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Russian PM’s visit: N-deal tops agenda
India, Russia to develop BrahMos-2 in
N-Deal: Left flays Mulford’s remarks
Kayani may stage coup, predicts US spy service
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Buddha govt mishandled Nandigram: NHRC
Trace abducted tribals or face stir: Arunachal students
Karnataka police seeks custody of Sabauddin
Maya may withdraw support
to UPA
More Garib Raths likely this year
Meghalaya schoolteachers to quit politics
CBSE to start vocational courses
Orissa govt sued for wrong HIV diagnosis
No case after govt takes over land: SC
Protests in Assam over Rhino poaching
Corps of Signals celebrates 97th anniversary
Ignore Raj Thackeray, Lalu asks media
Sainiks blacken boards at Mumbai airport
Suspension of Airmen
Fisherman killed in firing by Lankan Navy
Kanpur fire guts 50 shops, 6 hurt
ULFA’s hijack plan unearthed
Emergency service ‘108’ for all states by 2010
Gujjars to boycott BJP
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Russian PM’s visit: N-deal tops agenda
New Delhi, February 10 The nuclear deal, which is on the lines of similar arrangements with the United States and France, will come up under laser beam focus during Russian Prime Minister Victor A. Zubkov’s talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Hyderabad House here on February 12. The catch, however, is that the Indo-Russian nuclear deal would be signed only after India crosses the camel’s hump by getting the mandatory nod from two world bodies - the IAEA and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The fifth and last round of India-IAEA negotiations is expected to be over “very soon” after which the nuclear deal would be tossed before the UPA-Left panel. It will have to be seen how the Left responds to the final text of India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA. It will have to be seen how the UPA government, which has invested a lot of political capital in the Indo-US nuclear deal, tackles the issue if the Left parties continue to oppose the operationalisation of the deal. US Ambassador to India David C. Mulford has already gone on record saying that it is “now or never” for the Indo-US nuclear deal. India and Russia are expected to sign five agreements during Zubkov’s visit (February 12-13), including three major ones in the aviation and telecom sectors. Two ticklish issues that have plagued Indo-Russian bilateral relations - over-delayed Russian commitments in defence deals with India and the Russian ban on import of Indian agricultural products - are expected to come up for an intensive discussion during the two Prime Ministers’ talks on February 12. The Gorshkov aircraft carrier deal has emerged as the most prominent irritant in Indo-Russian defence deals. Moscow has demanded an extra $1.2 billion from India to complete the retrofitting of the aircraft carrier, saying that the original price contract signed in 2004 for $1.5 billion was unrealistic and needed revision. Besides, the two sides are also going to discuss ways and means of a probable collaboration on uranium mining and enrichment in Jharkhand and a titanium mining project in Orissa. The two sides are aware of the abysmally low bilateral trade, which is just about $4 billion, and are going to discuss concrete steps to boost it. In this context, the two sides are also tipped to discuss a possible $5 billion investment by Russia in the Indian telecom sector. Zubkov’s visit is going to be crucial as both sides will make conscious efforts to improve their bilateral ties by focusing on issues which have brought a certain degree of chill in their relations. There is going to be a diplomatic content too as India is going to roll out a red carpet for Zubkov and accord a protocol to the visit at par with the Head of State’s visit. The move is also seen as fraught with significance in Russian politics as Russian President Vladimir Putin is tipped to take over as Prime Minister and Putin’s confidante Dmitry Medvedev as President by next month. Under the current Russian dispensation, the President is supreme and the Prime Minister is of notional importance only. This is set to change and all the power is going to vest with the Prime Minister’s office after Putin takes over. India has decided to play ball and cooperate with Putin in this regard.
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India, Russia to develop BrahMos-2 in 5 years
New Delhi, February 10 “Military cooperation (between Russia and India) is based on the latest achievements in the defence industry. A case in point is the BrahMos-2. In the coming five years, the Russian-Indian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace, founded in 1998, will produce the missile for India’s Defence Ministry,” RIA Novosti said today. BrahMos-2, a new tactical cruise missile named after Brahmaputra River and Russia's Moskva River, is the upgraded version of BrahMos-1. At five times the speed of sound, the BrahMos-2 is fast enough to overcome any air defence system. More than 20 Russian plants and design bureaus, including the leading Russian missile producers Strela and Mashinostroyeniye research and production association, will be involved in the production of the new weapon. The main feature of this missile is its versatility. It can be based on vehicles, ships, submarines and aircraft. “In other words, the BrahMos missile can be supplied to every branch of the armed forces,” it added. On June 21, 2007, India's ground forces received their first BrahMos-1 missile, mounted on a truck chassis. A series of successful test launches had already confirmed the high combat qualities and effectiveness of the new weapon. The Defence Ministry has already announced that the missile would be soon supplied to the Air Force for Russian-built multi-role Su-30MKI fighters. The Indian Navy received the BrahMos-1 in 2006. The BrahMos-1 has a range of 290 km, a cruise speed of 920m per second, and carries an up to 300-kg warhead. The missile was designed to surpass the American Harpoon, which at that time, was the best foreign anti-ship missile. The BrahMos missile has inherited all best characteristics of its Russian predecessors - over the horizon
(OTH) range, self-sustainability (fire-and-forget principle), a set of flexible ('low', 'high-low') trajectories, supersonic velocity at all stages of flight, full commonality for various carriers and the ability to avoid detection by radar.
— UNI
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N-Deal: Left flays Mulford’s remarks
New Delhi/Chennai, February 10 Reaction to US ambassador to India David C Mulford’s remarks on the issue in an interview, they said the US could not use pressure tactics or threaten India for pushing through the deal. CPI MP D.Raja said in Delhi that India was a sovereign nation having a vibrant Parliament and could not be hustled into taking any decision under pressure. He said the US ambassador’s remarks that if the deal was not processed in the present Congress, it would not be offered to India again amounted to “intimidation”. Raja said India was developing its own nuclear technology and was looking for alternative sources like uranium and thorium. He said the US was looking at business in India through the deal and India should not succumb to its “blackmail”. The Forward Block accusing Mulford of “threatening” India said India should not sign any deal that was US-specific. All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) general secretary Debrabrata Biswas in Chennai said his party would withdraw support to the UPA Government, if it operationalised the 123 agreement to operationalise the nuclear deal. “Who is this Mulford? Why is he threatening India on the issue? We will not compromise on our stand and allow the Government to finalise the deal,” he said. Even if other constituents of the Left front backtracked on the issue, Forward Bloc would meet President Pratibha Patil and give its letter, withdrawing support to the UPA government, he added.
— PTI
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Kayani may stage coup, predicts US spy service
New Delhi, February 10 Stratfor, the intelligence service, in its latest forecast on the Pakistan elections, says whether unrest is created by a delay in the vote or by foul play if the elections are held, General Kayani will have to step in and remove the Musharraf regime and set up a new interim regime that would be acceptable to all sides and hold elections. “The situation is so fluid that things can go in any number of directions. An election leading to a smooth transfer of power, though possible, appears to be the least likely outcome, especially this late in the game,” Stratfor said in its dispatch. Stratfor, a paid service, was set up in 1996 and enjoys the reputation of being “a shadow CIA”. Stratfor claims there is great apprehension that Musharraf’s government could delay the poll because the results will not be in its
favour. General Kayani is watching the situation closely and could intervene if unrest follows either a delay or cries of foul play in the election, it added. Startfor looks at a pronouncement by Chaudhry Pervaiz
Elahi, a key leader of the Pakistani Muslim League (PML) with suspicion. The leader of the
PML, which supports Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, had said that in the February 18 elections his party expected to win 115 seats from Punjab, the country’s largest province. Elahi was elected Chief Minister of the province in the controversial elections of 2002 and went on to complete his five-year term. Punjab has been the PML’s mainstay. The PML has an advantage in the poll in that it dominates the caretaker government and the local governments. Stratfor argues that “claims like Elahi’s fuel fears that the government is planning on ‘smart’ rigging the poll (that is, taking care to make the results look plausible) in order to guarantee a PML victory, a move that would trigger unrest.” Musharraf, who finds himself between a rock and a hard place, needs his allies to win a two-thirds majority in order to validate his November 3, 2007, suspension of Pakistan’s constitution. Musharraf could delay the elections in hopes that the opposition weakens with time, something which is likely to trigger agitation among Pakistanis.
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Buddha govt mishandled Nandigram: NHRC
Kolkata, February 10 The commission headed by Justice S. Rajendra Babu, which looked into the Nandigram incident vis-à-vis the March 14 incident, recently submitted it’s report to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and gave some specific recommendations for avoiding such such similar unfortunate incidents of misuse of official power by the ruling party in any state. Incidentally, the state government today agreed in principle to set up a judicial commission to probe into the Tuesday’s incident of police firing at Dinhata, Coochbehar, in which five Forward Bloc workers and a NVF personnel were killed during the Blco’s agitation. However, CPM secretary Biman Bose declared the Bloc’s demand for the withdrawal of police cases against the Bloc leaders and workers would not be accepted. It is learnt that in the NHRC report it was stated that the incident at Nandigram was virtually a “fallout” of rivalry between the two political parties over the capturing and re-capturing of areas where the police and the district administration did not play the right role. As a result, several innocent lives were lost and hundreds of poor villagers were evicted from their lands. The commission suggested the setting up of a committee under the leadership of secretary general A.K.Jain to monitor time to time the compensation and the rehabilitation programme of the people evicted at Nandigram prior to the March 14 incident and afterwards. The copies of the report were also sent to Union home minister Sivraj Patil and state Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Incidentally, the state Human Rights Commission, headed by the former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice, Shyamal Sen, also held a separate inquiry on the Nandigram issue and made almost the same allegations against the state government. Calcutta High Court Chief Justice S.S. Nirjjar’s Division Bench, which suo moto inquired into the Nandigram incident, already declared the state government’s action at Nandigram as “illegal and unconstitutional”. The high court also asked the CBI to make a separate probe into the March 14 incident and submitted it’s report to the Division Bench before February 15 . Initially, the date was fixed on December 20 but subsequently it was deferred to February 15 following a petition by the CBI. The NHRC report briefly dealt with the Nandigram incident at three phases -- January 3, 2007, to March 14, 2007 ; March 15, 2007, to November 5, 2007, and November 6, 2007, to January 10, 2008 in which the commission tried to explain how the trouble at Nandigram had triggered following the sudden announcement by the government’s decision of acquiring lands at Nandigram for the Salim chemical hub plant when the Singur’s Tata Motors land acquiring problem was still persisting. The report subsequently referred to the “illegal” activities of the Bhoomi Raksha Committee (BRC) in disallowing the government machinery and the police from functioning there and forcibly evicting land owners belonging to the Left parties from Nandigram as retaliation to the March 14 incident in which the police and the CPM acted jointly against the poor people allegiance to Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress.
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Trace abducted tribals or face stir: Arunachal students
Guwahati, February 10 Two bordering districts of Arunachal Pradesh - Tirap and Changlang - are bearing the brunt of the criminal activities of the two NSCN factions that are in truce with the Indian Government. The AAPSU decried the Arunachal Pradesh government’s failure to tackle militants belonging to the two NSCN factions - NSCN-IM and NSCN-K - in the two districts sharing their border with Myanmar. It has set a deadline of February 15 for the state government to rescue the abducted students. The AAPSU president, Kanu Bagang, claimed that NSCN-K militants abducted 22 schoolchildren at gunpoint from their houses at Wakka and Chingkhow villages under Ponchu police station of Tirap district on January 9. A fortnight later, the same group abducted 17 schoolchildren from Khasa, Jagan, Konnu and Konsa villages under Longding police station of the same district. The Arunachal police, without giving any details, claimed that 13 of the abducted children had come back home. The AAPSU has refuted the police claim, saying that all 39 students remain untraced. The AAPSU has submitted a memorandum to newly-appointed Governor and former Army chief Gen JJ Singh (retd), seeking his intervention to curb activities of Naga insurgents in Arunachal areas. The AAPSU adviser and general secretary of North-East Students Organisation (NESO), Gunjum Haider, alleged that both NSCN factions forced local tribal boys from Tirap and Changlang districts to carry rations to their camps located in Myanmar across the virtually unmanned international boundary in the area. Arunachal Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu had apprised the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, of the growing disturbances created by insurgents in Tirap and Changlang districts. The Arunachal government has also requested the centre to increase the present grant for state police modernisation from Rs 9 crore per year to Rs 20 crore to facilitate effective tackling of
militants.
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Karnataka police seeks custody of Sabauddin
Bangalore, February 10 The police is also trying to link the terror plot uncovered by it in Hubli, which is surrounded around medicos and other educated youth who are members of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), with the militant. This is because one of the suspected militants, Riyazuddin Nasir, has also during narco-analysis claimed that his organisation had also provided logistic support for the IISc attack. State DGP K.R. Sreenivasan said today that Nasir had during the narco test also acknowledged that the mastermind behind the attack was Abu Hamza, a LeT militant who is presently believed to be in Pakistan. He said the Bangalore team would try to secure the custody of Sabauddin and bring him to Bangalore for further investigation in the case. Meanwhile, the state police also acknowledged that Hubli was the hub of SIMI activities in the state. The recent arrests and investigation into the organisation has revealed that SIMI was active in Karnataka despite being banned since 2001. An engineering graduate Adnan is leading the organisation in the state and has been successful in drawing a number of medico students to the cause, said corps of detective, DGP, Ajay Kumar Singh.
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Maya may withdraw support
to UPA
Bhopal, February 10 ''The Congress and its alliance partners are worried over the BSP's widening mass base and that is why they want to exert political pressure on me by reopening the Taj Corridor case,'' she alleged, while addressing the party's state-level convention here. Claiming that she would not be trapped in any type of political manipulation, Mayawati warned that the BSP might withdraw the outside support by the second week of March after Parliament's budget session. Slamming Congress policies, the BSP supremo alleged that the Congress could go to any extent to prevent her party's influence from expanding in the country. ''Earlier, the BJP registered false cases against me vis-a-vis the Taj Corridor,'' she said while quoting intelligence agencies' report that her life was in danger and added that opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh were so full of trepidation that they were launching personal assaults. Mayawati said she would not succumb to either political pressure even at the cost of her life. ''Times change and when trouble reaches the doorsteps of opposition leaders' kin, they will comprehend my pain. Attempts are underway to register cases against my aged parents and other relatives. However, I am least perturbed as the respect and courage that I received from the BSP will be lifelong assets,'' she added.
— UNI
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Baba Amte laid to rest
Warora (Maharashtra), February 10 A 21-gun salute to late Baba Amte was given as his mortal remains were lowered in a grave near the bamboo plantation in the ashram complex amidst a solemn atmosphere, highly charged with emotions. His wife, Sadhna tai, sons, Dr Vikas and Dr Prakash, their spouses and grand children stood in grief as the nation mourned the loss. Amte passed away yesterday at 4.15 am due to a type of blood cancer. He was 94. Earlier, the body wrapped in tri-colour was kept in an open area near his cottage for mourners to pay their last respect. It was taken to the burial site in a decorated vehicle. Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh led the entire state and country in paying homage to the departed leader. He was accompanied by state Agriculture Minister Balasaheb Thorat and Dairy Development Minister Anees Ahmed and a host of VVIPs and others. Deshmukh, Thorat and Ahmed placed wreath to pay homage to the departed leader and a recipient of the state government’s highest award “Maharashtra Bhushan” in 2004. Chandrapur district Congress president Naresh Pugalia, Maharashtra BJP president Nitin Gadkari, former union minister of state for finance Shantaram Potdukhe, former state minister Sulekha Kumbhare were among those present on the occasion. As per Amte’s wish, his body was buried near the bamboo plantation in Anandvan premises. A large number of inmates of ashram, people from nearby areas, Gandhians and those associated with his “Bharat Jodo” movement were present for the funeral. Speaking to newspersons at Anandvan, Deshmukh recalled the contribution of Amte in social service and particularly for inculcating a sense of pride among leprosy patients to live with dignity and self-respect. “We will provide all necessary support to Amte’s family in completing the work and mission of the late leader,” Deshmukh said. He said the state’s Congress-NCP government had presented the prestigious “Maharashtra Bhushan” award in 2004. “Though the work of Amte was bigger than the award, he humbly accepted it hereby making it (award) much bigger,” Deshmukh added. He complimented Amte’s sons for carrying their father’s mission forward.
— PTI
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More Garib Raths likely this year
New Delhi, February 10 While the next rail budget is just a fortnight away, Kolkata-Guwahati, Ranchi-Bhubaneswar and Nizamuddin-Dehradun Garib Rath express trains are yet to be operational due to the unavailability of the coaches. "The announcement made in the budget will be fully implemented before March 31," said a senior ministry official. "The coaches are being readied for the three Garib Rath trains at Kapurthala coach factory and they would be operational before the end of the current financial year," he said. Railways had announced eight Garib Rath trains, the common man's air-conditioned train, in the last budget out of which five have been rolled out. It was promised in the last Rail Budget that all the state capitals would now be linked with Garib Rath trains in the coming years like Rajdhani trains. Besides announcing some new trains, a major part of the budgetary resources would be allocated for infrastructure, including construction of bridges and new lines, said the official.
— PTI
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Meghalaya schoolteachers to quit politics
Shillong, February 10 Taking the lead, teacher of city-based KJP Higher Secondary School B.K. Khongjirem quit the post of Meghalaya Democratic Party general secretary. However, some of the teachers, who have been associated with political parties for decades, expressed unhappiness over the government directive and argued that “according to Section 2 (b) of Meghalaya Education Code, any employee of government-aided institutions can take part in any political party with the consent of the school or college authority concerned”. Last week, the state education department directed all government-aided school teachers to stay away from poll campaigns, stating that the act of commission on their part was violation of the rule of conduct of government and government-aided employees. Moreover, the government warned that teachers found guilty would be dealt with strictly. The notification said the teachers of institutions enjoying grants-in-aid from the government should refrain from taking part in poll campaigns because they were given salaries like government servants. Meanwhile, several political parties have expressed discontent over this decision. The BJP has decided to urge the government to de-notify the order.
— UNI
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CBSE to start vocational courses
Bangalore, February 10 Ganguly told reporters here that the CBSE with the support of the National Stock Exchange, has already introduced a course on financial market management in 90 CBSE schools. He said CBSE is in discussion with NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology) to launch a course on fashion designing and garment manufacturing technology, with NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) for IT vocational package course. CBSE, Ganguly said, would also introduce courses on general healthcare, retail management and other areas. In all these competency-based vocational courses, CBSE would formulate the curriculum in association with industry, and certification for students would be given jointly by the CBSE and a mentor organisation. “Our students need 21st century skills”, he said, adding, students have to be transformed from “stereotypes” in the new world order. According to him, CBSE is evolving skill-based subjects for plus-2 level, including in areas such as film and media studies, heritage craft and gender studies. “We have also started a thinking process on how to include nano technology in school curriculum”, Ganguly said, adding, CBSE is debating as to whether nano technology should be introduced as a separate subject or integrated into science subjects.
— PTI
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Orissa govt sued for wrong HIV diagnosis
Bhubaneswar, February 10 Manjubala Das, a resident of Odisio village in Jagatsinghpur district, said she had filed a case in the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum. The 25-year-old said she and her husband Prashant had in June 2007 gone to the government hospital at Jagatsinghpur, 140 km from here, as she was pregnant. The two then went in for the mandatory HIV tests. Their blood samples were sent to the district voluntary confidential counselling and testing centre (VCCTC), Manjula said. According to the test results, she was HIV positive while her husband was not. Hospital authorities told them not to come to the centre for delivery, fearing that the virus might spread. The couple then went to the Sri Ram Chandra Medical College Hospital at Cuttack, which also confirmed that Manjula was HIV positive. The two were ostracised by villagers and their family members, said Pitambara Panda, Manjula’s lawyer. On January 13, the woman was denied admission to the district hospital for delivery. She gave birth to a baby girl at a government hospital at Balikuda, 15 km from Jagatsinghpur town. Manjula and Prashant did not give up and went in for tests again at the Maharaja Krishna Chandra Gajapati Medical College Hospital in Berhampur.
— IANS
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No case after govt takes over land: SC
New Delhi, February 10 Dismissing an appeal against the Rajasthan High Court upholding the acquisition of land in Jaipur, the Bench held, “In the present case also, the writ petition having been filed after taking over of the possession and award having become final, the same deserves to be dismissed on the ground of delay and latches”. The Bench passed the observation while recalling a number of its earlier ruling on such disputes. The Rajasthan government had acquired the land of petitioner Swaika Properties Private Limited and handed over the possession of land to the Jaipur Development Authority in February 1987. The apex court was referring to the fact of appellants not having challenged the acquisition proceedings till 1987 although the notification for acquiring their land was issued in 1975 even as their writ against it before the Calcutta High Court was dismissed in 1985 due to lack of jurisdiction.
— PTI
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Protests in Assam over Rhino poaching
Guwahati, February 10 The protesters blamed the Bangladeshi immigrants who have encroached the forestland at Kaziranga for the poaching incidents. They also burnt an effigy of forest minister Raqib-ul-Hussain for showing apathy towards the issue. “Bangladeshis have encroached upon the forest land at Kaziranga and they are frequently indulge in poaching activities. Despite our repeated appeals to the government to remove them from the area, nothing has been done so far,” president of BJP’s Assam unit Ramen Deka said. “The forest minister is doing nothing to safeguard the rhinos and we severely condemn this act,” he added.
— ANI
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Corps of Signals celebrates 97th anniversary
New Delhi, February 10 The Corps of Signals is responsible for planning, establishing and managing the entire Information and Communication Technology (ICT) setup for the Indian Army. The ICT infrastructure apart from catering to the communication requirements for conventional operations also provides communication support to Indian forces involved in counter-insurgency operations, United Nation missions and for emergency communications during natural calamities. Under the guidance of Lieutenant General S.P. Sree Kumar, Signal Officer-in-Chief, Corps of Signals has taken active measures for stabilising, fine tuning and consolidating the architecture and performance of various communication networks fielded in the recent past. The process of consolidation is aimed at effectively providing secure, reliable, real time communications, round the clock by creating a pan-Indian consolidated Army network, which would ensure that the aim of transforming the Indian Army into a Network Centric Force in the near future is fulfilled. Successful implementation of Project Mercury Connect, an OFC project in rugged North Eastern Sector and Project Mobile Cellular Communication System (MCCS) for extending mobile services to our soldiers in counter-insurgency operations in the Northern sector are a few major steps taken by the Corps in achieving the aim. The Corps of Signals with its responsibility to provide cyber security to the Indian Army has ensured information assurance to the field formations with its trained personnel and resources to thwart any cyber threats. Electronic warfare and signal intelligence units are force multipliers and valuable assets for all future wars. The Corps has also enhanced the technology savvy image of the Indian Army internationally by establishing computer training laboratories in friendly foreign countries. The motor cycle display team of the Corps famously known as “Dare Devils” hold the distinction of having their feat mentioned in Guinness Book of World records. In the recently concluded fourth Military World Games conducted at Hyderabad and Mumbai, the responsibility of communication, information technology and accreditation was entrusted to the Corps of Signals.
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Ignore Raj Thackeray, Lalu asks media
Hajipur, February 10 While responding to queries from reporters after inaugurating an air-conditioned dormitory at the railway station here, Lalu Yadav said since Raj Thackeray had no mass appeal in Maharastra, he was making such remarks just to gain “cheap popularity”. “The best way to tackle such elements was to ignore them and the media should not give coverage to their controversial remarks as these trends were detrimental to the unity and integrity of the nation”, he observed. Lalu Yadav also appealed to the Hindi speaking people to maintain peace and harmony and asked them not to sway by Raj Thackeray’s remarks aimed at disturbing the amity among people from different regions.
— UNI
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Sainiks blacken boards at Mumbai airport
Mumbai, February 10 Airport Officers Union president and secretary of the Shiv Sena-backed Bharitya Kamagar Sena Kiran Pawaskar said, ''The Shiv Sainiks are only implementing orders of Uddhav Thackeray, who had yesterday said that the signboards at the airport should carry 'Mumbai welcomes you' and not any other text like MIAL or GVK welcomes you.'' Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) is a consortium of Hyderabad-based infrastructure company, GVK, Airport Authority of India and Airport Company of South Africa, formed for the modernisation and expansion of Mumbai Airport. MIAL spokesperson Manish Kalghati refused to comment over the
issue. — UNI
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Suspension of Airmen
New Delhi, February 10 A Bench, comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice P. Sathasivam, while allowing the appeal of the union government against the Rajasthan High Court judgement dated September 26, 2006, noted that “policy for discharge of habitual offenders was considered by this court in A.K. Bakshi’s case. After analysing the policy, it was observed that the whole idea underlying the policy was to weed out the indisciplined personnel from the force.” Respondents Rajesh Vyas and others had challenged their discharge on the ground that the impugned order was passed against the principle of natural justice as their reply to the show-cause notice was not considered. Habitual offenders policy was prepared by the government to weed out such unruly elements from the force. Habitual offenders are those who remain absent without leave, indulge in insubordination, use abusive language and are also involved in misbehaviour.
— UNI
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Fisherman killed in firing by Lankan Navy
Rameswaram/Chennai, February 10 Thirty-five-year-old Thangapandi from Jegadapattinam in Pudukottai district had gone to the sea off Dhanushkodi coast for fishing with two other fishermen, Idumban and Babu. As they neared the maritime border last night, Sri Lankan Naval personnel fired at the boat, while asking them to go back, officials quoting the other two fishermen said. Thangapandi died on the spot and others fled from the scene and returned to Jegadapattinam today with his body, officials told PTI. Meanwhile, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi condemned the “indiscriminate firing” by the Sri Lankan Navy and took up the issue with the Centre, an official statement said in Chennai today. The chief minister has “taken steps to draw Sri Lankan Government’s attention to the issue through the Centre,” the release said. Expressing shock and grief over the incident, Karunanidhi ordered a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the family of Thangapandi.
— PTI
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Kanpur fire guts 50 shops, 6 hurt
Lucknow, February 10 The fire, which first broke out at the godown around 2 am, swiftly engulfed the row of shops in the chilly early morning breeze claimed Kanpur Chief Fire Officer D P Shukla. A short circuit in the electric wires could have been the reason for the outbreak, said Shukla. Twenty-four fire engines rushed to the spot took almost five hours to bring the fire under control.
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ULFA’s hijack plan unearthed
Guwahati, February 10 IG (special branch) Khagen Sharma said the ULFA had planned to hijack an Air India plane from the Guwahati airport to Pakistan, this was revealed after interrogating Manoj Tamuly, who was arrested in the city last night. Based on his confession, advocate Nekibur Zaman was also arrested. Another human rights activist Lachit Bardoloi’s house was raided while a television journalist Pradeep Gogoi was arrested from Tinsukia during the past 12 hours. Sharma said Tamuly had received the hijacking training in the jungles of Baska district of Assam, adjacent to the Bhutan border. The training was imparted by Rasik Ahmed, believed to be an ISI operative, said Sharma. The arrested ULFA cadre had confessed before the media that the plan was to hijack the plane to Thimpu and from there a new set of ULFA men would take the aircraft to Rawalpindi. ULFA, however, denied this and claimed this was a campaign to scuttle the political process in Assam.
— UNI
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Emergency service ‘108’ for all states by 2010
Tirupati, February 10 The service was presently available in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, he said, adding that it would be extended to Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Assam, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka by the year-end. Venkat said an MoU would be signed between the Centre and EMRI shortly for pressing into service 10,500 ambulances and appointing one lakh employees. The initiative required Rs 2,000 crore per annum for maintenance. In Andhra Pradesh, where the service was started on August 15, 2005, Rs 150 crore was needed to maintain the service, which saved 60 lives daily, he said.
— UNI
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Jaipur, February 10 Till the ST status was conferred on Gujjars in the state, the community would continue to boycott the BJP, the Akhil Bhartiya Gujjar Mahasabha said. Addressing a press conference here, Mahasabha president P K Anna Patil charged the Vasundhra Raje government with failing to protest the interest of Gujjars. Asked about mushrooming of Gujjar groups in the state and reported differences among them, he said everything would be sorted out. — PTI
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