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Cops: Rich forensic haul from
three sites
Advani: Policy, not intelligence, lapse
Bustling gem hub takes a big hit
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Failure of security set-up, say SP, RJD
It’s difficult to stop all
terror attacks: Rahul
Who could be behind the Mumbai blasts?
Netizens livid over ‘rail roko’ by Telangana activists
Debates on judicial overreach unfortunate, says apex court
Allahabad HC directs CBI to investigate Sachan’s death
Ishrat case: SIT submits
progress report to HC
Telangana stir rekindles Bodos’ statehood demand
More Trouble for women’s Reservation Bill
Bill will end Muslim presence in House, says Owaisi
Info on property may soon be just a click away
Can’t be forced to take DNA test: Tiwari to HC
Gogoi announces Rs 14 relief per LPG cylinder
Will clear Posco plant status in 2 days, says Yeddyurappa
SC reserves verdict on Kerala temple treasure
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Cops: Rich forensic haul from
three sites
Mumbai, July 14 Having gained from the experience of past terror attacks in the city, forensic experts from the Mumbai police were among the first to arrive as soon as the reports of the blasts came in on Wednesday evening. "Our experts were on the job within half an hour. So far, we have collected a number of vital clues," a police officer posted at Zaveri Bazaar told this reporter on Thursday morning. The forensic experts, in white gloves, were still on the job more than 12 hours after the blast, meticulously going through the areas for any clues they may have missed last evening. Police sources say they have found traces of ammonium nitrate from the debris at the blast sites. The IEDs at Opera House and Zaveri Bazaar had more than two kilograms of tightly packed explosives, the police said. Some ball bearings and metal pieces that may have been part of the improvised explosive devices have also been taken for further investigations. As of now, investigators suspect that timers had been used to set off the bombs. In earlier explosions carried out by various terror organisations, investigators had found SIM cards at blast sites which indicated that the bombs were set off by mobile phones. Apart from the forensic team from the city police, experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad and the National Investigating Agency, New Delhi are thoroughly scanning the area to collect evidence. Sources say the police has also found some CCTV footage. Though the CCTV cameras, installed at two buildings near the blast sites, were damaged, investigators have taken possession of the computer hard disks where the footage was recorded.
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Advani: Policy, not intelligence, lapse
Mumbai, July 14 Condemning the explosions in Mumbai yesterday, Advani said the only way the Indian Government could deal with terror would be to shed its ambivalence and adopt zero tolerance towards terrorism. He also said Pakistan's powerful spy agency ISI should be declared a “terrorist organisation”. “ The Indian Government must shed its ambivalence towards terrorism. It should declare that its policy against terrorism will be of zero tolerance. It must be categorical that there will be no tolerance towards terrorism after yesterday's attacks,” Advani told reporters. Maintaining that no purpose would be served by engaging in a dialogue with Pakistan until the terror infrastructure was dismantled, the former deputy prime minister said the terror strikes were “not failure of intelligence but failure of policy”. He alleged that terror attacks in India were a proxy war waged by Pakistan for several decades. He deplored that Mumbai has become the favourite target of terrorists, whether from within or from the neighbouring country. “Some say that the Indian Mujahideen is behind the attacks. Even if it is the Indian Mujahideen, they get their sustenance from Pakistan,” Advani said. “We cannot change our history or geography,” he said about India's neighbours. “Except for a few elements, rest of the Pakistanis are not happy with their country's obsession with Kashmir,” he said. Referring to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, he said there was talk in some quarters about the involvement of non-state actors. “The ISI is not a non-state actor. The ISI is a part of the Pakistani establishment,” Advani said. — PTI
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Bustling gem hub takes a big hit
Mumbai, July 14 “We are observing a bandh to protest against the ghastly terror act. This is the third time that these areas have been attacked by terrorists," says Amit Jain, a jeweller. While Zaveri Bazar has rows and rows of gold jewellery shops attracting hundreds of buyers every day, Opera House is the hub of diamond trade. In particular, the Panchratna building at Opera House has scores of diamond-processing units that do a business of hundreds of crores of rupees every day. According to jewellers and diamond traders, their associations are holding a meeting to discuss the future plan of action. These organisations are demanding enhanced security in the area. In a statement here, the Bombay Bullion Association, which is spearheading the protests, said shops in this small area alone account for Rs 3 lakh crore trade every year. According to Prithviraj Kothari, who heads the BBA, the blasts have already caused apprehensions among importers and business associates. After a terror attack five years ago, jewellers and owners of diamond units here had got together and installed private security guards and closed-circuit televisions to keep an eye on people entering and exiting the area. However, all these security measures could not prevent yesterday’s blasts. Two years ago, the Maharashtra Government had initiated measures to shift the diamond traders to the Bharat Diamond Bourse at the Bandra Kurla Complex. However, a majority of small traders could not be accommodated and most of them continue to function from the Opera House area.
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Failure of security set-up, say SP, RJD
New Delhi, July 14 “This has to be accepted that despite the 26/11 attacks, one more incident has taken place in Mumbai and we could not get prior information. Chidambaram should not have made such a statement that there was no failure (on part of intelligence agencies). It is a failure,” SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav told reporters here. RJD chief Lalu Prasad said despite being aware of a "looming threat", the government was not alert in Mumbai. “Asking people to maintain restrain and sending dog squad at the blast sites won't help. If the Home Minister says there is no failure, then how did it happen. If there was intelligence input, why was it not prevented," he said. Lalu said "vague alerts" would not help in dealing with such situations. “There is no monitoring,” he said. —
PTI Uddhav slams Congress ‘inaction’ MUMBAI: Lambasting the Congress for alleged failure and inaction against terrorism, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray today said instead of just saluting the resilient spirit of Mumbaikars, the government should see to it that innocent people don't suffer. “The (Congress) rulers salute Mumbai's spirit and then easily forget everything. Why should innocent people suffer? Who will take responsibility (of the attack)? They (government) should be taken to task,” Uddhav told reporters outside J J Hospital where he had gone to visit some of the victims of yesterday's serial bomb blasts.
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It’s difficult to stop all
terror attacks: Rahul
Bhubaneswar, July 14 The AICC general secretary also praised the Maharashtra Government for the manner in which it responded to the latest attack, saying the response was prompt. “We are responding to it in a quite organised fashion,” he said at a press conference on the second day of his visit to Orissa. Rahul said though 99 per cent terror strikes in the country had been prevented due to vigilance and intelligence, the aim is to achieve a 100 per cent result. “We will stop 99 per cent of terror attacks but one per cent of attacks might get through,” he said. “It is very difficult to stop every single terrorist attack. The idea is that we have to fight terrorism at the local level. We have improved in leaps and bounds. But terrorism is something that it is impossible to stop all the time,” he said. He also conveyed his condolences to all the families affected by yesterday’s explosions. Reminded that there was no terror attack in the US after the 9/11 strike whereas India often faced the menace, Rahul said the Americans had been facing attacks in other places like Afghanistan. —
PTI
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Who could be behind the Mumbai blasts?
New Delhi, July 14 Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said it is too early to pinpoint the perpetrators, but the attacks could be in retaliation for a number of plots foiled by police or arrests, including of members from the Indian Mujahideen and Indian Maoists. A remote possibility is the Pakistan-based separatist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), known for its sympathies for al Qaeda and blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 persons. Other groups that could have reasons to carry out the strike include groups fighting for independence of the Kashmir region, Maoist rebels or local mafia. About Lashkar-e-Toiba
The "army of the pure" is one of the largest Islamic militant groups in South Asia but has not been operating recently. Once nurtured by Pakistan's military to fight India in Kashmir, it is now under a tight leash since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, for fear of a new attack that would invite retribution on Pakistan. The group claimed responsibility for the attack on an army base in New Delhi's historic Red Fort which killed three people in late 2000 and for an assault on India's parliament in 2001 that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a fourth war. In 2005, it was blamed for bomb attacks on markets in New Delhi that killed more than 60 people. The United States has designated the LeT as a "foreign terrorist organisation". Pakistan banned it in 2002, but critics say it long operated openly under different names. About Indian Mujahideen The Indian Mujahideen is described by global intelligence firm Stratfor as "a relatively amateurish group that's been able to carry out low to medium intensity attacks". While its members are mostly local Muslims, the group is suspected of having been trained and backed by militant groups in neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh. The group first emerged during a wave of bombings in north India in 2007. They have since claimed responsibility for bomb attacks in the cities of Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and New Delhi. The last attack they claimed was in 2010 in the western city of Pune, where a bomb blast at a tourist spot killed nine people. — Reuters The local mafia Mumbai is home to several powerful organised criminal gangs that run extortion, money laundering and smuggling rackets. The biggest of these gangs, led by fugitive Dawood Ibrahim, has been accused of carrying out strikes on behalf of Pakistan-based militant and intelligence groups. Ibrahim's gang is blamed for 1993 blasts. Why Mumbai? Why now? India has long been under the threat of militant attacks by a variety of groups ranging from separatists in the northeast to Hindu nationalists and Islamists. But there is a possibility the latest strike could be aimed at scuttling fledgling attempts to revive the peace process between New Delhi and Islamabad. India and Pakistan have recently begun talks that were frozen after the 2008 Mumbai attacks and some of the progress has surprised observers. But an attack linked to Pakistan will almost certainly put pressure on India to pull out of talks and take a hardline stance.
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Netizens livid over ‘rail roko’ by Telangana activists
Hyderabad, July 14 The popular sites like Facebook and Twitter served as an effective forum for people from various walks of life to express their views on the agitation and the enormous hardship it is causing to the common public. Several users noted that passengers from other states and cities, including Maharashtra, were stranded as several trains passing through the volatile Telangana region were cancelled in view of the “rail roko” agitation. “When India is writhing in pain over the serial bomb blasts, Telangana activists are seen dancing on the railway tracks. It is shameful,” a Facebook user said in his status message. Another tweeted “It is high time such agitations are banned.” There was an overwhelming sense of outrage over “rail roko” agitation which besides causing severe inconvenience to general public reflected an insensitive approach of the organisers. Many commented that the organisers should have called off the programme in view of the Mumbai tragedy. There was an outpouring of anger by netizens, targeting Prof M odandaram, a political science professor at Osmania University and the convener of the all-powerful Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC). “Professor of political science needs lessons in civic science,” said one of the status messages. The train services, including the movement of goods in the volatile region, came to a standstill following the blockade. The South Central Railway (SCR), with its headquarters in Secunderabad, had cancelled 31 express and 116 passenger trains, besides partially cancelling 20 express and 14 passenger trains and rescheduling 23 and diverting 23 express trains. It also cancelled the local trains in the twin cities. The passengers had a horrid time as protestors belonging to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Telugu Desam Party, BJP and other organisations blocked movement of trains at several places in Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda districts.
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Debates on judicial overreach unfortunate, says apex court
New Delhi, July 14 A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly made the remark while enhancing the compensation awarded to the family of a worker who died while cleaning a sewer in Delhi. The Delhi High Court had directed payment of Rs 1.71 lakh, which was raised to Rs 5 lakh by the Supreme Court while rejecting the appeal filed by the Delhi Jal Board. The appeal was “illustrative of how the state apparatus is insensitive to the safety and wellbeing of those who are, on account of sheer poverty, compelled to work under most unfavourable conditions and regularly face the threat of being deprived of their lives,” Justice Singhvi pointed out while writing the 45-page judgment for the Bench. An NGO had taken up the victim’s case to the High Court. The Supreme Court said it wanted to “erase the impression and misgivings of some people” that the high courts and the apex court were exceeding “the unwritten boundaries of their jurisdiction” by entertaining petitions filed by social action groups/activists/workers and NGOs for espousing the cause of the illiterate poor who “silently suffer” due to the actions and omissions of the state apparatus, agencies and their instrumentalities or even private individuals.
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Allahabad HC directs CBI to investigate Sachan’s death
Lucknow, July 14 The bench, comprising Justices Pradeep Kant and Ritu Raj Awasthi, passed the order on a PIL seeking a CBI probe into the death of Sachan, who was found hanging on June 22 night with multiple injuries in the jail toilet. The PIL was filed by a local journalist Sachidanand Gupta. Despite the state orders issued yesterday for a CBI probe by the state government, the petitioner and Sachan’s family members today argued that the government’s proposal will take time to reach the central investigating agencies and, eventually, the Centre may even reject the request. Following this plea, the court issued directions to the Director, CBI to initiate a probe without any delay. During the hearing of the PIL on July 12, the state government had cast doubts over the CBI's autonomy and had requested the High Court to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case. After hearing both the sides, the High Court on that day had reserved its order for July 14. The deceased deputy CMO was believed to be a key accused in the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam and in the murder of his two seniors-CMOs (family welfare) Dr VK Arya and Dr BP Singh-within a span of six months. The state government had claimed that Dr Sachan had indeed committed suicide. However, a major embarrassment was caused when the judicial probe ordered into his death categorically established that Sachan’s death was homicide and not suicide. Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Rajesh Upadhyaya’s probe report named the jailor of Lucknow district jail and three other jail officials as suspects in the case. Deputy jailor Sunil Kumar, head warden Babu Ram Dubey and Warden Pandhir Singh have already been suspended in this connection. But the name of jailor BS Mukund name has figured for the first time for involvement in the crime In a 77-page report the CJM said: “Generally it is seen that when a literate person commits suicide, he leaves behind a suicide note. But no suicide note was found.” The judicial report also challenged the government’s allegation that Dr Sachan had a hand in the murder of former CMO Singh. The motive, the government had contended, was to silence Dr Singh, who had threatened to initiate a case of financial irregularities against Dr Sachan. The report, however, said, “No personal enmity (of Dr Sachan) with anybody was found”. — PTI
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Ishrat case: SIT submits
progress report to HC
Ahmedabad, July 14 The report was submitted following directions from the division bench of Justices Jayant Patel and Abhilasha Kumari at the last hearing. The next hearing is tomorrow, when the court is expected to review the progress and decide on the new chairman of SIT. The SIT last week reconstructed the encounter at the scene of offence near Kotarpur, on the outskirts of the city. The reconstruction was done for the second time with the help of forensic experts from All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Central Forensic Science Laboratory. During the last hearing, the recently-appointed SIT chairman, Satyapal Singh, had requested to be relieved of the responsibility. Among various reasons for quitting, Singh had highlighted the differences between the other two members of SIT(Mohan Jha and Satish Verma). Court had then asked the Union government to suggest names of officers to replace Singh. —
PTI
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Telangana stir rekindles Bodos’ statehood demand
Guwahati, July 14 The Bodo Peoples Front (BPF), a political party of Bodo tribe, on Saturday said it was closely watching the development over Telangana agitation and awaiting the final response from the Centre to it. Leader of the BPF Hagrama Mohilary said, “A separate Bodoland has been a long-standing demand of us. However, when we signed the Bodo Peace Accord in February 2003, the then NDA government at the Centre told us that there was no policy to grant any more state in the country and hence we settled for Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).” He further said, “In case the present UPA regime relents to the Telengana movement and create a separate state, then our demand for statehood too has to be fulfilled automatically.” The BPF was formed by the leaders of the now disbanded Bodo insurgent group, Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT), after it had signed the Bodo Peace Accord with the government in 2003 after a prolonged armed rebellion in Bodo tribe dominated landscape in Assam throughout 1990s till the signing of the peace accord. The BLT’s key demand was creation of a separate state for Bodo tribe in Assam, which failed to cut ice with the then NDA government at the Centre. The BPF is in the seat of power in Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), which was created under the provisions of the Amended Sixth Schedule as per the Bodo Peace Accord. However, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has already stated that his government in principle is not in favour of further division of Assam in response to any statehood movement.
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More Trouble for women’s Reservation Bill
New Delhi, July 14 The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav was the most vociferous in his protest. “There are other important issues like inflation and corruption to discuss rather than the Women’s Quota law which is a conspiracy in the name of women. Women of backward classes and minorities will be made sacrificial goats. We are not against women’s reservation but we won’t support the present draft as it doesn’t address the concerns of Muslim, OBC and dalit women,” Lalu said after the Speaker met smaller parties in the Lok Sabha to follow up on her larger - June 22-meeting on the subject. Asked if she had any hopes after the meeting, which was attended by opponents of the law, including the BSP, SP, RLD, RJD, MIM and some independents like Joynagar MP Tarun Mandal of the Socialist Unity Centre of India, the Speaker said, “We discussed the issue. I held this meeting because on International Women’s Day this year, the Leader of the House and the Leader of Opposition had urged me to weave a consensus around this law.” But that consensus was not to be. BSP’s Mulayam Singh also rejected the current Bill, saying, “We are not against women’s quota. We are against the current draft which fails to protect the interests of backward classes.” The NCP, represented by Praful Patel today, was the only party that backed the law today. These are sad bodings for the Bill at a time when UN Women has unveiled new global evidence supporting the merits of quotas as instruments to enhance women’s presence in Parliaments. Costa Rica, for instance, passed the historic Responsible Paternity Act 2001 to promote shared upbringing of children, just five years after mandating 40 per cent representation for women in its Parliament. In five other nations (Macedonia, Rwanda, Spain, Tanzania, Nepal) that used quotas to boost women in legislatures up to the extent of 40 per cent, laws to advance women’s rights followed like never before. Rwanda and Tanzania got laws to establish equality in inheritance and land rights; Spain appointed the first woman to preside over the Constitutional Court. Out of the 28 countries with more than 30 pc women in Parliaments, several pulled out of conflict, including the neighbouring Nepal, which has 33 pc women in the Parliament. But in India, even the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament doesn’t hold much promise for the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008 which seeks to reserve one third seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures. The Rajya Sabha had passed the Bill on March 8 last. This time, even the BJP is supporting the law with a rider. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj had said on June 22 that her party won’t allow the use of marshals to pass the law, as had been done in the Rajya Sabha.
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Bill will end Muslim presence in House, says Owaisi
New Delhi, July 14 Rejecting the law as “majoritarian” at the meeting organised by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Owaisi later told The Tribune that his party and all other Muslim MPs across party lines were against the women’s quota law as it would sound a death-knell for the representation of all Muslim MPs - male and female - in the Lok Sabha The MP cited the fact that the number of Muslim MPs in the Lok Sabha had been on a consistent decline. From 36 Muslims in the 14th LS, the number has come down to just 29 in the 15th, he said.
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Info on property may soon be just a click away
Chandigarh, July 14 The High Court’s Registrar (Rules) Virinder Aggarwal has also recommended carrying out a field survey to corroborate the information available in the records. He has also found “laudable” the idea of setting up property protection cells in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. The recommendations came after Justice M.M. Kumar on June 2 referred a letter on setting up the cells to Aggarwal for examining its feasibility. In response, the exhaustive five-page note prepared by Aggarwal was placed before Acting Chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice A.K. Mittal. Taking up suo motu cognizance, the Bench issued notice of motion to Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh before fixing October 14 as the next date of hearing. Aggarwal asserted the state has a constitutional duty to protect the properties of its citizens, “so they can enjoy life and property to its fullest extent”. Referring to “Plot and Property Management” scheme launched by the Haryana Urban Development Authority, Aggarwal asserted every allottee was provided with a user name and a password; “and from the luxury of his office/home, can track down the status of his plot/property…. Such type of initiative can be taken by the governments of Punjab, Haryana and UT”. Aggarwal has suggested the carrying out a survey of properties. The offices of registrar or sub-registrar “are required to manually capture all the date from their registration books regarding the ownership of the plots and properties, which is required to be matched with the field survey…so that properties which are travelling in the same family from generations can also be accounted for….” The statement of properties will then be forwarded to the owners for verification before floating authentic data on the website of the deputy commissioner’s office for the owner to ascertain the status through the user name and password. Property transactions to be carried out should then be verified from the authorities manning the cells. If it is being entered through power of attorney holder or an agent, the transaction should be verified by getting in touch with the owner through e-mail or telephone call and his consent should be obtained through the website as it “can only be given by the person having the user name and the password”, Aggarwal has asserted.
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Can’t be forced to take DNA test: Tiwari to HC
New Delhi, July 14 A hefty penalty would be slapped on the 87-year-old Congress leader every time he tried to avoid giving the DNA sample, Justice Gita Mittal said while slamming him for taking the stand that he could not be forcibly subjected to the test in view of the fact that he had been a freedom fighter and had spent his entire life in the service of the people. Today, Tiwari paid Rs 75,000 to Rohit as directed by the high court for filing a frivolous application raising objection to some contents in the paternity suit filed by the youth. In the affidavit filed today, Tiwari mentioned the reasons for refusing to give his blood sample. “At this age of mine and unblemished public record for approximately 70 years to this nation, I rely on Supreme Court judgments and feel protected against any compulsion for the DNA test,” he said. But the high court did not accept the contentions. The fact that he was a freedom fighter did not give him a licence to flout orders passed by the high court and the apex court directing him to undergo DNA test, the judge said. The court fixed the next hearing for July 21, expressing the hope that Tiwari would comply with the orders by then.
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Gogoi announces Rs 14 relief per LPG cylinder
Guwahati, July 14 This was announced by Assam Chief Minister and Finance Minister Tarun Gogoi while presenting the Rs 1,542.11 crore deficit state budget for 2011-12 in the state Assembly on Monday. Cost of a LPG cylinder in Assam was increased to Rs 406 after the recent two hikes affected by the Central Government. It will now be reduced to Rs 392 per cylinder after the relief granted by the state government. Gogoi also announced tax relief to tea exported from Assam.
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Will clear Posco plant status in 2 days, says Yeddyurappa
Bangalore, July 14 Hours after saying that the project would not come up in Gadag, Yeddyurappa said, "We are looking for alternative locations. Decision on the location of the plot where the project will come up will be announced in two days." Yeddyurappa said land would not be acquired unless all farmers in the Gadag region along with the seers arrived on a consensus on the issue. The Chief Minister, who is peeved over the JDS proposing to join the stir, had earlier said, "Posco plant will not come up in Gadag district, even if farmers come forward to give their land."
— PTI
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SC reserves verdict on Kerala temple treasure An apex court bench: “We are looking for an agency that could give suggestions addressing different dimensions of the security of the temple treasure. The said agency will identify who are the players, who will do which job (relating to protection and preservation of the treasure).” In a brief order, the court asked the Kerala government and the erstwhile rulers of Travancore to submit suggestions on the protection and preservation of the valuables. The court asked them to tell whether the treasure can be kept in the temple itself or housed in the museum adjoining it. Diamonds, rubies, gold jewellery and other valuables worth an estimated Rs 1 lakh crore have been found in chambers of the temple by a Supreme Court-appointed team. Five of the six chambers have been opened so far. In its affidavit, the state government told the apex court that the entire treasure belonged to the temple. It told the court that the secretary of the state government, who was the member of the team that oversaw the opening of the chambers, said that the treasure was not varied enough for display in a museum. The affidavit filed on behalf of the temple said that the treasure comprised of the offerings made to the deity and no part of it belonged to the ex-royal family of Travancore. However, a member of the ex-royal family of Travancore, Rama Varma said that the mere fact that the existence of treasure in the temple has become public was no justification for removing it from the temple. He asked the court not to issue any direction as to how the valuable possessions of the temple be used and kept. —
IANS Opening temple vault ‘B’ could invite deity’s wrath New Delhi, July 14 Advising the apex court against passing any direction, the affidavit claimed vault B (kallara) had an insignia of a “serpent” indicating that it would not be advisable to open the treasure trove. Alternatively, it said an appeasement ceremony be held before opening the vault to mollify the deity. “That opening of the last cellar namely ‘B’ is not advisable because the sign of the ‘serpent’ indicates that it is not auspicious to open it. However, a decision on this may be taken after conducting the traditional “deva prashnam”.
— PTI
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Bus falls into ditch
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Veteran BJP leader L K Advani today said “repeated” terror attacks on Mumbai reflected a failure of the country’s policy and not intelligence and strongly felt that Pakistan must be firmly told to dismantle its terror infrastructure.
Investigators began probing on Thursday the triple bomb blasts which killed 18 persons in
Mumbai, in the biggest attack since Pakistan-based militants rampaged through the city in 2008. No one has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's blasts, but security analysts say the pattern of the attack points to a local militant group called the Indian Mujahideen (IM).
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar had nothing positive to say as she emerged from over an-hour long meeting with known critics of the Women’s Reservation Bill today.Her second major attempt within a month to forge a consensus on the 15-year-old Bill had failed as socialist and Muslim leaders rejected her advances and flagged their old “conspiracy” concerns.
New Delhi, July 14
