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Malegaon Blasts
Assam Blasts: Mass mourning held
SC cancels remission of sentence by Punjab
Safeguards must to stop misuse of Prez rule: CPM
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Left to align with TDP
No trauma care for terror-struck in Assam
Be hard on cheaters in exams: SC
Youths’ advisory to SRK: Don’t smoke in Bhutan
Joshi: Happy to be chosen for award
Assam Blasts: Mass mourning held
DRDO to test 2 crucial weapons
soon
German rape case
RSS leader shot in Kandhamal
PIL Against Raj
Terrorism crime against humanity: religious leaders
Hoteliers told to reduce tariff
Horses down
with flu
20 test-tube babies born in a day
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Lt Col Purohit arrested
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, November 5 However earlier in the day, the army headquarters in Delhi denied that the Lt Colonel was arrested and that he was only detained by the police. The police said Purohit would be produced before a court in Nashik. Lt Colonel Purohit had been questioned over his links with Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and others who are in custody for their alleged roles in the Malegaon blasts. Among the incriminating evidence allegedly found by the police include mobile phone messages sent by the army officer to Sadhvi Pragya and others accused in the case. The police said the army officer had visited the Bhonsala Military School, a private institution in Nashik, where the conspiracy to carry out the blast was hatched. Other arrested persons include S.S. Raikar, the principal of the school, and others connected with it. They are also said to belong to an organisation called the Abhinav Bharat founded by controversial freedom fighter Veer Savarkar and later dissolved by him. The body was revived a few years ago. To undergo narco test Nashik: A court here today ordered scientific tests on Purohit after the Maharashtra police charged him with transferring huge amount of money through illegal channel to one of the accused in the case. CJM K.D. Boche allowed the Anti-Terrorist Squad to conduct polygraph, brain mapping and narco analysis of Lt Col P S Purohit and remanded him to police custody till November 15. — PTI
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Assam Blasts: Mass mourning held
Guwahati, November 5 The national flag was flown at half-mast at government establishments all over the state while people observed a two-minute silence at 11 a.m. and wore black badges. Vehicles stopped on the road as soon as siren was blown at 11 to mourn the lives lost because of the terror strike. People held condolence and prayer meetings across the state wearing black badges while students hit the street taking out silent processions to register their protests against terrorism. Condolence meetings were held in all government and non-government establishments in the day, while people lit earthen lamps and candles in every household in the evening as a mark of respect to those unfortunate whose lives were snapped short by serial terror that visited four places in the state on October 30. Government offices and educational institutions had a large attendance today after a long gap. Business establishments in the blast-affected areas have raised their shutters as the situation is limping back to normal. Wiser from the blasts, the city police has made an appeal to all residents to keep the nearest police station informed about detailed information of their tenants. The common man on the street has been asked by the police to remain on high alert and not to hesitate to rush to the nearest policemen to inform in case he or she spots any suspicious-looking object or individual.
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SC cancels remission of sentence by Punjab
New Delhi, November 5 A Bench comprising Justices C.K. Thakker and D.K. Jain ruled that the state governments had no power to remit sentence in dowry death cases. The Additional Sessions Judge, Patiala, had convicted Jolly Singla, his mother Reshma Devi, his two brothers, Rajesh and Vinod, and sister-in-law Kiran (wife of Rajesh) on June 13, 2002, for the homicidal death of Anju Devi (wife of Jolly). Anju was found dead in bathroom due to burn injuries on March 14, 2000. Subsequently, a dowry death case was registered against her husband and other accused. The Punjab and Haryana High Court, however, acquitted Jolly’s brothers and sister-in-law, giving them the benefit of doubt as they were not staying in the same house. The high court verdict was given on October 30, 2006. The high court also ordered the release of Jolly and his mother upon being informed that they had served their sentence. The apex court wondered how they could have completed their seven-year term as the crime had been committed only about six years prior to the high court verdict. The Punjab government was asked to explain the position, upon which it transpired that the state had granted remission exercising its power under Section 432 of the Cr.Pc, 1973, and Article 161 of the Constitution. The apex court, in its verdict, made it clear that the state had no power for remission under these provisions if the conviction was under Section 304 B, IPC, (dowry death cases).
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Safeguards must to stop misuse of Prez rule: CPM
New Delhi, November 5 CPM general secretary Prakash Karat released here today an “Approach Paper on Restructuring of Centre-State Relations” adopted by the central committee of the CPM at its meeting held at Kolkata from October 12 to 14, 2008.” Releasing this 22-page document Karat sought a nationwide debate on it and its adoption after a wider consensus among different political parties. For this purpose, he said he had sent a copy of this to all political leaders. The document has demanded that “Articles 355 and 356 of the Constitution be amended, in order incorporate safeguards to prevent their misuse.” It has also argued that “residuary powers of legislation should be placed in the State list. A process of consultation between the Centre and the states needs to be institutionalised on legislations under the Concurrent list.” Similarly, it has put a rider on the appointment of governors by the Centre and said, “The current process of appointment of governors should be changed. The Governor should be appointed by the President from a list of three eminent persons suggested by the Chief Minister of a state.” The timing of the CPM’s demands is politically significant in view of UPA allies’ demands for using Articles 355, 356 first in Orissa and now in Maharashtra. “That is why we did not demand 356 in Orissa,” Karat recalled. The CPM has however denied any connection between their latest position on Centre-state relations and the UPA allies’ demand against the Orissa and Maharashtra government. CPM sources claimed that restructuring Centre-state relations was a part of the CMP of the UPA. Besides “home minister Shivraj Patil had recently invited the views of all political parties on this. That is why we sat and deliberated on this,” a CPM source said.
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Left to align with TDP
New Delhi, November 5 There has been a considerable speculation in political circles over whether the CPM and CPI, with considerable presence in certain pockets of Andhra Pradesh, would align with their former ally, TDP supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu. Naidu, though, had abandoned the Left and jumped on to the BJP bandwagon after the 1998 general elections. But after losing the 2004 general elections, he recently returned to “secular politics”. Meanwhile, the Communists have also been in touch with Telugu film star Chiranjeevi who floated his own political outfit Praja Rajyam recently. It was being speculated that as part of the strategy, while one set of communists, particularly the CPM, may go with the TDP, the CPI might keep Chiranjeevi also engaged. On the other hand, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat virtually confirmed the TDP-CPM alliance today. Asked about the possibility of such an alliance, Karat smiled and said, “I am not denying it.” Formally, however, he said, “We have come to a decision but still have to sit with the CPI and finalise it before we announce the same.” On his part, CPI national secretary D. Raja also confirmed this without spelling out the name of Naidu but said, “The CPI and CPM will go together in any alliance.” He too did not deny when specifically asked about the tie up with the TDP. This could force Chiranjeevi to align with the BJP in Andhra Pradesh. In his last public appearance, Chiranjeevi had recently indicated that he could go along with the BJP. He had also offered his party’s support to the carving out of Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh, being mooted by the BJP and others. Incidentally, Chiranjeevi’s rise symbolises the growing aspirations of Kaapu sub-caste. Kaapus constitute nearly 22 per cent of the Telugu population of Andhra Pradesh, the largest single sub-caste segment. But unlike the
Reddys, whom the Congress has backed all along and the TDP which is considered a Kamma party, the Kaapus have so far no important state-level leader who could secure proportionate representation for them in Andhra politics and power structure.
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No trauma care for terror-struck in Assam
Guwahati, November 5 At this tender age, Pranjal, who hails from Akahu
(Dholajan) village in Jorhat district of eastern Assam, has within a span of just 15 months lost two members of his family. A bomb blast triggered by banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) on August 7, 2007 in front of Jorhat district police station killed Pranjal’s father, Ajit
Bora, along with two others. The October 30 serial terror blast cost Pranjal and other family members -- his uncle (younger brother of his deceased father) Dilip Bora (37) was killed in the blast that rocked the Ganeshguri area in Guwahati. Dilip Bora is survived by 30-year-old widow Rashmi, a 5-year-old daughter and a nine-month-old son. The 12-year-old boy has seen his mother suffering after the untimely tragic death of his father. Now, there is another young widow in the family after the death of his uncle Dilip, a small tea grower. Pranjal’s youngest uncle is a physically challenged person, who can hardly take care of himself. Who will take care of this traumatised family? Does anyone including the merchants of terror have an answer? To make the matter worse for the terror-struck, Assam is yet to have any trauma care centre, thanks to myopic policy makers, who are always ready to derive political mileage after every blast. The blasts of October 30 have so far left at least 25 women widowed only in Guwahati, while four men have lost their wives and 17 young lives have been snapped. The monetary compensation that is being provided by the government will not suffice to help all these people come to terms with life unless they get specialised psychological counselling. In response to the call of the hour, only one private hospital in the city has announced to set up a cell to provide free psychological counselling to blasts-shattered people but that will not be enough unless the government device some long-term strategy to deal with the challenge.
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Be hard on cheaters in exams: SC
New Delhi, November 5 “We are of the firm opinion that in academic matters, there should be strict discipline and malpractices should be severely punished. If our country is to progress, we must maintain high educational standards, and this is only possible if malpractices in examinations in educational institutions are curbed with an iron hand,” the apex court observed. A Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and Markandeya Katju also ruled that even if an unauthorised chit is merely found in the possession, it is deemed to be a malpractice, irrespective of the fact whether the student had copied from the said chit. “All that is relevant is whether the slip of paper found in the possession of the examinee pertained to the examination paper in question. If it does, then it is a malpractice,” the Bench said. The apex court passed the ruling while upholding the appeal of a college management which challenged the Delhi High Court’s decision to condone a student’s malpractice. In this case, Vaibhav Singh Chauhan, a third year student of Dr Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management, Nutrition & Catering Technology, was disqualified from attending the course for a one-year period as he was found in possession of a chit during the third year exam in 2004-05. — PTI
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Youths’ advisory to SRK: Don’t smoke in Bhutan
New Delhi, November 5 Even before the delegation has landed in Thimpu, where Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk will be crowned the king on November 7 and 8, over 5,000 Indian youth ambassadors today issued an appeal to Khan, asking him to restrain from smoking during his “royal trip”. Representatives of Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth (HRIDAY), the youth ambassadors have drawn Khan’s attention to the fact that the Kingdom of Bhutan was the first country in the world to designate itself as tobacco-free land. Sale of all forms of tobacco products and smoking in public places is prohibited in Bhutan. In an open letter to Khan, the youngsters have urged him to respect the anti-smoking laws prevalent in Bhutan, and said: “As an icon of the vibrant Indian entertainment industry, you are apt to represent the rich cultural heritage of India at this ceremony. But as you might be aware, as per the directives of the monarchy and the national government of Bhutan, the sale of all forms of tobacco products is prohibited since December 17, 2004.” Further, Bhutan has been smoke-free since March 1, 2005, and smoke-free zones include hotels, bars, restaurants, sports and games centres, playing fields and airports. All national celebrations and receptions are smoke-free events. Reminding Khan of the nuances of Bhutan’s anti-smoking laws, the young anti-tobacco activists have expressed hope that Khan will be a gracious guest and will adhere to rules of the Kingdom by not smoking in public. Shahrukh Khan has long been in the line of fire from anti-tobacco groups. So much so that health minister Anbumani Ramadoss has been urging the actor to quit smoking, at least in public, on grounds that impressionable minds would take wrong cues. Recently, Khan had also said he would quit smoking.
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Joshi: Happy to be chosen for award
Pune, November 5 The 86-year-old vocalist, who belongs to the Kirana
Gharana, has an illustrious career spanning more than seven decades. He was chosen for the award yesterday. “This is the first time that the Kirana Gharana has gained the recognition,” he remarked while talking to UNI. Remembering his late wife Vatsala, who had helped him achieve this great height in the field of Hindustani classical music, Pandit Joshi said, “Vatsala had a deep liking for music and she always supported me in the long singing career.” He said he missed her a lot on this joyous occasion. Asked about the present-day music, the Panditji said, “Once upon a time, we used to walk 10 miles to hear three minutes of recording, such was the dedication in the past. But, it is lacking today.” Panditji’s younger son Jayant said the entire family was delighted over the news. “My father deserves it. It should have come earlier, but nevertheless we are very happy,” he said. Maestro’s
daugther-in-law Shilpa, who was seen greeting a large number of Panditji’s well-wishers and music lovers in their residence at Navi Peth here, said, “This is a great recognition for his contribution to the Indian classical music.” Maharashtra Governer S.C. Jamir and Shiv Sena working president Uddhav Thackeray congratulated the Panditji on phone from Mumbai for being selected for this prestigious award. City MP Suresh Kalmadi and Mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale also visited his residence to greet him, Shilpa added.
— UNI
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Assam Blasts: Mass mourning held Guwahati, November 5 The national flag was flown at half-mast at government establishments all over the state while people observed a two-minute silence at 11 a.m. and wore black badges. Vehicles stopped on the road as soon as siren was blown at 11 to mourn the lives lost because of the terror strike. People held condolence and prayer meetings across the state wearing black badges while students hit the street taking out silent processions to register their protests against terrorism. Condolence meetings were held in all government and non-government establishments in the day, while people lit earthen lamps and candles in every household in the evening.
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DRDO to test 2 crucial weapons
soon
Chandigarh, November 5 “We will be testing the Mareech anti-torpedo system for the Navy between December and March,” A.S. Pillai, chief controller, DRDO, told The Tribune here today. The Mareech is a decoy system designed to protect naval vessels from enemy torpedoes. Also on the cards are “certain” tests on the anti-ballistic missile, which are expected to begin next month. “Only one major test involving a missile launch is required to validate the technology,” he said. The missile has already been tested in the endo-atmospheric and exo-atmospheric spheres. Pillai, who is also the chief of BrahMos Aerosapce, an Indo-Russian joint venture producing the world’s only supersonic cruise missile, said the DRDO is also having a joint programme with ISRO to set up two advanced weather radars in the northern Himalayas. The radars, which are expected to be operational within a year’s time would be able to forecast weather over a distance of 300 km, thereby substantially improving the accuracy of weather prediction and mitigation of avalanches. Besides weather-related projects, the DRDO also had joint programmes with ISRO in the launch of the Chandrayan mission to the moon. “The booster for the PSVL C-9 was fabricated by the DRDO, while the BrahMos facilities manufactured several other components, including the fuel tank. The DRDO would also be joining the ISRO on some aspects of ISRO’s proposed manned mission to the moon.
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German rape case
Panaji, November 5 Rohit, who surrendered before the Calangute police yesterday afternoon and was later arrested, was produced before Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Mapusa. The court remanded the 21-year-old in police custody for three days. Rohit’s advocate Arun Braz de Sa contended the police did not require the custody of his client, as it had nothing more to attach or record in the case. The police had moved the court seeking seven days’ remand of Rohit. Cops told to file progress report The Panaji Bench of the Bombay High Court today asked the Goa Police to file an affidavit by November 20 on the progress in investigation into the case of alleged rape of a German minor girl. The Bench comprising Justice N.A. Britto has fixed the next hearing on November 21. The police had submitted all statements and related records of their investigation before the Panaji Bench yesterday, as per the the high court directives to advocate general Subodh Kantak and the hearing was fixed for today.
— Agencies
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RSS leader shot in Kandhamal
Phulbani (Orissa), November 5 RSS leader Dhanu Pradhan, who was said to be on the Maoists’ hit list, was gunned down by three suspected extremists at Kumarigaon village under the Brahmanigaon police station area in Kandhamal at 1pm, sources said. The Maoists had earlier claimed that they killed VHP leader Swami Laxamananda Saraswati on August 23, which sparked communal violence in the state. “We have information that a person has been shot dead, but we are yet to confirm on the identity of the victim and the killers,” DIG, Southern Range, R.S. Koche said over the phone.
— PTI
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‘Transfer MNS cases out of Maharashtra'
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, November 5 Advocate Sanjiv Kumar Singh, the petitioner, has also sought an inquiry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or the Delhi High Court into the recent killing of two persons in Mumbai -- a Bihari boy, Rahul Raj, allegedly in a fake encounter in a bus and a worker from Uttar Pradesh, Dharam Dev Rai, in a train. Thackeray is instigating the MNS to attack north Indian people in Maharashtra, while the state government and the Centre have failed to protect their lives and property, the petitioner contended.
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Terrorism crime against humanity: religious leaders
Lucknow, November 5 Declaring to join hands against fighting terrorism the clerics expressed anguish at the involvement of Sadhvi Pragya Singh and a serving Army official in the Malegaon blasts. Assembled under the banner of All-India United Muslim Morcha (AIUMM), the religious leaders, who attended the press meet included Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, Sufi Maulana Syed Mohammad Hashim Mia Kichauvi, Ayodhya Mahant Jugal Kishore Shastri, UP Christian Association member Father Firoz Massih and AIUMM president
M.A. Siddique.
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Hoteliers told to reduce tariff
New Delhi, November 5 Tourism secretary Sujit Banerjee conveyed this to members of the Federation of Hotels & Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI) when they called on him on Wednesday. The meeting was organised to assess the impact of global meltdown in the tourism sector in India. Some more meetings with stakeholders in the tourism sector are slated in the next few days. Members of the delegation said they would consider the suggestion forwarded by the tourism secretary regarding room tariffs and formulate their response as soon as
possible. The FHRAI delegation also apprised about some of their outstanding demands such as infrastructure status for hotels, de-linking of hotels from real estate, external commercial borrowings and the problem of the floor area ratio (FAR.) that has been extended by the Ministry of Urban Development to the Hoteliers in Delhi at what they called very high development charges. They also wanted the hotels in Lutyens zone in New Delhi to be considered for a higher FAR and single window clearance for the construction activity in the hotel industry.
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Mumbai racing season postponed
Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service
Mumbai, November 5 The Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) has decided to postpone the Mumbai racing season by two months as horses belonging to most of the big breeders have been affected. At a meeting held here on Tuesday, the RWITC decided to postpone the racing season to January 15. The season was to begun later this month. Officials of the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) have been quoted as saying the movement of horses between the metropolises have been banned to prevent the contagion from spreading. There are also restrictions on the movement of personnel handling horses like syces, grooms and jockeys since human beings are known to spread equine flu though they themselves do not suffer from it.
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20 test-tube babies born in a day
Erode (TN), November 5 Twenty test-tube babies, 16 of them twins, were delivered through Caesarean section on October 30 at the Sudha Test-Tube Centre. The Caesarean section was per formed on the women, who were in the last stages of pregnancy, to fulfil their wishes as they wanted the babies to be born on that particular day since it was an auspicious day in the Tamil calendar, director of the centre Dhanababegyam Kandasamy said. The day marked the start of Kanda Sashti, the six-day festival to celebrate Lord Subramaniya’s triumph over the Demon Surapadman.
— PTI |
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HNLC militant arrested Tight security in Nagaland Tiger poisoned by villagers Temple’s dome elicits interest 11
suspected criminals held
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