New Delhi, March 9
The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) today asked the Army to reconvene the probe against Malegaon blast accused Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit, holding that the Court of Inquiry (CoI) against him "suffers from the vice of irregularity".

New Delhi, March 9
Defence Minister A K Antony today informed the Parliament that India has increased its own capacity to produce defence equipment, weapons and ammunition slowly moving towards reducing dependence on foreign suppliers.

Replying to queries from members in the Rajya Sabha during the question hour Antony said: “In the past, we were producing only 30 per cent of our equipment. Now we are producing 40 per cent of platforms, equipment and ammunition of our total defence supplies”.

He stated that India is producing state-of-the-art weapons. “We are improving but we have to go a long way. Do not expect miracles,” he informed the upper house. In the past, the defence sector was reserved exclusively for public sector. “We are now giving more space to the Indian private sector.”

Antony, whose stated goal is of seeing the “made in India” mark on defence equipment, said the first priority is to reduce the dependence on foreign players.

“All our defence PSUs are in the process of modernisation. We will be able to increase our indigenous products substantially,” Antony said, adding the government has taken policy initiatives to promote indigenous production of defence equipment. He cited the examples of Arjun Tanks and the initial operational clearance to the light combat aircraft Tejas.

Replying to a question whether most of the weapons and equipment of the Indian armed forces have become outdated, Antony said defence forces in all the countries, including India, have three types of arms - state-of-the-art, current and those nearing obsolescence.

He said MiG 21 and MiG 27 series of fighter aircraft will be phased out. Arms and ammunition by the defence forces is reviewed and updated on a regular basis as per the procedures by taking into account technical changes, operational imperatives and threat perceptions. Modernisation of defence forces is the prime concern of the government and it is an on-going process, he assured the house.

Replying to another supplementary question, he said Russia was the biggest arms supplier to the country and Israel was another key supplier.

Mumbai, March 9
Officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had their knuckles rapped for the second day today after the judge hearing the Hasan Ali Khan case asked them to do their homework.

“You have not been able to make any case and you want me to hear you. If you want to do some homework, you can take time,” Principal Sessions Judge ML Tahiliyani told the prosecution.

The judge then adjourned the matter till Thursday. Hawala dealer Hasan Ali Khan, who was arrested by the ED on the orders of the Supreme Court, was produced in the court today. On Tuesday, Judge Tahiliyani had raised a question of jurisdiction stating that Khan should have been produced before a magistrate. The case was then adjourned for a day to decide on the matter.

Khan was arrested on Monday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after investigators claimed he had illegally transferred more than $ 8 billion in a Swiss bank account. 

New Delhi, March 9
Confirming that China was meddling in affairs of the restive North-Eastern states, the government today said that it had inputs that suggested that some rebel leaders of these states had visited China several times to seek its help in procuring arms.

In a written response to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran said, “There have been inputs suggesting the visit of some leaders of insurgent groups in the North-Eastern region to China with the objective of establishing a rapport with Chinese authorities to facilitate procurement of arms and ammunition from arms agents in that country.” The minister was replying to a question on whether rebels in the North-East were offered surface-to-air missiles by agents working for Chinese intelligence agencies. He said there was no specific input on missiles.

“Acquisition of arms (by insurgent groups) is facilitated by easy availability of weapons in Sino-Myanmar border towns like Tengchong, Ruili and Yingjiang in Yunnan province.” The government has also voiced its concerns with the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh over the reported smuggling of arms through their territories, he said. — TNS

Lucknow, March 9
After his arrest moments after landing at Amausi airport on the concluding day of the Samajwadi Party’s three-day statewide protests, state party president and Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav described Chief Minister Mayawati as a dictator who did not believe in democratic values.

“My arrest is a proof of her dictatorial functioning. Not having any faith in democratic values she has resorted to brutal tactics to crush our peaceful agitation” Yadav told media persons at the airport.

However, defending his arrest Deputy Inspector General, Lucknow, DK Thakur said that the Yadav was arrested to maintain law and order in the wake of the SP's protests against the ruling BSP.

Later SP protesters were lathicharged by the police when they held up traffic in the main business district of Hazratganj.

Alleging that the father and son duo of Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav were resorting to ‘dramabazi’ by resorting to false allegations against the ruling BSP party, state BSP president Swami Prasad Maurya in a press statement said that Akhilesh Yadav was arrested to maintain law and order which was the top priority of the Mayawati government.

Hitting out at Samajwadi Party, Maurya said it had no real connection with the people else it would not have launched a protest in the middle of the examination season.

New Delhi, March 9
Belying the earlier reports in media that the 20-year-old Radhika Tanwar who was shot dead on way to her college yesterday was accompanied by a friend who chased the murderer, Delhi police today revealed that she was alone on her way to Ramlal Anand College in Dhaula Kuan's Shantiniketan area when she was shot.

The police has also stated that it has “no eyewitness” who actually saw the shooting. Delhi police officials investigating the case are disappointed by the lack of cooperation extended by the public in the matter. The police believes that it is ‘impossible’ that the murder has no eyewitness since it took place in one of the busiest areas of South Delhi.

When a senior police official was asked as to why it was taking so long to arrest a person despite an eyewitness, he requested the identity of eyewitness, while adding that he would do the rest. “There is no one. Not a single person has come forward and told us that he has seen the shooting. How can that be possible with thousands on the road at that time?”asked the police official.

The District Police Chief HGS Dhaliwal, while releasing the sketch of the accused later in the day, accepted that the sketch is based on the recollections of three persons who saw the accused running after the incident, but no one has seen the actual shooting.

“This sketch is based on the vague recollection of the three people but none of them saw him shooting the girl. They claim to have noticed him when running after the incident, while we have no one who has seen the murder. It is impossible that no one saw the incident,” said Dhaliwal revealing that the accused is about 5 feet 4 inches with a middle parting of hair, wheatish complexion and was wearing a black T-shirt.

The police has urged the public to come forward and help it to reach the culprit. “His identity will be kept a secret,” assured the official. According to information, Radhika was shot by a 315 bore country-made pistol and there was only one assailant. Police believe that it was a planned murder and the assailant chose to hit at a public place so that he could get away taking advantage of the “high- decibel level in the crowded place’. 

New Delhi, March 9
Most of the private technical institutions in the country are substandard, with not just the faculty but also furniture being procured on a rental basis, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said in Lok Sabha today.

The government said its special plan to strengthen the learning outcomes and employability of institutions imparting technical education was not rolling because those that have applied for grants under the scheme were ineligible. The ministry has received 130 proposals under the second component of the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) funded by the World Bank, but none of these applicants have fulfilled the criteria laid down for allocation of funds.

“Any applicant must improve its governance structure and have a certain basic infrastructure. But institutes in the northeastern states, which we wanted to upgrade, failed to comply with the financial allocation norms. None of the institutes that have applied are actually eligible,” Sibal told the House. Over 90 per cent of technical education institutes in India are in the private sector with questions repeatedly raised about their academic standards.

The TEQIP aims to help such institutions achieve a certain level of excellence.

New Delhi, March 9
China is developing infrastructure in the border regions opposite India in the Tibet and Xinjiang Autonomous Regions, the government confirmed today. This includes the Qinghai-Tibet railway line, with proposed extension up to Xigaze and Nyingchi, and development of road and airport facilities, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

India has also started giving careful and special attention to the development of infrastructure in the border areas opposite China in order to meet the country’s strategic and security requirements and also to facilitate the economic development of these areas. This includes the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

New Delhi has been closely watching all developments having a bearing on the country’s security. However, China’s efforts at building infrastructure in the Western sector are being noticed at a time when Beijing appears to have questioned India’s sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir by issuing stapled visas to residents of the state. Despite assuring New Delhi that the stapled visa row would be resolved amicably, Beijing has so far not done anything in the matter.

Reports indicate that China had actually carried out surveys on three possible railway lines to connect Tibet, considering three options- use of any among Chengdu, Kunming and Qinghai routes.

Building railway lines under the first two options, though could be shorter in duration, economical and easy to maintain, was not preferred by China under a premise that these lines will not be safe due to their proximity to the Indian border. Instead, Beijing chose the third option, which, it felt, will be safer though difficult, expensive and longer in duration.

New Delhi, March 9
If the government has its way, all private courier operators would have to register themselves before entering the market.

This would mean a fair contest between the so-called high speed private operators that charge heavily and the humble government speed post delivery system that costs less. During 2009-2010, it delivered a whopping 2,408 lakh items to people across the country. The corresponding delivery by private operators is not known as there is no database for them.

Soon the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology will pilot major amendments to the Indian Post Office Act, 1898, to make registration and regulation of the private courier service sector compulsory.

“At present, there are no regulatory mechanisms to know which courier companies are operating in the country. We plan to bring changes in the legislation to ensure that all private courier operators register themselves and are accountable at some level,” Union Communications Minister Kapil Sibal said today.

Chennai, March 9
The Madras High Court today declined to issue a direction to the EC to postpone the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, scheduled to he held on April 13.

Disposing three petitions seeking a direction to the EC to postpone the elections, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice MY Iqbal and Justice TS Sivagnanam said they did not think it proper to postpone the election since all the examinations, including the higher secondary examinations, would be over before the elections.

However, the Bench directed the EC and Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer to follow a few conditions, so that the students and conduct of examinations were not affected. No teachers of schools, where exams are held, should be deployed or called for training before the completion of the examinations, the court said and no vehicles owned by educational institutions should be requisitioned or seized before April 11 for the purpose of elections. 

New Delhi, March 9
The Congress is finding it difficult to explain why despite PM Manmohan Singh’s statement in Parliament, owning responsibility for the appointment of PJ Thomas as CVC and admitting ignorance of pending corruption case against the senior bureaucrat, there is no talk of fixing the accountability for the lapse, for which ministers concerned are now passing the buck on to others.

Congress spokespersons term PM’s statement a reflection of his “magnanimity” and respect to the SC’s decision that overturned Thomas’ appointment. “It was a bonafide and not a malafide error,” party spokesman Manish Tewari says. However, what the party leaders are finding it difficult to explain is why there is no talk of any visible reprimand even after those directly responsible with the appointment are busy washing their hands of it completely. “Ultimately, the buck stops with the PM,” a Congress leader explains grudgingly in private.

The PM yesterday said he was not aware of the corruption case against Thomas before appointing him to the post, an implicit indication of the role of former minister of state for department of personnel and training Prithviraj Chavan, now CM of Maharashtra. In turn, Chavan has blamed the Kerala government for clearing Thomas’ name. The party’s effort is now directed towards picking holes in the manner the SC went about the entire episode. 

BRIEFLY

Centre using CBI to target Modi: Shah
New Delhi: Former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah, an accused in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, on Wednesday contended in the Supreme Court that the charges against him were part of conspiracy hatched by the Centre to target Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Arguing for Shah before a Bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan, senior counsel Ram Jethmalani said the CBI had filed a false case against Shah at the instance of the Centre. — TNS

Prof thrashed
Khandwa: A professor at the Government Agriculture College here was on Wednesday beaten up by ABVP workers who stormed into his class and dragged him out alleging he had illicit relations with a girl student and molested others. Ashok Choudhary was taken by surprise as the ABVP members forced him out of the class, blackened his face and then thrashed him. A girl hit him with her sandals and then kicked him. Choudhary was rescued from the attackers by his colleagues. — PTI

RI for minister
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday confirmed the one-year rigorous imprisonment awarded to former Kerala Power Minister R Balakrishnan Pillai in a Rs 2-crore corruption case. Dismissing the review petitions filed by Pillai and two others involved in the case, a Bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan held that there was no merit in the plea. — TNS

Quota for women
Mumbai: The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal for 50 per cent reservation for women in local self-government bodies in the state.The announcement was made by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan after a meeting of the state cabinet.“We will introduce the Bill giving 50 per cent reservation to women in local government bodies in the ensuing budget session of the state legislature,” Chavan told reporters here. — PTI

Karate & Kasab
Mumbai: Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, who has been awarded death penalty for his role in the 26/11 attacks, is bidding his time by practising karate in the high-security Arthur Road jail here. "Kasab exercises and practises karate sometimes to kill his time. He also often strikes a conversation with the security guards deployed there to guard him round the clock," said a jail official. He appears to be knowing karate kicks very well, the official said. — PTI

Women's Bill
New Delhi: The Left on Wdnesday demanded an early passage of the Women Reservation's Bill, saying the legislation should not be "delayed" anymore as women demand equal space in the democratic set-up. "This issue cannot be delayed and postponed anymore," CPI leader D Raja said, adding, "no civilisation is a civilisation unless gender equality is acknowledged and established". The Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha last year and it is waiting to be cleared by the Lower House of Parliament since then. — PTI

Quota sought
Lucknow: All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) on Wednesday demanded separate quota for Shia Muslims in government jobs, Lok Sabha and the state assemblies. "Shia community is deprived of its rights and it is need of the hour to provide reservation to them in government jobs. Seats should be reserved for them in state assemblies and in Lok Sabha according to their population," AISPLB President Maulana Mohammad Athar told reporters here. — PTI