 |
Wednesday,
September 24, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
|
6 members of Pak-run drug syndicate
held Agni missiles to be handed over to Army Stealth frigate Trishul arrives in
India
Musharraf may arrive in balloon |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Sonia meets Mayawati Sonia takes up farmers’ cause with
Vajpayee
Samata demands Sonia’s
apology Spurned by Centre, Bengal turns to UK for aid Dara’s family to move
HC
SC wants removal of dead wood from lower judiciary Seven-day
police remand for Tripathi Airport employees call off strike Minister walks
on fire
|
|
6 members of Pak-run drug syndicate
held New Delhi, September 23 The gang was allegedly engaged in trafficking drugs to fund some terrorist activities in the country, said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) B.K. Gupta. Mr Gupta said “one of those arrested, Raj Kumar Mehta, was allegedly the main contact person of the Pakistan-based traffickers of weapons, drugs and fake currency notes” and added that “he was allegedly engaged in harbouring terrorists and smugglers in Delhi and two Pakistanis had been arrested along with 15 kg of RDX from his house in 2000.” Apart from funding terrorist outfits and their modules in India, the ISI has also been receiving “donations in the name of Zakat for supplying narcotics produced in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas”, Mr Gupta said. Raj Kumar Mehta, 69, was arrested near Sarai Rohilla railway station at around 1.30 p.m. yesterday when he was coming to deliver a consignment of contraband to Pradeep Kumar Chawla, alias Chhottu. Chawla runs a garment stall and is alleged to have misappropriated Rs 80 lakh from traders in Pallika Bazar. After interrogating the duo, the inter-state cell arrested Harjinder Singh, alias Jinda, 47, of Amritsar from near the Gol Dak Khana in central Delhi last evening. Jinda is said to be a Nigerian national. They also arrested Hanif of Lahore in Pakistan who had been illegally staying in Rohini. At the instance of Jinda, a Nigerian named Harley illegally staying in India for the past two years, was arrested from near Jawaharlal Nehru University with 300 gm of “smack”. |
|
Agni missiles to be handed over to Army New Delhi, September 23 In a move which reflects the country’s shift from a defensive mould to an offensive stance, the decision to raise the two special groups to handle the short and medium range nuclear capable Agni missiles was taken recently by the government after a high-level meeting. Sources here said that with the prevailing security scenario in the Indian sub-continent and the long-term strategy in mind the government had decided to make the shift in the country’s stance. Confirming the move the spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said, “the government cleared raising of these two Agni specific groups sometime ago”. He further said plans were afoot to implement the government’s decision. Reports here said although a separate Budget for the two specialised units was still to be sanctioned by the government but the Army headquarters had already earmarked manpower for the missile groups. While one group would apparently be called the 334 Missile Group and armed with 700 km short range Agni-I and the other one would be called the 335 Missile Group, which would possess the 1,500 km Agni-II missiles. The actual raising of these new units, for which the Army has already earmarked manpower, is expected to begin near Secunderabad, in Andhra Pradesh where Bharat Dynamics Ltd, the manufacturer of these missiles, is located. The sources said since the government was still to give its budgetary clearance for locating the newly-created Strategic Forces Command, the missile groups were being raised. However, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials were not ready to give further details on the issue. Reports said the new groups would become operational by the beginning of 2005 with the actual raising also to be done at Secunderabad. The government has also apparently cleared the raising of two new Prithvi groups for the Army, which would be named 444 and 555 missile groups. The Army has already deployed Prithvi missiles with two groups — 222 and 333. Reports said so far only the 333 Prithvi missile group armed with liquid propellant missile was complete and formed part of the newly-raised 40 Artillery Division, which had moved to its permanent location in Madhya Pradesh. It is armed with 150-km-long range liquid-propellant Prithvi missiles capable of carrying a 1,000 kg payload and has two independent subgroups self-contained for independent deployment. The new Prithvi missiles would, however, field a solid propellant. The government move was to arm the Prithvi missiles with only conventional warheads as a means to degrade enemy theatre and strategic reserves before they could become effective in the tactical battle area, the sources said. |
|
Stealth frigate Trishul arrives in India Mumbai, September 23 On its arrival at the Mumbai harbour here, Vice-Admiral Arun Prakash, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command inspected the ship. It was Admiral Prakash who had commissioned the guided missile frigate at St Petersburg in Russia on June 25. The ship is commanded by Capt SPS Cheema, a specialist in missiles and gunnery. INS Trishul’s homeward passage, which commenced on July 9 from Russia included stops at ports of Stockholm (Sweden), Gdynia (Poland), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dublin (Ireland), Vigo (Spain), Dakar (Senegal), Lagos (Nigeria), Luanda (Angola), Walvis Bay (Namibia) and Durban (South Africa). The frigate’s weapons suite include vertically launched long- range surface-to-surface club-class missile which has a range in excess of 200 km, multi-channel surface-to-air defence missile system ‘Shtil’, point defence missile artillery system Kashtan and a 100 mm artillery gun with a capability of firing 100 rounds per minute, advanced torpedo launchers and anti-submarine rocket launchers. The Computer Aided Action Information System developed exclusively for this class of ships provides up-to-date tactical information, target acquisition, processsing and designation of target data to various systems automatically. The ship also has a wide array of state-of-the-art electronic warfare
equipment. The ship also carried the ‘Kamov 31’ helicopter with airborne early warning capability, which has been acquired by the Indian Navy for the first time. —
UNI |
|
Musharraf may arrive in balloon New Delhi, September 23 Mr Gupta, who was part of the delegation of parliamentarians which went to Pakistan recently, said Mr Musharraf had agreed to his proposal of coming in a balloon. He said preparations for the ‘India-Pakistan Peace and Friendship Balloon Flight’ were being made at the ‘Balloon Port’ close to Damdama Lake near Delhi. The special balloon for the flight will be based on the winning entry of a design competition for children under 12 years from India and Pakistan. |
|
|
Sonia meets Mayawati New Delhi, September 23 The closed-door meeting took place at Room No 559 at Batra Hospital here where former BSP supremo Kanshi Ram is recuperating from a celebral stroke. Ms Gandhi today visited the hospital, ostensibly to enquire about Kanshi Ram’s health. The impromptu meeting between the Congress President and Ms Mayawati assumes significance in the wake of the recent political developments in Uttar Pradesh. Today’s meeting may also be a pointer towards larger political realignments in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the five states. In four of these five states — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Chhattisgarh — the BSP enjoys sizeable pockets of
influence and the Congress may possibly be exploring the option of trucking an alliance with the Mayawati's party. In Uttar Pradesh, after losing power in the wake of the Taj
Corridor controversy and massive defection by BSP legislators, Ms Mayawati has been angling for alliances. Political observers here say that a reportedly growing proximity between the BJP and Mulayam Singh-led Samajwadi Party may also turn out to be a significant factor in the emerging calculus. Ms Mayawati's recent statement appreciating the Congress President for upholding Hindu traditions by enquiring about the health of Kanshi Ram, is also seen as indicators of the BSP cosying up to the Congress. Although it is too premature to predict how the Congress will play its political cards in Uttar Pradesh, political observers here aver that a Congress-BSP alliance in the coming Assembly elections in the four north Indian states could well be a big blow to BJP's calculations.
|
|
|
Kanshi Ram’s condition improving, say
doctors New Delhi, September 23 Mr Kanshi Ram was flown to Delhi from the Nizam Institute, Hyderabad, and admitted to Batra Hospital on September 14. He was put on emergency care system in the neuro intensive care unit as his respiration, blood pressure and sugar level were erratic. Doctors treating him told TNS that they removed the feeding tube and the emergency care system after three days. They said although Mr Kanshi Ram’s memory was little impaired, his condition was stable. He was on soft diet and could tell the time and date, doctors said. They expressed hope that his memory would improve gradually. A medical bulletin issued by the hospital reported improvement in Mr Kanshi Ram’s condition and stated that he was out of danger. “He is out of the ICU with normal functioning of all systems except the nervous system.” Dr Manohar Lal
Sindhwani, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine who has been treating Mr Kanshi Ram for diabetes since 1994 asserts that his patient is responding to medication. “Mr Kanshi Ram was admitted with brain stroke (right side paralysis with speech
difficulty.) His sugar level was erratic in the range of 350 to 400 and his respiration was not healthy. We had put him on life support system but now he is fully conscious and is eating on his own. He is taking soft diet. He is not using oxygen
cylender. His respiration and blood pressure are good. He is on IV insulin. He is alert and will be alright in a couple of days. Earlier, we were feeding him through a nasal gastric tube. His diabetes is under control. The sugar level fluctuates between 102 to 233 and even touches 233 and 280. It should be in the range of 150 to 200. If it exceeds 200, we achieve the target range by increasing the dose of insulin. God willing, he should improve and will improve,” said Dr
Sindhwani. He said Mr Kanshi Ram had coronary stenting and brain surgery in Tokyo, Japan in 1995. “I had accompanied him to Japan. At that time, he had suffered paralytic stroke on the left side.” Dr Sindhwani said Ms Mayawati’s appointment as party president had nothing to do with Mr Kanshi Ram’s condition. “He gave his consent to Ms Mayawati in my presence here day before yesterday. She asked him if she could handle day-to-day work before elections. She expressed her inability to manage everything without his consent. Mr Kanshi Ram asked her to go ahead.” |
|
|
Sonia takes up farmers’ cause with
Vajpayee New Delhi, September 23 In a letter to Mr Vajpayee, the Leader of the Opposition said problems needed to be removed so that easy loans and simpler procedures were introduced for the benefit of the farm sector. Referring to the government’s decision to lower the rate of interest on agricultural loans to 9 per cent and subsequent passing of the Nabard Amendment Bill, Ms Gandhi pointed to the suggestions she had made to the Agriculture Minister on August 23. Among the suggestions made were reducing the rate of interest on the General Line of Credit (GLC) to Nabard by the RBI, increasing the GLC, strengthening cooperative credit institutions, ensuring that the banks achieve the stipulated target of giving 18 per cent of total loans to the agricultural sector, accepting trees on farmers’ land as collateral and removing restrictions on tenancy and leasing. “I had suggested to the Minister of Agriculture that he should take up these recommendations forcefully with the Finance Minister. I was pleasantly surprised to read in the press that the Agriculture Minister has indeed recently sent a communication to the Finance Minister suggesting that these and some other measures that can go a long way in easing farmers’ accessibility to credit,” the letter said. However, the Finance Ministry has so far been unable or unwilling to take positive decisions on these urgent issues,” she said. Ms Gandhi called upon the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of the Finance and Agriculture Ministers to sort out “differences”. |
|
Samata demands Sonia’s
apology New Delhi, September 23 Referring to the Congress President’s propaganda during recent public meetings in Jaipur and Jodhpur, Samata Party national spokesperson Shiv Kumar said, “If she has levelled charges of corruption against the Defence Minister, she should prove these. She should tell the nation the names of the persons who made money in the coffin scam and that when were the coffins purchased. If Sonia Gandhi and the Congress have any evidence, they should make it public”. He said Ms Sonia Gandhi was a citizen of India but was not patriotic. He pointed out that she had violated the law of the land on a number of occasions and had shown scant regard to the Constitution. “She was the first to violate the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. In 1972, when she was not a citizen of the country, she became an insurance agent. This is a breach of the law of the land. Foreign nationals
cannot become insurance agents here.’’ Asked about the party’s stand on the Rae Bareli special court’s verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case and Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi’s resignation, he said, “We have always accepted the verdict of the court. I think he has done the right thing on moral grounds.’’ He said the party would contest the Assembly elections in Rajasthan in alliance with the Indian National Lok Dal and the Shiromani Akali Dal. On party’s preparations for the poll in Chhattisgarh, he said Mr Fernandes would hold election meetings at Bilaspur and Patan on October 7. |
|
|
Spurned by Centre, Bengal turns to UK for aid Kolkata, September 23 On the other hand, the left parties have decided to launch a massive agitation against the Centre’s BJP-led government, holding it responsible for the state’s present acute financial distress. The state government wants all non-BJP states should join them in the fight against the Centre for their legitimate
demands. In an interview to a private Tv channel last night, the Marxist chief minister, Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharjee admitted they had no other option but to approach the foreign government with a begging bowl. He said the UK government had agreed in principle to sanction funds to the state which would be routed to the state either through the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank. The foreign fund would be shown in next year’s state budget provision, he added. The chief minister alleged the Centre’s ‘ step-motherly attitude’ had put them in such a situation that they had to compromise on their Marxist ideology and against their will they had been forced to take money from the British government. The state development and planning minister, Mr Nirupom
Sen, who returned here yesterday from London after negotiating with the British government said he had been assured of adequate funds from the Department For International Development
(DFID) which, he hoped, would help them overcome the financial distress. He said an official team of the DFID would arrive in the city in December to finalise a deal with the state government. Some state governments like Andhra Pradesh and Orissa had already obtained funds from the
DFID. hence, the Bengal government would not be an exception in borrowing from the
DFID, he clarified. The Chief Minister alleged the foreign aids ,which were sanctioned to the state in the past as outright grants, had always been released to the state by the Centre as loan with interest. But this time, the state government would not allow such thing to happen, he warned. |
|
Dara’s family to move HC
Lucknow, September 23 “We have contacted the lawyers of our brother and we will be moving the court to challenge the death sentence,’’ awarded by Khurda District and Sessions Court yesterday for the heinous crime at Manoharpur village in Orissa’s Keonjhar district, said Dara Singh’s brother Kuldeep, according to a report from Auraiya. Sources said Ravindra Pal alias Dara Singh, belonged to Kakore Bujurg village of Auraiya district in Uttar Pradesh. His mother Ram Rati was shocked after the court’s decision while his father Millipal was recovering from illness at a nursing home in Noida near Delhi. —
UNI |
|
SC wants removal of dead wood from lower judiciary New Delhi, September 23 Rejecting the appeals by three judicial officers from Uttar Pradesh retired compulsorily after a High Court committee looked into their conduct, a Bench comprising Justice M.B. Shah and Justice A.R. Lakshmanan said periodic scrutiny of the service records of the
judicials officers by High Courts was necessary. “We hope the High Courts would take appropriate steps regularly for weeding out dead wood or the persons polluting the justice-delivery system,” the Bench said. Describing the lower judiciary as foundation of justice delivery system, the court said the judicial service is not a “career service” in the sense of providing employment as the judicial officers' role was crucial in exercising their “sovereign judicial power of the State”. "Their honesty and integrity was expected to be beyond doubt" and it should be reflected in their work and overall reputation, he apex court observed, adding that the nature of their job was such that a person of doubtful integrity could not be afforded to be in the service. Neither could any person be useful for the judiciary if he had lost the purpose of his utility to the system, the court said. The three judicial officers were compulsorily retired after they attained the age of 58 years on recommendation of a committee appointed by the High Court to look into their conduct. The apex court said to keep the stream of justice unpolluted, repeated scrutiny of service records of judicial officers after a specified age or completion of
specified years of service was necessary by High Courts. |
|
Seven-day
police remand for Tripathi Lucknow, September 23 The Judge Mr R.M. Yadav, in his order specified that Tripathi should remain in police custody till 2 pm on September 30. The Judge had yesterday remanded Tripathi in judicial custody till October 6. The counsel of Tripathi told reporters that the court had said that the police interrogation should take place in front of two counsels. Tripathi was arested in high-profile Madhumuta Shukra murder case. The 24-year-old budding poetess was shot on May 9 at her River Bank colony house. The killing created a political storm after Tripathi’s romantic relations with the slain poetess came to light. The then Chief Minister Ms Mayawati, had sacked Tripathi from her ministry and later handed over in the case to the CBI. |
|
|
Airport employees call off strike New Delhi, September 23 A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Ministry said here that the strike had been called off after it had been decided to set up a consultative commitee comprising of officials from the ministry, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and representatives of all recognised unions. The decision was arrived at after the Airports Authority Employees Union (AAEU) had an almost five-hour meeting with the Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Rajiv Pratap Rudy, and top officials of the ministry and the AAI. After the meeting, Mr M.K. Ghoshal, AAEU general secretary said: “Following the decision to set up a committee to discuss these issues, we have called off our agitation and deferred other proposed industrial actions.” The minister said the proposed committee would soon be constituted. It would comprise officials of the Ministry, the AAI and two representatives each from all recognised unions of the AAI. |
|
Minister walks
on fire Patna, September 23 Dr Paswan walked on the burning fire barefoot in full public view here at S K Memorial Hall premises during a seminar organised for the deprived sections of society here today. With his pyjamas folded up to the knees and with a special headgear, the minister walked unconcerned on the fire, leaving the viewers spellbound as even his epidermis remained
unburnt. Later, the minister demonstrated the traditional faith healing system and danced along with the,
ojha, guni, jogi pir and others with a bare sword to inspire them to keep their dying art in tact. —
UNI |
|||||
ARMED ROBBERY IN
JAMMU-BOUND TRAIN RALLY AGAINST CIVILIANS' KILLING |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
With the arrest of six persons including a Pakistani and a Nigerian, the Crime Branch of Delhi police today claimed to have busted an organised narco-terror syndicate in the capital.
Videos
