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May 10, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Cong decries use of Hindujas’ services New Delhi, May 9 The Congress today accused the government of working through lobbies on sensitive issues pertaining to the security of the country. MCC ultras kill
Samata man, three others St Kitts case BSF, Pak officials hold
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Balco workers
back on duty Words attributed to me not true, says
B.K. Nehru Gale claims 17 lives ’84 riots had govt
support: Khushwant
Action recommended against 11 officials SC for restoring property forfeiture sections of IPC
Crops, property
damaged by duststorm Suicide by
son of Rajasthan DGP Police stations
ill-equipped
Police fears violence in
Assam 10,000 detained to ensure peaceful poll in W. Bengal BJP convenes post-election meeting
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Cong decries use of Hindujas’ services New Delhi, May 9 Referring to the meeting of Mr Brajesh Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, which was facilitated by the Hinduja brothers, Congress spokesman Jaipal Reddy said the brothers had also facilitated a meeting of Mr Mishra with French President Jacques Chirac. An Iranian national Hakimi was also present during the meeting with the French President. The two meetings took place in the aftermath of Pokhran II he said. “We strongly disapprove the use of Hindujas for delicate issues carried out at the level of heads of state of the UK and France,’’ Mr Reddy said. Describing it as a “disgraceful gesture,” the Congress spokesman said the Hinduja brothers were present when discussions took place between Mr Mishra and the Prime Minister of the UK and also when Mr Mishra met Mr Chirac. “To add insult to injury, the envoys were kept in the dark about the meetings and proceedings,’’ Mr Reddy said. He said it was unclear what the country had gained from these clandestine diplomatic endeavours but it was evident that the prestige of Hindujas went up by leaps and bounds in the eyes of Mr Blair and Mr Chirac. “This practice of utilising the services of industrial houses confirms our impression that this government is by the lobbies, of the lobbies and for the lobbies,’’ the spokesman quipped. Responding to a question, Mr Reddy denied that similar practices were adopted by Congress governments. |
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MCC ultras kill Samata man, three others Ranchi, May 9 The militants dragged the victims out of their houses, a few kms away from the Bundu police station, at about 1 a.m. and took them to an unknown destination. Bodies of four of them were found later in the nearby Tirilli village and Kathartoli locality of the same block, the police said. Samata Party worker Basant Das was one of the deceased while the injured included the party’s Ranchi district unit working president Gobardhan Oraon. The injured were admitted to the local Rajendra Medical College and Hospital here where the doctors described their condition as stable.
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St Kitts case New Delhi, May 9 Deposing before Special Judge R.L. Chugh as a CBI witness in the St Kitts forgery case for the first time, Mr V.P. Singh, who was shown as the beneficiary of the alleged bank accounts, said “Ajeya Singh never opened any account in St Kitts. There is no question of I being made a beneficiary of the alleged account. I also never opened any such account myself.” After seeing the alleged bank papers, the former Prime Minister said “It does not bear either my signatures or signatures of my son Ajeya Singh....The signatures on the documents shown to me are certainly forged.” Asked about the reason for the said forgery, Mr V.P. Singh, who was emerging as a national leader in 1989, said “It was certainly to damage my reputation and the reputation of my son and may be wrongfully implicate me in a criminal case.” Controversial godman Chandraswami and his associate K.N. Aggarwal alias Mamaji are facing trial in the case for allegedly forging certain documents to show Ajeya Singh had opened a bank account in First Trust Corporation Ltd in St Kitts island in 1986 and deposited $ 21 million there. The CBI alleged that the said bank papers were forged to tarnish the image of Mr V.P. Singh. The trial court had earlier discharged former Premier P.V. Narasimha Rao and former Union Minister K.K. Tewary in the case for want of sufficient evidence. The discharge order was later upheld by Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. The former Prime Minister, who was examined by CBI’s Special Public Prosecutor N.K. Sharma, said it was Arif Mohammad Khan who first informed him about the alleged foreign bank account of his son sometime in the middle of 1989. Mr V.P. Singh said Chandraswami had told Khan that Ajeya Singh had a bank account abroad and that the godman had got documents regarding it. “Arif gave me a small slip in which the name of First Trust Corporation Ltd was written alongwith St Kitts... Khan also .... Wanted me to meet accused Chandraswami. Otherwise all this account would be made public,” V.P. Singh told the court. “I told Khan that all this is false and that if accused Chandraswami chooses, he can announce it on TV”, V.P. Singh recalled as having told Khan. V.P. Singh’s testimony is in contrast to what Khan told the court yesterday. While admitting that he had given this information to V.P. Singh, Khan resiled from his statement given to the probe agency that Chandraswami had told him to tell V.P. Singh to contact the accused to prevent the matter from being publicised. Khan had also denied the publicity part of his parleys with Chandraswami and said “accused Chandraswami did not ask me to tell V.P. Singh to contact him (Chandraswami), but the impression I gathered was that in case V.P. Singh talked to the accused, Chandraswami would be helpful.” Khan had said when he passed on the information to V.P. Singh, the latter was extremely cool about it and did not react at all. In his statement to the CBI, Khan had said when he informed V.P. Singh about his son’s alleged foreign bank accounts, V.P. Singh had reacted angrily. V.P. Singh, who identified the godman in the court during his cross-examination by Chandraswami’s counsel Rajinder Singh, admitted that he had visited the Swami’s ashram before 1977 when he was a Minister of State for Commerce in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet. “...Yashpal Kapoor (political aide of Gandhi) rang me up several times. There is a Jain Muni who wants to meet me, V.P. Singh said adding he was not much interested but agreed to Kapoor’s suggestions after several requests. “I thought that he (Kapoor) was referring to Shri Sushil Muni of Jain community. I took the address and went there,” V.P. Singh said adding he did not like the atmosphere over there. “I found many boys with long hair there and the atmosphere was not like what I would expect at a place of a holy man,” he said recalling his only visit to Chandraswami’s ashram. He said during that period Chandraswami was very close to the circle around the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. But when she lost the elections in 1977, the godman left the country and returned only in 1980 when she returned back in the office, he said. The witness said after Mrs Gandhi came to power, two of the disciples of Chandraswami used to sit outside his house almost daily and request him to meet the accused. V.P. Singh said when he got fed up he told them to go and tell Chandraswami that he did not want to meet an opportunist man.
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BSF, Pak officials hold
meeting Jalandhar, May 9 Earlier, a 12-member delegation of Pakistan Rangers led by Major-Gen Zarrar Azim arrived on the BSF campus here from Amritsar under tight security arrangements by the BSF and the police. Major-Gen Azim held an informal talk with his Indian counterpart, Mr A.S. Aulakh, in his office for about half an hour before the meeting started. The meeting was attended by surveyors, engineers and officers of the narcotics control bureau of both countries. The BSF authorities were tight-lipped about the proceedings of the first round of discussion which concluded in the evening. “We are told not to disclose anything to the media regarding what transpired between the officials of the two countries.
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Balco workers
back on duty Korba (MP), May 9 This followed an agreement between the Balco management and trade union leaders late last night. The 67-day strike was called in protest against the sale of 51 per cent government equity in Balco to Sterlite Industries. According to Balco Bachao Joint Action Committee Convener and INTUC leader Baleshwar Jha, all workers had returned to their work and the attendance was 100 per cent in the first two shifts this morning . Balco Managing Director S.C. Krishnan and other senior officials reached the plant early morning and inspected the factory. Balco township wore a festive look since the announcement of the end of strike late last night. The workers had been on a strike since March 3.
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Words attributed to me not true, says B.K. Nehru New Delhi, May 9 “With reference to the controversy in the media about Katherine Frank’s book on Indira Gandhi, I want to make it clear that the words attributed to me by Ms Frank as saying that M.O. Mathai’s alleged affair with Indira Gandhi ‘was more fact than fiction’ are wholly untrue,” Nehru, who is related to the Nehru-Gandhi family, said in a brief statement here. Mr B.K. Nehru had held various positions, including the Governorship of Jammu and Kashmir and Ambassador in the USA. Media reports from London quoted the author of ‘Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi’ as saying the critics of her work had focused purely on those passages that concentrated on Gandhi’s alleged romances. “The only thing I did was to assess whether the rumours were credible,” Frank said in published comments on the controversy over the book, portions of which portrayed Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi in not too good light. Meanwhile, Union Minister for Social Justice and Indira Gandhi’s daughter-in-law, Maneka Gandhi, is in London with her son Varun and a lawyer reportedly considering moves to file a defamation case against Frank.
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Gale claims 17 lives Patna, May 9 Nine members of a family were crushed to death when uprooted trees fell on a house at Bhaumair village in Sitamari. Six more deaths were reported from Kaliachawk and Dumra in the district, they said. In Darbhanga, two persons were killed in a house collapse. PTI |
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’84 riots had govt
support: Khushwant New Delhi, May 9 Deposing before the Nanavati Commission of inquiry probing the countrywide violence in the aftermath of assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Mr Khushwant Singh said “though the violence erupted spontaneously, it later became organised with the government of the day supporting it.’’ Mr Khushwant Singh said that when apprehending a mob attack on his house he contacted the then President, Giani Zail Singh, whom he had known for many years, for help in the circumstances. Meanwhile, Madan Lal Khurana has been asked to appear before the commission on May 16 to depose as a witness.
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Action recommended against 11 officials Hanumangarh, May 9 According to the details of the case in 1980 the District Collector of Sriganganagar had given about 16 bighas land on lease for a kiln, in the Chak 9 PBN village of Pilibangan tehsil to Rulduram. On July 30, 1991, Rulduram deposited the lease amount of Rs 50,700 in the Pilibangan tehsil office for the renewal of the lease but on April 28, 1992 the renewal was refused. On December 6, 1999, the Additional District Court (II) ordered the then District Collector and Tehsildar of Pilibangan to pay Rs 1,70,807 to the claimant which included the lease amount deposited and the interest amount at the rate of 12 per cent per annum for the years the amount was kept deposited with the department. The administration did not followed the court orders and Rulduram again approached the court. The administration again took the matter lightly and in January 2001, the court gave orders for the attachment of the jeep of the Tehsildar of Pilibangan. After these directions by the court, the administration paid the lease amount of Rs 50,700 to the claimant but the interest is yet to be paid. Sources reveal that when the administration sought the approval of the Finance Department to pay the interest amount to the claimant, the department set the condition of identifying employees responsible for the decision going against the government. After this the administration carried out investigations at various levels. The probe held two Tehsildars employed from 1997 to 1999 in Pilibangan tehsil, three Naib Tehsildar, five junior court officers and one Chief Law Assistant employed at the local court guilty, on the ground that they did not pursue the case properly and so the decision of the court went in favour of the claimant. The fact was also marked by the court in its decision. Meanwhile, the district administration has recommended to the Revenue Board for disciplinary action against the employees found guilty for not representing government’s case properly. |
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SC for restoring property forfeiture
sections of IPC
New Delhi, May 9 Sections 61 and 62 of the IPC were deleted by the Indian Penal Code (Amendment) Act, 1921. The court said these sections were required to be re-introduced to have a deterrent effect on those who were bent upon accumulating wealth at the cost of society by misusing their post or power. “We hope that the legislature would consider this aspect appropriately,’’ observed a three-judge bench, headed by Mr Justice B.N. Kirpal, while dismissing an
appeal. The other judges on the bench were Mrs Justice Ruma Pal and Mr Justice M.D. Shah.
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Crops, property
damaged by duststorm Sriganganagar, May 9 The strong gusts of wind brought down the temperature which was 49°C during the day. The storm turned violent at night resulting in dusruption of power and damage to property. Most of the residents sweated it out till the night ended. Erratic water supply in the morning added to their woes. The storm started at 11.30 p.m. and continued till 3.30 a.m. yesterday. Temperatures in the region have been above 45°C for the past fortnight. In view of the continuing heat wave, the district administration has cut down the school hours. All government schools and colleges will now start at 7 a.m. and close at 10.30 p.m. Scores of trees were uprooted and many transformers dislodged from their stands in various parts of the city disrupting power supply. Crop over many acres caught fire when sparks from the chimney of a brick-kiln fell on harvested wheat and mustard straw. Several fire tenders were rushed but the storm hindered the operation. |
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Jawan kills 2 colleagues Guwahati, May 9 |
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Suicide
by son of Rajasthan DGP Sriganganagar, May 9 According to police sources, the 30-year-old Siddarth Singh was a tour operator and had gone to his farmhouse residence on the outskirts of Jaipur at about 2 a.m. He later left for the residence of his father and was let in by the security guards at about 3 a.m. He went to a room at the back of the house. His body was discovered by a servant who had gone to serve him morning tea. He informed the DGP and his family who found him on the floor in a pool of blood with a major part of his head blown off. A rifle, reportedly used by the deceased, was lying near the body. Intriguingly, no one heard the shot although the family was at him in addition to the guards outside. The cause of the suicide has not been ascertained as yet.
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Police stations
ill-equipped Hanumangarh, May 9 According to sources in the department, at many police stations only one or two constables have been appointed and they have also not been provided with vehicles. They have to move on foot to pass on information to other stations. The wireless service towers installed at the stations go out of order during intense summer. Wireless sets provided to them are obsolete. When contacted, the SP, Mr M.C. Meena, said new vehicles could not be purchased as the state government was facing a financial crisis. Regarding the shortage of the staff, he maintained that the department was going to make new recruitments soon. |
Police fears violence in
Assam Guwahati, May 9 More than 50 persons, including a BJP candidate from Dibrugarh, have been killed so far in pre-poll violence. Top police officials maintained that violence on the day of the poll, tomorrow, cannot be ruled out. “We have stretched our resources to the limit but violence cannot be ruled out,” a senior police official told The Tribune. Two hundred and fortyone companies of paramilitary forces and 140 columns of Army personnel have been deployed on election duty spread all across the state covering 24 districts and 126 Assembly constituencies. Estimated to cost the exchequer more than Rs 40 crore, the mammoth exercise involves the use of modern aerial surveillance methods by helicopters as also the ancient modes of transport in the form of elephants, carts, horses etc to reach far-flung places in difficult terrains. In all eight elephants, five horses, 52 bullock carts, 12 country boats and nine hand carts have been pressed into service. Assam’s Chief Electoral Officer Bhaskar Mushahary said the expenses would be higher than those incurred during the 1999 Lok Sabha poll where the aggregate expenditure touched a figure of Rs 34 crore. In all 35,000 Army and paramilitary personnel will be on duty during the poll where at least 70,000 polling officers have been engaged to ensure a fair and violence-free poll. As many as 14.4 lakh voters are expected to exercise their franchise. Strikes by insurgents have necessitated these measures and the alleged nexus between the Congress and ULFA have only increased the possibility of violence during the polls. “Massive deployment of the security forces all over Assam with aerial surveillance by helicopters will provide the voters maximum possible security,” Assam Governor Lieut-Gen (retd) S.K. Sinha, said on Wednesday. In fact we do not rule out strikes targeted at elected candidates immediately after the poll, a senior police official said. The war-like security arrangements has been prompted by the fact that more than 10,000 of the state’s 17,642 polling stations are categorised as sensitive, 4,000 extra-sensitive and nearly 1,000 are listed as hyper-sensitive. Out of 900 odd candidates in the fray, 150 are listed as highly vulnerable. Of these, 138 belong to the ruling AGP and its ally the BJP. Lower Assam’s Nalbari district, the home of the self-styled deputy commander-in-chief, Raju Baruah, has had to bear the brunt of the militants strikes with at least 12 people already losing their life. Insurgency dominated the political road shows. The alliance of the Asom Gana Parishad and the BJP launched a serious verbal offensive to gain maximum political mileage from the reported tacit understanding between militants and the Congress. The lack of swiftness on part of the Congress to issue a denial and strongly condemn the killings had only added more fuel to the theory of the nexus. The hurriedly worked out alliance between the BJP and AGP may also prove costly in terms of minority votes, which plays a dominant role in as many as 46 constituencies. However, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s assertion that the Centre was considering providing work permits to Bangladeshi migrants added a new twist to the delicate issue and evoked strong reaction from various quarters including his own BJP. The minority votes have traditionally gone to the Congress and party President Sonia Gandhi further reinforced the view by saying that it (Congress) was against the repeal of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act. The stand is based on the premises that a repeal of the IMDT Act could lead to unnecessary harassment of bonafide Indian residents. Whether Mr Vajpayee has played a masterly political stroke by the “work permit assertion or Sonia Gandhi’s IMDT stand had won more hearts will only be determined by the ballot. As of now, though, bullet power seems to be having an upper-hand. |
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10,000 detained to ensure peaceful Kolkata, May 9 Over 6 crore voters will exercise their franchise to elect the state’s 294-member 13th Assembly. Over 1,600 candidates of 10 political parties will be in the fray but the main contestants are the CPM and its allies; the Congress-Trinamool Congress combine; and the BJP. This time, the Kamtapur People Party (KPP), a liberation organisation in north Bengal and PDS — the CPM’s dissident group, are also in the fray. The state Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, said all necessary steps were being taken to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections. Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, who is also the Chief Ministerial candidate of Congress-TMC alliance, however, feared that CPM workers would resort to violence and rigging in the elections. Meanwhile, the police has seized a huge stock of firearms, including AK-47, LMG and other sophisticated weapons and explosives like RDX and detonators, from eight districts — Midnapore, Birbhum, Bankura, Burdwan, Hooghly, South and North 24-Parganas and Howrah. Firearms were also seized from several hide-outs in the KPP-dominated areas — Duars, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar. Special CRPF and other paramilitary forces have been deployed in the sensitive areas of Keshpur, Garbeta, Moyana, Choto-Angaria in Midnapore and Birbhum districts. BSF personnel have been posted in the border areas adjoining Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal to stop any infiltration attempt and other criminal activities. The Centre had dispatched 170 companies of paramilitary forces for deployment in the state during the elections. The state’s Chief Electoral Officer, Mr S. Sen, appealed to the people to maintain peace and normalcy and help the government machinery. |
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BJP convenes post-election meeting New Delhi, May 9 Talking to mediapersons, a senior party leader Mr Jagdish Prasad Mathur, said here today that the meeting would review the post-poll scenario in the five states and also formulate a strategy for the future. Mr Mathur, who defended Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Brajesh Mishra’s decision to seek the help of the Hinduja brothers for a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in June 1998, said the situation and the background in which he sought the cooperation of the Hindujas to meet Mr Blair should not be overlooked. |
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MLAs float party Imphal, May 9 |
11 KILLED IN ROAD
MISHAP PM’S MALAYSIA VISIT FROM MAY 13 TAJIK PRESIDENT
ARRIVES 2 IT OFFICIALS ARRESTED COLLEGE STUDENT STABBED TO DEATH 5 KILLED IN MANIPUR VIOLENCE HC ORDER ON
PANCHAYAT ACT STAYED  |
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