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Monday,
December 30, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Portugal extends Salem’s remand Anees’ release shows Pak links Cong pursuing soft Hindutva line: CPI
Tension grips Gaya Katiyar asks Muslims to hand over temples |
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Chautala invites MP entrepreneurs CMs to meet on Naxalite issue From
Delhi to Goa with love Kelkar proposals unfair: CPM Man gets justice after 24-yr-long delay Scooterist hit by DIG’s car dead Trial run of train attains record speed Youth
not to be nailed for mail DG CRPF to retire on
December 31
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Portugal extends Salem’s remand New Delhi, December 29 “We handed over the extradition request to the Portuguese authorities and they have also confirmed to us in writing that his judicial remand had been extended by another 90 days,” CBI Director P.C. Sharma said here. Mr Sharma said the Lisbon authorities had told “our officer that they would examine our request and also in the meantime extend the judicial remand of the accused to evade fears of his dissappearance from the country.” The CBI Director said the Portuguese authorities would also be carrying out a probe against the accused after which a decision would be taken for his extradition. He said the cancellation of the work permit of Salem and extension of his judicial remand were heartening developments. The extension of judicial remand came close on the heels of the CBI sending an official with a formal extradition request where the agency has listed his involvement in three CBI cases, four cases with the Delhi police and two cases registered against him by the Mumbai police. The extradition request, which gave an executive assurance to the Portuguese authorities of not awarding Salem capital punishment in case of his conviction by Indian courts, highlighted his role in the conspiracy leading to the Mumbai bomb blast. In its extradition request, the CBI said “....Salem is an accomplice of Anees Ibrahim Kaskar and at his instance procured nine AK-56 rifles for continuing terrorist acts in Mumbai in 1993.” When asked what were the chances of Salem’s extradition from Portugal, the CBI Director said, “Well, extradition is a sovereign decision of the country. We can try and hope for the best.” About his role with terrorist groups like the Al-Qaida, Mr Sharma said, “I have no information on that but let me make it clear that such undesirable people don’t come up so fast because of their hardwork but because of some undercover links.” The CBI Director acknowledged some information had been exchanged with the FBI about Salem. India had send the request for extradition following rejection of its deportation plea by the authorities in Lisbon.
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Anees’ release shows Pak links New Delhi, December 29 Carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh, Anees, wanted in India in connection with the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, was arrested in Dubai on December 3 much to the jubilation of the CBI which had sought Interpol help to nab him. The UAE Government told New Delhi that it was willing to consider an extradition request. According to the sequence of events pieced together by various intelligence sources, the possibility of Anees’ extradition sent alarm bells ringing in the Pakistani establishment. The establishment has nurtured him and other underworld figures from India. To prevent any disclosure by Anees in India, ISI and other wings of Pakistani establishment swung into action. Sources here say that a top Pakistan leader, probably President Pervez Musharraf himself, got into the act. A Pakistan minister was rushed to Dubai to ensure that Anees was released, and not sent to India. An ISI team was already camping in Muscat and monitoring the developments about Anees. It was also believed to have used “pressure tactics” throwing hints about snapping of cooperation in different fields, including business and defence to secure the release of Anees.
PTI |
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Cong pursuing soft Hindutva line: CPI Kolkata, December 29 Asserting that secular forces in the country should unite to fight the new threats to the secularism, CPI general Secretary A.B. Bardhan said the Congress’ strategy of pursuing a soft Hidutva line was evident in the Gujarat poll. But such a line would not help in the fight against communal forces, Mr Bardhan asserted. “The Congress tried to fight the BJP on its own ground. They tried to confront the BJP’s hard line Hindutva with a soft line Hindutva by using Sadhus in the campaign”, Mr Bardhan said. Mr Bardhan’s comments echoed the CPM General Secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet’s views that the Congress had underplayed the communal agenda and thereby helped communal forces legitimise their disruptive campaign. The CPI leader said to defeat the BJP in the elections there was an imperative need for a one-to-one contest against that party in the polls. He said that BJP’s assertion to implement the “Gujarat experiment” in elections in other states was most dangerous for the country’s unity as a whole and secular forces should forge unity against it. The CPI which held its party rally at the Brigade Parade Ground during the day announced that it would launch “Bharat Yatra” programmes from various parts of the country to Delhi to counter the Sangh Parivar’s “policy of dividing the people on communal lines” and as also against the Centre’s policy of privatisation.
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Tension grips Gaya Gaya (Bihar), December 29 Gaya District Magistrate Brajesh Mehrotra said micreants disfigured the 900-year-old idols with heavy tools. Tension mounted in the town and adjoining areas as the report of the vandalisation spread and devotees put up a blockade on the Patna-Gaya road since morning demanding the arrest of the culprits responsible for causing damages to the idols. However, the blockade was lifted after the civil and police authorities intervened. Mr Mehrotra said the district administration had sent requisition for sniffer dogs to track down the criminals and contingents of Special Task Force to maintain law and order in the town.
UNI |
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Katiyar asks Muslims to hand over temples Varanasi, December 29 Mr Katiyar said the first phase of his yatra to strengthen the spirit of “sanskritik rashtravaad” would cover 30 districts till January 12. Replying to a question, he said an incident like Godhra would never be allowed to take place in the state. Denying any tussle between the BSP and BJP, he said the Mayawati-led government would complete its term and in the event of the downfall of the present government mid-term elections would become inevitable.
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Chautala invites MP entrepreneurs Bhubaneswar, December 29 Haryana was the most ideal destination for investment by all those who intended to expand their existing projects or set up new units, he said, addressing the entrepreneurs at a business meet organised by the CII (Eastern region) and the Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry here. Chautala said when he took over the reins of administration, the state had poor road communication facilities and it faced shortage of power and drinking water. The law and order situation was also bad. During the last few years, his government had been able to build a strong infrastructure with roads of international standard and availability of abundant power. Several multinational and indigenous companies had set up their industries and corporation offices in Haryana, he said, inviting a delegation of prospective investors to visit his state. Chautala said the state government was implementing a liberal industrial policy and giving several concessions to the trade and industry. The state’s proximity to the national capital, international airport, industrial-friendly climate and well controlled law and order situations were big advantages for investors, he said.
PTI |
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CMs to meet on Naxalite issue New Delhi, December 29 The meeting, the date of which is yet to be decided, will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is likely to address. “The meeting has been necessitated to ensure that there is proper coordination between all states affected by Naxalite problems,” Minister of State for Home Vidyasagar Rao said here today. Moreover, the meeting will give an opportunity for the state governments to put forth their suggestions and give the Central Government an opportunity to review the steps taken by the states in checking the Naxalite menace, he said. Mr Rao admitted that although a coordination committee headed by Union Home Secretary had been established in the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Centre had been extending liberal funds to tackle the ever-increasing Naxalite menace, state governments had failed to utilise the same to the hilt. “Under a special funding scheme for the states affected by the Naxalite problem, the Centre has announced extension of Rs 13 crore to Rs 14 crore for raising special Battalions, besides footing the salary bill of the special Battalion for one year. However, most of the states are found wanting in properly utilising this scheme,” Mr Rao said adding “this scheme is apart from the funds extended to various states for the modernisation of police forces.” Since law and order is the State subject, it is the responsibility of the state governments concerned to address the problem ernestly and the Central Government can only be a facilitator and supporter. Taking note of reports about the growing nexus of Peoples’ War Group with MCC of Nepal, the minister said the state governments had been asked to strengthen their intelligence gathering mechanism and also share the intelligence inputs among themselves so that pro-active steps could be taken to check Naxalite attacks and unearth their hideouts. “Even if police forces are armed with sophisticated weapons, unless and until there is good intelligence network ambush by Naxalites cannot be checked,” Mr Rao added.
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From Delhi to Goa with love Panaji, December 29 Mr Vajpayee arrived today in south Goa, a newer entrant to tourism compared to north Goa that entered the global tourism scene with the arrival of the hippies in the late 1960s. Tight security marks his four-day visit with two companies of paramilitary troopers having been brought in. Mr Advani is expected to follow the Prime Minister’s visit by arriving on January 2. Indications are that some 20 other ministers are also planning to visit Goa this season. Policemen have been posted on some beaches while Rapid Action Force personnel can be seen at popular tourist spots even though they are far from the Tata-run Taj Exotica in Benaulim where the Prime Minister will be staying. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said the Prime Minister would not have any official engagement during the holiday. The visit comes amid reports of a possible “terror strike” in Goa during the Christmas-New Year season, a threat that has been taken seriously by the state government. The state’s lone naval-controlled airport at Dabolim is seeing excessively tight security. In the past VVIP visits to Goa have resulted in traffic jams, blocking of roads and frayed tempers. IANS |
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Kelkar proposals unfair: CPM New Delhi, December 29 Exemptions on small savings and house construction loans, which encourage savings and housing investment by the middle class, have been equated with the tax concessions and exemptions that benefit the rich, a statement issued by the party’s polit-buro said here. Exemptions should be reduced or done away with only in the case of profit earners who are not taxed even though they derive much benefits from facilities provided by the state at low or no cost. At a time when interest rates are falling, doing away with tax benefits aimed at encouraging savings will adversely affect the household savings rate and make savings difficult for the middle classes. “The recommendations of the Kelkar Committee on direct and indirect taxes are in line with the present government’s economic policy of rewarding the rich with tax cuts while putting the burden on the middle class and the common people by cutting their savings and the returns earned from them,” the statement said. |
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Man gets justice after 24-yr-long delay New Delhi, December 29 However, the justice came at a cost. It not only claimed his dignity, livelihood, property and home, but also the lives of his two children. Jain, who had approached all, right from the President, Prime Minister, ministers and even Parliament, finally got justice from the Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC). Significantly, even the National Human Rights Commission failed to get him justice despite his repeated efforts. Jain was victimised by the management of Coooperative Bank, Damoh for protesting against the emergency in 1975. The then Manager falsely implicated him in an embezzlement case involving Rs 4816.40 and he was dismissed in August 1978. Though the court found him not guilty in 1993, the bank refused to reinstate him. All assurances and recommendatory letters by the higher authorities to the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and administration did not bear any results. He even attempted to jump from the visitor’s gallery of the Lok Sabha to attract the attention of lawmakers, forcing Parliamentarians to raise the issue in the House. But even that could not convince the bank management to reinstate him. However, Madhya Pradesh Governor Bhai Mahavir alongwith the MPHRC came to his rescue. The MPHRC headed by Justice Gulab Gupta heard his plight and ordered the bank not only to reinstate Jain, but also give him the back wages. It said the money could be recovered from the Bank Manager responsible for falsely implicating Jain in the embezzlement case, and the management. The MPHRC also threatened the bank management with legal action if its order was not implemented within three months time. Ultimately, after 24 years of long wait, Jain received the order to join the job as a bank Manager. “I am happy that ultimately my struggle bore fruit, but justice has come after such a long time that it has lost much of its meaning. If only I had got my job earlier, my daughter and son would have been alive,” Jain said. Unable to bear the humiliation and poverty, Jain’s elder daughter who was of a marriageable age and his educated but unemployed son had committed suicide. This had happened while the NHRC was considering his case. UNI |
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Scooterist hit by DIG’s car dead Ahmedabad, December 29 The victim, Haresh Desai, was seriously injured in the chest and head after the car driver, an SRP constable reportedly in an inebriated state, knocked him down and rammed into two other cars injuring three more persons. Thirtyeight-year-old Desai had also experienced severe breathing problem due to extensive brain haemorrhage. He was being pumped air by his family members till he breathed his last at about 3.00 am, sources said. “Desai had received severe brain injuries, which resulted in his death. But only the post-mortem report will give the exact cause”, neurosurgeon Dr C.K. Pandya, who attended on him, said. Desai was working in a private firm. The constable, Matadin Meena, assigned to DIG Rakesh Asthana was beaten up and the car set ablaze by an irate mob immediately after the accident.
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Trial run of train attains record speed Panvel (Maharashtra), December 29 “Everything went as planned and we successfully completed the trial run,’’ a beaming Mr B. Rajaram, MD of Konkan Railway Corporation, who was on board the trial train, told reporters after the train chugged at the Panvel railway station completing the dream run. The train, which began its landmark journey from Madgaon in Goa on Konkan railway route at 7 am covered a distance of 450 km till Roha near Mumbai in just three-and-a-half hours, he said. However, the commercial run of the high-speed train will have to wait for sometime as, according to Mr Rajaram, it needs approval from the Railway Ministry. He expressed confidence that the ministry would give the green signal in two to three months, opening a new chapter in the history of Indian Railways, which is celebrating 150 years of its existence. The Konkan railway track has been designed for a speed potential of 160 km per hour and the trial was a step towards achieving the full capability.
UNI |
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Youth not to be nailed
for mail Gandhinagar, December 29 Announcing his decision to a select press gathering at his official residence here, where Razzak and his parents were also present, Mr Modi said: “After closely studying Razzak’s case and knowing his background, I concluded that he took the step purely due to emotional outburst.”
PTI |
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DG CRPF to retire on
December 31 New Delhi, December 29 Dr Mishra took over as Director-General, CRPF, on July 31, 2000. An IPS officer of 1965 batch of Uttar Pradesh cadre, Dr Mishra served in various capacities in Uttar Pradesh Police. His experience in Central Police organisations is wide and rich. He has been Special Director, CBI, Director, SPG, Inspector-General, ITBP, Director, SVP, National Police Academy, Hyderabad and Director-General, CISF. He also served as DGP, Manipur. Dr Mishra has been decorated with Police Medal for Gallantry, President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Police Medal for Meritorious Service. |
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