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BMW Sting Operation
23 killed in Assam road mishap
Prez gets
five email threats |
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UPA has weakened economy: BJP
Bank looted
in Hardwar
Goa minister ‘attacks’ rape victim’s lawyer
J&K poll: EC a divided house
Amitabh’s condition improves
Christian leaders upset with NIC meeting outcome
CRPF man hacked to death in Kandhmal
Now, MP denies permission for Sonia rally
SP out to woo Mamata
Bajrang Dal fundamentalist body, says Patnaik
‘Setu not integral to Hindu religion’
4 hurt in Kanpur blast
India gets first vaccine to fight cervical cancer
Embassy Bombing India ranks 66th in Global Hunger Index Plea on AIIMS director’s retirement age dismissed
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BMW Sting Operation
New Delhi, October 14 A Bench, comprising Justices B.N. Agarwal, G.S. Singhvi and Aftab Alam, also appointed Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam and senior advocate L. Nageshwara Rao as amicus curiae in the case. The case arises from the petitions of Anand and Khan, challenging the high court order restraining them from practice for tampering with evidence in the BMW accident case and, thereby, committing contempt Slating the next hearing for November 18, the apex court made it clear that the case had “far reaching implications” as it had raised several important questions relating to law in general and, specifically, whether evidence admitted in criminal cases was applicable to matters relating to the contempt of court. The court said it would also go into the validity of Judges asking some lawyers not to appear in their courts as well as advocates' refusal to take up cases pending before a section of the judiciary. Another crucial point that had to be clarified was guidelines for electronic evidence such as tapes, CDs and chips. Such material were allowed as evidence under amended laws, but there should be an established practice to ascertain whether tapes, CDs and chips produced as evidence were authentic or tampered with. On a notice to the NDTV CEO, which had aired a sting operation to show that Anand and Khan had tried to influence a key prosecution witness (Kulkarni) in the accident case, the apex court clarified that the news channel was not being made a “formal party” to the case. The channel would have to explain the authenticity of the chips, CDs and cassettes relating to the sting operation. Another view that emerged during the two-hour-long hearing was that sting operations were being used for blackmail. The court also directed the Delhi High Court registrar to provide, latest by Friday, copies of documents pertaining to the case to the two amicus curiae. During the hearing, the Bench referred to the sting operation conducted by a news channel on the alleged cash-for-votes scam during the July 22 trust vote taken by the Manmohan Singh government in the wake of the Left parties' withdrawal of support. Pointing out that those tapes were not telecast and there were allegations of tampering, the Bench said: “Sting operations have become a business these days. Every body knows about it.” The court also acknowledged that instances of tampering with judicial proceedings were also on the rise and this could not be condoned. Appearing for Anand, counsel Aftab Ahamed said NDTV had recorded the sting operation on two days - May 6 at the VIP lounge at Delhi airport and May 8 at the parking lot of the Delhi High Court. However, the channel did not inform the trial court or the high court for 23 days, when the case came up for hearing in the two courts several times, and aired it only on May 30. This raised the genuine doubt that the recordings had been tampered with. Also, the high court verdict was based on evidence contained in a “chip” while the court records had talked about CDs and cassettes, and not chips. Further, it was not known whether the material produced by NDTV was genuine or doctored. Merely the fact that NDTV had claimed it to be genuine would not suffice as these had been in the possession of the channel, not the high court, the counsel contended. The court countered the counsel, stating that he might dismiss as doctored even the proceedings before the judiciary in the event of it being recorded and produced as evidence to sue him for some possible uncharitable remarks that might amount to contempt of court. To this, Aftab Ahamed said that was why he was insisting for authentication of such material to ensure that the lip movement in the visual and the audio were matching.
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23 killed in Assam road mishap
Guwahati, October 14 The police said the bus that was carrying labourers from Golakganj in Dhubri district to Hajo in Kamrup district, was overcrowded with 67 passengers against the seating capacity of 35. The labourers were brought by a contractor to work in brick-kilns. Fifteen passengers died on the spot as the bus (AS-17- 7152) lost control and collided with the truck carrying potato and onion. Eight others succumbed to their injuries at the Dhubri civil hospital. Five critically injured were later shifted to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital. Dhubri Superintedent of Police (SP) Parthasarathi Mahanta said:"The bus, carrying about 67 people was moving at a high speed and met with the accident after the driver lost control. The impact of the collision was so strong that both the vehicles overturned."
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New Delhi, October 14 The emails, sent from the
ID “black.monolith@gmail.com”, hurled various allegations against
Patil and also threatened her with dire consequences, official sources
said. However, ‘Airtel’, the service provider to the internet connection, was unable to give details about the connection. All the emails were received on the President’s official website — www.presidentofindia.gov.in — and the sender seemed to be a maniac, officials attached with the probe said. The police in Tamil Nadu had been alerted and a team of experts from central security agencies were working to find the creator of the emails. The security agencies are in touch with officials of the portal gmail.com to trace the senders of the threat mails, the sources said. Meanwhile, the police and central security agencies in Pune have detained one person after intercepting a car with the national emblem which was moving along the route to be taken by President Pratibha Patil on Saturday last. Sources in the police probe team said the car, a Maruti Swift, bearing a Delhi registration number, was intercepted by the police to verify the antecedents of its occupants. However, two men in the car told the police that the woman accompanying them needed urgent medical attention, the sources said. While senior police officials were approached for instructions, the three fled from the scene, the sources said. The registration number was in the name of Sengupta, who had left his Delhi residence two years back. The police detained a man
who resembled the driver of car on October 11, when the incident took
place, 45 minutes before the presidential convoy passed through the
route. He is believed to be influential and associated with a political
party. — PTI
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UPA has weakened economy: BJP
New Delhi, October 14 “Fundamentals of the economy have been weakened by this government due to the policies it has pursued in the last four-and-a-half years…we are in a tight situation. We feel the liquidity crisis in the country has nothing to do with the global financial tsunami,” former finance ministers Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha said at a joint press conference. Senior BJP leader Arun Shourie also addressed the media. Sinha alleged that the government totally ignored the supply side, which was responsible for the runaway inflation. Instead, it went about tightening money supply and raising interest rates, which not only sucked liquidity out of the market but also made money dearer. Thanks to the steps taken by the government, the country’s vulnerable economy was now in real danger of being seriously destabilised. Top BJP leaders, including party president Rajnath Singh and leader of the opposition L. K. Advani, have held several rounds of discussions over the economic situation in recent days and come to the conclusion that the ‘mismanagement’ of the economy has already led to several major imbalances such as fiscal deficit, high current account deficit, elevated inflation levels and a collapsing real-estate sector. Shourie said the BJP was of the view that a line of liquidity must be assured to mutual funds, cash reserve ratio be brought down to 5 per cent, oil bonds and other off budget items (such as fertilizer subsidies) be included in budgetary calculations as the government borrowing and funds for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) be assured through appropriate institutions. The leaders expressed concern over reports that funds earmarked for the national rural employment guarantee scheme (NREGS) were not reaching the intended beneficiaries. The government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should float equivalent of the Indian Millennium Deposits and the Resurgent Indian Bonds as such a step will ease the pressure on the rupee and thus help stabilise the foreign exchange, they said. The BJP also suggested that P-notes be discontinued, short selling in key scrips be regulated and made completely transparent and the debt market should be opened up further.
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Bank looted
in Hardwar
Hardwar, October 14 Ironically, the robbery took place on a day when Garhwal range IGP Ashok Kumar was holding a joint meeting with top police officials from the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Himachal Pradhesh to review the crime situation and to make a joint plan to combat crime in the border districts of Uttarakhand touching these three states. The bank branch had an emergency alarm and it rang but no one paid any heed, as the alarm was faulty and had been ringing without any reason making the people thinking that it was a false alarm. SSP Murugesan said the police was doing its best to nab the culprits and separate teams had been formed to crack the case. Meanwhile, citizens are worried about the law and order situation in the city. The police today released the sketches of the three suspects. Giving sequence of the events, bank guard Yashpal said, the robbers overpowered him and then made other staff members captive, including Bank manager P.C. Bhatt. The incident happened on Monday when the people were transacting in the bank. The robbers forced open the strong room of the bank and decamped with cash. But before fleeing they locked the main gate of the bank. “If this is the working of the police then we can’t rely on them, organisations such as bank are being robbed in daylight then how can we feel safe”, Madhur Sahni, a senior citizen, residing near the bank area said. The incident showed that the robbers were having a through knowledge of the security system of the bank.
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Goa minister ‘attacks’ rape victim’s lawyer
Mumbai, October 14 Aires Rodrigues, a well-known lawyer-activist who heads Utt Goenkara, an NGO, was stabbed by seven to eight persons at a Panaji restaurant on Monday night. Rodrigues, who has been carrying out a campaign against Monserrate, was attacked hours before he was to represent in court a 14-year old German girl, who was allegedly molested by the minister’s son. According to reports, Rodrigues has lost two of his fingers in the attack and suffered serious head and chest injuries. Over the past few weeks, Rodrigues has been filing petitions under the Right to Information Act on the activities and past records of Monserrate, a notorious moneylender who entered politics eight years ago. Records obtained by Rodrigues under the RTI indicated that the minister had barely passed primary school, though he claimed higher educational qualifications. However, he hit the headlines when he decided to represent a German woman, who claimed that her minor daughter was being sexually exploited by Monserrate’s son Rohit. The police today arrested Rohit as the Digambar Kamat government came in for attack on Aires Rodrigues. After the attack, Rodrigues told the police that he suspected Monserrate’s involvement in the attack. He told mediapersons in Panaji that the minister was behind the attack as he had “exposed him on every front”. The Goa police said three persons have been arrested in this connection. The police is on the lookout for Rohan, another son of the minister, in connection with the attack. Kamat told mediapersons that he has asked the police to carry out an independent investigation and take strict action against the culprits. However, BJP MLA and leader of the Opposition in the Goa Assembly Manohar Parrikar said law and order had broken down in Goa. He, however, did not criticise Monserrate with whom the BJP enjoys close relations. Monserrate responded by denying the allegations made by Rodrigues. He blamed political rivals for trying to target his family by carrying out such attacks.
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J&K poll: EC a divided house
New Delhi, October 14 While his colleagues Navin Chawla and S.Y. Qureshi are reported to be in favour of holding elections in the state during November-December, chief election commissioner N. Gopalswami is learnt to have expressed his doubts in view of the prevailing security situation. He is reported to believe that there should be adequate participation by the people in the polls or else the exercise would not be credible. His opinion is stated to be based on call given by the separatist groups in the valley for a boycott of elections while parties like the PDP and the National Conference said the current atmosphere was not conducive for the elections. The BJP and the Left parties want immediate polls. The Centre is also keen that a democratically-elected government is installed at the earliest as any delay will be construed as surrender to separatist forces and send out a negative message to the international community. The Election Commission is now expected to give its final decision by the end of this week as it requires more time for consultations. UPA sources said the EC will have to take a call at the earliest as the elections cannot be conducted in the valley once winter sets in. “The EC will have to take a view either way within the next few days,” remarked a UPA minister. The term of the J&K Assembly was to end on November 20, but with the EC has more time after imposition of the Governor’s rule in the state that ends on January 10. In case, the EC decided to club the Assembly polls with the Lok Sabha elections in April, the Governor’s rule will have to be extended. The CEC, however, refused to give out details about the reasons for not announcing the J&K poll schedule. At the moment, no decision has been taken, Gopalaswami said as he announced the time-table for the other Assembly polls. To question as to what prevented the EC from going ahead with the polls when the Centre is ready with forces for the exercise, Gopalaswami said “We will get back to you as soon as we take decision. Forces are one part of the issues. There are so many other issues. I do not want to say anything more,” he added. Asked if the elections now would not be held before March because of winter, he said “That you leave to us.”
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Amitabh’s condition improves
Mumbai, October 14 A health bulletin issued by the hospital said he had a good night’s sleep and his condition was better. The actor was admitted to the hospital on his 66th birthday last Saturday after he complained of acute abdominal pain. He underwent endoscopy, CT scan and a series of other tests since then. Amitabh's family has thanked all his well-wishers for their get-well messages and concern on the actor's health. — UNI
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Christian leaders upset with NIC meeting outcome
New Delhi, October 14 The statement was jointly issued by Archbishop Delhi Vicent Concessao, John Dayal, secretary-general, All-India Christian Council, and Dr Valson Thampu, principal, St. Stephen’s College. They said they were particularly distressed to see that while the continuing anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal, Orissa, Karnataka was forcefully detailed at the meeting, there was no assurance forthcoming as to when the more than 50,000 internally displaced persons can return home without being forced at gunpoint by the Bajrang Dal to become Hindus. “Hours before the NIC meeting began, arsonists had struck a Catholic church in rural Bangalore, and in Kandhamal, a CRPF jawan was reportedly killed by Sangh mob, and the mutilated body of a Christian farmer was recovered in the fields. When these were personally brought to the notice of the two chief ministers, they were dismissive of the reports,” said the Archbishop. The leaders brought on record how Orissa Chief Minster had admitted that at least 10 Christians were in government refugee camps; tens of thousands were in the forests or outside Orissa and 40 were dead. “The confrontation between home minister Shivraj Patil and Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik over the posting of paramilitary forces clearly showed the utter lack of coordination between the centre and state, the delays in sending police forces, the gross incompetence of the state officials in deploying central troops and helicopters,” the leaders said. They have now called upon political parties to urgently reach a consensus on curbing such senseless violence, which is terrorising minorities. “We have strongly opposed the profiling of all minorities and demanded urgent confidence building measures. On our part we have done all we can. We have met every constitutional authority at the centre and in the affected states, heads of political parties and have even moved the high courts and the Supreme Court. We spoke to the BJP. We reaffirmed the Church’s position against forcible and fraudulent conversions. And yet some government and political groups continue to harp on the same old matter which is a non-issue to the rest of the country, as a justification of the violence”, the leaders said.
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CRPF man hacked to death in Kandhmal
Bhubaneswar, October 14 Kandhmal SP Praveen Kumar said over phone that after massive search operations, the body of the CRPF staffer was recovered from a jungle and brought to the camp late last night. He said one Bakhshish Singh, working as a sweeper in the Gundani CRPF camp, left the camp to buy chicken. He was wearing a khaki dress. Some six to seven persons assaulted him with lathis. He was then dragged to a nearby jungle and later hacked to death. The SP said intensive combing operation was launched in the area to nab the persons involved in the killing. No one was arrested in connection with the incident. Kumar said barring the killing of the CRPF sweeper, no other untoward incident was reported from the trouble-torn district during the past few days. — UNI
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Now, MP denies permission for Sonia rally
Bhopal, October 14 “The permission for holding Congress president’s rally was denied by the state government on the plea that Lal Parade ground is a high risk area,” MPCC president Suresh Pachouri told a press conference here. He alleged the permission was denied under pressure from the BJP government in the state and added if this was not the case then the government should ask its officials on the issue. The Congress president is scheduled to arrive here on October 19 to launch her party’s poll campaign for the November 25 assembly elections in the state. — PTI
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SP out to woo Mamata
New Delhi, October 14 Striking similar notes, Singh and Mamata accused Ratan Tata of playing politics by withdrawing the Nano project from Singur when an agreement had been arrived at and signed in the presence of state’s governor. The TCP leader washed her hands off the issue, blaming Tata’s ouster on political games being played by the Left Front government ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.” “They have a secret agreement with general elections in mind. We will soon expose their designs,” said Mamata, who met the President and the Prime Minister today to demand the restoration of 400 acres of land in Singur to farmers. Clarifying her position on the Tata Motor issue, the TCP chief said she was never against the industrialisation and wanted agriculture and industry to smile together. “Why the Tatas left is for the state government to reply,” she said, seeking the Centre to implement the agreement on Nano project signed between West Bengal industry minister Nirupam Sen and opposition leader in the “interest of the constitution.” If the agreement was not implemented, there would be a constitutional disaster, she warned, going on to support SP’s demand for a judicial probe into the Batla House encounter in Jamia Nagar. “A probe is important to prevent a particular community from being branded as terrorists,” she said, with Imam Barkati of Tipu Sultan mosque in central Kolkata, in presence. And though the TCP leader insisted that her presence along side Amar Singh had no political meaning, the developing equations seemed hard to ignore, considering Mamata has been looking beyond the NDA to gain the political foothold in West Bengal. The evident reason is Mamata’s eagerness to woo the Muslims in West Bengal, who would not support her in case she goes with the BJP. “We will go it alone in West Bengal,” said the TCP leader, who had earlier also ditched the NDA. In March 2001, she broke away to go with the Congress, a party she had once termed “B team of the CPM in West Bengal.” Though the stated reason for her quitting was Atal Behari Vajpayee’s refusal to accept the resignation of defence minister George Fernandes who was in the dock following Tehelka expose, the real reason, it is evident, was electoral. She wanted to forge an alliance with the Congress to defeat the CPM in West Bengal. And to do that, she needed to appear secular to the minorities. Political observers say they won’t be surprised if Mamata again left the NDA for the UPA. That she has no love lost for the NDA is evident. She abstained from voting in the recent vote of confidence on the nuclear deal.
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Bajrang Dal fundamentalist body, says Patnaik
New Delhi, October 14 Though he earlier accepted that many members from the twin organisations were arrested for violence against Christians in the state, he refused to acknowledge the outfits as extremist. “I want to correct myself here. I said fundamentalist and not extremist organisation,” Patnaik told NDTV when asked to clarify whether he views them as extremist organisations. Patnaik chose to defend the state government’s role in the whole episode saying, “My government has arrested people, who have indulged in violence and certainly stringent action would be taken against all those who break the law.” Earlier, Patnaik had criticised the demand for imposition of President’s rule in Orissa, dubbing it as “totally unjustified and politically motivated. Refuting the charge that the BJD-BJP government was acting in complicity with VHP and Bajrang Dal, Patnaik then referred to the arrest of members of both the organisation and said, “every bone in my body is secular.” —PTI
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‘Setu not integral to Hindu religion’
New Delhi, October 14 In a written submission, summing up the oral arguments in the case in which the apex court has reserved its order, the government said Ram Setu did not attract protection under the Constitution. A reading of the petitioners’pleadings showed that they “have not alleged much less proved that Ram Setu forms an integral or essential part of the Hindu religion” and as such did not have to be protected under Articles 25 or 26 of the Constitution as claimed by the petitioners, the centre said. Also, religious texts relied by the petitioners themselves showed that Lord Ram built the bridge but he himself broke it while returning from Sri Lanka after winning the war with Ravana, the centre contended in the submissions made yesterday. A Bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan has reserved its judgment on the petition seeking declaration of the 35-km long Ram Setu also known as Adam’s Bridge as a monument of national heritage to prevent its demolition for setting up the shipping channel project. On the suggestion of the court for exploring the possibility of finding an alternative route/alignment for the project, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed a six-member committee headed by Dr R.K. Pachauri. The court is awaiting the committee’s report.
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4 hurt in Kanpur blast
Lucknow, October 14 However, speaking to a news channel, a young girl who heard the explosion said that it was loud and shattered the windowpanes. The injured have been admitted to the local hospital.
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India gets first vaccine to fight cervical cancer
New Delhi, October 14 Gardasil helps prevent diseases such as cervical cancer; abnormal and precancerous cervical lesions, vaginal lesions, vulvar lesions; and genital warts, and is recommended to females aged 9 to 26 years. It is approved by the Food and Drug Administration office, USA. Announcing the launch of the vaccine today, Dr Naveen Rao, MD, MSD India, said, “With this launch, we have initiated a war against cervical cancer, the number one cause of mortality amongst Indian women due to cancer.”
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Embassy Bombing New Delhi, October 14 No Pakistani agency was involved in the Kabul embassy incident, Pakistan national security adviser Mahmud Ali Durrani is learnt to have told India’s NSA M.K. Narayanan at their two-day official-level talks, which concluded today. Durrani also had meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and foreign secretary Shiv Shanker Menon today. He also interacted with the National Security Council and members of the National security Advisory Board. Reliable sources privy to the meeting between Narayanan and Durrani said the Indian side was told by the Pakistani delegation that all security agencies in Pakistan, including the ISI, were firmly under the control of the political leadership. India assured Pakistan that it would abide by the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty when Islamabad expressed concern over the ‘reduced’ flow of water in Chenab. A joint statement by the two sides said the two NSAs reviewed the status of bilateral relations against the backdrop of recent summit level meetings between the leadership of both countries.
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India ranks 66th in Global Hunger Index New Delhi, October 14 India ranks 66th on the 2008 Global Hunger Index of 88 countries, a report released by the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said. According to the 2008 Global Hunger Index (GHI), India’s hunger rate fell to 23.7 points, from 32.5 points in 1990, while Congo showed highest hunger rate of 42.7 points at 88th place. — PTI
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Plea on AIIMS director’s retirement age dismissed New Delhi, October 14 Venugopal, who was reinstated as AIIMS director after the court’s intervention, has now left the institute after his five-year tenure as director ended in July. The government’s petition related to his premature retirement episode now is limited to the technical point of fixing 65 as the upper age limit for the retirement of the AIIMS director. A division bench comprising Justices Tarun Chatterjee and H.S. Bedi, however, refused to entertain the government’s plea to review its order. The apex court, on May 9 this year, had struck down the controversial amendment to Section 11 of the AIIMS Act, 2007 by which Venugopal was prematurely retired and had termed the provison as “unconstitutional and against the principles of natural justice”. — PTI
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Dasmunsi shows improvement Bid to damage rail track, four Naxals held 750 gm of heroin seized
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Guwahati, October 14
New Delhi, October 14
