New Delhi, January 2
A protracted row has erupted between India and China over Beijing’s insistence on giving visas to Indian nationals from Jammu and Kashmir on separate sheets rather than on passports with no solution to the dispute appearing in sight.

Realising that its constant protests in the matter have fallen on deaf ears in Beijing, New Delhi has taken another step to ensure that no Indian national with visa issued by the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi or consulates in Mumbai and Kolkata on a separate sheet was allowed to travel to China or Hong Kong.

Sources said the airlines and immigration authorities across the country have been directed to strictly comply with the guidelines under which no passenger with stapled visa will be allowed to check in to fly out of India.

The fresh directive came following reports that some Kashmiris have started using the Hong Kong or the Macau route to enter mainland China. Five cases were noticed by the immigration authorities in which people from Jammu and Kashmir visited Hong Kong and later mainland China with visas on separate sheets.

In one instance, one person was questioned after he mentioned China as his final port of disembarkation. On being asked if he had the visa to go to China, he took out a paper from his pocket on which the Chinese visa was stapled.

It was in September last year that the Indian authorities came to know that the Chinese missions were issuing visas on separate sheets to the residents of Jammu and Kashmir. Considering it as an attempt by Beijing to question the status of Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi promptly took up the matter with the Chinese authorities. However, Beijing ignored India’s protest.

China contended that it had already been following the practice of issuing visas on separate sheets to the residents of Arunachal Pradesh. But Arunachal too is a state which China considers as a disputed area, arguing that most of the north-eastern state belongs to it.

A travel advisory issued by the External Affairs Ministry last month had asked those travelling to China to ensure that their visas were pasted on their passports or they would not be allowed to travel.

The Chinese claim that the visa issued on a separate sheet is as good as the one on passport. However, the embassy officials here have no convincing answer when one asks them why they are not stamping the visas on passports of the residents of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.

The sources said a solution to the issue could only be found at the political level now that the discussions at the level of officials have not borne fruit. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna is scheduled to visit Beijing in April and the issue may remain unresolved till that time.

New Delhi, January 2
Saturday was one of the worst days in the history of Indian Railways, the day witnessing three accidents in Uttar Pradesh -- 10 casualties and about 45 injured. Not only have the triple mishaps jolted the Rail Bhawan here, but have thrown the ministry’s higher officials into a tizzy, prompting them to review the safety measures in place and take steps to ensure such incidents were not repeated.

Even as Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee announced Rs 5 lakh as compensation for the kin of those killed in the accidents, officials on anonymity said the mishaps could have been due to a failure in the system, probably in the auxiliary warning system. Banerjee also ordered an inquiry to be conducted by Commissioner, Railway Safety, KK Bajpai.

Meanwhile, Railway Board Member (Mechanical) Pravin Kumar, Member (Electrical) Sudesh Kumar and Director, General Railway Health Services, VK Ramteke, rushed to the accident site to oversee the rescue efforts. A Railways spokesperson said efforts were on to ensure that traffic in both the directions on the accidents-hit lines was restored by midnight.

After the recent Mathura accident, today was the “worst day” for the Indian Railways, the officials said. They said though no record had been maintained, there was no instance in recent past when three rail accidents took place on the same day..

Mumbai/Delhi, January 2
The raging controversy over the credit for the story in ‘3 Idiots’ escalated today with director Rajkumar Hirani accusing author Chetan Bhagat of “lying” despite agreeing to several conditions, including a rolling credit in a contract.

Hirani, who also shares the writing credit with scriptwriter Abhijat Joshi in the Aamir Khan-starrer, said Bhagat had approved the film’s script and agreed to the condition that it would be different from his book. Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Hirani showed the contract signed with Bhagat, whose novel “Five Point Someone” became the basis for the film. The director said he had made a four-hour narration of the script to the author.

“We never denied Bhagat the credit. I am confused as to why is he saying all these things after the film’s release. We have not stolen the story, we have purchased the rights of the book and can modify or change it as per our requirements. There is nothing illegal in it. Chetan is lying,” Hirani said. He said that as per the contract signed between Bhagat and producers of the film, it was obligatory on part of the latter to mention in rolling credits that the film was based on the novel.

“His name appears immediately after the main cast in the rolling credits. If he wanted to see his name in opening part of the film, he should have asked us after reading the contract itself. I am a writer myself and I respect writers,” Hirani said.

Reacting to Hirani’s statement, Bhagat accused the film makers of abusing the contract. “They abused the contract and thought that they can hide the credit. They made a new credit that is of story, which gives the wrong impression that the original story was written by Abhijat and Hirani but it is my story they adapted from They should have mentioned novel’s name in ‘Adapted By’ or they should have mentioned my name in the story credit,” Bhagat said.

Film’s producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra had to apologise to the media after he told a journalist to “shut up” during a press meet last evening in Noida when he questioned him about Bhagat's allegations. “I really think it was silly. I was provoked as you guys know but I should not have done that. It does not befit me. I was shouting ‘shut up! shut up!’ like an animal. What I did was silly and I am really sorry,” Chopra said today.

Aamir also blasted Bhagat, accusing him of trying to gain “cheap publicity”. “He (Chetan) was saying something else three months back but he has changed his tunes now that the film has become a hit. He is using the media to gain publicity,” Aamir said.

Hirani said he had liked the novel and had told Bhagat that the script of the film he intended to make would be different. — PTI

Guwahati, January 2
Four wild elephants, including two calves, were killed after their herd was hit by a speeding train at around 1.30 am in Karbi Anglong district of Assam today. The rail line passes through the Doldoli Reserve Forest.

Conservator of Forest, Abhijit Rabha, informed that two full-grown females and two calves were killed in the accident. The forest official said the impact of the train on the herd was such that it left a portion of the track damaged. The train dragged the calves for some distance before crushing them to death. Two adult elephants were found in the pool of blood nearby.

The forest official claimed that a few more tuskers were also injured in the accident, which took place when the herd was crossing over the track on its way back to the forest.

Northeast Frontier Railway’s chief spokesman Situsing Hajong said: “Two elephants died in the mishap involving a goods train. The train driver probably failed to spot the herd of elephant because of dense fog within the jungle area. The train was carrying petroleum products from Numaligarh Refinery to Uttar Pradesh.”

When told that the forest department had information on death of four elephants, he said only two elephants died on the track. The rest might have died later in the jungle, he added.

Meanwhile, the forest officials, who rushed to the spot early this morning, found parts like nails, tusks and other organs missing and suspected that local tribals might have cut the parts from the carcasses.

Because of shrinking forest cover and encroachment upon traditional elephant migration corridors, man-elephant conflict has reached an alarming proportion in Assam, where an estimated 5,200 Asiatic elephants are living in the wild.

Deaths of elephants after being hit by speeding trains have been a cause for concern in Assam, where around 50 tuskers have been killed in accidents involving trains.

Patna, January 2
The Congress youth icon Rahul Gandhi appears to have shifted his focus to Bihar where the Assembly elections are due this year.

Gandhi, who is also the AICC general secretary, has decided to make a serious bid to woo youths in the state and therefore has asked his lieutenants to revamp the Youth Congress by inducting fresh blood into the organisation.

The general secretary of Indian Youth Congress, Nadeem Javed, and in-charge Bihar, Sanjay Paswan, are already taking a tour of the state meeting the party leaders and planning their strategy to kick off the membership drive on the International Youth Day on January 12.

Javed said more than 25 young MPs and Union ministers would soon be visiting Bihar to launch and monitor the month-long membership drive. Forms are available online and anyone aged between 18 and 35 is eligible to register himself or herself as a member of IYC in his/her home district by producing birth certificate and proof of residence. The membership fee is Rs 15, Javed informed.

After the membership drive ends on February 11, elections for the office- bearers of the organisation will be conducted through the ballot boxes just on the pattern of other elections. The idea is to build a professionally trained cadre of the youth through the democratic process which would not only tackle the leadership crisis but also allow youngsters to occupy the organisational posts, said Javed.

The party, apparently, plans to establish a “connect” with the voters of Bihar through its fresh and young leaders. Rahul Gandhi has also planned to spend three days in Bihar at the end of this month to interact with the youth and motivate them to join the IYC. The young Gandhi has reportedly mobilised his youth brigade comprising MPs and ministers to take up the Bihar challenge and prepare an army of the youth across the state who could fight against the casteist, communal and regional forces right up to the village level, said party sources. The Congress has been virtually uprooted from the state in the past two decades.

The regional parties of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Nitish Kumar and Ram Vilas Paswan have been occupying the centre stage.

Vijayawada, January 2
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) formed by various political parties in favour of ‘United Andhra Pradesh’ today gave a call for ‘Andhra bandh’ on January 4, urging the Centre not to divide the state.

The ‘Andhra JAC’ was formed by TDP, PRP and student unions from various universities and other groups from Coastal and Rayalaseema districts.

The JAC, after bandh in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema region on January 4, would organise rail blockade on January 5 in support of its demand for unified Andhra Pradesh, JAC Acharya Nagarjuna University Professor Samuel, who chaired the meeting told mediapersons here.

The speakers opposed the proposed meeting called by the Union Home Ministry on January 5. The JAC urged the Union Government not to proceed with the talks with political parties on the issue.

The JAC felt that seeking of opinion is not necessary in view of the people’s mandate in the recent general elections.

The JAC felt that if the state is divided, the development process would be collapsed and many issues would arise on sharing of various resources.

In the meeting, it was decided to intensify the agitation in support of Unified Andhra Pradesh if the Union Government was in favour of division of the state, Prof Samuel said.

The meeting was attended by TDP MPs, its MLAs, MLCs, PRP MLAs, professors and students from all universities in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema districts.

Prominent among them were TDP MP Venugopala Reddy, MLAs- D Umamaheswara Rao, A Brahmanaiah, G Muddu Krishnama Naidu, Sridhar, T Prabhakara Rao, Ex-Ministers - K Siva Prasad, S Chandra Mohan Reddy, Karnam Balarama Krishna Murthy, Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao, Vijayawada former Mayor P Anuradha, PRP MLAs - V Srinivas, Y Ravi and others. Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh Police today formed a special task force to provide security to IT firms and industries in the state.

According to ADGP (law and order) AK Khan, the task force will be headed by IG Krishna Prasad.“We have identified 11 sensitive places in and around Hyderabad where additional forces are required. The striking forces will be stationed at strategic locations to reach any place on time,” Khan told mediapersons here. — PTI

He was born as a royalty, spent his childhood in palaces and died in the wilderness that he so loved. Billy Arjan Singh, passed away on January 1 night, after a brief illness. He was 94. He lived at Tiger Haven, his home near the Dudhwa National Park, the sanctuary that he put on the wildlife map of the nation, about 250 km from Lucknow.

Great-grandson of Maharaja Randhir Singh, the ruler of Kapurthala, Billy was born on August 15, 1917, at Gorakhpur, in what was then the United Provinces. His father, Raja Sir Harnam Singh, was a Member of the Panjab Legislative Council, a Member of the Kapurthala Council of State and an Honorary Fellow of Panjab University.

Billy studied in Lucknow and was commissioned in the British Indian Army in 1940. Later, in 1945, he settled down at Palia. The farm brought him in touch with nature, and also the way in which wild animals were being threatened by human encroachment of their natural habitat, and the commercial exploitation of the forests which were rich in sal and teak trees. Hunting expeditions, mounted during the Raj, depleted the population of natural predators like tigers and leopards.

“Billy started as a hunter, and turned conservationist with a tremendous passion. In this he found support from even the then Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, who herself had a great interest in wildlife,” says Shaminder Boparai, who has just finished an illustrated book on Billy.

Palia was his home; it was where he spent his life with his beloved Tara, Harriet, Juliette and Eelie, all of whom are buried near his final resting place.

The Padma Bhushan was conferred upon Billy Arjan Singh for his conservation efforts in 2006. He had received the Padma Shri in 1975. In 2004, he was a joint winner of the J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership which is administered by World Wildlife Fund, and he was the first Asian to do so.

Billy, who never married, wrote prolifically about his adopted children—the predators like leopards and tigers who were his family. His books include The Legend of the Maneaters, Prince of Cats and A Tiger’s Story.

The Tiger of Dudwa, Billy Arjan Singh had a larger-than-life image which was the subject of many articles, books and also of television series. He lived a life that he wanted to, on his own terms, in his beloved forests, in the company of animals that he loved. His dogged determination, achievements and courage made him a legendary figure in his lifetime.

Panaji, January 2
Nearly a year after serial killer Mahanand Naik had allegedly confessed to killing 16 women, a local court acquitted him of the charge of killing the first woman, citing lack of evidence of his involvement in the crime.

District and Sessions Judge Desmond D’Costa let off Mahanand from the case saying the prosecution had failed to establish that the woman went to the spot with Mahanand. “The prosecution also could not prove that she was killed and her body thrown in the bushes by the accused,” the judge said.

The order also expressed the doubt that the police might have been trying to fix a blame on accused to solve the unsolved mystery of the woman’s death.

The order was delivered through video conferencing by the judge from Margao court to accused Mahanand, a former rickshaw puller, who is currently in Sada sub-jail near Vasco town.

Mahanand was charged with killing Gaonkar around March 19, 2006. The police had charged that the accused had killed the girl to rob her of her gold ornaments.

The police had claimed that he had confessed to killing 16 women over a period of 15 years in Goa by luring them with the promise to marry them. The killer allegedly used to strangle his victims to death using their ‘dupatta’. — PTI

New Delhi, January 2
Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar is expected to visit China from January 6 to hold dialogue with the Chinese military leadership to discuss the long-pending border issue, steps to improve coordination along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and increasing bilateral military cooperation.

In the first-ever visit by an Indian Defence Secretary to Beijing, Kumar is likely to be accompanied by senior Army officials from Eastern Command which looks after the Chinese border in the northeast, Defence Ministry sources said.

During the visit, which comes in the backdrop of recent military incursions by the Chinese PLA along the LAC, Kumar is expected to hold meetings with the top Chinese military leadership and is likely to discuss some new confidence-building measures, the long-pending boundary dispute and steps to improve coordination along the LAC, they added.

The two sides are also likely to discuss about holding joint exercises between the military of the two countries.

The Armies of the two countries have already held two rounds of ‘Hand-in-Hand’ series of joint exercises. The first exercise was held in December 2007, in Kunming province in China, and the second was held in Belgaum in Karnataka in December 2008.

India and China had agreed to hold Defence Secretary-level dialogue around three years ago, but the talks started only after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to China in 2008. — PTI

Bhubaneswar, January 2
An elite Special Security Battalion (SSB) would be set up to look into the security arrangements here and nearby areas.

The SSB would comprise 1,161 personnel, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said here today, while addressing the 2nd commemoration function of the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commiserate.

The commiserate which, faces manpower shortage, also provides security to visiting VVIPs.

President Pratibha Patil had visited the state on December 8, players of the India and Sri Lanka cricket teams were in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack from December 19 to 22, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was in the state capital on December 27.

“Security is a big issue now, particularly after the rise in Naxal violence in the state," an official said. Patnaik also announced the establishment of 11 more police stations in the commiserate area, including three traffic police stations.

“In the face of the rapidly expanding urban agglomerate of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, both in terms of spatial and population growth, it is desirable that we provide a system of police administration which is credible, efficient and people-friendly,” the Chief Minister said. — PTI

New Delhi, January 2
In 2009, 523 cases of murder were reported in the national capital, a slight decline from 528 such cases reported in 2008. However, the “motive analysis” in these cases suggested that a sizable percentage of these happened over petty issues such as using the toilet first, refusal to give water bottle during a game of cricket, non-payment for cigarettes, kicking a dog of the accused etc.

“A cigarette vendor was killed when he refused a “biri” to the accused, while in another case a man killed his son when his wife misbehaved with him. Similarly, there was a murder case from the Welcome Police Station where a man killed another for taking “shakanjvi” before him. Such cases are very difficult to check for any police force in the world,” said Police Commissioner YS Dadwal.

According to him, 841 persons were arrested in murder cases, out of which 94 per cent were novices, 84 per cent illiterate, 56 per cent were less than 25 years of age and 72 per cent belonged to the lower economic strata. “Involvement of first-time offenders in 94 per cent murder cases and that of persons in the age group of 25 years or below in 56 per cent cases were the notable trends this year,” said Dadwal.

“The police station-wise break-up shows that no case of murder was reported at 25 police stations, while 264 (50 per cent) cases of murder were reported from 37 police stations and out of these 35 fell outside the Ring Road area. Eighty-five police stations recorded 83 per cent of all the murder cases,” said the police chief. Though there is a slight decline in the number of murder cases this year, an analysis of the motive in these cases reveals that 15 per cent of the cases were due to sudden provocation on trivial issues, nine percent due to old enmity, 17 per cent were passion-triggered, seven per cent were due to differences among family members and 12 per cent due to disputes over property or money matters.

Meanwhile, there were 26 cases of kidnapping in 2009. Out of these, according to the police, 24 were solved and the victims got freed from the clutches of the kidnappers.

According to Commissioner of Police YS Dadwal, the accused were known to the victims in 23 of these cases. “In all these cases, none of the accused had previous criminal record, and they appeared to have taken to crime for making easy money,” he said.

“In six unfortunate cases of kidnapping for ransom, the victims were killed, out of panic or fear of detection. Five of these cases have been solved and 12 accused arrested,” said Dadwal. He said sustained preventive measures of the Delhi Police had ensured that no organised gang of kidnappers could become operative in Delhi for the past many years.

According to data provided by the Delhi Police, of the 26 cases of kidnapping for ransom, servants were involved in two cases, employees in one, relatives in five, friends in three, neighbours in one and tenants in two cases. In 14 cases, the victims were known to the accused through other sources.