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2 GJM men killed in police firing
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Raja’s custody extended
Tiwari case to be heard on Feb 19
Land allotment: Karuna slams Swamy for ‘twisting facts’
Iran: IPI project to promote Indo-Pak ties
Senior AGP leader joins BJP
Pirates abduct 17 Indian sailors
Lt Gen given pay less than juniors; AFT issues notice
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2 GJM men killed in police firing
Differing versions Kolkata/Darjeeling, February 8 “From tonight, the Army will conduct flag marches in all affected areas of Darjeeling district, including Kalimpong sub-division,” Additional District Magistrate (Darjeeling) Rajat Kumar Shaini said. He said the administration is also considering imposing curfew in the violence-affected affected areas. Darjeeling flared up again today following the death of two GJM (Gorkha Janamukti Morcha) supporters at Lipchu in the Duars area in the police firing. The police had resorted to the firing for dispersing the violent mob, attacking the police men, government properties, buses and other private vehicles. The incident occurred around 11 am when about 2,500 GJM workers and supporters who were demonstrating demanding a separate Gorkhaland with the inclusion of the Duars, suddenly broke the order under Section 144 of the CrPC and attacked a police party. The agitating GJM workers tried to forcibly enter the police station and hit police men with kukhris and other lethal weapons which resulted in injuries to some 10 policemen, including three women constables, the IG (law and order) S. Purkasthaya told
mediapersons. The violent mob also set on fire a police outpost, a government tourist lodge and other official properties. They resorted to arson and looting at several places. The police retaliated with lathi-charge and burst several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the violent mob. When these steps failed, the cops fired seven rounds which killed two persons on the spot, the IG claimed. GJM secretary Roshan Giri, however, alleged that the hill inhabitants demonstrating peacefully were fired at indiscriminately by the police and the CPM. He said they would observe an indefinite bandh in Darjeeling and the Duars area from tomorrow protesting against the atrocities by the police and the cadres.
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SPECTRUM SCAM Mumbai, February 8 The arrest of Balwa comes two days before the 2G case comes up for hearing in the Supreme Court. He would be produced before a magistrate tomorrow for transit remand to Delhi, the sources said. Balwa-promoted DB Reality floated Swan Telecom. Raja allegedly helped Swan bag 2G licences for 13 circles, including Mumbai and Delhi, for Rs 1,537 crore but Swan sold 45 per cent shares to the UAE telecom giant Etisalat for approximately Rs 4,500 crore within months of bagging the Spectrum. The sources claimed CBI has evidence from the Income Tax department that Balwa, considered close to Raja, was instrumental in channelling the kickbacks allegedly received by the former Telecom Minister from the sale of 2G spectrum. According to the sources, Balwa had allegedly helped the former Telecom Minister and some of his aides park the money in real estate sector. Balwa is the fourth person to be arrested in 2G Spectrum case after Raja, his former personal secretary R K Chandolia and former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura. Chandolia and Behura were today sent by a court in Delhi to judicial custody on completion of their interrogation by CBI. — PTI
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Raja’s custody extended
“The minister is evasive about answering the interrogators and we need his cooperation to seize certain documents. He has to be confronted with documents and some officials of Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to ascertain his role in the 2G spectrum case,” the CBI said, seeking his custody for four days. Special Judge OP Saini, however, denied the CBI’s plea and sent Raja to two more days of CBI custody. “This is a case in which allegations are that the acts of the accused caused loss to the state to the tune of Rs 22,000 crore by the misuse of his official position. Naturally, it is a complex case based on documents. A Raja was the minister in charge of the department. Accordingly, considering the submissions of the parties and material on record, Raja is remanded in police custody till February 10,” the court said while pronouncing his order. The agency, however, added that they no longer required the custody of his aides, former telecom secretary Siddartha Behura and Raja's former personal secretary RK Chandolia. The court, therefore, sent the duo to judicial custody for 14 days. Meanwhile, Raja’s counsel, Ramesh Gupta opposed the CBI’s plea, saying that the agency should specify to the court about the outcome of the five-day interrogation of the accused. “There is nothing that has to be recovered from my client as everything has been seized in 2009 itself,” he added.
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Tiwari case to be heard on Feb 19
New Delhi, February 8 The 85-year-old Tiwari was represented through his counsel, while Rohit Shekhar, 31, who has filed a paternity suit in the HC, was present there with his lawyer. A lab in Hyderabad will carry out the DNA test to decide if Tiwari is indeed the father of Shekhar or not. Tiwari’s counsel today contended that the order of the division bench of the high court was yet to come and they should wait for it before proceeding ahead. The bench had yesterday reserved its order on his appeal against a single-judge order, which had asked him to undergo the test. It had, however, refused to stay the oder and asked both parties to appear before the joint registrar today to start the formalities for the DNA test.
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Land allotment: Karuna slams Swamy for ‘twisting facts’
Chennai, February 8 Hitting back at Swamy, who had yesterday sought Governor S S Barnala's sanction for his prosecution, Karunanidhi told the state Assembly, "...Swamy has mischievously twisted the facts. This is regrettable and actionable." He said no wrongdoing had been committed in the discretionary quota system, first introduced by the AIADMK in 1979, and now done away with by his government. Stating that no plot or house was given at concessional rates to beneficiaries of the quota system, he said the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) decided the price of the property on the basis of its market rate or the government guideline rate, whichever was higher. “Some beneficiaries of the quota have returned the property, saying they cannot afford to buy it,” he said in a suo motu statement. The TNHB had not suffered any loss due to the discretionary allotment, he said. “Eightyfive per cent of the allotments were being made through draw of lots of applications for TNHB lands and houses. The rest had been given under the discretionary quota. The plots or houses under both categories had been given at the same price,” Karunanidhi said.
— PTI
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PSO cleans Maya’s shoes; fuels political controversy
Lucknow, February 8 The officer, Padam Singh, 61, was given two-year extension by the government after his retirement last year. He has been managing CM’s personal security for 15 years. “As soon as she got off at the make-shift helicopter in Naunakpur, the CM accidentally stepped over a pile of mud. I saw that and cleaned her shoes with a handkerchief,” Padam Singh said. UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said, “The BSP is a party meant to challenge manuvad and feudalism. Is this how Mayawati proposes to empower the Dalits?" BSP MLA Syed Kazim Ali Khan wanted to know, “What the fuss was all
about?”
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CIC orders police protection for whistleblower IIT professor
New Delhi, February 8 Professor Rajeev Kumar of IIT Kharagpur, whose exposes on manipulations in the cut-off calculation formula to benefit certain students in JEE 2006 led to the recent momentum of reform in the IIT system, had complained to the CIC of victimisation, harassment and a threat from the IIT Kharagpur authorities, cross with him for filing RTI applications to gather sensitive exam-related information. The Commission also issued a show-cause notice to IIT Kharagpur’s public information officer as to why penalty should not be levied on him for supplying false information to the whistleblower. The officer is accused of tendering “false information” to Kumar, who had sought all official and personal communications of IIT Kharagpur administration -- including file notings -- regarding JEE 2006 wherein the most admission irregularities are said to have occurred. “The appellant has informed the Commission that he has been threatened, harassed and victimised by the director, deans and the registrar of IIT Kharagpur since he is filing RTI applications and exposing certain wrong doings. We direct the Kharagpur ASP to ensure that proper security is provided to Professor Rajeev Kumar after making assessment of the threats he has been receiving. If any physical harm comes to him, the police will be held responsible for not having performed its duty,” Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said in his order. Gandhi, meanwhile, agreed prima facie that the institute seemed to be misleading the Commission considering Kumar placed on record critical letters and information on JEE 2006 shared between the institute and the Ministry of HRD. The Tribune had in February 2010 used documents accessed by Kumar to report how 994 top scorers in JEE 2006 had failed to make it to the IITs and low-scoring candidates had clinched the admissions due to faulty calculation of cut-off marks as per a formula crafted by the IIT Joint Admission Board that year. The institutes were also found to have shredded the optical response sheets pertaining to the admissions, inviting suspicion. Further, instances had come to light of wards of IIT faculty making it to the institutes on suspect grounds. Following The Tribune reports, the Delhi High Court had issued a notice to the institutes and HRD Ministry. The case is underway.
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Iran: IPI project to promote Indo-Pak ties
New Delhi, February 8 Addressing a press conference here today on the eve of the 32nd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Iranian Ambassador to India Seyed Mehdi Nabizadeh claimed that his country did not look at the IPI project from the narrow perspective of making financial and economic gains. The project was rather aimed at promoting friendly and cordial relations, particularly between India and Pakistan. Nabizadeh also noted that both the projects had more or less the same security considerations. He was obviously referring to the fact that both the proposed pipelines would pass through terrorism-affected areas -- TAPI through Pakistan and Afghanistan and IPI through Pakistan. New Delhi recently signed a accord to import natural gas through the US-backed TAPI, whose
terms are said to be far less stringent than those it had set for pipeline involving Iran. Replying to a question, the Iranian envoy said Iran had completed 90 per cent of the pipeline work inside its territory and only 150 km of the construction activity was to be completed. Similarly, Pakistan
had also started the construction work inside its territory. “Under the pipeline project, we will transfer 50 per cent of the gas (30 million cubic metres) to Pakistan while another 50 per cent will be transferred to any other country, like India, willing to join the project,” Nabizadeh said. Referring to the situation in Afghanistan, the Iranian envoy called for the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops from the war-torn nation. The people of Afghanistan should be allowed to decide how they could stabilise the situation in their country, if necessary with the assistance of regional countries. “The involvement of far away countries will only complicate matters in Afghanistan and destabilise the situation.” He said India and Iran had made huge investments in technical and infrastructure sectors in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. The two countries were also considering undertaking a joint project in the battle-scarred nation. On the ongoing unrest in Egypt, Nabizadeh said any regime which ignored the aspirations of the people, would earn their wrath sooner or later. “Ultimately, the people should have the final say… we must support the stand of the (Egyptian) people.” Nabizadeh strongly defended Iran’s controversial nuclear programme, saying his country had every right to exploit nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The sanctions imposed by the United Nations on Iran over its nuclear programme had rather helped the Islamic Republic become self-sufficient in various fields, he added.
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Senior AGP leader joins BJP
Guwahati, February 8 Sonowal is a former president of All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and is a vociferous campaigner against the problem of illegal migration from Bangladesh. Enthused at having Sonowal in party ranks, Gadkari announced that he would be made a member of the BJP national executive and the Assam state election committee with immediate effect much to the cheers of a 15,000 strong crowd gathered at the meeting, which also witnessed seven other leaders from various other influential ethnic organisations joining the saffron party. Sonowal, who was elected from Dibrugarh to the Lok Sabha in 2004, justified his decision to quit the AGP saying he was upset over senior leaders of the party drawing closer to “anti-Assam elements” and that his conscience did not permit him to remain associated with the group any longer. “All Indians should live in peace and prosper in Assam but we can’t be lenient towards illegal migrants,” he told the crowd that replied with a huge round of applause.
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Aero extravaganza begins today Bangalore, February 8 Aero India-2011 will commence at the IAF’s Yelhanka airbase here. As many as 250 delegations from that the USA are expected, while 35 delegations from Germany and 10 from Italy are slated to arrive. All other 27 participating countries are sending 55 delegations. A total of 63 US companies will be participating followed by France (43), Germany (42), UK (41) and Russia (25). The Obama Administration recently removed nine Indian space and Defence companies from the entity list - a kind of black list. US Secretary for Commerce Gary Locke today told reporters that the visiting US delegation will hold talks with DRDO and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on “how best the US can be a partner”. The companies had been banned in the wake of the Pokhran nuclear test in 1998. Locke termed the removal of these companies from the entity list as “a signal for better cooperation”. US Ambassador to India, Timothy. J Roemer allayed fears that top-level technology was being denied to India as it had not signed foundation defence agreement like the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA). “We are already exchanging the very best technology in the world and it could be better if the agreement is signed… we are not pressing for it …India has to decide”. The latest acquisition from the US, the C-130-J tactical aircraft has come without key encryption equipment. From Europe, Cassidian, a company of 43 billion euros revenue European Consortium (EADS), said it was entering into joint venture with Larsen and Tubro and was separately partnering DRDO to build a airborne radar system besides developing the latest radars for Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas. The company opened its new 18,000 sq feet engineering centre here. The German Defence Minister Karl Theodor Zu Gutttenberg will be here tomorrow to back EADS, whose plane Eurofighter is one of the top contenders for the $ 11 billion deal for 126 fighters. Swedish company Saab announced the establishment of a Research and Development Centre in India. Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar, announced plans to further deepen its relations with suppliers and partners in India. On the Russian side, none of its fighters like the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) - being built with an Indian partnership - is on display. Even MiG 35 that is one of the six contenders in the IAF’s tender to buy 126 fighters will not be available. Sukhoi has sent in its newly developed commercial plane. The Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter will fly daily. The model of Yak-130 combat trainer will also be displayed.
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Pirates abduct 17 Indian sailors Mumbai, February 8 The 266-metre long and 46-metre wide 'Savina Caylyn' with 22 crew members on board was attacked by the pirates and taken over at 0520 hours IST, a senior official at the Directorate General of Shipping said. Initial reports said no one was hurt in the attack by five pirates who were armed with rocket-propelled-grenades (RPG) and rifles. Submachine guns were also used while seizing the vessel, the reports said. The pirates were in a single skiff (small boat), the shipping official said. The attack took place some 800 kms off the west coast of India and some 1,300 kms off Somalia coast. The 17 Indian and five Italian nationals were part of the crew, the official said. According to reports, the vessel is currently sailing west towards the Somali coast. — PTI
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Lt Gen given pay less than juniors; AFT issues notice Chandigarh, February 8 Some lieutenant generals (Lt Gens), it has now been revealed, have been granted pay scales that are lower than their juniors. Based upon a petition filed by Lt Gen AN Aul, former Chief of Staff, Western Command, the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal today issued notice to the Union of India. After the SPC implementation, the government agreed that all Lt Gens who had served as corps commanders, but could not be elevated to the status of Army Commander due to lack of residual service would be granted the apex scale of Army Commander (Rs 80,000), implying that they would get additional financial benefits, but without any change in their status. Lt Gens other than Army commanders fall in the pay scales of Rs 67,000-79,000 and Rs 75,000-80,000, depending upon the length of their service. While those who became corps commanders on promotion from major general to Lt Gen, got enhanced benefits subsequently, those who were given other appointments tenable by Lt Gens missed out.
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Three wildlife activists set free Sangma's cell used for cheating
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New Delhi, February 8
