Patna, September 7
In a major relief to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Patna High Court today stayed the summons issued against him by a subordinate court in connection with the murder of a Congress worker 18 years ago.

Justice Sima Ali Khan ordered stay on the summons against Kumar issued by a Barh court on August 31 on a writ petition filed by Yogendra Prasad Yadav, also an accused in the 1991 case registered at Pandarak police station. Yadav had sought stay on the proceedings of Barh court saying it violated an earlier order of the HC in the case.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ranjan Kumar had passed the order asking Kumar to appear before him on September 9 following a petition filed by Ashok Singh, a relative of Congress activist Sitaram Singh who was killed in firing at a polling booth at Barh during the Lok Sabha election in November 1991.

Patna HC had, however, on April 22, 2009 stayed the proceedings in the court of the ACJM in connection with the case till pendency of hearing on Yadav's petition challenging the lower court’s move to take cognisance of the charges. Hearing Yadav’s petition seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against the Barh Court for allegedly flouting the HC order, Khan referred the petition to the Chief Justice with a request to transfer the matter to the same bench, which had earlier heard the case.

The CJM had said a prima facie case for offence under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 302(murder), 307(attempt to murder) of Indian Penal Code and 17 Arms Act was made out against Nitish and other accused. He had said “there is allegation of committing murder of Sitaram Singh and firearm injury to four persons while they were in queue for casting their votes against the accused.” In the petition filed on January 20 before the Barh court, Ashok Singh, a resident of Dhibar village, had charged Kumar with firing from a gun leading to the death of Sitaram.

The deceased and others had queued up before a polling booth for casting their ballots for the 1991 Lok Sabha by-poll in which Kumar was in fray on a ticket of the undivided Janata Dal, Singh said in his petition. The Barh court’s order had sparked off a political controversy with the opposition RJD and LJP demanding immediate sacking of the CM if he failed to resign on his own.

Meanwhile, Nitish moved the HC on Monday filing a separate petition seeking stay on the order of ACJM, Barh seeking cognisance against him under different section of the IPC, including 302 and 307 and 27 Arms Act despite the investigating agency exonerating him of any such charge in the said case. Nitish’s petition is yet to come up for hearing.

New Delhi, September 7
The Supreme Court today said making campuses across the country ragging-free was just not sufficient. The authorities should ensure that senior students received the freshers, who generally had apprehensions over ragging and other problems, with warmth and help them get adjusted to the campus atmosphere.

A Bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and Asok Kumar Ganguly observed that this was necessary as ragging could cause more mental damage than physical harm and students fresh from schools were "apprehensive, scared and terrified" while confronting the college culture for the first time.

It was imperative on the seniors to make the newcomers feel at home, showering them with care and affection, akin to those prevailing among siblings, the Bench said.

The court made the remarks during the course of submissions by Solicitor- General Gopal Subramaniam in a case relating to campus elections.

Towards the end of the argument, the SG referred to the efforts being made by the government to check ragging with the help of universities, colleges and other bodies and individuals concerned.

The SG made a special mention about the significant contribution being made by Dr Raj Kachroo, father of a first year student (Aman Satya) of Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College at Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) who died due to ragging earlier this year. Being an expert in information and technology (IT), Dr Kachroo was instrumental in setting up helplines and other mechanisms.

While Justice Katju made most of the observations, Justice Ganguly cautioned the Press against misreporting as the Bench was mainly hearing the college election matter, not ragging.

The SG, however, assured the Judge that the media was by and large very responsible in reporting court matters and in fact had many a time proved to be a valuable source of learning for the legal fraternity. 

New Delhi, September 7
The Supreme Court today sought the response of the human resource development and law ministries to a PIL filed by students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, challenging the Lyngdoh committee guidelines for campus elections. A bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and AK Ganguly also issued notice to the central government through the cabinet secretary on the petition filed by the National Students Front of JNU and another.

The petitioners have sought relaxing the age limit for poll contestants from 28 presently as well as removing the condition that candidates should not have any arrears in exams and should have recorded attendance of not less than 75 per cent.

The other stipulations that have been challenged by the petitioners are that the candidate must be a regular, full-time student and should not have a criminal record. Under another impugned condition candidates would be given only one opportunity to contest for the post of office bearer and two opportunities for the post of an executive member.

According to the PIL, the recommendations are in violation of the students' academic freedom and fundamental rights. The government's interference must be kept to a "bare minimum, even negligible" in student union elections, but the committee report "has inserted unwarranted interference in the constitution of students’ unions," it added.

Meanwhile, Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium, amicus curiae in a related case involving JNU and its students union, has filed an affidavit suggesting age limit for poll candidates may be relaxed to 30 years “and no further”. He has also proposed the ten-day time limit for completing the election process and the grievance redressal mechanism should be strictly adhered to.

Also, "a candidate shall have three opportunities to contest for the post of office bearer/executive member, provided that he/she may hold that post for no longer than two consecutive terms," the amicus said. Further, “the prohibition on non-students being involved in the election process should be strictly adhered to”, he stated.

New Delhi, September 7
Though New Delhi is not perturbed over fresh reports of Chinese incursions, official sources today said there was no question of India lowering its guard along the line of actual control (LAC).

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna sought to play down the alleged incursion by a Chinese helicopter in Ladakh, saying there was an inbuilt mechanism between the two sides to deal with such issues.

“Let me on record to say that (border with China) has been one of the most peaceful boundaries that we have as compared to boundary lines with other countries,” he told reporters when his reaction was sought to incidents of China violating the Indian airspace and the international border. Krishna did not agree with a suggestion that these incursions were a cause of concern.

Home Minister P Chidambaram also told a television news channel that reports of Chinese incursions should not be overplayed and that talks were on between the two sides to resolve the boundary issue. Cross-border violation would continue until the boundary issue was settled for good.

Statements from the two top UPA ministers came even as there were reports that the Army’s Northern Command chief, Lt Gen P C Bhardwaj will visit the Leh-based 14 Corps headquarters over the next few days to verify reports of Chinese incursions in the Ladakh area.

Last year, there were as many as 223 Chinese incursions while nearly 75 border violations from the Chinese side have already taken place in the past three months.

However, Indian officials say many of these incursions could be the result of difference in perceptions between the two sides on LAC. “India has proposed an early clarification and confirmation of the LAC…that, however, is awaited,” the officials said.

They pointed out that the two countries have put in place a mechanism to deal with any border transgression that comes to the notice of either side. The issue is settled either through meetings between border personnel of the two countries or at the level of diplomats.

The Special Representatives (SRs) of the two countries had met in New Delhi last month and decided to resolve the boundary dispute peacefully. Pending the settlement of the boundary issue, it was decided that the two sides would maintain peace and tranquillity in border areas.

The officials pointed out that, in fact, the SRs for the first time went beyond their brief and discussed expansion of bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, defence, culture, education and people-to-people exchanges. They noted that India had issued nearly 58,000 business visas to Chinese nationals last year.

New Delhi, September 7
After all tough talk by the party high command against those lobbying for the elevation of Jaganmohan Reddy, son of late YS Rajasekhar Reddy, the Congress is now indicating that the next incumbent to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s office will enjoy Jaganmohan’s support and confidence.

Finding itself in a Catch-22 situation, the party is now engaged in a fine-balancing act. Even as it is alarmed by aggressive lobbying by Jaganmohan's supporters, senior party leaders feel that not making him or someone he supports the Chief Minister may create a factional dispute and weaken the party.

Congress sources say an absolute clarity on the issue would emerge by this weekend when senior party leaders Pranab Mukherjee, Veerappa Moily and Digvijay Singh would meet state leaders in Hyderabad to zero upon a consensus candidate. This would be followed by a CLP meeting where the “decision” would be endorsed.

At present four to five names have been doing rounds for the post of Andhra CM, but a senior Congress leader said: “Anyone appointed the CM will have full support of Jaganmohan Reddy. He will have to be someone acceptable to the YSR camp,” adding that it was very important to choose a leader, who could ensure stability in the state.

So, even though 36-year-old Jaganmohan, just about 100-day-old in politics, may not inspire confidence amongst many as rightful heir to his father’s chair, with a support of more than 100 Congress MLAs he enjoys a clout which the party can ill afford to ignore.

“Had he (Jaganmohan) been a little older, he would have been irresistible,” a Congress leader said. A hot contender for his late father’s throne, Jaganmohan’s age and “image” appears to be stacked against him. Jaganmohan’s formal entry into politics is as recent as 2009, when he became the MP from Kadapa.

Party leaders feel that Andhra Pradesh, with a strong opposition in the TDP, needs an experienced leader. They also feel that a “political novice like Jaganmohan” may find it difficult to maintain a strong economy and keep Maoists under check.

Besides the age factor, Jaganmohan also suffers from an “image problem”. Political rivals allege that in five years of YSR’s rule big business interests, including that of his son, flourished. It is also alleged that not just his political existence, Jaganmohan’s business empire is all thanks to his father.

Besides Jaganmohan and interim CM K. Rosaiah, others contenders in the race include Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari, Rajya Sabha MP KV Ramachandra Rao, state PCC head D Srinivas and former state PCC president Keshav Rao. A view in New Delhi also is to allow Rosaiah to continue for the time being.

Political observers say the Congress may ultimately opt for a candidate belonging to YSR camp, either Jaganmohan or Rosiah. But the fact that the party made it crystal clear that it is the “High Command” at the Centre who is in control, also indicates the possibility of a “dark horse” being in the race to the CMO.

Jaipur, September 7
It’s merely nine months since the Congress has taken over the reins in the state and already resentment is brewing among its men against ministers in the government.

The discontent among the Congressmen came to the fore in a recent meeting called at the Pradesh Congress Committee office to discuss membership drive of the party, role of NREGA in tackling drought and modalities for the coming Panchayati Raj Sammelan.

Though a majority of office-bearers evaded criticism of ministers and instead vent their ire against the local government officials, a few of them went all out to say that the local representatives are finding it difficult to get the work done in their areas.

This is not the first time that the discontentment has come to light in the party. Earlier, during a brief Assembly session on August 27, Energy Minister Jitendra had earned the wrath of the Congress MLAs who protested against inadequate power supply in their respective areas. They dubbed the government’s failure to cater to the people’s electricity requirement as a major embarrassment to them.

“We promised adequate power to the people in our manifesto, but are unable to provide them even least required supply,” they argued.

Later, Union Minister of Rural Development, CP Joshi, who was chairing the party meeting in his capacity as the PCC chief, tried to bridge the gap between the organization and the state government. He suggested the concerned ministers to be in touch with the district-level committees involved in the relief work for drought.

However, the top Congress leaders made an attempt to play down the issue, stating that they didn’t find anything unusual in the party workers’ discontentment.

They said that it would take a little time for the government to meet everybody’s expectations and the partymen’s suggestions will only help them function in a better way.

Meanwhile, Joshi said that the Congress has decided to hold a convention to mark 50 years of panchayati raj in the country.

“The then PM Jawahar Lal Nehru had launched panchayati raj from Nagaur district of Rajasthan on October 2, 1959. We want to commemorate the event. The decision regarding its scale and venue will be taken in consultation with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot,” he added. 

Ranchi, September 7
A month after all districts of Jharkhand were declared drought affected, many parts of the state are facing the threat of floods, an official said here today. The state has received more than 300 mm of rain in the past one week due to the cyclonic depression formed over Jharkhand. Many rivers are overflowing. Many parts of state capital Ranchi are waterlogged and normal life has been disrupted.

The incessant rains for past four days in Ranchi not only flooded many parts of the city, but has also deprived people of electricity. Ranchi has been without power since Sunday.

The affected districts include Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Ramgarh. Ramgarh district, which is around 45 km from Ranchi, is one of the worst affected.

“Nearly two-thirds of Ramgarh district is flooded. The water is flowing above 6 ft at the famous Rajrappa temple of goddess Chinmastika. The temple was flooded after water started overflowing in Damodar river,” the official said.

In Jamshedpur, two rivers Kharkai and Swarnarekha are also flowing above the danger mark. In Ramgarh district, the Patratu Thermal Power Plant Station opened five gates of its dams causing flooding of major parts of the district. The dam gates were opened early today.

In Bokaro, gates of Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Limited dam gates were opened which flooded around 250 villages. Flooding has now affected nearly 500,000 persons in the state. — IANS

Sikar, September 7
At a time when deforestation is rampant and ground water table is declining, an experiment by Sundaram Verma, a farmer from Danta village here, to rear a plant to its full size with little amount of water may help the country replenish its fast depleting forest cover.

A science graduate from Rajasthan University, Verma has been into dry land farming for the past around two decades.

Talking to The Tribune, he said, “As our district witnesses extreme weather conditions and very little rainfall, I have been doing numerous experiments on dry land farming techniques. And what you are seeing today is the result of my hard work for years.”

The key to his unique technique, he said, was in conservation of ground water and checking its evaporation. According to him, he started working on techniques to prevent water loss from the soil, as he believed that if he became successful in putting a check on water loss, the soil could retain water for a tree adequate to help it survive even in dry land.

Elaborating on his technique, he said firstly he ploughs deep, up to one foot, immediately after rainfall so as to check water loss through upward movement of water due to capillary action of soil. This prevented the ground water from getting evaporated. “However, plantation is done after around a fortnight of ploughing,” he added.

Pits dug up for plantation are ideally six inch in diameter and 1.5 ft in depth, while the sapling is planted six inches below the ploughing depth. “The groundwater, whose loss has been prevented, wets the mud, which is then dug out and utilised to cover the plant as it helps maintain moisture for longer duration,” he averred.

On survival rate of trees using his technique, he puts the figure at 70 to 80 per cent, adding that the plants that survive in difficult conditions for the first two weeks last forever.

The success of the technique could be gauged from Verma’s claim of growing over 50,000 trees with its help. These included Eucalyptus, Neem and Amla trees. The best part of his experiment was that he didn’t reap all its benefits himself but helped farmers from his adjoining villages to adopt his technique. His technique also earned accolades from none other than the ‘Father of Green Revolution’, Dr MS Swaminathan, during a programme in 2006.

Hyderabad, September 7
The Andhra Pradesh government today decided to institute CBI inquiry into the death of former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and four others in a helicopter crash in Nallamala forest area on September 2.

After chairing a high-level review meeting here, Chief Minister K Rosaiah called up Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and requested for CBI probe in view of several questions being raised over the circumstances surrounding the air disaster. The Union Minister readily accepted the state government’s request.

Announcing this at a press conference here, state Home Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy said the government had also decided to constitute a two-member expert committee, comprising retired IPS officer MR Reddy and former Director-General of Civil Aviation HS Kola, to go into the circumstances that led to the mishap.

The committee would cover all aspects of the accident and submit its report within two months, Reddy said adding that it could co-opt any expert or government officer if required.

“The government is determined to bring out all facts pertaining to the tragedy. We want to address all the doubts in the minds of the public and find answers to them through CBI probe,” the minister said.

The case is already being investigated by the state CID while the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is also making a statutory inquiry. The 11-year-old twin-engine Bell-430 helicopter was flying from Hyderabad to Chittoor on September 2 when it deviated from the flight path in bad weather, hit the cliff of the hillock in the dense forest area, about 40 nautical miles east of Kurnool, and crashed.

Along with the Chief Minister, his Principal Secretary P Subramanyam, Chief Security Officer ASC Wesley, pilot SK Bhatia and co-pilot MS Reddy were killed and their bodies were charred.

It is believed that the pilot was flying at low level because of bad weather and poor visibility and was looking for a safe place to land. However, the chopper had deviated from its flight path, nearly 18 km towards the east and crashed into the hillock, killing all occupants.

The mishap has raised several questions over air-worthiness of the helicopter. None of the passengers on board had a satellite phone, which could have come in handy to quickly locate the site.

Bangalore, September 7
It was the failure of “heart” of the lunar craft, the bus management unit that performed vital control functions, which probably led to premature end of the country’s ambitious maiden moon mission - Chandrayaan-1.

“The bus management unit is like heart of the satellite. It controls everything,” an ISRO official said. Its failure might have led to snapping of radio link with the spacecraft, leading to its premature end, he added.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) terminated the odyssey on August 30 after it failed to re-establish contact, lost the previous day, with the lunar craft.

It has now emerged that the second (redundant) bus management unit, which ISRO was using after the first one failed within a few weeks of the mission launch on October 22 last year, stopped functioning and it resulted in loss of contact with the spacecraft, officials said.

ISRO has come under criticism from some quarters over late acknowledgement of setbacks to the mission. For example, the failure of the first bus management unit was made public by the space agency only in July this year, although it took place late last year.

On April 26, the on-board star sensor used for determining orientation of the spacecraft started malfunctioning, a snag that ISRO disclosed less than two months ago.

In May this year, ISRO raised the orbit of Chandrayaan-1, which was at a height of 100 km from the lunar surface since November last year, to 200 km, saying the spacecraft in the higher altitude would enable further studies on orbit perturbations, gravitational field variation of the moon besides enabling imaging of the lunar surface with a wider swath.

It was later revealed that the main objective behind raising the orbit was that the “environment (thermal and radiation) encountered by Chandrayaan-1 was more severe than anticipated by ISRO”. — PTI

Bangalore, September 7
Cricketer Yuvraj Singh and Bollywood beauty Aishwariya Rai are the two most dangerous Indian celebrities to search for in cyberspace, according to Internet security company McAfee.

McAfee researched India’s glamorous celebrities from the world of cinema, cricket and politics to reveal the riskiest celebrities on the Internet.

Fans searching for Aishwariya and Yuvi’s photos, wallpapers or screen savers have a one in five chance of landing at a website testing positive for online threats such as spyware, adware, spam, phishing, viruses and other malware. Searching for the latest celebrity news and downloads can cause serious damage to one’s personal computer.

Cricketers MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh rank third and sixth, respectively, in the list giving serious competition to film celebrities to grab the most dangerous web celebrity title. It shows that the successful and controversial stars are hot favourites of cyber criminals.

McAfee compiled a list using McAfee site advisor technology for celebrity names that produce the largest number of risky sites and overall risk percentage when searched on the Net. The top 10 celebrities are, Yuvraj Singh, Aishwariya Rai, MS Dhoni, southern movie stars Namitha and Shriya Saran, Harbhajan Singh, Sania Mirza, Asin, Bipasha Basu and Shahid Kapoor.

“Cricket and Bollywood are two things which every Indian is passionate about. It is no surprise that cyber criminals capitalise on this,” said Kartik Shahani, regional director of McAfee India.

“It is very common for malware authors to take advantage of current hot searches to lure consumers to harmful websites they have created. Users need to be cautious and should keep their antivirus security software updated,” he advised. 

Agartala, September 7
Five students of a medical college here were expelled from their hostel while around 90 others were suspended for a month for assaulting a senior, officials said Monday.

The students of Agartala Government Medical College & Hospital were expelled after they physically tortured a third semester student, Anil Jamatiya, who suffered burn injuries when a hot iron was placed on his chest and back. He is undergoing treatment presently.

"Anil allegedly stole a laptop of a second semester student Thursday. He was then subjected to nightlong physical torture by students of different semesters. The college authorities expelled those boys from the college hostel Sunday," college principal Dilip Kumar Das told IANS.

"The five students who were expelled from the college hostel include the victim, Anil," he said. The students have been directed to clear out of the hostel by September 9.

The decision to expel the students was taken after an inquiry committee set up after the incident submitted its report to the college principal. An assistant professor of the medical college, who was part of the panel, said: "It was so cruel - a hot iron was pressed against Anil's back and chest."

"Last month we had to suspend all the girl students of second semester from the hostel for six months after they subjected new students to the most obscene physical torture as part of ragging. Their suspension period was, however, reduced following their guardians' appeals," he said on condition of anonymity.

The college and hospital, set up in August 2005, is recognised and approved by the Medical Council of India and affiliated to the Tripura Central University. The students' strength is around 500 there. — IANS

Ahmedabad, September 7
The encounter in which college girl Ishrat Jahan and three others were gunned down in 2004 was fake and executed in cold blood by police officers for selfish motives after the four were suspected to be on a mission to “kill” Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a judicial probe said.

The report of the investigation conducted by Magistrate SP Tamang was submitted in the metropolitan court today. It came as a setback to the Modi government. Tamang concluded the four persons, Ishrat, Javed Ghulam Sheikh (alias Pranesh Kumar Pillai), Amjad Ali (alias Rajkumar Akbar Ali Rana) and Jisan Johar Abdul Gani, killed in an encounter on the outskirts of the city on June 15, 2004, were not linked with Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba, as claimed by the police.

The police had claimed that the four were LeT terrorists and had come to kill Modi.

The report said police officers and their subordinates had shot the victims in “cold blood using their service revolvers”.

It further said the encounter was “planned” and executed “mercilessly” by shooting the victims from “close range”. Even the autopsy report said the death of the four was due to bullet injuries, it added.

The report said police officers, including the then city police commissioner KR Kaushik, then JCP (crime branch) PP Pande, suspended DIG DG Vanzara, the then ACP GL Singhal and ACP NK Amin had planned the encounter for their selfish motives. The report said the motive of senior police officers was to get promotion, to secure their positions, to falsely show their work as the best, to impress upon the Chief Minister and get accolades.

In order to achieve their goals, the police officers hatched a plan and illegally detained the four from Mumbai and brought them to Ahmedabad. The police officers believed the death of Muslim LeT operatives in police encounter would be easily accepted by everybody.

After the killing, a judicial probe was initiated under Section 176 of the CrPC.

Following a petition by Ishrat’s mother, the Gujarat HC last month formed a three-member committee to further investigate the encounter. — PTI

Mumbai, September 7
The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have begun the process of interviewing candidates for all the 288 seats in Maharashtra assembly. While the NCP began interviewing candidates on Sunday with party chief Sharad Pawar overseeing the process, the Congress will start the process on Tuesday.

Senior Congress leader and in charge of Maharashtra AK Antony will be in the city on Tuesday to interview the candidates, said party sources. The process, which was scheduled to start last week, was delayed following the sudden demise of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Reddy.

With leaders of both outfits hardening their stand on breaking the alliance, efforts are on to ensure a patch up between the two parties.

According to sources, senior Congress leaders like Antony and Digvijay Singh are in touch with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and his lieutenant Praful Patel to work out seat-sharing arrangements.

While the NCP wants to contest on at least 122 of the total 288 seats, the Congress is adamant on giving not more than 100-110 seats to its ally. Pawar, who was earlier demanding as many as 144 seats in the state legislature, has now agreed to settle for little less. However, the state Congress is keen on squeezing more out of the Maratha chieftain.

“We are still waiting to hear from the Congress on the pre-poll alliance,” an NCP leader told this reporter. NCP sources said the Congress was acting pricey on the pretext that its leaders were busy following the developments in AP.

Meanwhile, the Congress has decided to keep mum over the progress on talks with the NCP. Union Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Manickrao Thakre are among those who want to bargain tough with the NCP.