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India concerned as Nepal braces against Maoists
Govt urged to help restore democracy
in Nepal
Ruma rescued, sent back home
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Prisoners seek CBI probe into gangrape
Dehra Dun, February 5 In a shocking case of alleged sexual harassment of a woman in a jail in Hardwar, prisoners of the jail have demanded a CBI probe. A magisterial enquiry into the matter is underway, the police said. Certain jail employees allegedly raped the 30-year-old jail inmate several times last month, reports said.
PM to consider board’s advice on security
Another kidnapped student freed in Bihar
BJP seeks Jamir’s dismissal
Revision plea against Laloo in anthem case
Sharmila all set to enter Guinness book
Sikhs protest turban ban in France
Rajasthan ‘accepts’
Bathinda refinery
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India concerned as Nepal braces against Maoists
New Delhi, February 5 According to diplomatic sources here, King Gyanendra had staged his royal coup with the active support of the RNA, which is predominantly Gurkha-dominated and, therefore, ideologically averse to the Maoists who are largely non-Gurkhas. It may be recalled that the Maoists’ one precondition for talks with the government was that the army should return to the barracks. The fallout of the RNA offensive against the Maoists will be grave for India, as mafia in Bihar and Jharkhand, which calls itself the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), is riddled with deep caste divisions. Any offensive against Maoists is going to lead to the Maoists cadres taking shelter in India in big numbers as the two countries share a 1751-km-long open border. Once this happens, the Maoists will inevitably get sucked into rivalries among the Indian Left-wing extremists. In fact, the MC and PW began clashing with each other in 1998 and the attacks, on each other, have continued. In May last, PW militants had killed three MCC activists due to differences over levy. In retaliation, a PW area commander was killed by MCC extremists. New Delhi’s projected fear is that when high-caste Maoists — who are normally Bhandaris, Sharmas, Durbaris, Koiralas, apart from Lepchas and Bhutias — flee from Nepal following the RNA’s operation, they will be locked in caste-driven conflicts with Indian outfits on Indian soil. Under the ideological cloak, the Maoists are the fraternal allies of the MCC and the PW. The MCC and the PW cadres belong to comparatively lower castes. The MCC comprises Yadavs, kahars, bhoomihars, while the PW (with considerable presence in Andhra Pradesh and southern Chhatisgarh) have kurmis and koyris. Then there is the, Bangladesh angle, too, to the murky affairs of India’s Left-wing extremism. West Bengal’s pristine Naxal groups are joining with their Bangladesh counterparts in Bangladeshi districts of Jessore and Rajshahi. In this case, most militant warriors are against caste-based system of extortions. |
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Govt urged to help restore democracy
in Nepal
New Delhi, February 5 “We condemn the abrogation of democracy in Nepal. The Government (of India) should not give legitimacy or credibility to the actions taken by the King in that country,” CPM polit bureau member Sitaram Yechury, along with other leaders from the CPI, Forward Bloc, RSP, CPI-ML, NCP, JD-S and Samajwadi Party, said. “The meeting called upon the Government of India that it should be made clear to Nepal that this palace coup is unacceptable,” he said. The parties, who had participated in the move to restore democracy in Nepal during 1989-90, met under one banner and decided to hold a national convention for restoration of democracy in Nepal on February 24, he said. |
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Ruma rescued, sent back home
Kolkata February 5 At the Salt Lake, Ruma was kidnapped by four armed gang
while going to college in the morning in her family vehicle, Indica. The family driver, Sukumar Mondol, was on steering and the 4-year-old nephew was by her side, who was to be dropped to School on the Mother Teresa Avenueat the Park Street. Sabari Mitra, Ruma' classmate at the J.D.Birla Institute, on the Lower Rawdon Street was accompanying her. She resides near Ruma's residence at the CB block, which is also the state Home Secretary, Mr A.K.Deb's residence. According to the eye-witness Sabari's account, when their car was crossing the CA Island, around 100 metres from the Home Secretary's residence, an off-white Maruti, Omni, suddenly overtook their vehicle from the back and stopped, blocking their way. The three of the four young men travelling in the car soon jumped out of the vehicle, carrying revolvers in their hands, and forced open the front door and tried to drag out Ruma from the car, while one of them placed a gun on the driver's head. Ruma tried to resist but failed. One of the gunmen asked Sabari and the nephew to keep silent as they dragged Ruma into the Maruti at gun-point and she was soon whisked away. Within an hour of the incident, there was a call from Ruma's cellphone that she had been kidnapped and was in deep trouble. One of the kidnapper's called her father on the same cellphone and demanded Rs 50 lakhs immediately for her release. But the amount was soon reduced to Rs 5 lakh. However, the police called up Ruma's family and informed them that she had been
traced. She was rescued and sent back home. IG ( land and order) Chayyan Mukherjee said no ransom had been paid to the kidnappers for her release. |
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Prisoners seek CBI probe into gangrape
Dehra Dun, February 5 The accused prison guards subjected the victim, a life term prisoner, to such torture a number of times in connivance with the woman guards of the jail, the allegations said. On conceiving, the woman was taken to a local hospital for an abortion. She was threatened with dire consequences if she revealed something about the incident, the allegations said. The jail authorities however, have denied the allegations. Denying the charges made against the jail guards, the jail authorities said the allegations hold no ground. This is a conspiracy against the jail authorities, said Jailor, Hardwar Jail Mahendra Singh. |
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PM to consider board’s advice on security
New Delhi, February 5 The two-day meeting of the board which concluded here was the first after Mr M. K. Narayanan took over as the National Security Adviser following the sudden death of J. N. Dixit. Mr Narayanan, who chaired the meeting on the opening day, categorically told the board members that their collective views should be sent to the Prime Minister, the National Security Adviser and four other top Cabinet ministers — External Affairs, Finance, Defence and Home. Going by the statute, this ought to have been the practice always but was not followed, highly placed sources said. |
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Another kidnapped student freed in Bihar
Biharsharif, February 5 Nalanda Superintendent of Police A.K. Ambedkar said Ravikant was let off by his captors at Biawan villange under the Nagarnausa police station in the district last night from where he boarded a bus this morning and returned to his Biharsharif residence safely. Mr Ambedkar said acting on an information provided by seven persons including a constable who were taken into custody yesterday in connection with the kidnapping, a police team went to Biawan village last night and mounted pressure on the abductors who released Ravikant at an isolated place.
— PTI |
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BJP seeks Jamir’s dismissal
New Delhi, February 5 The zonal in-charge of the party and former Governor of Rajasthan, Mr Madan
Lal Khurana, told a news conference today that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was playing a dangerous game of pulling down elected governments in states. "The UPA government," Mr Khurana said, "is driven by a sense of vindictiveness against the BJP". Present at the news conference were Delhi Pradesh BJP chief Harsh Vardhan and the in-charge of the party's unit in Delhi, Mr Shivraj Singh Chauhan. The BJP accused Ms Gandhi of using divide-and-rule tactics against its own alliance partners Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mr Ram Vilas Paswan in Bihar elections. "She has pitted the two Cabinet Ministers in the UPA coalition against each other with an objective to secure maximum benefit for the Congress in Bihar elections," Mr Khurana told reporters. He alleged that it was also a paradox that Ms Gandhi was herself attacking Bihar's ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) headed by Mr Yadav, a Cabinet colleague of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. |
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Revision plea against Laloo in anthem case
Indore, February 5 The plea was based on a photograph, published in the January 5 edition of evening daily, showing both Mr Yadav and his Chief Minister wife “sitting” while the anthem was being sung. Advocate Shailendra Dwivedi, representing Tiranga Abhiyan Convener Ravi
Atrolia, filed the revision petition before Judge S. .C Sinho. The date for the hearing was fixed on February 7.
— UNI |
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Sharmila all set to enter Guinness book
Imphal (Manipur), February 5 Sharmila began her fast in November, 2000, over the death of 10 civilians in the indiscriminate firing by the Assam Rifles at
Malom, near the Imphal airport. According to L. C. Jinine Meetei, secretary of the Imphal-based organisation, Universal Education and
Wellbeing, "Sharmila has been fasting for over 1,600 days, which no doubt is a world record ". According to L. C. Jinine
Meetei, based on the information shared by the Guinness officials, the world record of longest ever fasting is presently being held by Dennis Galer Goodwin, a UK-based rape accused who fasted for 385 days to protest the charge against
him. Sharmila is now in the security ward (an extension of Sajiwa Jail) of Imphal's Jawherlal Nehru
Hospital. She is surviving on nasal feeding. |
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Sikhs protest turban ban in France
New Delhi, February 5 The groups, led by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) member Manmohan Singh Kochhar, held a demonstration against the turban ban at the Jantar Mantar here and later submitted a memorandum to the French Ambassador here.
— PTI |
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Rajasthan ‘accepts’
Bathinda refinery
Jaipur, February 5 Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has already declared that the state government will provide all infrastructure and necessary facilities. |
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A big offensive by the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) against Maoists is on the cards, which will inevitably have an adverse fallout on security and law and order situation in India.
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