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Wednesday,
June 27, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Manipur leaders meet Narayanan Party meeting leaves Mamata in tears Police kills 14
MCC rebels Kerala mishap report in few months
‘Gadar’ screening: security beefed up
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Cabinet Secy’s term extended to 62
years IA lowers
fares
30 fast-track
courts set up in Uttaranchal Accused let off
after 6-yr trial 24 Myanmarese
arrested Ex-minister hurt
in group clash
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Manipur leaders meet Narayanan New Delhi, June 26 In a memorandum to the President, the delegation, including Mr Radhabinod
Koijam, who was Chief Minister till recently, pointed out the apprehension of the people on its impact on the state’s territorial integrity. They supported the extension of the ceasefire in Nagaland but not beyond the state. A meeting of all political parties has been convened by the Prime Minister on July 8 to review the agreement on ceasefire. Home Minister L.K. Advani is also expected to be present at the meeting. Samata Party leader George Fernandes is expected to meet the Prime Minister before the meeting to convey the demand of the Manipur of the Samata Party for limiting the ceasefire up to Nagaland. IMPHAL: Bereaved families of the 14 persons, killed on June 18 violence which rocked Manipur following the ceasefire extension, have decided not to accept any compensation offered by Governor Ved Prakash Marwah. The representatives of the bereaved families on Tuesday held a meeting at Ilangbam Leikai here and decided not to accept Mr Marwah’s offer till the revocation of extension of ceasefire, a spokesman for the newly-formed committee on martyrs of the territorial integrity of Manipur said here. Meanwhile, National Games champion Manipur will not participate in the National Games to be held in Punjab in protest against the extension of the ceasefire. The Manipur Olympic Association officially announced that if the Centre failed to revoke ceasefire extension to Manipur before the commencement of the National Games, which would take place in September, Manipur would not participate in the games. The crucial decision was taken at a meeting held under the chairmanship of its President G. Joykumar Sharma. Manipur would also not participate in any national championship till the Centre changed its stand. Meanwhile, mass rallies were organised during the relaxation period of the curfew today.
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Rallies mark curfew break Imphal, June 26 As soon as the indefinite curfew was relaxed from 5 a.m. today, people of the Pangei-Khundrakpam area of Imphal east district gathered at Yumnaokhunou ground around 8 a.m. to hold a mass rally attended by about 10,000 members of different communities, including Kom, Kuki, Nagas and Nepalese. Later, a public meeting was held at the Naorem Bihari College ground, Khundrakpam, where leaders of the All-Manipur United Clubs Organisations (AMUCO) and other clubs addressed people. A similar rally was organised at the Oinam bazar in Bishenpur district. Some AMUCO leaders attended the rally which was followed by a public meeting. No untoward incident has been reported so far. Women continued sit-in protests in some parts of west and east districts against the extension of the ceasefire. The All-India Students Federation has demanded immediate withdrawal of the ceasefire and asked the Centre to make public the details of the “secret agenda” behind the ceasefire. Secretary of the Manipur unit of the CPM, Meitra Shamu, too, said expansion of the ceasefire was a “secret agenda” of the Centre to divide Manipur. Manipur Governor Ved Prakash Marwah has, meanwhile, announced that the government will pay an ex-gratia compensation to next of kin of 14 persons who were killed in police firing on June 18, during a protest against the extension of the ceasefire. KOHIMA: In a related development, the Council of Nagalime Churches (CNC) has decided to observe July 15 as “thanks-giving day” in support of the ceasefire. President of Ringsung Hungyo Tangkhul Hobo, meanwhile, has taken strong exception to former Manipur Chief Minister Rishang Keishing’s opposition to the ceasefire. In a statement issued today, he expressed hope that the Centre would be able to withstand the opposition and along with the Naga leadership would initiate peace restoration process soon.
PTI, UNI |
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Party meeting leaves Mamata in tears Kolkata, June 26 She wept while making this remark as the Mayor, Mr Subrata Mukherjee, wanted to resign, following controversy over his decision to evict hawkers from the streets. Most of the councillors and city MLAs present at the meeting which took place at Maharashtra Niwas Hall in south Kolkata, vehemently opposed the Mayor’s decision to evict the hawkers without making any alternative arrangement for their rehabilitation. Soon angry exchanges followed between two groups of leaders. Some argued that the step would not only affect thousands of poor and jobless youths and their families, it would also make Trinamool Congress, which has been running Kolkata Municipal Corporation, ‘very unpopular’. Mr Saugata Roy, Mr Sadan Pande, Mr Sovandev Chattopadhyya and Mr Sudip Bandopadhyaya had been the strong critics to the decision of eviction. The Mayor, however, said the decision which the state government and the corporation had taken jointly earlier, had been already approved by Ms Banerjee herself. Its implementation was deferred till the election was over. Now, as per their agreed decision, the corporation and the police launched the drive for evicting hawkers and trespassers when, not the CPM and the Congress, but a few Trinamool Congress leaders were opposing. Mr Mukherjee argued the eviction of hawkers was necessary for cleaning and developing the city with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). “We are committed to the development of Kolkata which the Left Front government also welcomed and now at this stage, if I am not allowed to do so, what is the point of my remaining in the Mayor’s chair. I better resign”, the agitated Mayor said. Ms Banerjee who kept silent while watching the angry exchanges between Mr Mukherjee and other leaders, suddenly burst into tears. “I know everyone now wants to leave me but I am ready to go it alone as I follow Rabindranath Tagore’s advice of ‘akla chalo re’ (go alone)”, the Trinamool Congress ‘tigress’ broke down. “I will better die than to betray you. You have given me so much respect which I never got while in the Congress. You have made me Mayor, the chair I never dreamt of. I am with you Mamata and I shall remain so”, Mr Mukherjee said, trying to console her. But the decision of eviction of hawkers was not taken at the meeting. The matter will be further examined and a 20-member committee with Mr Mukherjee as chairman was set up at the meeting to look into it and take appropriate step.
The eviction drive will remain suspended for the time being. |
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Police kills 14
MCC rebels Ranchi, June 26 Lohardagga Police Superintendent Navin Kumar Sinha said the militants opened fire on a police party which was raiding the forest as part of its anti-naxal drive. The police fired in retaliation killing 14 rebels on the spot. Two of the injured extremists, including a woman, were later taken into custody. A constable was also injured in the attack. He said the police recovered four bodies but expressed apprehension that the rebels, taking advantage of the darkness, might have escaped along with other bodies. However, a search was on to recover the other bodies. He said the police recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including a self loading rifle, two double barrel guns and live cartridges.
UNI
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Kerala mishap report in few months New Delhi, June 26 About 60 persons were reportedly killed when four coaches of the Mangalore-Chennai Mail derailed and plunged into Kaadalundi river, 20 km from Kozhikode. Talking to newspersons here on Monday, Mr Rajagopal expressed lack of confidence in judicial commissions without ``casting any aspersions.’’ Responding to the demand for a judicial inquiry by the Leader of the Opposition of the Kerala Assembly, Mr Rajagopal said: ``I would only like to draw attention to previous experiences to such judicial inquiries. I don’t want to cast any aspersions but facts speak for themselves. In case of the Khanna train mishap that took place in November ‘98, the report has not come. It was a judicial inquiry. In case of the Rajpura railway accident which took place in December 2000, the judicial process of inquiry has not yet commenced. Therefore, this is the experience and in the light of this
experience we think there should be a body of experts. Let us await their report which we are expecting within a few months. The remaining reports will be available within two to three weeks and the final report in about two months.’’ The minister said that it would take two weeks to restore railway traffic which has been disrupted due to the accident. ``We have made arrangements to run three trains from Calicut to Manglaore and for those travelling between Calicut to Shoranur, road travel facility is provided. There has been re- routing of some long distance trains.’’ Reacting to newsreports that the bridge at Kadaldundi river into which the coaches fell was damaged and the Railways did not take take sufficient care of it. ``It is not factually correct. The bridge is not distressed. On June 19, 2000, the Senior Divisional Engineer had inspected the bridge and on March 29, 2001, there was a detailed inspection by the assistant engineer.’’ The minister said the inspection report did not say that the bridge was distressed that required a speedlimit or any other extra caution. He pointed out that two other trains had crossed the bridge half an hour before the accident took place. He added that 11 of the 19 coaches of the Mangalore-Chennai Mail had crossed the bridge.`` What happened is a matter that needs to be inquired into,’’ he said. Answering a question, Mr R. N. Malhotra, Member (Engineering),
Railway Board said, ``We cannot prescribe the life of a bridge in terms of its life limit. The average life of a bridge is 100 years but that does not mean that every bridge will fail after 100 years.’’ Asked whether lack of maintenance was due to lack of funds, the minister said: ``I don’t think so. We have something like 1,20,00 bridges in the Railways in India. There are more than 51,000 bridges which are about a 100 year old. It is true that all bridges will have to be renovated in stages. We cannot do it all at a stretch. |
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‘Gadar’ screening: security beefed up Mumbai, June 26 A firecracker burst at Ratan Theatre in Bhiwandi in neighbouring Thane district yesterday, the police said even as it denied reports that the explosive was a crude bomb. “Various police stations here have been directed to be vigilant in the areas where the movie is being screened and to take action in case of any untoward incident”, Joint Commissioner (Law and Order) Y.C. Pawar said. Heavy police “bandobast” has also been made at all the cinema halls screening the film in Thane district.
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Cabinet Secy’s term extended to 62
years New Delhi, June 26 “The Cabinet has decided to amend the appropriate rules giving the government the power to grant extension to government servants holding office of the Cabinet Secretary in public interest subject to the limit of 62 years,” the Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley told newspersons. The government’s ordinance is likely to pave the way for Mr P.C. Sharma’s appointment as the CBI Director. Who was appointed as the acting Director of the agency in April. If regularised he would continue in the post for another two years as per the Supreme Court ruling in the Hawala case. The government’s move to amend the service rule at a time when Mr Prasad is on the verge of his retirement has, however, raised many eyebrows. He had nine month tenure left when he was given the post. |
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IA lowers fares Mumbai, June 26 The fares from Mumbai to Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Goa and Ahmedabad-Bangalore sectors have been revised downwards to match the seasonal demand, IA said here today. “Flexifare” envisages fare variation on sector-to-sector, season-to-season basis and unique flight specific fares, IA said in a press note. Revised economy fares on Mumbai to Bangalore and the opposite direction would now be Rs 3,850 (as against Rs 4,460), Chennai Rs 4,500 (Rs 5,255), Goa Rs 2,500 (Rs 2,715) and Kolkata Rs 6,450 (Rs 7,540). A flight specific fare had been introduced on the Chennai-Delhi-Chennai service (IC 802/801) which was in addition to the existing specific flight fare on the Mumbai-Bangalore-Mumbai (IC 105/106) and Mumbai-Delhi-Mumbai (IC 806/865) sectors. IA also relaxed the rules governing the day-return fare scheme on the Delhi sector and the passenger was now permitted on any flight on the same day. The fare had also been brought down to Rs 10,000 from (Rs 10,375).
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30 fast-track
courts set up in Uttaranchal New Delhi, June 26 The Centre has released Rs 3.93 crore for setting up 45 fast-track courts in the hill state and the state government is expected to set up the rest of the courts soon, official sources said. “Preparatory action like the completion of court buildings, appointment of judges, etc has been initiated in respect of the remaining 15 courts also,” a Home Ministry spokesman told newspersons here today. Seven out of these 30 courts were operating in Nainital and the presiding officers of the court had been appointed by promotion from senior judicial officers, he said. The Uttaranchal High Court at Nainital has seven posts of judge but at present, it has only three judges, including the Chief Justice. |
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Accused let off after 6-yr trial Mumbai, June 26 On a plea by the CBI, Designated Judge P.D.Kode discharged Sayed Javed Hussain Muzzamil Hussain, who was earlier declared a proclaimed offender. The judge felt the prosecution’s charge of conspiracy could not be established against the accused and hence this was a fit case for discharge. As Sayed Javed was not traceable, the CBI had urged the court to declare him a proclaimed offender. He was reported to be absconding until June 24, when he was arrested by the CBI in Mumbai. The CBI produced him before the court yesterday. However, it moved a petition urging for his discharge from the case. CBI prosecutor A.S.Kulaye pleaded that the agency had learnt from the passport of the accused that he was in Dubai from February 12, 1993, until October 4, 1996. This showed that one month prior to the explosions, he was in Dubai. Therefore, the CBI said the charge that he participated in a conspiracy meeting at Al-Husseini building of absconding accused Tiger Memon could not be established. This meeting was alleged to have taken place on March 10, 1993, when the accused was in Dubai according to his passport, the CBI added. Farhana Shah, amicus curie, pointed out that the evidence adduced by the CBI in the past six years during the trial did not implicate the accused and hence he should be let off as there was no material against him.
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24 Myanmarese arrested Jaisalmer, June 26 After interrogation, the arrested persons were handed over to the police, said BSF Gujarat-Rajasthan frontier headquarters sources here. During questioning, the Myanmarese said they wanted to go to Pakistan while an unknown middleman from Delhi took them to the village but on the pretext of talking to officials for their onward journey ran away from the scene, the sources said. When he did not turn up, they themselves moved towards Pakistan border but were apprehended, the sources said. UNI
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Ex-minister hurt in group clash Sriganganagar, June 26 The clash took place between the supporters of Miglani, an accused in the murder of Darshan Khoda, state vice-president, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), in December last and supporters of trade union leader Yadvendra Singh Bhola, who had been leading a movement against the former
minister. The police said cases had been registered against members of both the clashing groups, including Miglani and Bhola.
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