenaries into the Kashmir valley, even as a prominent a Pak-based militant outfit "confirmed" its involvement in Jammu and Kashmir. Official sources said here today that as the snow on the mountain passes had started melting, militants were trying to infiltrate into the valley through the traditional routes. The sources, quoting recently-arrested militants in the valley, said the ISI had moved mercenaries into the "transit" camps like Alaqe Gher and Bagh in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) to infiltrate into the valley. Pakistan was also keeping its ex-servicemen ready for infiltration and they had already been moved into these camps, the sources quoting interrogation records of the arrested militants said. The ISI was now relying more only on mercenaries following a severe setback it faced in carrying along local Kashmiris, who had more or less turned down the option of taking to guns, they said. Pakistan, under the cover of firing along the Line of Actual Control, has been able to push mercenaries into the valley in a fresh bid to revive "dying" militancy in the state, the sources said. "The ISI has asked us to maintain a low profile till winter ended and later strike at the security and police personnel", Nazar-ul-Abbas, a militant belonging to Lashker-e-Tuiba (let), was quoted as having said during interrogation. Abbas said the ISI had asked the militants to build a base in the jungles of the valley and later move towards city and rural areas, according to the sources. Security forces also
recovered an "Al Daawa diary" brought out by
Markaz-Daawa-il-Irshad, the political face of Let, which
gave the number of its cadres killed in J and K. |
Parties hail package for Bihar PATNA, March 28 (UNI) — Different political parties today welcomed yesterday’s announcement of the Centre to provide Rs 600-crore package for Bihar to strengthen the state government in combating extremist groups and private armies. State Congress President Sadanand Singh hailing the decision described it as a right step. He said development schemes and modernisation of the police force would create an atmosphere of progress and instil a sense of security among people in the extremist dominated districts of the state. He, however, asked the state government to ensure speedy and full implementation of the package proposals. Welcoming the decision, BJP state President Nand Kishore Yadav and party spokesperson Kiran Ghai said the party state unit’s repeated submissions to the Centre bore fruit as the union government appreciated the merits of their demands for a package. Both leaders said the morale of the common people, living in the shadow of fear, would also boost with the announcement of the package. They also demanded that the Centre entrust an agency for monitoring the utilisation of money provided in the package. CPI (M-L) state committee Secretary Ramjatan Sharma said the package was an outcome of a deal between the Centre and the state government under a conspiracy to eliminate the extremists by booking them under the National Security Act. He said chances of curbing the activities of the Ranvir Sena was remote. CPM state secretariat
member Sharangdhar Paswan supporting the Centre’s
decision, said the state government should derive maximum
benefits from the package. |
President, PM greet people NEW DELHI, March 28 (PTI) — The President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, and the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, today led the nation in greeting the people on the occasion of Id-ul-Zuha and Mahavir Jayanti tomorrow, asking them to adhere to the path of non-violence while strengthening the country's unity and harmony. "May we all resolve to abjure violence in our thought and practice and adhere to the path of non-violence, which Bhagwan Mahavir has shown to us," Mr Narayanan said in his message for Mahavir Jayanti. In the message extending greetings for Id-ul-Zuha, he said "may the festival strengthen the foundations for our national unity and harmony.' The Vice-President, Mr Krishan Kant, in his message, asked the people to imbibe Mahavir's philosophy for the betterment of the world and the welfare of humanity. He also extended his greetings for Id-ul-Zuha. Mr Vajpayee said Bhagwan Mahavir's message of compassion, peace and non-violence "should continue to guide us to strengthen peace and harmony." "The spirit of
sacrifice," he added "in the celebrations for
Id-ul-Zuha remind us to dedicate ourselves to the cause
of peace, harmony and brotherhood." |
Probe sought into ‘fake’ encounter CHENNAI, March 28 (UNI) — Two activists of the All India Revolutionary Students Federation (AIRSF), detained recently by the Andhra Pradesh anti-Naxalite greyhounds unit, were killed subsequently in a "fake" encounter by the police, AIRSF president Jaya Ramachandran alleged here today. Demanding a judicial probe into the killing of Mahesh and Suryam in the Mahboobnagar district of Andhra Pradesh, Mr Ramachandran, a practising advocate of the Madras High Court, alleged that they were arrested, beaten up, blindfolded and taken to Vangur special camp in the district on March 6. He told a press conference, organised by the Tamil Nadu unit of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, that he too was arrested along with Mahesh and Suryam by the greyhounds’ unit on March 6. He saw the two activists for the last time on March 7. He said while he was freed on March 10 with a warning that he should not set foot on Andhra soil again, he later learnt through newspaper reports that Mahesh and Suryam had been killed in a police encounter. Mr Ramachandran alleged that the two were tortured and killed in detention and their bodies mutilated to avoid post-mortem. He said Mahesh was a
doctorate student at Osmania University in Hyderabad and
Suryam a law student at Anantapur. They were
office-bearers of the Andhra Pradesh Revolutionary
Students Union which had been declared an illegal outfit
along with the Peoples War Group of Naxalites. |
Plea to bring back Netaji’s ashes NEW DELHI, March 28 (UNI) — The All-India Freedom Fighters Organisation (AIFFO) has urged Home Minister L.K. Advani that the ashes of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, kept at Renokji Temple, Tokyo, be brought to India and a memorial be built to him. Organisations vice-president D.N. Sinha, in a letter to the Home Minister, said if the government was not in a position to do so, the AIFFO might be allowed to do the work instead. Mr Sinha also drew Mr Advani’s attention to the economic and unemployment situation in the country which he said must be improved by reviving the about 4 lakh closed industries which had laid off 20 million workers. In a separate letter to
the Home Minister, he appealed that a true Gandhian and
an able Governor like Dr B. Satyanarayana Reddy be posted
as Governor of Bihar so that he could control the
situation and deal "successfully" with the
Rabri Devi government. |
5 of family killed in
collision NEW DELHI, March 28 — Five persons of a family, including two women and a child, who were returning home after a visit to a gurdwara, were killed on the spot in a bus-car collision here today. While a woman occupant of the car is stated to be in a serious condition, the driver of the bus has absconded. The victims were returning to their Vikas Puri house, after offering prayers at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, when their Maruti car collided with a Delhi Transport Corporation bus on the Sardar Patel Marg, near Dhaula Kuan, this morning, the police said. While five of them died on the spot, the condition of Ms Swaroop Kaur, (45), was stated to be serious. The dead have been
identified as Amrit Singh, (50), his sister-in-law, Har
Kaur, (50), son Paramjit Singh, (25), daughter-in-law
Balbir Kaur, (21), and Paramjit’s
one-and-a-half-year-old baby Simran Kaur, the police
said. |
Khalsa Panth greeting cards NEW DELHI, March 28 — The Khalsa Panth greeting cards will hit the stands soon to cash on the tercentenary celebrations and the current trend of sending “every occasion” and “just like that” cards. The special cards, being produced by a leading company in the industry, will be displayed at select gurdwaras in the Capital, apart from being marketed through its regular outlets, a Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee member said. Seventeen per cent of the sale proceeds of the cards produced by Archies, on the occasion of the 300th centenary of the birth of Khalsa, would be given to the DSGMC for charity, the official said. The cards would display in Gurmukhi the history of the Khalsa Panth along with an English translation. The DSGMC official said: “The Khalsa Panth celebrations have a special meaning to the Sikh community and the greeting cards have quite a significance for people as it not only acts as a medium of exchanging greetings but also enlightens the younger generations on the significance of the event.” The president of the DSGMC, Mr Jaswant Singh Sethi, said: “We exchange a lot of greeting cards during the celebrations and since the company came up with an innovative idea of having cards in Gurmukhi, it is a welcome step and would definitely become popular with the cross-section of society.” The greeting card industry had grown at the rate of 20 per cent annually. The card industry had diversified from the earlier bulk sales of seasonal cards for wedding, anniversaries, birthdays and seasons’ greetings. Now the cards range from friendship day, rose day, Valentine’s day, teachers’ day, doctor’s day and boss day. According to a study, the customers for these cards are either corporate houses or people in the age group of 14 to 24. There are about 40,000 designs produced each year in the country and the market size of cards and gifts sector in the organised sector accounts for Rs 100 crore. The unorganised sector account for about Rs 150 crore, the study added. In India, the study found
that less than one card bought by a person per annum
compared to 42 cards in the United Kingdom and 17 cards
in the USA. |
Rangretta march from Delhi begins NEW DELHI, March 28 - A large number of Sikhs in the Capital today began their march from here to Anandpur Sahib to mark the Khalsa tercentenary celebrations, re-enacting the historical 250-km foot journey undertaken by Bhai Jaita in 1675. Bhai Jaita, a sweeper in the Chandni Chowk area, carried the severed head of Guru Tegh Bahadur from the Capital to Kiritpur, where it was received by Guru Gobind Singh. Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had ordered the beheading of the ninth Guru of the Sikhs for his resistance to convert to Islam. A member of the Sarab Sanjha Khalsa Third Centenary Committee, Mr Sarvjit Singh, said the march, which started from from Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, would reach Anandpur Sahib on April 7. “Rangretta march commemorates the path taken by Bhai Jaita, who belonged to the Dalit Rangretta community and to recount the spirit of dedication and bravery that existed at the time of the Gurus,” he said. The march would also serve as a reminder to the Sikhs the underlying message of the Gurus — to live for the cause of humanity and to inculcate the spirit of sacrifice which led the tenth Guru to sacrifice his father Guru Tegh Bahadur and his four sons for the cause of humanity. The marchers would pass through Panipat, Karnal, Pipli, Ambala, Banur, Mohali, Ropar, Kiratpur and reach Anandpur Sahib. The tercentenary celebrations, he said, was an occasion to introspect and understand the true spirit behind the formation of the Khalsa. He said they had asked the
Delhi Government to allocate some land for the creation
of a Khalsa tercentenary park on the lines of Buddha
Jayanti Park. |
President's greetings on Id-ul- Zuha NEW DELHI, March 28 (PTI) — President K.R. Narayanan today called for strengthening the country's unity and harmony on the occasion of Id-ul Zuha tomorrow. In a message extending
cordial greetings to the people of the country, he said:
"May the festival strengthen the foundations of our
national unity and harmony." |
Education Director removed JAIPUR, March 28 (PTI) —The Rajasthan Government today removed the Director of the Secondary Education Department from his post and has arrested 17 persons in connection with the leakage of question papers of Class XII board examinations. The city police busted a gang engaged in selling Class XII question papers by arresting 15 persons and seizing Physics, English and Economics papers yesterday. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot told reporters here today. He said Secondary Education Director B.L. Zaiman had been removed from his post and a government school principal and an examination in charge arrested in connection with the case. Mr Rajendra Bhanawat,
Director, Adult Education, had been given additional
charge of Secondary Education, he said. |
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| Santosh to repeat Everest
feat NEW DELHI: When Santosh Yadav set her feet on MT Everest on May 10, 1993, she became the only woman to be atop the highest point on earth twice. But the achievement has only whetted her appetite to take to the ropes over those treacherous inclines yet again. As a 10-member mixed Indian expedition, including two women, readies for a climb to the highest peak in the weeks ahead. Santosh is set to add a new chapter in mountaineering. She will be the first woman leader of a mixed expedition to the Everest. — UNI Rare bird’s cooking:
cook held Bodo film actor
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