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45 pc cast vote during phase 2
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NCERT submits new syllabi to Arjun
12 die in
UP blast SC shifts seer’s
case to Pondicherry
SC seeks details from Patna HC in Lalu case
Raja relieved at regaining ancestral estate Army asked to
stand by, rain toll 82 IT not essential, but vital sector: CPM
Post-poll violence: 7 of family killed in Baghpat
Pact on satellite link with 53 nations today Bank fined for opening Telgi’s account
Mamta begins indefinite agitation
Jaiprakash seeks pre-arrest bail
Nirmal Verma cremated
Obituary
Accused in Bilkis rape
case dies
Heavy firing in Imphal East
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45 pc cast vote during phase 2
Patna, October 26 A man, mistaken for a booth-grabber, was shot dead and another was injured by the security forces while there were sporadic clashes at a few places. Bihar Chief Electoral Officer N.K. Sinha said the voter turnout was between 40 and 45 per cent. Political heavyweights whose electoral fate was sealed in electronic voting machines include former Chief Minister Rabri Devi of the RJD (Raghopur) and Bihar PCC president and former Speaker Sadanand Singh (Kahalgaon). A host of ministers in the erstwhile Rabri Devi government also contested in this phase. Official sources said a “mentally unsound” priest, Pappu Singh, was shot dead when he pointed a toy pistol at a BSF contingent posted at booth No. 45 in the Raghopur constituency. Vaishali District Magistrate-cum-District Election Officer Sanjeev Hans has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. Bablu Mahto, a member of the notorious Ashok Mahto gang, was injured in firing by Central paramilitary forces to quell a gunbattle between armed supporters of rival
candidates at a polling station at Barsa in the Sheikhpura constituency. Former RJD minister and party candidate from Bochaha Ramai Ram was detained and later released for moving around in a convoy of four vehicles with supporters during the poll, official sources said. Samajwadi Party nominee from Pranpur Mohammed Razzaq was arrested for violation of the model code of conduct, the sources said. There were reports of minor clashes between supporters of rival candidates at two polling stations in the Munger seat where an Assistant
Sub-Inspector of the Punjab Police was suspended for being drunk on duty. Election Commission’s Special Adviser K.J. Rao, who was hopping from one constituency to another in an IAF helicopter reviewing the poll, cancelled polling at three booths in Munger on a complaint that polling agents of all rival parties were forced to leave by supporters of a particular one. There were reports of boycott of elections at three booth in the Bhagalpur constituency, one in Vaishali, one in Manihari and two in the Pranpur Assembly constituencies on local issues, while polling was boycotted at two booths in Raghopur against the killing of the priest. Meanwhile, while congratulating the Election Commission for ensuring a free, fair and largely peaceful second phase of elections in 62 Assembly constituencies in Bihar, the NDA today called for repoll in more than 45 booths spread over 13 constituencies. “We are satisfied with the arrangements made by the commission for the second phase of elections but at the same time we request the commission to deploy Central paramilitary forces at all booths in the next two rounds of poll,” JD(U) national spokesman Shambhu Nath Srivastava and BJP leader Navin Kishore Prasad Sinha said. A report from New Delhi said the Lok Janshakti Party today complained to the Election Commission about bogus voting and tampering with electronic voting machines in three poll booths of the Mahnar Assembly constituency in Bihar during the second phase of poll and demanded immediated remedial measures. LJP spokesman R.G. James in a petition to Chief Election Commissioner B.B. Tondon alleged that in booth numbers 140 and 141 of Mahnar Assembly constituency, the presiding officers had “permitted bogus men to cast their votes without any electoral identity cards or any other requisite proof.”
— PTI, UNI |
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Hung House, says exit poll
New Delhi, October 26 Zee News exit poll gave 110 seats to the JD(U)-BJP combine, 83 to the RJD-led alliance and 20 to LJP, besides a sizeable 30 to others. The exit poll on Star News predicted 115 seats for the NDA and 85 for the UPA. The LJP, headed by Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, was unlikely to repeat its show of 29 seats and end up with 15. Others are expected to get 28 seats as per the survey.
— PTI |
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NCERT submits new syllabi to Arjun
New Delhi, October 26 A monitoring committee appointed by the Ministry of HRD, co-chaired by Prof Mrinal Miri and Prof G.P. Deshpande, has approved the new syllabi. In a statement issued yesterday, the NCERT claimed that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was closely involved in the process of syllabus preparation and as recommended by the NCF, in the area of language teaching, the thrust was on creating meaningful contexts for language acquisition. “The approach to be followed for sound language teaching would treat languages as a tool to structure thought processes and to explore different realms of knowledge and imagination. The NCF recommends that the multilingual character of our society should be treated as a resource and school teaching should focus on what the child understands”, the NCERT put forth. In mathematics and natural sciences, the syllabi emphasises on reasoning and conceptual grasp at every stage. In primary mathematics, weightage has been provided to areas like shapes, spatial understanding, patterns, measurement and data handling. The new approach, it was mentioned, uses hands-on experience and utilisation of resources available in child’s environment. Emphasis on activity rather than rote memorisation of facts and formulae continues through all stages. A special attempt has been made to link the upper-primary and high school stages with the help of seven core themes initiated under environmental studies food, materials, the world of living beings, how moving things work, natural phenomena and natural resources. At the higher secondary stage, the syllabi aim at building a foundation for disciplinary rigour in the subjects a learner opts for. “In biology and other subjects, the new syllabi permit clear, sequential flow of concepts without jarring jumps. The use of biological discoveries in everyday life, including environment, industry, health, medicine and agriculture, has been included”. In social sciences, the thrust is on activities and projects, which would help learners to understand society and its institutions, change and development. At the upper primary level, subjects like history and geography provide inputs to the child’s grasp of socio-economic and political institutions and impart to children the ability to probe and explore. At the secondary level, greater emphasis has been given to thematic study with an eye on disciplines through which social science perspectives have evolved. It was pointed out that the “new textbooks based on these syllabi will equip children with the cognitive means to study evidence and data so that they can make sense of issues and debates facing society”. The NCERT will bring out the textbooks based on the new syllabi in three phases. The first phase will begin in April 2006, covering Classes I, III, VI, VIII, IX and XI. Phase two, beginning April 2007, will cover Classes II, IV, VII, X and XII. The final or third phase will cover Classes V and VIII in 2008. For a wider dissemination, the new syllabi will be placed on NCERT’s website www.ncert.nic.in later this week. Syllabi for art education, however, is yet to be announced.
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Kanpur, October 26 According to DIG Mukul Goel, the explosion occurred in a two-storey building, inhabited by 18 families, mostly belonging to the minority community. The blast was so powerful that the ceiling collapsed and the building caved in, he said. — UNI
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SC shifts seer’s
case to Pondicherry New Delhi, October 26 However, this also came as a solace to the Tamil Nadu Government which itself had suggested the name of Pondicherry if the apex court came to the conclusion that the trial needed to be shifted out of the state as it had opposed transfer to Andhra Pradesh. It had cited common Tamil language as the major advantage of shifting the case to Pondicherry. Allowing Shankaracharya’s plea, a Bench of Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti and Mr Justice G.P. Mathur said the case would be transferred to Pondicherry’s Principal Sessions Judge, who would hold the trial either himself or assign it to some other judge. The case was being heard by the Principal Sessions Judge, Chenglepet, near Kanchipuram. Shankaracharya’s counsel Fali S. Nariman had suggested names of Chittoor, Nellore, Cuddapah and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh for shifting of the case, which the court did not consider fit due to language problem. Apart from this, Pondicherry is the closest place outside Tamil Nadu from Kanchipuram from where a majority of the 370 witnesses have to travel for deposition in the court. The Bench said it had “no hesitation in holding that Shankaracharya and other co-accused have a reasonable apprehension that they will not get justice in Tamil Nadu.” The court, however, clarified that shifting of the case would not mean “casting any reflection” on the district judiciary of Tamil Nadu, but it was the “action of the prosecuting agency and the state machinery, which are responsible for creating a reasonable apprehension in the mind of the petitioner and other accused that they will not get justice.” “In our opinion, while directing transfer of a criminal case the language spoken by witnesses assumes great importance as translation of deposition of witnesses apart form being a difficult job, often does not carry the same sense which they want to convey,” the Bench observed. The order came as a major relief to Shankaracharya, junior pontiff Vijayendra Sarsawati who were charged with plotting the murder of Sankararaman, a local temple official in Kanchipuram for his alleged defamation campaign against the seer. There are over a dozen other accused in the case.
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SC seeks details from Patna HC in Lalu case
New Delhi, October 26 Since the High Court had issued orders on May 18 for promotion of a total of 14 judges, including Mr Prasad, whose name allegedly was not in the original list, a Bench of Mr Justice S N Variava, Mr Justice A R Lakshmanan and Mr Justice S H Kapadia directed the Registrar General of the High Court to remain personally present on December 6 along with the documents. The Bihar Government had posted Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Muni Lal Paswan as Special CBI Judge to hold trial in the fodder scam case against Mr Lalu Prasad and other accused with concurrent approval of the High Court, which had also processed the promotion of 14 judges simultaneously. This was challenged in a PIL in the apex court on the ground that Yogendra Prasad’s name did not figure in the original list and was included at the last movement with an aim to 'ease' him out as he was not considered 'convenient' to the Railway Minister. After perusing the records, submitted by the High Court administration earlier, the apex court found some gaps in the entire promotion process and sought details whether the annual confidential report (ACR) of Mr Paswan was taken into account by the High Court administration, particularly after his elevation to the level of ASJ in Febraury 2002. In view of this the court sought his ACR, remarks of concerned district judges about the gradation of 14 ASJs for promotion and their previous and current places of posting. The court further sought to know whether the particulars of these judges were placed before 'Full Court' of the Patna High Court or a committee of judges which had considered the matter and whether the committee had taken also into account their particulars. The direction came on a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging that Mr Lalu Prasad after becoming the Minister in the UPA Government had been making every attempt to interfere with the judicial process in the fodder scam cases against him, disproportionate assets and income tax cases jointly against him and his wife Ms Rabri Devi. |
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Raja relieved at regaining ancestral estate Lucknow, October 26 Sitting in a book-lined study in his 'kothi' in the Qaiserbagh heritage zone here, he is interrupted by a series of phone calls. He attends every single one of them personally and answers most courteously. Gathering his thoughts, he continues, "I am sad as all my elders - my mother, uncle and aunts who had seen me struggling have passed away. There is no one left to share this historical moment". The Raja, popularly known as Suleiman, is an occasional professor of astrophysics at Imperial College, London, and Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge University and from where he had earlier done his mathematical tripos. He recounts the hardships the family underwent, especially after 1965. "They had suffered enormously -- physically, emotionally and mentally. But every single one of them bore it with utmost dignity and grace. Such matters were discussed only within the family". He is not sure what his victory is worth. Spread over Lucknow, Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri and Barabanki districts in UP and Nainital in Uttaranchal, the estate includes the majestic Butler Palace which houses the premises of the Indian Council for Philosophical Research in Lucknow and the fashionable Hotel Metropol in Nainital. Sharing his predicament, he says, "All the properties are in a state of neglect and completely mismanaged. In most cases they have passed on to third or fourth line of owners. So now the process of getting it sorted out will start. My friends had warned me that it was a can of worms. But I felt that it was a can worth opening ". Now after years of struggle, he feels happy that his unshakable faith in the democratic and secular spirit of the country has been vindicated. More than anything what has brought him immense satisfaction is the principle that the case has established beyond question - restoring the fair name of the family. For years the anguish of "defending enemy property" had clearly hurt him. "The late Raja of Mahmudabad Raja, Amir Ahmad Khan, was a worthy member of the long line of Maharajas of Mahmudabad. The family took part in the uprising of 1857 for which it was punished with confiscation of a large part of its estate". This is how Indira Gandhi had to say about his father in 1984 in a book entitled 'The Life and Times of Raja Saheb of Mahmudabad' by Syed Ishtiaq Hussian. His great great grandfather Raja Nawab Ali Khan-Muqeem ud Daula's contribution to the first war of independence is recorded even in Surendranath Sen's official history of the uprising brought out by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry during the centenary year in 1957. His grandfather was the first Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, an institution he helped set up. "My family contributed so much to the country -- Lucknow University, King George Medical College, Amir Daula Library and so many premier educational institutions. In fact, my great grandfather set up a school in Mahmudabad way back in 1885. And here I was struggling year after year to fight a mindset which saw us as traitors", says the visibly relieved Raja.
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Army asked to stand by, rain toll 82 Chennai/Bangalore, October 26 The incessant rains that damaged bridges and roads and inundated many areas had claimed 82 lives — 56 in Tamil Nadu in the past two weeks and 26 in Karnataka in the last four days. Karnataka sought Army’s help in Mysore, Chamrajnagar, Kolar, Mandya, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore Urban and Hassan districts, which bore the brunt of the rain fury. In Tamil Nadu, the assistance of the men in olive green was requisitioned to fill breaches in Cauvery River in Tiruchirapalli district. Eleven districts bordering Cauvery River had been affected not only by pouring rains but also by floods. The help of Army’s Madras Engineering Group was sought to stop seepage of water in the river, Tiruchirapalli Collector K Nanda Kishore said. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and her Karnataka counterpart Dharam Singh held extensive discussions with top officials of their states on the flood situation. Meanwhile, the depression in the South-West Bay of Bengal lay centred at 500-km South-East of Chennai and was likely to intensify further and move in Northwesterly direction, weather office said. Under its influence, rains or thundershowers are likely in most places in coastal Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and south coastal Andhra in the next 48 hours. — PTI
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IT not essential, but vital sector: CPM New Delhi, October 26 Karat, to please the trade union section of the Polit Bureau members and party cadre, said IT sector was not an essential service but a “vital” one, where all trade union rights should be applicable including collective bargaining. At the conclusion of its two-day meeting here, he said, “The question is there are certain services, which have continuous nature of operations. Some of them fall in vital services category, but not essential services. Of course, some of the IT firms or BPOs may by connected with essential services.” He said a comprehensive note would be prepared by the Polit Bureau on the nature of work, rights to employment and working conditions and placed before the central committee, which would meet here in mid-December. “Even in West Bengal, the IT sector falls under the public service utility and the workers have to give a 15-day notice for going on strike,” Karat said. To specific questions on the right to strike for IT workers, Karat said the trade unions were “Free to organise the employees, undertake collective bargain and resort to strikes, only if necessary...like in power or water supply, which are essential services, the services are not interrupted”. On the Election Commission’s direction to remove the names of those declared, “absconding,” Karat said the poll panel had resorted to certain “extraordinary” measures, which was “disturbing.” “This is no way to fight criminalisation of politics. There is a due process of law. Under trials, including those in jails, as well as convicts, have their names on the voters’ list. They may not be allowed to exercise their franchise, but they have the right,” CPM General Secretary said. Stating that the party would raise these issues with the poll panel soon, he said the recent EC decision to delete from voters list the names of persons against whom non-bailable warrants exist or were absconding was “questionable”. On the role of Central election observers in the recent Asansol byelections, he alleged some of them “acted in a manner, which is outside their jurisdiction by interfering in executive and police functions. Some of these actions have raised questions about partisanship.”
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Post-poll violence: 7 of family killed in Baghpat
Lucknow, October 26 Old rivalry was stated to be the reason behind the crime, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Meerut Range) R.K. Vishwakarma told UNI on the phone. The rivalry had come to the fore following the recent Zila and kshetra panchayat poll, Mr Vishwakarma added. The details of the incident were yet to be received but preliminary reports said the decesaed included a couple, identified as Vikram and his wife, he added. SP (Baghpat) Ashok Kumar Tyagi has rushed to the spot to assess the situation. A named FIR had been lodged with the Chaprauli police station, Mr Vishwakarma said. RAE BARELI: District Magistrate Jitendra Kumar and Superintendent of Police B.D. Paulson sustained wounds in brick-batting and arsoning in Deeh town here after the counting of votes for the panchayat poll got over last night. The DM sustained injuries on his head and was given first-aid at the district hospital. He later proceeded on leave. Mr Paulson told UNI today that the trouble started following rumours of bungling in the counting of votes. Former Uttar Pradesh Youth Congress president R.P. Singh and his supporters, numbering about 150, indulged in stone-pelting and arson, the SP added. The miscreants also fired several rounds from countrymade pistols. “The police opened 15-20 rounds of fire in the air to disperse the unruly mob, which was later chased away by the police.” At least, two other cops were wounded in stone-pelting. Meanwhile, the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and police had been deployed in Deeh, where the situation was reported to be normal. An FIR under Sections 147, 148 and 149, IPC, had been lodged against Mr Singh, his brother and son, and supporters at the Deeh police station. Mr Singh, his brother and son had been arrested and the search was on for the remaining accused.
— UNI |
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Pact on satellite link with 53 nations today New Delhi, October 26 The project is a demonstration of India’s intentions for engaging itself in people-oriented projects in Africa, a continent which is vital for India’s long-term strategic interests, including New Delhi’s ambition to gain a berth in the United Nations Security Council as permanent member. To be called the Pan-African Network Project, this initiative will be operational within one year the PMO announced today. Under the project, every Presidential office of all 53 African countries will be provided with a VSAT that connects to the Pan-African Network Hub and the Africans Heads of state/government can use this facility to work on tasks together. The network will provide four simultaneous point-to-point video conferencing sessions at a time. The UPA government gave a green signal to this project yesterday at a meeting of the Trade and Economic Relations Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A Memorandum of Understanding to this effect will be signed tomorrow noon at Hyderabad House by Ms Shashi Tripathi, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs and Dr Bernard Zoba, African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure.
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Bank fined for opening Telgi’s account Indore, October 26 The bank’s Y N Road branch here had not completed the formalities regarding introduction and scrutiny of the customers required to be fulfilled before opening the account. Telgi had opened the account in 2000, bank sources said. The RBI imposed the fine under Section 47 (A) 1 B of the Bank Regulation Act 1949, the sources added. The police had registered a case against Telgi and his accomplice here for selling fake stamps through a firm. — UNI
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Mamta begins indefinite agitation
Kolkata, October 26 Ms Banerjee invited Left Front partners like the CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc to come forward and join her in their agitation against the CPM. She asked the State Congress leaders and workers to participate in her movement for dislodging the CPM. But several parties like the BJP, SP, Jharkhand Party, NCP, Sanjukta Janata Party, PDS (the dissident group of the CPM and Naxalites had already joined this new front.
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Jaiprakash seeks pre-arrest bail
Jamui (Bihar), October 26 Yadav’s counsel Ramlakhan Tiwari moved the court of District and Sessions Judge of Jamui Subhash Kumar Singh seeking anticipatory bail which was posted for hearing tomorrow. Jamui Superintendent of Police Arvind Kumar told PTI that he had written to his counterparts in all 38 districts of Bihar alerting them to arrest Yadav and four others, including his brother, if they were sighted in their jurisdiction. Non-bailable arrest warrants were issued on Monday against Yadav, Prakash, the suspended officer in charge of Khaira police station Mukteshwar Prasad, independent candidate Ashok Ram and RJD worker Batohi Yadav in connection with Prakash’s escape from the police custody after his arrest during the first phase of elections on October 18. Pleading for Yadav’s bail his counsel said as his client was a respectable member of the society and a union minister, he was unlikely to jump bail. In his petition, Yadav charged the police with “malafide and bias” in dragging his name in the release of his brother “under a conspiracy.” The application of Section 490 of the IPC (criminal breach of trust by a public servant) was an “afterthought and a well-hatched conspiracy,” his counsel claimed. Vijay Prakash was arrested with a rifle, ammunition, a detonator, Rs 6.68 lakh in cash and liquor bottles during the polling in Jamui on October 18.
— PTI |
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Nirmal Verma cremated
New Delhi, October 26 A large number of people, including Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and several noted writers, journalists and cultural activists, attended his cremation at the Lodhi crematorium here. The funeral pyre was lit by Gagan Gill who had been living with Nirmal Verma for a long time. Verma, who had been keeping ill for quite some time, had died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here last night. He was 76. The Sahitya Akademy, the All India Progressive Writers Association, The Janwadi Lekhak Sangh and the Jan Sanskriti Manch besides former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit have expressed deep grief over his death. Litterateurs Vishnu Prabhakar, Rajendra Yadav, Namwar Singh, Ashok Bajpai, Dr Gopichand Narang and K Sachhidanand and a number of other figures associated with art and letters have described Verma’s death as an irreparable loss to the Indian literature.
— UNI |
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Pioneer of ‘Nai Kahani’
Nirupama Dutt Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 26 After doing his masters in history from Delhi University, Nirmal studied Czech at the Oriental Institute in Prague and this experience was later written out in a remarkable novella called ‘Veh Din’. His other novels included ‘Ek Chitharha Sukh’ and ‘Raat ka Reporter’. Once when this reporter asked him to name his favourite novel, his reply was: “I think I like ‘Raat ka Reporter’ the most.” Interestingly, this novel probed the dark world of a night reporter. However, it was his anthology of short stories, ‘Kavve aur Kaala Paani’ that brought him the Sahitya Akademi award in 1985. Ironically, he had to share the Jnanpith Award with Punjabi fiction writer Gurdial Singh. It happened so that the Left-wing jurists could not bear it that their blue-eyed Nirmal who had started as a Communist should turn to probing the spiritual in his latter works. Nirmal’s rise to fiction happened along with other stalwarts in the field like Mohan Rakesh, Krishan Baldev Vaid and Kamleshwar. However, Nirmal could carve a special place for himself and he remained a favourite with the generation that came of age in the sixties for he had brought a very contemporary sensibility into his works. He was a master craftsman when it came to language and he carried the reader along with him ever so gently. Some charged him for being influenced by western fiction. However, this influence worked to his advantage and a whole new area of thought opened in Hindi literature. Besides fiction, he penned criticism, travelogues and personal prose. As a person he was of a gentle and persue sort. He had few detractors and more admirers. After his first marriage fell apart he married a young poet of Hindi, Gagan Gill, who is older sister to singer Rabbi. Gagan was by his side during his illness and he also has a daughter by his first marriage. Nirmal has passed through the ‘Antim Aranya’ or the last forest but he has left remarkable works that he gathered along the way.
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Accused in Bilkis rape
case dies
Mumbai, October 26 According to a medical report filed before the special CBI court probing the case here, Mordiya succumbed to prolonged illness at JJ Hospital on Sunday. The report filed before special judge U D Salvi stated that Mordiya, 40, was suffering from tuberculosis and was admitted to JJ Hospital. Mordiya’s relatives arrived in Mumbai on Monday for the accused’s last rites. Mordiya’s brother Pradeep is also an accused in the case. |
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Heavy firing in Imphal East
Emphal, October 26 Acting on a tip-off, Army personnel went to the Barak circle area near Jiribam, about 222 km west of here, on October 24 to track down insurgents of the Manipur People’s Army (MPA), armed wing of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the sources said. |
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