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Prime accused in Phoolan murder
India welcomes restoration of democracy |
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Pathak probe limps without crucial documents
JD (U) leader, 6 others gunned down
HAL asks airlines not to augment flights at Bangalore
Sonia’s short speeches fail to make impact
Setback for Lalu in disproportionate assets case
Parties rally as campaigning ends in Bengal
NCW seeks Bihar Govt report on sati incident
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Prime accused in Phoolan murder case arrested
New Delhi, April 25 He was arrested from the Dharamtalla area of Kolkata last evening, said Delhi Police Commissioner K.K. Paul. Briefing mediapersons, Dr Paul said a satellite phone and a passport in the name of Sanjay Gupta were recovered from Rana at the time of his arrest. A 15-member team of special cell sleuths and the Uttaranchal police traced Rana to Kolkata a few days back, where he had gone to get his visa extended. Rana was staying at Hotel Blue Moon in Kolkata, where he was staying under the assumed name of an Assistant Commissioner of Delhi police, Dr Paul said. Since his escape on February 17, 2004, Rana had visited Moradabad, Ranchi, Kolkata and Khulna (Bangladesh). His pursuit for relics of Rajput king Prithviraj Chauhan had taken him to Ghazni in Afghanistan, where he reached via Dubai, Dr Paul said. Since his escape, Rana had been receiving financial aid from alleged criminal Subhash Thakur, Dr Paul added. Rana was first arrested in Dehra Dun on July 27, 2001, two days after the murder of Phoolan Devi, then a Samajwadi Party MP. After his escape, Rana stayed at a hotel near Moradabad, where Rs 1 lakh was delivered to him by Sandeep who, dressing up as a police constable, had brought Rana out of Tihar on a fake transfer order. Rana then went to Ranchi, where he got a passport in the name of Sanjay Gupta made. He also met Mahesh Rai, alias Subhash Thakur, an alleged gangster, in the Benaras jail. He got a visa for Bangladesh and stayed in Khulna. From Bangladesh, he visited Dubai en route to Ghazni. “We have been tracking him for over two years and missed him by a whisker on several occasions”, said an officer involved in the chase. Rana’s jailbreak had led to suspension of the then Deputy Jail Superintendent and others for dereliction of duty. Rana’s brother and another accomplice visited the jail at 6:55 am on February 17, 2004, presented a fake transfer order to produce Rana in a Hardwar court and made good their escape by 7:05 am. The jail authorities realised their folly after 40 minutes, when Rana had already crossed the borders of Delhi. Phoolan was shot in front of the gate of her house at 44, Ashoka Road, on July 25, 2001, as she was returning home from Parliament. Rana, who was arrested in Dehra Dun by the Uttaranchal police two days later, had told reporters then that he killed Phoolan to avenge the 1981 Behmai massacre of 21 upper caste men perpetrated by her.
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India welcomes restoration of democracy in Nepal New Delhi, April 25 A special meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA), called by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee to take stock of the developments in Nepal, maintained that the revival of Parliament and the installation of a new government was a victory for the people of Nepal. India also offered unstinted support to the people of Nepal, stating that it has always stood by them in their struggle for the restoration of their democratic rights. The statement was, however, silent about the King’s role in the new dispensation. This appears to be a conscious decision as India would not like to say anything which could give the impression that it supports the monarch. “We await the convening of the revived House of Representatives and the installation of the new government as indicated by the Seven-Party Alliance (SPA),” the statement added. Speaking to media persons after the CCPA meeting, Mr Mukherjee refused to comment on this key omission. He was also unwilling to say anything on the resumption of arms supplies to Nepal. “Let the new government be formed. Let there be peace, prosperity and development first,” he stated, adding that a decision on this could be taken only if the new government makes such a request. However official sources maintained that India is preparing an economic package to help revive Nepal’s economy even as Kathmandu named veteran leader G.P. Koirala as its next Prime Minister and began preparations for the installation of a new government. New Delhi believes that the economic situation poses the biggest challenge and is waiting to move in with its offer of financial assistance once the new government is in place. India is now making all-out efforts to reach out to the SPA, which had spearheaded the pro-democracy campaign, to correct the widely-held impression that New Delhi was supporting the monarchy. This was particularly so after India welcomed the King’s first offer to transfer power to political parties, which was subsequently rejected by the SPA. India immediately became suspect in the eyes of the the pro-democracy groups, who felt that New Delhi was trying to drive a wedge between the political parties and the Maoists. India was forced to issue a clarification, reiterating its support for the democratic aspirations of the people of Nepal.
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Vajpayee, Rajnath
hail Koirala as PM New Delhi, April 25 Party stalwart and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and BJP President Rajnath Singh in separate letters to Mr Koirala welcomed the move. While Mr Vajpayee was the first to react soon after the announcement was made and shot off a letter addressing Mr Koirala as "Prime Minister of Nepal", the party president hailed the decision expressing the hope that the democracy in the Himalayan Kingdom would function effectively braving "all the challenges posed by the Maoist elements." Mr Vajpayee said the seven party alliance had a historic role to play in building "a new Nepal which was on the crossroads and take a fundamental shift from its past and maintain a sense of continuity under the experienced leadership of Mr Koirala for achieving a lasting peace and stability for a prosperous future." Former Union Minister and party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad referring to the statement of former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh criticising the government led by his own party for "masterly inaction" in Nepal, said he could only comment that India's response was "ad hoc and shifting." "The response (of the Congress-led UPA Government) stemmed from its reluctance to view the problem and the challenges posed to Indian security concerns. The people of Nepal are sovereign to decide their own course but we believe that India should view the problem keeping its own security perceptions in mind. "The Maoist elements in Nepal were not ready to confine their activities within their territory but wanted to establish a red-corridor in alliance with naxals active in India," he said.
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Pathak probe limps without crucial documents
New Delhi, April 25 The Justice R.S. Pathak Inquiry Authority is investigating suspect deals of Indians named in the UN-appointed Paul Volcker report, that said individuals and companies around the world had given kickbacks to the Saddam Hussein regime against oil vouchers that they traded with international companies. Knowledgeable sources close to Justice Pathak said despite several reminders and with five crucial months gone by, only a clutch of documents relating to the Enforcement Directorate investigation had been handed to him. “It is upsetting that papers and documents relating to the investigation have not been given. The commission’s recommendations will be made public only after it receives all original documents”, said a source close to the former Judge, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Enforcement Directorate Director Sudhir Nath had apparently met Justice Pathak only once since the commission was constituted in November last year. Officials in the Enforcement Directorate, when queried, refused to comment. The Iraqi scandal claimed External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh, who had to quit Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Cabinet after his name figured in the report, as one of the beneficiaries of the corruption scandal. The Indian envoy to Croatia, Aneil Mathrani, also had to go after he was found to have visited Iraq along with K. Natwar Singh, his son Jagat Singh and his business associate as part of a Congress delegation. Appointed for six months, Justice Pathak, a former Supreme Court Chief Justice, is expected to give his opinion on the authenticity and reliability of the sources, material and documents examined by Paul Volcker and on whether the transactions in oil were genuine
or not. The probe panel, which works out of the Vigyan Bhavan annexe, took a while getting off the ground because of the time involved in inducting staff and lawyers. Not having all original documents relating to the Enforcement Directorate investigation against some of the alleged beneficiaries as well as documents procured by special envoy Virendra Dayal from the UN on the Volcker report delayed the commission’s public hearings. Justice Pathak’s office sent notices on March 14 to K. Natwar Singh and 17 others for alleged involvement in the Iraqi scandal. The notices sought information on whether any of them had details pertaining to contracts bearing number M/9/54 (K. Natwar Singh) and number M/10/57 (Congress), both named as beneficiaries in the Volcker report. Among those who were issued notices were Mathrani, who had accompanied K. Natwar Singh to Iraq in 2001, Andaleeb Sehgal, a friend of Natwar’s son Jagat Singh, who allegedly received oil coupons, Jamil Zaidi, a former Rajasthan Youth Congress president, Vipin Khanna, a businessman, P. Shiv Shankar, a former Central minister, and A.R. Antulay, currently Minority Affairs Minister. The replies they had given in affidavits to the judicial inquiry were evasive and not backed by documentation. For instance, Mathrani, who alleged in a magazine interview that Jagat Singh and his cousin Sehgal were in a Congress delegation to Iraq in 2001 and could have been beneficiaries of the oil coupons given out by the then Iraqi regime, said in his reply that he had no documentation to back what he said. The replies of other Congress functionaries had also been found ambiguous, with some respondents replying that they had already given all the relevant material to the Enforcement
Directorate. The Pathak probe had initially hoped that all relevant documentation would be handed to it instead of to the Enforcement Directorate. But Justice Pathak, the sources said, was not deterred by the non-cooperation of the Enforcement Directorate. “The commission’s tenure may be coming to an end next month. But even if its term is extended, the findings of Justice Pathak will not be influenced by other probes”, said the source.
— IANS |
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JD (U) leader, 6 others gunned down Patna, April 25 The police said that heavily armed Naxalites ambushed the convoy of Madanpur block JD(U) president Ashok Singh near Devjada village in the district around 11 pm when he was returning after campaigning for Zila Parishad election. Singh was a candidate in the election. The underground rebels sprayed bullets at Singh’s vehicle leading to a fierce exchange of fire for about an hour in which the seven were killed. The number of injured was
not known. The Naxalites also set ablaze the vehicle of Mr Singh, who was currently the mukhiya (panchayat head) of Ghodadihri panchayat. DGP Ashish Ranjan Sinha said that senior civil and police officials of the district have rushed to site of the incident and a manhunt was on to nab the culprits. The Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi along with his two Cabinet colleagues have reached Aurangabad to make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation. The state government
announced compensation of Rs 1 Lakh to each of the victim and a job to one family member. Mr Nitish Kumar, who was busy for campaigning for Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee and the BJP for the ongoing Assembly polls in West Bengal, was apprised of the brutal massacre.
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HAL asks airlines not to augment flights at Bangalore
Bangalore, April 25 The move is likely to severely hamper new aviation companies, which are keen to make their presence felt in Bangalore as well as augment their carrier capacity. The airport handles around 300 landings and takeoffs every day at present. HAL’s decision, which has been conveyed to the Director General of Civil Aviation, means the airport will have to continue with its present carrier capacity for at least three years till the new international airport comes up at Devanhalli, 40 km from the city. At present the city airport is registering a 20 to 25 per cent increase in air traffic every year. HAL has in its letter to the Director Civil Aviation claimed that it is not possible for it to continue to increase air traffic flowing in and out of the city. It has said presently the situation has become such that conflicts in air space are occurring every day, which itself is an indicator of unsafe airspace. It has said with the current level of saturation in air traffic the airport management is not in a position to accept any addition in the flight strength. The public sector company has even asked airlines to reduce flights during peak hours voluntarily. This request has been made keeping in view safety norms due to the continuing reduction in time between taking off and landing of various aircraft on the airport tarmac. The company has also claimed that it has to cater to its own needs also. HAL Chairman Ashok K. Baweja said the airport was being used by it for its own flying and testing needs. He said in recent years the pressure on the airport had increased manifold due to the sharp increase in international as well as domestic services. Cargo loads to and from the airport had also gone up sharply in the past five years after the city had become a hub for information technology and IT enabled services, he added.
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Sonia’s short speeches fail to make impact
Pondicherry, April 25 The Congress government headed by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy is now seeking a fresh mandate in alliance with the DMK, PMK and CPI. While she asked the people to vote for Congress in this Union Territory, she sought a mandate for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu. She said, “The UPA government has fulfilled many of its promises and in the same way, the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance, if elected, will fulfill all its promises and the needs of all sections of people of Tamil Nadu.” Though she spoke only for few minutes, her meetings drew huge crowds. Stressing the one point that the DMK has made the highlight of its campaign, Ms Gandhi referred to the poll promises made by the DMK to sell a kilo of rice for two rupees and give a free colour television set to each poor household. Ms Gandhi said, “In less than two years in office, the government had introduced many new laws including one to ensure the right to information, one to curb domestic violence and a constitutional amendment to provide reservation in private educational institutions for scheduled castes, tribes and other backward classes” She said that in the same way, the DMK would also fulfill its promises if voted to power in Tamil Nadu. The UPA regime had declared Tamil a classical language and started work on the Sethusamudram Ship Canal project in pursuance of poll promises. Heaping praises on DMK President M. Karunanidhi she said that he was one of the architects of the UPA government at the Centre, and the architect of the DPA in Tamil Nadu, and stressed that the DMK regime would look after the interests of the farmers, weavers, workers and other sections of society. Ms Gandhi hit out at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and described her party as autocratic and oriented towards one person rule. She appealed to the voters, “Once again, we seek a mandate to continue our work and bring forward schemes for farmers, women, youth, fishermen and weavers.”
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Setback for Lalu in disproportionate assets case
Patna, April 25 A few days before the marriage of his third daughter, Chanda, in Delhi on April 29, Mr Lalu Yadav suffered a setback yesterday with the Supreme Court rejecting his plea to allow the disproportionate assets case trial to continue under a special judge, whose appointment had been questioned. The Supreme Court’s verdict was in connection with the PIL filed by Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Modi and state JD (U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alleging that the appointment of the special judge, Mr Munilal Paswan, last year to hear the disproportionate assets case was with mala fide intention. Despite the efforts of Mr Lalu Yadav’s defence counsel, senior lawyer and former BJP leader Ram Jethmalani to convince the court to retain the same judge appointed last year, a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Balkrishnan favoured the appointment of a new judge by the Patna High Court to hear the case afresh. The court would hear Mr Jethmalani’s view on this issue in the first week of May. On his part, Mr Lalu Yadav dubbed the PIL as “politically motivated” to grab power in the state. |
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Parties rally as campaigning ends in Bengal
Kolkata, April 25 Earlier, addressing the meet the press at Calcutta Press Club, Ms Banerjee claimed that both Congress and TMC workers had jointly campaigned against the CPM at the grassroots level, defying the AICC’s directive, as they felt it was the will of the people. She said she was not an astrologer but was sure that the tide was in favour of anti-Left parties. On the other hand, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Left Front chairman Biman Bose expressed confidence that the Left Front would win the elections. Addressing a rally in the Ballygune area this afternoon, the Chief Minister elaborated the plans for the seventh Left Front government in the state, which would include several new and young faces. Today being the last day of campaigning for elections to Kolkata and North 24-parganas and South 24-parganas, all political parties stepped up their campaign with ministers, MPs and MLAs moving from door-to-door asking for votes. |
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NCW seeks Bihar Govt report on sati incident
New Delhi, April 25 According to news reports, the woman, identified as Sita Devi, jumped into the funeral pyre of her husband, Sugreev Prasad. While villagers said that Sita Devi had committed ‘Sati’, her sons are reported to have told local mediapersons that nobody forced her to commit suicide. In a letter to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the NCW Chairperson Girija Vyas has asked the state government to ascertain the veracity of the facts and submit a report within 10 days.
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