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| Tuesday, January 23, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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India signs air pact
with Russia Decision on truce after careful
study: George CBI books
Delhi judge, court clerk CBI gets more time to quiz Hindujas Bharat Shah’s remand extended |
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Lokpal Bill soon: Vajpayee Mystery shrouds death of Raj
Babbar’s kin Centre not cooperating on Netaji probe: NCP More trains to clear
Kumbh rush Panel to suggest policy on entertainment Leaders get notices on Misa wedding gifts Plot to dislodge WB
Govt: CM Dam height based on
unscientific data? ‘Database for scientific
know-how needed’ Port trusts’ plea
under study
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India signs air pact
with Russia NEW DELHI, Jan 22 (PTI) — In its bid to enhance seat capacity to meet the growing demands of air travellers, the government signed bilateral agreements with Russia and Hong Kong last week and is scheduled to do so with Germany and Myanmar in the coming days. “We have signed bilateral air services agreements with Russia and Hong Kong and will do so with other countries, including Germany in a phased manner,” Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav told PTI in an interview here. During the past few months, bilateral agreements had been signed with several countries, including the UK, Austria, several Gulf states and Mauritius, increasing the air seat capacity by over 17,000 seats a week, he said. Besides, all foreign airlines were last month allowed to increase their capacity and introduce larger aircraft to cater to the winter rush and ensure that passengers were not off-loaded as was done in 1999-2000. Though the entire additional capacity was not being currently fully utilised by the airlines, Mr Yadav said “the hue and cry has stopped this year”. “The additional requirements have been by and large fully met,” the minister said. Ministry officials said the agreement with Russia, signed mid-January, provided for increasing the seat capacity by 250 both ways and had the provision of adding a further 250 seats in the next few months. The bilateral agreement with Hong Kong, which was signed on January 18-19 after detailed discussions between representatives of the two governments, provided for enhancing the seat capacity by 1250 per week.
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Decision on truce after careful
study: George NEW DELHI, Jan 22 — With the Centre likely to take a decision on the extension of the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir this week, Defence Minister George Fernandes today said a decision would be taken at an appropriate time after an indepth analysis of the situation. The government has enough time to think about extending the ceasefire in the trouble-torn state, where militants have stepped up violence in the recent past, he said while talking to newspersons at the NCC Republic Day camp. Admitting that there was heightened violence in the state after the announcement of the ceasefire, Mr Fernandes said: “The issue of extension of the ceasefire will be considered at the right time after an indepth analysis of the situation.” However, the Defence Minister said there was considerable reduction in the shelling from across the border during this period. On the occasion, Mr Fernandes also presented Raksha Mantri Padak to Major Ram Kumar Singh for an act of courage in which he had saved a child attacked by a mad horse in Agra. “The participation of 333 cadets from the northern and eastern states at a camp in Maharashtra shows the eagerness of young people to be a part of the
NCC,” the minister said. The minister visited the flag area and the motivation hall in the camp. He also visited the blood donation tent where 200 cadets donated blood. |
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CBI books
Delhi judge, court clerk
NEW DELHI, Jan 22 (PTI) — The CBI has registered a case against an Additional Sessions Judge (ASI) of the Tis Hazari Courts and one of his court staff here on charges of corruption. The anti-corruption branch of the agency registered an fir against
ASI S.K. Kaushik and his court clerk Kanta last Saturday on a written complaint by Mr D.K. Gulati. In its fir, the
CBI alleged that the clerk had entered into a criminal conspiracy with Mr Kaushik and asked the complainant to pay a bribe of Rs 55,000 to secure the bail of an accused in a case before his court. Mr Gulati filed the complaint with the agency after the alleged demand for bribe. Following the filing of the complaint, the
CBI laid a trap and allegedly caught the clerk “red-handed” while demanding and accepting the bribe money from the complainant at his house, the fir said. The clerk who was arrested by the agency and sent to a day’s judicial custody by a Duty Magistrate, was today produced before a Special Court. She was remanded to judicial custody till February 5. Special Judge Ajit Bharihoke also dismissed her bail application as withdrawn, saying “the credibility of the judiciary is at stake.”
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CBI gets more time to quiz Hindujas NEW DELHI, Jan 22 — For the third consecutive day today, the CBI interrogated S.P. Hinduja in connection with the $ 10 million deposited in their account by the Swedish arms manufacturer A.B. Bofors, even as a Delhi court granted another week to the CBI to question the three Hinduja brothers in the Rs 64 crore Bofors case. The Special Court’s directive dashed the Hinduja brothers’ hopes of leaving the country early. “The investigating officer Keshav Mishra, DSP, states that he has interrogated only accused S.P. Hinduja and he requires time for the interrogation of the other two Hinduja brothers,” Judge Ajit Bharihoke said. “He says he will need a further period of one week by which time he will be able to conclude the interrogation, which was adjourned till January 30,” the Judge observed. The CBI spokesperson made a sceptic remark about the progress made in the questioning so far. “They are behaving nicely and so are we. But, the task before us is to find the truth and for that we will continue the interrogation,” he said. Asked whether the CBI would complete the interrogation of the Hindujas by January 30, he said, “If not, then we would seek the court’s permission for more time to interrogate them.” The other two Hinduja brothers, G.P. Hinduja and P.P. Hinduja, who accompanied their brother to the agency’s headquarters today left after a brief stay. In the courtroom today, the CBI changed its stance of the need to question the Hindujas only for three or four days. Since the court’s permission to question the business tycoons, the CBI has questioned only the eldest of the three brothers. Mr Arvind Nigam, counsel for S.P. Hinduja, submitted that if the questioning of any of the Hinduja brothers was completed before January 30, he be permitted to go out of the country. The Judge said, “You are free to move an application in this regard anytime.” Mr Nigam said, “Hinduja would prefer to do so but the problem is that the case instead of being tried by this court is being tried by the media” and wanted the court to take note of the fact that they (Hindujas) had voluntarily submitted themselves for questioning. The Judge recorded that the Hindujas had offered themselves for questioning pursuant to the order of the court. The Hindujas, who are rated as one of the richest families of Indian expatriates in Britain, have been charged with receiving pay-offs in the 155mm gun deal with Bofors. The CBI, in the charge sheet, alleged that they had received 81 million Swedish kroners ($10 million) from Bofors, which bagged the Rs 1437 crore gun contract in 1986. The charge sheet against the Hinduja brothers came almost a year after the first one filed by the CBI on October 22, 1999, naming Kuala Lumpur-based Italian businessman Quattrocchi, NRI businessman Win Chadha, former Defence Secretary S.K. Bhatnagar, then Bofors company chief Martin Ardbo and the company itself as accused. |
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Bharat Shah’s remand extended MUMBAI, Jan 22 (UNI) — A special court today extended the police custody of leading diamond merchant and film financier Bharat Shah till January 29. Shah is facing charges of having links with underworld gangster Chhota Shakeel. In his order, Judge
A.P.Bhangle allowed the accused to seek legal advice from his solicitor Shiraz Rahimtoola for an hour during the period, to file a fresh application for bail. The judicial custody of co-accused and producer of the film “Chori Chori Chupke Chupke” Nazim Rizvi has also been extended till January 29. The special court, instituted under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (MCOC) act, disallowed defence counsel’s request to allow more than one lawyer for a legal interview with Bharat Shah. The defence counsel argued that the high court had not restricted the number of lawyers meeting Shah, but had expressed concern over their identity. The court was told that the defence counsel had met Shah on Saturday for a legal interview which lasted 25 minutes and had remained incomplete. When Judge Bhangle refused permission to more than one lawyer to meet Shah, the defence counsel argued that efforts were being made from day one that the accused should not get proper legal advice. The Judge asked the accused to name one lawyer he would like to consult to which Shah said that any of them would do, “They know better, I would speak to any one of them”, he told the Judge. But when asked to name a specific lawyer, Shah consulted his son, who was present in the court along with the entire family, and told the Judge that he would consult solicitor Shiraz Rahimtoola. |
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Lokpal Bill soon: Vajpayee NEW DELHI, Jan 22 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, today described corruption as the biggest hurdle in the path of development and said the Centre was committed to enacting the Lokpal Bill with adequate powers to deal with charges of corruption against anyone, including the Prime Minister. Inaugurating the sixth conference of Lokayuktas and Up-Lokayuktas here, the Prime Minister said, “We stand committed to this promise. A Group of Ministers has been working on a new draft of the Lokpal Bill. This will be introduced in Parliament soon.” Pointing out that the worst victims of corruption in administration and governance were the common people, Mr Vajpayee said leakage in the resources earmarked for developmental works like housing and healthcare had robbed millions of people of their right to a decent life. The Prime Minister advocated effective checks and balances against abuse of power by public servants for self-enrichment saying corruption was not only an enemy of development, but also a foe of democracy. He said the failure of law to catch the corrupt had lead to widespread cynicism among the people, causing a decline in moral values throughout society. Mr Vajpayee reiterated that his government would apply the principle of “zero tolerance” while dealing with corruption. The Prime Minister lamented that the Lokayukta as a mechanism of redressal had not lived up to the people’s expectations. “The time has come, therefore, to seriously review the working of the Lokayuktas so far. We should identify the deficiencies in the legislation, and drawbacks in implementation. The States should not hesitate to take necessary corrective action, since the very credibility of our shared commitment to fight corruption is at stake”, he added. He pointed out that only about 15 states today had a Lokayukta and there was lack of uniformity in their jurisdiction over members of the state legislatures, including the Chief Minister. He felt the Lokayukta legislation should be uniform in all aspects. The Prime Minister said the Government was examining the recommendations of a joint committee of Parliament on the various provisions of the Central Vigilance Commission Bill. The Freedom of Information Bill, which has been referred to a Select Committee, when enacted would go a long way in bringing greater transparency in governance, he said. Referring to economic liberalisation, Mr Vajpayee said apart from accelerating economic growth, it had also created more openness and accountability in the system. “While economic reforms have significantly changed this situation, there is still an urgent need to create a hassle-free environment for our businesses, especially small businesses”, he added. Mr Vajpayee pointed out that the inability of the judicial system to deliver speedy justice had itself become the source of much injustice. It had also eroded the credibility of the judiciary in the eyes of the public. The media was yet another institution which faced flak from the Prime Minister. He said there were times when the media had not been truthful in reporting facts. “Maligning persons in political life, without evidence and often on the basis of hearsay, does not help, rather it hurts our democracy”, he added. |
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Mystery shrouds death of Raj
Babbar’s kin NOIDA, Jan 22 — Cine star and parliamentarian Raj Babbar’s brother died under mysterious circumstances here today. According to information, Vinod Babbar (38) was found lying unconscious in the early hours of today. He was taken to a local hospital where he was declared dead by doctors. Vinod, residing in Sector 15-A, was a cable operator and was not leading a happy family life. According to his family members, Vinod had become an alcohol addict in the past eight months. |
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Centre not cooperating on Netaji probe: NCP KOLKATA, Jan 22 (UNI) — The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today reiterated the demand for immediate declassification of all government documents to unravel the truth behind the sudden disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose after the 1945 Taihoku air crash. Talking to newsmen on the eve of Netaji’s 104th birth anniversary, NCP Central Committee member and party’s West Bengal state unit president B.B. Dutta lambasted the Centre for allegedly not cooperating with the Justice M.N. Mukherjee Commission, set up by the National Democratic Alliance government itself last year to bring out the truth behind the 55-year-old mystery. Charging the government with trying to protect some ‘vested interests’, who were ‘against the disclosure of truth’, Dr Dutta said some recent documents placed before the commission, however, suggested that Netaji might be alive even after the air crash. Highlighting the importance of declassification of over 700 government files on Netaji to help carry forward the commission’s inquiry, Dr Dutta also alleged that no serious step at the government level had so far been taken to bring a large number of secret files either from the Russian, British or Japanese archives to India and hand them over to the commission. “We wonder why the present Union Government, in spite of making promises of the fullest cooperation in unravelling the truth, has suddenly lost all interest and decided to backtrack”, Dr Dutta alleged. He demanded the setting up of a common platform with all like-minded political parties to raise the demand both in and outside Parliament. |
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More trains to clear
Kumbh rush NEW DELHI, Jan 22 — The Indian Railways have made elaborate arrangements to clear the extra rush of pilgrims during Mahakumbh in the coming days. More than 2000 coaches have been deployed and 50 long distance trains have been planned to carry pilgrims from all parts of the country. Besides the long-distance services, over 500 special trains will be run to cater to short distance traffic from Ayodhya, Kanpur, Mughalsarai, Satna, Varanasi, Chhapra, Lucknow, Rae Bareilly, Jaunpur, Shahganj, Katni, Itarsi, Jhansi, Banda to Allahabad. Previous experience shows that majority of pilgrims come to the Sangam from these areas. According to the Kumbh Mela plans prepared up by the Railway authorities four terminals will be catering to the flow of Rail Traffic in the Mahakumbh area. These are: Allahabad City Prayag Ghat, Naini and Jhusi stations. Elaborate special plans have also been prepared by the Railways for dealing with the peak pilgrim rush on each of the important isnan (bathing) days, particularly Mauni Amavasya on January 24. |
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Panel to suggest policy on entertainment NEW DELHI, Jan 22 — The centre and states have come to a decision to jointly set up a high-level committee headed by the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Ms Sushma Swaraj, which would suggest policy framework for nurturing the entertainment sector. The Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting is the co-chairman of the committee, which has information ministers of nine states as its members. The committee has been formed with the aim to streamline the fast growing entertainment sector. A decision to set up the committee was taken at the 24th State Information Ministers’ conference yesterday, which saw the Centre proposing that cinema be brought on the Concurrent List and uniformity be ensured in entertainment tax. Ms Swaraj told newsmen today that the committee would submit its report within six months. She said the need for such a panel arose in view of the changing scenario in the sector with a turnover of Rs 15,000 crore which is expected to increase to Rs 60,000 crore in the next five years. “In this kind of scenario, a Central legislation may be required any time. But at present, the Centre cannot legislate as cinema is in the State List,” the minister said. She said the film industry had been demanding a ceiling on entertainment tax, which was “very high” in some places. Ms Swaraj told the conference that the Centre had no vested interests in bringing uniformity in entertainment tax and the exercise was aimed at bringing more viewers to the 12,900 theatres across the country by rationalising the tax. |
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Leaders get notices on Misa wedding gifts PATNA, Jan 22 (PTI) — The high profile wedding of Misa, daughter of RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav has kicked up a controversy with the Income Tax Department issuing notices to senior ruling party leaders including ministers to explain the sources of expensive gifts to her. Dissatisfied with the listing of many expensive items of her “dowry” as gifts, the department issued notices in respect of expensive items including jewellery, a top department official said on condition of anonymity. He added either the gifts be explained or these would add to the problems of Yadav, who is already facing a disproportionate assets case. “We have asked them to explain the source of income for procurement of gifts including gold and cash worth several lakhs of rupees... And also to confirm whether they have actually presented such expensive gifts,” he said. Legislative Council Chairman Jabir Hussain and former state Assembly Speaker Radhanandan Jha had already replied to the notices which had been issued over a fortnight, the official said here. |
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Plot to dislodge WB
Govt: CM KOLKATA, Jan 22 — Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharyya has alleged that a conspiracy is being hatched by the Vajpayee Government to dislodge the CPM-led Left Front government on the eve of the forthcoming state assembly elections. He warned if there was any attempt to impose President’s rule in West Bengal, they would fight it “tooth and nail” by launching an agitation all over the country. Mr Bhattacharyya today returned to the city from Bhubaneswar after attending the party’s Central Committee meeting to be present on the opening day of the winter session of the state assembly. Mr Jyoti Basu and other party leaders also returned. A separate seat has been allotted to Mr Basu at the assembly — not on the Treasury Benches with other ministers, where he sat for the past 24 years as Chief Ministership, but a seat at the corner of another row, along with other party MLAs. Mr Bhattacharyya said they had taken a serious nore of the sudden decision of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to send a study team to the trouble-torn Chhota Angaria, Garbeta, Keshpur, ignoring the presence of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC). He criticised that the NHRC did not even have the courtesy to inform the state government prior to their visit to Midnapore. The two-man NHRC team which spent three days meeting people and visiting the trouble-spots at Midnapore, met the Chief Secretary, Mr Manish Gupta and the DG of Police, Mr Dipak Sanyal, and exchanged views on the massacre of killing at Chhota Angaria. The DG informed the team about the actions the district police had taken against the culprits involved in the massacre. Three persons were identified for being directly involved in the incident who were now at large but a frantic search was being made to arrest them, Mr Sanyal told the team leader, Mr Srivastava. The members want to make a courtesy call to the Chief Minister before returning back to Delhi. |
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Dam height based on
unscientific data? BHOPAL, Jan 22 — Veteran Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shyama Charan Shukla has alleged that the government’s proposal to take the Sardar Sarovar dam to the stipulated height of 455 ft is not based on the findings of scientific gauging of the Narmada waters. Speaking to journalists at his residence here yesterday, he said scientific gauging was not available when the Narmada Water Tribunal gave the nod for a height of 455 ft over two decades ago. The tribunal had relied on the report of the Khosla Committee which had calculated the Narmada water at 28 MAF (million acre feet). But the basis of the committee’s calculation was the average rainfall rather than scientific gauging, Mr Shukla said. “Scientific gauging has since been done and it has fixed the Narmada water at around 23 MAF. With this water flow, the height should be taken to a maximum of 390 to 392 ft. Even with this height, Gujarat can have its share of water and there will be very little submersion”, he said. |
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‘Database for scientific
know-how needed’ NEW DELHI, Jan 22 — There is a need to create international database of best available scientific knowledge for more
efficient dissemination of technical scholarship, eminent scientist and President of the National of Academy of Sciences, USA, Professor Bruce Alberts said today. “Technical knowledge should be organised in a readily accessible form and national scientific organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have an important role to play in this regard”, Professor Alberts said while delivering the fifth Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Memorial Lecture here. Scientists should take the responsibility of generating rich array of free knowledge and educational resources and make it available to a larger audience through the medium of Internet, Prof Alberts observed. |
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Port trusts’ plea
under study NEW DELHI, Jan 22 — The Government is examining a proposal by four major Port Trusts of Chennai, Mormugao, Cochin and Kandla for rolling back the age of retirement for its employees from the existing 60 years to 58. The proposal is intended to reduce excess manpower and to make ports financially stable and more competent. Earlier in November, 2000, the government had approved the proposal for rolling back the age of retirement from 60 to 58 in respect of the Mumbai, Tuticorin, New Manglore, Visakhapatnam, Calcutta and Paradeep Port Trusts. |
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Ban on VHP sought CHENNAI, Jan 22 (UNI) — Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy today demanded a ban on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the arrest of its office-bearers under the National Security Act (NSA). In a statement here, he said President K.R. Narayanan, as custodian of the Constitution, should direct the Union Cabinet to ban the VHP and arrest its leaders. |
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Vikas Ratna for child specialist Man bludgeoned to death by wife Freedom fighter dead Groom killed, bride hurt in car mishap TN oppn parties form human
chain 6 hurt in Bihar jail clash AIADMK member’s sentence condoned Doctor arrested for
negligence Seven killed in road mishap |
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