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Kin want DNA tests of charred bodies
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Angry relatives mob PM at hospital
New Delhi, October 30 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was today mobbed by relatives of the serial blasts victims at Safdarjung Hospital this evening and complained that they were not being allowed to meet their kin for hours.
17 detainees escape from jail
Train mishap traced to removal of tank sluice
Repealing POTA was a mistake: BJP
Swedish MPs back India’s claim
Sanjay Dutt surrenders Porche
Brinda Karat lashes out at RSS
Divali as a tool to woo voters
Inadequate police to guard Patna
Girls sell at Rs 500 in Bihar villages
Eradicate AIDS, polio: Bachchan
Mars was like red ruby today
Seven held for obscenity
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Kin want DNA tests of charred bodies
New Delhi, October 30 “He had gone to Sarojini Nagar at about the time of the blasts but did not return or call me. His car is still standing at the market,” she says between sobs. She has visited all hospitals that received the dead and injured, but is yet to locate her husband. A relative of Preeti says they saw two badly charred bodies which could have been that of Atul’s. “We want DNA tests to be done as soon as possible but neither the doctors nor the police are telling us how to go about it,” he says. Preeti is not alone in her predicament as she is among hundreds of anxious people on the look out for their kin who cannot be traced after the blasts tore through the Sarojini Nagar and Paharganj markets yesterday. With many bodies charred beyond recognition, the doctors say only DNA tests may be able to identify the dead. The tests can be done only if no claimants come forward or the bodies are disputed, the police says. At the mortuary, the scene is even more disturbing with many laying claim to the same bodies. Relatives of an Air Force Sergeant who died in the explosion have laid claim to the body of a boy which had been identified last night as that of somebody else’s son. For Apurba Sharma, a tourist from Assam, the trauma has become almost unbearable as he has no friends here to lend a shoulder. He has identified two bodies as those of his four-year-old daughter and eight-year-old niece. For their part, the hospital authorities say they are doing all they can to help those searching for their missing kin. “We have put up lists of the injured being treated here and there are help-desks too,” says a doctor. The Civil Defence has also stepped into the scene to help relatives, establishing a help-desk and helplines. Meanwhile, Delhi Lt-Governor B.L. Joshi today expressed satisfaction with the treatment being provided to patients of the blasts here, but relatives of some of them almost gheraoed him, claiming that they were not being allowed to meet their kin. After interacting with some of the 41 patients undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital, he said good care was being taken of the injured.
— PTI |
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Angry relatives mob PM at hospital
New Delhi, October 30 Dr Manmohan Singh, who drove to the hospital located a few kilometres from his residence, promised them that the government would provide assistance for the treatment of the injured. “We wish to assure all patients, their relatives and our countrymen that the government will do everything possible to restore them to their normal health. Expenses in getting treatment are not a consideration. Human lives are important,” he said. However, some angry relatives shouted slogans against the Prime Minister as he began walking towards his car after addressing the media, complaining that the ward had been turned into a “fortress” and they were not allowed to meet their kin for hours. He then walked back towards them and assured all help. Accompanied by Union Health Minister A Ramadoss, Dr Manmohan Singh visited the burns ward where the injured had been admitted.
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Delhi blasts: prisoners observe fast
Coimbatore, October 30 The prisoners, after informing the jail authorities about their agitation, refused to take food in the morning, afternoon and also in the evening.
— PTI |
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Foreign tourists unperturbed
New Delhi, October 30 Foreigners in good numbers were seen moving freely doing shopping and in a jovial mood at the Paharganj main market today, a day after the explosions. “No, we are not scared. We love India, Indian people. We are going ahead with our plans to see the country,” Moy, an Israeli tourist, said. His view was echoed by other foreigners who said the explosions did not dampen their spirits. “We are quite used to this in our country. We are not afraid of anything,”
Anat from Israel said.
— PTI |
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Red alert in Kolkata
Kolkata, October 30 Recently, the police had arrested two terrorists, Seikh Siraj and Nasir Ali, from the Tiljala area. They had been found collecting funds in the name of the
Al-Quida Pacific International (AQPI) and distributing Osama’s leaflets carrying his messages.
Siraj admitted to the police that he belonged to Harkat-ul-Jehad-e- Islami
(HUJI) and was now collecting funds on behalf of the AQPI which had been recruiting young men and women in Bangladesh, Nepal and India for joining them. |
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Guru Granth Sahib has universal message: PM
New Delhi, October 30 The Prime Minister also released a translation of Guru Granth Sahib in German, done by Dr Jarnail Singh of Canada. He was presented the 2 book “108 Blossoms for Guru Granth Garden”, by Swami Veda Bharati, which has also been translated into Spanish. Mr Jaipal Reddy, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Culture, was among the notable speakers who included Dr Amrik Singh, former Vice-Chancellor, Punjabi University Patiala, and Dr
J.S. Neki, who read out the “theme paper” in which he spelt out the doctrines of “nam” and
“prem”. Mr T.N. Chaturvedi, Governor of Karnataka, Dr Kapila
Vatsayan, Dr Nirmala Deshpande, MP, DGPC president, Mr Paramjit Singh Sarna, and Minorities Commission Chairman, Mr Tarlochan Singh, were present at the function that marked the beginning of the two-day seminar that has been organised by the Bhai Vir Singh Sahit Sadan, in collaboration with the Department of Culture. Dr Mohinder Singh, Director of the Sadan said this was the culmination of a year-long effort at the regional level, in which seminars were held at Pune, Varanasi, Amritsar, Kolkata and Madurai. The inaugural session was followed by the first academic session, From Adi Granth to Guru Eternal, chaired by Dr Swami Veda Bharati and Mrs Anita Singh. Dr W. Owen Cole spoke on Guru Granth Sahib Among World Scriptures, and Dr Neki on Unity of Minds as Envisioned by the Sikh Gurus. The other papers that were presented were Guru Granth Sahib as Guru Eternal (by Dr Balwant Singh Dhillon), Egalitarian Order in Guru Granth Sahib (by Dr Rajesh Gill) and World View of Guru Granth Sahib (by Swami
Swaroopananda). The scholars present on the occasion included Prof Kazi Nurul Islam, Giani Gurdit Singh, Dr Azizun Nahar Islam, Dr Darshan Singh, Dr B. S. Rattan, Dr Abraham Karickam and Dr Shrivatsa Goswami. Mr Tahir Mahmood, Chairman, National Commission for Religious and Lingustic Minorities was also present among the
700-odd-participants who included scholars from the USA, UK, Canada, Hungary, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Three sessions have been scheduled for Monday, which will be the second and concluding day of the seminar. |
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17 detainees escape from jail
Kohima, October 30 Official sources said the detainees, mostly suspected Bangladeshi infiltrators, had been detained for non-possession of inner line permit to visit Nagaland. The in charge of the detention cell and two constables, who were on duty at night, said they had locked the door of the cell after visiting it last night. However, later when they went off to sleep, the detainees broke open the lock and escaped through the main gate. Meanwhile, Dimapur Superintendent of Police Bidu Shekhar has ordered a one-man enquiry to probe the incident.
— UNI |
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Train mishap traced to removal of tank sluice
Valigonda (AP), October 30 District Additional Superintendent of Police (Operations) Vishwa Prasad said the people of Golnepally village had removed the sluice of the tank, which received water from upstream tanks and copious rains, fearing that their village would get submerged if the water level increased in the tank. Stating that the tank was located nearly 1 km away from the railway track which was washed away in the flash floods, Mr Prasad said the people had removed the sluice of the tank causing heavy pressure on the tank and a breach resulting in flash floods. He said 200 Army personnel were carrying out rescue operations at the spot to retrieve bodies and remove the damaged coaches. Meanwhile, South Central Railway (SCR) General Manager Thomas Verghese said 111 bodies were retrieved from the spot. He said 111 bodies, 60 from the coaches and 51 from flood waters, had been retrieved so far. Besides an ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh, the Railway Tribunal would pay Rs 4 lakh to the families of those killed in the accident, he said. Stating that 15 Navy divers from Visakhapatnam were carrying out search operations, Mr Verghese said rescue teams had retrieved all bodies from the coaches.
— UNI |
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Repealing POTA was a mistake: BJP
New Delhi, October 30 “Repeal of POTA has sent encouraging signals to terrorists. How else would so many lives be lost in the national Capital during a tightened security period?” asked BJP general secretary and spokesman Arun Jaitley emerging from the hour-long meeting. He told reporters that “the ability of terrorists to strike at will in the national Capital, particularly when security is normally tightened during festival seasons, is a cause for worry.” Asked whether the blasts would affect Indo-Pak relations, he said: “In our dialogue with the neighbouring country, the need to further re-emphasise dismantling of terrorist infrastructures has been highlighted by yesterday’s incident.” “The Prime Minister is right when he says that terrorism will never defeat India. But will India defeat terrorism. India is concerned at the huge loss of lives at the hands of the terrorists. If India has to defeat terrorism, it cannot be by words alone. “Our national resolve to fight terror must be apparent in our action and policy,” Mr Jaitley said. |
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Swedish MPs back India’s claim
Lucknow, October 30 Heading the four-member delegation of Swedish parliament, Risdagen, on a 10-day visit to the country, MP Lennart Hedquist said here that India was a natural claimant to
permanent membership of the Security Council. “The rapid strides made by India in the sphere of development bolstered India’s candidature for the permanent seat on the UN body,” Mr Hedquist maintained. Condemning yesterday’s serial blasts that rocked New Delhi, Mr Hedquist and fellow MPs Bjorn Hamilton, Patrik Norindar and Henrik Westman termed it
against human and social values and called upon the global community to uproot terrorism.
— UNI |
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Sanjay Dutt surrenders Porche
Mumbai, October 30 Mr Khan said here that he had surrendered the vehicle on behalf of Sanjay Dutt, who was abroad in Tanzania for shooting. The vehicle was imported by Vacation Tours and Travels, Delhi, under a scheme that allowed tour operators and exporters to buy such vehicles at concessional rates of duty. Under the rules importers are not allowed to sell the vehicles for a period of five years. The DRI is questioning the officials of Vacation Tours and Travels and other companies for allegedly selling such vehicles immediately after import in violation of the import conditions. |
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Brinda Karat lashes out at RSS
Patna, October 30 Talking to mediapersons here today, Mrs Karat branded the RSS as a force detrimental to development, which, according to her, only believed in dictatorship. She also sought to defend her party’s decision to have seat adjustments with the RJD-led SDF in Bihar which still did not have any agenda on “land reforms” to usher in development in the state in the name of combatting the RSS. Mrs Karat said , “Nobody knows it better than Mr Advani now the threat posed by the RSS to the country, and my party would oppose tooth and nail any attempt by the RSS to capture power in Bihar by banking on the JD(U).” She also charged the BJP with failing to have its own independent agenda bypassing the RSS. However, she categorically stated that her party’s support to the SDF was not unconditional and the electoral adjustment was limited to seat-sharing only. “By seat adjustment with the RJD we are not compromising with development. But, we feel that secularism and development are inter-linked. Our basic objective now is to combat RSS’s effort to capture power here by using the JD(U) and the BJP,” she added. Mrs Karat claimed that the CPM was fighting the elections in Bihar on its own agenda of land reforms and related agricultural development. It would closely monitor the implementation of pro-people measures, like it was doing at the Centre, in the event the SDF formed the next government in the state. She also ruled out the possibility of joining any possible RJD-led government if the people voted in favour of secularism. Like the RSS, Mrs Karat also called the Muslim league as “communal” which, too, was detrimental to development and democratic values. Mrs Karat, without naming the CPI and other Left forces like the RSP and the Forward Bloc, made a dig at them for not taking lessons from the past that any split in secular votes would benefit the RSS as was the case in the February poll. She also differed with Mr Ram Vilas Paswan’s stand to fight separately. |
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Divali as a tool to woo voters
Patna, October 30 If some of the sweet shops in Duck Bunglow road, Danapur and Kankarbag areas are to be believed, voters in Patna are likely going to receive unexpected gifts from political parties this Divali. "The same trend continues in district towns too," said a shop owner Brijmohan Singh at Danapur who only yesterday delivered over 500 packets of sweets to a leader from
Madhepura. There is a strict model code of conduct in force that prohibits political parties from wooing the voter in any way. Divali is therefore proving to be a godsend excuse to offer gifts to their electorate. A sweets shop owner near Duck Bunglow said that he has been selling sweets in packets with “lantern” printed on them. Large numbers of these packets were being collected by white
kurta-clad men, reportedly to be distributed as gifts. Mukesh Agarwal, another sweets shop owner in Kankarbagh area had pictures of “lotus” printed on his sweets packets. One shop owner in Rajendranagar was selling candles designed like the 'tri-colour' while another sold 'lotus shaped
diyas'. A stall owner near Patna received a huge order of fire crackers to be packed in gift boxes. The state BJP leader Kiran Khei and the RJD leader Sanjay Paswan, both said they were unaware about such lantern or lotus printed packets. Party workers cutting across political lines, however, said if companies can offer gifts to attract customers during Divali, what is wrong with us doing it. With very few days of active campaigning left before the third phase of polling on November 13, political parties perhaps can not afford to treat Divali only as a celebration of lights. |
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Inadequate police to guard Patna
Patna, October 30 "The police force in Patna is presently half of its strength as the rest are busy on election duties,” said senior SP, Patna, Mr Kundan Krishnan. The state administration has decided to restrict the entry to the “Bihar Bay” at Patna airport which was generally used for impromptu press conferences. "We have taken this decision as part of security measures in the wake of the blast as this may pose a security threat to the VIPs”, said a senior official of the airport. Unchecked entry into the “Bihar Bay” could amount to a security breach. State Home Commissioner H.C. Sirohi said that notices have already been sent to all Divisional Commissioners, IGs, SPs alerting them and asking them to take precautionary measures to avoid any untoward incident. |
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Girls sell at Rs 500 in Bihar villages
Patna, October 30 The girl, a resident of a village near Buxarh district in Bihar, escaped from the hideout of the gang in UP yesterday and lodged an FIR with the police today. District police officials said the girl was sold out by his father to the gang in the absence of his husband. Both parents and in-laws of the girl are poor and earn their livelihood somehow through various means. The police officials also admitted that the exposure by the girl brought to the light the fact that the gang took advantage of the poverty of the people residing in the area to trade on the minor girls. Police sources, on condition of anonymity, stated that the village at Buxarh was not a case in isolation as such incidents were reported from some other areas too in the past as people there by and large were bogged down by poverty being deprived of any development. The revelation of the selling of minor girls at Rs 500 comes at a time when almost all major political parties, cutting across political lines, are spending heavily to hire helicopters to reach out to these poor people in the villages to campaign for the ongoing poll. Rest aside the normal campaign route by roads and other related expenditure on election materials, there were at least 15 choppers, which were used by almost all political parties to tour the state for election coverage in the first and second phase. Bihar is being treated by the Centre in the “special category” in terms of underdevelopment. In the February poll, too, there were at least 20 helicopters which were pressed into service by different parties spending crores on them. But the escape of the minor married girl from Buxarh, who was sold for Rs 500 on the eve of Divali, only made the shocking revelation that the true “festival of light” was still a distant dream for them. |
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Eradicate AIDS, polio: Bachchan
Mumbai, October 30 "It is the duty of the people everywhere to work for the eradication of these diseases", Bachchan said at a function organised by UNICEF at Film City in Goregaon, where he met HIV-affected children. Bachchan, who is goodwill ambassador of UNICEF, also shot 30 and 60-second TV capsules targeted at the domestic and the global audience for the
eradication of the diseases. The children later tied `suraksha band' on his wrist.
— PTI |
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Mars was like red ruby today
Chennai, October 30 In a rare phenomenon, the red planet, which was in the constellation of Taurus, came to a distance of about 69 million km from the Earth, making it visible with naked eye. ‘’It will take several years for Mars to appear this bright again,’’ scientists said. The Birla planetarium here made elaborate arrangements for the public to view the rare spectacle.
— UNI |
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Seven held for obscenity
Mumbai, October 30 The police held the bar waitresses and the manager after sending a punter in the guise of a customer. They were later released on a personal bond of Rs 1,200
each. — PTI |
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