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September 7, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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CBI seizes Air-India disinvestment files New panel to select CBI director soon
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Five killed
in MCC blockade
Jessica murder
case: 3 witnesses go missing 200 youths, 20 cops hurt
in melee Ray didn’t seek retirement: Army Bollworm plagues cotton crop No let-up in UP lawyers’ stir SC sets aside HC ruling on
land rights Saris with goddess images irk priests
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CBI seizes Air-India disinvestment files New Delhi, September 6 CBI sources claimed that the CFSL report which was submitted to the investigating agency earlier this week stated that the letter given to it for examination was not genuine and did not bear the signature of the Cabinet Secretary, Mr T.R. Prasad. These sources maintained that after making doubly sure that the letter in question was a forged one, the special investigating cell had now taken up the matter with right earnest to trace the alleged conspirators who had forged the letter. The CBI had registered a case on August 24 after the Congress leader, Mr Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, had read the letter in the Lok Sabha on August 23 and the minister for disinvestment, Mr Arun Shourie, had announced a CBI probe into it as the Cabinet Secretary had denied having ever written such a letter to the PMO as alleged. The matter caused considerable flutter in the Lok Sabha even as Mr Dasmunshi had declined to authenticate the letter which he claimed was given to him by his sources. While CBI officials were reluctant to comment, the sources said it was possible that some senior officials of the
Ministry of Disinvestment, the cabinet Secretariat and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which had access to the files would be questioned to trace the alleged conspirators. The government has taken a serious view of the alleged forgery for the simple reason that if the suspects could forge the signatures of the top bureaucrat of the country and pass it on to important Opposition leaders, they could do any thing and create utter chaos in the government departments handling sensitive issues. |
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New panel to select CBI director soon New Delhi, September 6 CBI’s officiating director P.C. Sharma is likely to be included in the new panel, well-placed sources said here today. Mr Sharma, a 1966 batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, specialises in investigating economic offences and corruption-related cases. The move is being seen in the corridors of power as an indication that Mr Sharma could well be in the vanguard for the CBI directorship. There is another reason for this optimism. In March this year, the Centre had approached the Supreme Court, seeking a clarification that since the CBI Director has to have a fixed tenure of two years, could those officers be considered for the job who had less than two years of service left. The court had said the government could do this. Incidentally, Mr Sharma has about 18 months of service left. Significantly, Andhra Pradesh Director-General of Police H.J. Dora, whose name figured in Mr Vittal’s panel which is believed to have been rejected by the Home Ministry, has seemingly lost out in the race for CBI chief. Some months back, Mr Dora was considered to be the frontrunner for the top job in the CBI as his case was said to being pushed by TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. However, it now appears that Mr Dora no longer enjoys this leverage. The move is likely to further delay the appointment of a regular chief of the CBI. The new panel would be finalised by the Union Home Secretary, Personnel Secretary and CVC as per the Supreme Court directions with regard to the appointment procedure for selecting the CBI director. The recommendation of this trio of officials will be put before the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for final approval. |
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PM briefed on J&K security New Delhi, September 6 They also deliberated on the problems being faced by the law enforcement agencies in tackling terrorism and other internal disturbances, sources said. The meeting, which lasted for about an hour, was held before Mr Vajpayee addressed the Conference of chiefs of the state police, intelligence agencies and the Central Police Organisations this morning at Vigyan Bhavan here. During the meeting, attended by the Minister of State for Home, Mr I.D. Swami, and Mr Vidyasagar Rao, the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary, Mr Brajesh Mishra and top Home Ministry officials, besides the Directors General of various state police, Mr Vajpayee was apprised of the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir and in the North-East states. The Prime Minister was urged to allow recruitment of more personnel in the Jammu and Kashmir police, the sources said. Several DGPs also sought steps towards expeditious enactment of the proposed anti-terrorist law, which would replace the scrapped Terrorist and
Destructive Activities (Prevention) Act, they added. |
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Five killed in MCC blockade Ranchi, September 6 MCC ultras ambushed a police patrol near Pathki forest of Latehar district in Jharkhand this evening killing the five including two policemen—a constable of CRPF and one of the district police. The other persons killed have been identified as Santosh Singh, Feroz Khan and Finius Kindo. They were caught in the crossfire between the security forces and the ultras, the sources said. Two police sub-inspectors, a CRPF inspector and a police constable were injured in the encounter, they said. The ambush took place when the police was patrolling the area after the ultras damaged a jeep near the forest early this morning.
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Jessica murder
case: 3 witnesses go missing New Delhi, September 6 Three witnesses—Sumitabh Bhatnagar, Sunil Sahni and Andalip Sehgal — failed to turn up to depose before the court of Additional Sessions Judge R.L. Chugh for recording their statements. The court directed the police to summon all these witnesses for recording of evidence on September 20.
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200 youths, 20 cops hurt in melee Ara (Bihar) September 6 Bhojpur District Magistrate Sudhir Kumar said around 25,000 youths, who assembled before the main gate of the stadium since early this morning to participate in a physical test suddenly turned violent after having made to wait for long hours. They pelted stones and brickbats and ransacked a nearby survey office and damaged fire engines. The police used batons, lobbed teargas shells and fired four rounds in the air to disperse the rampagers.
PTI |
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Ray didn’t seek retirement: Army New Delhi, September 6 While the Army said there was no truth in the reports, senior officers of the M.S. Branch said pressure tactics were being applied by the officer after he lost out on being made an ‘Army Commander’. Sources said it was expected that General Ray would be made an Army Commander but instead Lieut-Gen Shantanu Choudhury was given the honour. |
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Bollworm plagues cotton crop Sriganganagar, September 6 Standing crop in this district and the neighbouring Hanumangarh district is in the grip of the pest and efforts by the farmers to rid of it has come a naught. Despite claims of the pesticide companies, hardly any formulation has been able to control it. Agricultural scientists too have been at their wits end to suggest an effective remedy. Sources said the farmers have been advised to sow other cash crops for two to three years so that the disease may be eradicated. Cotton has been sown in 3. 50 lakh hectares of land in Rajasthan this year. Of this, the epidemic plagues farmers of Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh, particularly with the bollworm affecting crop in neighbouring districts. Besides trying everything in the market, farmers are also relying on magic cures spread by word of mouth. Incidences of “babas “ making a killing by claiming magic cures have come from various places in the region, but an effective cure has eluded everyone. A team of scientists from Rajasthan Agricultural University is touring the affected districts and suggesting farmers to desist from wasting money by spraying “ineffective” highly priced pesticides. Instead, they are being told about the new
biopesticides. The biopesticides have shown encouraging results at some places but have failed to click at others. A major part of the blame, however, has been passed on to the farmers. Scientists claim that the crop is not being sown scientifically. Farmers are still sticking to traditional methods and the excessive use of urea and water, in the present context, is aiding the spread of the bollworm. Two plants should be placed at the prescribed width from one another and the bundhs too should conform to the standard set. However, it has been observed that the crop was quite dense and no matter how much pesticide was sprayed, it could only cover the top of the crop, the sources pointed out. Another problem was of “overkill”. Farmers sprayed very strong pesticides at the initial sign of the outbreak, thereby rendering the pest to develop resistance to other formulations later on. This results in not only losses to the farmer in terms of crop loss but also made their efforts of a solution all the more hard. On biopesticides and insecticides, the sources informed that nuclear pali hydrosis virus and trycograma pesticide were proving to be effective in battling the menace. This year, the university has trebled its production of trycograma and is available at affordable prices. So far, farmers have bought Rs 8 .50 lakh worth of the pesticide and its demands was on the rise. Its production would be raised further next year, the sources added. Lack of awareness about the biofertilizers and pesticides are the major stumbling block in their widespread use. In Sriganganagar, the university has earmarked 22 hectares of cotton crop to exhibit the effectiveness of the
biopesticides. Farmers from far and wide are coming to see the results and purchase the pesticide.
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No let-up in UP lawyers’ stir Saharanpur, September 6 A central action committee was set up by lawyers from district Bars of 19 districts of western UP at Saharanpur two days ago. As a sequel to the agitation call, the lawyers yesterday locked the District Collectorate at Saharanpur where a UP minister along with some legislators was holding a meeting. The gherao movement will continue till September 11 according to a senior functionary of a Saharanpur District Bar. This official told The Tribune on the telephone that on September 11, traffic jams would be organised by lawyers in all districts. The decision was taken by the central action committee at Saharanpur. The action committee has also given a call to all the lawyers in the 10 districts of western UP to reach Meerut on September 16 where the UP Chief Minister, Mr Raj Nath Singh, will be
gheraoed. |
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SC sets aside HC ruling on
land rights New Delhi, September 6 Delivering the ruling while setting aside a Himachal Pradesh High Court judgement which held to the contrary while interpreting Section 3 of the HP Village Common Lands Vesting & Utilisation Act, the apex court held that the high court had erred in holding that the easementary right did not vest in the state. A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice V.N. Khare and Mr Justice B.N. Agrawal delivered the judgement. |
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Saris with goddess images irk priests Kolkata, September 6 The saris, designed and manufactured by a textile mill at Howrah, are a craze in Orissa and among Oriya women residing in West Bengal, Assam and Bihar. During the Rathajatra festivals, this brand of saris has been popular. The saris are again on sale in the markets ahead of Durga puja in Kolkata, from where wholesalers of Orissa purchase them for sale in the state. The design, with the images of the Oriya goddess, has been embroidered on the border of the saris. And this has been the cause of resentment among the pandas, who feel that it is sacrilegious and objectionable. The pandas have demanded an immediate ban on sale of the saris. They have threatened to move the court against the manufacturer. The textile mill authorities, however, have denied that the images have been embroidered on the border of the saris. An official explained that the saris, when properly worn by the women, would have the images on the upper part of their body and not near their legs. There was no reason for the pandas to protest as there had been no attempt to insult or denigrate their goddess. He admitted that they brought out this brand of sari in large stocks in the market in Kolkata and elsewhere following its popularity during the Rathajatra festivals. At that time, there was no protest from any quarter in Orissa. On the contrary, there was an overwhelming response from everywhere. He said they had imitated the design of the saris from those being produced by a renowned textile mill in Madurai with images of Lord Tirupati on the sari. The temple authorities, however, are not satisfied with the explanation. According to Mr Bhaskar Mitter, special officer on duty at the Puri temple, this is not only sacrilegious but also illegal and immoral. He demanded that the selling of these saris should not only be banned, but a strong penal action should also be taken against the mill owner. |
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Goswami to be new AGP chief Guwahati, September 6 The crucial AGP meeting which started today also saw the executive body resign en masse. The leaders were still talking in a bid to give a new direction to the party and debate whether to retain the old executive council for the next three months.
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