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Ahmedabad blast accused ‘dig up’ 26-ft tunnel in jail
Allahabad stampede: Authorities look for answers
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Who’s to blame for Allahabad stampede? Allahabad, February 11 Even as the state government ordered a probe into Sunday's stampede at Allahabad railway station, sources said pressure on Kumbh officials to clear the town of millions of people led to the tragedy.
2G auction: SC tells unsuccessful telcos to wind up ops
CBI removes prosecutor for colluding with accused
Afzal Guru hanging
No provision to hand over Ravi projects to BBMB: Centre to SC
Sonia faults public policy for plight of differently-abled
Suryanelli sex scandal: Kurien was at guest house, says accused
CRPF beat back Naxal ambush at Gadchiroli
B’desh border guards cross into India, open fire
Army Chief on visit to Japan
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Ahmedabad blast accused ‘dig up’ 26-ft tunnel in jail
The tunnel dug at a depth of about 16 feet reportedly led from the barracks that held 14 accused of the July, 2008, serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad in which 57 persons were killed. The police suspect the involvement of the bomb blast accused in digging the tunnel to escape from the jail. While the jail authorities were tight-lipped about the incident, jail sources said a few more feet of digging would have connected the tunnel with the underground gutter pipeline providing an escape route to the prisoners. All accused in the barrack were now being shifted to the Hard Court Yard in the prison which housed some 200 dreaded criminals and was equipped with CCTV cameras. DIG (prisons) Amit Vishwakarma has been appointed the one-man inquiry committee to probe the matter and submit report at the earliest. He has been asked to look into the possibility of involvement of some jail personnel in the prisoners’ jail break plan. Though the jail superintendent V M Parghi claimed that no tools were found in the barrack and the accused were suspected to had used dinner plates and wood to dig it up, the state government believed that the work could not had been carried out with such perfection without proper digging implements. The sources said the existence of the tunnel came to light on Sunday night when some security guards noticed some peculiar behaviour by a couple of inmates in the barrack and the guards outside found some loose earth in the compound. A thorough search undertaken in the barrack led to the detection of the tunnel under construction. The Sabarmati jail currently held about 4,000 prisoners, including many hardened criminals and terrorists. While 24 accused in the serial bomb blasts are still absconding, 68 had so far been arrested of whom 14 lodged in the barrack where the tunnel was detected. The trial of the case was scheduled to be held in camera inside the prison for security reasons. The authorities believe that one of the accused, Usman Agarbatti, a civil engineer by qualification, might had been the mastermind in preparing the escape plan. Parghi, however, claimed that no tunnel would have provided them the escape route as the jail compound wall was 21 feet high and 20 feet deep. This would have blocked all escape routes. The authorities also doubt the possibility of connecting the tunnel with gutter line without proper equipment. Accused being shifted
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Allahabad stampede: Authorities look for answers
Lucknow, February 11 The authorities had earlier claimed that they were fully prepared to cope with the estimated three crore pilgrims expected to take the holy dip on Mauni Amavasya. “I had been monitoring the preparations for the Maha Kumbh. Something did not go as per the plan. The exact cause of the tragedy will come out in the inquiry report,” said Chief Secretary Javed Usmani in Allahabad. Usmani and DGP AC Sharma reached Allahabad this morning to carry out an on-the-spot inquiry at the railway station. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav also directed two Cabinet colleagues - Balram Yadav and Durga Prasad Yadav - to monitor the situation. The Chief Minister along with several Cabinet colleagues is at his ancestral Sefai village in Etawah to attend a family wedding. Sharing the terms of reference of the inquiry, headed by the chairperson of the Board of Revenue, ordered yesterday, Usmani said it would collect evidence to establish the chronology of the event, explain the reason and fix responsibility. The report, which will be submitted within a month, will also suggest a set of recommendations to prevent a repeat of such incidents. While both state government and railway officials desisted from commenting on the cause of the stampede, eyewitnesses claimed policemen used force while trying to control the unprecedented crowds at the railway station, leading to panic and subsequent stampede. Panchayati Raj Minister Balram Yadav said: “It’s our responsibility to take care of the injured and the family of the deceased.” The second most important task before the government is to ensure quick handover of the bodies of the deceased to the next of the kin and release of compensation money.
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Who’s to blame for Allahabad stampede? Allahabad, February 11 "The entire Kumbh mela administration was on tenterhooks since dawn Sunday as millions poured into the mela area. Officials and police had been ordered to ensure that people left immediately after bathing," a senior official said. Public address systems repeatedly told people to leave after bathing. This officials said, was the reason why people came and left in hordes. Devesh Chaturvedi, divisional commissioner of Allahabad and the seniormost official overseeing the Kumbh, said the ratio of incoming and outgoing people was 60:40. The people leaving the Kumbh were headed to railway stations, bus stops and private parking areas. With heightened security after the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on Saturday, officials said the police were asked to "shoo crowds from the Kumbh Mela area". "People were being constantly told by police that staying in the mela area was going to create more trouble and asked them to leave," said Akansha Mathur of Meerut, who had gone to bathe at Sangam on Mauni Amavasya. Officials admit that with almost all areas in the seven zones -- parade, Sangam, akhada, Jet bridge, Jhunsi, south Jhunsi and Arail --packed with crowds and the 68 watchtowers and 66 CCTV camera's confirming "unexpected crowds", it was decided to "focus on making the crowds leave". It was then that 11 traffic plans were put in place "to ensure breathing space at the Kumbh mela", an official said. However, officials did not anticipate that while clearing the Kumbh area, they were pushing millions of people into an "unprepared city", a traffic policeman said. Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani said the truth would only be known once the probe concludes. — IANS
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Tripura Bypoll
Agartala, February 11 “The Left Front government headed by the CPM does not work for the people, but for the party organisation and party members,” Rahul said addressing rallies at Sonamura, Shantir Bazar, Dharma Nagar and Khoyerpur today. He appealed to the people to allow the Congress to form a government of the people and for the people. “All government contracts in Tripura are given to CPM cadres or officials, jobs are given to CPM party men. If you are not a member of the CPM, you don’t get any benefit from the government in Tripura. It is like the days in erstwhile Communist-ruled Soviet Russia, Romania, and Czechoslovakia where the people ultimately threw communist rulers to oblivion,” Rahul said. The Congress leader promised to fulfil all promises made in the party’s poll manifesto if voted to power. I will ensure that the voice of the people of small Tripura reaches New Delhi promptly,” Rahul said. At every rally, Rahul apologised on behalf of Congress president and his mother Sonia Gandhi for her failure to come for electioneering in Tripura yesterday because of her illness. “Soniaji is sorry as she could not come here yesterday as she was not well. But she said her heart was with you,” Rahul said. CM attacks Cong
Agartala: Attacking the manifesto of the Congress-Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) combine as a “document of cheating”, CM Sarkar said the ruling Left Front was confident of forming the seventh government in the state in the February 14 Assembly elections.
— PTI
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2G auction: SC tells unsuccessful telcos to wind up ops
New Delhi, February 11 A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and KS Radhakrishnan made the clarification following complaints from telecom companies who got licences in the fresh round of auction following the February 2, 2012, SC verdict cancelling 122 licences in the wake of the 2G Spectrum scam. The Bench has been letting these companies to continue with their services on the ground that the auction process was still on for several telecom circles and asking them to wind up would affect the consumers. However, the successful bidders today contended in the SC that the telecom ministry was not allotting them Spectrum as this was still held by those whose licences had been cancelled, but were allowed to continue. The Bench asked the government to take a decision on the issue urgently without waiting for the completion of the auction process as the successful bidders should not suffer for want of Spectrum which was still with those who had no right to be in business. It said it would soon pass an order in this connection. The SC also asked the government to auction the entire Spectrum that had become available due to the cancellation of 122 licences without holding back portions of it. The auction should also cover both 800 Mhz and 1800 Mhz, which was allotted under the dual-technology scheme through the controversial January 10, 2008, press note issued by the then Telecom Minister, A Raja, the main accused in the scam, the SC said. The SC also held that these companies would have to pay for the period from February 2, 2012, till closing down their services for want of licence on the basis the minimum reserve price set for the auction.
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CBI removes prosecutor for colluding with accused New Delhi, February 11 "The allegation against AK Singh is being probed and he has been removed from the prosecuting team in the 2G case. A preliminary inquiry has been registered to verify the allegations," said a CBI official. He said the court hearing the case had also been informed of the development and another prosecutor has been appointed to assist in the ongoing trial. "The agency possesses an audio recording with the suspected voices of Singh and one of the accused," said Ranjit Sinha, CBI director. — IANS
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Afzal Guru hanging
New Delhi, February 11 Afzal Guru, a convict in the December 2001 Parliament attack case, was hanged to death on February 9 at Tihar Jail here leading to protests in Kashmir. Sources told The Tribune that it would be hazardous to guess the fallout, if any, of the execution. As of now, the curfew and the restrictions on the SMS, Internet, television and newspapers have put a lid on any possible protests. A source said: “It would be very premature to announce that security and intelligence agencies apprehend no trouble following the hanging. Anger could show up during the summer months by way of blockades, protests and even a few incidents of violence”. Continuous assessment was being made by pooling in the resources of the state police CID wing, the Intelligence Bureau, the Research and Analysis Wing, the Military Intelligence and the Signal intelligence units, added another official. Some of these units routinely trace talk over hand-held radio sets and long distance calls. So far there have been attempts from across the border to ignite the flames in Kashmir, including the conduct of a prayer meeting for Afzal Guru. The situation in Kashmir will see it first test on Friday prayers. Curfew could be lifted from one or two district headquarters. At present, all 10 district headquarters in the valley are under curfew and more than 50 persons have been injured in spontaneous protests. Explaining the need for secrecy, officials said had it been made public that Afzal Guru’s mercy petition had been rejected, someone could have got stay like it happened in the case of Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar and the assassins of Rajiv Gandhi. Either way, his hanging or his continuing in prison was a politically sensitive issue. “He had become a political football, there was no way out”, a source said. Yesterday, an angry Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah slammed the execution of Afzal Guru and said this would reinforce a sense of alienation and injustice among generations of youth in the Valley. He had said the long-term implications of the hanging of Guru were “far more worrying” as they were related to the new generation of youth in Kashmir “who may not have identified with Maqbool Bhatt ( hanged in 1984 for the murder of Indian diplomat Ravindra Mhatre) but will identify with Afzal Guru.” Omar had said: “Whether you like it or not, the execution of Afzal Guru has reinforced that point that there is no justice for them (Kashmiri youth). This is far more disturbing and worrying than the short-term implications on the security front”.
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No provision to hand over Ravi projects to BBMB: Centre to SC
New Delhi, February 11 “It is clear from a perusal of Section 78 to Section 80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 that the projects regarding which the present suit has been filed were never placed nor contemplated to be controlled and managed by the BBMB,” the Union Ministry of Power has maintained in an affidavit filed in the SC. Further, the BBMB Act also had no provision for bringing other projects under the Board. It was, however, for the SC to decide the matter “on its legal and Constitutional merits taking into account the facts and circumstances of the case,” said the Centre, which was represented by Additional Solicitor General Mohan Jain. In its suit, Haryana has opposed Punjab’s control over the Shahpur Kandi Dam, Modhopur Head Works and Thein Dam/Ranjit Sagar Project. The Centre has filed the affidavit in response to the notice from the SC which also sought the views of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. When the matter came up for hearing today before a Bench comprising Justices CK Prasad and FMI Kalifulla, senior advocate Altaf Ahmed, who appeared for Haryana, contended that Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Haryana “are one
on the issue.” “We have BBMB for other projects. We want a similar arrangement for these projects in the interest of partner states” and did not want Punjab to implement and control them, he said. After approaching the SC with its suit, Haryana has filed an application seeking to restrain Punjab from going ahead with executing the Shahpur Kandi Dam Project on the Ravi River. Its senior counsel Altaf Ahmed today pleaded with the SC to take up the application on an urgent basis. In the application, Haryana has also pleaded that the Centre should stop releasing further funds for the dam project and implement it either on its own or through the BBMB or such other agency. According to Haryana, Punjab building the Shahpur Kandi Dam, the third on river Ravi, would further reduce the flow of water downstream, affecting the lower riparian states. Punjab was going ahead with the work without the consent of Haryana and other states that would be affected, Haryana has contended. The state has also sought a decree declaring that Haryana is entitled to share power from the Anandpur Sahib Hydel Project, Kukerian Hydel Project, Thein Dam, UBDC Stage-II and Shahpur Kandi hydel scheme, in proportion to its share in the waters. Haryana should be given a legal right to the legal documents, records and data relating to the release patterns of the three projects. The state also wants to have information, data, project reports and other details such as the detailed project report relating to these projects so that it could have a say in such matters. Work on Shahpur Kandi Dam should commence only after this exercise is exercise is completed. According to Punjab, it has spent Rs 190 crore on the Rs 2,200 crore Shahpur Kandi Dam. According to J and K, the project is supposed to come up under an agreement reached with it more than 12 years ago on the condition that it would get a share of the power generated from it. So, it is also opposed to allowing the project to be set up solely by Punjab. Water sharing
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India finally has its own tool to assess autism
New Delhi, February 11 The study conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to develop India’s first indigenous scale of assessing levels of autism among children found that in the sample under observation, 32 per cent autistic children had suffered several birth-related complications as compared to 21 per cent mentally retarded children and 18 per cent normal children. All these three categories of children were together administered certain tools to assess their levels of learning and communication skills to arrive at a cut-off above which a child can be termed as autistic and a disability certificate can be issued to him so that benefits due to him can reach him. So far, it has been nearly impossible to give disability certificates to autistic children because assessment tools have not been available. The expert committee set up by the ministry to develop the scale has concluded that any individual falling below the score of 70 on the ISAA was non-autistic, but one with a score of 70 and above would be autistic. A person whose score is more than 153 on ISAA would be rated as severely autistic. The government field testing also reinforced the fact that autism sets in early childhood days and causes delays in different areas of development later. In the current study, 87 per cent autistic children had the disability before 36 months of life and the remaining had an onset after three years of age. It was also found that a lower proportion of children with autism had delayed motor development milestones of sitting, standing and walking. Autistic children were, however, markedly delayed in speech and language development. As for the ISAA, it ends India’s dependence on western tools that failed to account for multicultural influences in assessing children with learning disabilities. Many South Asian nations that met here today to debate autism and find a way forward expressed interest in studying the
ISAA. Indian Scale
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Sonia faults public policy for plight of differently-abled
New Delhi, February 11 The declaration, adopted at the end of a day-long conference on autism that Gandhi inaugurated, noted with concern the increasing prevalence of autism and related disorders and the absence of population-based mechanisms for early detection and accessible interventions. The Declaration made tall promises. Some of these were: To commit ourselves to including autism spectrum disorders in all mainstream policies and programmes that address issues related to early childhood development in all spheres of community life; develop early-detection services at every level; implement cost-effective programmes that address life cycle needs of person with ASD and undertake collaborative research among member countries on all aspects of autism. Gandhi said she felt the formation of public policy in our countries had not kept pace and nothing significant had been given to the disabilities sector. “In the absence of adequate institutional support mechanism, the differently-abled remain deprived of their rights,” she said inaugurating the South Asian Autism Network Conference. She called for making the world for the disabled comfortable. Though autism had widespread prevalence, its understanding remained elusive, she added. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the South Asian leaders had met to reiterate their commitment to the sector and take forward the Dhaka promise. Present also was Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on Neuro Developmental Disorder and Autism Saima Wazed Hossain, daughter of the Bangladesh Prime Minister, Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath and Social Justice Minister Kumari
Selja.
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‘Generate’ power through clean coal technology
Chandigarh, February 11 In his address, CRRID Director General, Prof SS Gill said 70 per cent of power generation in India is through coal, which caused a lot of pollution. Hence, there was a need to shift to clean, more efficient and less polluting generation methods. He said, “In the coming years climate change will have a serious effect on our lives and we need to seek solutions through better technology and cooperation with other nations.” Project Director for Sustained Clean Coal Technology (CCT) Capacity in India, Peter Bloom said the project required further capacity building and technical assistance. He said that technologies and equipment requiring low investment are needed along with strengthening information exchange processes. The project, part funded by the European Commission’s Thematic Programme for Environment, aims at contributing to the achievement of greater environmental sustainability in the power sector in India by developing a sustained CCT capacity in the power sector through establishing an integrated CCT knowledge; developing skills and innovation needed to service CCT development; strengthening knowledge sharing and promoting the use of CCT technologies to improve efficiency levels and reduce CO2 emissions in the coal-fired power plants in India. Giving an overview of the socio-economic changes and developments that affected India over the past few centuries and the advent of technology, senior journalist MJ Akbar discussed the role of various nations in dealing with climate change. He said that those nations who got rich on the basis of cheap energy cannot expect poor nations to pay a higher price for energy resources. Speaking on cooperation on clean coal technology and carbon capture and storage (CCS), Giles Dickson, vice president for environmental polices at Alstom, a global firm dealing in transport infrastructure, power generation and electrical grid, said that while the CCS was gaining popularity, it is still an expensive preposition. In his paper on current developments of supercritical technology in India, Sanjay Pandey from National Thermal Power Corporation stated that there is a renewed focus on sustainable development in India around low carbon growth strategies.
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Rafale, Jaitapur deals not on table during French Prez visit
New Delhi, February 11 Hollande, who will be on a state visit to India, his first stop in Asia after becoming President, will be accompanied by his companion Valerie Trierweiler and a high-level delegation comprising his cabinet colleagues and 45-strong business leaders. The French President will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on international, regional and bilateral issues such as situation in Mali where French forces are fighting terrorists. “With upgradation of the relationship to strategic partnership in 1998, the relationship has become multifaceted and symbiotic in areas such as defence, civil nuclear energy, space and counter terrorism. There have been regular high-level exchanges at the head of state/head of government levels,” Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. Referring to Hollande’s visit, French Ambassador Fracois Richier said “there would be no signing of contract for supply of Rafale multi-role fighter aircraft” during it. He was speaking at a panel discussion on India-France relations here today. However, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in Paris that the talks with India to finalise the purchase of warplanes were “looking up”. Diplomatic sources also ruled out inking of a contract for nuclear reactors at Jaitapur.
— PTI
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Suryanelli sex scandal: Kurien was at guest house, says accused Thiruvananthapuram, February 11 He said the then investigation official and present State Information Commissioner Siby Mathew had prevailed upon him not to name Kurien in the case. A lawyer by profession, Dharmarajan was the only accused convicted by the Kerala High Court in 2005 while it cleared 34 others earlier held guilty by a special court that conducted trial in the case in the late 1990s. After serving a brief jail term, Dharmarajan was freed on bail but never returned to jail. His whereabouts were unknown till he made this revelation to a TV channel here. He said he would surrender in the next few days. “He could have said all this in the court. But now he says this to escape punishment in the case,” Mathew responded to the fresh allegations made by Dharmarajan. The sex scandal took place at Suryanelli in Idukki district January 1996. A 16-year-old was threatened, abducted and abused by a bus conductor and was later confined and sexually assaulted for 45 days by 42 men. The victim’s father said: “We are happy that this has come out. Till now, we were branded as liars by all.” The case was back in the spotlight after the Supreme Court ordered a retrial in the case while setting aside the acquittal in 2005 by the Kerala High Court of all but one of the 35 accused. — IANS LDF walkout Thiruvananthapuram: The opposition LDF on Monday staged a walkout from the Kerala Assembly after the government rejected its demand to register a criminal case against former Kerala High Court judge R Basant for making controversial comments by about Suryanelli gangrape case.
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CRPF beat back Naxal ambush at Gadchiroli
Mumbai, February 11 The incident happened at 7 am when a CRPF patrol, on what is described as a routine mission, on the outskirts of Sirpur village in Gadchiroli district’s Pendri area ran into an ambush set up by the Maoists. After a fierce gunfight lasting more than two hours, the Maoists were beaten back with several of them injured, the police said here. The retreating Naxalites left behind a cache of IEDs, landmines and a wireless set, the police said. Following today’s attack contingents of police and paramilitary forces have been rushed to the area to conduct combing operations, the police said. Last November, 13 personnel from the CRPF were killed at this very area when Naxalites laid a trap for the security forces and ambushed them from all sides. However district authorities say the government has built several kutcha roads in the area in order to allow effective movement of security forces.
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B’desh border guards cross into India, open fire Kolkata, February 11 The DGP of the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) and other personnel, crossed the Kulik river close to the international border, entered Indian villages and fired three rounds near the Makarhaat area, killing Md Farid and injuring a 13-year-old boy, the officers said. BSF Additional Director General (East) B D Sharma told PTI: "Later during a flag meeting at the commandant level, they have admitted to the firing. But they claim that the Indian had crossed over to Bangladesh side for smuggling and the firing was done on their side of the border." Local reports said that Farid was found dead along the border on the Indian side with fertilisers found on him. "Our men are saying that their jawans entered the Indian side and killed the man after an altercation with villagers," Sharma said. Senior officers have rushed to the spot to handle the situation while the injured boy has been admitted to Raiganj district hospital. — PTI
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Army Chief on visit to Japan
New Delhi, February 11 India's relations with Japan have undergone a significant transformation since the establishment of India-Japan global partnership for the 21st century in August 2000 and establishment of Indo-Japan strategic and global partnership in 2006. A Defence Policy Dialogue has been established between the two countries.
— TNS
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Ahmedabad, February 11