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New Delhi, February 10 The National Human Rights Commission has in a letter to the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers suggested remedial measures to check illegal trade in human organs.
Congress fine-tuning campaign
plan
Venkaiah terms Cong’s accusations
atrocious
Captain favours poll tie-up in
Punjab
BJP men told to campaign aggressively
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Rudy not to quit over
extravagance at AAI cost
SC flays practice of changing birth
dates
Amarinder defends
pilots
India, Israel discuss
n-proliferation
CBI registers cases against 170 public servants
IPS officer held in stamp scam
Keep bureaucrats out of agriculture, says Dr
Kurien
Sompal heads panel on
farmers
Panel for access to Sharda temple in PoK
Daughter of DRDO official held for impersonation
The alleged
impersonator being produced at the Patiala House Courts in New Delhi on Tuesday. — PTI photo
Al-Jehad militant
held
Two BSP MLAs resign
IA staffer sacked for photographing
Sonia’s kids
Jaya reinstates sacked
employees
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NHRC writes to PM on organ
trade
New Delhi, February 10 In his letter dated January 29, the NHRC Chairperson, Justice A.S. Anand, observed that illegal trade in human organs often involved exploitation of the poor and violation of their human rights. He said the Commission had come across a number of instances of abuse of the ‘compassionate donor’ provision in the Organ Transplantation Act. "In many cases, the donor is an unrelated person and is lured into donating an organ such as kidney by financial offers made by or on behalf of the prospective recipient. The practice of organ purchase has acquired the dubious dimensions of organ trade with touts operating as middlemen and creation of allegedly false records of a compassionate donation," Justice Anand said in the letter. The commission has endorsed the remedial measures suggested by a core group of medical experts who examined the issues related to public health, human rights and trade in human organs, in particular. They expressed the view that the clause relating to ‘compassionate donation’ in the Act had been exploited frequently in an unethical manner. The commission has asked states to ensure that their medical councils screen the records of hospitals doing organ transplants, especially kidney transplants, and estimate the proportion of transplants made through the mechanism of ‘compassionate donor’. In case of kidney transplants where the proportion has exceeded five per cent, the state medical council should probe the background of the donors and recipients. It should also document the follow -up health status of the donor and nature of after care provided by the hospital concerned. It has further recommended promotion of cadaver transplant programmes to reduce the demand for live donors. The commission has suggested more facilities for chronic renal dialysis to provide alternatives to kidney transplantation. Other noteworthy suggestions made by the NHRC include better facilities for effective counselling of prospective donors and a mechanism for independent verification of the veracity of compassionate donation by a group of external experts. |
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Congress fine-tuning campaign
plan
New Delhi, February 10 Congress insiders admit that the issue of corruption can prove counter-productive and, therefore, cannot be highlighted beyond a point. Nevertheless, the party will list out the scams and corruption cases involving BJP leaders and contrast these with the clean chit given by the courts to Mr Rajiv Gandhi in the Bofors case. “Bofors represents a thorough investigation and a judicial verdict as opposed to the BJP’s handling of Tehelka and the Judeo cases. The BJP has been oddly reluctant to have these cases investigated....Even today, no FIR has been lodged in the Tehelka case,” it is argued. Congress sources agree that they will be handicapped in focussing too much on the Bofors issue as most political parties which were at the forefront of the campaign are now their allies. Despite that, the Congress will try to revive the nostalgia for the Gandhi family by showing old footage of different members of the family, focussing on the sacrifices made by them and how an “innocent man” was hounded for political gain. The Congress has been at sea ever since the BJP hijacked its centrist “development agenda” and defeated it on this issue in the recent assembly elections. Since then, the Congress has made several attempts to change the agenda by reviving the old “secular vs communal” debate but to little avail. It is, therefore, planning to challenge the BJP on the development issue. “ We will take on the BJP on the development agenda. We will ask them to tell us what they have to show for themselves during the six years the NDA has been in power,” explains a senior party leader. The Congress may refrain from targetting Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee directly but each time BJP talks of the “Atal factor”, the Congress will raise specific questions on Mr Vajpayee’s achievements in different sectors like economy, foreign policy, internal security and social development. The Congress, it is stated, will basically seek to demolish the BJP’s “India Shining” campaign by raising uncomfortable questions like “For whom is it shining.....where are the jobs promised by the BJP.” The advertisements, posters, banners and films being planned will focus not just on the ground reality in rural areas but also on the problems in urban areas like the burning issue of unemployment among the educated youth. The Congress effort will be to engage the BJP leaders in a debate on issues of the government’s achievements and the PM’s leadership. At the same time, the Congress will also mount a positive campaign to show what the party stands for by pointing out that it was the Congress which laid the foundation of modern India. In this connection, the campaign will highlight that the achievements in the telecom and IT sectors today have been made possible because of Mr Rajiv Gandhi’s vision and initiatives. Meanwhile, the Congress has now named Mr Kapil Sibal, Mr Abhishek Singhvi, Mr Anand Sharma, Mr Salman Khurshid and Mr Satyavarat Chaturvedi as its spokespersons for the elections to counter the BJP’s trio of Mr Arun Jaitely, Mr Pramod Mahajan and Ms Sushma Swaraj. |
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Sonia rubbishes ‘feel good’ claim
Maharajganj,( Uttar Pradesh), February 10 Addressing a public meeting at the Pakdi circuit house near here on the second day of her “Poorvanchal Kisaan Chetna Yatra”, Ms Gandhi rubbished the “feel good” claim of the BJP and said the Vajpayee government had launched a campaign to mislead the people with false claims of prosperity in the country. She said poverty was apparent and widespread in the region. “Now the only option before the people is to elevate the Congress to power with the unified efforts of all and teach BJP a lesson,” she added. Ms Gandhi made several halts to interact with people standing on roadside to have her glimpse, and at their doorsteps. After the January 10-12 whirlwind tour of Western UP bordering Delhi, this is the second visit of Ms Gandhi to the state, and perhaps the first public interaction after the 13th Lok Sabha was dissolved on February 6. — UNI |
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Venkaiah terms Cong’s accusations
atrocious
New Delhi, February 10 “The allegations levelled by senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad at Hyderabad in this regard were most atrocious,” Mr Naidu told a mediapersons here. Taking strong exception to the Congress’ statement, the BJP President said “They (Congress leaders) have crossed all limits. What was most illogical was Mr Azad’s demand, asking the Prime Minister to resign for the events that had taken place during the Congress tenure and Mr V.P. Singh’s Prime Ministership. He said the Delhi High Court, which had given a clean-chit to Mr Gandhi in the Bofors case, had not stated that there were no middlemen or commission paid to them. The court infact had confirmed that the commission was paid to the middlemen, he added. “To demand the resignation of the Prime Minister, who was the least vocal at that point of time in the Opposition, was outrageous,” he said adding that he could understand the reaction of the Congress to the extent that they stood vindicated by the judgement. A visibly annoyed BJP President asked the Congress to first demand an apology from Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and the leaders of the two Communist Parties who had resigned en mass to whip up a campaign against Mr Rajiv Gandhi, before pointing fingers at the BJP. They should be seeking apologies from Congress Chief Spokesman S. Jaipal Reddy who was the voice of the Opposition when the Bofors scandal broke out, he added. The Congress can’t run away from the people and that it will have to give answer to the people on the role of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, in the whole Bofors deal, he said. “Who was this person and his relationship with the family of the Congress President and who allowed him to escape from India. He evaded the law of the land because of the help extended by the people in key positions,” he alleged. |
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Captain favours poll tie-up in
Punjab
New Delhi, February 10 The Chief Minister, who was in the Capital, said the Punjab Congress had idenitified candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. Favouring alliances, he said these always helped. “However, the final decision on alliances will be taken by the party’s Central leadership,’’ the Chief Minister said. The Congress had contested the last Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the Left parties. The party had won eight of the 13 seats in the state with one seat going to the CPI. Asked about charges having been framed by a Chandigarh court against Deputy Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Capt Amarinder Singh said that framing of charges did not mean that the person was guilty. In this connection, he referred to the recent Delhi High Court judgement in the Bofors case absolving former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of corruption charges. He denied reports about his sponsoring name of Ms Bhattal for the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat. Asked about the Punjab Government taking up the issue of controversial ban on Sikhs wearing turbans with the Foreign Minister of France, who is coming to the Capital on February 12, the Chief Minister said that the matter was being taken up by the SGPC. “If the SGPC wants our support, we will give it,” he said. The Chief Minister reminded that the Sikhs had fought along with the French soldiers in the two World Wars. Sources said that the Chief Minister is expected to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi later this week to apprise her about the party’s preparations for the Lok Sabha polls.
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BJP men told to campaign aggressively
New Delhi, February 10 "We have to be aggressive but at the same time our campaign should be conducted with dignity and decorum," BJP President Venkaiah Naidu quoted Mr Advani as telling the meeting of party ministers and members of the five committees here. Criticising the Congress for making an issue out of "oversight" by the Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Rajiv Pratap Rudy, over payment of hotel bills in Goa, Mr Naidu advised the BJP ministers and other top leaders to be careful about such sinister allegations. During the meeting Mr Naidu asked the state units to collect poll assistance fund to the tune of Rs 25 crore through cash coupons in the denomination of Rs 10,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 1,000. |
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CPM asks PM to remove Rudy
New Delhi, February 10 Charging that ministers in the NDA government have been “brazenly siphoning off funds from the PSUs on some pretext or the other”, the CPM said Mr Rudy “has been using his office for milking funds of the AAI for his personal use.” Since documentary proof has been provided by a newspaper, the paper said “along with expose of the huge bill he had run up at a five-star hotel in Goa, the fresh evidence is confirmation of what the Chief Vigilance Commissioner had complained to the Prime Minister about”. “The Prime Minister must immediately remove Mr Rudy from the Cabinet and institute a probe into how many ministers have been resorting to such unethical practices”, the CPM said. |
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Rudy not to quit over
extravagance at AAI cost New Delhi, February 10 While the BJP defended its minister, the Congress asked for immediate action from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The BJP also made attempts to cover the issue by bringing out earlier such incidents where the Congress ministers had used the official agencies to get renovations done at their residence and office. As another newspaper brought out the news of the minister not only using the state agency to pay his ‘holiday’ bill at Goa but also that he had gone overboard with his lavish expenses on his residence and his office at the agency’s expense, the BJP said there was no question of the minister’s resigning or removal. “If anybody wants him to resign, they will be disappointed,” said BJP President Venkaiah Naidu. The Congress on the other hand while demanding action against the minister said the issue was now part of its poll campaign. It said the NDA had institutionalised corruption and demanded that the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) lodge an FIR against Mr Rudy immediately. AICC spokesperson Kapil Sibal dismissed Mr Rudy’s version that the AAI had never been asked to foot the bills for his five-day stay in Goa during the year end. Mr Sibal quoted a newspaper report that the Minister had been misusing money from the public exchequer for renovating his residence. “We stick to our demand that the Minister be dismissed and arrested immediately. An investigation should be ordered against him. We know that the Prime Minister will remain silent as he has always done in every case of corruption. But if he is unmoved this time that will prove that he was aware of the whole episode,” Mr Sibal said. However, now Mr Rudy finds himself in deeper trouble with more disclosures of his extravagance at public expense. The aides of the minister reportedly wrote to the chairman of the agency to clear the payments of the bills through its budget. The evidence splashed pointed to the chairman ordering his staff to do the required. The minister had only yesterday attempted to claim that he had personally shelled out a hefty amount to the Taj Exotica Hotel in Goa following accusations that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) paid for his luxury vacation. The minister was reported to have billed the AAI for fancy renovations in his official residence, including a fountain and the purchase of paintings worth Rs 2,26,600 besides furniture, mobile telephones, greeting cards, et al. One of his aides when contacted said on the condition of anonymity that there was no question of the minister resigning. He added that if he is being accused of these things, then many other ministers should be made accountable too. Though Mr Rudy’s damage control machinery swung into action, his aides were clearly on the defensive. One of them said. “All ministers do it and Rudy is just being targeted by interested parties. |
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SC flays practice of changing birth dates New Delhi, February 10 The courts or the tribunal must be slow in granting an interim relief or continuation of service for the public servant unless unimpeachble evidence is produced, a Bench comprising Mr Justice Doraiswamy Raju and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat said while allowing a Punjab Government's appeal challenging a High Court order granting relief to a public servant. Mr Justice Pasayat, writing the judgement, said if the public servant seeking change of date of birth ultimately succeeds in his petition, then he could be compensated. But if he failed even after grant of interim relief or continuation in service, then he would have enjoyed undeserved benefit of extended service and thereby causing injustice to his juniors, he said. The Bench said "any application for correctness of the date of birth should not be dealt with by the courts, tribunals or the high court keeping in view only the public servant concerned. "It need not be pointed out that any such direction for correction of the date of birth of the public servant concerned has a chain reaction, inasmuch as others waiting for years below him for their respective promotions are affected in this process," it said. —
PTI |
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Amarinder defends
pilots
New Delhi, February 10 Apparently overlooking the gravity of the situation where an unknown aircraft could also have been shot down, the Chief Minister said an issue was being made by the media of an “innocuous incident.” “The pilots had taken the right step to avoid birds,” he said. The Chief Minister added that a bird hit could have damaged wings of the aircraft which was flying over a civilian area. Asked about the status of the plane and pilots, the Chief Minister said “let them investigate.” Meanwhile, reports here said that the aircraft had still been grounded by the security agencies which were completing further formalities before deciding what course of action to take against the two pilots — S.K. Kapoor and C.P. Singh. The two pilots had flown the Punjab Government aircraft low over the Prime Minister’s residence yesterday evening causing a flutter among the security agencies. An official of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation said the pilots of the executive aircraft from Punjab had actually made an “honest mistake” when they breached the air space around Prime Minister’s residence. The official said any terrorist angle had been ruled out and the pilots had no links with any outfits. The two pilots were interrogated by the officials of the agencies responsible for maintaining security around the Prime Minister’s residence. The DGCA officials said the two pilots would although be let off but a “record of negligence” would definitely go into their personal files, which could hamper their flying career. During the interrogation, the pilot admitted deviating from the course to avoid a flock of birds, but experts maintained that he could still have avoided entering a no-fly zone. New Delhi, February 10 An official spokesman said the Chief Minister told the Law Minister that the Eradi Tribunal recommendations had lost relevance due to changed circumstances in the past 17 years as inflow in the Ravi and the Beas had declined from 17.17 MAF to 14.37 MAF. He said the Punjab Government in its communication to the Water Resources Ministry in January last year had pointed to the substantial reduction in the availability of the water. He said the dispute of river waters should be adjudicated by a fresh tribunal to be constituted under Section 4 (1) of the Inter-State Water Dispute Act, 1956. He pointed out that Haryana had signed an MoU with Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi for allocation of Yamuna waters. The neighbouring state, he said, would also benefit from the linking of the Sharda and the Yamuna rivers for which an agreement had been signed between New Delhi and Kathmandu. Even without the SYL canal, Haryana was getting 2.62 MAF through the Bhakra main line, he said. Capt Amarinder Singh said the Indus basin covering Punjab was “deficit” whereas the Yamuna basin, covering Haryana was “surplus” and water could be transferred only from a surplus basin to that which was deficient. |
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India, Israel discuss
n-proliferation New Delhi, February 10 During his one-to-one talks here with the Indian leaders, the recent developments in Pakistan on the subject of nuclear proliferation, the role played in it by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan — the pardoned Doctor No and father of Pakistani nuclear bomb — were inevitably discussed, diplomatic sources said. Issues so diverse as terrorism, trade and regional and bilateral issues came up for discussion during these talks. Neither of the two sides gave any specific details of the talks. Mr Shalom skirted a pointed question in this regard at a brief joint interaction with the media late tonight with Mr Sinha. Mr Shalom, answering a question from this correspondent, said his country was disturbed with recent media reports about Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaida getting access to nuke weapons and said such weapons of mass destruction needed to be dismantled from the entire world. “We believe that it (terrorists acquiring nukes) is a global threat. The Israeli DPM also said that “the world should do everything to disarm all those individuals, all those regimes” responsible for nuclear proliferation. He strongly advocated strict action against “individuals, states and organisations” in this regard. Mr Shalom laughed off a question when asked whether by saying this he was advocating military action against Pakistan. Mr Shalom is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Defence Minister George Fernandes tomorrow. Like Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, he too is curtailing his India visit by a day and flying back home tomorrow. Mr Shalom extended an invitation to the External Affairs Minister to visit Israel which Mr Sinha promptly accepted “in principle” , saying the dates would decided through diplomatic channels. Mr Sinha said India hoped for the early return of a just, comprehensive and durable peace in the region and also noted the “positive aspects” of Mr Sharon’s recent announcement proposing relocation of 20 settlements in the Occupied Territories. Meanwhile, Israel today announced that it would reopen its consulate in Mumbai. Announcing this, Mr Silvan Shalom said as Israel begins its second decade of diplomatic relations with India, it aspires to expand “excellent and friendly ties” in all fields and bring their great potential to fruition for mutual benefit. |
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CBI registers cases against 170 public servants
New Delhi, February 10 An agency press note said today that 116 cases had been registered against these officers under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. During the month, High Courts and the Supreme Court ordered the CBI to register 15 cases. The CBI also trapped 24 officials while accepting the bribes. They include an Indian Revenue Service officer, working as the Deputy Director, Income Tax, New Delhi, who was caught demanding a bribe of Rs 30 lakh and accepting Rs 3 lakh as first instalment from the complainant for giving a favourable report in a pending assessment matter. An Additional Director of the Central Health Services, New Delhi was also caught accepting a bribe of Rs 300 from a complainant for handing over his posting orders. Among the trapped officers is an Army Major, functioning as Garrison Engineer, Vasco, Goa, who demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000 for clearing pending bills of a person. Besides, an Assistant Director of Income Tax, Dhanbad, has also been trapped for demanding a bribe of Rs 15 lakh and accepting Rs 1 lakh for the settlement of a man’s tax accounts, the press note added. |
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IPS officer held in stamp scam
Hyderabad, February 10 Narasimha Rao, a Rajasthan cadre IPS officer of 1989 batch, was produced before first additional metropolitan sessions judge Jaganath Reddy, who remanded him to judicial custody till March 8, the police said. Jaipur:
The Rajasthan Government on Tuesday suspended from service senior IPS officer K Narasimha Rao, arrested in Andhra Pradesh in connection with the multi-crore rupee fake stamp paper scandal. An official order said he had been placed under suspension with immediate effect. Rao was arrested under the Andhra Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act.
— PTI, UNI |
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Keep bureaucrats out of agriculture, says Dr
Kurien
New Delhi, February 10 He said, “like any other modern industry, agriculture should also be managed by professional rural managers and not by bureaucrats who do not know about agriculture.” Addressing the Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council meet here, he said since rural managers are scarce, specialised institutions should be created for training young managers and orienting existing managers in modern farm management. Dr Kurien said a new branch of engineering, —rural engineering — should also be created. Principal Scientific Advisor to the government R Chidambaram told the meet that the country must develop technologies with a global vision but in national perspective. The purpose of technology is to create national wealth, improve the quality of life of the people and to enhance national security, which should include not just military security but also energy, food, nutritional and health security, he added. |
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Sompal heads panel on
farmers
New Delhi, February 10 The seven-member commission is headed by Mr Sompal, who is also a member of the Planning Commission. The NCF, to be based in the Capital, would submit its report within two years. Speaking to The Tribune, Mr Sompal said the setting up of the commission was the need of the hour as it would formulate the guidelines for ushering in an “evergreen revolution” in the country. He said the commission would look into the problems faced by farmers in the WTO regime, intellectual property rights, declining investment in agriculture, crop diversification, declining capital formation in farm sector and imbalance in the production pattern. This is the first national commission on farmers set up by the government since Independence to look into the issues and difficulties confronting the farming community. The agriculture sector, the performance of which is largely dependent on the vagaries of the monsoon, contributes one third to the gross domestic product. The 8.1 per cent economic growth projected by the Central Statistical Organisation in 2003-04 following a good monsoon indicates the need to lay the roadmap to reduce the fluctuation in productivity. The two full-time members of the commission are Mr Ram Badan Singh, a former Assistant Director of the FAO and Mr Y.C. Nanda, a former Chairman of Nabard. The part-time members are Dr R.L. Pitale, Mr Chilakam Ramachandra Reddy and Mr Kunverji Bhai Jadav, who are experts in different fields of agriculture and rural development. Union Agriculture Secretary R.C.A. Jain is the member secretary of the commission. |
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Panel for access to Sharda temple in PoK
New Delhi, February 10 The NCM Chairperson, Mr Tarlochan Singh, said here today that he had urged the External Affairs Minister to take up the issue with the Pakistan government and allow a group of 101 persons from Jammu and the Valley to go on a pilgrimage to the temple. Mr Tarlochan Singh said the centuries old temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati needed renovation. Emphasising the significance of the temple, the NCM Chairperson said the temple had been described by historians as the fountainhead of Kashmiri civilisational ethos and considered on a par with Shiva Lingam of Somnath, Vishnu of Taneshwar and Surya of Multan. He said the NCM wrote to the MEA earlier but was told that the issue would be taken up at an appropriate time with the Pakistani government. “We think that the time has come as the government is keen on starting a bus from Srinagar to Muzaffarabad.” The President of the Kashmiri Samiti, Mr Sunil Shakdhar, said he had petitioned to the NCM for access to the temple. “It was the original centre of learning and we owe our language, script, culture and tradition to the Sharda temple.” |
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Daughter of DRDO official held for impersonation
New Delhi, February 10 The accused, who was identified as Roma (29), was nabbed from Moti Lal Nehru College near Dhaula Kuwan, for allegedly trying to fool the college authorities while posing as the Protocol Officer of the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the police said. She had allegedly told the college Principal that she would ensure a visit of Dr Kalam to the institution and also manage a grant for the institution. Roma had done a course in architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture in the Capital in 1995 and is still unemployed. For the past one-and-a-half month, the accused had been reportedly visiting the college for getting a contract to make map of auditorium, which was to be constructed. When she allegedly claimed that she was the President’s Protocol Officer, the Principal, Dr Ramesh Sharma, got suspicious and reported the matter to the DCP, Security, President of India. The DCP directed the SHO of the R.K. Puram police station for her identification and legal action. The SHO visited Moti Lal Nehru College immediately and questioned her. |
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Al-Jehad militant
held
New Delhi, February 10 The militant, Abdul Hai Peer, 26, was arrested by Crime Branch sleuths from the Adarsh Nagar area of North Delhi last evening where he had been running a “dhaba” (an eating joint) since October, 2003. He hailed from Sopore district in Kashmir valley, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), Mr Dependra Pathak, said. The police has seized a 7.63 mm Spanish pistol, foreign currency and some Pakistani visa papers from the accused who was acting as a sleeping agent under directions from his masters to set up a base for the outfit in New Delhi, he said. The militant had undergone arms training in a camp in Pakistan in 2002, Mr Pathak said, adding earlier he had been involved in smuggling of drugs and arms for the terrorists. During the interrogation, he said the Al-Jehad was planning to bring RDX to the Capital for a possible strike. |
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Two BSP MLAs resign
Lucknow, February 10 While Satyanarain, MLA from Beniganj, announced his resignation in the Assembly, Gautam, who represents Ajitmal in the disbanded Auraiya district, handed over his resignation to Speaker Kesri Nath Tripathi. —
PTI |
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IA staffer sacked for photographing
Sonia’s kids
New Delhi, February 10 Flight purser Mohammed Basheer was sacked by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for violating rule which prohibits photography inside an aircraft, a senior IA official said today. Priyanka, her husband Robert Vadra, their two children and Rahul Gandhi, who was accompanied by his girlfriend, Juanita, had boarded IA flight IC 1502 on December 30 from Kochi for Agatti Islands in Lakshadweep. The steward took their pictures which were late published by local media in Kerala and Maharashtra. Airline sources say no one had raised any objections while the steward took pictures. But later, Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi sent an angry letter to Minister of State for Civil Aviation Rajiv Pratap Rudy, alleging that the flight steward had clicked photographs of her family members, infringing their privacy. — UNI |
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Jaya reinstates sacked employees Chennai, February 10 The Chief Minister said while the dismissal orders were being withdrawn, their four annual increments would, however, be withheld. Employees who were demoted as recommended by the three-member panel of judges, which went into the dismissals of the government employees, were being cancelled. However, their two annual increments would be withheld, she said. —
PTI |
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In video: BJP holds
brainstorming session to finalise poll strategy. (
New Delhi, February 10
New Delhi, February 10
