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Govt mulls amending CrPC
Film producer Mahesh Bhatt, Nafisa Ali and Prof S.A.R. Geelani participate in a peace march "Delhi To Multan", at Nizamuddin in New Delhi on Wednesday.
— Tribune photo by Rajeev Tyagi |
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Lawmakers pay tributes to martyrs
PM’s intervention helped nail
UP ex-Chief Secretary
PM’s wife speaks up for women
Stockholm Water Prize for CSE
Two teachers charged with
raping 5 girls
Jenny sex scandal: Tiwari govt in tight spot
Telugu actress attempts suicide
3 convicted in acid-throwing case
22 scientists honoured
Mid-sea collision spurs oil spill in Goa
Services of
11 NIT Directors terminated
Baby has heart on the right side
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New Delhi, March 23 Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said under the amendment it was proposed that if an accused had served more than half his prison term for which he had been charged, some amnesty could be given to the person. The amendment was also aimed at completely withdrawing the case against those languishing in jail for years without being chargesheeted for cases of murder for which the prison term ranged from 10 to 14 years, he said. Since the matter involved police and judiciary, government will hold consultations with all concerned before taking a decision on the amendment, the minister said. On the implementation of Justice V.S. Malimath Committee report on revamping the criminal justice system, Mr Patil said people were either supporting or opposing some of its recommendations. Since police and public order are state subjects, the recommendations were sent to states for further process, he said. — PTI
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Peace march leaves Delhi for Multan
New Delhi, March 23 “This march will never end till we establish durable peace between the two neighbours,” said film director Mahesh Bhatt while addressing the participants with actresses Nandita Das, Nafisa Ali and social activist Swami Agnivesh. “This journey to Multan is very similar to the one undertaken by Hazrat Auliya to meet another great Sufi saint Baba Farid, both symbols of love and communal harmony,” said Bhatt. Nandita Das said: “Such people-to-people contact programmes were much more effective in changing the mindsets of people. “The two governments should encourage such initiatives and grant visas without any qualms,” said Nafisa Ali. Secretary, Pakistan Social Forum, Irfan Mufti said: “There is much enthusiasm in Pakistan for the march and I hope it will build better relations.” Sandeep Pandey of Sankalp said the 50-day march would reach Multan on May 11 and traverse 1,000 km between the two nations. “We will cross over at Wagah border on April 18 and I have put in request for visas for 114 people from the Indian side. I hope the Pakistan government will encourage us and grant them.” — UNI
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Lawmakers pay tributes to martyrs
New Delhi, March 23 Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said the sacrifice of these freedom fighters would always be remembered. Members from all political parties demanded that their portraits be put in Parliament and a memorial be erected where they were hanged. Mr Chatterjee recalled that the leaders were hanged on this day in 1931 and their role in the freedom struggle brought strength to the movement for independence. Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said their sacrifice had made all Indians proud and added "the nation can never forget them". "We pledge ourselves to uphold the cherished values for which they laid down their lives," he said. The House observed a minute's silence to pay homage to the three revolutionaries. "There should be a memorial at the Central Hall to preserve the legacy of all martyrs who died during our freedom struggle," said Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP V.K. Malhotra in the Lok Sabha. Members of the ruling Congress-led coalition as well as the BJP-led Opposition seconded the suggestion. Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP Mohammad Salim said at least floral tributes should have been organised for Bhagat Singh and his compatriots, who were executed in 1931 for throwing a bomb in British India's Central Legislative Assembly here. The speaker said he would discuss the matter with all parties and decide on a proper tribute. In the Rajya Sabha, Mr Tarlochan Singh, Independent MP, sought the setting up of a committee to organise the functions marking the diamond jubliee of the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh and his friends. He also demanded putting up a plaque where Bhagat Singh and his friends threw the bomb in Parliament. Minister of State for parliamentary affairs Suresh Pachuri assured the member that his concerns would be forwarded to the government. When the British government promulgated the two Bills "Trade Union Dispute Bill" and "Public Safety Bill" which Bhagat Singh and his party thought were black laws aimed at curbing citizens' freedom and civil liberties, they decided to oppose these bills by throwing a bomb in the Central Assembly Hall (which is now Lok Sabha). Bhagat Singh and his friends were arrested on April 8, 1929 and were hanged in Lahore Central Jail on 23 March 1931. Their corpses were not handed over to their relatives but were cremated by the police at the dead of night on the banks of the river Satlej, near Ferozepore.
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PM’s intervention helped nail
UP ex-Chief Secretary
Lucknow, March 23 According to senior journalist Sharat Pradhan, he had written to the Prime Minister in September ,2004, and had followed it up with the PMO before things finally started moving. Earlier, Mr Pradhan had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against Mr
A.P. Singh being given an extension. Responding to the PIL the apex court had sent notice to the state government following which
Mr A.P. Singh resigned in a huff. However, that was not the end of the story. Speaking to TNS, Mr Pradhan said that the former Chief Secretary’s equally
influential son-in-law, till recently posted in Lucknow as a senior income tax officer, embroiled the journalist in several income tax cases. Totally harassed Mr Pradhan approached the Prime Minister’s Office. Despite an order for the son-in-law’s transfer and a CBI raid as early as December, 2004, the influential official continued to apply pressure. It was only early this month that the son-in-law was transferred to Kerala and the CBI raids began on Monday. In fact, four days ago, news of an impending raid had appeared in a New Delhi newspaper. This advance notice is probably the reason why not much cash was seized. The simultaneous CBI raids on 16 places across three states seized Rs 25 lakh in cash, property worth hundreds of crores and incriminating documents . More important was the dent it made into the indestructible aura around this powerful civil servant. It is the first time in independent India that a CBI raid has been conducted against the once seniormost civil servant of the state. The CBI launched the raids after registering a case against him for amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of
income. The teams swooped at 16 premises associated with A.P. Singh. The raids were carried at seven places in Lucknow, two in Bahraich where he has an 85- acre farmhouse, three properties in Delhi and four in
Naintal. The 1967 batch officer was at Delhi when the raids began. The CBI team was surprised to discover that his palatial bungalow in Vishwas Khand in Gomti Nagar was built over two plots(1/16 and 1/18), which was connected by an underground subway to another bungalow (1/9) where his daughter and son-in-law live. Raids were also being conducted on a palatial 40-acre farmhouse on the outskirts of the city. While
A.P. Singh had been at the centre of controversy during his service, his peer group, the UP IAS Association, in a secret ballot in 1996 had voted him the most corrupt IAS official. |
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PM’s wife speaks up for women
New Delhi, March 23 Addressing wives of IFS officers in the External Affairs Ministry, industrialists and NGO representatives, Ms Gursharan Kaur assured them that she would ask Dr Manmohan Singh to “ take policy initiatives for women involvement at least in environment protection through panchayats and NGOs.” Though the mainstream media was not invited to attend the meeting, participants said they were enthused by the warmth and energetic response of Ms Gursharan Kaur. Earlier also, she had convinced Dr Manmohan Singh to visit the Golden Temple and Gurdwara Bangla Sahib after assuming office. She was speaking at a seminar, “Women, environment and sustainable development” organised by Assocham and the External Affairs Spouses Association. Among others, Ms Aisha Khan, wife of the Pakistan High Commissioner in India, was also present. Taking up the issue of women empowerment with the Prime Minister would lead to policy measures through the Ministry of Panchyati Raj. Directives would hopefully be issued for full-fledged involvement of women in environment preservation programmes, felt Mrs Gursharan Kaur. Ms Gursharan Kaur, who has so far avoided coming into the limelight, had caught the imagination of the middle class when she made a remark last year before the first vote of accounts presented in Parliament. “I hope the government will not increase the price of LPG, that will affect a majority of the housewives.” It is another, however, another matter that LPG prices were later increased.
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Stockholm Water Prize for CSE
New Delhi, March 23 Talking to The Tribune, CSE Director Sunita Narain welcomed the decision, saying that the CSE’s concept on water harvesting, using traditional harvesting knowledge and people’s participation, had been internationally acknowledged and could now become important element in the sustainable use of water. In its citation, the Nominating Committee lauded the CSE for a successful recovery of old and generation of new knowledge on water management, a community-based sustainable integrated resource management under gender equity, a courageous stand against undemocratic, top-down bureaucratic resource control, an efficient use of a free press and an independent judiciary to meet these goals. The CSE will receive the $ 150,000 prize from King Carl
XVI Gustaf of Sweden in August. The Stockholm Water Prize is awarded annually to individuals and institutions for their outstanding contributions to the world of water.
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Two teachers charged with
raping 5 girls
Dehra Dun, March 23 The parents of one of the victims registered an FIR against the teachers two days ago, the police said. A rape case has been registered against the accused, the police said. The teachers Tejpal Singh (55) and Jagmohan Singh Bisht (35), have been charged with raping the girls repeatedly since September when the school sent them in a rally to Ramnagar with them, the police said. The teachers allegedly raped the girls, one of seventh standard, and four of ninth standard, many times after the rally until one of the victims reported the matter to her parents. The teachers would allegedly ask the girls to come to the school after the school hours to rape them. They used to threaten them, saying that they would fail the girls in the examination if they reported matter. The victim who reported the case was sent for a medical examination, the report of which was inconclusive, the police said. The Judicial Magistrate had recorded the girls’ statements while written statements have been taken from the four other victims, the police said. |
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Jenny sex scandal: Tiwari govt in tight spot
Dehra Dun, March 23 The opposition
today observed a statewide protest day to register its protest against
the disruption of the proceedings in the House over the Jenny sex
scandal for the past two days. The Opposition sent a memorandum to
Governor Sudershan Agarwal ,demanding the dismissal of the government
since its own legislators has lost trust in it. “ The recent
developments have made it clear that the government has been reduced to
a minority, which is why we moved a no- confidence motion against the
government,” the memorandum said. Meanwhile, PCC Chief Harish Rawat
was rushed to Dehra Dun to sort out the mess within the party yesterday.
The dissidents demanded that a CLP meeting should be convened
immediately to resolve the issue. The ND Tiwari camp, however,
maintained that it was keeping the high command informed that the Harish
Rawat camp could force a mid- term poll. |
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Telugu actress attempts suicide
Hyderabad, March 23 Doctors at Apollo Hospital, where she was admitted, said the young heroine, whose debut film in Hindi ‘Pagalpan’ failed to click, was completely out of danger. She was discharged this afternoon. Film industry sources said the star, was depressed after Tarun, a young hero who she had been seeing for some time now, was not enthusiastic about tying the knot. The Banjara Hills
police, which registered a case of attempt to suicide against the star, said Arti revealed that she was agitated for being linked with a Telugu hero at a time when she was just coming out of a lean patch in her career. Tarun dismissed the rumours that he and Arti had any affair and said they were just good friends. They are the lead pair in the new film “Soggadu”, which is to be released shortly. Arti’s father denied that she had any love affair. He also refuted rumours that Arti had a fight with him.
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3 convicted in acid-throwing case
Jaipur, March 23 Judge
B.L. Lamror yesterday found Anupriya Johari (43), Mohammed Atik (28) and Firozudin (29) guilty in the case. The CBI, which probed the incident had chargesheeted all the three for
conspiring and causing grievous injuries and
attempting to kill Jadeja. The Judge, however, acquitted all the three of attempt to murder charges due to lack of evidence. The Judge said if any of them failed to pay the fine, he or she had to undergo an
additionally one-year jail term each. The government advocate told the court that Ateeq and Firozudin had thrown a jug full of acid on Shivani when she was on her way to school in Vaishali Nagar on April 12, 1997 at the instance of Anupriya
Johari, who had paid them a huge amount to do the job. Anupriya, who allegedly had an
illicit relationship with her brother-in-law Gopal, had conspired to eliminate Shivani when Gopal started showing interest in her.
— PTI |
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22 scientists honoured
New Delhi, March 23 Of the 26 scientists, 11 are from the Geological Survey of India, six from the ONGC, two from the National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, and one each from R.K. Marble Private Limited, Udaipur, Associated Stone Industries Limited, Ramganjmandi, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, University of Delhi and Reliance Industries Limited, Navi Mumbai. The awardees got Rs 1 lakh each with a trophy and a certificate.
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Mid-sea collision spurs oil spill in Goa
Mumbai, March 23 According to the Coast Guard, a barge used to ferry iron ore to the ship, Prapti, crashed into a bulk carrier, Maritime Wisdom, causing the latter to spill its fuel into the sea. The ship was carrying 1470 metric tonnes of high- grade diesel. However, quick action by the ship personnel helped prevent more oil being spilt into the sea. The state government has ordered fishermen not to venture into the area for the next few days. The mishap occurred 3.7 nautical miles from the Aguada Coast around 1a.m. (IST), according to the Coast Guard. The oil leak was plugged at 4a.m. (IST) by the Coast Guard and helicopters were pressed into service to assess the damage. |
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Services of
11 NIT Directors terminated New Delhi, March 23 According to a press note issued here this evening, the HRD Ministry said the Directors had been appointed without necessary prior approval of the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet. The ministry has issued orders terminating the services of NIT Directors Krishna Kumar (Allahabad), P.K. Chande (Bhopal), S.S.
Ghokhale (Calicut), A.K. Jain (Jaipur), Pramod S. Mehta (Jalandhar), D. Bhattacharya, (Jamshedpur), Somnath Mahendra (Kurukshetra), Sunil Kumar Sarangi (Rourkela), Shashi Krishna Pandey, (Srinagar), S.S. Murthy (Surathkal) and Deba Kumar Tripathy (Warangal). The ministry has further directed that selection of new Directors of the institutes be made within four months.
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Baby has heart on the right side
Karur, March 23 The baby, now 11 days old, has been under observation. Various tests conducted on the infant, like X-ray, Ultrasound and ECG showed no abnormalities. Dr Preetha Ravi Rajasekar and Dr Ravi Rajasekar, Directors of the Hospital, who have been taking care of the 25-year-old mother since the pregnancy was detected, said the baby had an "interesting and rare" medical condition. Dr Preetha said the woman, Revathy Ramalingam, wife of a tea shop owner, hailed from a remote village called Emoor, near here. She became pregnant with her second child and was given regular ante-natal care in the hospital.
— UNI |
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