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32 boys working on foreign ships
Sex scam: SC pulls up J&K Bar for statement |
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Assembly election results to decide presidential poll
PM to review internal security today
Air-India passengers stranded
Abu Salem wants to contest poll
CID zeroes in on 2 BJP corporators
100 land in hospital after Jagjit Singh show
Former CM Sinha dead
Bihar to focus on Indo-Nepal border issue
Vande Mataram singing not to be mandatory in Bihar
Singing Vande Mataram against faith: Muslim clerics
Protest over studio privatisation
Temporary passports for stranded Indians
in Iraq Rs 100 cr narcotics seized, 2 held
2 more female foetuses found
Sunil Shetty unhurt in mishap
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32 boys working on foreign ships go missing
New Delhi, September 4 However, due to flaws in the Merchant Shipping Act, the Indian authorities have been unable to take any action in this regard, alleged the distraught parents of some boys. “We have got information from parents of 32 Indian boys during the past nine months, who have died under mysterious circumstances on foreign ships. We have brought this to the notice of the Union Home Ministry and Shipping Ministry but without any result,” Mr Zaheer Zaidi, president, Hasan Marine Foundation, told The Tribune today. The Hasan Marine Foundation has been set up for fighting such cases. It has alleged that hundreds of Indian youths were killed on foreign ships, and thrown in sea by mafia for not cooperating with them. Mr Zaidi also lost his son, Hasan Zaheer, a BITS Pilani engineering graduate working for MSC Carmen, a Swiss ship registered in Panama on October 12 last year on the ship. He has not got the body so far, though the company told the parents that the boy had committed suicide. Mr Zaidi has set up the Foundation in his memory. Another boy Gautam Malik from Gurgaon and Nitesh Kumar from Purnia in Bihar lost their lives on merchant ships on October 9 and 13 last year. Mr Zaidi alleged that 10 boys went missing on December 23 last year on Jupiter Ship that was coming from Africa to India for ship breaking. “Not in a single case have the parents got bodies so far, though the matter has been raised with Parliament members and the government from time to time,” he said. Members of the Foundation, along with relatives of boy Subodh Tiwari, a 24-year-old oil marine engineer, who was allegedly killed on ship on July 23 this year, today staged a dharna at the Jantar Mantar near Parliament. In a letter written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, parents of victims said, “The government can save lives of hundreds of Indian boys, who have become victims of the international mafia working for the smuggling of narcotics from Afghanistan to Europe and Africa, besides human organs, through amendment in the Merchant Shipping Act, 1953.” “Like in other countries, a provision should be made in the Act that ships flying with foreign flags would be held accountable in the case of death reports of any Indian crew and criminal proceedings could be initiated against them in Indian courts,”said Mr Zaidi. Under the present Act, there is a provision that a foreign ship could be detained if the goods transported by the Indian government or Indian citizens were damaged in any part of the world by its staff. Relating fate of similar cases in other countries, the Foundation pointed out that recently Fuejera Court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) set an example by sentencing the captain and crew members of a ship for killing a seaman in high seas although neither the vessel was registered in the UAE nor the crime was committed in the UAE territorial waters. The Foundation asked the Prime Minister if vessel and crew members could be arrested for claiming damages for loss of goods, why the Act could not be amended to save lives of seamen?
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Sex scam: SC pulls up J&K Bar for statement
New Delhi, September 4 The press statement of August 23 annexed by the CBI along with its petition and recorded in its order by a Bench of Chief Justice Y. K Sabharwal and Mr Justice C.K Thackker stated that the Bar would “show to the entire world the real face of India in Kashmir”. The Chief Justice told Bar Secretary A.R Jan, who argued on its behalf that “it is only in country like India that such assertions are made and heard. In no other democracy in the world would this be heard. Please keep politics away from judiciary.” “These type of issues should take a back seat,” the CJI said pointing out that the sex racket which exposed the exploitation of minor girls was a “social evil” and had to be dealt with accordingly. It should not be linked to politics in the manner in which the Bar had tried to do, the Bench said. The press statement was issued by the Bar to condemn CBI for allegedly not investigating the case properly and resolving to move the apex court. Its concluding paragraph, over which strong exception was taken by the CJI read “…by appearing in the case it (Bar) will expose politicians, bureaucrats, police officials, etc. who have sexually exploited teenaged girls of Kashmir, in the name of countering insurgency and show the entire world the real face of India in Kashmir.” When court specifically asked Bar’s counsel and its Secretary as to what was the basis of its allegations against the CBI that its top officers were withholding permission to the Investigating Officers (IO) not to go ahead against certain influential persons and who were those persons, he could not give a satisfactory reply. “Such assertion of the Bar Association counsel made in its affidavit (against CBI) as responsible officers of the court is responsible for these types of assumptions (against important institutions),” the court said. The court said if such unfounded charges were levelled against an institution then it would not only undermine its credibility in the eyes of public but would also not help in resolving the public cause in the name of which the allegations had been made. Following the strong observation against the Bar Association, its Secretary tendered an apology “I apologise for that… but there are certain things over which we also have no control”, he said without elaborating further.
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Assembly election results to decide presidential poll New Delhi, September 4 Although President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s term ends next July, political parties have begun taking a keen look at their respective strengths in the state assemblies to figure out who will be in a position to call the shots in the next election. The Congress is decidedly nervous as it is not certain if it will be able to place its nominee in Rashtrapati Bhavan given its present strength in Parliament and the state assemblies. Congress insiders fear they could be cornered in the event of an adverse electoral outcome in the next round of assembly elections, which appears highly probable at present, as this will further reduce its bargaining power. The Congress has 143 seats out of a total strength of 649 in the four states of UP, Uttaranchal, Punjab and Manipur where elections are due early next year. Having won 62 of the total 117 assembly seats in Punjab and 36 of the 70 seats in Uttaranchal, the Congress formed governments in both states. In Manipur, its tally stood at 20 in a House of 70 and in UP its numbers were reduced from 25 to 16 following a split in its legislative party. The Congress is in power in 14 states and though these include large states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, it does not have any other large state with it, which would have helped it in the vital numbers’ game. As a result, the Congress will be heavily dependent on its allies and supporting parties in deciding the next presidential nominee. The Left parties along with DMK’s M. Karunanidhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav as well as the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party will play a pivotal role in the presidential election which could queer the pitch for the Congress. Party strategists believe that if the Congress is to take the lead in the presidential race, it will have to hold on to its position in Punjab and Uttaranchal and push up its tally in the 402-member UP Assembly. In case, the Left parties are in a position to dictate terms, its nominee could well be Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee. Although it is still not clear whether the Congress will be in a position to call the shots, several party seniors have already started eyeing the presidential gaddi, chief among them being party veterans Karan Singh and N.D. Tiwari as well as Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. As a Dalit, Mr Shinde has strong credentials. Besides, he was also fielded for the Vice-President’s post last time although his defeat was a foregone conclusion. Last time, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party were left with litle choice but to support the BJP-led NDA’s nominee when the latter played the minority card and fielded Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for the top post.
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PM to review internal security today
New Delhi, September 4 Top on the agenda of the meeting, to be held at 7 Race Course Road, will be to devise a comprehensive plan to prevent and combat terrorism in the hinterland. There is growing concern in the security circle over the July 11 Mumbai bomb blasts, with finger of suspicion pointing at the involvement of Bangladeshi elements, and attacks in Varanasi, Bangalore, etc. The annual meeting on internal security is expected to be attended by all Chief Ministers except those of Tamil Nadu and Sikkim. Lieut-Governors of all UTs and Chief Minister of Pondicherry will also attend the meeting. The meeting will also deliberate on issues like tackling Naxal violence, which has seen an increase in many states of the country. The increase in violence, especially in Chhattisgarh and Orissa, is a major area of concern for the government. The meeting, being held close on the heels of a meeting with the Chief Ministers of 13 Naxalite-hit states to augment security, is likely to discuss the creation of a separate police force to effectively deal with the problems of terrorism and Naxalism, as suggested by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam last week. The meeting is expected to come out with measures to strengthen intelligence gathering relating to terrorist activities. It will also discuss steps to sensitise the security forces, particularly the police, to take intelligence inputs seriously so that terror strikes can be prevented in time. The meeting will also discuss the situation in the North-East where many insurgent groups like ULFA and the NSCN are active. The Centre is holding talks with many of these militant groups to convince them to shun violence and join the mainstream. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir will also come up for discussion.
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BJP presses for action plan
New Delhi, September 4 Accusing the ruling UPA of failing to extract a firm commitment from Pakistan over cross-border terrorism, the BJP also demanded that the government make public full contents of all its formal and informal talks with Islamabad.
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Kalam advocates functional autonomy for varsities
Chennai, September 4 The university, with its inherent strength in research and teaching, has taken pioneering steps in establishing a virtual university system in India. While inaugurating the 150th year Foundation Day celebrations of the University of Madras here, Dr Kalam said the country was moving towards a knowledge era. He said: “It is essential for the state government to integrate all other universities of the state to become partners in the extension of the virtual university.” With a view to promoting excellence and innovation, Dr Kalam said universities should be empowered with adequate functional autonomy to help higher education system generate the required human capital for the knowledge era. “By imparting integrated education, students would have a different way of thinking, learning and doing, resulting in a different way of life,” he added. “The university is traditionally known for scientific research and teaching. This has to be consolidated and expanded research areas must be linked to the priorities of the state and the nation.” He exhorted the university to sow the seeds of capacity building among students. “The university will have to continuously innovate making use of modern technology,” he added. Dr Kalam said in the midst of all the technological innovation and revolutions, one could not think that the role of teachers would diminish. “In fact teacher’s role will become even more important and the whole world of education will become teacher-assisted.” The virtual university created between Universities of Madras, Mumbai and Kolkata was a good step forward in this direction. Stating that the country was facing a major challenge of uplifting 220 million people living below the poverty line, he said they needed habitat, food, health care, education and employment resulting in a good life. He suggested five areas — agriculture and food processing, education and healthcare, infrastructure, information and communication technology, self-reliance in strategic sectors — for integrated action to achieve the mission of transforming the country into a developed nation. Meanwhile, speaking at the function Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said the issue of 27 per cent reservation for OBCs was akin to Mahabharata war and said like Arjun, who won the epic war, this Arjun, candidly (referring to Arjun Singh) will also win the battle.
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Bomb hoax delays Kalam’s plane Chennai, September 4 The sources said the caller rang up the St Thomas Mount Police Control Room saying that a bomb had been planted in the plane of the Tamil Nadu Governor. But since there was no special plane for the Governor and the President’s special aircraft was scheduled to leave here, the authorities took no chances and checked all the baggages and other materials that were on the IAF plane after unloading them. The thorough search of the plane was on well past midnight. — PTI
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President, PM greet nation on Onam
New Delhi, September 4 In his address, Dr Kalam said: “On the auspicious occasion of Onam, I extend my greetings and good wishes to all my people living in India and abroad. Festivals are occasions for celebrations and for sharing joy and happiness with neighbours and those who are in need. May this year’s Onam, the festival of harvest, brings peace, happiness and prosperity among our people.” The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, his message said: “Onam heralds the beginning of the harvest season and reaffirms the secular traditions of the people of Kerala. The festival is an opportunity to celebrate the spirit of unity and brotherhood that underpins our national fabric.”
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Air-India passengers stranded
New Delhi, September 4 The delay has been further compounded by the lack of availability of an alternate aircraft as Air India’s fleet has been “fully deployed”. Efforts to transfer passengers on to other carriers have also proved unsuccessful as this is the peak season for westbound travellers and there was no excess capacity. A relief Boeing 747-400 aircraft, would now be flown in from Mumbai to carry the 290 passengers to their destinations. However, the time of departure of this relief flight has not yet been finalised due to the “curfew time” at the airports in these destinations. The flight is expected to take off from the destination only in the early hours of Tuesday to reach here to take the passengers home. Air India officials here said that all efforts were made from every source to procure the spare parts, but they were not available. The compatible parts have not been available, sources here said. The flight, AI-137, scheduled for departure on Saturday, was delayed due to the malfunctioning of its weather radar. There has been a problem persisting with the Air India aircrafts and as a result the airline has had to cancel the Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto flight and also slash its services to Chicago in the past few weeks. The cancellations incidentally have been taking place during the peak travel season. Besides not being able to operate these aircraft, the airline has also been paying heavy amounts, running into crores of rupees for the lease charges for these three aircraft. While the leased Boeing 777 aircraft has been on ground since June this year due to the lack of a spare engine, the 737-800s were not being operated because of lack of pilots, sources said. A large number of pilots have left Air India as well as the Indian for greener pastures in the new airlines emerging in the country, affecting operations of the two carriers. As a result the airline has also had to take the services of foreign pilots on most of the routes abroad.
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Ragging lands MBBS student in hospital Pune, September 4 “Akhilesh Shukla, 17, hailing from Raipur, is on dialysis at Sassoon General Hospital here due to kidney malfunctioning caused by excessive sit-ups forced by a second-year MBBS student Nikhlesh Sahu,” Dean of the college, V.L. Yemul, said at a press conference here. Shukla was admitted to the hospital on August 30. “The anti-ragging committee of BJ Medical College, which probed the incident, has found Sahu prima facie responsible for the condition of Shukla. Therefore, besides suspension from the college, Sahu has also been removed from the hostel,” he added. “The college has handed over further investigation into the matter to the police, which has already registered an FIR. Whether or not to rusticate Sahu for indulging in ragging now depends on police investigation,” he said. The police has already taken the statement of the victim. — PTI
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Abu Salem wants to contest poll
Lucknow, September 4 The only hurdle between Abu Salem and his ambition to walk down the corridors of power is the permission of the court. The fast track court of Mumbai is trying him in eight cases, including Mumbai bomb blasts. According to his lawyer Harjot Singh, who today appeared before the Lucknow Bench of the High Court in connection with another case, declared that: “Abu Salem’s family in Azamgarh has been approached by the local people who now want the ‘son of the soil’ to prove his innocence in the people’s court. Even my client is keen to get a verdict from the people as he believes that he has been falsely implicated in the Mumbai blast case.” His lawyer admitted that soon they would be petitioning the Mumbai court to seek permission to contest the Uttar Pradesh election. According to another close associate of Abu Salem, Rashid Ansari, who had accompanied Harjot Singh to the court, some local parties have even offered their ticket to Abu Salem who holds a cult like status in the area. “However, Abu Salem has not decided on his party, as he may even contest as an Independent, subject of course, to the courts permission,” said Ansari.
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CID zeroes in on 2 BJP corporators
Ujjain/New Delhi, September 4 Those persons shortlisted by the CID for recording their statements were BJP corporators Sonu Gehlot and S N Chouhan, BJP leader Sanwar Patel, Bhalu Bhadoria, Hemant Dube, Rizwan Choudhry, Pankaj Mishra, Vishal Rajoria and Sudhir Yadav, official sources said. Two ABVP leaders Sashiranjan Akela and Vimal Tomar have already been arrested in connection with the incident. A local court sent Tomar to judicial custody till September 15 after his police remand expired. As the news of the CID deciding to question the two BJP corporators spread, a large number of party workers laid a seige of the Dewas police station in protest last night. Under attack for his remarks describing the death of Sabharwal as an “accident”, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met Governor Balram Jakhar today and apprised him of the progress in the CID investigations into the death of Sabharwal and the violence at Madhav college.
— PTI
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100 land in hospital after Jagjit Singh show
New Delhi, September 4 According to a late report received today, the public sector fertilizer major National Fertilizers Ltd, which has plants in Bathinda and Nangal had organised a function to celebrate its 33rd Foundation Day at Siri Fort auditorium on September 1. Although Union Chemicals and Fertlizers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan was the chief guest, but due to some reason he had to cancel the programme at the last moment. During the function, Jagjit Singh enthralled the audience with his ghazals and songs. In between the guests, which included company employees, their family members and retired employees, were served with sandwiches and other eatables by the staff of official caterer- A.S Rana of M/s Standard Sweet, out side the auditorium. Rana is an authorised caterer for Siri Fort, which functions under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Mr K.B Verma, Chief General Manager (HR) of the company, said, “Fortunately, Jagjit Singh and the Union Minister of State Mr Handique did not eat anything supplied by the caterer otherwise they would also have been in hospital today,” said Mr Verma. The company has complained to the police and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. A formal case has been registered against the caterer at the Hauz Khas police station, he added.
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Former CM Sinha dead
Patna, September 4 The ruling NDA has declared a two-day state mourning to pay respect to Sinha. A state holiday was also declared today following Sinha’s demise. Sinha, a seven-time Lok Sabha member, breathed his last at 7.40 am. He is survived by his wife former MP Kishori Sinha and son Nikhil Kumar, sitting MP from Aurangabad. Popularly known as “Chhote saheb”, he was ailing for the past few years and his condition had deteriorated ever since he suffered two strokes in May this year. Sinha, son of former Bihar strongman and minister, Anugrah Narain Sinha, was born at Koima village in Bihar’s Aurangabad district on July 12, 1917. Securing a bachelor’s degree from Allahabad University in 1939, he became a law graduate from Lucknow University in 1940. He became a member of the first Lok Sabha from Aurangabad in 1952 and represented the seat seven times. He was also a member of the Bihar Assembly thrice where he represented Nabinagar twice and Gopalganj once. Sinha’s crowning glory came when he became the Chief Minister of Bihar in 1989 in the aftermath of a revolt by state Congressmen against the incumbent Chief Minister Bhagwat Jha Azad for his “autocratic” style of functioning. However, the same year he saw a new low in the state and his impressive career when communal riots broke out at Bhagalpur in which over 1,000 persons were killed.
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Bihar to focus on Indo-Nepal border issue
Patna, September 4 Sources said with the resolve to fight terrorism and Naxalism to the hilt, the Prime Minister has convened the meeting to review the internal security situation in the aftermath of the 7/11 Mumbai serial blasts. The Chief Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, has already left for New Delhi to attend the meeting. Besides Bihar, the eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are two other states which share common borders with Nepal. Unlike other neighbouring countries, Nepal presently has a soft border treaty with India.
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Vande Mataram singing not to be mandatory in Bihar
Patna, September 4 State BJP president Radamohan Singh chose not to contest the stand of the Chief Minister to honour the “coalition ethics”. Mr Singh pointed out that since it was the NDA, and not the BJP’s, government in Bihar, the party would observe the centenary of the national song at organisational level. “Besides other parts of the state, we will sing the song at 50 different places in Patna alone,” he said. BJP national general secretary and party’s spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad, however, wondered the apparent dilemma that the Congress was faced with on the issue of whether to make it mandatory or not.
— TNS
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Singing Vande Mataram against faith: Muslim clerics
Mumbai, September 4 Cleric Syed Ather Ali said: “We are not against the national song. We understand its importance and sensitivity. But our faith doesn’t permit us to sing praises on anything except the almighty Allah.”
— UNI
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Protest over studio privatisation
Kolkata, September 4 Tollywood actors, directors and other technicians squatted in front of Chowringee Metro cinema near Esplanade station and held meetings criticising Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s decision to privatise the studio without consulting them. Film personalities, irrespective of their political affiliation, participated in the protest. The demonstration, which began during peak office hours around 10 in the morning and lasted till 3 p.m, drew large crowds in the busy Chowringee area affecting the flow of traffic on the Esplanade-BBD routes. Actor Saumitra
Chatterjee, who is also chairman of the state-owned Nandan Show house and the state film advisory and the film festival committee, director Sadwip Ray
(Satyajit Ray’s son), actors, Gita Dey, Sabitri Chatterjee and a host of other renowned film personalities took part in the demonstration. Earlier, they all took out a procession from the Tollygunge studio after suspending their shootings and squatted near Metro station gate at Esplanade. Prasenjit
Chatterjee, president, Bengal Film Technician’s Committee, and actor Ranjit
Mallick, said they would decide the future course of action after a meeting with the Chief Minister on September 6.
— TNS
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Temporary passports for stranded Indians
in Iraq
Hyderabad, September 4 The insurgents, who killed all three male members of the pilgrims’ group near the Shia holy city of Karbala, also took away their passports. According to Regional Passport Officer B. Bala Bhaskar, efforts are being made to bring back the women pilgrims, who were stranded after losing all their belongings, including money and the travel documents. However, it is not clear if the survivors, now in Karbala, want to return home immediately or continue with their planned trip to other shrines in Iraq and Islam’s holiest cites of Makkah and Madina in Saudi Arabia.
— IANS
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Rs 100 cr narcotics seized, 2 held New Delhi, September 4 The contraband—Ephedrine—was seized from near the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in the Okhla area of South Delhi. However, NCB officials refused to divulge the names and whereabouts of the arrested persons and details about the seizure saying “it would hamper further investigations in the case.” “We are looking out for couple of more persons in connection with the case and raids are continuing at several places,” a senior NCB official said here. Ephedrine is used for making amphitimine and ecstasy tablets, both costly drugs popular in south-east Asian and American countries commonly used in rave parties.
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2 more female foetuses found
Jaipur, September 4 Udaipur’s Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr M.S. Yadav has been sent on APO (Awaiting Posting Orders) after another female foetus was found near UIT bridge in the city yesterday. A boy was fishing in a lake near the bridge when his fishing rod got entangled with a female foetus floating in the water. The police took the foetus to Maharana Bhupal Hospital where a post mortem was conducted. The foetus was estimated to be 16-18 weeks old. Another six-month-old female foetus was found in Akola town in Chittorgarh district yesterday. The police has lodged a case.
— UNI
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SC refuses stay on probe against Andaleeb Sehgal
New Delhi, September 4 A Bench of Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Mr Justice
C.K. Thakker said since the High Court was still hearing his plea, it was not inclined to interfere in the matter at this stage. If he had any grievance, he could raise the same before the High Court, the Bench told Sehgal’s counsel telling him that the impugned order challenged was only an interim direction.
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Son approaches NHRC
New Delhi, September
4 Mr Himanshu Sabharwal
told mediapersons that the family wanted the state government to hand
over the case to the CBI for a fair probe, as they do not have faith in
the local administration.
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1200 fishermen go missing
Kolkata, September 4 The district administration feared that they might have been caught in the last night's strong gale and cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. So far no contact had been made with any of the trawlers.
— TNS |
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