New Delhi, November 27
Basing inputs on credible information, intelligence agencies have more or less found that the attack on Mumbai last night was masterminded by the combine of the Al-Qaida and the Lashkar-e-Tayyaeba. Sources have indicated that leads have emerged pointing a finger at Al-Qaida also and not just the LeT as it was initially thought to be.

It is not just the planning, the precision and the huge money involved in the attack, agencies have picked up telephonic conversations that took place this afternoon between various over seas groups that could be linked to the attack. So far, more than 101 have died and another 287 are injured.

The information was being collated, sources said while confirming that the name of Al-Qaida was emerging in intercepts. The information that Gurgaon, located right next to the national capital, was also on the immediate hit list was also being studied. The similarity between Mumbai and Gurgaon is that both are home to several hundreds of expatriates from several countries and multi-national companies.

The terrorists want to show that India was an unsafe place to do business in. The way they have focused on foreigners, they want to make Mumbai unattractive for foreign nationals and the next possible target, according to intelligence community, could be Gurgaon, said the sources.

Using highly sophisticated equipment, security agencies tracked calls and found that the link of Al-Qaida along with the LET was showing up. Also instructions were being passed on “live” to the terrorists in Mumbai, probably using a satellite phone.

It has also been found that some of the information that national security guards or the Army was deployed was conveyed to the terrorists. The security agencies got the televisions in the Taj and Oberoi jammed and than zeroed in on other modes of communications.

The intelligence sources said information is coming out quite rapidly because some suspects, who are in the custody of the Mumbai police, are under interrogation right now by a joint interrogation team.

Information is also filtering in that the terrorists could have had also set-up a sort of control room within the hotels complete with communication facilities to co-ordinate the attacks. The use of so many grenades, explosives and ammunition indicates that a large part of it could have been carried inside by the terrorists posing as hotel guests only.

The terrorists know the routes within the hotel even the entry to the kitchen and other places. It was after a well-planned rehearsal sources in the NSG have said that commandos closing in on the terrorists have been finding it difficult.

Home Ministry officials briefing the media today declined to say if the terrorists were based in Pakistan or elsewhere. “No comments on the nationality of the terrorists,” said M.L. Kumavat, special secretary, Internal Security, while adding “We will reveal the names and other details with clinching evidence and not before that”.

Kumavat said the terrorists had come through the sea route and the name “Deccan Mujahideen” was heard for the first time.

He clarified that no demands have been made by terrorists to the police. 

Nagpur, November 27
As brave in death as in life. That was Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, who was killed while leading from the front in the battle against the terrorists that attacked Mumbai, killing at least 101 people and injuring over 250 others.

As terrorists on Wednesday night targeted at least seven south Mumbai landmarks, including the Taj hotel, Oberoi-Trident hotel and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Karkare donned his helmet and bullet-proof jacket and set out to take them on.

The protection, however, proved inadequate and Karkare fell to terrorists’ bullets while trying to rescue people held hostage at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel. Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and “encounter” specialist Vijay Salaskar were also killed along with Karkare.

The 58-year-old Karkare, a 1982 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was in the spotlight for leading investigation into the Sep 29 blasts in Maharashtra’s Malegaon town.

Ten people, including Sadhvi Pragnya Thakur and Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit, were arrested as a result of the probe.

Karkare took over the ATS in January this year after a seven-year stint with India’s external intelligence agency Research Analysis Wing (RAW). Police sources said he had received a threatening phone call saying he would be killed in a couple of days.

Karkare, who has been credited with solving several blasts in the city, had also served as joint commissioner of police (administration) and once headed Mumbai’s Economic Offences Wing as deputy commissioner of police.

Born and brought up in Nagpur, Karkare graduated from the city’s Visveswaraiya Regional College of Engineering in 1975 and worked with a few private companies before his selection for the IPS.

He earned the reputation of a competent and upright officer during his stints in Thane, Nanded and Akola.

During his posting as superintendent of police in Vidarbha’s Chandrapur district, people saw a fascinating facet of Karkare’s personality - he created as many as 150 beautiful wood sculptures in the forested area.

Two of Karkare’s children live abroad - elder daughter Jui is married and settled in the US, while the younger Sayali is studying in London. His son Akash is based in Mumbai. — IANS

Mumbai, November 27
Daring, but with an exceptionally cool head made Ashok Kamte an excellent negotiator in crisis situations - a quality for which he was summoned late last night to deal with terrorists holed up in Mumbai buildings.

Kamte, a 1989 batch IPS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, who died fighting the terrorists near Mumbai’s Metro cinema, was one of the brightest of his batch, and one of the few officers who dared to take on challenges directly.

Having undergone special training for negotiating hostage situations, Kamte was chosen to tackle one of the worst crisis faced by the financial capital of the country.

The Maharashtra police specially summoned him to undertake the operation at the Metro Cinema near Cama Place in the city, where he laid down his life fighting with terrorists along with encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar. deputy commissioner of pPolice in Mumbai, Kamte was a key officer in the state police. He had also served as the commissioner of Solapur where he became a hero among locals.

With over 400 fans on his Orkut profile, Kamte enjoyed a lot of respect during his tenure at Solapur.

“A cop that turned Solapur from a wrong city to the right one. The person, who every responsible Solapurkar liked and loved. “This community has been created to pay the respect and gratitude that he deserves,” wrote one of his fans on the social networking web site. — PTI

Mumbai, November 27
Yesterday’s terror attack has exposed the soft underbelly of the Indian security apparatus. While the authorities have tightened their control on country’s road, air and rail routes in the face of repeated terror attacks, the safety of the country’s long and vulnerable coastline has been left to the poorly equipped Coast Guard officials.

According to the police, the attackers arrived in inflatable dinghies that were launched from a mother vessel off the coast of Mumbai. The vessel’s name has been given as MV Alfa, which was intercepted by the Indian Navy between the Indian and Pakistani coasts.

Unconfirmed reports say the body of one of the terrorists has been found on board the vessel.

The police said one of the inflatable dinghies was landed at the Fishermen’s Colony at Cuffe Parade behind Hotel President, another Taj Group property. The terrorists then took a car from the area to various places where they carried out the attacks.

Another inflatable dinghy landed at Sassoon Docks in Colaba just metres away from the headquarters of the Indian Navy’s Western India headquarters.

Eyewitnesses, mainly fisher folk, questioned by the police said the young men claimed to have landed from Gujarat and Kerala. The terrorists, who obviously were well versed in the city’s topography then chose their targets carefully.

The Leopold Cafe at Colaba is a landmark restaurant where scores of westerners are spotted sipping beer throughout the day. After opening fire here, the group made its way to the Taj Hotel, which they stormed by indiscriminately firing from four sides. After killing the receptionists and the service staff they moved inside into the kitchen where five chefs other employees were killed.

Subsequently, they spread out into the hotel taking hostages. However, all hostages have been rescued, according to army officials.

Another group entered the Chatrapati Shivaji (formerly Victoria) Terminus railway station and made their way to Platforms 7 and 8 where the Konkan Kanya train departs for Goa slightly before 11 pm every evening. A number of people, who were waiting to board the train’s unreserved compartments, told reporters that the terrorists opened up with automatic assault rifles around 9.45 pm before moving out.

Railway officials say another hour’s delay by the terrorists could have claimed the lives of many foreigners who board the train during the busy holiday season.

The terrorists then moved to the Cama Hospital nearby, located next door to the famous St Xavier’s College and the Mumbai Press Club, where they opened fire on some people. The attackers then moved to the Metro Adlabs theatre located a few metres away where they fought pitched battles with the police.

This battle also claimed the lives of Anti-Terror Squad chief Hemant Karkare, assistant commissioner of police Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar. Around five terrorists and several passersby were killed in the attack as well.

Meanwhile, another group of attackers, who had landed at Cuffe Parade, hijacked a police van at gunpoint and forced the havaldars to drive to Nariman House, a building housing a Jewish prayer centre manned by an Israeli rabbi. The rabbi, said to be in his late 20s or early 30s, and his wife were reportedly shot and injured. Their condition is not known. However, their infant child along with an Indian maid were allowed to go.

The Maharashtra government has now ordered security to be beefed up at a number of coast-side installations like the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the IPCL complex of the Reliance Industries group.

Mumbai, November 27
Ships Al-Kabir, MV Alpha detained off Gujarat coast by the Navy. They are suspected to be the motherships that carried the motorboats and terrorists to Mumbai.

Earlier, M V Alpha, a ship which is suspected to have carried the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks, was found 112 km from Mumbai by the Coast Guard on Thursday, officials said.

A CG spokesman said that searches were being carried out on board the ship but declined to elaborate. The Coast Guard had launched two aircraft, choppers and its vessels after receiving information that the ship could have carried the terrorists from Gujarat to Mumbai.

Coastal Guards have intensified vigil in the Gujarat waters in the wake of terrorist attacks in Mumbai that continues to hold India’s financial capital to ransom, a senior coast guard official said.

“We have received orders from our headquarters to increase the vigil in the sea following the terror strikes in Mumbai. Our men have intensified the patrolling along the Gujarat coastline and are keeping close watch on every movement,” said Commander Coast Guard, Gujarat, Satish Chandran.

The terrorists, who have brought Mumbai under siege, are believed to have come to Mumbai by sea route. It is also suspected that they used a ship named M V Alpha to reach Mumbai.

The Indian Navy and Coast Guard in Maharashtra have launched a hunt for the vessel, pressing two aircraft, choppers into service.

When asked about the vessel M V Alpha which has been reportedly named for carrying the terrorists to Mumbai, Chandran said that they had received information about the ship and are investigating the matter.

“We found that a ship by the name M V Alpha is docked at the Alang Ship breaking yard in Bhavnagar district. Investigations are on but so far we have not found anything suspicious about it,” he added. — Agencies

Mumbai, November 27
The iconic Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel in Mumbai, that had over the decades hosted world leaders and royalty and was feted for its heritage building, became the symbol of a nation under attack as armed terrorists laid siege to it.

“We will rebuild every inch that has been damaged in this attack and bring back the Taj to its full glory,” the Taj group of hotels said on its website as news came in of the hotel’s two buildings, which have 565 rooms, being extensively damaged in the attack.

Built in 1903, the hotel was a treasure trove of valuable paintings and works of art. It was decorated with Belgian crystal chandeliers, hand-woven silk carpets and antique furniture, many of which are believed to have been destroyed in the terror attack.

“The old wing, especially the sixth and seventh floors, has suffered severe damage. The famous presidential suite is on the sixth floor. The central and western domes of the building have also been badly burned,” a Taj hotel official said.

The old wing of the hotel has borne the brunt of the attack by terrorists Wednesday night. A blast was heard inside the building and it was seen being engulfed by fire and thick smoke. This portion of the hotel houses the ballroom as well as other banquet halls like the Crystal Room, Golden Room and the Princess Room. A speciality Indian cuisine restaurant called Masala Craft is also in the old wing.

CPM MP N.N. Krishnadas, who was dining at the Taj hotel when terrorists struck, recalled being trapped during the night of horror. “I was having dinner with some of my colleagues when two masked militants barged into the restaurant. They fired indiscriminately, I saw three people being shot. The terrorists left the room soon after that,” Krishnadas said.

“The hotel staff rushed us into another room after the terrorists moved out of the restaurant. We stayed there through the night. In the morning, commandos rescued us,” he added. — IANS

New Delhi, November 27
The BJP reacted here today to the Mumbai terrorist attack beginning last night in a very subdued and moderate manner and with a measured tone unlike in the past when the BJP reaction used to be instantaneous, loud, aggressive and shrieky.

Leader of opposition L.K. Advani was the first one to get off the mark, reacting to the incident and at 10.30am, he summoned the media at his 30, Prithviraj Road residence. He described this as “Clearly the terrorists have declared a full-scale war on India.”

Advani also said, “In the context of what happened last night in Mumbai, there is no doubt that both the UPA Government at the Centre and the Congress-NCP coalition Government in Maharashtra have a lot to answer for.” But he added, “However, I shall not comment on this aspect now as today is not the occasion to do so.”

His and the BJP’s initial attempt was to project the united determination of the nation to fight the immediate threat of terrorism to Mumbai and the country.

In fact Advani said this in so many words. He said, “Today morning he called me to suggest that both of us should travel together to examine the situation, express solidarity with the security forces and also to try to provide succour to he victims of the tragedy. I have readily agreed to his proposal.”

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has all along been reacting on such occasions with restrain in a measured tone and so did he today saying, “We will have to fight unitedly such terrorist attacks.”

The BJP’s reaction too was much toned down going by the past precedent, such as the recent Batla House encounter in New Delhi. It said, “We need to strengthen our intelligence network and have a strong legal and security mechanism to fight terror.”

Even party general secretary Arun Jaitley normally ready with incendiary fuselade against the government was much subdued. And when asked as to why such moderation he said, “Today you are in a war-like situation which is still on. When a war is on attack the government.”

Asked about reports that the cabinet decision had rejected the ransom demand of the terrorists he said, “the government is best suited to deal with it and we have full faith in the government’s ability to deal with it.”

He also refused to comment on the cabinet decisions saying, “Let’s us not discuss decisions taken in the union cabinet.”

Mumbai, November 27
Terror-hit Mumbai came to a virtual standstill today with trains running almost empty and streets wearing a deserted look as government asked residents not to panic in the face of the most audacious militant attack on the metropolis.

A curfew-like situation prevailed in south Mumbai, the metropolis’ business district that is the centre of terror attacks since last night.

The otherwise overcrowded suburban trains, the lifeline of Mumbai, were running on schedule but with only a few office-goers as passengers this morning. Schools and colleges were shut down by authorities and trading at Bombay Stock Exchange and commodity markets stalled in view of the grim situation.

A newspaper vendor at Fort area near CST station where a large number of offices are located said he was not able to sell newspapers as not many people have turned up for work.

“Generally, at this time the area is full of people and traffic jams are common. But this morning, it is very calm. It does not look like Mumbai,” he said.

A board put up at the station by the railway staff said they were mourning the death of one of its employees, S.K. Sharma, in the attack along with few other passengers. “We are glued to the television. But there seems to be so much confusion on what has been happening. No clear picture is emerging. The attacks have hit the Mumbaikars hard,” 23-year-old Ramiya said as she set out for work.

Hazibul Rehman (18) was to board a Bihar-bound train when he was shot dead by terrorists at CST. Hazibul’s cousin Kudarat Ali, who was also at CST, had gone to purchase a platform ticket when he saw his cousin being shot on his head.

Three members of a family were killed in the firing at CST railway station. Two of them have been identified as Abdul Aziz Nabil and Haji Ejaz Imam. The injured were pouring in St George hospital since last night from where they were shifted to other medical centres like J J Hospital.

A doctor from St George hospital, Akash Akimwar, who was outside Leopold Cafe in south Mumbai where the first firing took place, said that it first sounded like fire crackers. “There was an explosion, followed by gun shots that continued for 15 minutes,” Akash said.

Bodies are being sent to St George, KEM and Nair hospitals for post-mortem. Among the dead brought at St George was Mira Georgy (64), a girl child Afreen and another boy who is yet to be identified. — PTI

New Delhi, November 27
External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday made it unequivocally clear that India would not accept any third party intervention on Jammu and Kashmir, describing it as a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan.

“So far as the Jammu and Kashmir issue is concerned, it is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan…it has to be resolved bilaterally. Therefore, there is no question of any intervention by any third party in the matter,” he said at a joint press conference with visiting Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmud Qureshi after they reviewed bilateral relations, including the progress in the composite dialogue process.

Mukherjee’s statement came when a Pakistani reporter asked for his comment on reports that US Presiden-elect Barack Obama proposed to appoint former US President Bill Clinton as his special envoy on Kashmir.

The two ministers discussed a wide-range of issues as Qureshi emphasised the need for their two countries to jointly combat the menace of terrorism. “Both India and Pakistan are victims of terrorism. We are aware of the challenges.” Mukherjee, on his part, stated that terrorism posed a serious threat to the stability of the region and there was need for effective steps to tackle the scourge.

The two ministers agreed that the Indian-Pakistan Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism must be made more effective and meaningful.

Seeking to dispel any misapprehensions about the civilian government’s positive approach towards India, Qureshi said “We now have a democratic government in Pakistan…we want the largest democracy in the world to be supportive of Pakistan. The political climate in Pakistan is very positive towards India. Both the ruling dispensation and the other important party (PML-Nawaz) desire good relations with India. We have a window of opportunity, we must not allow this opportunity to go waste.’’

The two sides welcomed the opening of cross-LoC trade. They also agreed in principle to open the Wagah-Attari border for all permissible trading items, the Khokhrapar-Munabao rail route for cargo and the Srinagar-Muzaffarbad road link for trade. Noting that there were teething problems for the border trade to start in the right earnest, they said steps would be taken to address the issue quickly.

On the row between the two countries over the Chenab water issue, Mukherjee assured the Pakistani minister that India would abide by the Indus Water Treaty in letter and spirit.

Qureshi wanted progress on all outstanding issues between the two countries. He identified Sir Creek and Siachen as two issues, which were solvable.

New Delhi, November 27
Vishwanath Pratap Singh, the messiah of OBCs who rose to become Prime Minister in 1989 on the anti-corruption plank provided by the Bofors payoff case, died here today after battling blood cancer and kidney failure for over 17 years.

The 77-year-old ‘Raja of Manda’, who had also come to be known as ‘Mr Clean’ breathed his last at 2.45 pm at the Apollo Hospitals, where he was admitted about six months ago. The Centre announced a seven-day state mourning as a mark of respect.

V.P. Singh is survived by his wife Sita and sons Ajeya and Abhay. His body will be flown to his hometown Allahabad by a special aircraft tomorrow morning and the funeral is expected a day later, family sources said.

A host of national and state leaders and Constitutional functionaries expressed profound sorrow at his death. Among them were President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, besides political parties and Governors and chief ministers.

V.P. Singh, who was first elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 1969 when he was 38, had triggered dramatic political developments time and again. He was made Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister in 1980 after Indira Gandhi had stormed back to power at the Centre in the post-Emergency era, but quit the post abruptly in the wake of his controversial anti-dacoit operations.

He was also finance minister and defence minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government before quitting the government in 1987on the issue of corruption in public life and subsequently the Congress to form his own outfit, the Jan Morcha. The morcha was then renamed as Janata Dal and led to the formation of the National Front with other parties such as the Telugu Desam, the DMK and the Assam Gana Parishad.

The front government at the Centre, supported by the BJP, lasted a brief 11 months.

Bangalore, November 27
The opposition Congress in Karnataka yesterday ridiculed the ruling BJP for its flip-flop stance on describing the byelections in the state in seven assembly segments on December 27 as “a referendum”.

Chief Minister Yeddyurappa had, earlier, boasted that the byelections would be a referendum on the government’s performance. However, the announcement by the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding the date of the elections saw the Chief Minister going back on his statement. He said the development works initiated by the government in the state would take time to show results. The outcome of the bypolls, thus, should not be seen as a referendum on the performance of the state government, he said. Home minister V.S. Acharya continued describing the byelections as a referendum even after the election date was announced by the ECI. Acharya seemed to be unaware of the new found hesitation of the Chief Minister to describe the byelections under that name. When Acharya learnt that the CM had already made a turnaround, he, too, followed suit and retracted his statement.

As if volte face by the Chief Minister and home minister were not enough, Sadananda Gowda, state BJP president and Lok Sabha member, also went public and said the byelections were not a referendum on the government’s performance.

The nervousness betrayed by the BJP over the byelections, which are being held in the state owing to resignations by the MLAs of opposition Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) for joining the ruling party, has given the Congress an opportunity to poke fun at the BJP. Talking to the TNS today, R.V. Deshpande, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief, said the coming elections in the state would indeed resemble a referendum. “Byelections held in a state without even one year having passed after the formation of the government is usually not called a referendum.

New Delhi, November 27
The Supreme Court has ordered an importer to burn down 56 metric tonne of infected garlic from China, ruling that it was “dangerous” for human consumption as well as “Indian agriculture.”

While the treatment of the garlic in China with methyl bromide fumigation had rendered it useless for human consumption, the presence of fungus in it could affect the “future cultivation” in the country, a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and Mukundakam Sharma observed in their judgment.

The garlic, imported some time in 2005 by Exim Rajathi India Pvt Ltd, is lying at the bonded warehouse of the Customs Department at the JNPT port at Navi Mumbai.

The apex court gave its verdict yesterday on an appeal filed by the Centre against the Bombay High Court order, directing the release of the consignment upon payment of necessary duties.

“The articles (garlic) shall be destroyed by fire in the presence of an authorised officer” of the Centre, the Bench said and asked the importer to bear the cost of the transport from the warehouse to the place of destruction.

The garlic was infected with embellisia alli (fungus) and traces of urocystis capulae.

The court observed that the Centre had maintained that the garlic peals were generally thrown into the dustbin as garbage and were then used as manure. “This is one of the ways by which some of the fungus got introduced in countries, including India and elsewhere, and caused permanent damage to the crops which the agricultural experts found difficult to solve.”

Further, the methyl bromide treatment given in China was not recommended for perishable goods and commodities like garlic as it “has phyto-toxic effects and may deteriorate” the quality by absorption of bromide gas in the commodity. Such treatment was not effective against fungi.

Also, such treatment was not given for edible items. “Thus, such treated garlic is dangerous for human consumption and also for Indian agriculture,” the judges opined.

New Delhi, November 27
The Centre today strongly defended in the Supreme Court the MPs Local Area Development (MPLAD) Scheme, rejecting the contentions that it was unconstitutional and provided an unfair advantage to sitting members against their rival candidates at the time of elections.

Clarifying the Centre's stand on the scheme, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Mohan Parasaran contended before a five-member Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, that MPs merely recommended projects and as such they did not have to be answerable to Parliament.

The projects of the scheme, under which each MP was getting Rs 2 crore a year, were mostly implemented through the district administration, headed by the Collector, while the Union Statistics and Programme Implementation Ministry was the nodal agency which anyway was answerable to Parliament, he explained.

The Bench asked him why the panchayats did not find mention in the guidelines for the scheme. Responding to this, he said the MPs could ignore the sentiments of such grassroots level constitutional bodies at their own peril as they always bothered about getting re-elected for which the support of these institutions was crucial.

The ASG also dealt with the contention of the petitioners, including Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh and NGOs such as Common Cause and Lok Sevak Sangh, that the scheme offered unfair advantage to MPs in elections. He said this was not true as statistics showed that a considerable number of sitting members always lost the elections.

Dr B.R. Ambedkar, a founding father of the Constitution, had advocated promotion of "economic democracy" and the MPLAD scheme was a right step in that direction, he averred.

Also, MPLADS would result in the uniform development of the country as each constituency was taken care of. Detailed accounting guidelines were also in place to ensure that the funds were not misused, the ASG contended.

New Delhi, November 27
Inmates of Indian zoos can once again look forward to foreign partners as the Prime Minister Office (PMO) has given a green signal for the exchange of animals with foreign zoos.

The PMO has asked the environment ministry to continue with the ban on the gifting of animals between the countries as it felt that it was “not in the interest of the conservation of species.” The animals exchange programme with foreign zoos was abruptly stopped almost a year ago following objections from the PMO. As a result many proposed animal exchange programmes with zoos in other countries hit a road block, hampering conservation and breeding activities. “But with the PMO recently clearing the file for the exchange programme, the Central Zoo Authority has started re-looking into the entire process once again, finalising the proposed projects submitted by various zoos in the past one year,” B.R. Sharma member secretary of the authority said. Six programmes are on the anvil, waiting for a green signal from the environment ministry. — PTI

New Delhi, November 27
The single phased election for the 230 Legislative Assembly constituencies of Madhya Pradesh, spread over 47,214 polling stations, witnessed a voter turn-out of around 64 per cent and the number is expected to go up further as people were standing in queues for casting their votes when the reports last came in.

Announcing this, Deputy Election Commission (DEC) R. Balakrishan told newspersons here that the election was generally peaceful with some stray incidents of trying to destroy the electronic voting machines (EVMs) at four places which were immediately replaced. Similarly, at some places the EVMs had gone out of order and had to be changed immediately.

At eight different polling booths, spread over eight different assembly constituencies, the voters boycotted the poll, mainly because of some local issues. He said the commission had deployed a total of 232 general observers and over 10,000 micro observers, to overview the election process.

At one polling station in Bhind district, the presiding officer (PO) was injured and he too was rushed to a hospital. Later, the PO was replaced by another person for conducting the poll process. — UNI

BRIEFLY

Bollywood steals limelight at IFFI
PANAJI: Bollywood stole the limelight at the 39th IFFI with screenings of all the mainstream Hindi movies seeing packed houses in the past four days. The festival concludes on December two. India’s entry to the Oscars in the foreign film category “Taare Zameen Par” topped the charts with many delegates preferring to watch the Aamir Khan’s directorial debut all over again. — PTI

5 labourers shot
IMPHAL: Five labourers were shot dead and another seriously injured by suspected Naga militants at the Maphou dam area located at the border of Manipur’s Ukhrul and Thoubal districts, official sources said here on Thursday. The sources said on Wednesday the militants in combat dress gunned down five labourers engaged in the construction of the dam over Thoubal river at the Maphou area under Litan police station. — PTI