New Delhi, April 13
The UPA government’s ambitious Unique Identification (UID) number programme with will carry 13 biometric information features apart from demographic details on the card. The programme will cover 1.2 billion of the country’s population and the first set of the UIDs is expected to be issued by early next year.

“The 13 biometric features of each person would include eight fingers, two thumbs, two eyes and full face,” BB Nanawati, Deputy Director General, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UDAI) said here yesterday at a workshop on the unique identity organised by the Embassy of France in India and supported by the Smartcard Forum of India (SCAFI).

Nanawati said the availability of biometric features on the card “will help in providing identity to the poor and empowering them for various social benefits, including various subsidies.” Of the total UID data, 40 to 50 per cent will be available online and the rest with the Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) for improved governance.

“The UID will not entitle anybody with citizenship right and it is a voluntary compliance. The data stored with the CIDR will be fully protected and secured and will not be shared with any other government or private organisation,” Nanawati said, adding that the UID is an “acknowledged existence” for common man programme with the aim to improve quality of service and better access to the citizens of the country.

The Election Commission of India has given full support to the UID project and election commissioners have been allowed to become members of the UID team in various states in the country. “The UID programme is voluntary in nature and not mandatory like the Election Commission identification programme, This is an area of major concern as in an election card a photo provided by the voter can also work. In the UID card, the person has to appear physically for the identity card. The election ID card costs Rs 10 and the UID programme should try to bring down the cost of the UID card,” said Deputy Election Commissioner Alok Shukla.

More than 150 experts from India and abroad participated in the workshop.

Jaipur/Karauli, April 13
With the talks between the Gujjars and the state government failing to deliver a positive outcome on quota issue, Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti leader Kirori Singh Bainsla along with his supporters began a march from Karauli district to Jaipur today.

According to Samiti spokesman Roop Singh, the march started from the college ground at Hindaun in Karauli and Bainsla is accompanied by thousands of his supporters. “The government doesn’t seem keen on holding any further talks and therefore we have no option but to intensify our protests. We will take overnight stay at Pipalkhera Patoli and will proceed towards the highway by 11 am tomorrow,” said Bainsla.

Karauli Collector Neeraj K Pawan said proper security arrangements are in place to ensure that that march is peaceful. In view of the Gujjars’ march, the authorities today suspended rail traffic on Delhi-Mumbai route for a few minutes as a precautionary measure. Later, Bainsla assured the government that they will not disrupt rail traffic in the state. However, the railway authorities are not taking any chances and additional forces have been deployed at all the railway stations in Gujjar dominated areas.

Earlier, the talks between a 13-member Gujjar delegation and the state government broke down late last night, following which Gujjar leaders Harprasad and Roop Singh warned of intensifying the agitation. Harprasad even suggested that the Gujjar stir may take a violent turn. Interestingly, it is not only the Gujjars who have lost patience with the government the latter, too, seems fed up with Bainsla’s threats. Energy Minister Jitendra Singh, who is the government’s intermediary in negotiations with the Gujjars, said, “They want 5 per cent quota in five minutes, which is not possible. Even the President of India cannot do it.” He categorically ruled out any further invitation from the government to Bainsla for talks. “We will not send anyone now; at least till there is some legal solution in sight.”

During the talks, the Gujjars asked the government to provide them 5 per cent quota within the constitutional limit of 50 per cent reservation.

The state government, on the other hand, stuck to its stand of increasing 5 per cent vacancies to safeguard the Gujjars’ interests till the legal tangle is resolved.

Ambedkar Nagar, April 13
On the 119th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Bhimbaro Ambedkar tomorrow, the district named after him would see a keen contest between the ‘haath’ and ‘haathi’ to entice the Dalit votes. As 2012 assembly elections inch closer, the battle to charm the Dalit vote bank is getting intense.

AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi has chosen the BSP heartland of Ambedkar Nagar to address a public rally and launch 10 ‘Sandesh Yatras’ to mark 125 years of the party’s establishment. The yatras will cover every assembly constituency of the state during the next nine months.

The BSP, on the other hand, has chosen the day to launch its countrywide offensive to expose the “anti-Dalit mindset” of the Congress. According to Mayawati, an example of this mindset was the introduction of the Women’s Reservation Act, which she feels is meant to keep the Dalit women out of active politics.

Announcing the nationwide protest demanding quota within quota during her March 15 rally, Mayawati did not mince words to hit out at Sonia and Rahul for taking the credit for the advancement of women.

The BSP holds a rally on this day every year. This year following the call for nationwide protest meetings on Ambedkar Jayanti, the party is gearing up in a big way and Ambedkar Nagar is the venue for a major public meeting where several senior leaders and cabinet ministers are expected to address the gathering.

Politcally the district is considered a Dalit bastion as all five assembly seats and the lone Lok Sabha seat is held by the BSP and the party has won every significant election from the constituency.

Now Rahul has chosen the district to launch the party’s mission 2012 to mobilise his party and end the BSP’s monopoly in the district.

Obviously, Mayawati would not take the teaser lying down. Fireworks are expected tomorrow when the two parties battle it out for the Dalit votes.

New Delhi, April 13
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has advised all Naxal-affected states to choke the red rebels’ economic lifeline, which helps them buy weapons and run their propaganda machinery.

After the massacre of 75 Central Reserve Police Force men by the Maoists in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, last week, Chidambaram is an aggressive mood to tackle the Naxal menace. Besides intensifying the Operation Green Hunt in the entire tribal belt of the Naxal-infested states, the security forces and the local police should attempt to cut the sources of funds available to the Maoists, Chidambaram has reportedly advised.

The Naxal movement in the Red Corridor from the Nepal Border to Andhra Pradesh is now an organised extortion business. The Naxals call it “levy”. The Red Corridor passes through thick forests and hilly terrain of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and some districts of Maharashtra.

As per a general estimate of the police and security agencies, the Maoist groups are collecting several thousand crores of rupees as levy in the Red Corridor from public and private sector industrial units, traders, contractors, transporters, petrol station owners and government employees.

At several places, the levy is also being paid to the Maoists by politicians and policemen for their own protection. “We need funds to run our large andolan” is the reply you get when you ask Maoist leaders why do they extort money when it is a people’s movement.

“Most of the Maoist groups are no longer operating for ideology but for extortion,” Alok Raj, Deputy Inspector General of Police of the Central Reserve Police Force, told The Tribune from Ranchi. The CRPF is the main paramilitary organisation engaged in special operations against the Naxals in all Naxal-affected states.

Money collected by the Maoists is also utilised by them for giving “salary” to cadre workers in jungles as well as those who run “urban cells”.

A large amount of this money is reportedly spent on buying arms and ammunition from local and international sources, including terrorist outfits in India and adjoining countries. Leaders get salaries for procuring rations, running military training camps, enrolling members and collecting intelligence about the “enemy” security forces. In Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, many top leaders of the CPI (Maoist) are using large funds to enjoy a luxurious life. Many of them have invested money in various business ventures such as travel agencies, transport trucks and dumpers in mining areas, and courier shops.

Some Naxal leaders have even parked their money with the traders, contractors and transporters from whom they collect the levy. Besides doing extortion business, the Naxal splinter groups are indulging in kidnappings, looting and narcotics trade, which itself is reported to be yielding them over Rs 500 crore annually.

The police has seized “levy cards” in various states. These cards give details of the exact amount of money that is supposed to be paid. It varies from five to 10 per cent, depending on the cost of the project that the contractor is handling, or the annual turnover of the mining company. In some cases, receipts are issued for “donation”.

Officials of various government departments like forest, public works, engineering and roads and teachers and general stores have also been paying protection money to the Naxals.

Levy collection by the Maoists poses a serious threat to the state’s development. For example, the Jharkhand police in 2009 registered 52 levy related cases and recovered Rs 12.56 lakh “levy money” during the raids. In 2008, the levy amount of Rs 23.06 lakh was recovered from the Naxals. These amounts are just a tip of the iceberg.

New Delhi, April 13
The government will recruit about 2,000 ex-servicemen specialised in commando and jungle warfare tactics to impart cutting-edge training to the CRPF personnel.

The recruitment of these ex-servicemen, which will begin next month, assumes significance as 75 para-military personnel were massacred by the Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada recently, raising questions on the operational strategies of the force. Those servicemen, who retired as Sepoy and Havaldar, will be drawn from the Army regiments and Corps like infantry, mechanised infantry, armoured, artillery, intelligence and engineering Corps for the purpose.

In order to ensure that the CRPF personnel get the best training, the government has made it mandatory for these ex-servicemen to be trained in specialised courses like ‘Ghatak’ commando training, weapons, the IED and bomb disposal, dog handling and the counter insurgency and jungle warfare (CIJW). It is also mandatory for these ex-servicemen to have served in the insurgency-hit areas and had stints at Army training schools.

“These men will be deputed to train our personnel at the various CIJW schools in the country which are facing shortage of trainers. It is a fact that a good trainer can only bring out the best in an individual,” a senior CRPF officer said. The ex-servicemen will be recruited on a contractual basis for five to seven years on a total remuneration of Rs 12,625 plus other incentives.

Initially 1,950 men will be recruited and the numbers could be enhanced in the future. The all-India recruitment will begin in May and would finish by June after which the ex-servicemen would undergo initial training and briefing before they start the job, the officer said. A board of senior CRPF and Home Ministry officials will conduct the “open rally” recruitment for which an applicant should be under 40 years of age. There will not be any criteria for physical and educational background of the ex-service personnel. — PTI

Kolkata, April 13
A private hospital's alleged refusal to treat some persons injured in a road accident in 24 South Paraganas district today enraged locals, who ransacked the nursing home, making the police fire in the air to quell the mob.

The hospital on the EM bypass near Garia, South 24 Parganas, allegedly refused admission to the injured people without getting the medical charges in advance.

Locals alleged that six injured persons, including a two-year-old boy, who were kept waiting on the hospital premises, succumbed to their injuries. This enraged the victims’ family members, passers-by and other locals, who ransacked the hospital and set fire to its furniture and medical equipment.

All traffic on the busy the EM bypass remained suspended for five hours in the morning.

When the police arrived, they too were pelted with stones. Failing to control the mob, the police fired several rounds in the air, injuring a middle-aged man. Prior to the firing, the police had tried to control the mob with batons and teargas shells.

The state minister in charge of Sunderbans development, Kanti Ganguly, too, rushed to the hospital and pacified the mob with the assurance that the guilty hospital staff and doctors would be strongly dealt with.

He said as per the Supreme Court’s recent order, no hospital could refuse admission to any seriously injured person even if the latter did not have adequate funds to make an advance deposit. He said the government would institute an inquiry into the incident and take necessary legal action against the errant doctors and the hospital staff.

The incident occurred around 10 am when a matador carrying at least 12 persons, including women and children, was involved in a head-on collision with a truck on the EM bypass. The truck driver escaped, leaving the vehicle on the road. The injured were taken to the nearby private hospital by passers-by. Denied admission, six of the injured succumbed to their injuries in the private hospital.

New Delhi, April 13
Maternal deaths in India could be more than what the government estimates have been projecting.

While the Ministry of Health, at the end of five years of implementation of the National Rural Health Mission yesterday, claimed the MMR (maternal mortality ratio- maternal deaths per one lakh live births) was 254, experts carrying out simultaneous assessment of the mission say the MMR could be anywhere 0between 325 and 350 -- not a very happy situation as it indicates poor progress under the NRHM.

The government claims are based on the latest Sample Registration System (SRS), the dual reporting system used to provide reliable annual estimates of births and deaths at both the state and national level. But the SRS data is under question from demographic experts who say it is too small to provide correct estimates of maternal deaths in a huge country like India. Another apprehension the experts are voicing is that the SRS data is government’s own data generated by a survey conducted by the Registrar General of India.

The question demographers are asking therefore is --- “how fair is it for the government to use its own estimates to assess the progress of its own programme (NRHM in this case)?”

With no agreement on the real MMR estimates, the Ministry of Health is now learnt to be deliberating on the issue to arrive at some “adjustment of figures”.

Dr S. Ram, Director, Indian Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, the nodal agency for the ongoing evaluation of NRHM’s progress since its launch in 2005, today confirmed to The Tribune that the MMR as projected by the SRS was on the lower side. “Our estimate is in the range of 325 and 350. Also, the MMR of 254 per one lakh live births is not consistent with other programme indicators under the NRHM, like the immunisation progress, institutional deliveries, antenatal and postnatal care for mothers. If the SRS claim of reduced MMR is to be believed, we have to have corresponding gains in vital indicators of maternal health across India. Those are not there.”

The government is aware of the contradiction in MMR claims and is in the process of arriving at a corrected estimate. The Tribune has learnt that a committee headed by Union Health Secretary Sujatha Rao is working on this issue.

Meanwhile, another IIPS expert involved in NRHM evaluation whose report will be released any time now said the MMR of 325 to 350 per one lakh live births was based on actual maternal health indicators as revealed by the National Family Health Survey and the District Level Health Survey.

Guwahati, April 13
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has indicted 15 MLAs of Meghalaya, including the then Speaker and two Assembly staffers, for receiving travelling allowance (TA) on the basis of fake documents that resulted in an inflated payment of Rs 1.67 crore.

The latest CAG report for the financial year ending on March 31, 2009, mentioned that those MLAs were invited for a one-day visit to British Parliament on October 9, 2006, on the condition that the expenditure would be borne by the Meghalaya government. However, in their expenditure statement they have shown to have visited Paris, Rome and Amsterdam also during October 11 to 20, 2006 in addition to one day’s visit to British Parliament.

The excess payment taken by the MLAs was detected after a scrutiny of travel documents in November 2008.

The legislators resorted to outrageous manipulation of TA bills. For example, as per TA bills the MLAs delegation visited Pisa (Rome) on October 15, 2006, for which they claimed taxi fare of Rs 45,000 per person/taxi for a distance of 950 km (both ways). But tour operator’s record says they only visited Florence on that day and distance between Rome Hotel and Florence is 568 Km.

Fourteen of the delegation submitted TA claims at uniform rate of Rs 12.10 lakh and the rest three for Rs 11.06 lakh, Rs 12.06 lakh and Rs 12.08 lakh and were paid during November 2007 to February 2008. All members of the team claimed at the rate of Rs 4.55 lakh, Rs 0.67 lakh and Rs 5.94 lakh per person as airfare for (a) Delhi-Amsterdam-London sector, Paris-Rome-Amsterdam-Delhi sector (b) Euro Star Train fare from London to Paris and (c) taxi fare for local journeys abroad respectively besides domestic air fare, daily allowance for foreign tour, personnel incidental etc.

The CAG found out that airfare at the rate of Rs 4.55 lakh was claimed by the members of the team on the basis of certificate issued by a Shillong-based travel agency ‘A’. But the air tickets and itinerary attached to the TA claims showed that these were actually purchased from another Shillong-based travel agency ‘B’ which informed that they had arranged for air tickets for the 17-member delegation for the said sectors at the rates ranging between Rs 52,234 and Rs 70,416 per person and that the fare of Rs 4.55 lakh claimed by members was not shown in the itinerary given by them.

Each of the members claimed Rs 6.61 lakh as Euro Star train fair from London to Paris (Rs 0.67 lakh) and taxi fare for local journeys abroad (Rs 5.94 lakh). However, evidence in support of rail, taxi fare etc. were not produced with TA claims. But tour operators claimed Rs 68,998 per person from 16 members and Rs 64,634 from one member for arrangements viz, hotel accommodation, local journeys in abroad.

The MLAs on the trip were: BG Momin, Ms Deborah Ch Marak, Admiral K Sangma, Edmund K Sangma, Billykid Sangma, Draison Kharshiing, PM Syiem, Sing Mulieh, D P Iangjuh, Tomothy D Shira, John Manner Marak, Charles Pyngrope (incumbent Speaker ), M M Danggo (then Speaker), A L Hek, Manas Chaudhuri. The two Assembly officers were: Ms WM Rymbai, Andrew Simons.

New Delhi, April 13
Close on the heels of radiation exposure at a scrap market here, experts today detected one more source of radiation in the same area even as another affected person was admitted to AIIMS taking the number of victims to seven.

“We have been alerted about one more source of radiation in Mayapuri. It is smaller in size than the earlier one,” Dr B Bhattacharya, member National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said.

Four experts from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, 15 from NDMA along with one expert from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board will start work in the area by tomorrow morning, he said.

Earlier on April 8, a radiation leak was reported from Mayapuri industrial area after a scrap dealer and his four employees suffered burn injuries and fell unconscious after coming in contact with a mysterious shining object. Another person from a neighbouring shop was also affected. — PTI

New Delhi, April 13
That night around 14 years ago, it really rained arms in some remote villages of West Bengal.

The December 17, 1995, incident - known as the Purulia arms drop case - still haunts security agencies. A foreign aircraft had come and gone after dropping weapons and ammunition. The episode remains the most serious breach of Indian air space and national security till date.

The arrest of a Dutch national, Kim Peter Davy (47), one of the main accused in this sensational case, in Denmark on Sunday, and his likely extradition to India soon, have raised hopes of uncovering the dark chapters of one of its kind incident.

Davy alias Niels Holcks alias Neils Christian Nielsen was arrested by Denmark’s Ministry of Justice after it agreed to extradite him following requests made by India many years ago. Davy, the most important key to the mystery, has been suspected to be a member of a secret Hindu cult, Ananda Marga.

Davy had disappeared from Mumbai’s Sahar international airport soon after the aircraft, from which the arms and ammunition were dropped at Purulia, was grounded.

Despite the passage of years, which witnessed arrest of many foreign nationals, court drama and subsequently their mysterious release, the incident is wrapped in secrecy and not many details are known about the case. Nor is there much consensus regarding the chain of events and the evidence in question. Experts differ on various counts.

Even the provisions of the Right to Information Act have failed to get ‘inside information’ to solve the mystery. Two years ago, the Central Information Commission dismissed an application seeking information on complicity of government officers in the Purulia arms drop case after taking into consideration the CBI’s plea that such disclosure could impede the prosecution process.

On a RTI application of a Jammu resident BR Manhas, the CBI’s Joint-Director had argued that the case, which was still pending, had “international ramifications with direct bearing on security” and, hence, disclosure of such information were exempted under the provisions of the RTI Act.

However, the CBI, which painstakingly tried to draw the case’s picture after filing the chargesheet in a Kolkata court, has so far maintained that the arms were meant for the Ananda Margis. Some believe that these were for the Naxalites. The CBI had filed the charge-sheet within 86 days after completing investigations conducted in 22 countries.

After Kim Davy’s arrest in Denmark on Sunday, the designated CBI court at Bichar Bhavan at Bankshall Court in Kolkata has once again started preparations for re-opening the case. Interestingly, the case will be re-started six years after Peter Bleach, a British national, was released following efforts by the UK government.

What had surprised everyone then was the fact that Peter Bleach, during investigations, was found to be an alleged arms dealer and former British intelligence officer. And London making special efforts to get him out of Indian prison spoke of his ‘high value’ for the British.

“Kim Davy was the sender and the receiver was Ananda Marg,” a top CBI officer here said “This is what we had gathered from Bleach’s laptop,” he added. It is believed that the ‘target’ was the three-storied building of Ananda Marg at Bansgarh.

It all began on the night of December 17, 1995, when a huge quantity of arms and ammunition, parachutes, anti-tank grenades and rocket launchers were dropped in wooden boxes from a Latvian Antonov-26 aircraft in the Parulia district.

The transport plane, belonging to M’s Carol Air Services, began its journey from Riga in Bulgaria. After stopovers, including one at Karachi, it dropped the consignment in Jhalda, Ghatanga, Belamu, Maramu villages. After that, it flew over Dhanbad, Kolkata and went to Phuket in Thailand.

Several days later, the plane re-entered Indian airspace, got itself refueled at Chennai, and when it took off, it was intercepted by the Indian Air Force’s Russian MiG-21 fighters, and forced to land in Mumbai, and its five-member Latvian crew, including Captain Alexander Klichine, the 44-year-old pilot, Igor Moskvitine (navigator), Oleg Gaidach (co-pilot), Yevgeni Antimenko (cargo operator) and Igor Timmerman (flight engineer), and Peter Bleach, alleged arms dealer and former British intelligence officer, were captured.

The kingpin Kim Davy, against whom an Interpol Red Corner was issued later, escaped. While the true motive of the operation remains shrouded in mystery and conjecture, it is believed that the arms were intended for Ananda Margis, but proof of this could not be established.

Haridwar, April 13
Nearly 40 lakh pilgrims today took a holy dip in the river Ganga here on the occassion of Baisakhi as the Mahakumbh mela draws to a close with the last royal bath scheduled for tomorrow.

"Around 40 lakh pilgrims have so far taken bath in the river Ganga and the number of devotees is expected to cross the mark of 50 lakh by this evening," DIG Kumbh Mela Alok Sharma said. No untoward incident has been reported from anywhere, Sharma added. Har-Ki-Pauri and other bathing ghats in Haridwar and Rishikesh were flooded with pilgrims, while police personnel were helping the aged and handicapped. Considering the huge rush of pilgrims for the last royal bath of Mesh Sankranti tomorrow, traffic regulations have already been put in place.

The three-month-long mela which began on January 14 with Makar Sankranti, would culminate on April 14. — PTI

Chennai, April 13
Nalini Sriharan (44), convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and undergoing life imprisonment, has moved the Madras High Court challenging the Tamil Nadu government’s order (GO) to reject her plea for premature release.

“The state government has failed to consider the relevant aspects for the purpose of premature release of a life convict. The GO is therefore, arbitrary, whimsical and is violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution,” she said, in a writ petition.

The petitioner said the state had heavily relied on the observations of the Prison Advisory Board and ignored the observations of the Supreme Court, in similar cases.

“Supreme Court Justice KT Thomas, one of the judges who heard the Rajiv assassination case, had observed: ‘Nalini realised only at Sriperumbudur that Dhanu was going to kill Rajiv. Perhaps that may be a fact. But, she would not have dared to retreat from the scene as she was tucked into the tentacles of the conspiracy octopus from where it was impossible for a woman like Nalini to escape’ the judge had observed,” Nalini pointed out in her petition.

Another ground for rejection that her mother and brother were living in an area where many important persons lived and her release would create law and order problem was unreasonable, she said. They would be willing to shift their present residence to some other locality, as desired by the police in the event of a premature release, she said.

Chennai, April 13
The Southern Railway today launched a 'philately exhibition on wheels', which will go to all major cities across south India showcasing the history, growth and heritage of the Indian Railways.

The weeklong exhibition would cover major cities of all the six divisions of the Southern Railway, its General Manager Deepak Krishnan, said. He said the exhibition train, comprising three AC coaches covering 1900 km, would display 'very rare and unique' collection of stamps and cancellation covers by renowned philatelist Mohammed Mujibullah, Heritage Assistant, the Eastern Railway.

The stamps portrayed important events like developments of railroad, horse-drawn carriages, birth of steam locomotives, metro trains, monorails, super speed trains, among others, he said. Mujibullah said the collection comprised of several stamps from 156 countries, including that of rare postal currency of the US, and the exhibition was expected to enter into Guinness book of world records. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Oil factory blaze
Mumbai: A fire broke out in an oil factory in a village at Shahpur block in neighbouring Thane district in the wee hours today, following which houses in 2 km radius were evacuated. Ten water tankers and five fire engines from fire units of nearby Bhiwandi, Thane, Kalyan, Ulhansnagar, Navi Mumbai cities have been rushed to the four-decade old Liberty Oil Mills in Bamne village where the fire broke out. — PTI