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SIT member raises doubts over Ishrat encounter
BJP-ruled states sheltering terrorists, claims Digvijay
NCC strength to rise: PM
Land allotment to sons a mistake, says Yeddyurappa
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Wheels within wheels behind Vastanvi controversy
Talks with Pakistan to be ‘exploratory’
Raids uncover motor oil recycling racket
Another BSP MLA booked for rape
Honeymoon murder in Brussels
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SIT member raises doubts over Ishrat encounter
Ahmedabad, January 28 During the hearing, Verma told the Division Bench of Justices Jayant Patel and Abhilasha Kumari that “there are two possibilities in the case; one is that four people (who got) killed in the encounter had come to kill the Gujarat Chief Minister (Narendra Modi), and the other is that they were killed in cold blood by the police.” “There is a possibility of the second one (having taken place) irrespective of the first one,” he told the high court. He also suggested that there should be a fresh FIR in the case since evidence raises doubts as to under what circumstances shots were fired (at Ishrat and others). Ishrat Jahan and three others were killed in an alleged encounter by the police on June 15, 2004. The court later formed a three-member SIT to probe the encounter. The SIT is headed by Delhi IPS officer Karnail Singh. IPS officer Mohan Jha is the other member of the team, besides Verma. At an earlier hearing, Verma had taken objection to the plea filed by SIT head, seeking appointment of amicus curiae. He had also alleged that Singh did not consult him, and there were differences among the members. The high court had then asked both officers to remain present. Today, Karnail Singh told the judges that “there is absence of chain of command and model code of conduct in the SIT. The power of SIT members needs to be defined. I am facing number of difficulties which cannot be discussed in the open court.” In his reply, Verma said: “There can be either controlled investigation or dynamic progressive investigation... investigation cannot be controlled from Delhi...at every point you cannot get prior approvals, as it defeats the purpose of investigation”. Verma also said the amicus curiae could not be used for legal advice by the SIT as it is a party to the case. After hearing out both officers, the court appointed advocate Yogesh Lakhani as an amicus curiae. The judges also asked members of SIT to work with a team spirit and maintain discipline. The court while adjourning the hearing directed the SIT to submit a progress report every two months. The SIT was formed by the High Court on September 24 last year to probe the killing of Mumbai-based Ishrat and three others (Javed Ghulam Sheikh alias Pranesh Kumar Pillai, Amjad Ali alias Rajkumar Akbar Ali Rana and Jisan Johar Abdul Gani) in a reported encounter by crime branch officials near Ahmedabad. — PTI
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BJP-ruled states sheltering terrorists, claims Digvijay
New Delhi, January 28
"All those who are making bombs run away to Gujarat and they get shelter there... Swami Aseemanand settled there. Who gave his organisation the forest land? The governments of BJP give shelter to such elements. There is a need to keep an eye on them," Singh said. A known detractor of BJP and RSS, Singh referred to a number of terror cases like Samjhauta Express blasts case, Mecca Masjid and Ajmer blasts in which members of some RSS affiliated organisations were arrested recently. Asked about the basis of his accusation, he said it was his personal view. Otherwise, why was a police team of Haryana not given any cooperation by the Gujarat police when it went to invesigate the Samjhauta blasts there? Why was Aseemamand given shelter? A former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Singh said he is ashamed that his home state gets a bad name as this entire group is spread out in the state. Training his guns on senior BJP leader L K Advani, Singh said that it was his rath yatra in the nineties which had instigated trouble in the Hindi belt of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. "Whenever BJP is weak, it takes up a communal issue. They would like to build a mosque or hoist a flag only where there is dispute. Without dispute they cannot survive. Ramjanambhoomi issue was there for long, but they took it up in 1985 when their srrength in the Lok Sabha was a mere two," he said. Singh also chose the occasion to categorically assert that he was not convinced about the genuineness of the Batla House encounter of 2008. "I still have doubts about the encounter as in no encounter, all the five bullets can hit the head (of the alleged terrorist Aatish who was killed in the encounter) and not a single one touching any other part of the body." — PTI
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NCC strength to rise: PM
New Delhi, January 28 “I am very happy to inform you that the government has sanctioned an enhancement in its authorised cadet strength of the NCC from 13 lakh to 15 lakh,” the Prime Minister said while addressing the cadets at the Prime Minister's NCC Rally here. The cadets have been in Delhi for the past one month as part of the annual Republic Day camp. The increase in the strength of the NCC will add five new group headquarters and 40 new units in schools and colleges across the country. The NCC is also planning to raise its current girls cadet strength from the present 24% to 33% in the next five years and ultimately to 50 %.
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Land allotment to sons a mistake, says Yeddyurappa
New Delhi, January 28 However, Yeddyurappa, who virtually forced the party high command to allow him to continue in office despite the scandal, appeared to differ with party president Nitin Gadkari who had said the Chief Minister's act of making out of turn land allotment to his sons may be "immoral but not illegal". "I will speak to Gadkari. He must be mistaken. Somebody must have misguided him", Yeddyurappa said. Yeddyurappa also lashed out at Karnataka Governor H R Bharadwaj for giving sanction to prosecute him. "He has converted the Raj Bhavan into a political party. I want to ask the Governor Sahib: What is your intention?," the Chief Minister said. The Chief Minister felt that Bhardwaj may have been sent to Karnataka with a specific mission by the Congress high command. "He may have been sent for this purpose only. Everyday we are observing, the governor is acting like an opposition party leader in Karnataka." —PTI
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Wheels within wheels behind Vastanvi controversy
Lucknow, January 28 But the raging debate is whether the first non-Uttar Pradesh cleric in 145 years to occupy the Mohtamim’s chair has become a victim of a fratricidal intrigue and is paying the price of media misreporting or he is indeed backtracking after making a remark concerning Muslims’ so-called progress in Narendra Modi’s Gujarat which has been interpreted as giving Modi a clean chit by the Urdu media. In an official statement released on January 24, Vastanvi played down the students protest on the Deoband campus and asked people to remain calm and not believe in rumours. However, on January 26, he left Deoband (evidently giving up his post), met a few MPs and Shura members in New Delhi and is now back in Gujarat clarifying that he has not quit. “I had thought of resigning keeping the institution’s interests in mind, but things have calmed down there. The Shura will meet, but I will not tender my resignation,” he said. Originally a Gujarati from Vastan village of Magrol taluka in Surat district who studied at a seminary at Tadkeshwar, near Kim, Vastanvi got his Aalim and Faazil degrees from the Tadkeshwar seminary itself. Born and brought up in tribal-dominated and economically backward area of the state, Vastanvi later worked in tribal areas of Maharashtra. After completing his studies, the cleric taught at Kantharia for around a decade before setting up a reputed Jamia Islamia Ishaatul Uloom in Akkalkuwa of Nandurbar district in Maharashtra. It offers courses in engineering, medicine, pharmacy and education, apart from other regular and short-term courses. As the introduction of modern education was Vastanvi’s initiative, it was believed that he would help modernise the Deoband’s curriculum. Today, Rashtriya Lok Dal Rajya Sabha MP Mahmood Madani and his uncle Arshad Madani head the two rival factions of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and are jointly believed to be at the bottom of the present controversy in Deoband. Arshad Madani was one of the candidates in running for the post of VC and lost to Vastanvi by four votes. The winning of Vastanvi was seen as his rival Mahmood Madani getting the upper hand. However, an insider in Deoband said behind the façade of fighting, both factions had joined hands to oust Vastanvi, who, after the election, was suddenly perceived as too high profile having a mind of his own. The question of Modi’s praise, however, is far more complicated on which even liberal Muslims are not very sure. A Muslim activist, who was actively involved in relief and rehabilitation work in post-2002 Gujarat, said this was a topic that could not be remarked upon lightly. Preferring to remain anonymous for the fear of being drawn into this intra-cleric fight, she said if at all he had made the remark of Muslims doing well under Modi, then the new VC has an agenda and larger political forces must be behind him. BJP MP Shahnawaz Hussain coming to his rescue might be an indicator towards that, she said.
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Talks with Pakistan to be ‘exploratory’
New Delhi, January 28 South Block mandarins were, however, cautious not to raise the level of expectations from the talks in Thimphu on the margins of the SAARC Standing Committee meeting. “Don’t expect anything dramatic… it is an attempt to unlock the process once again,” senior Indian officials said. The two foreign secretaries have been talking on phone for the past few weeks and the meeting in Thimphu would provide a “little more clarity” on how to go about solving outstanding issues, the officials said. Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmud Qureshi is not visiting Thimphu for the SAARC foreign ministers’ meeting on February 8 at which External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will represent India. The meeting between the two foreign secretaries is expected to consider the date for Qureshi’s much-anticipated visit to India. However, the exact date would be finalised later and not during the course of the Thimphu meeting. Indications are that Qureshi would visit India in March. Asked if India had noticed any change in Pakistan’s behaviour which had prompted it to renew efforts to re-engage the neighbouring country, they said there was no alternative to talking to Islamabad and impress upon it the need to take effective and proper steps to deal with terrorism.
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Raids uncover motor oil recycling racket
Mumbai, January 28 Police sources confirmed here today raids across the state has resulted in oil used in factory engines and motors known as furnace oil being seized by the authorities. The biggest seizure happened to be early this morning in Kurla were more than 1000 drums containing nearly two lakh litres of black oil were seized. "While some of the oil was imported as furnace oil the rest were procured locally as waste products from factories," a senior police officer from the Crime Branch said here today. According to police officials the waste oil is recycled using a chemical process which removes most of its black colour. The oil is then mixed with petrol and diesel. Police say some of the oil was also sold in the open market as clean oil to owners of small factories and mills on the outskirts of Mumbai. Police officials say the spurious oil and chemicals seized in today's raids have been sent for chemical analysis. One person has been arrested from an illegal godown in Kurla while the police are on the lookout for more persons. Meanwhile, the BJP has blamed the politicians of the ruling party in Maharashtra for the motor oil scam. BJP leader Vinod Tawde alleged that the members of the oil mafia were instrumental in getting state politicians to exempt furnace oil dealers from the ambit of vigilance inquiries conducted by the state food and civil supplies department.
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Another BSP MLA booked for rape
Lucknow, January 28 In a major embarrassment for the ruling party, an Etawah court has ordered registration of a criminal case against Bharthana MLA Shiv Prasad Yadav, his employee Vinod Awasthi, two others and unnamed police officials. The case involves the alleged rape of a woman, who has been in jail since December 23 on charge of driving her husband to suicide. Chief Judicial Magistrate Zaigam Uddin yesterday ordered the Etawah police to lodge an FIR in the case.
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Honeymoon murder in Brussels
New Delhi, January 28 According to the prosecution, the dismemberment of the body parts was performed either with surgical instruments or with the aid of a butter knife and a fork. “However, at the trial, the prosecution did not produce any evidence with regard to the recovery of any weapon of offence,” the Bench held.
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HC dismisses plea against SRK CRPF jawan held 9 Maoists killed
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Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today admitted that he had committed a "mistake" by allotting land to his sons but appeared defiant about the act being "immoral or illegal". "If land is there you can offer it to anybody. My mistake is I allotted land to my son. If the court takes a decision, let them take back the land," Yeddyurappa told a news channel today.
Lucknow, January 28
In another development, the high court appointed advocate Yogesh Lakhani as amicus curiae (to assist the court) in the case.
Singh told a national seminar of civil rights groups here that highlighted the plight of Muslim youths "wrongly" arrested in terror cases, that this needed to be fought ideologically. He also said that the sources of funding of the organisations affiliated to the RSS needed to be probed. "It is necessary to enquire from where these organisations are getting funds. From where are they getting international funding also needs to be examined".
MUMBAI: