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Gujarat Riots
India superpower in the making, says Russian envoy
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Death of a model
Grave problem haunts Hyderabad residents
Police begins probe into Collector’s abduction
Army creates branch to evaluate field exercises
India for trade with Iran on items outside sanctions
SC grants bail to Maoist leader Narayan Sanyal
SC notice to Centre, states on plastic use
Gadkari sounds LS poll bugle in Ludhiana
No Tatra trucks ordered after 2008: Antony Poll debacle
John will not spend time in jail as the court has released him on probation under the Probation of Offenders Act UPA left red-faced as TMC votes against key Bill
Graft charges
N-E militants threaten to stop projects
Bangalore to have 302-acre film city
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Modi can be prosecuted, says amicus curiae
Ahmedabad, May 7 The report by Raju Ramchandran on the complaint of Zakia Jaffrey is in sharp contrast to the report of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) which had earlier given a clean chit to Modi and others. "In my opinion, the offences which can be made out against Shri Modi, at this prima facie stage, are offences inter alia under Sections 153 A (1) (a) & (b) of IPC which means promoting enmity among different groups on grounds of religion and 153 B (1) which says assertions prejudicial to national integration," Ramchandran said in his report. "He (Modi) should also be prosecuted under IPC 166 which says public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person and 505 (2) meaning statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will," the amicus curiae said in the report. The SIT in its report had rejected suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt's allegations that Modi had given instructions in a meeting held on Feb 27, 2002 to "allow Hindus to vent their ire and teach Muslims a lesson" in the wake of the Godhra train burning incident. Bhatt had filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court in this regard. Regarding Bhatt, the amicus curiae (adviser to court) said that "in my opinion, despite the aforesaid background (SIT rejecting Bhatt's claims), it does not appear very likely that a serving police officer would make such a serious allegation against Modi, the Chief Minister of the state, without some basis". The complainant Jaffrey was today handed over the SIT report, along the with report of the Amicus Curiae, by the SIT in the court of the metropolitan magistrate. Jaffrey's husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jaffrey was among the 69 people killed at the Gulberg Society during riots. "There is no documentary material of any nature whatsoever which can establish that Shri Bhatt was not present at the meeting on 27.02.2002. In the absence of the minutes of the meeting, there is again no documentary material available as to the participants in the meeting and what transpired at the said meeting. "Therefore, it is the word of Shri Bhatt against the word of other officers, senior to him. The SIT has chosen to believe the word of the senior officers", Ramchandran said in his report. As a result, he said it was difficult to accept the conclusion of the SIT that Bhatt's statement is motivated, because he has an axe to grind with the State on the issues of his career.
— PTI
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India superpower in the making, says Russian envoy
Nainital, May 7 He pointed that the two countries were collaborating in the development of a fifth generation fighter plane. "Even Americans are working on the development of the fifth generation planes but India and Russia are moving ahead jointly," he pointed. He also underlined the growing cooperation between the two countries and pointed that Russia had come forward in helping India realise it's potential in the field of nuclear energy. "The energy requirement in India is growing in consistent proportion. A lot of energy is required in the country and nuclear energy is the answer to its needs. France and America have been talking of providing nuclear fuel to India but it is Russia that is providing it," said Kadakin. He also had words to say on the role of BRICS in the days to come. "It is a group of progressive economies and we are not against anyone. In the emerging world order our role will definitely increase. We are moving towards what is better for us," he said while replying to a query. He pointed that ever since the two nations had signed the special strategic partnership accord more than a decade back, the friendship between the two countries has become more special. The Ambassador pointed that the two countries are looking forward to coming together in several spheres and further building up on the close relations that they have traditionally had. The Russian Ambassador was on a short visit to Nainital. He went around the Naini Lake, admiring the natural beauty bestowed upon the town by nature. He underlined:" I love everything about the town, it's Mall Road, the lake and the weather."
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Pump more money into
defence sector: BJP
New Delhi, May 7 The defence budget for this year (2012-13) is Rs 1,93,407 crore - 1.90 per cent of the GDP. Initiating a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the functioning of the defence ministry, BJP leader Balbir Punj urged Defence Minister AK Antony to fight arms seller lobbies and make India self-sufficient in the field of arms and equipment. At present, nearly 70 per cent of its defence equipment needs are met by imports. Punj raised the issue of increasing the GDP share of the defence budget. He pointed out that India with its vast challenges spends less than 2 per cent of the budget while the USA spends 4 per cent of its GDP on defence, Russia 3.5 per cent, Pakistan 3 per cent, France and UK 2.3 per cent and China 2.1 per cent. The BJP leader asked the Defence Minister to use his proximity to UPA President Sonia Gandhi to push for a higher allocation for defence. Punj also raked up the sensitive issue of the one rank-one pension scheme for the armed forces. “The entire House will back you”, he told Antony while adding, “Officers and jawans of the forces should not be left at the mercy of bureaucracy.” Cautioning Antony on India’s dependence on imports for defence equipment, Punj said, “There are arms import lobbies which are very strong and they will never allow domestic production... the patrons of these lobbies are very highly placed," Punj alleged. Punj questioned the government on the Tatra trucks deals and asked why no action was taken until the matter became public. Surprisingly, Punj praised AK Antony saying, “You are honest man” but attacked him soon, saying "no work, no mistake and clean image is a dangerous policy". Earlier in the day, while replying to questions in the Lok Sabha, Antony said there would be complete transparency in the on-going procurement process for 197 helicopters for defence forces. An earlier deal to buy Eurocopter choppers from a European firm was scrapped. Antony informed that the Eurocopter deal was cancelled after some anomalies were discovered. Subsequently, a new Request for Proposals (RFP) for 197 helicopters was issued. "When the process was in final stages, again we got a series of complaints from MPs.... We decided to appoint a Special Technical Oversight Committee," Antony said. Procurement process for these choppers is on. "After going through everything, if anything goes wrong we will again cancel it," Antony said.
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Death of a model
Mumbai, May 7 "We have re-opened the investigations into her suicide. There were some lapses in the earlier investigation," says Deputy Commissioner of Police Pratap Dighavkar. Shortly after she hanged herself in 2010, the police had quizzed her then boyfriend, stockbroker Gautam Vora and two other men who were in previous relationships with the model. However, all of them were given a clean chit. The call for re-opening investigations into Babajee's suicide came after Vora was arrested for aiding a murder accused Pravin Palande who was on the run from the police. The police now says Vora was linked to Palande's associate Simran Sood and this could have provoked Babajee into committing suicide. A note left behind by the deceased model read: "You killed me, Gautam Vora". Investigators are now going through the mobile phone and Facebook messages exchanged by both Vora and Babajee to check whether they quarreled over the love triangle. The police says if any incriminating evidence turns up Vora could be charged with abetting the model's suicide. The police says they are now questioning friends and associates of both Babajee and Vora in order to obtain fresh leads in to the case. Relatives of the dead model are also likely to be called for questioning, says the police. Death of a model
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Grave problem haunts Hyderabad residents
Hyderabad, May 7 With the mushrooming of commercial complexes and housing colonies, the space for burial is shrinking by the day. The land sharks eyeing open lands are making the matters worse. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a place for the dead to rest in peace. The cost of cremation or burial is becoming out of reach for the poor. Not long ago, the Nawabs of Hyderabad used to build massive tombstones in memory of their ancestors and reserve large tracts of land for future generations. This seems a far-fetched idea in the present times. A 15 sq feet space in a Muslim graveyard costs anything between Rs 18,000 and Rs 1 lakh as against Rs 3,000 for a Hindu cremation. For a Christian burial, the expenses range from Rs 22,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh. “The price is double if you want to bury the deceased beside the family murshid's (spiritual guide) grave,” said Syed Jahaeeruddin, a Moulvi of a Dargah in Shaikpet said. The secretary of the association of care-takers of burial grounds N Sridhar lamented that the land-grabbers had become a major threat to the cremation grounds in the city. “The government has been turning a blind eye to the problems of burial grounds where infrastructure facilities have been crumbling,” he said. According to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials, there are 335 Hindu cremation grounds, 120 Muslim and 51 Christian graveyards in the city, spread over nearly 840 acres. Many of them are already being encroached in bits and pieces - about 115 acres in all, says a revenue official. The problem is acute in the 1,200 large and small Muslim graveyards which are attached to dargahs. Due to space constraints caused by population explosion and frequent encroachments, it costs an astronomical price to get a piece of these lands. All of them are maintained by the dargah trusts. Officials say acute space crunch compels them to reuse the space. “Finding an unused grave space is difficult. We encourage burial in graves not visited by anybody for some time,” said HA Shafi, an official of the Yousufain Dargah Trust. In a bid to tackle the issue of space crunch, the state government has proposed to set up a common grave yard, to be used by people of all faiths, on the outskirts of the city spread across around 2,000 acres. The Rs 250-crore project has already been assured of funds by several private and philanthropic agencies.
Space Shock
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Police begins probe into Collector’s abduction
Raipur, May 7 A team of investigating officers will record Alex Paul Menon’s statement and prepare a profile of events, from kidnapping to his release, with an aim to identify his abductors or those who interacted with him. The police sources said they would also approach Maoists’ two representatives -- BD Sharma, former IAS collector of Bastar in late sixties, and Prof G Hargopal from Hyderabad University -- who worked out an agreement with the state government for Menon’s release. “We will also record their statements in the hope that they would be able to provide valuable information to help us in unveiling the identity of kidnappers and others with whom they interacted in the Tadmelta forest during their meetings with the Naxalites as part of a process to work out Menon’s release,” a senior police officer told The Tribune. Meanwhile, many persons have started raising their suspicion and doubts about Menon’s ‘irresponsible behaviour’ as he had gone to Manjhipada village in Keralapal near Sukma in the afternoon with only two security guards to interact with the tribals to hear their grievances under the ‘Gram Suraj Yojna’. Menon’s two security men -- Amjad Khan and Kishnu Kujoor -- were killed by
the Naxalites when they had attempted to prevent his abduction at about 4.30 pm. Eye witnesses have told
the police that Menon had not shown any resistance and he was whisked away on a motorcycle. Former chairman of the Chhattisgarh State Finance Corporation Virendra Pandey has demanded a thorough probe into Menon’s abduction. Pandey told this correspondent that the information given by eye witnesses had “put the abduction under suspicion”. Over a year ago, the police intelligence network had alerted the officials in Chhattisgarh that the Maoists were planning to abduct a district collector somewhere in the ‘Red Corridor’ comprising of lush green jungles of this state as well as adjoining Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. In mid-February 2011, then Chhattisgarh Director General of Police Vishwa Ranjan wrote a letter to the state chief secretary urging him to alert all the district collectors as there was a strong likelihood of the Naxalites kidnapping one of them. Instead of Chhattisgarh, the Maoists kidnapped Malkangiri (Orissa) district collector RV Krishna (30) a day after Ranjan’s alert. Malkangiri is not far from Sukma. Since then, the Chhattisgarh district collectors have more or less been following the advice to visit the Naxal-affected areas with adequate security cover after consulting the local Superintendent of Police. But Menon was ignoring this advice. The police is now claiming that the Maoists had actually planned to pick him up two days earlier. As Menon is back on his office desk, the police has initiated the process of recording his statement and debrief him to find out the identity of the Naxalites who kidnapped him and those who interacted with him during his 13 days’ captivity. The Chhattisgarh Government has decided to let Menon continue at his current Sukma posting as it does not want to send a wrong signal to the Maoists by relocating him. Even Menon had expressed his desire to continue in Sukma after his release in the dense Tadmelta forest on May 3 evening. Sources at the police headquarters said Menon would be questioned about various aspects like why did not he take proper security cover with him, whether he was in a position to identify anyone among the Maoists who abducted him and later kept in the Tadmelta forest. He would be shown pictures of Maoists available in the police records for identification of kidnappers or suspects. The investigation officer would also take Menon’s help to draw the sketches of these Maoists and the area where he was kept from time to time during his long captivity. At the time of Menon’s kidnapping, Sukma Sub-Divisional Magistrate SP Vaidya was present. The Maoists had only asked for Menon to accompany them. After the incident, Vaidya lodged an FIR with the police against ‘unknown persons.’ The police registered a case under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code - Section 147 (rioting), Section 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), Section 364 (kidnapping or abduction in order to murder), (dacoity with murder), and Section 25 and 26 of the Arms Act. The police is also investigating the case under Section 302, IPC, (murder) in view of the killing of Menon’s two security guards.
Menon didn’t take security cover
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Army creates branch to evaluate field exercises
Shimla, May 7 The Army Training Command (ARTRAC) here, which oversees all training and doctrinal aspects, will now have a direct role in the evaluation of major exercises, a task till now relegated to regional commanders. “The ARTRAC is in the process of creating a new branch headed by a Major General, called Formation Training, for the purpose,” Lt Gen K Surendra Nath, GOC-in-C, ARTRAC, told The Tribune. “This branch will have an active role in the formulation of exercises at the level of division and above, evaluating training and validating new concepts with the aim to identify weak points and improve the system,” he added. As of now, the formation commander was responsible for planning and execution of an exercise as well as evaluating the outcome, with one of his own junior commander making up the opposing force. Donning two hats - that of the trainer and that of the evaluator, according to some senior officers, ran the risk of subjectivity and manipulation. Even the umpires nominated for the exercise were from within the same Command. Presently for its doctrinal approach and formulating training policies, the ARTRAC is largely dependent upon the feedback on exercises received from formation commanders. About a decade ago, the ARTRAC had created a separate branch, RedFor that carries out a holistic assessment of the adversary’s war waging capability and associated issues as analysing and collating open source and classified information. Officers posted to RedFor also had the mandate of “thinking like the enemy” and acting as the adversary during closed-door war games, brain-storming sessions and simulation. While the ARTRAC provides officers acting as the adversary during indoor war games, it is unable to provide the “Red” or opposing forces during field exercises as being an officer-centric think-tank, it has no operational troops under its command. With the Formation Training branch coming up, the ARTRAC will have four Major Generals on its posted strength, with the other three heading the RedFor, Doctrine and Training branches. The Army is also considering the creation of a new post of Inspector General (Training) for an independent assessment of training activities at various levels.
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India for trade with Iran on items outside sanctions
New Delhi, May 7 At a meeting with Commerce Secretary Rahul
Khullar, the Iranian delegation was, however, told that the two countries consider trade only in items that would not attract sanctions from the UN, America and European Union. The nearly 50-strong delegation also met officials of the Federation of Indian Exports Organisation
(FIEO). Tomorrow, it will hold talks with representatives of the FICCI and Assocham before leaving for Mumbai. The delegation's visit comes two months after an Indian trade delegation visited Iran. A delegation member said Iran was was confident that it could it would solve its difficulties arising from the sanctions. On India's oil imports, Yahya
Ale-Eshagh, president of the Iran Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “You (India) need oil and we need to sell and we need good cooperation... We will solve all difficulties."
— TNS
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SC grants bail to Maoist leader Narayan Sanyal
New Delhi, May 7 Sanyal was convicted along with Dr Binayak Sen, Vice President of People’s Union of Civil Liberties, and a Kolkata businessman Piyush Guha for helping Moists. In April 2011, another SC Bench had granted bail to Sen, holding that possessing Naxal literature or visiting jailed Maoists did not amount to sedition. In December 2010, a trial court in Raipur had held the three guilty of criminal conspiracy and committing sedition under the Indian Penal Code and other offences under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act. While the three were sentenced to five years in jail, Sanyal was given an additional 10-year sentence for being a member of a terrorist outfit in violation of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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SC notice to Centre, states on plastic use
New Delhi, May 7 The next generation would be facing a catastrophic situation unless the need for a total ban on the use of plastics was examined or a scientific mechanism put in place for ensuring the disposal of plastic waste, a Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhaya observed. The SC also allowed the five PIL petitioners, including two societies which run hospitals and shelters for animals, to involve the manufacturers and other institutions as parties to the case. According to the PIL, the government neglect in safe collection, storage and disposal of plastic waste as mandated by the law has resulted in cows and other animals consuming the plastic discarded along with the vegetable waste. An extensive medical survey showed 30-50 kg of plastic material was choking the intestines of each cow, senior counsel Shyam Divan said while arguing for the petitioners. Besides causing pain to the animals, plastic residues were also entering the human food chain through dairy products and meat, the PIL said.
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Gadkari sounds LS poll bugle in Ludhiana
Ludhiana, May 7 Eager to project a secular image of the party, he announced that the BJP was against the politics of casteism and communalism. To prove the party’s secular credentials, he cited the figures of the Goa Assembly, according to which nine BJP MLAs are Catholic Christians. Flaying the Centre for its ‘anti-development’ policies, he alleged that the country’s economy was in dire straits because of corruption and bad governance of the Congress. “Inflation is at an all-time high. Prices are sky-rocketing. The developmental projects on national highways are moving at a snail’s pace,” he alleged. Referring to the Punjab Assembly elections, he said that the anti-incumbency factor had weighed heavily against the SAD-BJP. Despite this, under the leadership of Parkash Singh Badal, the coalition was able to script history, he said.
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No Tatra trucks ordered after 2008: Antony New Delhi, May 7 Antony told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour: “The Indian government bought 6,500 vehicles from Tatra since 1986. The last supplies arrived in 2011 and no fresh orders have been placed since 2008. Owing to special circumstances nearly, 1,950 vehicles were bought from Tatra between 1999-2002. This was due to operational needs, because of Operation Parakram, the Defence Minister said. He said the government had decided in 1997 to sign a contract with Tatra. In 2003, another contract was signed with it. On September 26, 2008, the Defence Acquisition Committee met and that was attended by all three chiefs, it was decided to change the General Staff Quality Requirements (GSQRs). We have not procured a single truck from Tatra since the new GSQR was okayed, he said.
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Poll debacle New Delhi, May 7 After lengthy meetings with leaders from all the states - Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa - the panel has recommended that the party should not give tickets to relatives of leaders; state leaders, president and state chiefs should be more accessible to party workers; and there should be greater discipline and compliance in the party. Besides Antony, the panel included Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. The report, which was mandated to go into the reasons for the party’s poor performance in the recent Assembly elections, had also been asked to suggest corrective measures. According to sources, the report has cited various reasons for the Congress party’s shock defeat in Punjab. The party had been confident of winning in Punjab, but failed to dislodge the SAD-BJP combine, which returned to power for the second successive term. The committee, it is learnt, has pointed to the presence of large number of rebels in the fray which played spoilsport in a number of constituencies. There were as many as 26 Congress rebels and at least a dozen-odd of them came second or third, thus directly hurting the official candidates. The rebels had failed to fall in line even though they were instructed by the party high command to withdraw from the race. The report has, therefore, emphasised the need for instilling discipline in the party and ensuring compliance. It has also suggested that action be taken against those responsible for the party’s poor showing. However, it refrained from blaming Nehru-Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi for the Uttar Pradesh result, though he had led a high-voltage campaign in the state. The report also points to the anomalies in ticket distribution as a reason for the party’s poor performance.
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HC upholds jail term to John Abraham for rash driving
Mumbai, May 7 John will not spend time in jail as the court has released him on probation under the Probation of Offenders Act. "It is the responsibility of the driver to see to it that the vehicle is under his control at all times so as to avoid such sudden accidents. Hence, it cannot be said that the lower court's order of conviction was incorrect. There is no ground made out to set aside the conviction," Justice RC Chavan observed. The court, however, said that considering the background of the convict and that he is not involved in any other crime, John can be given relief under the Probation of Offenders Act. "The applicant can be given benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act and can be released on probation on his furnishing of bond of Rs 10,000," Justice Chavan directed. The court has also directed the actor to pay a compensation of Rs 10,000 each to the two injured victims. — PTI
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UPA left red-faced as TMC votes against key Bill New Delhi, May 7 Joining the issue with the NDA and the Left, who slammed the Bill as “undemocratic” and sought the restoration of an elected MCI, the TMC members voted against the same after the Opposition forced a division. Though the Bill was eventually passed with a majority of 100 votes in favour as against 57 against it, the Government had a red face in the House after Mamata Banerjee’s TMC posed a huge problem by acting as the Opposition. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal later confirmed to reporters that the Trinamool had voted against the Bill. He said he had spoken to TMC chief Mamata who assured the Government that the same would not be repeated in Rajya Sabha. Ironically, TMC leader in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandopashyay is Minister of State for Health. He was absent when Azad replied to the debate on the Bill that seeks one-year term for MCI BOG appointed in 2010 after the elected MCI was dissolved in the wake of corruption by its chief Ketan Desai. On Friday when the controversial Indian Medical Council Amendment Bill 2012 came up for debate, Trinamool’s Kakoli Ghosh slammed it seeking “restoration of an elected MCI”. She sought an end to the BOG system as did the Left and the Opposition. She also rejected the National Council for Human Resources in Health Bill 2011 which seeks to replace all existing medical regulators with an overarching body. “The NCHRC Bill would have been brought even if the MCI had not been dissolved because the President had announced it in June 2009. The Bill is with the parliamentary standing committee. Let us not debate it today,” Azad said defending the IMC Amendment Bill and saying that as Health Minister he had issued 22 notifications to improve health resources in India.
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SC reserves verdict in PIL against NHRC chairman
R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, May 7 A Bench passed an order to this effect after counsel Prashant Bhushan contended that the government had so far not responded to the complaint made to the Prime Minister in April 2011, seeking action against Justice Balakrishnan. The complaint to the PM, which was also sent to the President, had listed five specific charges relating to amassing of wealth by the two sons-in-law of Justice Balakrishnan, besides his brother and daughter, Bhushan said while arguing for the PIL petitioner, Common Cause. The charges included the then CJI’s attempts to elevate Justice PD Dinakaran as a Judge of the SC despite the corruption charges and his wrong statement over the then Union Telecom Minister A Raja allegedly trying to influence a Madras High Court Judge.
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N-E militants threaten to stop projects
Guwahati, May 7 The call is to protest the dilly-dallying by the Centre in signing a peace agreement with the outfit that has been negotiating with the Government of India and has declared a truce since January 2003. The DHD faction led by Dilip Nunisa has stated, “Even after adhering to a ceasefire for the past nine years, the government is yet to settle our issue through the signing of an agreement. The delaying tactics on part of the
government have compelled us to think about rejecting the proposal made by the government unless they convert it into a formal agreement.”
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Bangalore to have 302-acre film city
Bangalore, May 7 Briefing reporters after a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda, Law and Urban Development Minister S Suresh Kumar said the proposed venture on government land at Hesaragatta would also include a theme park and a golf resort. The government also decided to take up urban property ownership records project in Bangalore city, covering all housing
properties. — PTI
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In a jolt to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae has held that he can be prosecuted under various sections of the IPC for "promoting enmity among different groups" during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
"There is no space. Please cooperate” reads a board in one of the burial grounds in Hyderabad. It virtually sums up the “grave” problem facing the city. It is not just the living but also the dead who are facing the problem of overcrowding.
With the mushrooming of commercial complexes and housing colonies, the space for burial is shrinking by the day. The land sharks eyeing open lands are making the matters worse. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a place for the dead to rest in peace.
With ‘Operation Alex’ over, the police has now put into action the investigation of the case of Sukma District Collector’s kidnapping by a band of armed Maoists in South Bastar on April 21. He was released on May 3 after 13 days’ captivity.
A team of investigating officers will record Alex Paul Menon’s statement and prepare a profile of events, from kidnapping to his release, with an aim to identify his abductors or those who interacted with him.
