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Headley, Hafiz, 2 serving Pak officers among 9 chargesheeted by NIA
Over 60,000 sign up for Anna’s ‘jail bharo’
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Procurement irregularities cost NCC Rs 20 cr: CAG
Docs’ stir on, patients suffer in Rajasthan
Biting cold, Xmas fervour grip N-E
‘Pay Rs 2.50 lakh to kin of deceased undertrial’
CAG: Rules flouted in Pune Commonwealth Youth Games
Rahul slams Maya again
Bhanwari case
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Headley, Hafiz, 2 serving Pak officers among 9 chargesheeted by NIA
New Delhi, December 24 Besides 51-year-old Headley, NIA has chargesheeted his Pakistani-Canadian accomplice Tahawwur Rana, whom the US courts had found "not guilty" in Mumbai terror attack on November 26, 2008 in which, 166 people were killed. Two serving Pakistani Army officials — Major Iqbal and Major Sameer Ali — believed to be working for ISI, were also named in the chargesheet filed before the special NIA court here. Al-Qaida operative Illyas Kashmiri, Sajid Malik, handler of Headley and Abdul Rehman Hashmi, former Pakistani Army officer, were also named in the chargesheet filed against the nine for waging war against the country and under other relevant sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The chargesheet, which was filed after two years of probe by the central agencies and later by the NIA, had been accorded sanction for prosecution against all the nine after being convinced of their role in planing terror strikes in India. Initially, NIA had registered a case against Headley and 50-year-old Rana, but after a thorough probe and testimony of Headley to the NIA, seven other names were included in the case. The NIA document gives details of Headley's 293-day stay in the country and his involvement in carrying out surveillance of places of iconic installations including his recce of Mumbai before the 26/11 terror strikes. The voluminous chargesheet mentions the fake plea made by Rana to the Indian authorities about Headley being a representative of his Immigration Law Centre. It refers to Rana's meeting with 40-year-old Pasha, a former Pakistani army officer, in Dubai and his sudden exit from India, barely five days before the Mumbai terror strike. Both Headley and Rana are at present in the custody of US authorities and NIA has only got limited access to Headley, who had entered into plea bargain with
US authorities to escape stiff sentence. The chargesheet said Headley attended several basic and specialised terrorist training programmes of LeT. The immigration business of Rana came in handy, as a front office was opened in India for launching Headley in this country. Neutral contacts of Rana in India were easily available for Headley's assistance. The office of Rana and his business partners in the US were used for providing documents for obtaining visa for Headley, it said. Headley furnished incorrect and false information relating to the name of his father and his marital status and after obtaining visa, he made multiple trips to India between September 14 and March 15, 2009, the chargesheet noted. During his trips, he conducted tactical surveillance of potential targets of terrorist attacks and collected tactical details including video footage of all places which were attacked during 26/11 in Mumbai. Headley also collected information and videos
of places including but not limited to different Chabad houses in India, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mantralaya and
Air India building in Mumbai and National Defence College. He befriended several individuals who had no knowledge about his activities, during his stay in Mumbai for carrying out reconnaissance of important places in India, it said.
— PTI charges: planning and execution of terror strikes including 26/11
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Over 60,000 sign up for Anna’s ‘jail bharo’
Mumbai, December 24 The campaign to woo youths is being waged mainly on platforms like Facebook and Twitter, with mainstream media picking up from their online counterparts. The number of people signing up to join Anna’s agitation shot up sharply after Hazare’s associate Kiran Bedi posted an appeal on Twitter. “Anna wants to know if you’re willing to go to jail. The 74-year-old activist is unleashing a civil disobedience movement and wants people to court arrest to protest against the government for introducing a Lokpal Bill that he finds weak,” Bedi wrote. Shortly afterwards, the number of people pledging support via Twitter, Facebook and other online fora shot up sharply. Hazare will sit on a three-day fast from December 27 at the MMRDA grounds in Mumbai. He will then start his ‘jail bharo andolan’ from December 30, which will continue till January 1. As per the live streaming data available on www.jailchalo.com, support for Anna Hazare is coming from places as far-flung as Leh in Ladakh and Lakshadweep. However, most of the support for Hazare seems to be coming from the cities, with the major metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Madras accounting for the bulk of those signing up. Incidentally, the response for Hazare’s jail bharo andolan in his home state of Maharashtra is far more muted. Barring the cities of Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Nashik, the number of people signing up to fill jails in parts of his home state run into single digits. Meanwhile, IAC has stated that key members of the team like Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Prashant Bhushan would join Hazare’s hunger strike in Mumbai on December 27. Another Team Anna group will lead the protests in New Delhi, according to the
IAC. hazare indisposed
Anna Hazare has caught a cold and is indisposed ahead of his three-day fast in Mumbai from December 27. According to Hazare’s associates, the activist is on medication at his village Ralegan Siddhi. “Anna has cough and cold. He is on medication and there’s nothing to worry about,” the activist’s associate Suresh Pathare said.
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Procurement irregularities cost NCC Rs 20 cr: CAG
Chandigarh, December 24 Scrutiny by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed that the DGNCC violated provisions of the Defence Procurement Manual in the procurement of mosquito nets by buying 80 per cent of the total quantity of 97,762 from secondary sources. This resulted in a higher expenditure of over Rs 2 crore. Similar violations were found in procurement of 34 other items procured through 349 supply orders, entailing an extra expenditure of Rs 17.87 crore, CAG has said in its latest report. Based on Annual Provisioning Review for 2007-08, the DGNCC made an open tender enquiry in August 2007 for procurement of 97,762 mosquito nets for which 37 tenders were received. One firm offered the nets at the rate of Rs 180 plus taxes, which received only 20 per cent of the order, while the remaining 78,210 nets were bought at the rate of Rs 429 plus taxes. The Ministry of Defence stated in February 2011 that the practice being followed in the DGNCC was as per Director General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) Manual whereby 80 per cent of order quantity is given to past suppliers with a proven track record and 20 per cent is ordered on new suppliers. The Ministry added that unlike the Army, the NCC had no reserve stock and to ensure timely availability of stock, supply orders were issued to different suppliers. In another case, 4088 Tents Extended Frame Supported (TEFS) were procured by the DGNCC between February 2010 and May 2010 from commercial firms while the same item was available on rate contract at lower rates. This was also in violation of provisions. Thus despite the availability of above item on rate contract at cheaper rate, an extra expenditure of Rs 1.09 crore was incurred. The DGNCC has maintained that the tents procured were mentioned with specification number and schedule number, whereas the tents available under the rate contract were mentioned only with the specification number, which meant that the specification of the tents procured by the DGNCC are different from those available on rate contract.
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Docs’ stir on, patients suffer in Rajasthan
Jaipur, December 24 A meeting of council of ministers was convened here at the Chief Minister's office today to discuss the situation. It was attended by cabinet ministers, ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries present in the capital, a spokesperson said. "The issue of the meeting was the doctors' strike, which has no genuine ground because what they are demanding has already fulfilled by the government in July this year. The government is not ready to address vested interest of some of their members so they are adamant," he said. The medical crisis in the state deepened yesterday after 5,000 medicos submitted their resignations. All the government doctors working in hospitals, dispensaries, primary health centres and resident doctors of all the six medical colleges are on strike since December 21. Sources have said that due to unavailability of medical assistance, around a dozen patients have lost their lives so far. The state government is blaming "vested interest" for the strike. In July this year, the government had assured them to hike their pay grades equivalent to central government employees, time-bound promotions and has also released orders for the same, but despite that they have some vested interest, he said. "They are demanding multiple jumps in promotion and pay scale which would benefit certain doctors who are going to retire, and it is not possible for the government to fulfil," the spokesman said. The spokesman said that the government has made best possible efforts to keep situation under control and engaged retired doctors and sought services from the Army, BSF, railway authorities. An official claimed
that out of 6,441 in-service 473 have not joined the strike. — PTI grim scenario
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Biting cold, Xmas fervour grip N-E
Guwahati, December 24 People have been preparing for the D-day for about a month, especially in Nagaland and Mizoram, where people just stop working and get soaked in festivities the entire December. Churches throughout the region, especially those in capital cities, are decked up and illuminated for singing of popular Christmas carols, merry-making and special prayer services in churches on and around Christmas Day. Shillong, the picturesque capital of the predominantly Christian Meghalaya, is steeped in festivities even though the winter is getting quite nippy at this time of the year. Numerous choir groups based in this pine city have been singing carols in churches and at public places. The bakers in the city are well-stocked with a variety of delicacies although the prices of special items are a bit on the higher side this time. “Yes, steep prices of food items and winter garments have strained our budget this Christmas, but one can’t allow that to dampen the Christmas spirit. We are more focused on merry-making and spending quality time with friends and family during these holidays,” said Jenifer Lyngdoh, a teacher in Shillong
city.
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‘Pay Rs 2.50 lakh to kin of deceased undertrial’
Patna, December 24 Directing the state government’s home department to pay a compensation of Rs 2.50 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased within six weeks, the commission’s chairman Justice (retired) SN Jha has expressed concern over the “insensitive” act of the doctors at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), Bihar’s largest government hospital that sent the ailing undertrial back to jail after treating him for two days with the plea that he required urgent specialised treatment at AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), New Delhi. “If the ailment was so serious that it required urgent specialised treatment at AIIMS, there was absolutely no justification in sending him back to jail after two days of so-called treatment at PMCH. It was clearly an insensitive act on the part of doctors treating him at the PMCH,” the judgment says. The case is related to Vijay Yadav, who was sent to the district jail at Chhapra divisional headquarters in Bihar, on December 1, 2009 as an
undertrial.
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CAG: Rules flouted in Pune Commonwealth Youth Games
Mumbai, December 24 Rules were openly flouted in the award of contracts for construction and procurement of equipment; certain firms, including BG Shirke Construction Technology Ltd, were favoured unduly, the CAG says. However, the report, tabled on the last day of the winter session of Maharashtra legislature yesterday, has not directly indicted organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi. Addressing a press conference here today, Principal Accountant General Mala Sinha said the report was restricted to infrastructural development ahead of the games. "Various committees were set up and role of an individual cannot be highlighted. This is a failure as far as overall supervision is concerned," she said. The report says that apex committee and review committee set up for CYG failed to oversee the arrangements closely. The apex committee never met; review committee met only thrice. Organising committee was in charge of the conduct of the games. Apex committee, which never met, was headed by the Chief Minister. It was responsible for obtaining funds from the Centre. Undue favour was shown to BG Shirke Construction Technology Private Limited in award of contracts worth Rs 32.65 crore without tendering, and excess payment of Rs 45.79 lakh was made to it for installation of passenger elevators due to application of incorrect rates, CAG says. Review committee, headed by Chief Secretary, was responsible for overseeing the work of the executive committee and facilitating expeditious sanctions. Rules and regulations were openly flouted in the award of contracts for construction and refurbishment of the sports complex and procurement of electronic, sports and other equipment, CAG says. The executive committee placed orders for various types of sports equipment on the basis of single tender on the recommendations of the organising committee. There were deficiencies in the construction of a three star hotel on public-private partnership basis. Though commercial use of the plot was not permitted under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, the Director of Sports and Youth Services, who was the member secretary of the executive committee, entrusted construction of the hotel to Unity Infra Projects, through a flawed tendering process. The firm did not pay the annual premium as per the agreement, CAG adds. The Director, Sports and Youth Services, also unauthorisedly retained unspent amount of Rs 3.47 crore drawn from the contingency fund and did not remit it into the treasury, it says. Overall, the lack of effective planning and execution resulted in non-completion of many city infrastructure works before CYG. Commencement of work without ensuring clear sites resulted in blocking of funds and avoidable expenditure of Rs 177.04 crore, the CAG says. — PTI
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Kanshiram Nagar (UP), December 24 "Like MNREGS, she has now rejected the Right to Food Bill within a day without giving it a proper thought saying it will not benefit anyone," he told an election meeting here. "The measure (Bill) will ensure that no one remains hungry as every family will get 35 kg of foodgrain," the Congress leader said. Opponents of the measure were asking from where the money would come from, Rahul said. — PTI
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Bhanwari case
Jodhpur, December 24 Former Rajasthan Water Resource Minister Maderna, who represents Osian Assembly constituency, was sacked from the state cabinet on October 16 by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot after reports of his alleged involvement in missing of the 36-year-old nurse case surfaced. Parasram is the brother of Congress MLA Malkhan Singh, who has also been arrested in the case. — PTI
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