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Govt all set to reject Phukan panel report
Govt plans sting operations to check female foeticide
Women not to be
arrested after sunset
PM assures women on quota Bill
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PM to take up issue of stranded Indians
New Delhi, May 4 The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Minister of External Affairs, Mr Natwar Singh, have assured Mr Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, member, Minority Educational Institutions, to look into the issue of Indians stranded in Spain. PM, Gogoi to discuss
Assam Accord today
SC notice to Centre
on ‘depleting’ tiger population
MPs form forum for tigers
Krishna Murthy snubs politicians
Nanavati panel not to summon Narayanan
J and K
Cong leaders seek package from PM
Prepare roadmap for ties with Pak: panel
Patil
briefed on Bangla border fencing problems
Lt-Gen Aurora’s funeral today
Stories of neglect from Nagaland
Nationwide power strike from May 31
SC reserves order in Parliament attack case
Zaheera denies filing affidavit
Govt for talks with Naxals
Probe ordered into ropeway incident
Another food scam detected
Dismissed cop confesses to rape
Surjeet fully recovers, returns
home
Attack on Lalu’s car not inside hospital: report
Basu flays BJP for LS boycott
Natwar
writes to CM Raje on sanctuary neglect Another member of akademi resigns Kalam dedicates ISRO’s launch pad to nation
Solar energy illuminates 32 villages
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Govt all set to reject Phukan panel report
New Delhi, May 4 This was evident from the tone and tenor of Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s statement in which he gave details of how Justice S.N. Phukan along with his wife, travelled in an Air Force aircraft to Pune and several other places while he was heading the enquiry commission against the Defence Minister. Mr Mukherjee’s statement was followed by a quick demand from the Congress that this report be rejected as today’s revelations had seriously compromised its credibility. Party spokesperson Anand Sharma instead wanted that the findings of the Venkatswamy Commission be made public. Justice K.Venkatswamy was originally heading this enquiry but resigned before he could complete the probe. The Congress demand for the tabling of the Venkatswamy report stems from the belief that it was critical of Mr Fernandes. “It is imperative that the report being prepared by Justice Venkatswamy is made public... we all know in which direction it was heading,” Mr Sharma added. Before proceeding with its boycott, the BJP-led NDA has been demanding that the Phukan Commission report be tabled in the ongoing Parliament session. While agreeing to this demand, the UPA government sought more time on the plea that it was in the process of preparing an Action Taken Report (ATR),which has to be tabled along with the enquiry commission’s findings. Government insiders indicated that they will table the two reports towards the end of the currrent session. And if Mr Mukherjee’s statement and the Congress party’s demand are any indication, the ATR will reject the Phukan Commission’s report. The Centre, it is stated, has taken the view that that this report is incomplete as it has not complied with all the terms of reference. The report was to be in three parts but the Phukan Commission had submitted only one part, making it an incomplete and a partial report,it was explained. “As far as we are concerned , this is no report at all,” said a senior UPA minister, adding that all cases relating to arms pruchses, including the Tehelka case, had already been referred to the CBI. Meanwhile, armed with Mr Mukherjee’s statement, the Congress launched an all-out offensive on this issue with party spokesperson Anand Sharma stating that an impropriety had been committed as the enquiry commission had taken favours from the agency and individual it was probing. “Whatever the commission’s findings are.. it was all a cover-up... a case of match-fixing,” he declared. |
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Govt plans sting operations to check female foeticide
New Delhi, May 4 A national surveillance cell is being set up in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to monitor diagnostic centres across the “problem” states, since the PNDT Act-1994 has failed to check the declining sex ratio in the country. In the northern states, the sex ratio has substantially declined over the years. According to Health Minister Anbamani Ramdoss: “Not a single person has been punished under the Act” though there are rampant incidents of female foeticide. He said the government would amend the PNDT Act to make the punitive measures more stringent. The minister said a national surveillance cell was being constituted to assist the authorities in Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi to identify unscrupulous elements carrying out sex determination tests. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) and non-government organisations would also be involved to nab the cultprits. He informed the Lok Sabha that “as per the reports received from the states and UTs, 26,199 bodies using ultrasound, image scanners had been registered under the Act. As on March 31, 2005, there were 303 ongoing cases in courts and police stations for various violations of the law, 33 ultrasound machines had been seized for violation of the law.” Describing it as an “unfortunate state of affairs”, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said it was a “serious issue” and the “country as a whole should wake up to this problem”. Describing the declining trend in sex ratio as a matter of concern, Mr Ramadoss said some of the reasons for this were son preference, dowry, neglect of girl child, resulting in higher mortality at younger age, female infanticide, female foeticide and male bias in enumeration of population. He said in order to check female foeticide, the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994, was brought into operation in January, 1996. This Act had since been amended, prohibiting determination and disclosure of the sex of the foetus. Under the Act, use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques and genetic counselling was permissible for detection of certain genetic abnormalities. Violation of the Act is at present punishable with imprisonment up to five years and fine up to Rs 1 lakh apart from cancellation of registration and licence. According to official figures, the sex ratio in Himachal Pradesh has gone down from 976 in 1991 to 968 in 2001, in Punjab from 882 to 876, Haryana from 865 to 861, Delhi from 827 to 821 and Gujarat from 934 to 920. The child sex ratio (zero to six years) has dropped in Himachal Pradesh from 951 in 1991 to 896 in 2001, in Punjab from 875 to 798, in Haryana from 879 to 819, in Delhi from 915 to 868 and Gujarat from 928 to 883. The minister said mere legislation was not enough to deal with this problem that had roots in social behaviour and prejudices. He said since both patients and the diagnostic centres often became accomplices, legal hurdles came in the way of prosecuting the wrongdoer. |
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Women not to be
arrested after sunset New Delhi, May 4 Home Minister Shivraj Patil, while replying to a discussion on the Bill, said it had been emphasised that prosecution should shift emphasis from oral to circumstantial and to technical evidence. He said women would not be arrested after sunset or before sunrise barring exceptional circumstances. Under exceptional circumstances, the police official would have to make a written report and obtain the permission of his superior officer for effecting such an arrest, he said. Mr Patil said a person facing investigation, who had served more than half of the total sentence that could have been awarded to him, will be given bail. The Bill provides for a detailed medical examination of a person accused of an offence of rape or an attempt to commit rape, by the registered medical practitioner employed in a government hospital or a local authority, and in the absence of such a practitioner, by any other registered practitioner. Responding to queries from Ms Ambika Soni and Mr M S Gill about the detenues from Punjab languishing in jails, the minister said the provisions in the bill will entail release of those detainees who had completed jail terms more than the maximum sentence under the cases faced by them. The minister said if the detainee had completed more than half of the sentence that could be awarded to him, he would be released on bail.
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PM assures women on quota Bill
New Delhi, May 4 All-India Democratic Women’s Association General Secretary Sudha Sundararaman told a protest rally here that Dr Manmohan Singh, after he was given the memorandum this morning, told the delegation that all parties needed to first have some like-mindedness before such a Bill could be passed. “However, I would try my best to introduce the Bill in the next session,” he told the delegation. Speaking at the rally, CPM Politburo member Brinda Karat said if the UPA government also did not introduce the Bill, it would prove to be no different from the NDA government Meanwhile, the government proposed to introduce the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament “as soon as possible”, Home Miniter Shivraj Patil today assured agitated women members in the Rajya Sabha. Mr Patil said the government was committed to fulfill the promise made by the UPA in its National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) that one-third of the seats in Parliament and state Assemblies would be reserved for women. The Minister said the government was trying to build a consensus on the issue. In this connection, Mr Patil said, he had written letters to leaders of various political parties and spoken to at least 20 of them personally. Barring one, all parties had supported the Bill, he said, without identifying the party, which had expressed reservations about the legislation. |
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PM to take up issue of stranded Indians
New Delhi, May 4 Mr Ramoowalia had written to the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, on March 22 about the plight of Indians in Spain, mostly from Punjab, who had lost their passports at the hands of fraudulent travel agents He said when they approached the Indian Embassy in Madrid to get new passports; their applications were rejected on the pretext that none of them were asylum seekers. He urged the Congress President to intervene and advised the government to take a liberal view and issue new passports or necessary documents to affected Indian nationals in Spain. The Government of Spain, he said, had recently declared general amnesty to grant regularisation and permanent citizenship status to illegal entrants of different countries residing in Spain subject to the condition that they have a valid passport of their parent company, he added. |
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PM, Gogoi to discuss Assam Accord today New Delhi, May 4 The meeting, which is in sequal to the Prime Minister’s invitation to the all Assam Students Union leadership and the state Chief Minister last year when he went to Guwahati to flag off the Indo-Asean car rally, assumes great significance, as Assembly elections are due in Assam next year. The Assam Accord signed by the Centre, the state government and the union in 1985 brought the then union leaders Prafulla Mahanta and Bhrigu Phukan to power the next year. But the student leaders have been demanding implementation of other provisions of the accord, including detection and deportation of illegal migrants and scrapping of the controversial IMDT Act, 1983. A five-member delegation comprising AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharyya, AASU president Shankar Prasad Roy, general secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi, former president Prabin Boro and ideologue Basanta Deka will take part in the meeting. The Assam Government had yesterday agreed to fix a time-frame for the implementation of the accord, 20 years after it was signed.
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SC notice to Centre
on ‘depleting’ tiger population
New Delhi, May 4 Taking on record the letter of Ashok Kumar, who has been instrumental in nabbing several persons involved in trade of the skins of tiger and other endangered species during the past few years, a Bench of Mr Justice Y K Sabhharwal, Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat and Mr Justice S H Kapadia also issued notice to the CBI. Both Union Government and the CBI were directed to submit their replies by tomorrow, when the matter would be taken up for further hearing. “The
crises related to conservation and protection of tigers has been caused
inter-alia by serious systematic deficiencies which the government has
failed to correct,” said Ashok Kumar, who claims to have been
associated with wildlife protection for the past 35 years, and a member
in the steering committee on “Project Tiger”. The letter was communicated to the apex court by him in the wake of CBI report that there was no tiger left in Sariska, after the agency was asked by the Prime Minister himself to probe into the disappearance of the species from there. Accusing the Environment and Forest Ministry of not maintaining any data of crimes related to wild- life when there has been rise in the international trade of tiger skin and bones, the petitioner said special attentions were required to be given to the sanctuaries like Ranthambhore, Panna and Bandhavgarh, which might repeat the story of Sariska if appropriate steps were not take in time. |
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MPs form forum for tigers
New Delhi, May 4 For the sake of tigers in the country, MPs from the Congress, the BJP, the Shiv Sena and the BJD have come together in the form of a forum— the Tiger and Wilderness Watch, to save big cats in particular and promote the cause of forests and wildlife in general. Putting rivalries among their respective parties on the backburner for a change, some members of the group that includes Rahul Gandhi, Renuka Chowdhury, B.J. Panda, Suresh Prabhu, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Anand Sharma, Manvendra Singh, besides Karan Singh and Natwar Singh, also got together to meet Minister of Environment and Forests A. Raja recently to voice their concern over much-publicised tiger crisis in the country in the wake of tiger crisis in Sariska. For the present, members of the group, each of whom claims to be passionate about saving the great symbol of national treasure that the tiger is, hope to meet Chief Ministers of states which have tiger reserves and come up with new measures to resolve the problems. The states concerned should identify specific problems and deploy additional force in vulnerable areas prior to the onset of the monsoon, as it is during this period that poachers are most active, they feel. In any case, the forum wants action to prevent poaching in the 10 critical tiger reserves — The Manas Tiger Reserve, Assam, the Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh, the Simplipal Tiger Reserve, Orissa, the Valmiki Tiger Reserve, Bihar, the Palamau Tiger Reserve, Jharkhand, the Nagarjuna Tiger Reserve, Andhra Pradesh, the Indravati Tiger Reserve, Chattisgarh, the Panna Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, the Pench
Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh and the Tadoba Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment and Forests is planning to convene a meeting of all field Directors of the tiger reserves and
the Chief Wildlife Wardens of the states to discuss measures for enhancing the management of tiger reserves in light of the final results of the independent expert monitoring of the reserves, the immediate steps necessary to address the problem of poaching during the monsoon, the implementation of enhanced methodology of tigers census, and other relevant issues. |
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Krishna Murthy snubs politicians
New Delhi, May 4 “I am not bothered about these comments without any basis. It has become a fashion to criticise the officials,” Mr Krishna Murthy told The Tribune, a day after the poll panel came in for sharp attack in Parliament with several members, including those in the Treasury Benches, demanding that the constitutional body be made answerable and governed by a model code of conduct. RJD member from Bihar Devendra Prasad Yadav said: “A committee should be formed to look into adherence to various provisions by the EC itself.” He said the EC had been “engaging in excesses” and particularly attacked its Adviser K.J. Rao. Defending the work of EC officials and those in the state government, Mr Krishna Murthy said “they acted fearlessly and it is unfair to criticise them.” The Assembly poll in Bihar, the CEC said, “was peaceful than those held in earlier decades.” A week before he retires from the post, Mr Krishna Murthy said he would have been happy if the electoral reforms, initiated by him, had been accepted by the government and implemented. Hinting that the country’s polity lacked the political will, he said more than half a century had passed since the Representation of the People’s Act was formulated and there was a need to have a relook into it. He said the country should consider proportional representation and recall of elected representative, if they failed to deliver. On the role of Independent candidates, who came in sharp focus in the Goa and Jharkhand Assemblies, he said, “I am of the view that they should be barred from contesting poll or should not be allowed to hold any government post for a specific period of time.” On the curbs imposed on Mohammad Shahbuddin to visit his constituency, he said, “the EC did not impose any such restriction. It was the order of the district administration to ensure a free and fair poll in the
constituency.” “By exercising their quasi-judicial powers, they had taken recourse to the Bihar Crime Control Act to impose such restrictions and, if anybody had any grievance, then that should be directed against the state Assembly for legislating such an Act,” he said, adding that the
aggrieved person could have moved an election petition. Stating that during his tenure, the conduct of Assembly poll in Bihar, Haryana and Jharkhand was the “most difficult”, he said the model code of conduct should be given legislative shape with the EC given the power to take punitive action. “The commission should have the powers to impose penalties or disqualify the candidate or the party, and the maximum penalty of withdrawing of election symbol, if the code is violated,” he said. Even though the present code has been evolved through political consensus, he said the commission had forced those who violated to repay money misusing state aircraft and criminal cases under the IPC initiated where judicial verdict was called for. “We have to take a fair view, especially when parties undertake not to repeat the same offence,” he said. Lauding the role played by the para-military forces in the conduct of free and fair poll, he said there had been cases of state police acting in a biased manner, inadequate to deal with the situation and had been violent and aggressive in the conduct of poll. On the complaint that the administration came to a standstill once the election process began, Mr Krishna Murthy clarified that there was no curb on those development projects, which were already on and new schemes, whose financial sanction and projects had been approved, to continue. “Whenever the state administration has brought this issue for clarification to us, we have promptly cleared it,” he said. Talking about his recent visit to Pakistan, the CEC said officials from Islamabad would be visiting the country soon to discuss the use of electronic voting machines to be used in the Islamic state. He said the UN Special Adviser to Mr Kofi Annan recently visited the commission and sought India’s help in the conduct of poll in Haiti. “We have asked them to clearly spell out their requirement before taking any decision,” he said, adding that the country had a vast manpower trained with the conduct of election and could set up an international institute to train under the aegis of the UN. On a parting shot, Mr Krishna Murthy said he would be writing a book on his experiences as CEC and would not think of entering politics, which was rampant with “corruption and criminalisation”. |
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Nanavati panel not to summon Narayanan
Ahmedabad, May 4 The commission, probing the 2002 Godhra carnage and riots,
will also write to the Secretariat of the President of India to furnish
Mr Narayanan's said letter to the then Prime Minister and take it up
during its next hearing on June 2. It also directed the Gujarat
Government to submit its reply or objections to the panel on this issue
by May 26. Mr Narayanan had, in a recent interview to a Malayalam
magazine, stated that despite his appeal to the then Prime Minister
Vajpayee, the government did not send the Army in time to control the
communal riots in 2002. — UNI |
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Prepare roadmap for ties with Pak: panel
New Delhi, May 4 “The compulsions generated by the concerns of the international community over the perpetual tension prevailing between the two nuclear powers should not force the government into hastening the pace in an unrealistic manner. The fact that terrorist training camps inside Pakistan’s territory are still operating, though infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir has come down considerably, points to the grave danger inherent in the situation. The government should not allow itself to be taken by surprise at any stage”, the Standing Committee on External Affairs said in its report presented in the Lok Sabha. The report said the government should grasp the dynamics of power equations in the present day world and “re-orient approaches and attitudes in such a way that India always remains an indispensable participant in the shaping of the world’s future”. It said India could talk of peace and harmony effectively and convincingly from a position of strength. On China, the committee said the permanent settlement of the major disputes between India and China in a spirit of mutual accommodation would bring about a qualitative change in the geo-political situation in the South Asian region which would help accelerate India’s economic growth. The report said the military and economic might India had acquired placed it in a position of strength from where it could influence the world events in a significant way. “The Indian nation has a civilisational dimension and it is poised to play a big role in the shaping of the future world”, it said. |
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Patil
briefed on Bangla border fencing problems New Delhi, May 4 A detailed power-point presentation was made to the Home Minister, in the presence of National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, JS (Bangladesh) in Ministry of External Affairs Neelam Deo, Union Home Secretary V K Duggal, DG BSF and other top officials of the Ministry, on the progress made in border fencing so far and the problems being faced in the completion of the remaining stretch of the Indo-Bangla border, sources said. The Minister was informed that at many places the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) men resorted to shelling and firing to prevent fencing, while in some other areas fencing could not be undertaken as the Indian villages stretched upto the ‘Zero’ level of the border with Bangladesh. The 30-minute meeting also took serious note of the killing of the BSF Assistant Commandant by the BDR men recently and also violation of Indian air space by two Bangladesh helicopters recently. This meeting assumes great significance, as it was held a day after the Ministry of Defence released its Annual Report, which slammed Bangladesh for being “insensitive and unresponsive” to India’s security concerns.
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Lt-Gen Aurora’s funeral today
New Delhi, May 4 Mourning the death of the hero of the Indian victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war for the liberation of east Pakistan, the President stated that he was a highly decorated military officer and had served the nation with great distinction. Lt-Gen Aurora was a “soldier of that unique generation who saw service in the old British Indian Army followed by the transition to the Indian Army after Independence,” the President said in a condolence message. Numerous civil and military officials and political leaders are expected to attend the funeral at Brar Square in the Delhi Cantonment. The General’s body will lie in state between 7.30 am and 9.30 am at 53, Friends Colony (East). Lt-Gen Aurora, who became the face of India’s military power when some 90,000 Pakistani forces surrendered to him in Dhaka in 1971, died yesterday of a heart attack at age 89. The funeral will be held with full military honours. The General’s death was also mourned by Tarlochan Singh, MP and Chairman, National Commission for Minorities. While paying tribute to the General Aurora he said that in the Indian history there are only two incidents where Indian Army have been victorious outside Indian territory and over-powered the enemy army.
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Stories of neglect from Nagaland
Kohima, May 4 Like him,
his sisters have been with different sets of relatives since their
parents died of AIDS. Stories of families disintegrated by AIDS are
becoming common in Nagaland, where the prevalence rate of the disease is
estimated to be a high 1.20 per cent. "I wish I am wrong, but I do
think we are sitting on a volcano", said Governor Shyamal Dutta,
who recently took the initiative to organise a workshop on AIDS at the
Raj Bhavan. Rated as unenviable sixth in the list of states affected by
the scourge of HIV/AIDS, Nagaland has at least 15,000 persons infected
with the virus. Going by the official estimate, 848 cases have been
reported since 1994 and as many as 261 persons have died. Tuensang
district has the highest prevalence rate of 3.64 per cent and doctors
believe that it might be as high as 7 per cent in some areas of the
district. K. Sumi, an AIDS victim, said, "I have come out of the
nursing home and living a normal life. But will I be accepted?" At
the Naga hospital here, a source narrated how a pregnant woman from
Tuensang district beseeched everybody not to disclose that she had
tested HIV positive. Social worker Clara said more Naga girls were
taking to prostitution than ever. She suggested a red light area be
demarcated so that various agencies could at least monitor the incidence
of HIV. The Governor on his part opined that the NGOs and the media had
a big role to play in raising social awareness against the disease. |
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J and K
Cong leaders seek package from PM New Delhi, May 4 The Congress leaders briefed the Prime Minister about the functioning of the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed government. They urged the Prime Minister to strictly adhere to the 2002 accord on sharing of power according to which the post of Chief Minister has to come to the Congress after six months. The Congress leaders conveyed their reservations over bus passengers coming in Karvan-e-Aman bus from PoK laying claims to their “ancestral properties” in the state. The ministers who met the Prime Minister included Mr Sharif-ud-Din Naz and Suman Bhagat. State assembly Speaker Tara Chand was also present, sources said.
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Nationwide power strike from May 31
New Delhi, May 4 The strike called by the National Coordination Committee of the electricity employees and engineers will also be against the provisions of the Electricity Act 2003, said its convener Mr B. S. Meel here today. A delegation of the coordination committee led by CPI General Secretary A. B. Bardhan met Power Minister P. M. Sayeed yesterday to seek his intervention on three demands — stop unbundling and restructuring SEBs, provision of cross subsidy in the Electricity Act 2003 and elimination of discrimination between urban and rural areas in the Act. The coordination committee had earlier submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for a review of the government's plans on SEBs. "We requested the minister to stop restructuring till the review is completed. Otherwise, the review will be meaningless," said Mr Meel. |
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SC reserves order in Parliament attack case
New Delhi, May 4 After a marathon hearing, stretching over a period of more than six months in different phases, a Bench of Mr Justice
P.V. Reddi and Mr Justice P.P. Naolekhar reserved its verdict on the conclusion of the arguments yesterday. Heavily-armed five Pakistani militants had attacked Parliament on
December 13, 2001, catching the security forces unawares. Six security personnel and a gardener were killed in the ensuing gunbattle, in which all five Pakistani militants were shot dead. While Geelani and two Kashmiri militants, Mohammed Afzal and Shaukat Hussain, were held guilty by a special POTA court here of participating in the conspiracy hatched to attack Parliament and providing logistic support to the five slain Pakistani militants, Shaukat’s wife Najot Sandhu, alias
Afsan, was given five years in jail for suppressing the conspiracy of which she had prior knowledge. However, Geelani and Afsan were acquitted by the Delhi High Court, holding that there was not sufficient evidence to corroborate the charges against them. But the high court had found the trial court judgment awarding capital punishment to Shaukat and Afzal as perfectly within the law. |
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Zaheera denies filing affidavit
Ahmedabad, May 4 Zaheera, who appeared before Nanavati-Shah Commission, inquiring into the Godhra train carnage and its aftermath, with her advocate Atul Mistry, was shown a copy of the May 20 affidavit bearing her name and was asked to thoroughly read it. However, after reading the affidavit, Zaheera denied that the contents were given by her but acknowledged that the signatures on the document were hers. Zaheera clarified that she had not filed any affidavit before this commission ever and had only filed an application on April 13, 2005, seeking an adjournment of her cross-examination as the matter was pending in the Supreme Court. Mumbai: A special court hearing the retrial of the Best Bakery case today issued bailable warrants against the mother and brother of prime witness Zaheera Sheikh. Both of them have been asked to appear tomorrow. The warrant was issued by Judge Abhay Thipsay of the Special Court against Zaheera’s mother Sehrunissa and her brother Nasibullah. The prosecution asked for re-examination of Zaheera Shaikh and her relatives after a video CD featuring the rescue operations of the police was shown before the court. The video featured the police rescue operations on March 2, 2002, the day after the Best Bakery massacre. |
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Govt for talks with Naxals
New Delhi, May 4 Replying to supplementaries in the Rajya Sabha during question hour, Mr Patil said since it was also a law and order problem, the government was bound to use force. Thus, a multi-pronged approach was being adopted to deal with the Naxal problem, he informed the Elders. The minister said a non-governmental organisation had also been given the job of studying the various aspects of the problem and suggest ways to bring the Naxals to the mainstream of society. He said Rs 25 lakh had been provided to the NGO for the work. The Home Minister did not agree with a suggestion that the government should use more force to tackle the problem. He said the Constitution did not permit the Union Government to send forces to any state without a request in this regard. Moreover, already 23 battalions of Central forces had been
deployed in Naxal-hit states, he said. |
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Probe ordered into ropeway incident
Mussoorie, May 4 The incident in which a major mishap was averted due to the timely intervention of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police commandos, scared hordes of tourists away from the ropeway. Mussoorie Municipal Board Chairman Man Mohan Singh Mall has ordered a probe into the incident. The technical aspect of the inquiry would be looked into by the IIT Roorkee. The municipal board team would carry out the probe into the administrative lapses that might have led to the incident. Two trolleys carrying 24 tourists got stuck between the ropeway from Kutchery on the Mall Road to a popular tourist destination the Gun Hill after a shaft broke. |
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Another food scam detected
Lucknow, May 4 While the state’s Lokayukta is probing into the matter the Congress has demanded a CBI inquiry into twin food scam. In a memorandum to Governor TV Rajeswar, CLP leader Pramod Tiwari demanded a CBI probe into the reported irregularities regarding the selection of a liquor syndicate to supply the nutritious food for children and pregnant women in the state. Lokayukta Justice S.C. Verma while talking to The Tribune admitted that he was probing into the matter following a complaint received by him in February 2004. Unable to give a definite timeframe for submitting his report, he said if all records were furnished in time he could submit the report in a month’s time. Under the PMGY, the state government purchases amylase food meant for children and pregnant women from small-scale units. |
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Dismissed cop confesses to rape
Mumbai, May 4 The police today said More’s confessional statement was recorded and would be used before the court trying him. According to his statement, private security guards brought the 16-year-old victim and her boyfriend before More after they were found kissing and cuddling at Marine Drive. More then threatened to inform the girl’s parents about her dalliance at Marine Drive and raped her after scaring her, the police said. |
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Surjeet fully recovers, returns
home
New Delhi, May 4 “He is all right, but a little weak,” CPM leader Nilotpal Basu said. Mr Surjeet reached Delhi last night after he was discharged from hospital, said Mr Basu, who was rushed to Bangkok by the party to care for the 89-year-old leader. Mr Surjeet, who was replaced by Prakash Karat at the CPM Congress here recently, was on his way to Vietnam to attend the 30th anniversary of Vietnami victory over the occupying US forces.
— UNI Attack on Lalu’s car not inside hospital: report Ahmedabad, May 4 The directorate, in its report sent to the Vadodara police in connection with the alleged attack on Lalu Prasad’s car on April 21, said the glass of the rear side of the car was not broken within the hospital premises. The crime-scene report has been prepared after viewing several CDs containing the footage of the incident that occurred when the minister was visiting the injured passengers of the train accident at the SSG hospital, official sources said. The footage shows there was no damage to the car or the glass when the car left the hospital premises, according to the sources. — PTI
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Basu flays BJP for LS boycott
Kolkata, May 4 He appealed to President Kalam to persuade the BJP leadership to immediately call off their movement and attend Parliament. Mr Basu said though he could not advise the President on any issue, he should remind Mr L.K. Advani and others that they too had been chargesheeted while in power and had not resigned.
— OC Natwar writes to CM Raje on sanctuary neglect New Delhi, May 4 Mr Natwar Singh said: “ You are well aware that the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is a World Heritage Site, whose status is monitored by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee of which India is a member. For the past six months there have been both media reports and local feedback that the water supply to the sanctuary has virtually dried up. I understand that our Ambassador/Permanent Representative to UNESCO has also writen to you in this regard.” — TNS
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Another member of akademi resigns New Delhi, May 4 The septuagenerian dancer sent his resignation letter to Union Culture Minister S. Jaipal Reddy expressing his resentment over the developments which he said was “affecting his work and disturbing him”. With this, the total number of resignations from the akademi had rose to 13. Confirming his resignation, the Chennai-based dancer said: “I am not happy with what is going on. As an artiste I have many things to do. But, the developments are affecting my work.” — PTI
Kalam dedicates ISRO’s launch pad to nation Sriharikota, May 4 India’s exclusive satellite for cartographic operations — CARTOSAT-1 — and the micro-satellite for the benefit of amateur radio operators — HAMSAT — would be launched by the PSLV-C6 from the SLP tomorrow and it would be witnessed by Dr Kalam. — UNI
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Solar energy illuminates 32 villages
Bhopal, May 4 This has changed the social life in these villages. The school going children are now able to study in the night as the worry of parents to arrange for kerosene is over. The Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam, has under the Usha Kiran Yojana, set up solar photovoltaic cells and street lights in these rural habitations, which remained without electricity due to “odd of geographical circumstances”. The cost of installing solar photovoltaic light system in a village is around Rs 3 lakh. The Centre gives 50 per cent of the installation cost and the state government shares 40 per cent. The remaining 10 per cent comes from MLAs’
and MPs’ local area development fund. |
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