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Wednesday,
April 17, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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ISI bid to revive Punjab terrorism: report Spy ring busted with IAF man’s arrest TN Assembly seeks LTTE chief’s extradition
Did Bishnoi mint crores everyday? |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT SC acquits 4 in ’92 massacre case India ‘unhappy’ with UK envoy
report on Gujarat Envoys of 5 nations present
credentials
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ISI bid to revive Punjab terrorism: report New Delhi, April 16 Union Home Secretary Kamal Pande told the Standing Committee on Home Affairs that recent inputs indicated that Pakistan-based terrorists of the Khalistan Commando Force (Panjwar), Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Zindabad Force and International Sikh Youth Federation (Rode) were “desparate to undertake some sensational action in India because of constant pressure from Pakistan’s ISI”. Attempts to revive terrorism in Punjab also became evident from the continued recovery of large quantities of arms, ammunition, explosives and sophisticated timer devices in the border state, he said. Mr Pande said security forces arrested 31 terrorists while one surrendered to the police last year. As many as 35 terrorists were arrested and three surrendered the previous year. “Despite reverses and neutralisation of some of their top-rung activists over the years, the Khalistani terrorists still retain the capacity and substantial fire power to carry out acts of violence,” Mr Pande said. In view of these developments, the committee chaired by Mr Pranab Mukherjee felt that “There is a subtle change which is taking place on the ground”. The committee, which includes members from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, said, “Therefore, there is need for being vigilant to ensure that terrorism does not rear its head once again” in Punjab. “The committee, therefore, urges the government to take all necessary preventive measures to thwart attempts of Pakistan’s ISI to revive terrorism in Punjab,” the committee’s 88th report said, adding that strict vigil must be kept on the activities of recently returned separatist leaders so that they do not once again become a potent threat to the security and unity of the country. It also appealed to the government to “consider” the cases of 400-odd policemen facing trial in various courts for their role in anti-terrorism operations during the heydays of terrorism in Punjab. Members expressed concern over the trial of these policemen, saying that it might have a demoralising effect on the police force in general and those fighting terrorism in particular. “It becomes even more demoralising when persons, who spearheaded the terrorist movement from their foreign bases, are not only being allowed entry into the country but also to move freely,” it said, wondering whether these recently returned separatist leaders could be a threat to the security and unity of India. It said, “Ironically, those who indulged in terrorism are moving freely and, in sharp contrast, those who fought terrorism are going through a hell of an experience”.
PTI |
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Spy ring busted with IAF man’s arrest New Delhi, April 16 The spy, Tripati Nath Mahapatra, holding Corporal rank in the Indian Air Force and at present posted in Jodhpur was caught red-handed while he was passing on secret information to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. Incriminating information relating to the Signals unit of Air Force, a slip of paper given by the Pakistan Intelligence Operative indicating the future tasks to be executed and Rs 10,000, he received from a staffer of Pakistan High Commission, was recovered. The staffer was later identified as Ali Abbas and has been handed over to the Ministry of External Affairs. Acting on a tip-off, the special cell sleuths followed the spy from the Old Delhi Railway Station an later nabbed him. |
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TN Assembly seeks LTTE chief’s extradition Chennai, April 16. The Chief Minister, Ms Jayalalithaa, who moved the resolution, said the time had come to capture Prabhakaran and if necessary India should seek the permission of the Sri Lankan Government to send its Army to achieve the objective. “India cannot keep its eyes closed and be a mute spectator when the leader of a most dreaded terrorist organisation, V. Prabhakaran, appearing before an international press, had said that his organisation would continue its fight for a seperate Tamil nation.” PMK members. wearing black shirts, shouted slogans to protest against the Bill, while the communists took exception to the proposal for sending the Indian Army to Sri Lanka. The leader of the DMK opposition, Mr K. Anbhazhagan, said the DMK would adopt a neutral stand, since the resolution would hinder the peace process brokered by Norway to end the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. The resolution would be a futile exercise if the Sri Lankan government did not cooperate with India. The Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) member, Mr S.R. Balasubramanian, said Prabhakaran was “worse than Hitler”, who had ordered murder of his adversaries. Ms Jayalalithaa welcomed the inclusion of LTTE in the list of terrorist organisations banned under POTA, but said the Centre’s continued silence on some issues linked to LTTE were a cause for concern. In order to maintain good relations with its neighbours, India should not adopt a “casual attitude” in the efforts to get Prabhakaran extradited. “We cannot tolerate any hindrance to the nation’s security,” she said. |
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Did Bishnoi mint crores everyday? Sriganganagar, April 16 A case under the NDPS Act had been registered. No arrests had been made so far. Informed sources were of the opinion that the accused had allegedly been tipped off. The scandal had not only rocked the government, with Mr Bishnoi tendering his resignation, which was pending approval of the Chief Minister, but had also sent shock waves among the highly traditional Bishnoi community, which abhorred intoxicants. Compounding the scandal was the fact that Mr
Bishnoi, a stalwart in the Jodhpur region, the same area as the Chief Minister, was also the President of the All-India Bishnoi
Mahasabha. The mahasabha refused to accept his resignation from the post. The Chief Minister was also reportedly under pressure not to accept the resignation and was expected to seek the opinion of the Congress high command. Political pundits pointed out that Mr Bishnoi commanded a huge following in at least three constituencies in the Jodhpur belt and his resignation could have an adverse effect on the electoral results of the region when the state went to the polls in the coming months. Sources revealed that the Excise Department had been investigating the arrival of large consignments of mandrax and had been keeping a tab on the movements of some suspects. It was being suspected that the drug was either being smuggled from across the border or was being manufactured somewhere in the border belt of Rajasthan. Following a tip-off, a locked factory had been raided at Pichyak village near Jodhpur. The raiding team did not find any tablets, but were able to ascertain from ‘ground samples’ that mandrax was being manufactured on the premises. Scrapings from the equipment had been sent for analysis to departmental laboratories in Delhi and at
Neemuch. The sources said Paras Ram had revealed that he did not know anything about the matter and had rented the premises to Prithvi Singh Bhati and his associates, all of whom were absconding. A search of the latter’s locked house did not come up with either a rent deed or relevant papers showing him to be the tenant or other incriminating material. A search from him and others was underway and several places had been raided, the sources added. The investigators had reportedly established that the compound used to manufacture the tablets matched those seized by them, some of which had been brought from Mumbai. The tablets had been sold after being packed in plastic wrappers bearing the markings of a Korean drug manufacturer. This had also proved that the tablets were being manufactured here and not being smuggled as was believed earlier. Interestingly, the sleuths, following the case had come across the name of the factory during their investigations a couple of times in the past months, but had reportedly overlooked the lead since it was a cement factory. Based on the capacity of the machine, the sources estimated that the machine was capable of turning out 1,000 tablets per hour. The manufacturing cost of a tablet was Re 1 and the same was being sold for Rs 150 in Mumbai and surrounding areas. This worked out to Rs 1 crore for just an hour’s work. One could imagine the money being minted by the mafia if the factory had been working round the clock, the sources pointed out. The sources said the consignments had been despatched to Mumbai by road in cleverly sealed bundles of biscuits and bidis to evade detection. More raids were on the anvil, they added. |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, April 16 However, in 2001, after the December 13 attack on Parliament House and the resultant military build-up along the Line of Control, migration did take place from the border areas. The state government has further informed that till date, 63196 persons have migrated from the border areas/LoC of the districts of Rajouri, Poonch, Jammu and Kathua. In addition, there are about 6040 border migrant families in Akhnoor tehsil belonging to villages which are situated very close to the border. These families had migrated in the wake of Indo-Pak hostilities in Kargil and cross-border shelling and firing in Jammu and Kathua in May/June 1999, have not been able to return because their lands are vulnerable to Pakistani firing and shelling and are on the traditional invasion route of Pakistan, the minister said. The minister said that as informed by the state government, no proposal for the rehabilitation of people of border villages is under consideration as the migration is temporary and the villagers are expected to go back as and when the situation improves. In fact, these border migrants, with some exceptions, have left their cattle and other moveable property in their respective villages, the minister said. In reply to a separate question, the minister said that no proposal was under consideration by India to hold meetings with separatist political leaders and militants of Jammu and Kashmir. Besides diplomatic initiatives, the government, conjointly with the state government had adopted a multi-dimensional strategy to solve the problem. The three major prongs of strategy are: (i) proactive tackling of cross-border terrorism within J&K (ii) accelerating economic development in the state and (iii) continuing to remain open talks with all groups of people within the state who eschew the path of violence, the minister said. As per the information furnished by the Administration of Chandigarh, the National Programme for Nutritional Support to Primary Education is being implemented in rural and slum areas of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the Minister of State of Human Resource Development, Prof Rita Verma, told the Lok Sabha in a written reply today. |
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SC acquits 4 in ’92 massacre case New Delhi, April 16 A three-Judge Bench comprising Mr Justice M.B. Shah, Mr Justice B.N. Agrawal and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat said confessional statements of the accused were recorded in the night with the help of jeep lights and the same were not sent to the Chief Judicial Magistrate as required under Rule 15 of TADA rules.
PTI |
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India ‘unhappy’ with UK envoy report on Gujarat New Delhi, April 16 The spokesperson declined to say whether India had lodged a protest with the high commission over making public the contents of the report.
UNI |
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Envoys of 5 nations present
credentials New Delhi, April 16 Welcoming the new High Commissioner-designate of the Republic of Ghana, Prof Michael A. Ocquaye, the President referred to the relationship fostered between India and Ghana since the days of Indian freedom struggle and mentioned the close friendship established between first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and the Ghanaian leader, Dr Kwame Nkrumah. |
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