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Redtape caused 13 air accidents: CAG
Valid visa holders being sent back from airports
Mamata calls for fresh stir at Singur
‘All’s fine in Uttarakhand BJP’
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Left rejects PM’s overture
Jammu and Kashmir
New plan to build 3,500 girls hostels
Chandrayaan enters deep space
Excise inspectors: SC notice to Punjab
Rajasthan to spread digital literacy
Jewellers offering freebies to gold buyers in Mumbai
Convention seeks home minister’s resignation
SC Vacations
ITBP to guard plains
Ex-UP minister’s kin held in robbery case
SC Vacations
Sri Lanka promoting Ramayana sites
SC settles case filed before Independence
Poor undertrials to be released on bond
MNS Attacks
CIC: Cabinet decision papers disclosable
5 militants killed in Assam
Karunanidhi ‘not to precipitate crisis’
Non-teaching staff to get arrears
Software engineer
held for terror links seeks pardon
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Redtape caused 13 air accidents: CAG
New Delhi, October 26 The delay has caused 13 air accidents and 542 incidents in the past 17 years, resulting in a loss of 12 aircraft with financial implication of Rs 181.33 crore. Incidentally, the delay has had a much higher financial implication than the cost of solid-waste management and drainage schemes/projects put together, says a CAG report. The report has directly blamed the ministry for its “lackadaisical approach” in implementing the project on “ Solid-Waste Management and Drainage in 10 selected IAF airfields” costing Rs 105 crore. The airfields include Sirsa and Ambala (Haryana), Adampur (Punjab), Gwalior (MP), Hindon and Bareilly(UP), Tezpur (Assam), Pune (Maharashtra), Jodhpur(Rajasthan and Dindigul (AP). The report released on Friday says out of 10 projects only two-at Sirsa and Jodhpur-were reported completed in June 2006 and October 2006, respectively. However, even after completion of the projects at Sirsa and Jodhpur, 11 incidents occurred at the airfields during 2006-07, raising doubts about effectiveness of the projects. Bird hits have been a major cause of air accidents. Indiscriminate disposal of garbage and stagnation of wastewater in open drains close to airfields attract birds, thereby posing serious hazards to aircraft operating at such air fields. The CAG report says that during the period from 1978-79 to 1987-88, the IAF suffered damages to 60 aircraft due to bird hits. Of these, in 38 cases the aircarft was totally destroyed and five pilots killed. The IAF was stated to be incurring an expenditure of more than Rs 50-crore annually on this account. In 1990, the inter-ministerial joint sub committee (IMJSC) recommended implementation of the garbage disposal and sewage/drainage schemes at 10 selected high-risk airfields mentioned above at an estimated cost of Rs 5.03 crore, which were to be completed within two to three years. However, remedial measures identified were not implemented due to lack of financial resources and unwillingness of states and local bodies to invest funds in these schemes. Following this IMJSC recommended central funding for the scheme and the MoUD to be made nodal ministry for solid-waste management and sewage schemes. “Audit examination indicated that despite the IMJSC’s recommendations of February 1990, the solid-waste management and sewage schemes in the 10 airfields were not completed even after 17 years,” the report says. The ministry in October 2007 stated that main causes for delay were non-finalisation of sources in funding and delays in formulation and finalisation of DPRs and project approvals by various authorities. However, CAG said contention of the ministry was not tenable as these issues should have been sorted out much earlier through better coordination and serious and sustained efforts on the part of the ministry.
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Valid visa holders being sent back from airports
Chandigarh, October 26 In a written reply to Tarlochan Singh, MP, union minister of state for home affairs Sri Parkash Jaiswal, said while 2009 foreigners with valid visas were turned back from these five airports in 2007, the number of such people till end of June this year was 1020. Most of those turned back had either come to adverse notice or on forged, damaged or expired passports or had incomplete or invalid travel documents. The minister maintained that details of foreigners who came to adverse notice were circulated to Indian missions and posts abroad so that they were not granted visas at the time of application itself. “However, for some reasons if such reports reach the visa issuing authorities late and the visas are already granted, the entry of such persons is banned into the country at the time of immigration clearance,” said Jaiswal. Tarlochan, subsequently wrote to the minister saying figures given by him in his written reply were of a large number of refusals at Indian airports. “This speaks of lack of communication between the Union Home Ministry and Indian missions abroad. “Further,” said Tarlochan, “ it has not been mentioned that any of these persons were travelling on forged documents. Visa of every traveller by the international airline concerned and also the immigration officer at the port of his or her embarkation. “I have met many Sikh NRIs or PIOs who have suffered mentally and financially under the process without any fault. I raised this issue in Parliament last year also and requested the Home Ministry to give complete information to all missions on doubtful persons so that they should examine each case before issuance of visa. I am of the opinion anybody with a valid visa should not be turned back. In case there is any doubt about his or her travel documents, he or she should be detained at the airport and documents examined by the mission issuing the visa and the Home Ministry. The benefit of the doubt should go in favour of the NRI or the PIO. There is already a proposal to grant temporary visa to the tourist on arrival as is being done in many countries,” Tarlochan said in his letter. Demand from overseas Indians to review the “black list” notwithstanding, turning back of people from five international airports in India is alarmingly high. Most of those turned back are generally NRIs or People of Indian Origin (PIOs), holds Tarlochan. Jaiswal had maintained in his reply to augment security, screening and also to facilitate passengers to mitigate hardships, the immigration system has been modernised at important international airports with the upgrade of the computer systems, implementation of immigration control software (ICS), installation of passport reading machines and questionable document examiner machines. Further, the advance passenger information system (APIS) has also been introduced at six international airports, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Amritsar is yet to get the APIS.
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Mamata calls for fresh stir at Singur
Kolkata, October
26 Mamata’s close aide Mukul Roy claimed that RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, LJP’s Ram Bilas Paswan, NCP leader Sharad Pawar and some other like-minded parties had welcomed the new front, which would be countering the proposed Karat-Mayawati power front in UP and elsewhere. Roy felt in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and afterwards, they could come to an understanding with the UPA and its allies in the formation of an anti-left secular government at the centre. Mamata, however, did not spell out anything about her talks with Sonia Gandhi and Mulayaum Singh Yadav. She also refused to make any comment about her position in the NDA vis-ŕ-vis her relation with the BJP. Mamata said she was now more interested in protecting the rights of farmers and the poor people in West Bengal against the CPM’s vandalism and the government misrule. She said they would launch a fresh agitation at Singur for returning of lands to the unwilling farmers and subsequently at Nandigarm for protecting the local people against the cadres’ attacks. She hoped both the Congress and the SP would now join them in their stir at Singur and Nandigram against the CPM. She also was hopeful of getting active supports from the two major partners of the Left Front, namely, the RSP and the Forward Bloc in their agitation at Singur and
Nandigram, which did not support the CPM’s stand on the Tatas. The state government has already rejected Mamata’s demand for returning of Singur lands to the farmers. Instead, the lands would be utilised for industrial purposes if the Tatas could not be persuaded to use it for the automobile industries, the state industries minister Nirupam Sen said. He said they had once again requested the Tatas to set up some other automobile industries at Singur, if they could not restart the Nano plat there. However, so far there was no response. Both CPM party secretary Biman Bose and the industries minister said the Tatas would be told to return the lands if they were not using it for the industrial purposes. But so far neither Ratan Tata nor the Tata Motors managing director Ravi Kant had spoken to the chief minister or the industries minister about the returning of the Singur lands to the government.
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‘All’s fine in Uttarakhand BJP’
New Delhi, October 26 The two leaders are believed to have come to some kind of understanding the details of which the BJP leaders were reluctant to disclose. The BJP leadership merely stated that the two Uttarakhand leaders of the party, which is heading the government in the state, had an hour-long meeting with two important national leaders M. Venkiah Naidu and Sushma Swaraj at Naidu’s residence yesterday afternoon. A party source said, “Don’t worry, things are fine. Nothing is going to happen.” He was referring to the demand of 17 BJP legislators, including three ministers to replace Khanduri and appoint their leader Koshiyari as the state Chief Minister. Sources also said at this crucial juncture when elections to five states, important to the BJP’s long-term prospects were underway, there was no question of the party destabilising one of its important citadels, namely Uttarakhand. Even if any change of leadership in any state was absolutely necessary it would be done only after elections, sources said. The BJP rebels had come here earlier this week claiming to have handed over the resignation letters of 17 MLAs to party president Rajnath Singh. They also claimed support of another 11 in their quest for change of leadership in the state. But Swaraj had then categorically denied any such meeting. She had also ruled out any change in leadership. This was because BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani rejected the demand. A similar demand was raised by the same group way back on August 11 but then the national leaders had sought time to resolve the tangle. It had asked senior leaders Venkaiah Naidu and Sushma Swaraj to talk to the warring factions and broker peace. The Friday meeting at Naidu’s house was held in this context.
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Left rejects PM’s overture
New Delhi, October 26 Reacting to Singh’s remarks yesterday to accompanying journalists on his way back from China that he would like to work with Left parties for secularism and national unity, CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury said: “If the concern for secularism is so sincere then all this should have been thought before rushing into surrender to the US on the issue of civil nuclear deal”. He asked the Prime Minister to reconsider his economic policies. CPI secretary D. Raja said unless the Prime Minister and the Congress-led UPA government reversed its policies and get out of the Indo-US nuclear deal, it would be difficult to work with them. He said the government should reverse its economic reforms and stop pursuing strategic ties with the US. Yechury said it was “our pressure that prevented the government from going in from a full capital account convertibility and enact laws to open up insurance and banking sectors. Had it happened we would have been ruined today”. Raja said it was due to the Left opposition that the government could not proceed with full rupee convertibility or put in pension funds into the stock market. Both the leaders were asked to comment on Singh’s statement that he hoped to find ways and means to work with Left and secular parties even though he disagreed with them on economic issues.
— PTI
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Karat: UPA has paved way for third-party role
Faraz Ahmad Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 26 As a sign of a greater stridency against the government on every front CPM general secretary Prakash Karat has accused the UPA government of paving way for third-party interference in Jammu and Kashmir. In a signed article in the party organ ‘People’s Democracy’, Karat has said the recent visits of American and Israeli army chiefs to the valley showed that the UPA regime was ignoring the message such a move was sending down the line. “The people of Kashmir valley have had a direct experience of the nexus with the US and Israel. It has opened the way for a third -party interference in Kashmir,” Karat said. Accusing the government of partisanship against the people of the Kashmir valley he alleged that while Jammu was paralysed for a month the government did nothing, while in the valley situation was being met by force and administrative measures. “What message was being sent by all this to the people of the valley is something that does not bother a government which sees the future of India through the prism of the US neo conservatives,” the CPM general secretary said. He said, “No government has lost credibility or legitimacy so rapidly in a short time as the Manmohan Singh- led government did. He also referred to communal attacks on Christians and Muslims in different parts of the country, and said no action was being taken to curb the lawless violence by the Bajrang Dal and such other outfits. Trying to distinguish between the Congress and other UPA allies perhaps in view of keeping its doors open for a future alliance with UPA partners he said “Even UPA partners like Lalu Prasad (RJD) and Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP) and the sober advice of Sharad Pawar (NCP) to act against the Bajrang Dal could not move the government.” He argued that if action had been taken (against the Bajrang Dal), then every secular party outside the NDA would have supported the government. “Even the allies of the BJP like the JD-U and the BJD would have found it difficult to oppose it,” Karat said describing the failure to intervene in Kandhamal and bring the Bajrang Dal to book as “The latest pusillanimous stand starting from the back-tracking and vacillations on the Babri Masjid issue,” Karat said recalling the Congress government’s inertia in acting against sangh outfits. He also accused the centre of ignoring the resentment over widespread rounding up and harassment of Muslim youths whenever a terrorist blast took place and said the police was increasingly seen to be targetting the Muslims. This has caused widespread anger and fear among the minorities though he added, “It cannot be denied that some Muslim youths are being drawn into groups, who espouse extremist ideology and violence.”
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New plan to build 3,500 girls hostels
New Delhi, October 26 The ministry has henceforth decided to scrap the old scheme, saying in a statement that fund users were exploiting procedural gaps in the old scheme. The TISS studied the old scheme in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and said it needed an urgent revamp. The new scheme would give financial assistance for building and running girls hostels by state governments in educationally backward blocks, a press statement from the HRD ministry said. It added that the new Rs 2,000 crore scheme to be implemented from this financial year includes recurring grants to meet residents’ need. Target groups would be girls students of classes IX to XII and from minority communities and BPL families. “Girls studying in a recognised school in educationally backward blocks run by any authority -- state, district or any NGO -- with a valid certificate from the school headmaster will be eligible to stay in these hostels,” the ministry stated, adding that it sought to admit 50 per cent girls hailing from SCs, STs and OBCs. The hostels would be built in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, or in the schools chosen by the respective state government. “The KGB Vidyalaya students will be given preference in accommodation. In blocks with no KGB vidyalayas, students from all government or aided schools in the vicinity of the hostel will be eligible,” the press statement said. An amount of Rs 2,000 crore has been set aside for the scheme under the 11th Plan.
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Chandrayaan enters deep space
Chennai, October 26 ISRO sources said this happened after the successful completion of the spacecraft’s third orbit, raising manoeuvre today morning. This was for the first time in India’s nearly 45-year-old space history that a spacecraft reached the deep space orbit. It was a red letter day for the ISRO yesterday when
Chandrayaan-I, the country’s first unmanned lunar exploratory mission, went beyond the earth’s orbit at an apogee of 75,000 km. On Sunday, it marked yet another achievement as it went into deep space orbit crossing past 150,000 km from the earth. “With this we are confident that the
Chandrayaan-I will reach the lunar orbit as per schedule on November 8”, the source said. It has now entered a much higher elliptical orbit around the earth. The apogee (farthest point to earth) of this orbit lies at 164,600 km, while the perigee (nearest point to earth) was at 348 km. In this orbit, it takes about 73 hours to go round the earth once. The antennae of the Indian Deep Space Network at
Byalalu, near Bangalore, is playing a crucial role in tracking and communicating with the spacecraft in such a high orbit. “The spacecraft’s performance is normal. More orbit raising manoeuvres are planned in the coming few days to take it towards the lunar orbit”, the sources added.
— UNI
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Excise inspectors: SC notice to Punjab
New Delhi, October 26 A Bench comprising Justices Lokeshwar Singh Panta and V.S Sirpurkar issued the notice following a special leave petition filed by Sunita Rani and other candidates. The candidates had cleared the written examination held by the Subordinate Services Selection Board in 1999 for filling up 53 posts of inspectors in the
department. According to petitioners’ counsel P.S. Patwalia, successful candidates appeared for the interview in December 2001, but before the results could be out, the Election Commission announced the dates for the assembly polls in the state. The model code of conduct that came into force immediately stalled the recruitment process. Some of the candidates moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, upon which the then Amarinder Singh government filed an affidavit stating that there was no plan to fill up vacancies in the Excise and Taxation Department due to the financial position. The high court dismissed the petition by the candidates who had given the interview. However, the candidates knocked at the doors of the Supreme Court in 2005. In the meantime, the Punjab government brought out an advertisement last month for filling up 160 posts in the department, prompting them to revive their efforts at the apex court. They contended that the posts should be offered to them first before any fresh process was initiated.
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Rajasthan to spread digital literacy
Jaipur, October 26 The gyan kendras are part of a comprehensive plan to develop skilled youth manpower with basic IT skills by January. M.L. Mehta, chairman, RKCL, said at the sidelines of a function that the corporation would provide IT training through qualified faculty at 1000 IT gyan kendras across the state. For spreading digital literacy through its flagship programme, Rajasthan state certificate course in IT (RS-CIT)would be started that would be approved by the state government. Mehta said this was a high quality and low cost IT literacy program for three months that would offer a novel curriculum in the local language. The examination will be conducted by Vardhman Mahaveer Open University, Kota. Mehta stated that on October 22, 2008, during their visit to RKCL campus in Jaipur, Ganesh Natrajan, chairman, NASSCOM, and Dr Uma Ganesh of Global Talent Track appreciated the cost effective project and hoped that skill upgradation of the state youth would be assured by this initiative. Delhi-based NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) is a global trade body with over 1,200 members throughout the world. RKCL is a multi-stakeholder public limited company comprising the Rajasthan government; Maharastra Knowledge Corporation Ltd, Mumbai; University of Rajasthan, Jaipur; Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur; Vardhman Mahaveer Open University, Kota, and Centre for e-Governance, Jaipur. Mehta said the corporation was in a process of appointing franchisees in various districts, including village-level. He informed that the aim was to setup at least 500 IT gyan kendras across the state by year-end and start first batch by January 15, 2009.
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Jewellers offering freebies to gold buyers in Mumbai
Mumbai, October 26 The enthusiastic purchases of earlier years have been missing due to dull market sentiments. The situation has been worsened as astrologers predicted that today would not
be an auspicious day for purchasing gold. Gold purchases usually peak during ‘Dhanteras’, but the yellow metal has fallen sharply after rising to a peak earlier this month. The jewellers in Mumbai were selling gold at around Rs 12,100 per 10gm this morning, a slight hike from the Rs 12,030 on Saturday. Gold prices had touched the Rs 14,000 mark
earlier this month before falling sharply. A number of gold jewellers were not taking any chances and were offering freebies to those buying gold today. Big Bazaar, which has a division called Gold Bazaar, was inviting buyers with low making charges of Rs 91 per piece of jewellery subject to conditions. D’Damas came up with scratch and win offers that would enable buyers to win gifts on purchase of jewellery. A number of small jewellers were offering silver jewellery free
on purchase of expensive gold items. “Gold sales are very volatile and are determined by prices,” says Dhiren Jhaveri, a Mumbai jeweller. He noted that buyers disappeared after gold touched Rs 14,000 per 10gm. “The weekend saw a large number of buyers return as gold prices fell to a little above Rs 12,000 per 10 gm,” says Jhaveri. According to him, the demand remains muted overall as people expect gold prices to fall further. “Moreover, a lot of our buyers have lost heavily in the stock markets,” says Jhaveri tells about the reason behind the fall of number of buyers of gold. According to him, people were actually selling gold earlier this month when the price touched Rs 14,000 per 10gm. Some of them were offloading gold to pay for losses incurred in the stock markets, Jhaveri said.
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Convention seeks home minister’s resignation
New Delhi, October 26 The two-day convention on “Countering fascist forces: Defending the Idea of India”, also called for the dismissal of National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan for incompetence and all intelligence lapses, leading to rise in terrorist and communal violence. It also demanded prosecution of members of the BJP and the ABVP, “who have links with the Hindutva terrorist organisations such as the ones implicated in the Malegaon bomb blasts, and called for a ban on the RSS, Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad for terrorist and anti-national activities and provision of immediate relief and compensation to the victims of communal violence in Orissa and other states. The convention also condemned the UPA government for falling prey to the Hindutva agenda, while paying lip service to secularism and demanded the setting up of a time bound judicial inquiry into the Jamia Nagar encounter headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. Releasing the resolution at a press conference, which saw participation from thinkers and intellectuals like Achin Vanaik, Iftikhar Gilani, John Dayal, Justice A.M. Ahmadi, Kuldip Nayar, Prashant Bhushan, Prof Mushir ul Hasan, Prof Upendra Buxi, Suresh Khairnar and Swami Agnivesh, Shabnam Hashmi, said the rise of communal fascism has emerged as a threat not only to its immediate victims but to the very long term survival of India as an unified nation of diverse religions, linguistic and ethnic groups. “The mysterious and condemnable acts of terrorism that have shaken different parts of the country have engendered a climate of fear, insecurity and fuelled the politics of communal decision,” Hashmi said.
— UNI
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‘Colonial legacy’ needs to go: House panel
New Delhi, October 26 “Given the huge number of cases pending in the Supreme Court...the system of lengthy vacation is better done away with,” the committee said while suggesting to the apex court to explore “in the interest of justice” the possibility of increasing the daily working hours. While endorsing a Bill seeking to increase the apex court judge strength from 25 to 30, excluding the Chief Justice of India, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice said “reduced vacations will automatically add to the number of working days.” Rajya Sabha member E.M Sudharsana Natchiappan headed the committee. On the issue of working hours, Natchiappan felt that by increasing the working hours, it was possible to take up more matters for hearing, thus, contributing to reduction in pendency. There was some difference of opinion among committee members over the issue of the court vacations. While some members said given the huge pendency existing at various levels, including at the Supreme Court level, vacations were a privilege that the judicial system could hardly afford. Others, however, batted for the judges by taking the stand that they also work at their residences for studying cases and writing judgements after office hours. — PTI
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ITBP to guard plains
New Delhi, October 26 Postings in the plains and missions abroad would reduce the physical hardship borne by soldiers in high-altitude regions, said union home minister Shivraj Patil during interaction with troops of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). “You will not only be serving in the country, but also be posted abroad. This will reduce the physical pain that you undergo during your posting in high altitude. You will also know how big this world is and how people lead their lives,” he said. The force has raised 20 more battalions and is eyeing at least 15 cities in the country. It has already acquired lands at seven places to set up battalion centres after talks with the respective state governments. Once these battalion stations are established in the plains, jawans who complete their two-three years of high altitude postings, can be accommodated there. It will also facilitate the ITBP’s presence in areas beyond its operations in order to meet new responsibilities. “Talks with various state governments are on for the purchase of land. About 75-85 acres of lands are required at each place to establish a base and station a battalion,” director-general of the ITBP force Vikram Srivastava said
— PTI
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Ex-UP minister’s kin held in robbery case
Agra, October 26 The incident took place last night at Lajpathkunj Colony in the city when
Neetu, nephew of former UP minister from Bulandshahar K.V.S. Sirohi, and Sanjay, son of former City Magistrate Ranvir Singh, barged into Dr Anil Rajan’s clinic and demanded money from him. When Rajan refused to respond, they shot at him and his
compounder, Agra range DIG N. K. Srivastava said. As they were from affluent families, the motive of the robbery could not be understood, Srivastava added. The two assailants went to the consultation room and shot at Rajan after a brief altercation. They also shot at the compounder when he cried out for help, the police said. While the doctor is reportedly out of danger, the compounder’s condition was stated to be critical. Meanwhile, the local unit of the Indian Medical Association condemned the attack and called for one-day strike. Doctors took out a procession to the divisional commissioner’s residence to protest against the attack.
— PTI
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1 more picked up from Bhopal
Bhopal, October 26 However, senior police officials, including inspector-general (IG), special task force (STF), Sanjeev Singh denied having any information in this regard, but confirmed that the ATS team is in the state to take into custody suspected persons specially after the arrest of three persons from Madhya Pradesh. A team of ATS officials had arrived in the state a few days ago and conducted raids at several places, including Bhopal, Indore, Dewas, Jabalpur and Gwalior, in search of the suspected persons, the sources added. — PTI
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Sri Lanka promoting Ramayana sites
New Delhi, October 26 “Sri Lanka is the proud custodian of more than 50 sites related to the
epic Ramayana. Now, the government has started developing these sites to attract more tourists from India,”
Sri Lankan High Commissioner C.R Jayasinghe said. Sri Lankan tourism has designed a ‘Ramayana tourist package’ for the
benefit of travellers, especially those from India, the envoy said. The package includes sites from
the place of Sita’s captivity to the battlefields and to the ultimate theatre of war where Lord Ram killed Ravana. The envoy said the Sri Lankan
government has developed infrastructure in the areas and was promoting the sites through an aggressive advertising
campaign. — PTI
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SC settles case filed before Independence
New Delhi, October 26 The original suit filed by Ammasai Gounder against A.T. Krishnasami Mudaliar and another for the recovery of amount due towards the supply of jaggery in 1946 before the sub-court, Coimbatore, had travelled over 62 years before the court settled the case once and for all. The original suit was first decreed on October 10, 1947, in the favour of Gounder. Challenging the decree, Mudaliar filed an appeal in the Madras High Court, the same year. The high court stayed the decree subject to the defendants (Mudaliar) depositing the decretal amount in the court. The court permitted Gounder to withdraw the said decretal amount after furnishing security to the satisfaction of the court. One Ramaswami Gounder became the surety and gave his agricultural lands as security for the amount permitted to be withdrawn by Ammasai. However, on an appeal from Mudaliar, the Madras High Court set aside the decree, but by that time Ammasai Gounder is said to have absconded with the amount.
— PTI
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Poor undertrials to be released on bond
Mumbai, October 26 If such a person languishes in a jail for over a week, the jail’s in charge will have to pay compensation from his own pocket, the court observed. The court had taken up the issue of undertrials who can’t furnish bail while dealing with a bail application of a murder accused. Justice F.I. Rebello visited the jails at Yerawada and Ratnagiri early this year in this connection and noticed that in both prisons there were several undertrials who were booked for petty offences, and should have been released on bail. But they continued to be in jail, because there was nobody to stand surety (guarantor) for them, and as a result they could not get bail. The petitioner’s lawyer told the court that in Mumbai’s Aurthur Road jail, out of 2,296 inmates, a whopping 1,660 were booked in bailable offences. Judges were appalled to learn this, because in such cases, the Criminal Procedure Code provides for release on a personal bond. — PTI
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MNS Attacks
Patna, October 26 A delegation comprising Union Ministers, parliamentarians and leaders of various political parties in Bihar would meet the Prime Minister at 5 pm tomorrow to demand protection of north Indians, particularly Biharis living in Mumbai, a press release issued by CM’s secretariat said. An all-party meeting on October 23 had expressed anguish over the attack on north Indian examinees by activists of Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). They unanimously decided to submit a joint memorandum to Prime Minister in this regard. The meeting, convened by Nitish Kumar to discuss the situation and to take up the issue with the Centre, had appealed to the people of Bihar to maintain restraint. The meeting had also condemned the retaliatory attack by the students targetting government and railway property in Bihar against ill-treatment on them by the MNS activists on October 19. Bahujan Samaj Party and CPI-ML (Liberation) boycotted the all-party meeting. — PTI
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CIC: Cabinet decision papers disclosable
New Delhi, October 26 “The plea taken by the first appellate authority that the decision of council of ministers are disclosable but Cabinet papers are not totally untenable,” chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah ruled. The CIC was hearing the plea of P.D. Khandelwal of Noida, who sought inspection of a file under which a circular of Appointment Committee of the Cabinet, Department of Personnel and Training, was issued in 1999. The inspection was denied by the department saying it formed the part of cabinet papers, including the records of deliberations of secretaries and other officers, and was exempted under Section 8 (1) of the Act.
— PTI |
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5 militants killed in Assam
Guwahati, October 26 Army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia informed that acting on a tip-off that a group of militants from the 709 battalion of the ULFA were present inside the forest area, a joint team of the Army and the police launched a search operation last night. On seeing the security personnel, the militants opened fire and five of the militants were killed in the ensuing encounter. One of the slain militants was identified as Sanjit Sarania alias Siphung, a self-style corporal of the 709 battalion of the ULFA. The encounter lasted for more than one hour. The Army claimed to have recovered four pistols, two grenades, one improvised explosive device, 1 kg RDX, 1 kg urea, nine detonators, 29 rounds of assorted ammunition and one radio set. In the wake of declaration of unilateral truce by two companies of ULFA’s 28th battalion about three months ago, the Army and the police have been hot on the trails of the cadres of the outfit who are active in lower Assam areas especially locations close to India-Bhutan border. The Army claimed that last night’s killings of five hardcore cadres would served a serious blow to the operations of the ULFA in lower Assam districts.
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Karunanidhi ‘not to precipitate crisis’
Chennai, October 26 "The Chief Minister assured me that he will not precipitate any crisis for the UPA government," external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters after emerging from a meeting with Karunanidhi here. The assurance by Karunanidhi to Mukherjee after UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi spoke to the Chief Minister, assumed significance as the DMK and some other Tamil Nadu parties had issued an ultimatum that all MPs from the state would resign if the Centre did not take steps to ensure a ceasefire in Sri Lanka's embattled north by October 29. DMK and some of its allies have 24 members in the Lok Sabha out of a total of 39 members from the state in the House.
— PTI
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Non-teaching staff to get arrears
New Delhi, October 26 The arrears would be provided for the period from January 2006 to August 31. The rest would be paid during the next financial year, the UGC said. It has sent a letter in this regard to the registrars of all central universities and deemed universities and Delhi colleges getting non-plan grants from it. Employees other than teachers would get the payment for the “relevant period”, it said in the letter. The arrears should be paid in cash in two instalments. “The central universities, deemed universities, Delhi colleges may make ad-hoc payment of arrears towards the first instalment to its non-teaching employees whose pattern of emolument’s structure are identical to those of the employees of central government,” the letter said.
— PTI
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Software engineer
held for terror links seeks pardon
Mumbai, October 26 Peerbhoy allegedly was among the main members of the media wing of the terror group and was responsible for sending threatening e-mails prior to the Ahmedabad serial blasts on July 26 and Delhi blasts on September 13 using wireless Internet connections in Navi Mumbai and Mumbai respectively. Peerbhoy has said in his application that he would be willing to aid the investigating agencies and has asked as to what pardon the state can grant him, court sources said. Joint commissioner of police (crime) Rakesh Maria said Peerbhoy had filed an application. “The application has been filed before the MCOCA court by his lawyer and we have been asked to file our say by November 4, “ Maria said.
— PTI
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Polling stations for
Kashmiri migrants Centre to tackle cyber crime 5 ULFA rebels killed e-trade of wildlife Food insecurity in Orissa Flood warning 6 farmers commit suicide India’s first ISO-certified dhaba Assam’s
first pvt varsity
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