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SAD, Sarna bicker over ‘Fateh March’
Ruchika Case |
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LeT plot to target IT hub of Hyderabad foiled
Nithari Killings India may seek Saeed’s extradition Charges against Sajjan Kumar on May 15 mci case Scribe’s mother tightlipped CID team visits scribe’s house
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SAD, Sarna bicker over ‘Fateh March’
New Delhi May 4 “Fateh divas” is important in the Sikh history as Aurangzeb’s Army had been defeated by Banda Bahadur in 1710, some two years after Guru Gobind Singh’s death. Three hundred year later, the Guru’s modern day disciples are trading allegations. On the one side of this ugly war of words is the Delhi unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) led by Manjit Singh GK and backed by the Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. On the other is the powerful Sarna brothers - Paramjit and Harinder -- who control the cash-rich Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. Manjit Singh GK, in an emailed statement today, accused the DSGMC of not showing “respect” to the holy Granth and stopping the entry of the “Fateh March” into the Gurdwaras here in the national capital. The March had started from Hazoor Sahib in Maharashtra and will culminate at Sirhind On May 14. Paramjit Singh Sarna rubbished the allegations saying the DSGMC was not even invited to join the march. The Delhi unit of the SAD had sent a letter asking for facilities to house its delegation which were provided. Sarna alleged that the delegation accompanying the “march” insisted that the ongoing kirtan at the historic Rakabganj Gurdwara be paused to honour the “Panj Payras” - the five beloved ones - leading them. “This was against the “Maryada” of the religion hence we did not agree to it”.He termed SAD as “opportunists” for inviting Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dixit and Arvinder Lovely, both of the Congress, to their stage when the “Fateh March” entered Delhi. “These people accuse us of being close to the Congress while they honour Congress leaders”, Sarna told The Tribune. The SAD’s Delhi unit has threatened that it will ensure that Sarna is summoned to the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs for the “disrespect” shown to the holy Granth, which is considered as a living guru of the community. Sarna stuck to his guns “I challenge... summon me to the Akal Takht. Let the SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar and me have an open house. Let the congregation listen to both the sides”. This is the second exchange of words. A few weeks ago SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar had refused to attend the World Sikh Convention organised by the DSGMC on April 11 saying it was to “belittle” the importance of Akal Takht. The DSGMC issued advertisements in all Punjab newspapers to clarify that the convention was a platform for Sikhs across the world to come together and deliberate on the issues concerning them.
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Ruchika Case
Chandigarh, May 4 On the second day of the day-to-day hearing of the case, Rathore’s counsel presented eight defence witnesses. The court will hear the case till both the parties read all evidences. The CBI and the complainant presenting their case would follow defence arguments. Yesterday, the defence lawyer submitted to the court that Rathore was a victim of the politics of the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association (HLTA). —
TNS
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LeT plot to target IT hub of Hyderabad foiled
New Delhi, May 4 Raids were being carried at nearly a dozen places throughout the country following reports of sleeper cells of LeT mushrooming in suburban and urban areas, government sources said. The three modules busted by security agencies included LeT’s plans to target the HITEC City, a major IT township of Hyderabad and the office of a multinational audit firm. Mohammad Zia-ul Haq, who was arrested yesterday following a tip off by National Investigation Agency, was directed by his LeT handlers to bomb the Hyderabad office of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, one of the four largest auditors in the world, and was in the process of carrying out the plan, the sources said.Haq works as a driver for a taxi service hired by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Besides, Haq had been tasked to carry out an attack at the HITEC city. He had already procured the explosives supplied by the LeT to carry out the attack, the sources said. Haq first came in contact with the LeT when he went to Saudi Arabia in 1995. In 2002, following the Gujarat riots, he went to Pakistan and underwent terror training in Karachi and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir capital Muzafarabad. He got training in handling explosives and fire arms, including AK-47, and was assigned to cause explosions in crowded areas. Though he soon returned to India, he was keeping low and was working with various travel companies as taxi driver in Hyderabad. Haq had allegedly carried out the bombing at Odeon cinema in Hyderabad in 2006, through explosives supplied by the LeT through an operative from Jammu and Kashmir. The second module was busted by the Jammu and Kashmir police on Sunday with the arrest of Umar Zargar, a Kashmiri youth, who had made telephone calls at the behest of LeT warning that blasts will be carried out in crowded markets of Delhi. The third module of LeT was busted with the arrest of a Kashmiri man in Kathmandu. However, no further details were available so far on his arrest. — PTI
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Nithari Killings Ghaziabad, May 4 Special Additional District and Session Judge AK Singh convicted Koli (38) in the second of the 19 cases of sensational Nithari killings that came to light in 2006 and shocked the nation with the brutality and hints of cannibalism. The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence tomorrow. Koli and Pandher were on February 13, 2009, sentenced to death in the Rimpa Haldar case. However, Pandher was later acquitted by the Allahabad High Court on September 11, 2009. “Koli has been found guilty under Sections 302 (murder), 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of Indian Penal Code,” Koli’s lawyer JP Singh said. Koli was named as the lone accused in the chargesheet filed by the CBI which gave a clean chit to Pandher after it took over the probe into killings from the local police. However, Arti’s father Durga Prasad accused the CBI of not allowing him to give a complete statement, which, he claimed, could have nailed Pandher. “Until now the CBI has not allowed me to give my complete statements. If I had given it, then the court would have found Pandher guilty... Pandher and Koli were co-conspirators,” Prasad said. In all, 46 witnesses were produced in 113 hearings in the murder of Arti. Koli has been charged with rape, abduction and murder in all 19 cases while Pandher is co-accused in six cases. — PTI
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India may seek Saeed’s extradition New Delhi, May 4 Government sources said New Delhi may also hand over to Pakistan the judgment convicting Ajmal Amir Kasab after receiving the copy of the verdict delivered by special judge M L Tahiliyani in Mumbai. The sources said Pakistan’s attention would also be drawn towards the tardy progress in the trial of the seven persons arrested in the neighbouring country in connection with the Mumbai carnage. It would be impressed upon Pakistan to expedite the trial as had been done by the Mumbai court. The 26/11 attacks had figured prominently during talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani in Thimphu last week. Gilani had assured Singh that his government was determined to bring to justice those who had masterminded the attacks. During the Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks in New Delhi on February 25 also, India had given three dossiers to Pakistan on the Mumbai attacks. In the first dossier, India had demanded that besides Saeed and Lakhvi, Lashkar operatives Muzzamil, Abu Hamza, Abu Khafa and Usman should be handed over to it. All of them have been named in the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai police in connection with the November 2008 attacks.
In the second dossier, India had demanded handing over of Illyas Kashmiri, a militant whose links with global terror group Al-Qaida had even been established by the FBI.
The third dossier demanded handing over of seven ‘Khalistani’ militants and 17 Indian Mujahideen terrorists.
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Charges against Sajjan Kumar on May 15
New Delhi, May 4 Additional Sessions Judge Sunita Gupta reserved her order for May 15 after both prosecution and defence concluded their arguments on whether the charges should be framed. Arguing before Gupta, CBI counsel RS Cheema alleged Kumar incited a mob which killed five persons near Delhi Cantt. Cheema also sought framing of charges against Kumar for sedition. Counsel for Kumar argued that no case was made out against him. He claimed the case in which the CBI has sought action against Kumar was earlier closed by the police, who did not find enough preliminary evidence to try him. Sajjan Kumar, Khushal Singh, Girdhari Lal, Balwan Khokhar, Mahender Yadav, Maha Singh, Capt Bhagmal, Santosh Rani and Krishna Khokhar were named as accused in the murder of five persons in Delhi Cantt in the 1984 riots following then PM Indira Gandhi’s assassination. —
IANS
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mci case New Delhi, May 4 Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today said he has sought advice from the Law Ministry on how to proceed in the case against the MCI president. “….I will go with it (advice of the Law Ministry)," he added. The immediate concern is to restore the credibility of the institution. Azad, while replying to calling attention motion in the Rajya Sabha, said a new comprehensive body was proposed. This will subsume regulators like the MCI and the Dental Council of India. Azad said “people like Desai were creations of inefficiencies in the law”. The present law, he said, suffered from loopholes. The minister admitted that from time to time there are complaints against the nature of the recommendations made by the MCI to the government and such complaints are forwarded to the council for appropriate remedial action. "However, I am increasingly of the opinion that provisions of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, are inadequate to ensure transparent, healthy and constructive decision making within the council," Azad said. Since Desai was elected as MCI chief in a Supreme Court-monitored poll, the government would like to take a correct line in the case, said Azad while responding to a demand from the members for a commission of inquiry into the allegations. Pleading for support for a fresh law for fixing the tenure of the MCI president and vice-president and empowering the government to act firmly, the Health Minister regretted that the Bill in this regard was almost vetoed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
The Bill introduced in 2005 had, among other things, proposed a maximum of two terms for the MCI presidents and vice-presidents. The proposed powers to the government for removal of the MCI bosses and direct its executive committee were also rejected by the Parliamentary panel. Earlier, members both from the Opposition and the treasury benches expressed concern over deteriorating conditions in the medical education. P Rajeeve (CPI-M), who had moved the motion for discussion, said according to the MCI website, Desai continues to be its president despite he being under arrest. "Is the (MCI) president discharging responsibility from the Central jail?" he asked.
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Scribe’s mother tightlipped
Ranchi, May 4 Pathak was arrested yesterday; her husband and sons were also quizzed about what some believe could be a case of "honour killing". "She is not revealing anything but it seems that she knows much about the murder," SP (Koderma) G Kranti Kumar said. Nirupama, a Delhi-based journalist, was found dead on April 29 in her home in Koderma, around 200 km from here. — IANS
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CID team visits scribe’s house Koderma (Jharkhand), May 4 The officials collected documents, including letters, and other articles, Koderma SP G Kranthi Kumar said. They also traced some phone numbers to which the Pathak’s family members had called on the day of her death on April 29. “We are verifying all numbers,” Kumar added. He said Pathak’s father Dharmesh and her two brothers have been asked not to leave the town till further directions. —
PTI
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A local court today adjourned the hearing on former Haryana police chief SPS Rathore's plea, challenging his conviction for molesting teenager Ruchika Girhotra, by a day.
On the second day of the day-to-day hearing of the case, Rathore’s counsel presented.
Ghaziabad, May 4
New Delhi, May 4
