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Law enforcement not job of Salwa Judum: Centre
Income limit for OBC quota: SC issues notice to Centre
Pranab to Pak: Implement UNSC resolution
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Terror-free life a fundamental right: Delhi HC
Deal firmly with terror groups, Oman tells Pak
Antony retracts, says ready for any eventuality
Schools gear up to handle student queries post 26/11
Kasab used fake identity card of Hyderabad college
Kasab should get lawyer: CJI
Indo-Bangla Border
Govt’s ‘millennium bill’
survives by slim margin
Gill sceptical about NIA
SAD, CPI oppose anti-terror bills
Advani, Sibal indulge in war of words on terror
Left stages walkout on spectrum issue
Uproar in Orissa Assembly over Dec 25 bandh
SC notice on Punjab’s petition against docs
Mumbai Terror Impact
Army Recruitment Woes
Human Trafficking
Bird Meat
Apex court gets 3 more judges
ATR sought from Chhattisgarh
Malik is NCB chief
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Law enforcement not job of Salwa Judum: Centre
Raipur, December 17
New Delhi, December 17 Virtually criticising the controversial anti-naxalite movement that has the support of the BJP government in Chhattisgarh, Chidambaram said, “The law and order should be the responsibility of the state government.” The home minister was responding to a supplementary question by D. Raja of the CPI on whether the Centre was planning to ask the Chhattisgarh government to disband Salwa Judum. Chidambaram, however, refused to go into legality of the issue, saying the matter was before the Supreme Court. He said Judum was an organisation which apparently had the support of the state government. “The Center has nothing to do with it (Judum),” he said. The counter-naxalite vigilante group, operational in Naxal-affected regions of Dantewada and Bijapur in Bastar, was launched in 2005 and has since then attracted divergent viewpoints. In the run-up to the Assembly elections, Salwa Judum became one of major poll issues in the region with the BJP supporting it and the Congress opposing. In fact, the way the BJP won the Bastar division, getting 11 out of 12 seats, is being seen as a stamp of approval for the Salwa Judum by the state government. Amongst the badly affected Konta, Bijapur and Dentewada, the Congress managed a win only on the Konta seat. Meanwhile, the new BJP government in the state has already made an announcement for strengthening the Salwa Judum movement. On the continued detention of human rights activist Binayak Sen in Chhattisgarh since May 2007, Chidambaram said the matter was under his consideration. “The case of Binayak Sen has been brought to my notice and is under my consideration,” he added.
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Income limit for OBC quota: SC issues notice to Centre
New Delhi, December 17 A Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice P. Sathasivam gave four weeks’ time to the ministries of human resource development and personnel and the commission for filing their response to the petitions that contended that the hike was highly arbitrary, unrealistic and without any basis. “The creamy layer class in the OBCs, despite having reached the level to compete with the so-called Forward Class, would continue to derive the benefits of reservation by such unreasonable increase in the income limit,” one of the petitioners, Nair Service Society, said. Former Planning Commission member P.V. Indiresan had filed the other PIL. The October 13, 2008, order ran counter to the Apex Court order passed the following day, asking the government to pass on unfilled OBC seats to general category students, the petitioners contended. The government also issued another order on October 16, clarifying that the revised ceiling would have retrospective effect for admissions for the 2008-09 academic year. Another order was issued the very next day asking the Central educational institutions to try and fill up OBC quota vacancies, taking advantage of the higher income limit. The petitioners also sought that a reasonable income limit should also cover agriculture and other incomes, along with the salary. The Bench wanted to know from petitioner’s counsel K.K. Venugopal the annual salary of a class III government employee and also what was the reasonable income limit. The counsel sought time for giving the information. The Apex Court has also set up a five-judge Constitution Bench that is separately going into a bunch of petitions by Indiresan and others for implementation of the OBC quota without cutting into the number of seats available for the general category.
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Pranab to Pak: Implement UNSC resolution
New Delhi, December 17 “Pakistan is obliged to implement the UN Security Council as it is under chapter 7,” external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters on the margins of a function here. His comments came even as Pakistani High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik told a television news channel that Jaish-e-Mohmmad chief Maulana Masood Azhar, one of India’s most-wanted terrorists, was not under house arrest and his whereabouts were not known to the Pakistani authorities. “We are looking for him. He is not under house arrest. As far as I know, it (news reports of Azhar’s house arrest) is wrong. He is not in Pakistan...We don’t know where he is,” Malik said. The High Commissioner also stated that Dawood Ibrahim, the Indian underworld don,was also not in Pakistan as claimed by New Delhi. A tough-talking Mukherjee said he had explained to Islamabad in his ‘speaking note’ to Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on November 28 and in the demarche issued on December 1 what India expected the Pakistani authorities to do. “I told them that mere intention of expression of intention is not adequate if that expression of intention is not followed by action…we expect Pakistan to act as per their own commitments given by two Presidents,” Mukherjee pointed out. He recalled that then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had assured then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on January 6, 2004 in Islamabad that he would not allow the misuse of the Pakistani territory for terrorist activities. This commitment was reiterated by President Asif Ali Zardari when he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York on September 24.
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Terror-free life a fundamental right: Delhi HC
New Delhi, December 17 “Right to Life would include right to live with human dignity and the said right will be nugatory if the citizens of the country live under the constant fear of violence and terrorism,” Justice Kailash Gambhir said. “There has been utter failure on the part of governments right from the first terrorist attack in Mumbai in the year 1993 to protect its citizens from the ruthless and barbaric attacks at the hands of mindless terrorists,” he said, while expressing anguish over the recent terror attacks across the country. “Our country did not awake even after these militants had attempted an outrageous attack in the year 2001 on our Parliament,” he said “The safety of the people is the supreme law which is not only important but lies in the heart of Article 21 of the Constitution. It is the obligation and foremost duty of the government not only to preserve the rights of the citizens but also to ensure that the people live without any fear,” the court said. He also said the policy makers should learn from these attacks and the politicians should talk in one voice on the issue. “Let there be no further mistakes and the country must act tough and completely gear up to have complete mechanism in place to effectively combat the menace of terrorism,”he said. “The country must fight the war against terror in one voice and all the political parties must raise their voice against the terror in unison by leaving this arena at least out of politicking and blame game.” The court's observations came while dismissing a petition of suspected terrorists allegedly involved in the September 13 serial blasts here, challenging their custodial interrogation beyond 15 days.
— PTI
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Deal firmly with terror groups, Oman tells Pak
New Delhi, December 17 Oman, a key Gulf nation, which is home to a large number of Pakistanis, has expressed solidarity with India in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, while noting that there could be no excuse for not dismantling the infrastructure of terrorism across the Indian border. Oman foreign minister Yusuf Bin Abdullah held talks with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee here during which the Indian side shared with the visiting dignitary the results of the ongoing investigations into the November 26 attack. Oman’s expression of solidarity with India is considered significant, as Pakistan has often tried to mobilise the Arab world against India, with some amount of success, on sensitive issues like Kashmir. India expects other Islamic nations also to take a cue from Oman and use their influence with Pakistan to force the country to sincerely crackdown on ‘jehadi’ groups operating on its territory. An Iranian delegation, led by the country’s deputy foreign minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh, is also scheduled to be in New Delhi for the annual foreign office consultations. New Delhi would obviously like the Iranian side also to ask Pakistan to do what it ought to for checking the cross border terrorism. Mukherjee told the minister from Oman that the evidence available with the Indian authorities proved beyond doubt the complicity of the elements in Pakistan in the Mumbai incidents. The Indian minister pointed out that India had issued a demarche to Pakistan on December 1, asking Islamabad to honour the commitments made by it on several occasions, and not to allow the misuse of the Pakistani territory for terrorist attacks against India. It was time for Pakistan to act and not make statements. In a related development, the Indo-Russian joint-working group on combating international terrorism, at its meeting here, unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that there could be no justification for any act of terrorism, irrespective of motivations, wherever and by whoever committed. The Russian side condemned the terror attacks on Mumbai and reiterated Moscow’s solidarity and support to the government and the people of India.
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Antony retracts, says ready for any eventuality
New Delhi, December 17 “If need be, our armed forces are ready to counter ballistic missile threats from any rogue nation,” the Minister replied to a query while speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a function to honour war widows here. Antony said the Centre was about to finalise a policy for the betterment of ex-servicemen, their families and war widows. “The policy is in the final stages...we are committed for the welfare of ex-servicemen and war widows,” he assured. About armed forces personnel missing during wars, he said efforts were on to locate them and the issue had been raised with Pakistan as well. “We have not abandoned our efforts to find out the whereabouts of the missing soldiers. It still is an issue of concern for the country and has been taken up with Pakistan on several occasions, though Islamabad did not allow the victim families to visit its jails,” he said. And on the much-awaited Sixth Pay Commission issue that has plagued the armed forces, Antony said “an amicable solution was almost ready”.
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Schools gear up to handle student queries post 26/11
Mumbai, December 17 “Students are asking us questions on the attacks and the current situation of the city. We cannot avoid such questions, so we deal with them in a tactful way. Our counsellors ensure that all queries are resolved and they don't keep the problem within themselves,” said Hanif Kanjer, director, Rustomjee International School. “These days students are afraid and there is lot of fear within them. It is important to remove that fear from them. The three-day terror attack has had a bad impact on children as the entire incident was shown on television,” said Pradnya Aklekar, counsellor, Avishkar Clinic. On different ways of dealing with these children, Aklekar said, “We deal with children in a different manner depending on the age group. For children below 13 years, we use play therapy where we ask them to draw and colour anything through which they are able to express their fear, anger and stress and for seniors we ask them to write and also use puppets for the same."
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Kasab used fake identity card of Hyderabad college
Hyderabad, December 17 Kasab, who confessed to the crime, was in possession of a student ID card belonging to Arunodaya Degree College at Dilsukhnagar in the city. The college is situated close to Sai Baba temple where a scooter bomb had exploded in 2002 killing a woman devotee. The police said the ID card mentions the name as Naresh Verma and the address given is Plot No 28-B, Mamata Nagar, Nagole. However, the police could not locate the residence. It is suspected that the terrorist may have prepared the fake card with information from the Internet or with the help of a Hyderabadi terror operative based in Pakistan. The police are investigating whether the fake card was made here by local contacts. Meanwhile, the principal of Arunodaya college said no student by name Naresh Verma had studied in the institution in the last five years.
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New Delhi, December 17 “I don’t think he will go undefended. But even for helping the court for a proper trial assistance of a lawyer is required. What is the role he has played will come to light if there is a fair trial. Somebody will have to defend. It shall not be one way traffic,” he told a television news channel. Several lawyer bodies have refused to take up Ajmal’s case. The opposition Shiv Sena in Maharashtra too has threatened lawyers against defending him in court. Balakrishnan also favoured a strong anti-terror law but added that it must also safeguard human rights. Asked whether he favoured a strong anti-terror law in the country in the wake of the November 26, he said, “Of course we should have strong laws. “”But it should take care of human values providing basic human values to the accused. Strict law is good. I am in favour of it. But how the law should be it is for Parliament to discuss and deliberate. People of the country should feel safe to live in the country,” the Chief Justice said. — PTI
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Indo-Bangla Border
New Delhi, December 17 Speaking in the Rajya
Sabha, Chidambaram also said India was convinced that terrorists were taking shelter in Bangladesh, adding that the matter would again be taken up with Dhaka once a new democratic government came to power. On securing country’s borders with Bangladesh, Chidambaram said the government was not satisfied with the progress made so far in the fencing project. “The process is not satisfactory and we will take every step to quicken the process,” he said. The home minister said the issue regarding fencing on the
Indo-Bangla border was also reviewed in a cabinet committee meeting on Tuesday. “The Prime Minister has expressed concern in this regard and given instructions that steps should be taken to quicken the process,” he said, adding that revised schedule for fencing was being drawn up. India, he said, was convinced that terrorists continued to find safe havens in Bangladesh, adding that India would take up the issue of the alleged terrorist shelter when a new government took over in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, acknowledging gaps in the intelligence apparatus, Chidambaram told the Upper House that the problem was being addressed expeditiously to prevent recurrence of terror attacks. “There are gaps... in intelligence gathering and sharing. It happened under our government, so we take the responsibility,” he said.
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Govt’s ‘millennium bill’
survives by slim margin
New Delhi, December 17 However, the government managed to get the bill passed by negating all the amendments the CPI and the CPM had proposed to the unorganised Workers Social Security bill 2008, with a slim margin of 20 votes though. While 126 MPs were against the amendments, 106 voted in favour. At the first count, the margin was only 17. The Left’s sudden demand for a division following negation by voice vote of one of its proposed amendments caught the government off-guard. Interestingly, many ruling combine MPs, including railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who had left the House for the day, rushed back to save the government’s much-touted legislation. The law seeks to socially secure over 94 per cent of India’s total workforce by providing them with health insurance and several other social security benefits. It will cover fishermen, handloom, bidi and plantation workers, among others. Hailing the law as “Millennium legislation”, labour minister Oscar Fernandes appealed to the Left to withdraw the amendments and assured them that agriculturists were under the ambit of the law. But that was not to be, as the Left remained adamant. The legislation, at one point, seemed in a major trouble with the BJP and the Left voting together for the amendments proposed by CPM leader Hannan Mollah and other Left party members, including S. Sudhakar Reddy and Santashri Chatterjee. As they sought changes in the law to include a revolving fund for ensuring finance flow (among other amendments), the government declined the changes by a voice vote. It was then that the Left sought a division and lobbies were cleared to rush in the members. MoS parliamentary affairs Pawan Kumar Bansal was seen notching up the crucial numbers list. At the time of the first voting, 161 MPs voted — 72 in favour and 89 against the amendments. By the time the voting on the other amendments took place, the government had gotten its act together. This time, 232 MPs voted — 126 against the amendments. The bill was eventually passed with the leader of the opposition, L.K. Advani, literally gesturing to the Left as to why they were wasting so much time. The BJP and the Congress were eager to debate the new anti-terror law.
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Gill sceptical about NIA
New Delhi, December 17 “Our response to the kind of terrorism India faces presently is inadequate. The NIA will prove beneficial only on certain fronts, as no law can be sufficient to deal with terror from across the border,” Gill said while addressing a seminar on “The war within: New face of terrorism and way forward” here. The event was organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Notably, in the past too Gill has expressed his reservations on having any new laws to counter terror. Former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, Ajit Doval, too, was skeptical about NIA in its present form. Doval, who has led counter-terrorism operations during his career, said the “NIA does not meet the requirement”. About the amendments being made to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, he said one of the mandatory requirements should had been to allow confession before police officer as admissible in court. The NIA, Doval claimed, would only improve conviction rates. “We require a counter terrorist agency. But, how will you try and convict a man sitting in Pakistan?” the former IB chief questioned.
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SAD, CPI oppose anti-terror bills
New Delhi, December 17 While the CPM restricted its objections to move some amendments to reduce the stridency of the proposed laws, it was left to CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta to declare, “We oppose the provision of allowing 180 days custody before an accused can seek bail, we also oppose the provision that the onus of proving his innocence should lie on the accused.” Taking the government to task for bringing in this Bill, Dasgupta said, “The BJP was demanding POTA, Chidambram has met him halfway. The BJP should be complemented for having achieved this.” Addressing the Congress Benches the CPI leader said, “You don’t want to face the people with the canard that you were soft on terror. What more could you have done? Perhaps you could have provided for punishment without trial.” In contrast on behalf of the CPM its leader Sitaram Yechury stated earlier in a press conference about NIA that, “In the past we and several regional parties had some apprehensions. I and my party, too, had reservations. But we now realise the need to coordinate various intelligence agencies both the central and the state.” SAD leader S.S Dhindsa took up cudgels against the Bills distancing itself clearly from the BJP saying, “I feel apart from the BJP and the Congress no one here is happy with these Bills.” Dhindsa said, “I have serious reservations about the proposed agency. Already so many agencies are there why we need one more. Instead provide states enough resources and assistance to make them fight terrorism effectively.”
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Advani, Sibal indulge in war of words on terror
New Delhi, December 17 While the BJP, led by L.K. Advani, sought to win back its stolen terror agenda, the UPA had Kapil Sibal for defence. Sibal accused Advani of nothing short of the attack on Parliament, saying: “Had you not let off Maulana Masood Azhar, the Parliament would not have been attacked. You should apologise to the House for your doing.” The science minister was reacting to Advani’s scathing remarks that the UPA, by bringing a new anti-terror law, had abandoned its 10-year-old stand on terror and accepted its mistake. Interestingly, Advani had begun by “fundamentally supporting” the National Investigation Agency Bill. His following references, however, were anything but “concurring” in tone. “I am satisfied that after 10 years the UPA has come home to the point that existing laws are insufficient to counter terror. I am also happy that the anti-terror law is not being described as anti-minority,” Advani said, hitting out at the UPA for reducing terror to a minority-majority issue. He was referring to POTA, which the UPA had projected as a communal law. Interesting to see was Advani’s offensive form after protracted BJP’s silence post defeats in Rajasthan and Delhi. Today, Advani tried his best to nail the government for hijacking its terror agenda; POTA as his point of reference. “When we responded to the UN Security Council’s advice to enact a stronger terror law, we were criticised. The law was rejected for potential of misuse. Which law is not misused? The US went on to enact a law post 9/11 and has since not been attacked,” Advani said, recalling how the UPA, including chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had until recently been describing terrorism as a law and order issue concerning states. Now they are keen to pass the new law, Advani said, demanding that the law be referred to the standing committee and taken up in February next when the House meets. He insisted that confessions before police officers and international intercepts be made admissible as evidence under the new law. But it was the last bit of Advani’s mentions that triggered strong responses from Kapil Sibal, whom the Congress had fielded for defence. “If your new bills are indices that you have decided to turn a new leaf, I am happy. But I wonder why you changed your tack after Mumbai attacks. Perhaps because the foreigners were killed,’ Advani concluded, leaving a bad taste in Congress’ mouth, and setting Sibal off.
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Left stages walkout on spectrum issue
New Delhi, December 17 The Left, which had earlier given a notice for adjournment of question hour to raise the matter in the Lok Sabha, walked out during the zero hour after Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said the matter had already been raised once and could not be taken up again. Alleging that the controversy resulted following losses worth several crores to the state exchequer, the Left demanded a debate on the matter and answers from the government. Though the Speaker called CPM leader Basudeb Acharia to raise the matter, he closed the chapter after the point was raised that the Spectrum issue had already come up for discussion and could not be raised again, as per rules.
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Sheila Dikshit, six ministers take oath
New Delhi, December 17 Besides her, six ministers - Dr. A. K. Walia, Rajkumar Chauhan, Haroon Yusuf, Arvinder Singh Lovely, Mangat Ram Singhal and Kiran Walia took the oath.
A. K. Walia, Rajkumar Chauhan, Haroon, Arvinder, Mangat Ram were ministers in the last cabinet also. Kiran is a new face in the cabinet replacing Yoganand Shatri, who was the health minister. They were administered the oath by Lt Governor Tejender Khanna. Portfolio has not been given to the ministers. It will be decided within a couple of days, Sheila Dikshit said. Other MLAs will take oath on December 19 in the Delhi assembly. Walia said her induction in the cabinet was appreciable. The CM had given weightage to women. This was a good opportunity to learn a lot of new things, she said. So far, portfolios had not been allocated but whatever department “I am given I will work sincerely and honestly, she
said.
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Women panel visits
Singur
Kolkata, December 17 Meanwhile in Kolkata, anti-left parties, including the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), today staged an agitation on the Singur and Nandigram issues and also against rise in prices. Over 1,000 SUCI workers were arrested by the police. Malini Bhattacharjee claimed that the Commission had met and talked to the affected people in Singur, adding that soon after returning to the city, the panel would submit a detailed report along with the rehabilitation package to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The Singur Krishijibi chairperson committee leader Becharam Manna alleged that when the farmers were in deep crisis following the merciless attacks from the police and the cadres, the Commission members were nowhere in the vicinity and now when the elections are near, the CPM leadership was sending people to Singur with the rehabilitation package. He also claimed that the residents of Singur want their lands and not rehabilitation benefits. The Chief Minister has made it clear that the land would not be returned to the farmers. On the contrary, the land earmarked for the Nano car project would be utilised for some other industrial purposes if Ratan Tata was still reluctant to start any new industry there. Accordingly, a detailed scheme has already been drawn up by the WBIDC and the industries department. Industries minister Nirupam Sen admitted that after shifting the Nano car project from Singur to Ahmedabad in the wake of Mamata Banerjee’s resistance agitation, there was no response from the Tatas. They had also not fully dismantled the Nano plant. Secretary of the state CPM Biman Bose, however, said the party was not anti-farmers and wanted proper rehabilitation for the affected farmers. He said the government would decide in sanctioning adequate funds for the rehabilitation of farmers after receiving reports from the Mahila Commission and the team of MPs that would be visiting Singur next week. However, Mamata Banerjee and several other leaders of the anti-left parties have already reiterated the demands for returning of lands forcibly acquired at Singur for Tata Motors. Mamata had launched a paddy transplanting campaign at Singur’s project site and the affected farmers had responded positively to it.
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Uproar in Orissa Assembly over Dec 25 bandh
Bhubaneswar, December 17 The opposition legislators have described the decision of Swami Laxamananda Saraswati Shradhanjali Samiti (SLSSS) to enforce an Orissa bandh on December 25 as an affront to the dignity of the legislative Assembly. They demanded that the Chief Minister should spell its government’s stand on the issue as some ruling BJP members have supported the proposed bandh. The Chief Minister on Monday had said the government would not permit any one to call bandh on the Christmas Day and warned punitive action against the law breaker. Raising the issue through a special mention, NCP member Arun Dey reminded that barely 36 hours after the Chief Minister’s announcement in the House, the samiti had the audacity to defy the government and deciding to go ahead with the bandh. He said the BJP members, who kept silent while the Chief Minister made the statement, told mediapersons later that they respect the decision of the samiti. He said it was a challenge to the Chief Minister and urged the Speaker to direct the BJP leader and the Chief Minister to make their stand clear. But members from the Treasury Bench said the Chief Minister had already made a statement on the issue adding that the government was committed to implementing it. They said there was no point in raising the matter after the statement of the Chief Minister. Resenting on replies Congress member Nalini Mohanty urged the Speaker to summon the Chief Minister to make a statement on the step he has taken to maintain law and order. He said the announcement of the samiti and the support of the BJP to the Orissa bandh will have a constitutional crisis.
— UNI
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SC notice on Punjab’s petition against docs
New Delhi, December 17 A Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices P. Sathasivam and A.K. Ganguly issued notices to the Government Medical College, Amritsar, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, and Dr Vinay Kumar Khullar of Jalandhar who wanted to pursue some higher course. On August 12, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had asked the state government to issue no objection certificates to the doctors who cleared the written exam and the interview for pursuing higher studies without the 10-year condition, as they were left with services less than that period. Subsequently, the state government challenged the HC order in the apex court, insisting that there should not be any relaxation in the 10-year service stipulation. Presently, doctors wanting to pursue higher medical courses have to execute a bond under the July 3, 2007 order of the Health Department by agreeing to the condition, failing which they would have to pay a penalty of Rs 20 lakh. The Director of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, is the co-petitioner in the suit filed in the Supreme Court. The apex court, however, ignored the plea for an interim stay on the HC order in favour of the Punjab Civil Medical Service (PCMS) doctors.
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Mumbai Terror Impact
Chennai, December 17 Before the Mumbai terror attacks, companies did not consider security as a major necessity. Now, the situation had changed, said Manimozhi Arasu, deputy general manager of SDB SISCO Security Agency. "We used to approach companies and explain about the necessiy for security measures, often finding a lukewarm response. They will recruit one or two personnel and use them to open and close gates for vehicles. Now, they are approaching us, seeking more personnel and equipment with the latest technology," he added. There are about 250 security agencies in Tamil Nadu and nearly 150 of them are functioning in Chennai alone. Most of the clients who are approaching the private agencies after the Mumbai terror attacks are IT companies, followed by star hotels and business and shopping complexes. The eligibility for security personnel has also gone up, since companies insist on better physical and educational qualifications. Earlier, security agencies used to recruit retired aged men and feeble youths without the required stamina and strength for a low salary. Now, companies insist on quality personnel who can handle critical situations. A conduct certificate from the police is also necessary. Manimozhi said, "Companies are asking for personnel who can face any situation, including terror attacks. So, we are training our people on how to identify terrorists and how to evacuate people at critical situations. They are also being trained on how and to whom information should be passed in case of emergency." S Harshavardhan, heading Force One Security Agency said, "The companies are asking for modern equipments such as metal detectors and automatic doors which can detect bombs. We are inspecting the companies and making security arrangements according to their needs."
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Army Recruitment Woes
Bangalore, December 17 Kushalappa was speaking at a function here to commemorate Vijay
Diwas, which is celebrated on December 16 to mark the Indian victory in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. On the occasion, a hoarding giving details of joining the Indian Army was unveiled at Army Public School in
Bangalore. Kushalappa said 73 such hoardings were being put up across the nation yesterday to motivate young people to join the Army. This initiative had been taken up by the Recruitment Office to give reliable information to aspirants and prevent the youth from falling prey to touts who promise a career in the Army. Addressing the students of Army Public School, Kushalappa said a career in the Army would instil in them a sense of professionalism and discipline. He said the dignity of profession that the defence forces offered was unmatched.
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Human Trafficking
New Delhi, December 17 The UK government had also cracked down on about 300 fake academic institutions involved in illegal immigration of students from abroad, mostly from India, he said. The new magazine, published from Jalandhar, would help aspiring immigrants avoid falling prey to travel agents out to fleece gullible people, he said. Those wanting to go abroad should go by the rulebook, he said.
Jatinder Singh Kariha, MLA from Punjab, was also present during the function. The British government was against granting amnesty to illegal immigrants, as it would encourage more and more people to get into the country through dubious means, he said. Illegal immigration is also being fuelled by high real estate prices in India, as people are prompted to sell off part of their ancestral land to raise funds for going abroad with the intention of settling down, Bhangal said.
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Bird Meat
Bhubaneswar, December 17 Chief Minister Navin Patnaik, who is also in charge of the forest and environment department, took the initiative after allegations that some reputed city-based hotels and roadside ‘dhabas’ were serving bird meat to customers. A prestigious club in the city was also earlier accused of serving bird meat dishes to its guests, an official said. Any rare bird meat per plate was sold at a price of Rs 500. “The officials had been directed to remain vigilant on the possible cooking of birds’ meat in menus of different hotels, including star ones,” Patnaik said. While the state had fixed census of migratory birds on January 5 and 6, over 5.12 lakh migratory birds, mostly from Siberian countries, had already reached the Chilika Lake. The number of migratory birds in the Chilika could touch 10 lakh by the first week of January, a senior forest department official said. The official said migratory birds mostly assemble in the Chilika Lake, Bhitarkania National Park area and water reservoir in Hirakud
dam. — PTI
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Apex court gets 3 more judges
New Delhi, December 17 The new apex court judges are Ashok Kumar Ganguly, Rajendra Mal Lodha and Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu, who were earlier Chief Justices of Madras, Patna and Kerala High Courts respectively. With this, the number of the Supreme Court judges has gone up to 24. The three judges whose seniority has been bypassed are Justices A.P Shah (Delhi), A.K Patnaik (Madhya Pradesh) and V.K Gupta (Uttarakhand). While the five-judge Supreme Court collegium headed by CJI Balakrishnan had stuck to its recommendations, the government, particularly the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), had reservations over superseding some judges and ignoring the need for proportional representation to various regions. It was the government that relented at last accepting the collegium’s recommendations.
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ATR sought from Chhattisgarh
New Delhi, December 17 A Bench of Chief Justice K.G Balakrishnan and Justice P. Sathasivam asked the state government to file the ATR by January 28. The next hearing would take place on February 3. Appearing for the PIL petitioner, Nandini Sunder, counsel Ashok Desai said Salva Judum members were killing innocent people and burning villages with the connivance of the security forces.
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Malik is NCB chief
New Delhi, December 17 A 1975 batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, Malik is currently working as additional director general, Sashastra Seema Bal. |
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Chargesheet filed in Delhi serial blasts case Tiger count dips to 1,411
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