Bhubaneswar, February 21
Conceding eight of the 14 demands of the Maoists on the second day of talks with the rebel-chosen mediators, Orissa government today said it was confident of securing early release of abducted Malkangiri Collector R V Krishna and a junior engineer.

Home Secretary UN Behera said while eight demands of the Maoists had been met, final talks on the remaining six conditions would be held tomorrow.

"I am confident now that both the Collector and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi will be released very soon," he told reporters after two days of talks with Maoist-chosen mediators for release of the two abducted on February 16.

Among the issues resolved during the meeting were recognising Konda Reddy and Nokadora communities as Scheduled Tribe, steps for scrapping Pollavaram multi-purpose dam project in Andhra Pradesh, issue of land pattas to tribals whose land had allegedly been taken away in Malkangiri and Koraput, extension of a canal project in Malkangiri and compensation to families of two persons who died in jail custody due to alleged torture in Koraput, he said.

The government would also take steps for the release of two central committee members of CPI(Maoist) Sila Di and Padma lodged in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh jails, Behera said.

The issue of stoppage of bauxite mining in Mali and Deomali hills in Koraput and Rayagada districts and cancellation of MoUs with multinational companies were also resolved.

Talks with the mediators Prof G Hargopal, Prof Someswar Rao and Dandapani Mohanty have "progressed well”, Behera said.

“We have been assured by the mediators that Krishna's health is fine and there is no cause of concern,” he said.

In a related development, five hardcore Maoists, including Ganti Prasadam, who has about 100 cases against him in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, moved the Orissa High Court for bail after a similar plea was rejected by a lower court.

The Maoists, who have sought their release as one of the conditions for safe return of the two, called a bandh to press their demand but it evoked little response. — PTI

Bangalore, February 21
Hotting up the poll scene and triggering an “outsider-local” debate, actress Hema Malini today entered the fray from Karnataka for the lone Rajya Sabha seat as a combined opposition supported noted writer K Marulasiddappa's candidature invoking the 'Kannada pride.'

Minutes after Hema Malini filed her nomination as a BJP candidate for the March 3 poll, the eminent Kannada writer filed his papers as an independent backed by the Congress and the JD(S).

Hema Malini has nearly five kg of gold and four housing properties worth more than Rs 35 crore. The 62-year-old has 3,779 gm of 22 carat gold. — PTI 

Chandigarh, February 21
Former Director-General Supplies and Transport, Lt Gen SK Sahni, who was sentenced to three-year rigorous imprisonment by a General Court Martial, did not get any relief from the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) today on his bail petition that was pending before the tribunal.

The bench comprising Justice Ghanshyam Prashad and Lt Gen AS Bahiya observed that his petition had become infructous because it related to grant of bail during the course of the trial and the trial had now already concluded. Hence at this stage bail could not be granted.

The GCM, which began in August last, concluded at Jalandhar on February 18. General Sahni had been under close arrest in military custody since July 31. He had moved the tribunal seeking bail during the course of his trial. His case had come up for hearing several times during the past about seven months, but he had failed to get bail.

Besides seeking bail, he had also challenged the court martial proceedings against him on grounds of procedural lapses. He has contended that no case is made out against him, as there is no evidence on record against him. He had also challenged the GCM’s decision to reject his plea to jurisdiction of the trial. The tribunal has fixed February 28 as the next date of hearing for these issues. 

New Delhi, February 21
Nobel laureate Amartya Sen today said Nalanda University, considered one of the greatest ancient universities in the recorded history, should be in all probability up and running by 2013.

Sen, who is the chairman of the board tasked with the responsibility of reviving the Bihar-based university, told mediapersons that its restoration was a very challenging task and the project was presently in an infant stage.

The renowned Buddhist centre of learning before it was sacked and burnt down by Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193, is being re-built on 446 acres at Rajgir. The premises is 10 km away from the site of the old university.

“The work on the university is underway in an ambitious manner and but it is in initial stages. I am finding out first hand how hard it is to re-establish a university after a hiatus of 800 years. But we are getting there. The idea is to set up seven schools of learning at Nalanda with a special emphasis on the Buddhist and religious studies. Also, the pursuit of science in old Nalanda will inspire and guide our long-run efforts in new Nalanda,” he said.

The seven schools would cover Buddhist studies, historical studies, Indian religion and peace studies, language and literature studies and ecology and environmental studies among others.

Tracing its history, the noted economist said when the varsity was functioning, it was the first of its kind in the ancient world and was renowned for its learning in medicine, religion, astronomy and philosophy among other subjects. “The idea is to slowly help build new Nalanda so that over the next decade or so it starts matching the potential of the old Nalanda,” he said.

They would begin with the humanities and religious studies while medical and scientific studies would come up once the second injection of funding arrived, Sen said. He was accompanied by the university’s vice-chancellor Gopa Sabharwal. 

Allahabad, February 21
The parents of Aarushi Talwar today moved the Allahabad High Court challenging a CBI court order making them accused in the murder of their teenaged daughter and domestic help Hemraj three years ago.

The petition, filed by Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, has challenged the Ghaziabad court order of February 9 in which the couple has been made the accused on the basis of CBI's closure report and also charged with engaging in criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence.

According to the Talwars’ counsel, the petitioners have submitted that the CBI court had passed its order “without taking into consideration the objections submitted by us”. The case is likely to come up for hearing on February 23.

Aarushi was found dead inside her Noida residence in May 2008 with her throat slit and the body of Hemraj was recovered later from the terrace.

The CBI, which was entrusted with the investigation in the case following an uproar over the alleged shoddy probe by the Uttar Pradesh police, had recently submitted its closure report pointing fingers at the parents though it maintained there was no conclusive evidence.

However, the court decided to proceed with the trial against the couple observing that there was “enough evidence” against them. — PTI 

Guwahati, February 21
The ruling Congress party in Assam has a problem of plenty in the run-up to the next round of assembly elections. As the party is aiming to win for the third time, a large number of party leaders have applied for party nomination- making the task of selecting candidates a difficult one for the party high command.

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) spokesman Bichitra Choudhury informed that over 1500 Congress men had applied for the party nomination to contest from total 126 legislative assembly constituencies in the state by paying Rs 15,000 each as application fee.

After the first scrutiny of the applications carried out by the APCC election committee here, the number of applicants has been pruned to 1176, including 197 women aspirants. However, there are single applicants in case of 11 assembly segments. All these names would be sent to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) for the final selection. The final list of the Congress poll candidates is likely to be announced in the first week of March.

There were total 600 applications for party tickets in the 2006 assembly elections. A senior APC leader said the sharp increase in number of applicants for poll tickets should be construed as a positive sign as it reflected the confidence of the party men to win.

Another factor that has enthused the Congressmen is the split in the opposition camp with the main opponents BJP and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) snap alliance to contest assembly election separately. The AFGP has decided to forge a poll alliance with two lesser-known regional parties - Bodoland People’s Progressive Front (BPPF) and Gana Shakti - even as it is weighing pros and cons about an alliance with All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) too. The BJP on the other hand is firm on contesting alone this time to expand the party base in the state.

New Delhi, February 21
Emphasising that the UN architecture desperately needed reforms, India today said it was looking for a modest expansion of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in both permanent and non-permanent categories.

“We want a modest expansion in UNSC taking its strength to low 20s or mid 20s with India’s inclusion in the permanent category,’’ diplomatic sources said.

Observing that UN reform was an idea whose time has come, they said New Delhi desired an expansion based on criteria and philosophy enshrined in the UN charter.

They said nobody now questioned India’s claim for a permanent seat at the UNSC. “We are the largest democracy and have participated overwhelmingly in every UN activity.’’

Referring to the attempts being made by the so-called ‘Coffee Club’ to block expansion of the UNSC, the sources said even the number of countries in this grouping was declining fast. Pakistan, Italy and Canada were among the few countries in the forefront in this grouping. Even Pakistan was now saying that there should be an increase in the permanent category at the UNSC but the new member should be from the African continent.

The UNSC reform process has been going on for almost two decades. But basic questions are yet to be resolved, which include how many new seats should be created, who gets these seats and when should the veto power kick in with India refusing to be a "second-class citizen" viz-a-viz veto powers. The sources also appreciated the role of the Chair of the UN inter-government negotiations on restructuring, Zahir Tanin, who has prepared the short text for the negotiations. On China's position viz-a-viz India, the sources said Beijing also favoured reforms but it has some reservations about the pace of the reform process. 

New Delhi, February 21
In further indications of a thaw, India has proposed to Pakistan two-set of dates in the second half of March for holding Home Secretary-level talks.The Indian side has sent off a letter to Pakistan suggesting March 21-22 and March 28-29 as possible options for the two home secretaries to meet - both dates fall on Monday and Tuesday.

The letter was sent late last week, said sources while confirming that Pakistan’s response was awaited. The talks will be conducted in Delhi.

The Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai had met his counterpart on the sidelines of SAARC home ministers conference in Islamabad in June last year. The proposed meeting in March is the first step, at the Home Secretary-level, after the two nations decided to resume comprehensive dialogue over various issues. The dialogue was suspended following the November 2008 Mumbai attacks for which India has blamed Pakistan based elements - both state and non-state actors.

Though officially the two countries are yet to circulate an agenda for the meeting, sources said, “It will be finalised once Pakistan gives its option for dates.” It is likely that India will take up the case of seeking action against persons responsible for the Mumbai carnage. New Delhi has always maintained that Islamabad arrested the peripheral players while the key planners are roaming around free and spewing venom against India.

In contrast Pakistan could want details of investigations into the February 2007 Samjhauta train blasts. The India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has found evidence linking some radical elements in India for carrying out the blasts on board the train that runs between Delhi and Lahore. India has made it clear that it will share details as soon as a chargesheet is filed.

BRIEFLY

Violence revisits Osmania varsity
Hyderabad: After a brief lull, Osmania University campus in Hyderabad, the epicentre of the Telangana movement, erupted in flames on Monday with the agitators going berserk and attacking public properties during their "Chalo Assembly" programme. The agitating students torched a local train, ransacked a railway station and pelted policemen with stones when they were prevented from taking out a protest march. — TNS

Godhra verdict
Ahmedabad: Nine years after torching of the Sabarmati Express near Godhra station that left 58 persons dead, a special court here is set to deliver on Tuesday its judgement against 94 accused in the carnage that had triggered widespread communal riots in Gujarat. As many as 253 witnesses were examined during the trial and over 1500 documentary evidences were presented before the court by the Gujarat police. — PTI

Elephant census
Kaziranga: The exercise of elephant census have started in North East and Assam to determine the number of the pachyderms in the wild. Stating that the census work began from Sunday Kaziranga National Park’s Kohora range officer Attaqur Rehman said the exercise would end on February 26. The last elephant census was held in 2008 and in the park alone there were as many as 1,293 elephants. — PTI