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Sunday,
February 2, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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CBI seizes antiques worth crores, 3 held
Venkaiah
sees win in Himachal
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Restructuring of BJP likely PM lays stone of spiritual centre Bird sanctuary on Raja Bhaiyya’s estate UK to open visa centres in 10 cities Scribe’s
killing condemned BRO contests report on J&K highway closure US jetliner over Chennai skies
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CBI seizes antiques worth crores, 3 held New Delhi, February 1 An official spokesman told mediapersons here that CBI sleuths had intercepted a consignment of antique material containing 14 terracotta panels and two stone idols on January 21 near the Indira Gandhi International Airport which was to be delivered to a person in Zurich, Switzerland. Three persons namely Rama Jain, Rajeev Gupta and Nand Ram have been arrested. The antique materials, worth Rs 45 crore in the international market, were recovered in a raid conducted on a godown in the Mahipalpur area, near the airport, following a tip-off. The seized objects were examined by a team of archeological experts and those have been declared as registerable antiquities by the Archeological Survey of India. These are suspected to have been stolen from different parts of the country, especially from temples and museums. The spokesman said the gang used to store these objects in godowns and smuggle them out by wrongly declaring the contents to the Customs authorities at the airports. With the arrest of the accused and seizure of the objects, the agency busted the racket. The agency has sought Interpol’s help in exposing the international racket. All the three accused were produced in a court here and were remanded in CBI custody till February 4. |
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Venkaiah
sees win in Himachal New Delhi, February 1 “We are confident of returning to power in Himachal Pradesh on the basis of our government’s performance in the state,” Mr Naidu told The Tribune here. Mr Naidu said the Congress was a divided house in the state with the Virbhadra camp and the Vidya Stokes camp at loggerheads over the ticket distribution. “The reports about tampering with Congress candidates’ list is a clear reflection of the sharp divide in the opposition party,” he said. “While the Congress is struggling to finalise its list, the BJP has already released the list of candidates for the 65 seats going to the polls on February 26, of which in 52 seats the state election committee unanimously recommended only one name,” he said, adding that “the entire selection process went off smoothly without any problem.” To a question on differences between Union Minister Shanta Kumar and caretaker Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal, Mr Naidu asserted that “there were no differences between these two leaders and both were unitedly working for the party’s victory in the coming poll.” He also indicated that the poll campaign of the BJP was likely to be Vajpayee-centric as the Prime Minister was held in high esteem by the people of Himachal Pradesh for the continued economic support being extended by the Centre to the hill state. The Prime Minister had announced a major Central package to Himachal Pradesh last month to boost industry and commerce. |
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Restructuring of BJP likely New Delhi, February 1 Talking to TNS, BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu today admitted that he would introduce some “minor” changes in consultation with Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani after the latter returns from his foreign trip to Thailand and Malaysia. However, “I have not yet applied my mind on specific names”, Mr Naidu said. The changes are being effected with an eye on the coming Assembly elections in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh this year and the general elections next year. With the coming of former Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan to the party as the General Secretary, the balance in the central team is heavily tilted towards Maharashtra. As a result, Mr Mahajan’s brother-in-law Mr Gopinath Munde, who is one of the Vice-Presidents, is likely to be shifted back to Maharashtra with the specific task of harmonising the ties with Shiv Sena so that the two parties could jointly launch a massive campaign against the Congress government in the state. General Secretary Anita Arya is likely to be replaced by former Coal Minister Uma Bharti who as a General Secretary would focus on Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Sources said Mrs Arya, a Lok Sabha Dalit MP from Delhi, could not attain the
required profile and that was why she had to go. Ms Bharti’s aggression, dynamic orientation and oratorial skills would benefit the party in the election year, the sources said. Mr Naidu is playing very cautious and is going out of the way to accommodate Mr Mahajan, sources said adding that the BJP President wants to ensure that the latter is kept in good humour. While Mr Mahajan has been allocated two key functions — Secretary Parliamentary Board and Secretary Central Election Committee — it is expected that he will have a role in all states going to poll. |
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PM lays stone of spiritual centre New Delhi, February 1 Surrounded by famous centres of worship like the Baha’i Lotus temple, Kalkaji and ISKCON temples, Aastha Kunj is aimed at providing spiritual solace to people. It will have urban park facilities, a festival congregational zone, ecological corridor and a socio-cultural zone. Laying the foundation stone, Mr Vajpayee asserted that India was emerging as a powerful nation and asked people to mould their mindset in line with the changing situation. "Today there is a need to change our views as the situation is changing. The world acknowledges India as an emerging powerful nation," he said. Upholding the never-say-die spirit, the Prime Minister in his philosophical style asked people to take a pledge to march ahead, come what may. To drive home his point, he referred to the drought situation in 14 states and said the government tackled the problem successfully by not letting prices to shoot and keeping inflation under control.
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Bird sanctuary on Raja Bhaiyya’s estate Pratapgarh, February 1 Talking to reporters here, District Magistrate Mohammad Mustafa said the sanctuary would be developed as an international wildlife spot to attract tourists from all over the world. The sanctuary, spread over 427 hectares in Kunda block of the district, was earlier in the possession of the family of Raja Bhaiyya, who along with his father - Uday Pratap Singh and cousin Akshay Pratap Singh, MLC, - had been booked under POTA.
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UK to open visa centres in 10 cities New Delhi, February 1 While Chandigarh, Delhi and Jalandhar would have such centres functioning from February 3, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune would have this service later this month, First Secretary (Visas) Chris Dix said. Customers of the service would have to pay Rs 300 to avail of the new facilities and procedures. |
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Scribe’s
killing condemned New Delhi, February 1 DUJ president S.K. Pande said in a statement here that “criminals cannot be allowed to go scot-free.” “The Delhi Union of Journalists condemns both the government and the criminal elements for trying to muzzle the freedom of the Press. It holds the government a co-conspirator in the cases of attack on and murders of journalists which are allowed to remain unresolved.” The statement pointed out that 36 mediapersons had been attacked or killed in Srinagar since the onset of the disturbance a decade ago. Starting from the killing of Doordarshan Station Director Lassa Kaul and Editor of Al-Safa Mohammad Shaban Vakil, the modus operandi of attacks on journalists continues to remain the same. “It is always unidentified gunmen, who the police makes us to believe, are behind such incidents. We call upon the authorities to investigate these killings properly and bring the culprits to book.” The DUJ has expressed sympathy with the bereaved family. Sultan, who was the Chief Editor of the local news agency NAFA-News and Feature and Alliance is survived by wife, two sons and a daughter. Sultan’s father had expired only last week. Sultan has been associated with the Srinagar edition of national Urdu daily Quami Awaz, besides some other newspapers being published from the Kashmir valley. Hailing from South Kashmir’s Khiram village, Sultan was the recipient of an award for best reporting on environmental issues a few years ago. |
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BRO contests report on J&K highway closure New Delhi, February 1 Col Harpal Singh, who leads the 760 Border Roads Task Force, which is entrusted with the job of keeping the national highway 1A from Ramban to Uri, including the strategic Jawahar Tunnel, clear of snow and landslides, stated this in a statement faxed to The Tribune here from Srinagar. “The indomitable spirit of Major Deepak Chibber, Officer Commanding, 99 Road Construction Company of 760 Border Roads Task Force, and his boys came to the fore in clearing snow between Banihal and Qazigund within one hour by 5 p.m. on January 30 and by 7 a.m. on January 31 while working throughout the night”, Colonel Harpal Singh said. He said they were instrumental in upgrading the Jawahar Tunnel — the gateway to Srinagar” by installing the state-of-the-art equipment.
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US jetliner over Chennai skies Chennai, February 1 The jet flew at a height of around 35,000 feet and the radar at the airport tracked its movement, the sources said. They said the plane did not respond to any radio signals of the Air Traffic Control, adding several attempts made to establish contact with the aircraft proved futile. The jet went off the radar screen after two hours, the sources said. The sources said that a team of officials from New Delhi would arrive here either tonight or tomorrow to probe the incident.
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