Kolkata, April 26
Police sergeants in this eastern metropolis are required to be six feet tall, among other stringent requirements. They have an imposing presence, riding their red ‘Bullets’, armed with walkie-talkies and occasionally firearms. There are 500 of them in the city but, we have it from the country’s Home Minister now, only nine of them happen to be Muslims.

It was an embarrassing disclosure in a city, where every seventh man is said to be a Muslim, their lives documented with finesse in the film “The Seventh Man” by late Ain Rashid Khan, an IPS officer of the West Bengal cadre. Concentration of Muslims in some districts in North Bengal, districts bordering Bangladesh and in South 24 Parganas is appreciably higher.

The Union Home Minister was well prepared to launch the ‘unkindest cut’. He informed the media that out of over 1,600 Home Guards in the city, Muslims numbered only 35; that although the city had 600 fire fighters, there are only 11 Muslims among them. He added, for good measure, that while 500 policemen were recruited ( presumably in the city) last year, only two of them happened to be Muslims.

Chidambaram made the disclosure before venturing into South 24 Parganas to campaign for the Congress candidate pitted against one of the longest-serving ministers in the state government, Abdul Rezzaq Mollah. He has never lost an election since 1977 and the Congress was never very keen to contest for the seat in CPM’s backyard.

Last week it was the turn of the Prime Minister to pick holes in the Left Front’s secular credentials. More Muslims held government jobs in states like Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka than in West Bengal.

The revelation could not have at a worse time for the Left Front government in the state, fighting with its back to the wall an election that threatens to dislodge them after 34 long years. Alienation of minority voters from the Left is something that the state government has tried very hard to correct during the last few months, announcing a 10-per cent reservation in jobs for the ‘Backward’ Muslims. But it only served to fuel more cynicism among Muslim voters, who once swore by the Left Front.

The Left Front’s record in maintaining communal harmony after the demolition of the Babri mosque, during the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 and during the post-Godhra rioting in Gujarat, possibly made them complacent. But extending protection to the minorities did not make the Left Front government completely secular either. Indeed, it failed to bridge the deep-rooted prejudices that go back to the Bengal riots just before Partition of the country.

The Sachar Committee report had exposed how Muslims held only about four per cent of state government jobs though they constituted over 20 per cent of the population.

The fiasco in Nandigram, where CPM cadres falsely spread the word that farmers’ land were to be acquired for a petro-chemical complex and, when farmers resisted the move, drove many of them out of the area, proved to be the last straw. While the farmers, with help from the Trinamool and the Maoists, recovered their lost ground, the cadres were once again unleashed to regain the turf, with disastrous results and loss of lives.

The curious case of Rizwanur Rahman, a young computer instructor with whom the daughter of an industrialist Ashok Todi eloped, further alienated the Muslims. The state and the police put pressure on Rizwanur’s family to annul the marriage and persuaded the girl to return to her family. Days later , Rizwanur’s dead body was found beside railway tracks. Rizwanur’s brother is now contesting the election as a Trinamool Congress candidate.

While the wounds do not seem to have healed, the Left Front is certainly relieved over Mamata Banerjee’s failure to cement an alliance with Indian Democratic Conference of India ( IDCI) of Siddikullah Choudhury, who provided leadership to the Muslims post-Nandigram. With IDCI forging a third front of sorts with former CPM rebels like Saifuddin Choudhury, Banerjee may well rue ignoring overtures from the IDCI.

There is an undeniable shift of Muslim votes in the state from the Left Front. They could well spell the difference between a mere victory and triumph.

Lucknow/New Delhi, April 26
In a new twist in the Arunima case, the Government Railway Police today claimed that she was disturbed and might have either attempted suicide or met with an accident but the athlete rubbished the investigations, saying she being “mentally harassed” by the police.

The GRP said it had found loopholes in the version of 23-year-old Arunima Sinha, a national-level football and volleyball player, that she lost her leg after being thrown out of a train by robbers in Bareilly.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, ADG (Railways) AK Jain said: “The investigations point out that Arunima was disturbed and she either attempted suicide or met with an accident. We will unravel it in the next few days”.

“The loot attempt as alleged by her was not corroborated in the investigation by any of the witnesses,” he said.

During investigation, it was found that no physical test for ITBP was scheduled for April 11 in Noida, where Arunima said she was heading.

Also, she was found at a spot, which was 16 feet away from the up track on which Padmavat express passed and she was lying on the far side of the adjacent down track, the investigators said, adding that it was impossible to land so far, if pushed out of the train.

Arunima's version that the speed of the train was very fast was also found to be “untrue” as after halting for 12 minutes at Chanaiti Railway Station in Bareilly, Padmavat Express moved 250 meters (the spot, where she was found), where the speed could not have been more than 8km/hour, according to the investigators.

The investigators feel that Arunima had crossed the railway line.

Claiming that her visit to Delhi was unplanned, the investigators said Arunima was in touch with her brother-in-law Om Prakash Tripathi till 2.30 am while she was at Charbagh Station in Lucknow on April 10.

According to her mobile records, before coming to the station she made a call to her friend Sanjay in New Delhi from Kursi road.

Sanjay had told police that Arunima was disturbed and suddenly made a plan to visit Delhi. When asked about the police view, Arunima, who is undergoing treatment at the AIIMS, said: “I am being mentally harassed” by the police.

“I don't know whether the police is with me or against me. I was going to CISF’s Noida office to enquire about the centre for physical exam scheduled for May 7 and to ensure a correction in my date of birth in the call letter I had received,” Arunima said. “If the GRPF is not satisfied then it is their problem. What I stated is true. Five robbers had tried to rob me of my chain,” Arunima said from the hospital bed.

After conducting initial investigations the Railway police said the chain Sinha claimed to be stolen was found in her wallet.

To this she replied: “I never said the chain was stolen. “

When asked how she landed 16 feet away from track, the athlete said, “I was not so far..But I don’t remember whether my foot came under Padmavat Express on any other train”.

Asked why the railway police was disputing her version, she said: “They are trying to save themselves. They fear that I may ask them for a job. They are playing politics with me.” Besides losing her leg, Arunima also sustained injuries on her spine and pelvic.

Doctors at AIIMS treating her today said they would conduct another two rounds of surgery in a few days for infection reduction on her amputated leg before performing operation for other injuries she has suffered. — PTI

Puttaparthi, April 26
Covers have been erected to give them protection against the April sun and water pouches are being thrust in their hands for quenching thirst. Food - fried rice in the afternoon and evening and “upma” and tea at breakfast time - is being given to them. At last, the ordinary devotees, who have come from far and wide to pay their last respect to Sai Baba, are being taken care of.

With the focus of the administration remaining firmly on providing quick passage to VVIPs visiting Puttaparthi in the wake of Sai Baba’s death, the residents of this town have taken upon themselves the job of looking after the devotees pouring into this town from various places of India and abroad.

They have been continuously arriving in this town since Sunday after it was announced that Sathya Sai Baba was no more. Today, being the last day of the “darshan” of Sathya Sai Baba’s body, the number of people present at Puttaparthi to pay their last regards to the godman was at an all-time high.

The crowd had become thin in the intervening night between Sunday and Monday and there was no queue as such in the early hours of Monday morning for the darshan. Later in the morning a huge queue was once again seen snaking its way toward Kulwanth Hall, where the Sathya Sai Baba’s body has been kept for the darshan. Since then there has been no let up in the darshan, including last night when it continued in full swing.

The unending flow of devotees has forced the authorities to extend the deadline for the darshan to 10 pm today. It was earlier announced that darshan would be stopped at six in the evening today to prepare for the last rites of Sai Baba to be carried out at 9.30 am on Wednesday.

Bhaskar Reddy, owner of Sai Swetha Lodge in Puttaparthi, was one of many Puttaparthi residents who, along with his wife, is distributing food and water to the tired devotees standing in the queue for long hours. “I feel indebted to Sathya Sai Baba. It is only because of the presence of Sathya Sai Baba in Puttaparthy that my business has flourished”, he said.

Devotees, who have already completed “darshan”, are also organising refreshments for the devotees. Daniel, a resident of Johannesburg of South Africa, said, “I did darshan three times on Sunday and once yesterday. Today the queue is simply too big and some of us cooked food today and distributed it among the people standing in the queue”.

There is also no let up in politicians coming to Puttaparthy to pay their last regards to Sathya Sai Baba. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi flew to Puttaparthy today in an IAF plane to pay their homage to the godman. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi also visited Kulwant Hall this morning, while senior BJP leader L K Advani is expected to attend Sathya Sai Baba’s last rites tomorrow.

Ahmedabad, April 26
Fourteen policemen involved in the Ishrat Jahan encounter today alleged there was “serious groupism and infighting” among senior IPS officers in Gujarat as a result of which they were being victimised and they have approached the high court for transferring the case. The case relating to the encounter should be transferred either to the CBI or any other Special Investigation Team (SIT) and there should be no officer of state police on board, they said in an application before the Gujarat High Court.

Ishrat Jahan, along with three others - Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar - had been killed on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004, in a police encounter. IPS officer GL Singhal and 13 other policemen in the application alleged that “on account of serious groupism and infighting among senior ranked IPS officers” they were being victimised in Gujarat.

The policemen stated that they are anticipating arrest by the present SIT, which has now virtually become a one-man team of IPS officer Satish Verma, following the April 21 order by a high court Bench comprising Justice Patel and Justice Abhilasha Kumari. In their application, the policemen have said: “Verma is acting either at the behest of or in connivance with senior IPS officers, who like Satish Verma are harbouring personal grudge against them, for reasons best known to them”. — PTI

Indore, April 26
Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blast case and murder of RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi, today claimed that she was innocent and had been framed by ‘non-believers’.

The 38-year-old Pragya told reporters that she was a sanyasin who had not taken part in any conspiracy, adding that she was framed by some of the leading politicians.

“I am a patriot. I would live and die for the country,” the Sadhvi said.

She said that she still had pain in her back and yet doctors at MY hospital here had given a false report and discharged her from there.

She was brought here from Mumbai by train on Monday for a hearing in court at Dewas in connection with her alleged role in the killing of Sunil Joshi. — PTI

As the questioning by ED concluded, Singh left tonight for Chennai en route New Delhi, according to Raj Niwas sources. “The questioning was done by a four-member team of the ED from 12 noon to 3.30 pm,” Singh’s Private Secretary S Srinivasan told reporters here.

Singh was alone during the questioning, he said, adding he could not confirm whether it was videographed. Asked whether the ED team, which had grilled Singh for nearly five hours yesterday, would come back again or had left Puducherry, Srinivasan said “I have no information.” Police sources said the ED team had left the UT.

Singh was in the eye of a storm for his action as a Congress Rajya Sabha member in 1997 in recommending expeditious issue of passport to Khan, a Pune-based stud farm owner. Singh admitted that he did make such recommendation on humanitarian grounds as he was told that Khan needed to travel abroad to visit his ailing brother. He however claimed he did not know Khan. — PTI

New Delhi, April 26
Sikkim High Court Chief Justice PD Dinakaran today moved the Supreme Court seeking stay of the impeachment proceedings initiated against him for alleged misconduct and corruption.

Justice Dinakaran challenged the proceedings before a three-member Rajya Sabha-appointed inquiry panel, which has been hearing the charges of alleged land grabbing and possession of wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.

He has sought quashing of the order of the panel, which has refused his plea for the recusal of senior advocate PP Rao on the ground that he was biased against him.

The panel, headed by Justice Aftab Alam of the Supreme Court, also includes Karnataka High Court Chief Justice JS Khehar, besides Rao. Justice Dinakaran, in his petition, submitted that there was likelihood of bias in the proceedings as Rao had earlier campaigned against him when his elevation to the Supreme Court was under consideration.

“If there is reasonable likelihood of bias, it is in accordance with natural justice and common sense that the judge likely to be so biased should be incapacitated from sitting. The basic principle underlying the rule is that justice must not only be done, but must also appear to be done,” the petition submitted.

It alleged that Rao was part of a delegation of lawyers, which met the then Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan in 2009 to oppose his elevation to the Supreme Court.

Challenging the panel’s decision of rejecting his plea, the beleaguered judge pleaded that it was in violation of natural justice.

“The impugned order passed by the Judges Inquiry Committee allowing a biased member to continue to serve as a member of the committee is hit by the principles of natural justice and, hence, violative of Article 14 of the Constitution,” he said.

He pleaded that the apex court should quash the order passed by the panel on the recusal of Rao. The panel had on April 24 rejected Dinakaran’s plea against Rao saying the objection should have been raised at the start of the proceedings. Rao did not participate in the meeting when this application was discussed. The panel had also rejected his plea of staying the proceedings till he is supplied with all documents in the case.

Charges against Justice Dinakaran, who is due to retire on May 9, 2012, were levelled when he was Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court. He was subsequently transferred to the Sikkim High Court. — PTI

New Delhi, April 26
The Centre today asked the state governments to ensure that all legal entitlements under the Right to Education Act are displayed as wall writings in schools and a system of registration and redressal of students’ complaints is evolved at the earliest.

The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry said registration of grievances should be permitted using different modes such as post, telephone and Internet and receipt for each complaint issued to the complainant.

The move comes a year after the Act came into operation on April 1, 2010, with the system of processing of complaints remaining weak. At the meeting of state education secretaries today, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal agreed to a long-standing observation of the National Commission for the Protection of Children (NCPCR), which said the Act lacked an effective grievance redressal mechanism though it named local authorities as redressing agencies. As monitor for the law, the NCPCR found in its year-long review that 90 per cent parents and students did not not know where to go and who to approach for their complaints.

That is passé now, with Sibal saying states should evolve a redressal mechanism under the Act and such a mechanism should list legal entitlements guaranteed by the law; designate officers responsible for providing each of these entitlements and also designate persons who will hear grievances of students and parents.

“So far no child knows who will register his complaint, who will conduct the inquiry and who will follow up. Considering the urgent nature of RTE related complaints, we had proposed a grievance redressal mechanism so that parents and students are not harassed,” Kiran Bhatti, coordinator, RTE division in the NCPCR, today told TNS.

Back in the ministry, Sibal underlined to the state secretaries the nuances of the mechanism, saying it should specify the time schedule for disposing off complaints; register grievances through email or post and issue a receipt, mentioning the date, the time frame in which the grievance is sought to be redressed, contact details of the person responsible for dealing with the grievance and a list of who to appeal to in case the complaint is not processed in time.

The new proposed mechanism under the law also requires that the result of the investigation be conveyed to the complainant in writing.

New Delhi, April 26
The government today launched negotiable warehouse receipts system to help farmers gain access to loans from banks and avoid distress sale of agricultural commodities.

The receipts issued by the warehouses registered with the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) would become a fully negotiable instrument backed by a Central legislation. They would allow transfer of ownership of a commodity stored in a warehouse without having to deliver it in the physical form.

After the launch Food Minister KV Thomas said, “Banks will have more faith in such negotiable warehouse receipts and farmers would be able to seek loans easily against these receipts.”

The receipt system would also enhance banks’ interest in lending in respect of farm goods deposited by farmers in the registered warehouses, said Thomas, adding that receipts would increase liquidity in the rural areas and encourage scientific warehousing of goods.

Warehouse receipts were made negotiable under the Warehouse (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007 and regulated by the WDRA.

Pointing out that farm loan at high interest rate of 11 per cent to small and marginal farmers is creating hardships, the minister said, “I have already taken up this issue with the Finance Ministry. I am confident that in due course, efforts will be made to get crop loan at concessional rate of 4 per cent extended to post-harvest management loan.”

Lucknow, April 26
Taking a serious view of the Meerut district administration’s reported delay in reaching the trouble spot to control escalating communal tension, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today suspended DIG JN Singh and transferred district magistrate SC Sharma.

Addressing the media, Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh said Mayawati had issued orders that in future action would not be restricted to the junior officers like the Circle Officer and the Station Officer, but would place responsibility on the senior officers as well.

The decision to take action against senior district officials was taken after DGP Karmvir Singh and Principal Secretary Kunwar Fateh Bahadur Singh briefed the CM on the communal tension in Meerut yesterday.

There was large-scale arson in Qazipur area under Kharoda police station on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday following some people reportedly beating up the Imam of a mosque after they were told that cold drinking water was not available in the mosque.

According to preliminary investigations, the police sat over the imam’s complaint resulting in the incident acquiring communal colour. There was widescale arson that continued through the night destroying business establishments and residences In the incident, eight persons received burn injuries.

BRIEFLY

PF scam accused surrenders
GHAZIABAD: Absconding accused, Lokesh Kumar, in the 2008 Rs 6.58 crore Provident Fund scam has surrendered before the special CBI court here. "The accused surrendered on Monday before special CBI court Judge Shyam Lal, who has sent him to the district jail," sources said. — PTI

Dalit shot dead
MUZAFFARNAGAR: A 40-year-old Dalit man was allegedly shot dead when he opposed eve-teasing by three men, the police said on Tuesday. Karam Chand was shot dead by Amresh, Ramesh and Dhanpal - belonging to the Jat community - when he tried to stop them from harassing a Dalit woman at Nirgajni village. — PTI