Mumbai, April 11
The Income Tax Department today raided Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital after the Supreme Court issued notices to various agencies in connection with a petition filed over the functioning of the institution.

Tax officials arrived at the hospital premises early in the morning and zeroed in on the finance, purchase, biomedical and pharma departments. According to sources, senior officials of the hospital in charge of these departments are being questioned.

Apart from the hospital, tax officials have conducted raids on the premises belonging to the trustees and promoters of the hospital. Two companies - Mayfair Realtors and Vesta Infrastructure - that had lent Rs 14 crore to the Lilavati Trust in 2001-02, have also been raided, according to sources. Documents, computer hard disks and removable data have been seized from the hospital premises for further scrutiny.

Last week, the apex court had issued notices to agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, CBI and other bodies in connection with a petition filed by one Harsh Raghuvanshi against the trustees of the hospital. The petition stated that the trustees of the hospital - Prabodh Mehta, Rashmi Mehta, Chetan Mehta and Bhavin Mehta - were indulging in money laundering and were siphoning off funds from the hospital to Mauritius via the hawala route.

Confirming the raids, a statement released by the Lilavati Hospital said the institution was functioning normally. “The functioning of the hospital is unaffected and the patients are being taken care of,” Niket Vijay Mehta, managing trustee, said.

New Delhi, April 11
The Prime Minister’s Office has asked the Home Ministry for its opinion before any action is initiated on the findings of the VK Shunglu Committee. The committee has given its findings on the alleged irregularities in executing various infrastructure projects related to the Commonwealth Games by the Delhi Government.

The PMO has asked the Home Ministry to send its reply on the queries raised by the Shunglu panel on the work done by the city government-controlled departments.

In its third report on projects to upgrade city infrastructure, especially related to road and transport, the committee has noted that there was no special preparation by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) and blamed Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for her decisions that led to cost escalation in the CWG-related projects.“All projects require a host of preparatory actions before the start of the project on ground...These actions have to be initiated well in advance as they considerably take long time... the work should have started during 2005-06,” the report said.

The report added that there was “no special preparation by the GNCTD, despite constrained time frame”. It said the unfair cost advantage was given to contractors due to the compressed time frame and noted indication of “collusive bidding” by tenders floated by the PWD.

According to a conservative estimate by the panel, works worth over Rs 5,500 crore were carried out by the GNCTD, a majority of which - about 75 per cent - were executed by the PWD.

The major projects handled by the PWD, apart from three games & training venues (Thyagaraj, Chhatrasal and Ludlow Castle), included Barapullah elevated corridor, Ring Road Bypass, UP Link Road, street lighting, signage and 21 flyovers. 

Chennai, April 11
As the curtains come down on campaigning for Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the Election Commission is on its toes to curb cash flow that usually begins on the night campaigning ends.

Despite the stern measures, money distribution had began in several parts of the state. Since the elections have become a close race sans waves, parties believe that the distribution of money will play a crucial role in deciding the outcome. Therefore, many political parties, including the ruling DMK, AIADMK, Congress, actor Vijaykanth's DMDK and the PMK, have begun money distribution to voters at several places.

Admitting to this, Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Praveen Kumar said: “Despite the measures taken by the Election Commission to curb the menace, incidents of distribution of cash or gifts to lure voters have been detected in some constituencies.”

“The Election Commission of India has viewed it with a serious concern. The EC is watching the situation closely and in case the incidents are repeated, it shall be constrained to take stern measures as may become necessary,” the CEO said.

He said the Election Commission had taken several measures to check abuse of money power, following pleas by political parties at all-party meetings held prior to the notification of elections. Crores of rupees in cash have been seized in recent days in different parts of the state, he pointed out.

Police officials have been asked to search party offices, marriage halls and houses of the politicians from tonight to check the presence of outsiders in all the constituencies. They have also been instructed to check vehicles and the EC has also ordered closing of all the liquor shops till the polling ends.

The electoral authorities has been asked to maintain strict vigil to thwart any attempts of infiltration in the polling stations. If unlawful activities occurred during the polling, micro-observers would have to report the incident to the election observers.

Rs 2.87 lakh seized from DMK leader's house Ramanathapuram: Officials on Monday seized Rs 2.87 lakh and some documents relating to voters from the residence of a local DMK leader here, the party's election in charge for Theni district for the April 13 Assembly polls.

The seizure at the house of MA Sheikh was made by a joint team of election officials, police and IT authorities and the cash had not been properly accounted, officials said.

Sheikh, chairman of Ramanathapuram Cooperative Marketing Society, is a close confidant of Union Minister and DMK (South Zone) organising secretary MK Alagiri.

Officials said they also seized some documents relating to voters, which they suspect was meant for distributing money to the them. — PTI

Kerala embraced the United Democratic Front in the 2001 Assembly polls by giving it 100 out of 140 seats. In 2006, Keralites brought the Left Democratic Front to power by giving it the same number of seats. With only few days left for the 2011 elections, there is no sign of any such massive wave in favour of either front. In fact most of the pre-poll surveys conducted around 10 days ago have predicted a slender UDF victory. Having won 16 out of 20 Lok Sabha seats in the 2009 Parliamentary elections and 60 per cent local bodies in the panchayat-municipal elections in October 2010, the UDF camp expected the decadal trend to be repeated in the Assembly elections.

Corrective measures taken by the CPM that heads the LDF, coupled with a series of scandals involving leaders of Congress and UPA partners at the Centre and UDF leaders in the state, appear to have upset their calculations. These factors have led to a minor dilution in the minority consolidation that helped the UDF to make major electoral gains in 2009 and 2010. Muslim outfits like the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) that deserted the LDF in the wake of the 2009 electoral debacle have landed in political wilderness, while some like the Jamait-a-Islami have veered back to the LDF.

The Christians, who were daggers drawn against the LDF during the 2009 Lok Sabha poll, have abandoned their hostile approach. Even if a minor section of the Christian and Muslim communities adopt a pro-LDF stand in the April 13 poll as in 2006, the UDF may find the going tough. The UDF was hoping to sweep the Christian and Muslim belts this time. The trends indicate a strong fight by the LDF in some UDF pockets in the northern districts of Kasargod, Kannur and Malappuram and central districts of Thrissur, Ernakulam, Idukki and Kottayam.

The LDF is pinning their hope on the chord Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan has struck with women and the poor to wean away a chunk of the minority votes.

However, the unsavoury remarks Achuthanandan made recently against his former party colleague Sindhu Joy and his woman opponent at Malampuzha Latika Subhash have sparked outrage among women.

New Delhi, April 11
Amid fire-fighting efforts by the UPA regime on a plethora of domestic issues, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is leaving here tomorrow on a five-day tour of China and Kazakhstan to attend a meeting of the world’s fastest growing economies and hold crucial talks with their leaders.

Manmohan Singh, accompanied by a high-level delegation, is visiting the Chinese island resort of Sanya on the first leg of his tour to participate in the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) summit. From there, he will fly to the Kazakh capital of Astana on April 15 for a bilateral visit to the Central Asian nation.

Briefing reporters here on the eve of the visit, Manbir Singh, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry, confirmed that the Prime Ministers would have bilateral meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and other BRICS leaders on the margins of the summit.

Therefore, it is quite certain that all eyes will be on the bilateral meeting between Manmohan Singh and the Chinese leader in view of a number of issues that have cropped up in recent months in the Sino-Indian ties. Manmohan Singh is expected to raise some of the major issues during his meeting with President Hu.

Despite assurances, China has still not publicly stated that it would not issue stapled visas to Indian residents of Jammu and Kashmir. In July-August last, it denied visa to a top Indian Army General on the ground that he was commanding Indian forces in J&K. This incensed New Delhi no ends, forcing it to suspend military exchanges with Beijing. Earlier this month, a senior Indian Army office raised concerns over the Chinese activities in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The two leaders are also expected to discuss ways and means to achieve an ambitious bilateral trade target of 100 billion dollars by 2015.

The BRICS summit will be held on April 14. China has proposed ‘Broad Vision and Shared Prosperity’ as the overarching theme for the summit, which would see participation of South Africa for the first time. The summit leaders will have general discussions on the current international situation apart from taking up various economic and financial issues.

New Delhi, April 11
Thousands of Army jawans posted on the icy Himalayan heights bordering Pakistan and China will now get a new facility that will make their life easier in extreme cold. The Ministry of Defence has launched a pilot-project to set up insulated pre-fabricated shelters for jawans in high altitude areas.

At present, all high-altitude bunkers are heated using an oil-based heater and jawans have to be layered under clothing and snow shoes.

The move to have insulated shelters is being seen as a major morale booster for the jawans. Temperatures in Ladakh and Siachen can be as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius. The project will be progressively launched in all areas.

A company had last winter exhibited insulated shelters to the ministry that can be set up inside existing concrete bunkers to provide necessary insulation.

The move comes after soldiers pleaded with Defence Minister AK Antony that they should have some comfort as they defend hostile frontiers. Antony had visited the troops in the recent months, an army spokesperson said here last evening.

The project involves construction of insulated shelters at various posts on 
the borders on "an incremental module" concept using technology suitable to the terrain and weather conditions.

These hi-tech shelters will not only improve the living conditions of troops dramatically, but will also have a direct bearing on the individual capacity to perform better since terrain and weather impose severe restrictions on all ranks, the Army said.

The "light-weight, modular, pre-fabricated" shelters require minimum logistical and transportation efforts and are an apt answer to the climatic challenges that officers and soldiers face.

In addition, various types of bio-digesters, sewage treatment plants and composting toilets are being constructed to ensure better sewage disposal in extreme cold climatic conditions.

Chandigarh, April 11
The popular system of applying bar codes on items for inventory management could soon find its way into the Army to keep track of ammunition.

Based on the outcome of a pilot project carried out at the Ammunition Depot at Dappar near here, the Army is now studying the feasibility of extending the concept in its supply chain management. A team of software experts from the Army Headquarters reviewed the pilot project during its execution as well as afterwards.

Sources claimed the pilot project had validated that the bar coding technology was potent to handle ammunition asset visibility of 47 million rounds and over 47,200 boxes segregated into 315 stacks. It was also established that proliferation of the concept across the Army’s logistic support echelon was feasible and needed to be undertaken.

A bar code is an optical machine-readable representation of data through a series of vertical parallel lines with varying thickness and space, which gives out information about the object bearing it. These are widely found on items of day-to-day commodities, books and electronic items.

In India the use of bar codes by retrial outlets like supermarkets and garment stores had increased significantly over the past few years as it cuts down billing time while keeping a real-time track of stock levels.

Under the project implemented by the Army, ammunition data from bar codes was captured on a portable data terminal (PDT) by the person in charge of the depot’s magazine and subsequently, all technical activities like issue, receipt and internal movement of ammunition was done through PDTs.

Mumbai, April 11
Tata Sons Ltd has filed a criminal defamation complaint against news magazine 'Outlook' for publishing articles which had claimed that the group received "undue pecuniary advantage" from former Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie during divestment of state-owned VSNL in 2002.

In a criminal complaint filed before the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Mumbai, Tata Sons has claimed that an article published by 'Outlook' in its March 28, 2011 edition and another in the April 4, 2011 edition made "false and defamatory statements and harmed the reputation of the Tata business name".

According to the complaint, the article published by 'Outlook' in its March 28 edition titled "Arun Shourie's Gift to Tatas" suggests that the Tatas "received undue pecuniary advantage" from Arun Shourie in his capacity as Minister of Disinvestment in relation to the group's acquisition bid for 25 per cent stake in VSNL when it was privatised by the Centre in 2002. It further said another article published in April 4, 2011 edition titled "A Land of No Return", also related to the disinvestment of VSNL,"levelled certain additional allegations without any basis".

Tata Sons claimed that no attempt was made by the magazine to contact Tatas to seek clarifications before publishing the articles. "The defamatory article is clearly and deliberately motivated...The allegations, insinuations, innuendos contended therein are concocted, false and not verified," it said.

When contacted, Outlook Editor-In-Chief, Vinod Mehta said the magazine has not yet received any notice on the complaint and would not be able to comment on the matter. Apart from Mehta, Tata Sons' had also named Outlook printer and publisher Maheshwari Peri, and Author and Assistant Editor Saikat Datta in the complaint. In its complaint Tata Sons urged the court to "issue process against the accused" and they should be "tried according to law". — PTI

New Delhi, April 11
National Commission for Women (NCW) member Yasmeen Abrar has assumed charge as the acting chairperson of the commission on completion of the tenure of Girija Vyas, official sources said today. The six-year tenure of Girija Vyas had ended on April 8.

Abrar will hold the office of chairperson of the NCW till the vacancy is filled by a fresh nomination under the NCW Act, 1990.

She has been a member of the NCW since 2005, and was nominated for a second term in 2008. Daughter of a well-known freedom fighter of Rajasthan and wife of late Abrar Ahmad, former Union Minister of State for Finance and Parliamentary Affairs, Abrar grew up in a political family and represented Sawai Madhopur constituency as member of Rajasthan Assembly from 1998 to 2003. She had also been a consultant with Rashtriya Mahila Kosh. — PTI

New Delhi, April 11
In a relief to former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje, the Supreme Court today quashed the setting up of a commission by the Ashok Gehlot government to inquire into cases of alleged corruption during her tenure.

A bench of Justices DK Jain and HL Dattu said proper procedure was not followed by the state government in setting up of the NN Mathur Commission and all the cases of alleged corruption could be probed by the Lokayukta.

The bench dismissed the petition of the state government, which had approached the apex court challenging Rajasthan High Court’s order setting aside the appointment of the commission.

Declaring the constitution of the commission illegal, the HC had directed that all the cases of corruption pending before the commission be referred to the Lokayukta.

The Gehlot government had constituted the NN Mathur Commission by an order on January 23, 2009, to inquire into charges of abuse of power, loss to the state exchequer and corruption, including misconduct, irregularities and misappropriation of funds from 2004 to 2008, when Raje was the Chief Minister of the state.

Challenging the HC order, the state said the multi-member panel was appointed to maintain a high standard of administration. — PTI