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CBI chargesheets PGI doctor
CPM warns UPA govt on Iran issue
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States, UTs to finalise BPL list
CISF may be deployed at places of worship
Chinese representative to meet PM today
BJP fears revival of terrorism in Punjab BJP clears 18 names for RS poll Cong urges UP Governor to scrutinise Bill
Exemption for ‘emigration check’ to Thailand goes
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CBI chargesheets PGI doctor
New Delhi, March 10 The chargesheet was filed against Professor Dhaliwal and Sat Pal Singla, owner of a chemist shop, in Sector 11, Chandigarh, in a CBI designated court in Chandigarh under several sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, a CBI spokesperson said here today. The probe agency had registered a case against the surgeon in May, 2003, alleging that he conspired with two chemists of Chandigarh in the purchase of artificial heart valves and other accessories at exorbitant rates and profits was shared between the doctor and the chemists. Investigations revealed that the doctor conducted 324 operations during 1994-2001. Voluminous records of these operations were scrutinised and 38 cases with glaring irregularities shortlisted. The investigations further revealed that the doctor had entered into “criminal conspiracy with the two chemists separately, procured heart valves directly from them and charged excessive amounts from patients”. As per the CBI, many of the patients were either government servants or from poor families whose treatment had been funded by the government. During the course of investigations, a dairy was seized from one of the chemists which he had been maintaining on a daily basis. In this diary, the chemist was entering details about the actual amount for which the valve had been purchased, inflated amount charged from the patient and the amount shared with the doctor out of this extra profit. A statement of the chemist was also recorded by the Judicial Magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC stating details about the “illegal amount of Rs 15,02,000 paid by him to the doctor during 1994 to 2001. It was revealed that the doctor had received the amount through four cheques from the chemist, himself filled in the pay-in slips and deposited them in his account. Regarding the alleged nexus of the surgeon with another chemist in Sector 11, Chandigarh, the CBI said its investigations further established that the surgeon would send a requisition for the supply of heart valves through the Medical Superintendent office of the PGI, which would specify the patient’s name and the price of the heart valve. But while a cheaper brand of artificial heart valve was implanted, the bill was charged for expensive imported valve like St Jude, Omni Science, Star Edward, etc. In certain instances, the surgeon charged for two heart valves but implanted one and as per the probe agency. At times, Dr Dhaliwal charged for a valve without even conducting any operation and that too after the death of the patient. It was also found that the doctor himself made certain additions and alterations in various documents of the hospital and patients. |
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CPM warns UPA govt on Iran issue
New Delhi, March 10 The party’s General Secretary Prakash Karat termed the Indo-US nuclear deal as a departure from the National Common Minimum Programme, which forms the basis for the Left allies to extend outside support to the Congress-led coalition government at the Centre. The strongly worded statement and signed article comes at a time when the CPM’s highest decision-making body is meeting in the Capital to finalise the party’s plans in the forthcoming assembly polls and the strategy to be adopted in the coming days. “We have deliberately spoilt relations with Iran jeopardising much needed energy supplies. Our independent foreign policy has been compromised,” the CPM polit bureau said in a harshly worded statement. The Left party said it is indeed unfortunate and regrettable, that the UPA government by voting with the US, EU-3 and others in the February Board meeting has been party to the Iran issue going to the Security Council. The Prime Minister’s statement to Parliament was notable for the omission that the issue should be settled within the framework of the IAEA. There was not a word that the matter should not be referred to the Security Council, it said. The IAEA Board meeting has resulted in the Iran nuclear issue being shifted to the UN Security Council. With the report of the Director General being forwarded to the Council, the matter is now outside the ambit of the IAEA. |
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States, UTs to finalise BPL list
New Delhi, March 10 “It is expected that with the completion of this exercise all eligible poor people will get included in the BPL list and ineligible will get excluded,” Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said in a statement in Parliament. To ensure transparency in the process of finalising the BPL list, instructions have been issued to obtain the approval of the Gram Sabha to display the draft BPL list at the Panchayat headquarters or at a prominent place in the village, he said. States have now been asked to provide a two-stage appeal mechanism so that people could file objections to the Tehsildar, SDM or District Collector regarding their ranking in the BPL list. He said the survey work was completed, but the final list was not brought out because the Supreme Court directed the Centre not to insist on state governments deleting any name from the then existing BPL list. |
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CISF may be deployed at places of worship
New Delhi, March 10 “We cannot provide security to all temples and other religious places across the country. We will have to examine whether it will be feasible to deploy the CISF in some important places of worship,” Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil told newspersons on the sidelines of CISF’s 37th raising day celebrations here. He was responding to a question on whether the Centre is likely to deploy the CISF for securing important temples against terror strike. In this context, Mr Patil pointed out that other para-military forces along with local police are already guarding some of the important and sensitive places of worship. At the moment the CISF is mandated to provide security to the Centre or state owned vital installations like nuclear plants, space centres, oil refineries, monuments, besides airports, PSUs and some VIPs. Though the CISF has not yet been deployed for the security of any place of worship, the organisation has provided security consultancy for the Tirupati Devastmam Board in Andhra Pradesh.
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Chinese representative to meet PM today
New Delhi, March 10 After this, he will hold the next round of Special Representative level talks with his India counterpart, Mr M. K. Narayanan, the Ministry of External Affairs said today. Meanwhile, India has contributed $ 2 million to the new Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the Ministry of External Affairs said today. The announcement was made by Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr Anand Sharma, at a high-level meeting held at the United Nations in New York yesterday to formally launch the fund. CERF was approved by the General Assembly in December 2005. It has been set up to provide a more predictable and timely response to humanitarian emergencies.
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BJP fears revival of terrorism in Punjab New Delhi, March 10 “We will like to warn the government against this kind of votebank politics,” BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said. “Punjab is peaceful for the past 15 years, but the Congress regime there had again started nefarious design of creating a wedge between the Hindus and Sikhs to win election in the state,” Mr Malhotra alleged. Referring to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s visit to Canada and Pakistan, where he was reportedly welcomed by Khalistani protagonists, Mr Malhotra said, “the Congress should desist from such acts which could propel separatists.” He dubbed the arrest of self-styled Khalistani ideologue Jagjit Singh Chohan by the Punjab Government and then sending him to hospital an eyewash. Instead of dealing with the ISI menace and maintain tranquillity in the state, the government itself had indulged in dividing the communities for its ulterior motives, Mr Malhotra alleged.
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BJP clears 18 names for RS poll New Delhi, March 10 Ms Swaraj and former Union Sports Minister Vikram Verma would be fielded by the party from Madhya Pradesh, while Mr Katiyar and former state unit chief Kalraj Mishra have been named for the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. Mr Jaitley has been nominated from Gujarat, party General Secretary Pramod Mahajan told newspersons. Party vice-president Apte is being fielded from Maharashtra, while Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha S.S. Ahluwalia is nominated from Jharkhand, Mr Mahajan added. Mr Gopalji Vyas (Chhattisgarh), Mr Narayan Singh Kesari (SC) and Mr Anusuya Uikey (ST), both from Madhya Pradesh, were the other three names cleared during the two-hour-long meeting chaired by party President Rajnath Singh. The meeting, attended among others by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Leaders of Opposition L K Advani and Jaswant Singh, also decided on the names of Mr Ashok Dhawan and Mr Ram Naresh Rawat (SC) for the election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. At the second round of the party’s Central election committee meeting, Mr Jaitley and spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad were renominated to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat and Bihar, respectively. Others, whose names were cleared were Mr Rudra Narayan Pany and Mr Bhagirathi Majhi from Orissa, Mr K.B. Shanappa from Karnataka, Mr K.L. Valmiki and Mr Ram Das Agrawal from Rajasthan and Mr Vijay Bhai Roopani and Mr Kanji Bhai Patel from Gujarat. The BJP meeting also cleared names of 60 candidates for the first phase of Assam Assembly elections. The party is talking to its alliance partners in Karnataka and Bihar.
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Cong urges UP Governor to scrutinise Bill New Delhi, March 10 Party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters that the move, coming in the wake of the Election Commission’s recommendation to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for the disqualification of Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha member Jaya Bachchan for holding an office of profit, was tantamount to pre-empting decision by the highest constitutional authority. Pointing out that the President had forwarded a similar complaint against another SP member of Rajya Sabha, Mr Amar Singh, to the EC, Mr Singhvi took exception to the move to provide retrospective effect to the Bill. |
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Exemption for ‘emigration check’ to Thailand goes
New Delhi, March 10 A notification to this effect was issued by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs last evening. Accordingly, Indian citizens desiring to visit Thailand and having ‘emigration check required’ stamp on their passports are advised that they must get a clearance from the nearest office of the Protector of Emigrants which are located at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin, Hyderabad and Chandigarh before their departure to airport. |
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