Patna, September 28
Soon after advocating a CBI probe yesterday into the theft of 18 priceless ancient relics in Patna Museum at Monday night, the Home Department of the Bihar Government today alerted the Interpol and all Indian embassies through the Union Home Ministry with a request to coordinate with local law-enforcing agencies in tracking the treasure thieves.

State Home Secretary Afzal Amanullah said the state government had also informed all international and national antique auction agencies, including Sothbeys and Christies, against any possible attempt by the miscreants to sell these antiques worth over crores of rupees.

Sources disclosed that based on a rough estimate the total cost of all stolen 18 ancient relics could amount to over Rs18 crore.

Sources also claimed that the police had got some vital clues into the robbery.

Based on the guidelines by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the state Home Department took some major decisions for upgrading the security in and around the museum.

A high-level meeting held under the chairmanship of state Culture Secretary Anjani K. Singh, asked the PWD to start work on raising the museum’s boundary wall up to nine feet latest by next week.

A sum of Rs 29.62 lakh has been released for the purpose.

The priceless bronze statues date back to the ninth and 10th centuries concerning Buddhist and Jain eras.

Historically, the statutes belonged to one of the culturally richest period of India during the Pal dynasty, which had ruled Bihar and Bengal.

The holy urn of Lord Buddha was also being kept in the museum.

The police had sealed the state’s borders with Nepal and Bangladesh to prevent any possible attempt to take the relics outside the country.

The IG (HQ), Mr Anil Sinha, earlier hinted at the possibility of the involvement of international smugglers in executing the theft through professional robbers.

The museum staff alleged lack of adequate security to guard the priceless artefacts. “Barely three months ago, art objects found from excavation sites at Muzaffarpur, Bodh Gaya and Darbhanga were stolen.Yet there was no attempt either to enhance the security in the museum or to install an alarm system”, the staff said.

It was learnt that only four security personnel used to guard the museum at night.

Meanwhile, monks held the state government responsible for the alleged security lapse that had resulted in the theft.

Mumbai, September 28
The old row between Maharashtra and Karnataka over the status of Belgaum is all set to be reignited with political parties here pressing for special two-day Assembly session on the issue.

After the Kumaraswami government in Karnataka held a special session of state’s legislature in Belgaum and even proclaimed it as its second capital, pressure is mounting on the Vilasrao Deshmukh government to prepare for battle.

The first salvo from Maharashtra was fired by none other than state’s Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil who assured support for the Marathi-speaking community of Belgaum. Addressing a gathering in Belgaum, Mr Patil threatened to take the issue to the streets. He even offered to swap a few Kannada speaking village in Maharashtra for Belgaum.

An angry Kumaraswami government demanded action from the Prime Minister against Mr Patil for his statements.

After some Karnataka legislators demanded an arrest warrant against Patil, the Shiv Sena decided to support the NCP leader on the issue.

“The Shiv Sena will strongly retaliate if Karnataka insults any leader from Maharashtra,” party president Uddhav Thackeray said. He even asked the Sena’s ally, the BJP, to withdraw support to the Kumaraswami government over the Belgaum issue.

Relations between the Shiv Sena and the BJP have been strained and it is no secret that the party has been making overtures to Mr Sharad Pawar.

All eyes are now on the annual Dasshera rally of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray. Party workers are demanding that Mr Thackeray hit out at the Karnataka Government. Shiv Sena workers are already talking of smashing Udupi hotels in Mumbai, run by the Kannadiga community in the coming days.

The BJP and the Congress are caught in a bind since their local units back the demand for merging Belgaum with Maharashtra. On the other hand, a resurgent Congress party, under Shiv Sena-rebel-turned-minister Narayan Rane, is trying to win the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections due next year after a 20-year gap. The party is quietly telling people that the matter should be settled by the courts.

The new agenda over Belgaum being set by the NCP and the Shiv Sena has also discomfited breakaway Shiv Sena leader Raj Thackeray. At a function here, Mr Raj Thackeray denounced the sabre rattling over Belgaum as a drama and warned people in Maharashtra against being sidetracked from real issues.

Mr Raj Thackeray hit out at cousin Uddhav for not leading the agitation over Belgaum from the front

Lucknow, September 28
The state police gunned down dreaded dacoit Dev Kumar and five of his associates, including a woman, operating as the D-4 gang early today. Four kidnapped persons held captive by them were also recovered.

Carrying a reward of Rs 10,000 on his head, Dev Kumar, a Yadav barely in his mid-thirties, had at least 30 cases of kidnapping, murder and loot registered against him. Hailing from Auraiya, Dev Kumar was an expert in kidnapping and was active in the surrounding districts of Jhansi, Jalaun and Kanpur (rural).

Briefing the press, ADG (Law and Order) Padam Singh said that the police of districts Auraiya and Etawah jointly carried out the operation in which six of the D-4 gang members, including its leader Dev Kumar, were killed. Approximately 10 members had been active in the gang in recent times.

What surprised the police was the presence of a woman among the dead. Identified as Ranno, the ADG said that she is believed to have played an active role in the gang’s kidnappings. The police are trying to ascertain her antecedents and the exact role she played in the gang.

The four persons held captive by the gang – Anil Upadhyay, Raja Karan, Manni Singh and Umesh Dubey - all from district Jaluan, and had been kidnapped earlier this month between September 6 and 10.

At around dawn, the police team led by the SPs of both the districts surrounded the gang at a deserted area under Ayana police station in Auraiya district. The initial fire killed one gang member and the remaining escaped and hid in a nearby barley field making it difficult for the police team to nab them.

Finally, a bulletproof tractor was procured and the police team entered the field firing at the hideout that immediately returned fire. After a sustained exchange that lasted at least five hours another five gang members were exterminated. One gang member who calls himself Lallu has been arrested but the police are verifying his true identity.

Four 315 bore rifles and one 12-bore gun and enormous amount of ammunition have been recovered from the spot.

Belonging to Bhagwatipur Mawaiya village in Auriaya, Dev Kumar, son of a modest farmer owning 10 bighas of land, had started his chequered career in crime in 1995 by looting passengers of a bus. 

New Delhi, September 28
President of the BJP Rajnath Singh today sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention in the sealing and demolition drive in the national Capital urging him to relieve millions of traders from “unnecessary harassment and trauma.”

In a letter addressed to Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr Rajnath Singh assured his party’s support to the government if legislation was brought in to mitigate the sufferings of people of the metropolis.

He said although the issue was pending before the Supreme Court, but a holistic approach would help arrive at a solution to the problem much earlier.

“I can’t resist but to state that if the government would have moved with the right approach from the beginning, the solution would have arrived much earlier,” he said.

Alleging that the problem assumed chaotic proportions due to the total failure of urban planning, Mr Rajnath Singh said the deterioration had been taking place “under the very nose of the seat of central power.”

Urging the authorities to take a holistic view of the problem to ensure a comprehensive and permanent solution, he said a mechanism should be evolved to regularise business establishments as on December 31, 2005.

“You can also ensure immediate notification of roads identified in additional survey by the MCD and do away with unnatural and unsustainable categorisation,” Mr Rajnath Singh said.

However, he described as “absurd” the Urban Development Department’s notification prohibiting timber and coal traders to operate from residential areas.

New Delhi, September 28
The petitions of several Haryana police recruits, raising the issue of denying them four chances for passing the training exams, has been referred back to the Punjab and Haryana High Court by the Supreme Court for a fresh look and expeditious disposal 
considering the importance of the case.

“Since the matter is of some urgency, the High Court is requested to decide the writ application as early as possible preferably by the end of December,” a Bench of Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat and Mr Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta in an order passed yesterday said.

The apex court sent the matter back after finding that it was not given proper hearing by it earlier. “The bare reading of the High Court’s order shows that it did not consider the various stands of the applicants,” the Bench said.

It pointed out that the High Court had only heard arguments pertaining to the Rule 3.8 of the Police Training College Manual and did not take into consideration any other aspects of the case and stand taken by the police recruits.

The recruits, who filed appeal against the High Court order, had contended that while four chances were available to pass the exams under the Training Manual, the Police Training College in the state had provided them only two chances.

Some of the candidates were not even allowed to complete mandatory one year training period as per the rules and rather the first exam was conducted after nine months of training, they claimed.

They alleged that the High Court had dismissed their petitions at admission stage without issuing notice to the Haryana Government and the Police Department to know their stand.

New Delhi, September 28
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has sought President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam’s intervention in seeking the immediate reversal of the Madhya Pradesh government’s order allowing its employees to participate in RSS activities.

In a strongly-worded letter to the President, Mrs. Gandhi charged the RSS with polarising society of promoting “religious prejudices and passions”, stating that the state government’s order is violative of the letter and spirit of the Constitution.

The letter was handed over to the President today by a Congress delegation, led by AICC Treasurer Motilal Vora.

Mrs. Gandhi recalled that the Gujarat government had passed a similar order six years ago, which was eventually withdrawn after the intervention of the then President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, following a representation from the Congress.

Stating that the MP government’s decision was taken without the Governor’s knowledge, the Congress President demanded that the order be reversed immediately as it was not in the national interest and will have far-reaching implications.

The President assured the delegation that he will look into the matter and take appropriate action, AICC spokesperson Satyavrat Chaturvedi told presspersons after the meeting.

New Delhi, September 28
BJP president Rajnath Singh is understood to have advised Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje to tread cautiously on the toes of dissident party leaders who have stepped up their campaign after the controversy over her laying the foundation stone of a Haj House in the state capital.

At the same time, Mr Singh asked party’s senior leader Kalraj Mishra, in charge of Rajasthan, to sort out problems between Ms Raje and her opponents so that the BJP’s interests did not suffer in the inter-party feuds.

Mr Mishra will arrive in Jaipur tomorrow and will ascertain facts about the Haj House controversy. He will then brief the BJP president about the whole affair, sources said.

Ms Raje’s opponents, backed by the RSS, are questioning her motive to give away 15,000 square feet of land in a Hindu majority locality near the Jaipur airport to the state Haj Committee.

A Haj House was first proposed at Karbala, a predominantly Muslim area, on the approximately one bigha of land during the tenure of the previous Congress government.

The Chief Minister has annoyed the local RSS and VHP leadership as she went ahead with the foundation-laying ceremony on September 20 despite repeated requests from the sangh parivar to abandon her move.

She laid the foundation of the Haj House in the presence of Haj Committee president Tanvir Ahmad and Rajya Sabha MP Najma Heptullah.

New Delhi, September 28
The Delhi High Court today directed the Centre to empower senior officials of Tihar Jail to grant parole to prisoners to facilitate their quick release.

A Division Bench of Justice M.K. Sharma and Justice Hema Kohli asked the Union Home Ministry to issue a circular empowering Inspector General (IG), Director General (DG) or Jail Superintendent of the jail to grant permission to the officials concerned to release the convicts on parole within three months.

The Bench passed the order following a submission made by the counsel for the Delhi Government that the state had initiated the process for the amendment in the jail manual. It would take about three months for the government to complete the process.

As per the manual, only the Lieutenant Governor is empowered to consider the applications of prisoners seeking release on parole.

The court was hearing a writ petition filed by an NGO, Social Jurist, seeking its intervention in directing the government for expansion of the jail and provision of basic amenities in the overcrowded prison.

Earlier, the government counsel, through an affidavit, informed the court that six new jails had been constructed to ease situation in the overcrowded Tihar jail.

The counsel also told the court that the jail authorities had laid down pipelines to provide potable water to the prisoners, adding that some old structures on the premises had been removed to set up toilets. 

New Delhi, September 28
Capt Vishal Bhandral, who was killed in counter terrorism action in village Samlar in Baramula district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, was cremated here today with full military honours.

The gallant officer was killed when based on specific information the Army carried out anti-terrorist operation and he was hit in the exchange of fire with the terrorists. He was to be in Delhi today enroute to his new assignment in Gwalior.

A bachelor, Capt Bhandral is survived by a younger sister and his parents.

New Delhi, September 28
Pondicherry will be known as Puducherry from October 1.

Union Home Ministry has issued a notification bringing into force the provisions of the Pondicherry (Alteration of Name) Act, 2006 from that date. — TNS