Hyderabad, August 28
A principal of a private degree college here has landed in trouble for asking Muslim girls to remove their burqa to identify themselves.

The Muslim students in Vani Degree College for Women flew into rage and held violent demonstration today, demanding dismissal of the principal, Annapurna, for insulting their religion.

The college is located in the Muslim-dominated old city area of Mehdipatnam. The trouble started in the morning when the principal, vexed with the late-comers, asked the burqa-clad students to remove the veil so that they could be identified. “All of you come in burqa and it is difficult for me to identify the students coming late. Take out your burqa and identify yourself,” she instructed. She scolded them for getting away without punishment because of their burqa.

This enraged the students. And within minutes, all Muslim girls boycotted their classes and staged a demonstration on the road. They attacked the college building, broke the window panes and ransacked the furniture.

Alleging that the principal had misbehaved with them and denigrated their religion, they demanded that she be sacked immediately.

After a few minutes, police descended on the scene and tried to disperse the students, who, in turn, pelted them with stones. The situation further worsened with the arrival of local Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) legislator Afsar Khan. He lodged a complaint with the police and sought action against the principal for insulting the Muslim girls. The MLA later held talks with the Principal and extracted a written apology from her.

Annapurna later clarified that she had only asked the students to show their identity, but had not made any derogatory remark against their tradition.

New Delhi, August 28
A local court here today dismissed a plea of the Delhi Police to withdraw charges under the stringent anti-terror law, the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA), against jailed underworld don Abu Salem.

The police had filed the petition on the directions of the Central Government as MCOCA charges were in violation of the extradition treaty between India and Portugal. Salem was extradited from Portugal in 2005. The petition was filed under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The Centre had asked the Delhi Police to withdraw MCOCA charges after Salem approached the high court in Portugal alleging that the Indian authorities were acting in contravention of the extradition terms.

While extraditing Salem from Portugal to India, a treaty was signed between the two countries that had certain conditions. Portugal had stipulated that Salem should not be tried for any offence other than those charged against him at the time of extradition.

Moreover, it was also agreed that he could not be awarded death penalty, nor could be kept in jail for more than 25 years. The treaty also mentioned that Salem could not be booked under any special law (which included MCOCA as well) and could not be tried in more than nine criminal cases.

New Delhi, August 28
Anti-viral drug Tamiflu, the only known treatment for Influenza A H1N1 infection, would soon be retailed in India, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) Surinder Singh today said, adding that restricted distribution of drug would be allowed to chemists in “a couple of days”.

Health ministry officials, however, denied any such move, indicating contradictions in government’s stand on the issue, although the ministry’s strategic paper on H1N1 preparedness states clearly that Tamiflu’s distribution, though restricted in the earlier phase of the epidemic, would have to be eventually eased.

The DCGI, however, went on record today to say that Tamiflu would be retailed but not be allowed to be marketed as any other normal medicine. It would be listed as a Schedule X drug, which is extremely restricted in availability over the chemist counters. “Schedule X drugs are sold highly restrictively to prevent their indiscriminate use. They are not the same as Schedule H drugs, which are available easily,” said government sources.

Once allowed for restricted retail distribution, Tamiflu can be procured by patients only on prescription to ensure its unbridled use does not lead to resistance in the novel virus strains circulating in the country.

The development, if it happens, would be in line with most nations that have allowed retail availability of the drug, though strictly on prescription. The important point for patients to remember is that they must take the full five-day course (one capsule each in morning and evening) of Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) to prevent the swine flu virus from becoming immune to the precious drug. Even though the DCGI confirmed the move today, there was no formal admission of the fact by health ministry officials today. 

New Delhi, August 28
Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar may have repeatedly said the country is having enough food stocks to tide it over current drought crisis with ease, but a high-powered Parliamentary Committee has serious doubts over these assertions.

Unsatisfied with presentation given by Food and Public Distribution Ministry officials on food stock in the country, the Estimates Committee has asked officials to give exact situation on stocks that the country holds. The ministry has been given a set of questions on which it is expected to reply in the first week of September.

As per Buffer norm, there should be 4 million tonne of wheat stock in the country as on April 1 of every year and 5.2 million tonne of rice stock as on October 1 of every year.

Above this, the country also holds strategic reserves of 5 million tonne, 3 million tonne wheat and 2 million tonne rice. Not only Pawar but also Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has reiterated this on several occasions, obviously on basis of projections and figures given by the ministry.

The committee, however, feels that the projections do not match figures circulated by the ministry. In fact, doubts on food-stock situation had been strong enough for a member to say that the country was possibly looking at a “strong dose of import in the future”.

Chandigarh, August 28
Justice Pritam Pal today became the first presiding officer of a quasi-judicial body in the country to declare his assets. President of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, UT, Justice Pritam Pal shot of a communiqué to the Administrator-cum-Punjab Governor SF Rodrigues declaring his assets.

Available information suggests the communiqué has been addressed to the Administrator, as he is the appointing authority. Justice Pritam Pal was, in fact, appointed as the president by the Administrator on the recommendations of the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

A former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Pritam Pal, has also made it clear that the details of his assets would also be made public on the official website.

The disclosure comes soon after Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan made it clear he was not against the revelation of assets by the judges..

Patna, August 28
Former Union Minister and a senior Muslim leader Mohd Taslimuddin quit the RJD today giving a serious jolt to the party and its beleaguered Chief, Lalu Yadav, on the eve of by-polls to 18 assembly seats in Bihar. Taslimuddin, a four time MP from Kishanganj, charged Lalu Yadav with converting the party into a family business and said that people from the minority community were betrayed all these years by the RJD, even though they had always supported the party whole heartedly.

Taslimuddin, by virtue of his long political career as member of the state assembly four times and minister in Bihar, and a Member of the Lok Sabha for the same time, had two stints in the Union Ministry. He was considered the Muslim face of RJD in the minority-dominated areas of eastern Bihar on Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bangldesh border, comprising Kishanganj, Araria, Purnea and Katihar districts. His popularity helped him defeat Muslim leaders of national fame like Syed Shahabuddin and Shahnawaz Hussain (BJP) in the Kishanganj Lok Sabha constituency. The growing unpopularity of RJD and its leader Lalu Yadav in the state, particularly amongst

the Muslims, made him lose the Kishanganj seat (having 68 per cent Muslim votes) to Congress nominee Mohd. Israrul Haque in the last Lok Sabha polls.

The immediate provocation to quit the party seems denial of the party symbol to his son and successor Mohammed Sarfaraz , also a former Bihar minister from the Araria Assembly constituency that is going to the by-polls. Taslimuddin has not disclosed his future plans in politics as yet but he is expected to join Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) very shortly.

Lucknow, August 28
The Allahabad Vice Chancellor has punished eight students for ragging in the most innovative manner. They have to read a new book from their prescribed law syllabus and write a 1000-word review within 15 days which the VC would personally assess.

A meeting headed by Vice Chancellor R.G. Harshe pronounced this “academic punishment” for all eights students from the five-year Law course who were reportedly involved in the ragging of a first year law student Anshul Aditya Tiwari at the University’s Shatabdi hostel on the night of August 18-19.

However, for the two main culprits, both second year students of BA (LLB), Sridhar Saran and Animesh Sharma “a more severe punishment” has been meted out. They have to pay Rs 20,000 as fine within a week and have to vacate the hostel for a year.

The Vice Chancellor has also asked both of them to express their regret in writing to the student they had ragged and furnish a copy of their apology to the Proctor of the university Dr Jatashankar.

The academic punishment has been given to the two main culprits as well as to six other students of the same course who were eyewitnesses to the ragging but did not take any steps to stop it.

Speaking to Tribune, AU’s Dean Students Welfare R K Singh said that in the dead of the night of August 18-19 these two students harassed this newcomer who had joined the hostel that very day and took him to the railway station. The six others saw it happening but did not come to the rescue of the new entrant.

The traumatised Tiwari quit the hostel and left for home and was under tremendous pressure not to reveal the incident, said Singh.

According to VC Harshe, academic punishment should be a deterrent for the students as their parents shell out the fine without causing them much real hardship. 

Mumbai, August 28
The Mumbai police has got themselves a new arsenal. With a budget of Rs 120 crore sanctioned by the Maharashtra government, the city police armoury is being upgraded with killing machines sourced from around the world.

However, the policeman on patrol is unlikely to be issued such weapons in a hurry, says Mumbai Police Commissioner D Shivanandan. “These weapons will be issued to members of the Quick Response Teams who will be the first to react in case of a terrorist attack,” Shivanandan said.

Among the weaponry ordered by the police include the MP5, SD4, MP5K, MP9 machine pistols, A5 submachine guns, M82/M107 Special Application Rifle, Colt M203 under-barrel grenade launchers, Barret M8 A1 long-range rifles, armoured vehicles, etc. Special kevlar helmets and bulletproof jackets are also part of the new arsenal. While many of these weapons have come from international sources, Indian equipment suppliers like the Mahindras have also been roped in. The Indian tractor and jeep manufacturer is equipping the police with bulletproof vehicles.

As part of the new blueprint prepared to tackle urban terrorism, the Mumbai police have set up five Quick Response Teams to be deployed in different parts of the city. Each team would have 90 personnel and a total of 450 policemen from the city police have been trained for the purpose.

Hyderabad, August 28
A city-based Hizbul Mujahideen operative, Mujeeb Ahmed, was today sentenced to life imprisonment and six of his associates to 10 years rigorous imprisonment on charges of sedition and procurement of arms for waging war against the country.

Mujeeb, a resident of Hyderabad who was earlier convicted and imprisoned for killing a senior police officer, was planning to carry out subversive activities in the city with the arms and ammunition smuggled from Kashmir.

Holding Mujeeb and six of his accomplices guilty under various sections of Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the first additional metropolitan sessions judge Sriramamurthy pronounced the quantum of sentence for the accused.

He and his associates, including his woman companion Zohra Nishat and brother-in-law Jahangir Khan, were arrested in December 2005 after Rajasthan police had seized a cache of arms hidden in a truck carrying marble to Hyderabad. The driver and cleaner of the lorry had told the police that the consignment was meant for Mujeeb.

Mujeeb was also convicted under Section 6 of the Indian Wireless and Telegraph Act for possessing a satellite phone. The police had recovered the phone from his residence. He had allegedly received from the Hizbul Mujahideen leader. Truck driver Shabbir Ahmed, cleaner Ravindera Kumar, Mohammed Yasin and Shaikh Awadh were the other accused sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 fine on Mujeeb and Rs 2,000 on each of the remaining accused.

Chennai, August 28
A prominent human rights group in Tamil Nadu today demanded "unrestricted and full access" to detention camps for internally displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka be given to the United Nations and other international agencies. It also called on the Lanka government to take steps to immediately dismantle the camps as the monsoon rains would cause immeasurable suffering to the inmates, exposing them to diseases that might even kill many of them.

The organization, NAAM (which literally means "we") said the island government had not allowed the UN or any global agency to record the number of people in those camps. This, it claimed, made the summary execution of the displaced Tamils a “feasible task”. Fr Jagath Caspar, a Catholic priest who heads NAAM, said: "We keep getting calls from reliable sources that thousands of young men in the camps have been separated from their families, tortured and even killed, whereas young Tamil females in the camps are used as ‘comfort women’. Only 5 per cent of the area was mined and the presence of mines is only an excuse for not rehabilitating Tamil residents.” He also called for an "impartial and credible" international inquiry into the “war crimes” committed by both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government. He said Indian foreign policy and consequently its vast diplomatic resources had been “immorally deployed to protect and give cover to the serious war crimes against the Tamils”, adding, "India's failure to ensure safety of the Tamils (in Sri Lanka) is indeed a moral disgrace and a blot in its proud civilisation and history".

Fr Caspar maintained that the recent video clip showing Sri Lankan soldiers shooting naked, blindfolded and bound victims in their head, telecast on the UK’s Channel 4 and posted on The New York Times news blog ‘the Lede’ was genuine, adding “even Human Rights Watch accepted it as such”. Quoting the latter, he said, "The blood, blindfolds and mud of this atrocity makes nonsense of the Sri Lankan government's claims of a clean war against the Tamil Tigers".

According to Fr Caspar, Amnesty International had also called for an independent investigation into the alleged atrocities and had asked the Sri Lankan government to allow immediate access to the conflict area so that evidence and documents as well as testimony from survivors could be gathered. "We painfully note that a section of the English media are in complicity with the Sri Lankan regime and is engaged in legitimising its war crimes", he said.