New Delhi, April 28
The government will look into the Opposition and AIADMK’s allegations against the misuse of office by shipping and road transport minister T.R. Baalu and the demand for a statement on the issue by the Prime Minister and respond.

The assurance from treasury benches in Rajya Sabha came after repeated questioning by the BJP and the AIADMK over not just the role of Baalu, but also the Prime Minister and the petroleum minister over by-now contentious and highly politicised issue of the allocation of natural gas for firms owned by the family of the shipping and road transport minister.

As the Opposition persisted with its demand for a response from the Prime Minister, parliamentary affairs minister Vayalar Ravi assured the House that the government would look into the issue and response will follow. “The government will look into what you said and the response will come later,” he said.

The row over Baalu approaching the petroleum ministry for the supply of natural gas for firms owned by his family rocked the Rajya Sabha for the fourth consecutive day on Monday with the BJP and the AIADMK repeatedly demanding a clarification from the Prime Minister.

Raising the matter during zero hour, Leader of Opposition Jaswant Singh said since the Prime Minister’s conduct was directly involved, he should come to the House and clarify on the issue.

The BJP leader said the PMO had written eight times to the petroleum ministry on this issue, adding that the argument given by the government that the PMO did not mean the Prime Minister was a strange assertion. “To say that the PMO is separate from the PM is a very curious matter.We want an answer from the Prime Minister. This is a matter of grave concern,” he said.

Maintaining that the PMO was direct extension of the Prime Minister, Jaswant Singh said though the issue was being raised every day, the response of the government was not forthcoming, which was making the issue more complicated.

Amidst frequent interruptions by the Congress and DMK members, the Leader of Opposition also demanded to know whether the Prime Minister also shared Baalu’s view that he had committed no wrong by putting in a word with the petroleum ministry.

Earlier, the Opposition NDA and the AIADMK staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha after their demand for suspension of question hour to take up the issue of alleged misuse of office by Baalu was disallowed.

AIADMK and BJP members were on their feet demanding that the Prime Minister should clarify his position on the issue. V. Maitreyan of the AIADMK said notices had been given for the suspension of question hour, demanding that the Prime Minister should come to the House to explain what action was being taken against Baalu for allegedly seeking natural gas at concessional rates for firms run by his family.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari said several notices for the suspension of question hour had been received but they could not be allowed. “Members can raise (their) concerns after the question hour,” he said calling for the first listed question of the day. This prompted NDA and AIADMK members to walk out of the House.

New Delhi, April 28
The government today came under tremendous pressure from the Opposition with the T.R. Baalu issue rocking the Lok Sabha as well.

The lower House opened to massive disruptions, with the BJP and its allies stalling the question hour and later staging a walkout after they were not allowed to raise the issue.

Led by V.K. Malhotra, deputy leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha, members of the BJP, JDU and MDMK kept on insisting for a clarification by the Prime Minister on his office’s “direct” involvement by way of reported recommendation for the allocation of gas for the firms owned by union minister Baalu’s son.

While the Speaker Somnath Chatterjee went on reminding rules to members, saying he would consider the motion if it was moved properly, the members kept asking for an immediate discussion on the “matter of propriety”, resignation of Baalu and a clarification from the Prime Minister on PMO’s involvement.

The treasury benches added to the commotion as they reacted to the Opposition’s tirades by mentioning the misuse of PMO during the tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The Speaker, however, stuck to rules and refused to adjourn the House or allow any discussions during the question hour. “You must agree to no work, no pay principle. Defiance of the Chair has become a habit with you; it has become a disease; it is very unfortunate,” the Speaker said, only to see members walk out over the issue.

The BJP had, earlier this morning, given a notice for the suspension of question hour. Later, during the zero hour, too, some opposition members raked up the matter repeatedly even as an angry Speaker kept on asking for conclusion of the point.

The House was plunged into darkness for about 10 minutes while the angry Opposition members disrupted the proceedings in the morning leading to rumours that an exasperated Speaker had ordered ‘lights out’ due to the chaos. But later it was revealed that there was a power failure in the entire parliamentary complex for some time

Mumbai, April 28
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today hit out at the organisers of the Indian Premier League for bringing in cheerleaders to entertain the crowd.

In an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamna, Thackeray said, the cheerleaders are brought in to titillate the crowd and seduce them.

“The cricket field has been turned into a dance bar,” Thackeray wrote. “I love sports, particularly cricket that was played on the field. Now things are changing and cheerleaders are brought into seduce the crowd... Earlier, veterans Polly Umrigar, Dilip Sardesai, Ajit Wadekar, Salim Durrani and Sunil Gavaskar were enough to make the crowd ‘cheerful’,” Thackeray wrote.

The Shiv Sena chief, who enjoys a love-hate relationship with Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, wondered why such naked dances were being conducted in public while farmers in Vidarbha were committing suicide.

Incidentally, Thackeray’s comments came a day after the cheerleaders performing at Sunday’s match in Mumbai were fully dressed though in tights as against the two piece wear in the past.

For popular Bengali film director Tarun Majumder, the whole issue seemed ‘disgusting’. “It is disgusting and farcical,” he said when asked if fashion, tinsel and glamour have upstaged cricket.

Veteran film-maker Mrinal Sen appeared none too happy over the trend of importing cheerleaders in an apparent attempt to liven up proceedings on the field.

“I don’t understand all this. I love to watch cricket,” Sen said.

Sen bristled at the suggestion of the cheerleaders’ contribution to a bigger turnout and helping the game’s cause, saying, “I have told you I only love to watch games on a field.”

Striking a balance between commerce and cricket, another doyen Tapan Sinha said while the commercial aspect of the IPL had to be kept in mind by the organisers, nothing should be done to hurt the culture and sentiments of the Indian public.

“You cannot wish away the fact that the organisers have devised the IPL format keeping its commercial and entertainment potential in mind irrespective of the fact whether it is liked by the game’s lovers or not.”

However, one has to draw a line. The show should not cause discomfiture to the audience, Sinha, who has been ailing for quite sometime, reasoned.

New Delhi, April 28
The Left once again hit back at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his remark that “political parties should eschew temptation of politicising the misery of the people”, asking him instead not to be “callous toward people’s miseries”. This time it chose the Rajya Sabha to show anger toward the Prime Minister’s statement and found adequate support from the Opposition on the issue.

Stressing that the statement did not augur well for the government, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said in the House today that his party took strong objection to the Prime Minister calling political parties intervention on the price rise as an attempt to politicise the misery of people. Strongly objecting to the contents of the letter from the Prime Minister, Yechuri asked Manmohan Singh to “eschew the temptation of being callous to people’s miseries”.

“We take strong objection to the statement. As political parties, we have every right to raise the plight of the people. We want the PMO and the government to eschew all temptations to be irresponsible to the plight of the people,” Yechury said. He added that the government ought to take lead in alleviating the sufferings of people.

After meeting Left leaders on the price rise issue last week, the Prime Minister had urged all political parties to “eschew the temptation of politicising the misery of the people”, warning against creating an environment of scarcity, which would encourage speculators and hoarders.

However, Yechuri said their concern for people could not be described in such a manner.

“It does not augur well for the government. We want the government to eschew the temptation of being callous to people’s miseries,” he said, adding that they had raised six points during their meeting and wanted the government to come clear on what it intended doing on those issues.

On the issue, Yechury found adequate support from the Opposition. JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav said every political party had a right to voice their concern over spiralling prices.

Joining the issue, Jaswant Singh said inflation was a matter of concern for everyone and did not pertain to any particular party.

“For the Prime Minister to say that anyone is less troubled by the price rise and we are trying to make political capital out of it means belittling the anguish of the people. The anguish of hunger is not a thing that is politicised. It is very wrong for the Prime Minister to say that we are politicising the issue,” he added.

Kolkata, April 28
Three youths, carrying pistols, were arrested near the CPM party headquarters at Alimuddin Street today ahead of CPM general secretary Prakash Karat’s visit to the party office. Karat arrived here from Delhi in the morning to attend politburo and the central committee meetings, starting tomorrow.

The youths were caught by the security staff guarding the party office and then handed over to the police. Later, it came to light that they were members of the CPM-controlled students union, the DYF in Madhya Pradesh.

Two days ago, they had come to the city to visit the party office for the first time. They were staying in the Burrabazar area at a relative’s house.

Yesterday, they bought three pistols from the Cossipore gun and shell factory at Dum Dum and procured due licences from Lalbazar with the help of a local CPM leader.

Today, they came on their own to visit the party office, which they considered as their “Mecca”.

Deputy commissioner of police (headqurters) at Lalbazar Ajoy Ranade said they had checked up with the Madhya Pradesh police and also contacted the relatives of the youths and found their statements to be true. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and CPM state secretary Biman Bose were informed of their arrest.

New Delhi, April 28
The Army continues to account for the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases in the armed forces. Data compiled for 2004, 2005 and 2006 shows that there are 255 HIV/AIDS cases in the forces; 229 from the Army alone.

Replying to a question raised by Rajnarayan Budholiya in the Lok Sabha today, defence minister A.K. Antony said 255 personnel were found to be suffering from HIV/AIDS. The figure was 144 in 2004, 76 in 2005 and 35 in 2006. In his written reply to the house, the minister also said that of 144 HIV/AIDS cases in 2004, 132 were from the Army, eight from the Navy and four from the Indian Air Force.

In 2005, 67 out of the 76 infected personnel were from the Army; six from the Navy and three from the IAF. The trend continued in 2006 as well, with 30 out of 35 HIV/AIDS cases being reported from the Army; two from the Navy and three from the IAF.

In the years for which data is available, 229 out of 255 HIV/AIDS infected personnel are from the Army; 16 from the Navy and 10 from the Indian Air Force.

The defence minister, in his written reply, said the armed forces had established 10 immune deficiency centres in select military hospitals to tackle the problem. These provide investigation, treatment and follow up of all HIV + people in the defence forces. The minister said the centres worked under close supervision of a physician, dermatologist, pathologist and a public health specialist.

“The centres give free anti-retroviral treatment to the patient till the time of his individual service tenure after which medicines are supplied to him through ex-servicemen contributory health scheme,” the minister stated in his reply.

New Delhi, April 28
Pressure is consistently building on the UPA government to do away with the “creamy layer” rider to include all OBCs in the quota ambit. After the DMK, the RJD and the JD (U), it was today the turn of OBC MPs to hammer the point that “the UPA was firmly committed to reservations without the creamy layer”.

About 30 members of the OBC MPs Forum met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urged him to constitute a joint parliamentary committee for OBCs to look into the issue of OBC reservation. They also demanded a new constitutional amendment Bill to remove the creamy layer.

In a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister today, the MPs listed six reasons why the “economic criteria” for the OBC reservation did not hold ground. To begin with, they said they had apprehensions about allowing such a provision. “If allowed to exist it may be extended to SCs in future,” the MPs contended.

Led by V. Hanumantha Rao, Rajya Sabha MP and convener, Parliamentary Forum of OBC MPs, the group also argued that the Constitution under Article 340 specified only the “socially and educationally” backward classes and that the proposal of the inclusion of economic criteria was rejected by 250 members of the Constituent Assembly.

“Only five persons supported the idea,” members told the Prime Minister today, adding that the 93rd amendment brought in by the UPA government also specified social and educational terms and was passed by both houses of Parliament. The amendment had no room for the “creamy layer issue,” members said.

They further rejected as untenable the argument that the creamy layer concept had been in existence in job reservations for the OBCs. This argument did not sound good, the delegation said, adding that “The 27 per cent reservation to the OBCs in jobs was implemented by an executive order in 1993 and Parliament had no opportunity to discuss the issue. The reservation for the OBCs after excluding the creamy layer did not bring about the desired result.”

“The percentage of OBCs in Class I and II posts of government prior to 1993 (before the implementation of the OBC reservation) was nearly 5 per cent to 10 per cent. As per the available statistics now, the percentage has come down to 3.9,” MPs told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Rao, meanwhile, said the Prime Minister gave them a patient hearing. The delegation would also meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani on the issue.

New Delhi, April 28
The Union government is actively considering to expand the scope of the farm loan waiver scheme. Farmers, who have more land than the ceiling of five acres but are in rain-fed areas and also those who have been repaying their loans regularly, can also be considered, said the Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar.

Pawar was replying to a debate on the working of the agriculture ministry in the Rajya Sabha when he said representations had been made to him to segregate the areas that were solely dependent on rain and areas that had assured irrigation. The demand had come to raise the ceiling for areas that were solely dependent on rain for agriculture. Logically, rain-fed areas and assured irrigation areas could not be compared, admitted Pawar, as in case of the former failure of rain results in crop failure.

Angry representations had been made by bodies of farmers asking what about those farmers who had been repaying their loans on time. It was like penalising them, said Pawar. These issues were being considered by a committee set up for this purpose. The Union government had announced in the Budget that farm loans would be waived for farmers who had land holdings of five acres or less and since then demands had been made to increase the scope of the waiver.

Speaking on wheat procurement, Pawar said 126 lakh tonnes of the targeted 150 lakh tonnes had been procured since the process started on Baisakhi. He went on to lavish praise on Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda saying the two chief ministers had ensured the country that the food grain crisis had been resolved and enough grain had been procured. Pawar said 99. 2 per cent of all wheat arriving in mandis of Punjab had been procured while 99 per cent of wheat from Haryana mandis had been picked up by government agencies.

Faced with a crisis, Pawar had gone to Chandigarh in the middle of this month and met the two chief ministers and both had promised all help.

Pawar rejected the demand by members for providing food grain for the entire country through the public distribution system, saying this would mean that the grain procurement would have to be nationalised. Already India had the lowest prices of wheat and rice in the world.

Earlier while participating in the debate, M.S. Swaminathan, a noted agri-economist, raised the critical issue of depleting underground water in Punjab and Haryana. He said the two states along with western Uttar Pradesh were providing food security to the nation. “The water table is failing. It has to be corrected now or else the nation could face a crisis in the next few years if grain production drops in these states. Please save Punjab and Haryana,” Swaminathan said while suggesting recharging of the deep aquifers.

former Union food and supplies minister Shanta Kumar bemoaned the fact that the nation had been neglecting agriculture.

Port Blair, April 28
A 14-year-old girl of Diglipur in North Andaman had been murdered and her body chopped into pieces by four young boys from her area, the police said today.

After preliminary investigation, the police said the four boys took the ninth standard girl to a secluded place with the intention to rape.

“But when the girl refused to cooperate, they murdered her and left her body hidden in a remote place under the camouflage of leaves and trees,” deputy superintendent of police of North Andaman Daya Shankar Singh said.

The body was recovered yesterday after interrogating the boys who were in ninth and tenth standard in a local school here. — UNI

Guwahati, April 28
The North East Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) has sought ‘adequate security cover’ for its workers and officials working in the site of the 1,500 MW Tipaimukh Hydro-power Project at Tipaimukh in Manipur, near the border with South Assam.

All the NEEPCO staff and workers engaged in the Government of India funded Rs 6,000 crore power project, which is to be constructed by damming the river Barak, fled after Manipuri insurgents triggered explosions to destroy all the works so far done in the project site on Saturday last.

The panic-stricken NEEPCO workers have fled to Silchar in South Assam.

Confirming that the explosions triggered by insurgents have halted the second stage development works in the power project, the NEEPCO project director T.C. Borgohain informed that the security threat was always looming large over the project because of the presence of insurgents in the area. He said the militants besides blasting away a drilling machine destroyed other equipment and all temporary structures in the project sites.

“Law and order being the state subject, we have asked for adequate security cover to our workers and officials from the Manipur state government. We will resume work in the project within seven days from providing adequate security cover by the Manipur government,” the senior NEEPCO officials informed.

He said only initial development works like drilling were going on in the project site as final clearance from the forest and environment ministries were being awaited.

Borgohain informed that project had been provided with techno-economic clearance while the Public Investment Board (PIB) have recommended it as a development project for the benefit of people in the remote area, as the project was not going to earn profit for the NEEPCO authority for various factors.

Three Central ministries will have to play key role in the project. The ministry of surface transport and highways has agreed to bear the cost of diversion of National Highways 53 and 150 to the project site located in very remote area. The ministry of home affairs will bear the cost of external security while the ministry of water resources will bear the cost of flood moderation.

The project is being implemented defying strong protests from anti-dam activists who apprehend submergence of huge areas in future because of construction of the dam on Barak River.

Union power minister Sushil Kumar Sindhe laid the foundation of the power project at Churachandpur in Manipur, away from the project site, on December 16, 2006 under heavy security, defying bandh called by as many as 38 organisations, including militant outfits opposed to the construction of the power project.

Lucknow, April 28
While the people of Nepal, the only Hindu kingdom in the world, has given an electoral verdict for ending monarchy and establishing a secular government there, leaders of the World Hindu Federation (WHF) in Uttar Pradesh have threatened to launch an armed struggle to restore the Hindu kingdom.

To begin with, members of the WHF would launch a ‘padyatra’ in the districts bordering Nepal to create awareness among the people before challenging the Maoists across the border. Uttar Pradesh shares a 700-kilometre porous border with Nepal.

Holding its two-day general council meeting at Tulsipur in Balrampur district in eastern Uttar Pradesh, the WHF sent a strong signal to the new regime in Nepal by unanimously electing a retired Royal Nepal Army colonel and pro-monarchy supporter Hem Bahadur Karki as its international president.

Karki plans to join hands with all Hindu organisations to regain the lost ground inside Nepal. According to him, Guru Gorakhnath, the presiding deity of the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur, whose present head is Yogi Adiyanath, had played an important role in the unification of various small principalities and the formation of modern Nepal.

Drawing upon the close links with India, Karki informed that, “Earlier Gorakhnath’s picture was carried on the currency of Nepal, but was removed at some later stage”.

Speaking at the meeting, BJP MP from Gorakhapur Yogi Adityanath urged the Hindu community to donate open heartedly for launching a movement against the Maoists and for the restoration of Hinduism in Nepal.

Former union minister of state for home Swami Chinmayanand feared that the Maoist rule in Nepal would become a tool in the hands of China. “China is working on expanding its borders and plans to use the Maoists as a tool in this mission”, he observed.

Speaking on the same lines, outgoing president General Bharat Kesar Singh (retd) charged the Maoists with grabbing power at the barrel of the gun. “We are left with no option but to take up arms against the Maoists to safeguard the Hinduism and the monarchy in Nepal”, he said.

New Delhi, April 28
US fighter jet producer Lockheed Martin today submitted its bid for the Indian Air Force’s mega deal for induction of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), claiming its F-16IN would exceed India’s expectations.

“The F-16IN is specifically tailored to meet the IAF needs and is the most advanced multi-role combat aircraft in production anywhere in the world today. We have spent years assessing the needs of the IAF and we believe it will not just meet but exceed Indian expectations,” Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company president Ralph D. Heath said here.

The F-16IN is competing with compatriot Boeing’s F-18 Superhornet, EADS’ Eurofighter Typhoon, Russian Aircraft Corporation’s MiG-35, French firm Dassault’s Rafale and Swedish firm SAAB’s Gripen JAS-39 for the $10 billion deal.

Under the conditions of IAF’s Request for Proposal (RFP), 18 of the selected jet fighters would be bought off the shelf and the remaining 108 delivered through public sector HAL under licensed production with the Indian industry.

The RFPs of both Lockheed Martin’s F-16IN and Boeing IDS’ F-18s were submitted to the defence ministry by US Embassy officials, along with those representing these firms. Lockheed Martin was recently awarded the contract for six heavylift C-130J Super Hercules tactical airlifters to the IAF.

Asked about the advanced technologies being offered to the IAF, as the F-16s form part of the Pakistan Air Force fighter fleet too, Heath said the F-16IN would have “a multitude of cutting-edge technologies”. — PTI

New Delhi, April 28
What provokes a man to beat his wife? Why is dowry more important than the bride herself? The government hopes to find answers to these as well as various other questions related to domestic violence and atrocities against women through a round-table conference on the issue.

To be organised by the ministry of women and child welfare, the round-table will invite stakeholders from all quarters, including members from organisations who say they are the sufferers at the hand of women rather than other way around to find answers to what instigates domestic violence and how conventional mindsets against women can be changed.

“Men cannot afford to remain the part of the problem… they have to become a part of the solution. The government will hold a round-table conference of women’s organisations and the associations of men who claim to be victims of anti-dowry laws,” minister for women and child development Renuka Chowdhury today told the Rajya Sabha in response to a question related to women empowerment.

The cases of crimes against women are increasing. As per official records, as many as 164,765 cases of crimes against women were reported in the country in 2006 as against 154,333 lakh cases during 2004 and 155,553 during 2005. In 2006, 28,998 cases saw conviction of the accused and the cumulative number of cases pending trial after including those of the previous year, was 509,363.

Meanwhile, the government is also considering an amendment to the National Commission for Women (NCW) Act to make the body more effective in redressing grievances of women and help in their empowerment.

In response to a question, Chaudhury said the NCW amendment was under consideration. She, however, refrained from giving any further details on the amendments, adding that NCW chairperson Girja Vyas had been given an extension while posts of four members falling vacant would be filled in the due course.

Ahmedabad, April 28
Two officers, who were assisting the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Godhra case and some major post-Godhra riot cases, have been dropped, SIT officials said today. "We will be replacing deputy superintendent of police Noel Parmar and assistant commissioner of police Jayesh Muliyana, who were heading the sub-investigation teams formed by the SIT," said SIT convener Githa Johri.

The two officials were included in the sub-investigating team by the SIT, as they were investigation officers of the Godhra and Naroda Patia cases, respectively. The decision to drop both the officers was taken yesterday.

"We have decided to have fresh officers, that is, those who are in service and not on extension after retirement, to lead the sub-investigation teams. Since, Parmar is already on extension, the SIT members have decided to reorganise the team," Johri added.

On April 21, a group representing riot victims, the Jan Sangarsh Manch (JSM), had opposed inclusion of Parmar, saying he has not conducted "just and fair investigations" of the Godhra case.

The JSM had submitted a letter to SIT chairman and former CBI chief R K Raghavan, objecting to the inclusion of Parmar in one of the sub-investigation teams.

According to the JSM, "the accused in the Godhra carnage case have complained that Parmar, who was the investigating officer, has not carried out just and fair investigations into the offence and has falsely created the 'terrorist' theory to implicate innocent Muslims".

The group further said, "The Central Review Committee had rejected Parmar's theory and quashed all the charges under POTA levelled against the accused".

The JSM, therefore, had requested the removal of Parmar from the sub-investigating team and further suggested to the SIT not to include any police officer who has been previously associated with the cases being re-investigated.

Following the representation by the JSM, relatives of victims of the Godhra train carnage had submitted a counter memorandum alleging that the JSM was trying to distract the SIT by pointing fingers at investigating officers.

"By giving such a memorandum, the advocate representing the accused of the Godhra case is trying to influence the SIT investigation," said Vijay Patel, advocate representing the relatives of the Godhra case victims.

The five-member SIT formed, following a Supreme Court order, is investigating the Godhra case and the post-Godhra riot cases and will be submitting its report within three months to the apex court.— PTI

Patna, April 28
The Patna High Court today rejected the bail application of former MLA Rajan Tiwari in the CPM legislator Ajit Sarkar murder case.

A Division Bench comprising Justices Mridula Mishra and S.K Sinha turned down the bail plea of Tiwari, former independent MLA from Govindganj in East Champaran district for the killing of the legislator in 1998 after Bipin Kumar Sinha, counsel for the CBI, argued against it.

Sinha argued that it was Tiwari, a known history-sheeter, who had fired to kill Sarkar.

The court, however, allowed bail to another convict, Anil Kumar Yadav, on condition that he would not intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence in the trial pending against two other accused in the Sarkar murder case, Harish Chaudhary and Amar Yadav.If the CBI found him violating the two conditions, it could move the court for cancellation of the bail.

Earlier, pleading for bail to Tiwari and Anil Kumar Yadav, their counsel K P Singh and Anjana Prakash said the former MLA deserved to be granted bail as some of the witnesses had even failed to identify him as the killer and despite it he was lodged in the jail for about 9 years.

Special CBI judge B M Srivastava had on February 14 pronounced Pappu Yadav, controversial RJD MP from Madhepura, Tiwari and Anil Kumar Yadav guilty of killing Sarkar, his driver Harendra Sharma and party worker Ashfaqur Rehman at Subhasnagar in Purnia town on June 14, 1998 and sentenced them to life imprisonment besides a fine of Rs 10,000 each.Sarkar, a firebrand CPM MLA, had a running feud with Pappu Yadav over issues related to farm labourers. — PTI

New Delhi, April 28
An ex-Army officer who used a parcel bomb 26 years ago to kill a businessman, allegedly seeing his estranged wife, was convicted by a city court on Monday.

Retired Lt Colonel S J Choudhary, 70, was held guilty for murder of Krishan Sikand, who had died in an explosion caused by the parcel bomb delivered at his Sunder Nagar residence here on October 2, 1982.

"S J Choudhary, I convict you under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC and under Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Act," additional sessions judge Mamta Sehgal said, pronouncing the verdict.

The court ordered the arrest of former Army officer who was out on bail during the trial that spanned over 26 years. — PTI

Mumbai, April 28
Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Chak De India’ and ‘Om Shanti Om’ (OSO) shared nine out of the 14 awards in the technical category, announced by International Indian Film Academy (IIFA)-2008 today.

‘Chak De India’ won five awards for best cinematography, best editing, best sound recording, best sound re-recording and best screenplay, which it shared with ‘Life in a Metro’, a release said here.

Farah Khan’s ‘Om Shanti Om’ won four awards in best art direction, best special effects, best costume and best makeup categories.

“I am extremely delighted. Winning awards in the technical category is very encouraging as the brilliance of technicians, artists, writers and each person behind the camera is appreciated,” producer of ‘Chak De India’, Yash Chopra said.

Among other categories, best choreography award went to Vaibhavi Merchant for Madhuri Dixit starrer ‘Aaja Nachle’ for the song ‘Aaja Nachle’, while Javed Sheikh and Ejaz Sheikh won the best action award for ‘Shootout at Lokhandwala’. The award ceremony will be held at Bangkok from June 6-8, the release added. — UNI

BRIEFLY

4 killed in bus accident
DEWAS: Four persons were killed and 28 others injured when a private bus in which they were travelling collided head-on with a truck at Sonkutch in Dewas district on Monday morning. Bus driver Rajesh Rathore, who hailed from Sehore, was among those dead. Abdul Khan (40) and Abdul Jabbar, who belonged to Indore, were also killed while another deceased was yet to be identified, the police said. — UNI

Girl sucked by generator belt, dies
BARASAT (WB): A seven-year-old girl has died a grisly death after she was sucked into the fan belt of a generator set up at a Trinamool Congress panchayat rally at Kadambagachi, near here. Ratna Das was playing along with her friends near the generator on Sunday night when her frock was caught by the belt and before she could make out anything her hands were sucked into the machine. As she struggled to get free, the generator toppled and crushed her. She died on way to a local hospital. — PTI

Child booked under Goonda Act, 2 cops suspended
SULTANPUR (U.P): Booking a three-year-old child under the Goonda Act during a drive to register cases against criminals in the district has led to the suspension of two policemen on Monday. The two policemen, including station house officer of Haliapur, were found prima facie guilty of registering the FIR against Mukesh, son of Chandrika Prasad of Pure Grammajre village on April 25, superintendent of police D C Mishra told PTI. — PTI

Woman raped, burnt alive over land dispute
SITAMARHI: In a throwback to medieval brutality, a woman was allegedly gang-raped, tied with a rope and set afire over a land dispute in a village in Bihar's Sitamarhi district, the police said on Monday. Rinki Devi and some members of her family were tied with ropes in their house at Premnagar by locals on Sunday night before she was gang-raped and set on fire, deputy superintendent of police N P Tripathy said. — PTI

6 Manipur militants arrested in Karnataka
IMPHAL: Six senior members of Manipuri militant outfit, People's United Liberation Front, including its top leader M I Khan, have been arrested in Karnataka, official sources said here on Monday. A police team led by Imphal East district superintendent of police Th. Radheshyam with the help of Karnataka police nabbed the militants from a hotel in Mysore city. — PTI