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Jurists: Terrorism, freedom struggle can’t be equated
‘Fight crime, but don’t ignore rights’
Mumbai Heat |
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Mumbai Heat
Pak turns its back on bodies of terrorists
India, Israel to jointly develop missile system
13th Finance Commission
Nanded Blast Case
EC gears up for LS poll
Sharad Yadav nominated NDA’s acting convener
Key Cong leader to rejoin Trinamool
CPM offers olive branch to AGP
HC restrains Ansals from using ‘Kamdhenu’
Assam police for integrated anti-terror set-up
Naxals recruiting minors: DGP
STF arrests 274 examinees, others in Lucknow
16 held along Indo-Bangla border
4 held in Saraswati murder case
Genetic seeds safe: expert
Are you a Vidhan Sabha aspirant? Fill your coffers first
‘Oye Lucky’ gets lucky
Kerry arrives with message from Obama
Culling on in Assam
Jethmalani, Justice Bhan felicitated
Students to interact with Nobel laureates
India should destroy Pak terror camps: Shourie
CLP fails to elect oppn leader in MP
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Jurists: Terrorism, freedom struggle can’t be equated
New Delhi, December 14 Maintaining that harbouring terrorist groups and providing logistic and financial support to such groups was no less a crime than terrorism itself, a resolution adopted at the valedictory session of the two-day international conference on terrorism, rule of law and human rights, which concluded here this evening, asked the world community to take concrete steps to address these issues on a priority basis. The jurists said the existing multilateral and bilateral arrangements were inadequate to deal with cross-border terrorism and ‘non-state actors’ engaged in violence against citizens anywhere in the world and prevent such militant groups from operating in any particular country. The conference called upon the international community to evolve effective multilateral mechanisms to overcome the legal barriers which hinder investigation into acts of terrorism and prosecution of such crimes against humanity. Endorsing the views expressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, law minister H.R. Bhardwaj, Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakirshnan and International Council of Jurists president Dr Adish C. Aggarwala in the conference, the jurists urged all the nations to treat the terrorists as international criminals and extradite them to those countries where they have perpetrated the heinous crimes to face trial. Extending its unequivocal support to the Indian Government’s pro-active initiatives and plans to fight the scourge of terrorism, the jurists said sovereign states had a right to defend their territory and people and were entitled to enact specific laws to deal with terrorism. Demanding that all laws should be in consonance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the conference urged all governments of the world to ensure that the fight against terrorism do not result in violation of basic human rights, targeting any particular section of society. ICJ President Dr Aggarwala also announced on the occasion that the International Council of Jurists in association with the Law Society of England and Wales would organize an international conference of jurists on 'Terrorism and Rule of Law' in London next year, from June 13-15. About 1,000 delegates from different countries including the US, the UK, France, Spain, Malaysia, Japan, Austria, Jordan and South Africa attended the two-day conclave which deliberated among other things human rights in the face of international terrorism, terrorism and law, cross-border terrorism, cyber crime, drug trafficking and speedy disposal of cases. Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, Chairmen of different judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, senior lawyers and members of the legal academia participated in 20 working sessions spread over two days.
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‘Fight crime, but don’t ignore rights’
New Delhi, December 14 “The cops have to perform a difficult and delicate job of dealing with terrorist activities, underworld armed gangs, drug mafia, communal riots and political turmoil... therefore, they have to be tough in controlling such situations, but in doing so, they have to adopt a balanced approach, which is essential to meet the ends of justice," the law panel chief said. Referring to the Supreme Court direction to National Human Rights Commission and the state rights’ panels regarding appointment of various sub-committees to monitor violations, justice Lakshmanan expressed hope that these bodies would ensure that the 11-point guidelines pertaining to registration of cases, investigation and interrogation of the accused, were followed in letter and spirit. He also drew the attention of the law-enforcing agencies to the abnormal delay in referring of cases of undertrials to the courts. “Justice requires that the offenders of the law should be brought to book and punished. These prisoners are denied the right to speedy trial which is a human right,” he said. The law commission chief also spoke about the violation of the basic rights of women and children, particularly their trafficking and discrimination of female workers in factories, agriculture farms and other sectors in providing equal wages for equal work. Dealing with the problems of refugees, Lakshmanan brought to the notice of the international community the plight of ‘stateless citizens’ living in various parts of the world and demanded some effective steps to curb ethnic disturbances in all forms. “The disturbing trends of religious bigotry and ethnicism has created social tensions sometimes resulting in genocide and large scale migration,” he said.
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Mumbai Heat
New Delhi, December 14 The tourism ministry in consultation with the ministry of home affairs and defence ministry has framed guidelines for formation of tourist security organisations comprising ex-servicemen for the safety and security of tourists. These security organisations were to be constituted by the state governments, said a senior tourism ministry official. Besides the ex-servicemen, retired women personnel of the Central or state police organisation are also being considered to be recruited as tourist police. The official added that guidelines had been sent to state governments for further action. There are cases of both foreign and domestic tourists, particularly women being targeted the most by anti-social elements. “Our aim is to create a conducive atmosphere for tourists to feel safe in the country. Because any adverse perception about safety and security of tourists will affect tourist arrivals in the country,” the official said. As per the guidelines, the tourist police will act as a link between tourists and the district administration besides ensuring safety. It will also be the responsibility of such police personnel to provide necessary information to tourists to facilitate their visits and to act appropriately in case of emergency. “Some states are already in the process of deploying tourist police in one form or other,” said the official. The tourism ministry has also asked the state governments to ensure safety of tourists. “Law and order, the prevention of crime, including crimes against tourists is the prime responsibility of state governments. However, in order to ensure safety and security of tourists the ministry of tourism has advised all the state governments to deploy tourist police,” said the official. According to the guidelines, the tourist police will be deployed at important tourist spots, airports and railway stations. The guidelines stipulate that the states can constitute tourists police from a pool of ex-servicemen maintained by the director general of resettlement. As per the structure of tourist police is concerned, there will be a tourist Warden, chief tourist warden and district tourist warden among others.
— PTI
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Mumbai Heat
Mumbai, December 14 Actually, 32 young men were trained initially out of which five teams of two each were dispatched for Mumbai from Karachi three days earlier via sea. According to police sources, Ajmal has stated that originally they were instructed to carry out firing at rush hours in the morning between 7 and 11 am and the same hours in the evening. The plan was to kidnap some persons and take them to the roof of some nearby building, the 21-year-old resident of Faridkot village in Pakistan’s Punjab province said. From there, the terrorists were to contact “chacha” (uncle), their trainer whose full name is Zaki-Ur-Rahman ‘chacha’. The ‘chacha’ is obviously Zaki-Ur-Rahman Lakhvi, chief of operations of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), one of the four persons declared as “terrorists” last week by the UN Security Council, which had also designated the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and two of its sister organisations, Al-Rashid Trust and Al-Akhtar Trust, as terrorist groups. “After that chacha would give the telephone or mobile numbers of the electronic media. We were then to contact mediapersons on the same phone,” Ajmal said. As per ‘chacha’s’ instructions, the terrorists would then make demands for releasing the hostages. The police sources said the fact that the terrorist duo that opened fire in the CST station did not take any hostages or make any demands indicates either their plot went wrong or their masterminds might have misled them into believing that once they took hostages they could make demands for their own exit from India. The date fixed for the operation was September 27 this year. However, the operation was cancelled for some reason. They stayed in Karachi where they practised travelling by speed boats on the sea. They stayed there up to November 23, three days before the launch of the attack in Mumbai. On November 23, the five teams of two each, including Ajmal’s left from Azizabad, Karachi, along with Zaki-Ur-Rehman and another person. “We were taken to the nearby seashore. At 4.15 am we reached the seashore. There we boarded a launch. After travelling for 22 to 25 nautical miles, we met a bigger launch in the sea. We boarded the said launch and after journey of one hour we boarded a bigger ship by name Al-Huseini in the deep sea,” says Ajmal. While boarding the said ship each one of them was given a sack containing eight grenades, one AK- 47 rifle, 200 cartridges, two magazines and one cellphone for communication. Then they started towards the Indian Coast. Ajmal, who had studied up to the IVth standard, intended to be a robber for which purpose he was looking for fire arms, the search that led to the LeT stalls at Raja Bazaar in Rawalpindi on Bakr-Id. Following are the excerpts from Ajmal’s statement to the police: After making inquiries we reached LeT office. In the LeT office we met a person. We told him that we wanted to join the LeT. He made some inquiry, noted our names and address and told us to come the next day. The next day we went to LeT office and met the same man. One more person was present with him. He gave us Rs 200 and some receipt. Then he gave us the address of a place called Marqas Taiyyaba, Muridke, and told us to go to the said place where the LeT’s training camp is located. As directed we went to the said place. We showed the receipt given to us at the gate of the camp. We were allowed inside. At the entry gate our details were filled up on two forms. Then we were taken to the actual camp area. At the said place we were selected for 21 days training called Daura-Safa, from the next day, we started attending training. After completion of the above said training, we were selected for another training called Daura-Ama. The said training was also for 21 days. We were then taken in a vehicle to a place called Mansera, Bhuttal village. At the said place we were given training of all weapons for 21 days. After two months of training, I was allowed to go to meet my parents. I stayed with my parents for one month. Thereafter, I went to LeT camp situated at Shaiwainala, Muzaffarbad, for advanced training. At that place they took my photographs and filled up some forms. Then we were taken to Chelabandi pahadi area for training called Duara-khas. The said training was for three months. The training included P.T. (physical training), handling of all weapons and firing practice of the said weapons, training of handling of hand grenade, rocket launchers and mortars. At the said place, 32 persons were present for training. Out of these 32 trainees, 16 were selected for some confidential operation by one Zaki-Ur-Rahman ‘chacha’. Out of these 16 trainees, three trainees ran away from the camp. The above said ‘chacha’ then sent the remaining 13 of us, along with a person called Kafa, to the above said earlier camp at Muridke. At Muridke we were taught swimming and getting acquainted with the environment experienced by a fisherman on a sea. We did some experimental tours by launches on the sea. During the said training we were given lectures on working of Indian security agencies. We were shown the clippings highlighting the atrocities on Muslims in India. The training continued for one month. We were also given the training on how to evade the chase by security personnel. We were strictly instructed not to make phone calls to Pakistan after reaching India. The Victoria Terminus Team, my team, included myself and Ismael. Our code name was VTS team. We were then shown the site ‘Goggle Earth’ on Internet. We were shown the film on VT railway station and it showed the commuters moving around at rush hours at VT railway station. After journey of about three days we reached near seashore of Mumbai. While we were at some distance from the shore, Ismail and Afadulla killed the Indian seaman (Dandle) at the basement of the said Indian launch. Then we boarded an inflatable dinghy and reached Budwar Park Jetty as per the instructions received earlier. After getting down at Budwar Park, I went, along with Ismail, to VT railway station by taxi. After reaching the hall of VT railway station we, i.e. Ismail and myself went to the common toilet, took out the weapons from our sacks, loaded them, came out of the toilet and started firing indiscriminately towards the passengers. Suddenly one police officer in uniform came towards us and opened fire. In retaliation we threw hand grenades towards him and also opened fire. Then we went inside the railway station threatening the commuters and randomly firing at them. Then we came out of the railway station and started searching for a building with rooftop. But we did not find a suitable building. Therefore, we entered a lane. When we were coming out of the hospital premises, we suddenly saw one police vehicle passing in front of us. Therefore we took shelter behind a bush. Another vehicle passed in front of us and stopped at some distance. One police officer got down from the said vehicle and started firing at us. One bullet hit my hand and my AK 47 dropped down. I bent to pick it up when second bullet hit me on the same hand. I got injured. Ismail opened fire at the officers who were in the said vehicle. They got injured and firing from that side stopped. We waited for some time and then went towards the said vehicle. Three bodies were lying there. Ismail removed the three bodies and drove the said vehicle. I sat next to him. Our vehicle got punctured near a big ground by the side of the road. Ismail got down from the driver seat, stopped a car at the gunpoint and removed the three lady occupants from the said car. Then Ismail carried me to the car and sat me inside as I was injured. Then he drove. While we were moving in the car, we were stopped on the road near the seashore. Ismail fired towards them. Some policemen got injured. The police also opened fire towards us. Due to the police firing, Ismail got injured. Then the police moved us to some hospital. In the hospital I came to know that Ismail succumbed to the injuries he sustained.
— PTI
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Pak turns its back on bodies of terrorists
Mumbai, December 14 The Mumbai police had been advised to write a letter to Pakistan High Commission in Delhi through the ministry of external affairs asking them to take the custody of the bodies. The bodies have been kept in J.J Hospital mortuary with the police waiting for a political decision before disposing off the bodies. While Pakistan has been trying to crackdown on Lashkar militants in its country, it has been denying that it has received any communication from New Delhi to take possession of the dead bodies of the nine militants. When approached about the disposal of the dead bodies of LeT militants, Mumbai police commissioner Hasan Gafoor said: “If there are no claimants, then there are other procedures laid in the law for disposing the bodies.” Without confirming or denying whether they had approached the MEA for handing over the bodies to Pakistan, Gafoor said: “I can only say all necessary procedures as per the law. There is legal thing that we have to hand over the bodies to a claimant. In case no one comes, we will take the necessary procedures.” Hospital authorities, meanwhile, said they were awaiting a decision by the police on the fate of the bodies.
— PTI
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India, Israel to jointly develop missile system
Mumbai, December 14 Sources also adds that the Indo-Israeli programme is patterned on the lines of the joint venture with Russia whereby technologies for the BrahMos missile programme have been transferred to the Indian partner. Analysts believe the medium range/short range precision-guided surface to air missile to be jointly developed will cost the DRDO nearly Rs 10,000 crore. Technology for the missile will come from Israel while the actual development is to be done by the Indian partner. The programme is to be spread over four to five years and will arm at least nine air defense squadrons for the Indian Air Force, analysts say. As a first step for joint development of missiles, Rafael is supplying the SPYDER (Surface-to-air Python and Derby) low level quick reaction missile system for the IAF. India will be buying 18 SPYDER systems through 2011 and 2012 for $260 million that will replace the outdated Soviet-era Russian missile systems. The SPYDER system has been categorised as a low-level, quick-reaction, surface-to-air missile system meant for deploying against aircraft, helicopters, unmanned air vehicles, etc. The system allows missiles to be launched in just five seconds after the target is sighted. Its range lies between less than one kilometre to 15 kilometres and can function in all weather conditions. Since the system can be mounted on trucks, these can be transported at ease by ground units.
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13th Finance Commission
Patna, December 14 At the moment, Bihar has the lowest per capita development expenditure among all other states. The state government, through a 94-page memorandum, urged the Commission to make a strong recommendation to the Centre for devolution of Rs 3.81 lakh crore to the state during the 2011-15 period to achieve its objective. The memorandum was submitted to Commission chairman Vijay L. Kelkar by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in course of his official visit to the state. Kelkar along with his Commission’s full team was here for three-days recently. The memorandum (demand list) talks about the development efforts undertaken by the Nitish Kumar government during the last three years leading to the increase in the state plan size from Rs 3,400 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 13,500 crore in 2008-09. It also points out the development expenditure of the state crossing Rs 20,000 crore. Citing the huge devastations of life and property caused by recurrent floods and the state’s extreme vulnerability to this problem, the government has demanded a review of Bihar’s entitlement under the ‘Calamity Relief Fund’ and support for its multi-pronged strategy to prevent this calamity like inter-linking of rivers and their desiltation. The state had called upon the Commission to backup its ongoing development programme geared to empower the women, Extremely Backward Castes and Mahadalits, bringing under privileged and poor children to school and raising the infrastructure for Panchayat bodies in order to implement decentralisation of democracy. The government, through its memorandum, had also suggested a free hand to the states for deciding their respective needs and spends accordingly on development schemes instead of following the Centre’s prescriptions. Bihar’s deputy chief minister cum finance minister Sushil Kumar Modi urged the Commission to recommend that all Central loans, including small savings loans, be taken into account for the purpose of debt rescheduling. He pointed out that the fiscal deficit conditionally imposed by the 12th Finance Commission had resulted in deprivation of debt relief to Bihar. According to Modi, a very minor short fall in health and education expenditure had deprived Bihar of equalisation grants from the Centre in these two sectors. Modi requested the panel to find ways to offset the burden of the 6th Pay Commission’s implementations on state’s finances and extend the ambit of CRF to cover other calamities as well. The Commission chairman also appreciated the efforts of the Bihar government that led to increase in capital expenditure (in the infrastructure sector) from Rs 2,300 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 7,600 crore in 2008-09.
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Nanded Blast Case
Mumbai, December 14 The CBI also took Rakesh Dhawde into custody, one of the accused in the September 29 Malegaon blast even as the probe agency claimed that he had provided arms training to those allegedly involved in the Nanded incident. The decision to reopen the case was taken after some leads emerged during the investigations into the Malegaon case in which 11 persons, including Lt-Col Shrikant Purohit, have been arrested. “We have reopened the Nanded investigations,” CBI director
Ashwani Kumar said today in New Delhi. Dhawde has been remanded in the CBI custody for three days, a senior CBI officer said, adding, if need arises, they would move court to take custody of others also. The CBI had charge sheeted ten persons in the Nanded case. But sources said it had not been able to trace the leads, as yet, provided by some of the accused who claimed to have admitted, before investigators, their role in the earlier cases. The CBI would also try and probe the links of those arrested in the Malegaon case, including Lt-Colonel Purohit, with the Nanded case. Earlier, the CBI’s role had come into question from the probe conducted by central security agencies and Maharashtra’s ATS as the agency appeared to have not taken due cognisance of deposition of one of the accused arrested in the Nanded case. The accused, whose voice had to be restored by operating his vocal chord which was damaged in the blast, had told investigators that Naresh Rajkondwar, a Bajrang Dal activist, had allegedly planned three blasts outside mosques that shook Jalna and Parbani in Maharashtra in 2003 and 2004.
— PTI
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EC gears up for LS poll
New Delhi, December 14 The Commission has convened a meeting of chief electoral officers (CEOs) of all states and union territories this week to start preparations for the ‘final’ ballot due by May. “In the run-up to the preparations for the General Election, the Commission will be taking up review meetings with CEOs of all states and union territories from December 16 to 18,” an EC source said. Chief election commissioner N. Gopalaswami and two commissioners, Navin Chawla and S.Y. Quraishi, have drawn up a schedule for detailed interaction with the CEOs to discuss the nitty-gritty of the massive exercise. The term of the present Lok Sabha comes to an end by mid-May and the process to elect a new House has to be completed by then. The EC recently completed the exercise for the assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Mizoram while the process is still on in Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting would take stock of the preparation of electoral rolls, electors’ photo identity cards (EPIC) and requirement of forces, among other issues. On December 16, the Commission would hold consultations with CEOs and commissioners of Municipal bodies of metropolitan cities in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to discuss about electoral rolls. The following two days have been earmarked for discussions with CEOs of all states, including the North-East.
— PTI
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Sharad Yadav nominated NDA’s acting convener
New Delhi, December 14 Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani took the decision to nominate Yadav to the post after consultations with various NDA alliance partners here. Fernandes, who is the BJP-led alliance’s present convener, has not been keeping well for quite sometime. In a statement, Advani said Yadav had a rich experience of 35 years as an MP and he emerged as the consensus choice to become the acting convener of NDA.] Meanwhile, Yadav refused to comment immediately after he was nominated to the post. “I will react afterwards on this,” he told the media. The JD(U) president became an MP for the first time in 1974 when he was elected to the
Lok Sabha from Jabalpur. — PTI
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Key Cong leader to rejoin Trinamool
Kolkata, December 14 “I was humiliated by the present PCC leadership in the past three months,” Bandyopadhyay, a Congress legislator, told the media. He said he would meet Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee tomorrow in Delhi. This is the second blow for the state Congress in the last six months after another prominent leader Somen Mitra quit the party last July to form his own political outfit Pragatisheel (Progressive) Indira Congress, which is now an ally of the Trinamool Congress. Explaining his decision to quit the Congress, he said, “I felt humiliated by the present PCC leadership in the past three months. I was bypassed and not taken into confidence when the voters’ list was being prepared in my own Bowbazar constituency. I was not even invited when a PCC delegation met the Prime Minister at the Raj Bhavan recently.” Bandyopadhay said he had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi twice in the past two months and apprised her of the situation. He said he had also written a letter to Gandhi stating it was “difficult to win any seat in south Bengal in the coming Lok Sabha poll without a seat-sharing arrangement with the Trinamool Congress”. Downplaying the development, state Congress working president Pradip Bhattacharjee said “anybody was free to quit the party”, but rejected Bandyopadhay’s allegation that he was bypassed and ignored.
— PTI
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CPM offers olive branch to AGP
Guwahati, December 14 Addressing an Adivasi rally at the Assam Engineering College ground here, CPM general- secretary Prakash Karat said there was a need for unity among anti-Congress forces with an orientation towards development. “This (alliance) is possible only when the AGP severs ties with BJP.” Describing AGP’s rapport with the BJP as “dangerous”, the comrade alleged the ruling Congress had totally failed to improve the condition of the poor. CPM politburo member and Left Front chairman Biman Bose said growing terrorism in Assam was a result of the presence of “foreign reactionary forces, who are linked to local terrorist groups”. Commenting on the situation in Midnapore district of West Bengal where tribals were on an agitation, Basu alleged the Maoist forces and the Trinamool Congress were inciting them. Tribals were arrested over the November 2 land mine attack on a cavalcade of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and two union ministers, which the VIPs escaped unhurt. “The West Bengal government has done a lot to improve the plight of the tribals but the agitation is due to certain misconceptions,” he said.
— PTI
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HC restrains Ansals from using ‘Kamdhenu’
New Delhi, December 14 Justice Heema Kohli passed the interim order on a plea of Kamdhenu Ispat Ltd (KIL), which pleaded that the Ansal group is trying to gain by using the brand. Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd (APIL) is to set up a special economic zone in Haryana with an investment of Rs 900 crore and it has floated a company called Ansal Kamdhenu Engineering SEZ Ltd for this purpose. Advocate S.K. Bansal, appearing for KIL, pleaded that the company has trademark rights to the brand Kamdhenu, and APIL, by using the word, has impinged upon its rights. The use of the Kamdhenu brand by the Ansals is illegal.... This is likely to cause confusion in the market, resulting in the erosion of goodwill (of Kamdhenu Ispat), Bansal submitted. Justice Kohli, after hearing his plea, passed the ex-parte order. She said until further orders, the defendant (APIL), and its agents/representatives are restrained from using the trademark Kamdhenu.
— PTI
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Assam police for integrated anti-terror set-up
Guwahati, December 14 G.M. Srivastava, DGP, Assam, told The Tribune that the scenario of militancy in the region is no longer localised. It has become extremely difficult to identify a specific area of operation in the region by a particular militant group. All these militant groups are operating in coordination and tandem transcending geographical boundaries of the states in the region and North Bengal district of West Bengal. “It has made our task of detection and prevention very difficult. What we need is total integration of counter-insurgency security with neighbouring states, especially when the insurgent groups are getting sponsorship from forces based in foreign countries that surround north-eastern state”, Srivastava said. The state police chief observed that post-Mumbai terror attack would definitely had an impact on the insurgency in the region too as terrorism was inter-linked. The post-Mumbai tough posturing by the Centre was working. Otherwise, Pakistan wouldn’t had acted in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK). The Indian government and as well as international community’s tough stand against terrorism would have impact everywhere in the country. “In such a situation, the banned ULFA, whose commander-in-chief is sheltered in Bangladesh, is expected to keep a very low visibility as they will resort to tactical retreat for the time being and will try to step up activities in the state with tribal militant groups it promotes in different parts of the state and North Bengal area,” Srivastava said. “I have information that apprehending trouble in view of changed global scenario after the Mumbai terror attack, the ULFA commander-in-chief, Paresh Baruah, has changed location in neighbouring Bangladesh. He is no longer spending nights in the usual place,” the DGP said.
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Naxals recruiting minors: DGP
New Delhi, December 14 “Yes, it is a fact that Naxals have created specialised units consisting of minors. The children are more prone to brainwash than grown-ups and that is the primary reason why minors are targeted,” Chhattisgarh director general of police Vishwaranjan said. He stated that while children were being recruited earlier too, these units consist of minors in the age group of 8-13 years. “Most of the children are forcibly recruited while many are kidnapped. Naxals adopted this strategy after the tribals started resisting them since they were attacking their way of life and culture,” the DGP said. Asked if the police have received any written complaint about children being kidnapped by Naxals or any FIR was registered, he said none had been filed “since the terror of Naxals is such that no one in that area comes forward with an official complaint.” “This is based on pure intelligence and pictures distributed by the Naxals,” Vishwaranjan said. Incidentally, the CRPF, which is fighting the menace in the country, said it does not have much information about minors being recruited. “This is what the state police has said. We are still to come across such (minor) units. The Naxals are known to change their strategy very often. If they are indeed recruiting minors, then this is definitely a new trend,” a CRPF official here said.
— PTI
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STF arrests 274 examinees, others in Lucknow
Lucknow, December 14 The STF had received information about the leakage of the examination paper for the recruitment of the loco pilot at one of the centres at Allahabad. The examination scheduled for today has since been cancelled. Following the lead, the Allahabad unit of STF raided a dharmshala under the Jhusi police station area in the city and virtually caught 274 examinees red handed learning by heart the answers of the question paper that they were to take a few hours later. Interestingly, the leader of the gang is Bedi, working as a TTE with the North Eastern Railway, presently posted in Gonda. He was arrested from Lucknow today. Eleven of his accomplices were arrested along with the 274 examinees from Allahabad. Among the arrested examinees, 139 belong to Bihar, 100 from UP, 23 from Rajasthan, seven from Jharkhand and one each from Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, informed additional director general of police ( law and order) Brij Lal here today. |
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16 held along Indo-Bangla border
Shillong, December 14 Nine foreign nationals, hailing from Sylhet district of Bangladesh, and three Indians were apprehended near Dawki when they infiltrated into India without valid documents, BSF officials said. The motive behind their intrusion was being investigated, they said. In a separate incident, four Indian nationals were apprehended near Bholaganj border outpost, officials said, adding that 48 bottles of beer and 178 bottles of whisky were found from their possession. BSF troops also seized large quantity of wooden planks, kept in two country boats being smuggled near the Gumaghat border.
— PTI
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4 held in Saraswati murder case
Bhubaneswar, December 14 The arrest was made after intensive interrogation of more than a dozen people picked up from the sensitive Kotagada area of the tribal dominated district, a senior police officer said, adding that the rest were being questioned. “While one of the arrested is a hardcore Maoist, the other three happen to be active sympathisers of the left wing extremists. With today’s arrest, total number of people arrested for Saraswati’s murder rose to seven,” he said. Initially five persons had been detained in connection with the killing of Saraswati and four others on August 23 and subsequently over 10 others were picked up, the police said. A massive search operation is also being conducted in Kotagada and adjoining areas of Naxal-hit Rayagada district as part of the drive to nab those involved in the killing of the Swami which had triggered large scale violence in Kandhamal and elsewhere in Orissa. The arrest was made on the eve of tomorrow's deadline set by some sangh parivar outfits which had threatened to observe Orissa bandh on December 25 if the government failed to nab the culprits and mastermind behind Saraswati’s killing. — PTI
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Genetic seeds safe: expert
Ranchi, December 14 “No person can import, export, transport, use, manufacture, process or store genetically manipulated (GM) organism without the mandatory approval of six committees set up at central, state, institutional and district levels,” Tripathy said here yesterday at a state-level workshop on ‘management and monitoring of field trials of
GE crops’. Tripathy called upon farmers, agricultural scientists, consumers and planners not to worry about the GM crop issue keeping in mind the strict and meticulous approval process, at the programme organised at the Biotechnology Colleges of the Birsa Agriculture University
(BAU) here. Elaborating the regulatory approval procedure for any kind of GE trials and production, he said nod was given only after safety issues related to toxicity, allergicity, gene flow, environmental impact and pest resistance were properly addressed. Society could safely enjoy proper benefit of biotechnological tools and techniques and common people needed not be scared or misguided by the anti-gene modification campaign, Tripathy, also the advisor of the department of biotechnology, Union government, said. BAU vice-chancellor, Dr N.N. Singh said size, shape, colour, flavour, shelf life, productivity and nutritional level of any crop should be improved to the desired level through genetic engineering to meet the rise in food demand for the burgeoning population.
— PTI |
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Are you a Vidhan Sabha aspirant? Fill your coffers first
New Delhi, December 14 Out of the 629 constituencies in five states-Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram-which went to polls, 248 of them have been bagged by “crorepatis”, a study by the National Election Watch (NEW) said. A total of 121 'crorepatis' from the Congress won in the five assemblies with the BJP coming to a close second with 110 of its crorepati candidates entering the assemblies, a party-wise break-up of the study revealed. While the average assets possessed by winning candidates is highest in Delhi at Rs 2.8 crore, it is Rs 2.69 crore in
Chhattisgarh, it said. In Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the average assets of elected candidates were Rs 1.45 crore and Rs 1.99 crore respectively, while in Mizoram it stood at Rs 0.74 crore. Besides, the report also revealed that candidates with low assets, between Rs 0 and Rs 5 lakh, have very slim chances of getting elected to the assembly. While in Delhi and Mizoram, no MLA with assets less than Rs five lakh was elected, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan together saw a total of only 18 such candidates managing to win the elections. The analysis of elected candidates by the NGO also claimed that the chances of winning elections are directly proportional to the amount of assets one has. |
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‘Oye Lucky’ gets lucky
Mumbai, December 14 ‘Oye...’ which was released in theatres on November 27, a day after the Mumbai terror attacks, had taken a beating at the box office owing to the fear psychosis among audience, that refrained from venturing into the theatres and crowded places following the dastardly strikes. “The DTH deal has been finalised keeping in mind maximisation of revenue using short windows,” Amrita Pandey, VP, International Distribution & Syndication, UTV Motion Pictures, said. The movie will be priced at Rs 100 to end consumers across all platforms and would be available to viewers on a Pay Per View (PPV) basis for download for 24 hours. UTV is also in talks with other DTH players to replicate the same model on their platforms, she said. “Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! is an outstanding film which has been acclaimed both by critics and viewers. We are proud to announce that this is the first Indian movie to hit DTH in just over three weeks,” Amrita said. “Normally movies have been going to DTH platforms only after 6-8 weeks and sometimes after the first satellite telecast of the movie,” she said. Amrita said this was a path-breaking approach to reduce exploitation
windows. “We are looking forward to see how audiences consume a new and recent release like ‘Oye Lucky...’ on leading DTH platforms. This could form a growing revenue stream for all movies going forward,” she said. Salil Kapoor, COO, Dish TV said, “The premier of “Oye Lucky...!” on Dish TV will enable our 4.6 million subscribers to enjoy the latest and best of movies in the comfort of their home. We are the only DTH platform to broadcast Bollywood and Hollywood blockbuster movies like ‘Taare Zameen Par’, ‘Jab We Met’ and ‘Spider Man 3’.”
— PTI |
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Kerry arrives with message from Obama
New Delhi, December 14 Kerry will meet external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon tomorrow to discuss the US’ perception of Pakistan’s action against terrorist outfit. Kerry’s visit to India comes shortly after the trip by US deputy secretary of state John Negroponte who reiterated Washington’s message to Islamabad to “act forcefully” and to bring perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to book. |
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Culling on in Assam
Guwahati, December 14 “Culling operations are on at a large scale in all the six- affected districts even as a massive publicity campaign, including announcement by loudspeakers, have been launched to make people aware of the disease,” Shyam Mewara, commissioner, veterinary and animal husbandry, told PTI here today. He said compensation had been paid to the affected poultry breeders and so far Rs 97 lakh had been given by the state government. Confirming there was no report of birdflu among humans, the commissioner said precautionary measures were on and care was being taken to prevent spread of the disease to new areas. The government’s ban on sale and movement of poultry products was
on. — PTI |
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Jethmalani, Justice Bhan felicitated
New Delhi, December 14 The awards were presented by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Justice of India K.G Balakrishnan at a global conference on terrorism here yesterday. Jethmalani, a former law minister, was bestowed with the international honour for jurisprudence alongwith Canadian Chief Justice Beverley Mclachlin (administration of justice), Law Society of England and Wales (bar affairs), United Nations office on drugs and crime (law enforcement); Dr Peter Mutharika (legal education); and Rohit Kochhar (corporate laws and legal entrepreneurship) at the two-day international conference here.
— TNS |
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Students to interact with Nobel laureates
Allahabad, December 14 Among the Nobel laureates likely to attend are physicists like Martin Lewis Perl, Jerome Isaac Friedman, Robert C. Richardson and Sir Anthony Leggett and Sir Harod (Harry) Walter Kroto, the IIIT-A director said.
— PTI |
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India should destroy Pak terror camps: Shourie
Hazaribag (Jharkhand), December 14 The terrorist activities in India had made the people scared. And for this the Centre should seriously concentrate on the idea, Shourie told a seminar here yesterday. Now that the Centre had the backing of all parties, it should act urgently, he said. “Pakistan is waging a proxy war as it does not want India to prosper and develop. The proxy war, which was introduced by late military ruler Zia-ul-Haque, has been continuing by successive Pakistani regimes, military or civilian. Therefore, India should deal with it strongly,” Shourie, also an eminent journalist, said.
— PTI |
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CLP fails to elect oppn leader in MP
Bhopal, December 14 The meeting of the Congress legislature party(CLP), held here today, concluded without fulfilling its single-point agenda of electing its leader. The Congress being the largest party in the Opposition, will also be the leader of Opposition in the House. |
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Former minister’s house blown up Teens commit suicide Flu cases on rise in Delhi Campaign for peaceful X’mas
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