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Monday,
July 9, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Need for apolitical Indo-Pak Don’t ‘withdraw’ troops from Kargil BSF jawans step up vigil India, B’desh to have train service |
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Jaya debunks PMK charge DMK: probe bid to dilute directive CJI’s age: UK cops checking
papers Bofors: arguments may begin today Cops fire in air to quell protesters Blast accused denies sending men to Pak ED ex-official’s four bank accounts traced Rs 100 bribe: case shut after 6 yrs AICC help rarely works for disabled Pressure on to reopen Nanda Devi reserve
Rain brings relief but misery too Govt backtracks on moat
plan Jyoti
Basu turns 88
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Need for apolitical Indo-Pak initiative New Delhi, July 8 The suggestion given by Prof. Balbir
S. Sahni, Director of the Canada-based Centre for International Academic Cooperation at Concordia University, has found favour among the academicians in the two countries and would come up at a two-day bilateral conference on “Developing perspectives in the new millennium”, organised by the Indian Council for Social Science Research and beginning here tomorrow. Professor Sahni, who is a respected figure among the two communities in Canada and recognised for his contributions towards
internationalisation through various administrative positions, publications and community initiatives, told The Tribune in an interview that in the past 50 years the two countries had not achieved partnership and all that prevailed was distrust and animosity. Though the Agra summit was a welcome opportunity towards forging India-Pakistan partnership, there is a feeling inside and outside official circles that there was need for a broad-based approach to reap mutual benefits, Prof Sahni who was born in Pakistan, raised in India and lived in Canada said. He said the proposed IPLI should be four-tiered, beginning with academic linkages, economic linkages, cultural linkages and media linkages. While the first two areas would power partnership, cultural and media linkages would be the facilitator for a long-time understanding and peace. Professor Sahni said the politicians should keep an arms length from the initiative and only apolitical individuals from the two countries should be involved in the endeavour. He said initiatives from the academicians and economists were far better than ad hoc initiatives developed, directed and constrained by bureaucracies of the two countries. He felt that the initiative, which should have inter-governmental funding, would identify and establish key sectoral sub-groups with the objective to develop an action agenda for implementation. The governments at their end should agree to facilitating and fostering the key recommendations pertaining to each sector. Identifying areas for linkages, Professor Sahni said the academic linkage could encompass promotion of academic exchanges of students and scholars, joint research on topics of mutual interest, and bilateral conferences focused on current topics. The economic linkage should be implementation of the most-favoured nation status in both directions, steps towards reduction of non-official and illegal trade and delineation of areas for joint venture for bilateral consumption as well as outsourcing. The cultural linkage should extend to areas like two-way flow of films, exhibitions, literature, performing arts etc. while the media linkage should focus on steps to increase bilateral circulation of print media and facilitating relay of television programming. Professor Sahni said there had been some developments like the evolution of satellite television which had brought the two countries together. Similarly, on the economic front, the proposed Indo-Iranian gas pipeline passing through mainland Pakistan could bring the two countries closer. He felt India and Pakistan could emerge as major players in the South Asian region and there should be a SAARC council which should guide the endeavour. Professor Sahni said Canada could play a major role in helping the two countries progress with such linkages as multi-culturalism was an official policy of the country. |
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‘Release Indians
from Pak jails’ New Delhi, July 8 “We urge Pakistani President Prevez Musharraf to translate his commitment to peace and friendship by ordering the release of these 54 prisoners of war without any further delay,” it said in a statement.
PTI |
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Don’t ‘withdraw’ troops from Kargil New Delhi, July 8 “Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf may propose pulling back troops from these areas but the Indian Government should not agree,” Mr Fernandes told “Aaj Tak”. Recalling the Simla pact, he said Pakistan had then spoken about developing a relation based on trust. “But we didn’t get any solution from it.... There was no improvement in the relations.” He said Mr Vajpayee’s Lahore initiative had helped the countries evolve a road map for improving ties but this had been belied with the Pakistani intrusions in Kargil. “That is why any talk today of removing soldiers from Siachen or from any other areas they are posted would be very dangerous for our country,” he said. Welcoming the Prime Minister’s unilateral decision to release Pakistani fishermen in Indian custody as a goodwill gesture, he stressed, “We have to move away from the dialogue of guns and start talks on other contentious issues. We should build friendly relations and try to find new avenues to further consolidate them”. On the Hurriyat issue, he said, “What is in the mind of General Musharraf and Pakistani officials, nobody knows. Each day, they say new things on the issue. I sometimes think they are trying to provoke us.....But they also have problems in their country and we understand them. We don’t want to anger them. I think, we shouldn’t be upset by it.”
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BSF jawans step up vigil Sriganganagar, July 8 The government is leaving no stone unturned to make the visit a success and has directed the Border Security Force (BSF), the state home department and the intelligence agencies to initiate all measures in this context. Senior officers have been asked to tour the border areas and take stock of the situation personally. Sources said the BSF Inspector-General (Operations), Mr P. D. Sharma, was on a visit to the border outposts in the Sriganganagar and Bikaner sectors to ascertain the ground realties. He held a secret meeting with unit commandants and asked them to step up their vigil so that any eventuality could be countered. He was accompanied by DIG S. S. Jodha and other officers of the force. He was also said to have asked the officers to step up vigil in areas where the fencing was not entirely fool-proof and which had been breached in the past. Particular mention was made of various bundhs along rivulets which were the favourite crossing points of mercenaries from across the border. He himself visited several such areas to oversee the steps being taken by the field commanders. The security had been tightened not only in Rajasthan but also Gujarat, which shares a long and porous border with Pakistan, the sources added. The areas where the security had been strengthened include the Sir Creek area in the Gujarat, Barmer and Sriganganagar sectors where the fencing was not up to the mark. There were many stretches which run along seasonal rivulets which wash away vast strecheds of fencing during the monsoons. Such places have also been earmarked in view of the past trangressions, and additional forces had been deployed there. Senior officers had been directed to oversee all arrangements and deployment. All security precautions at the range level were reviewed at the meeting by the two officers, the sources said. It may be recalled that militant outfits like the Lashkar-e- Toiba (LeT) have reiterated their pledge to create distrurbances during General Musharraf’s visit. Such attempts have already been made in Jammu and Kashmir. The sources point out that ever since the visit was confirmed, heavily armed militants have made unsuccessful attempts to cross the border in the Srigangangar sector at Gharsana. Two militants were killed by alert border guards. The BSF has identified the points on the international border most susceptible to intrusion and has intensified patrolling along them. Temporary pickets have been set up and arrangements have also been made to install floodlights at such points,
wherever feasible. The sources said the intelligence agencies too had received information that the ISI was up to mischief and would be pushing in mercenaries to enlarge its scope of operations further along the border. The seizure of arms and RDX in various places in Rajasthan and Gujarat were ample indication of this conspiracy. Apart from stepped up vigil along the border, the state government on its own had directed the police to keep an eye on anti - social elements and inspect all hotels, guest houses and dharamshalas in the state. Special teams been formed to keep an eye on all inter-state bus terminuses and railway stations in the
state. Besides this, the police outposts in the border villages too had been asked to remain alert and keep an eye on new comers. The villagers were being asked to inform either the BSF or the police regarding any suspicious activity in their area, the
sources added. |
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India, B’desh to have train service
New Delhi, July 8 The new service, initially to be tri-weekly, will run via Gede-Darsana and eventually lead to linking of Kolkata and Dhaka. This service is proposed to be extended to Joydevpur-Dhaka, it was officially stated. The two sides agreed to review the frequency of the train within three months of its commencement. India and Bangladesh will contribute equally to the rolling stock and locomotives required for running this service. They agreed on running of special trial trains between Sealdah and Bangabandhu Setu East to make a spot assessment of the facilities required for running this passenger train. PTI |
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Jaya debunks PMK charge Chennai, July 8 Asserting that the AIADMK’s pact with the PMK was only for assembly elections, Ms Jayalalitha in a statement here said neither had Dr Ramadoss asked for a Rajya Sabha seat while forging the alliance nor had she given any promise on this count. The issue of Rajya Sabha elections and allotment of a seat to the PMK did not crop up while finalising the alliance, she maintained. The allegation only went on to prove that he was finding reasons for pulling out of the Secular Front, she charged. Regretting that Dr Ramadoss had chosen to level baseless charges against her after deciding to quit the front, she alleged that the “opportunistic” PMK leader had made it a habit to switch loyalties for “personal gains” once he realised his intentions. Dr Ramadoss had yesterday reiterated his charge that the PMK was forced to leave the AIADMK-led front as it was treated “shabbily” by Ms Jayalalitha and said “he would not barter his self-respect”. The PMK was not for the Rajya Sabha seat and would not accept it even if offered, he had said. Stating that she did not find any reason in Dr Ramadoss expecting a Rajya Sabha seat when the AIADMK itself could win only four of the six seats, she said, “People know the reason behind the PMK deserting the alliance for the sake of just one Rajya Sabha seat”.
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DMK: probe bid to dilute directive Chennai, July 8 In a letter to President K.R. Narayanan, copies of which were sent to Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, Union Home Minister L.K. Advani and Acting Governor C. Rangarajan, DMK leader and Indian Lawyers Association Joint Secretary K.S. Radhakrishnan alleged that the appointment of the commission was to protect the errant police officials. Terming it a delaying tactic, he sought suitable action against the errant police officials. DMK headquarters secretary Misa Ganesan, in his letter, said the circumstances did not warrant the appointment of a commission.
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CJI’s age: UK cops checking papers New Delhi, July 8 The CBI, after completing its investigations in India, had sent a letter rogatory through the External Affairs Ministry recently to Britain for a probe into the matter. PTI |
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Bofors: arguments may begin today New Delhi, July 8 Special Judge R.L. Chugh had fixed July 9 for scrutiny of documents and, if possible, for arguments on charge while ordering the separation of trial in the case on May 25. The separation of trial of Hinduja brothers — Srichand, Gopichand and Prakashchand — and former Defence Secretary S.K. Bhatnagar, former Bofors agent Win Chadha and Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors, now known as Kartongen Kemi Och Forvaltning AB, was ordered on the ground that there was slim chance of Quattrocchi and Ardbo being brought to India to face trial in the foreseeable future. The Judge had said that no reasonable assessment could be made about the production of Quattrocchi and Ardbo before him. While rejecting Hindujas’ plea for permission to go out of the country, the Delhi High Court had directed the CBI to seek a separate trial of the accused. However, the Supreme Court later allowed Srichand and Gopichand to go abroad. The CBI had filed two charge sheets in the case. The first charge sheet filed in October, 1999, had named Quattrocchi, Ardbo, Chadha, Bhatnagar and the Bofors Co. A year later, the agency in a supplementary charge sheet accused the Hindujas of receiving over 81 million Swedish kroners as kickback from AB Bofors which had bagged the Rs 1,437-crore gun contract from India in 1986. PTI |
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Cops fire in air to quell protesters Imphal, July 8 Thousands of people staged protest march against the ceasefire in the Nambol area in Bishnupur district defying prohibitory orders with slogans ‘withdraw ceasefire,’ ‘do not divide Manipur’, and do ‘not disturb the boundary’, official sources said. The police and paramilitary forces burst teargas shells and fired in the air to disperse the agitators, the sources said, adding that casualty, if any, was not immediately known. Meanwhile, sit-in protests were reported from across the state including Singjamei, Wangkhei, Khurai, Khongnang Anikara, Kwakeithel, Uripok, Sagolband, Porompat and other areas in the outskirts of Greater Imphal, during the 12-hour relaxation in curfew from 5 a.m. Army and paramilitary forces had stepped up security across the state to prevent any untoward incident, the sources said, adding that the situation was ‘quite tense.’ No untoward incident was reported from any part of the state so far, they added. Several organisations, including six-body United Committee Manipur (UCM) spearheading the anti-ceasefire agitation had said they would continue the agitation till the withdrawal of ceasefire. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr I.D. Swami, had stated that a resolution would be adopted in Parliament to protect the territorial integrity of Manipur in the coming session. However, different organisations, including UCM, in separate statements said their only demand was ‘withdrawal of ceasefire from Manipur’ and not passing a resolution in Parliament. PTI |
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Blast accused denies sending men to Pak Mumbai, July 8 In his statement recorded under Section 313 of the CrPC at the conclusion of the trial, Yakub told judge
P.D. Kode yesterday that a day prior to the blasts here, he had flown to Dubai to meet a business commitment. “I often visited Dubai and it was not for the first time that I had gone there on March 11, 1993”, he
said. Yakub, a chartered accountant by profession, also denied that the CBI had seized Pakistani passports and identity cards from his possession on August 5, 1994, when he was arrested. “I never possessed any such documents and can not say how the CBI acquired them”, he added. PTI |
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ED ex-official’s four bank accounts traced New Delhi, July 8 The sources claimed that the CBI had obtained the bank account opening forms of all these four accounts, which had been opened in the name of Vandana Jain, Vinod Jain, Santosh Goel and Sudhir Goel. All four accounts, which had been opened in the Oriental Bank of Commerce’s Wazirpur branch, had the address of Agarwal’s ancestral house of B-block, Pashchim Vihar and handwriting experts have confirmed that the writing on the forms was that of the former ED Deputy Director, the sources claimed. The sleuths of the Economic Offence Wing got this lead after it started examining the role of some chartered accountants who had allegedly helped Agarwal in “money laundering”, they said. The sources said an amount of Rs 20.45 lakh had been deposited in these accounts. The CBI had arrested Agarwal in November last year along with his brother for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets. He is also facing charges for criminal conspiracy and forgery. The sources said the CBI had found Rs 3.15 lakh in the account of Vinod Jain, Rs 2.90 lakh in the account of Vandana Jain, Rs 7.90 lakh in the account of Santosh Goel and Rs 6.50 lakh in the account of Sudhir Goel. They were shown as shareholders in the firms which only existed on paper, they said. The sources said the information was shared by a chartered accountant during his deposition before the agency sleuths. “Agarwal was the assessing officer for the chartered accountant during his tenure in the income tax,” they added. They said the role of the chartered accountants had been established during the investigation into the alleged disproportionate
assets case filed by the agency against Agarwal. The CBI has alleged that the capital of the fictitious companies increased manifold between 1991-92 and 1994-95 when Agarwal was private secretary to a union minister. The agency alleged that he had invested in properties in Ghaziabad, Bahadurgarh (Haryana) and World Trade Centre in the capital in the name of his wife and had created several trusts whose beneficiaries were his minor children.
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Rs 100 bribe: case shut after 6 yrs New Delhi, July 8 And now the country’s premier investigating agency has decided to close the case for its own mistakes. What is surprising is that the agency took such a long time to realise that the “golden rules” for laying a trap were not followed in the case. Accused Dashrath Ram was allegedly caught red-handed by CBI sleuths while accepting a bribe from complainant Tilak Raj on September 7, 1995, in the presence of two independent witnesses. Interestingly, one of the witnesses, Sanjay Kumar Baldev, was illiterate who failed to go through the written complaint and verify the allegations made by the complainant. “He also failed to narrate the actual conversation between the complainant and the accused and could not explain the pre-trap and post-trap formalities,” the CBI said in its final report. Not only this, the agency failed to carry out internal verification to ascertain the veracity of the allegation about the demand and
acceptance of bribe. “The basic and crucial features of pre and post-trap pattern remain uncorroborated. The lack of invigorating presence of a shadow witness in a case of criminal misconduct is set to fall flat with fruitless efforts,” the CBI said in its closure report filed in a special court here.
PTI |
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AICC help rarely works for disabled New Delhi, July 8 Kalpesh Saha and his wife Gauri have come again all the way from Raipur on their tricycle to meet senior Congress leaders at the AICC office
because Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi could not give either of them a job. During their last trip to the Capital, the two had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi who had directed her aides to help the couple. A letter was written in May this year by Mr
S.V. Pillai, Additional Private Secretary to Mrs Gandhi (who is also Leader of the Opposition), to the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister requesting for compassionate treatment to the couple’s case and seeking information about the action taken by the CM. “Mr Jogi expressed his helplessness in giving me a job, saying that there were no vacancies. Regarding our request for financial help, we were told to approach the AICC again,” tells
Kalpesh. While Gauri is “100 per cent handicapped”, Kalpesh, who is also afflicted with polio, is handicapped to the extent of 60 per cent. Having lost his father in 1989, Saha completed B.Com despite his handicap and then went on to acquire skills in computers. The couple started their tricycle journey on June 15 from Raipur in Chhattisgarh and covered nearly 100 km each day to reach Delhi in about 20 days. They are now hoping to get some relief by meeting Congress treasurer Motilal Vora. Accessible to visitors who come to his office by the dozen everyday, Mr Vora is even approached by partymen whose hutments are damaged in rain. Mamata, 20, who is short-statured and handicapped, has come to the AICC office here all the way from a Reva village (Madhya Pradesh) along with her handicapped mother so that she is able to get a job back home. A victim of oppression by relatives from the first marriage of her father, Mamata has shown remarkable determination to complete her intermediate. Her mother, who took considerable pains for the studies of her daughter, complains that though they had approached several senior officials, including the District Collector at Reva, none of them helped. Having travelled for three days to meet Mrs Gandhi, the mother-daughter duo have been able to meet Mr Vora. Mrs Gandhi, they were told, was on a visit abroad. Convinced by the
genuineness of their case, Mr Vora has given them a letter addressed to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, urging him to try and find a job for the girl who has an ailing 70-year-old father at home. It has been five days since their stay in the Capital and their worry now is where and how to contact the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister. |
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Pressure on to reopen Nanda Devi reserve Dehra Dun, July 8 The reserve had suddenly come into focus as an expedition was sent there by the state government recently to assess the status of biodiversity in the area which had remained closed to any human interference since 1982. In 1993, a team of scientists and Army personnel had visited the reserve to study the effects on keeping it out of bounds for man. The latest expedition, led by mountaineer and tourism expert Harish Kapadia, had recently returned. It will submit a report to the government on July 12. In case it recommended mountaineering and tourism be started again in the Nanda Devi, not just India but the whole world may have to bid farewell to one of the few sites where nature exists in its purest form, environmentalists said. Talking to the UNI here, Mr S. Sathyakumar, a specialist in High Altitude Ecology at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehra Dun, opposed any effort to reopen the pristine core area spread over 640 sq. km of the Nanda Devi National Park. Mr Sathyakumar was in the 1993 expedition to the Nanda Devi. He alleged that this time the team which went there was not competent enough to judge the impact of banning human activity on the park’s ecology. According to Mr Sathyakumar, the international mountaineering community has always been campaigning for the opening of the core area of the park for mountaineers. “This is happening despite the fact that so many peaks can be climbed from outside the core area. Even the Nanda Devi Eastern Peak can be attempted from the other side. Why do these people then insist on climbing the Nanda Devi Western Peak which can be done only after entering the core zone?” asks the visibly agitated lover of nature. Mountaineering expeditions from all over the world would queue up to climb the Nanda Devi West as soon as the park was opened. Money will pour in but so would the garbage. “In 1993, we brought back 1000 tonnes of garbage left by mountaineers, but we still had to leave a lot behind. The cost of clearing the garbage later would be far more than what might be earned by the government from the expeditions”, said Mr Sathyakumar.
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Rain brings relief but misery too Sriganganagar, July 8 The rain came at a time when the people had given up hope as temperatures have been hovering above 40°C for the past two months. Till yesterday the temperature was 42°C. Last month mercury had touched 50°C mark. The downpour began early morning and continued till 9 a.m. today lowering temperatures considerably. Normal life was thrown out of gear. The sewerage system collapsed. Roads and low-lying areas on the outskirts were inundated. Still, the rain was a great relief from the heat wave which showed no signs of abating till yesterday. Farmers, especially those who are at the mercy of rains, felt elated. At many places they could be seen sowing their fields. “We were beginning to think that this year too the fields would not be sown”, remarked a farmer. |
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Govt backtracks on moat
plan Hanumangarh, July 8 About four years ago, the then State Agriculture Minister, Mr Gyan Singh, outlined a scheme of preparing finished moats in place of raw moats in the Bhakra drain irrigated area. The scheme was there to benefit the Bhadra area the minister represented, but before the implementation of scheme, the minister resigned and the fate of the scheme hanged in the balance. Under the scheme, moats in an area of 7074 hectares from Amar Singh sub-branch of Bhakra to the Jasana distributary were to be completed. The scheme, estimated to cost Rs 8 crore, was to be implemented with 60 per cent aid from the Central Government. According to sources, the Central Government has recently decided to give its share on the condition that the state government bears the 40 per cent expenses, but the state government expressed its helplessness to meet the condition.
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Jyoti
Basu turns 88 Kolkata, July 8 Mr Basu, who stepped down in November last year as Chief Minister after guiding the state for 24 long years, cheerfully accepted the birthday wishes sitting on a chair on the lawns of his residence ‘Indira Bhawan’ in the upmarket Salt Lake area. State Transport and Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty, now embroiled in a controversy over the arrest of anti-social elements from the state guest house inside the Salt Lake stadium, also stood smiling in a corner with wife Ramala in tow. A band added to the gaiety as schoolchildren carrying pictures of the CPM Politburo member arrived in large numbers and presented flowers and garlands. In turn, Mr Basu seemed to have cast aside his normal taciturn self as he patted the children in affection. He was also seen asking his aides to ensure that several old men who came to greet him did not face any problem. A delegation of sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, accompanied by small inmates of Mother Teresa’s homes, also came calling at Basu’s residence on the occasion. Thanking the gathering, Mr Basu said he was deeply touched by the presence of the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity. “So many people have turned up here. I am moved. Being a Communist, I will work for the people and the party as long as my health permits,” he said. PTI |
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In-laws kill newly
wed for dowry Greater Noida, July 8 According to the police, Pushpa (21) was married to Veer Singh of Zevar village here. After marriage, her in-laws started demanding one motor cycle and a buffalo as dowry. Her father Naval Singh, because of his poor financial resources, could not meet their demand. Following this her in-laws allegedly poisoned her to death. The body has been sent for postmortem. Pushpa’s father has lodged an FIR against her mother in-law, brother in-law and sister in-law. |
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No information on Veerappan Coimbatore, July 8 |
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