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Hyderabad vulnerable to terror strikes
NIA not probing blasts
Maharashtra Police had been hunting for the bombers
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One more Gujarat cop held in Ishrat case
As Mumbai mulls hawking zones, Raj Thackeray plays Marathi card
Five doctors held for violating PNDT Act
Protesters block traffic, stone trains in Etawah
NACO, Shipping Ministry to screen port workers for AIDS
Four Bodo youths hacked to death
Decision on Telangana issue unlikely during budget session
Ex-servicemen’s health scheme to go ‘Aadhaar-based’
Mumbai takes to sea to ease traffic woes
Lt Col among 6 detained for ‘carrying’ illegal drugs
Police with seized illegal drugs at Pallel in Manipur’s Chandel district on Sunday. — PTI
ISRO chief seeks divine blessings ahead of Monday satellite launch
Home stay for tourists visiting Andhra soon
Don’t hang Rajiv killers, says judge
Shinde reviews coastal security
Maldives denies any ‘deal’ in Nasheed leaving Indian mission
14-yr-old beaten to death
Prisoner alleges rape by three policemen
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Hyderabad vulnerable to terror strikes
Hyderabad, February 24 With a history of periodic communal tensions, Hyderabad has emerged as one of the major terror hubs in the country since mid-1990s. Despite its phenomenal growth in the Information Technology sector, the city of pearls has become an ideal target for terror outfits because of the delicately balanced demographic patterns and a perceived communal divide. “The population of the Hindus and Muslims is more or less equally matched in the city. There is no dearth of rabble-rousers. This makes it a perfect recipe for nefarious outfits to create trouble,” said political analyst Dr K Nageswar. In the run-up to the Dilsukhnagar blasts, the city has been witnessing bouts of communal tension over a disputed religious structure abutting the historic Charminar, the 422-year-old monument. Then came the controversial “hate speech” by the Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi. He was subsequently arrested and sent to jail in Adilabad. Adding to the communally surcharged atmosphere, the VHP leader Praveen Togadia delivered a provocative speech, targeting the Muslim community. In the aftermath of the execution of Afzal Guru, Hyderabad was one of the cities identified by the central intelligence agencies for possible terror attacks. However, a familiar blame game ensued between the Central and state agencies over the intelligence alert and on whether the state police took enough steps to prevent the attacks. While Union Home Ministry said that it had warned the states about possible terror strikes in five cities, including Hyderabad, the state government maintained that it was a “general alert” and that there was no “specific input”. “We did not receive any specific alert. It was only a general alert and a routine one,” Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said. Refuting the charge that the state police had failed to act on the alerts, the Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma said “Six vulnerable spots in the city were scanned by special squads and sniffer dog teams more than 400 times since November 15.” The state intelligence sources say that terror agents have been thriving in the city for the last two decades under the garb of teachers, traders, IT professionals and doctors In 1990, when terrorism was spreading its wings in the country, Hyderabad had sleeper cells of the LeT, Hijbul Mujahideen and SIMI. The youths arrested for having terror links had told the interrogators that they were taken to Pakistan via Bangladesh for training and brought back to Hyderabad via Nepal. So far, the police have arrested 170 people in Hyderabad for their alleged involvement in extremist operations. While three of them were Pakistanis, the rest were from Bangladesh and Kashmir. The police have also confiscated 25 kg of RDX, 20 Chinese pistols and 8 kg of silver nitrate from the activists.
Trigger points
Soft target
"The population of the Hindus and Muslims is more or less equally matched in the city. There is no dearth of rabble-rousers. This makes it a perfect recipe for nefarious outfits to create trouble."
— Dr K Nageswar, Political analyst
Some terrorist organisations said to be active in Hyderabad
v Deen Dar
Anjuman: A training centre operated under the supervision of the
ISI. Trained 20 terrorists who orchestrated the 1999 blasts. |
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NIA not probing blasts
New Delhi, February 24 Leave alone formally handing over the last week blasts investigation to the sleuths of the NIA, the state government has not even asked it to either join the probe or assist the state police, which is inquiring into the incident that killed 16 persons and left over 100 injured. Interestingly, the development comes at a time when the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre is seeking ways to create the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) that is being opposed by some state governments, including those ruled by parties other than the Congress. The Congress is in power in Andhra Pradesh and by not asking the NIA to join probe present a stark contrast in the approach of the government, which probably is guarding its turf since law and order is a state subject. In the absence of any referral from the state government, the NIA cannot step in. Since its creation, the agency is probing or probed 52 cases of which five are registered in Hyderabad. Of these in Hyderabad, a majority are regarding fake Indian currency notes based on arrests made in Kerala. Sources in the Central government told The Tribune today that the NIA in Hyderabad was headed by a Deputy Inspector General-rank officer who was asked by its central office to be on the stand-by soon after the blasts but till date there is no word from the state government. “The state police may be competent in cracking the case and would probably solve it, but by not asking the NIA to join investigations prevents the organisation to build the institution,” a senior official privy to developments said. This attitude of turf-war also results in preventing the agency from building its own team of investigators who can piece together complex information and decode it.
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Maharashtra Police had been hunting for the bombers
Mumbai, February 24 According to police officials here, the four men included the head of the Indian Mujahideen Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed Zarrar Siddhibappa alias
Yasin Bhatkal. The names of his three aides were given as Asadullah Akhtar alias Tabrez, Tahaseen Akhtar and Waqas alias Ahmed. The photographs of all four were also circulated at all major areas in Mumbai. The police, which announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information on the four men, also added that they were wanted in connection with setting off of bombs in Pune a few months ago. They are also suspected of carrying the bomb blasts in Mumbai on July 13, 2011. Investigators probing the Hyderabad blast said that the explosive device may have been assembled and planted at the site by Tabrez and Waqas. The duo is wanted for carrying out blasts in Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Surat, according to the police. Following the revelation by investigators in Hyderabad, the police here feels that the four may have slipped into the South Indian city several months ago and had laid low before carrying out the attack. The Mumbai police had been questioning real estate agents for the past several weeks after investigations revealed that the quartet had rented properties across the city posing as students. While Yasin Bhatkal is around 30 years of age, the others are in their 20s. On July 13, 2011, bomb blasts at India's gold and diamond hubs - Opera House and Zaveri Bazaar - and at Dadar in central Mumbai claimed 27 lives and left 125 others injured. Subsequently, there were low-intensity blasts in Pune on August 1 last year.
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One more Gujarat cop held in Ishrat case
Ahmedabad, February 24 Patel, who was the police sub-inspector with Crime Branch, Ahmedabad in 2004, was called by CBI for questioning at Gandhinagar office. Metropolitan Magistrate A U Jujaru today ordered them to be sent in CBI custody for 24 hours. In his remand application, DySP CBI Special Crime Branch and the investigating officer of the case, G Kalaimani, prayed for 14-day custody. "The accused persons are police officers who were present at the scene of crime and perpetrated the crime of conspiracy leading to murder and other offence," said CBI lawyer Abhishek Arora. The CBI has alleged that Patel brought Amjadali Akbarali Rana, who was murdered on June 15, 2004 along with Ishrat Jahan, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai and Zeeshan Johar, to the scene of crime and placed him blind-folded on the road divider where he was killed and an AK-56 assault rifle was shown near his right hand. "Patel knows the source of AK-56 and its ammunition, this needs to be discovered in the interest of investigation," Arora argued. At the time of the alleged encounter, it was claimed by the police that four of those killed were a part of the conspiracy to assassinate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Opposing remand application, advocate Brijrajsinh Jhala, who argued for Patel, claimed that the arrest of his client was illegal as the CBI had violated the procedure defined in the CrPC. He also claimed that Patel, who was then police sub-inspector in the Crime Branch, Ahmedabad, was never present at the scene of crime and his name was not even mentioned in the FIR filed by the CBI. On behalf of Barot, who was allegedly present at the scene where Isharat and three others were killed, advocate D R Bhatt argued that in the past 15 months, no officer had called him for interrogation and suddenly he was arrested. "In the past statements of Patel were recorded on 18-6-04, 5-11-09, 10-1-11 and 22-6-11 but since CBI registered the FIR in this case on September 15, 2012, no one had interrogated him," said Bhatt. When asked by the magistrate if they had any complaint while they were in custody of CBI, both Barot and Patel alleged "high handedness" and "mental torture" by IG Satish Verma, who is, under High Court orders, assisting CBI in the case. Earlier, the CBI had arrested Girish Singhal, Superintendent of Police with State Crime Records Bureau, and J G Parmar, retired DSP and the court, after rejecting their remand, had sent them in judicial custody. Mumbra girl Ishrat Jahan, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Zeeshan Johar and Amjadali Rana were allegedly killed by the Gujarat police, led by D G Vanzara, who is also an accused in Sohrabuddin Shaikh and Tulsi Prajapati fake encounter cases. After Ishrat's mother complained about the alleged fake encounter, Gujarat High Court constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which concluded that the encounter was fake. Following the report, the High Court handed over the case to the CBI on December 1, 2011, and it is monitoring the investigations. — PTI
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As Mumbai mulls hawking zones, Raj Thackeray plays Marathi card
Mumbai, February 24 At a recent meeting with councillors belonging to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Thackeray asked them to ensure that hawkers who were not domiciled in the state were not allotted pitches by the civic body. "We want the civic body to verify proof of residence, including domicile certificates, school-leaving certificates and ration cards, of hawkers," said an MNS leader from Borivali in Mumbai. Thackeray also told his party members that anti-social elements should not be given licences. The party wants the civic body to ensure that those applying for licences undergo a police-verification exercise. Following protests by residents across Mumbai, the municipality and the state government is mulling regulation of hawking on city streets. An expert committee has been set up to identify roads across Mumbai where hawking zones could be set up and hawkers could be given licences to operate on. "Once the study is complete, we will take up the issue of issuing permits to hawkers across Mumbai," said Additional Municipal Commissioner Mohan Adtani. He said around 15,000 hawkers across Mumbai had legal permits while the rest operated illegally.
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Five doctors held for violating PNDT Act
Lucknow, February 24 According to Kanpur SSP Yashasvi Yadav, seven FIRs have been registered against seven private hospitals and nursing homes. The action was taken following a sting operation carried out by a city NGO which was shown to the Kanpur DM MP Aggarwal who subsequently ordered the arrests. The operation had caught on camera the reputed doctors of the city demanding between Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 for conducting the sex determination test on pregnant women. The cases have been registered under the relevant sections of the IPC and for violating the Pre-Conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act. The police is also considering enacting the Gangster Act against the errant nursing homes, pathologies and diagnostic centres. The police had also asked the Kanpur Chief Medical Officer RP Yadav to cancel the licences of the hospitals. While the CMO has cancelled the licences of two hospitals, he has ordered a further probe against five others. Interestingly, while the state government till now has been blind to the ongoing flourishing racket of doctors indulging in sex selective abortions across the state, Health and Family Welfare Minister Ahmad Hasan was quick to take credit for the NGO initiative and ensuing action by the Kanpur district administration against some city doctors.
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Protesters block traffic, stone trains in Etawah
Tribune News Service
Lucknow, February 24 Demanding prompt action against the guilty, the relatives and other denizens of Etawah also held up traffic on the Etawah-Kanpur highway today which could be dispersed only after senior minister Shivpal Yadav assured the protesters of timely action. Etawah is the home district of the ruling Yadav family. Clearly aware of the inter-religious couple’s plan to get their marriage registered at the district court yesterday, the miscreants attacked them while they were returning home. The hysterical young woman Kirti, whose partner was killed in broad daylight in the Civil Lines area in front of her eyes, kept begging everyone to bring the culprits to book. One of the culprits belongs to Kanpur, she informed the police. Kirti, who hailed from Triveni Nagar in Lucknow, has suffered minor injuries in the attack. The couple had been living together after solemnising a ‘nikah’ on August 25, 2012 when Kirti’s family finally refused to agree to their marriage.
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NACO, Shipping Ministry to screen port workers for AIDS
New Delhi, February 24 In a first-of-its-kind move to check and prevent HIV around port towns, the Department of AIDS Control, Ministry of Health, has signed an MoU with the Ministry of Shipping to train health personnel in the prevention and case management of HIV on ports and record infections to enable interventions. The MoU comes at a time when NACO is focusing its attention on migrant populations around ports - an area hitherto untapped in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Under the agreement, NACO will provide HIV/AIDS/sexually transmitted infections preventive, care support and treatment services to port workers and communities around major ports including fishermen, seafarers, truckers, single male migrants and other vulnerable population. The MoU will seek to provide stigma-free environment and promote greater involvement of people living with HIV in all major port areas. For its part, the Ministry of Shipping will make available its health infrastructure and human resources for prevention and management of HIV/AIDS/STIs and designate responsibility to personnel to plan, implement and monitor HIV/AIDS/STI services besides promoting safe sexual practices among vulnerable populations in port settings with necessary support from state AIDS control societies. It will also ensure the availability of rapid HIV diagnostic kits according to NACO guidelines and specifications and set up designated sexually transmitted diseases/integrated counselling and testing centre clinics at major ports. NACO will share its treatment protocols, guidelines and standards pertaining to STI/HIV/AIDS, provide technical support and build capacity of ports health personnel to facilitate integration of HIV/AIDS in the health services, train major port health personnel (doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians) on syndromic case management of STIs and HIV.
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Four Bodo youths hacked to death
Guwahati, February 24 According to a police source, the four youths, including two Higher Secondary students and one high school student, were attacked and killed by some unidentified miscreants with sharp-edged weapons around 10.15 pm. The victims were returning to their residence after having dinner at the residence of a neighbour on that day. The area is dominated by members of the Bodo community. No arrest has been made so far. According to an eyewitness, a group of at least 10 persons killed the youths. They assailants were heard talking in Hindi. The incident has created tension in the communally sensitive area that witnessed a devastating spell of communal riots involving Bodo tribe and Muslims in the BTC area in July last year. The All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) has demanded that the culprits be arrested within 24 hours. ABSU president Promod Bodo said the mindless killing of the four youths might be part of a sinister design of some vested group to spark fresh trouble in the BTC area. The ABSU leader said the slain youths were not associated with any
organisation.
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Decision on Telangana issue unlikely during budget session
New Delhi, February 24 A government functionary said internal consultations within the government and the Congress party have been going on and so a decision during the Budget Session is not likely. As the government would try to push through crucial financial business during the current session of the House, it does not want any disruption, he said. "We have to take a decision either way before the 2014 general elections. But we do not want to take any decision on such a sensitive issue when the session is on as it may lead to disruption of Parliament," the government functionary said. — PTI
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Ex-servicemen’s health scheme to go ‘Aadhaar-based’
Chandigarh, February 24 A letter received by the Air Force Association from the ECHS authorities states that the Aadhaar scheme’s UID has to be quoted in applications for all new cards issued from April. Existing ECHS members are required to submit a photocopy of their UID and ECHS cards to their parent polyclinics, which would then forward the same to their respective regional centres. This exercise is expected to be completed by September 2013. The details will then be added and integrated into the data base of all ECHS members. The ECHS has a clientèle of over 42 lakh ex-servicemen and their dependants. Aadhaar is a 12-digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India, which will remain valid for life and serve as a proof of identity and address anywhere in India. It is designed to eliminate the large number of duplicate and fake identities in various government and private databases and help provide access to various government and non-government schemes and services like banking, phone connections and welfare measures. Many veterans have questioned the need to link the ECHS with the UID, especially in the light of the slow pace of issuing Aadhaar cards and veterans already having verified their identities and other details and possessing several proof of identity documents. Till the beginning of this month, only about 28 crore Aadhaar cards covering less than 23 per cent of the national population have been issued. Moreover, many government establishments and public dealing offices do not accept Aadhaar cards as proof of residence. Veterans are of the view that making another document mandatory will only add on to the procedural burden and clientele’s woes when the ECHS is already grappling with more serious administrative and operational issues. While the necessity of a secure, national bio-metric based proof of identity cannot be underscored given the security scenario, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has observed that the scheme is riddled with serious lacunae and concerns. The UID scheme has been conceptualised with no clarity of purpose, it said.
The process
* The Aadhar scheme's UID has to be quoted in applications for all new Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme cards issued from April *
Existing ECHS members are required to submit a photocopy of their UID and ECHS cards to their parent polyclinics, which will forward the same to respective regional centres *
The exercise is expected to be completed by September
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Mumbai takes to sea to ease traffic woes
Mumbai, February 24 Sources say the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), tasked with handling the project, will soon award work contracts to a clutch of contractors to build jetties and terminals along city’s coastline to handle hovercraft and catamarans that can ferry people from the northern end of the city to South Mumbai. “The project has already received the go-ahead from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests so things will move fast from here,” says a senior government official. Officials say six terminals will be constructed on the west coast and three on the east coast and these will be ready for use in two years. Project appraisals prepared by the government indicate that commuters may be charged Rs 5 per kilometre, making surface transport more competitive than taxis though far more expensive than the city’s local trains and public buses. The state government hopes the hovercraft services will help take 30,000 cars off city roads. The plan envisages deployment of catamarans that can carry 70 cars and 400 passengers in one go. Passenger and car terminals will be built so that drivers can drive in and out of the catamarans at the points of embarkation, say officials. Infrastructure, including passenger terminals, arrival and departure lounges, restaurants, etc, will be developed at Nariman Point, Bandra, Juhu and Borivali in the western suburbs and Ferry Wharf and Mulund in the eastern suburbs. Apart from the first phase, terminals will come up at Nariman Point, Bandra and Juhu. The terminals will have ticket counters, arrival and departure lounges, restaurants and shops with berthing and waiting facilities. Experts say the challenge will in plying the catamarans during monsoon when the seas are quite rough. In the past, attempts to ply catamarans between the Gateway of India in South Mumbai and Mandwa on the mainland failed as these services were not available round the year. But officials say they are exploring deployment of all-weather vessels that can be plied even during rains.
Water highway
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Lt Col among 6 detained for ‘carrying’ illegal drugs New Delhi, February 24 In Manipur, the police has said tablets are worth Rs 1.50 crore and these were found inside three vehicles at Pallel, in Chandel district of the state. Once in Myanmar, these are converted into well known party drugs and the price goes up by 15-20 times. Those detained included Army PRO Lt Col Ajay Chaudhary and his assistant, the police said. Army spokesperson Col Jagdeep Dahiya said in Delhi: "It is a matter of investigation. If found guilty, strictest action will be taken as per the law of the land," The drugs included tablets of Respifed, Omkop, Hilcold, Polyfed and Actidin. Meanwhile, Lt Col Chaudhary denied his involvement in the drugs smuggling. He told a television news channel: "I has been cheated and not informed what the merchandise was." — TNS
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ISRO chief seeks divine blessings ahead of Monday satellite launch
Tirupati, February 24 Radhakrishnan offered prayers on Sunday morning for the successful launch of PSLV-C20 on Monday, temple sources said. An ardent devotee, Radhakrishnan visits the shrine to seek divine blessings ahead of every satellite launch and makes another trip after its success, the sources said. Radhakrishnan was accompanied by his wife Padmini. Since the last two decades, heads of the space agency have made it a practice to visit the the over 2000 year-old Tirumala hill temple to seek divine blessings before every satellite launch, the sources said. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C20 is scheduled for blast-off at 5.56pm from the spaceport at Sriharikota, 110 km from Chennai, carrying 'SARAL', aimed at oceanographic studies,and six foreign mini and micro satellites. — PTI
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Home stay for tourists visiting Andhra soon
Hyderabad, February 24 “The scheme will not only help provide accommodation to the tourists at a reasonable cost but also serve as a source of disseminating our cultural heritage to our guests,” an official of the State Tourism Department said. “Several potential tourist spots in the state have many well-constructed houses, with surplus rooms, which can be converted into tourist accommodation with reasonable improvements to suit the requirement of tourists. The tourism department will take steps to identify such units to bring tourists and host families together,” the official said. The house owners in identified tourist locations need to register with the Tourism Department for inclusion under the scheme. The registration will be done by a committee of the Department of Tourism comprising members from the Tourism Department, representatives from the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and the local administration, including the police. The committee will go through the applications based on parameters such as location of the house, quality of the facilities available and educational background of the applicant and family members. It may also give specific recommendations for improvements to qualify as “Home Stay”. The “Home Stay” will be classified into two categories — gold and silver — on the basis of the score sheet and accordingly the rentals will be fixed. The “Home Stay” will be treated as a non-commercial activity and will not be subjected to inspection by any regulatory authority without the permission of the District Collector or the Superintendent of Police. Andhra Pradesh is a major tourist destination in the country with more than 150 million tourists visiting the state every year. “The state is poised to witness an upswing in tourist arrivals, both domestic and international, due to the establishment of state-of-the-art tourism infrastructure and sustained promotional activities. The tourist arrival is expected to increase the demand for suitable accommodation and facilities to cater to the tourists’ requirements,” the official said.
Warm Welcome
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Don’t hang Rajiv killers, says judge
Kottayam, February 24 KT. Thomas said that since Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan had spent 22 years in prison, hanging them now would amount to punishing them twice for the same crime. The three men are lodged at the Vellore jail in Tamil Nadu. Thomas told reporters here: "If they are going to be awarded (death sentence) after spending 22 years in jail, it would be like giving them two punishment for the same crime, which is against the Constitution." He urged President Pranab Mukherjee to review his decision to reject their mercy petition. "The President should reconsider this because as of now the three have undergone a punishment more than the term of life imprisonment," he said. In 1999, a three-member Supreme Court bench comprising Thomas, Justice D.P. Wadwah and Justice SSM Quadri awarded death punishment to Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan and Murugan's wife Nalini. Thomas dissented on death punishment to Nalini, whose sentence was commuted to life imprisonment after then President Pratibha Patil accepted her mercy petition. While Perarivalan and Murugan are Indian citizens, Santhan and Murugan are from Sri Lanka. A Tamil Tiger woman suicide bomber assassinated Rajiv Gandhi at an election rally near Chennai May 21, 1991. All four listed in the case were charged with contributing to the killing. Among those wanted for the assassination were the Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, who was killed in Sri Lanka in 2009. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a woman suicide bomber on May 21, 1991, at Sriperumbudur. A designated court had in 1998 imposed death penalty on 26 persons but when the case reached the Supreme Court, capital punishment was confirmed only for four -- Nalini, Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan. Nalini's death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment by the Tamil Nadu Governor in 2000 following a recommendation by the state cabinet and a public appeal by Congress President Sonia Gandhi. — PTI
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Shinde reviews coastal security
Kolkata, February 24 Arriving here from Delhi by a BSF special flight, he flew by an IAF MI-17 helicopter to Sarberia in North 24-Parganas district and from there took a BSF boat to Dhamakhali. The minister visited T-Junction floating BOP near the Sagar Island and creeks in the Sunderbans, BSF Joint Director General(East) BD Sharma said. — PTI
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Maldives denies any ‘deal’ in Nasheed leaving Indian mission
Male, February 24 Nasheed (45) yesterday walked out of the Indian mission where he was holed up since last Wednesday to evade an arrest warrant, ending eleven days of stalemate. "There is absolutely no deal with India with regard to Nasheed. The government cannot interfere with the judiciary and the case against him would continue as normal," President Mohamed Waheed's press secretary Masood Imad said. "There is no arrest warrant against him (Nasheed) at the moment and hence, he is a free man and can continue his social and public life," Imad said. "He went into the Indian commission and came out purely because of his own reasons. We have no role in it," he said. — PTI
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14-yr-old beaten to death
Guwahati, February 24 The police said the 14-year-old boy was ‘caught’ inside a paan shop he had allegedly entered with the intention of committing theft along with an eight-year-old boy. Several persons had assaulted the boy so badly that he died soon after being admitted to a hospital by the police.
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Prisoner alleges rape by three policemen
Bangalore, February 24 The three accused policemen, including a sub-inspector, as well as the two accomplice policewomen have been put under suspension. “All five have been put under suspension to pave the way for an impartial probe,” Pratap Reddy, IGP, Western Range, told The Tribune. “The victim has alleged that the two women constables were present when she was raped by the three policemen. She also claims the two women constables were also aware of the three policemen’s plan to rape her. It is a very serious charge,” Reddy said. The IGP said that an FIR has been registered against all the five accused. They, however, have not been arrested yet. The victim, according to the police, is a “known thief”. Her modus operandi is to befriend women, drug them and then flee with their gold ornaments. She had allegedly stolen ornaments from one of her neighbours in Chikmagalur. The neighbour, a woman, was not aware of her criminal activities at that time. When she learnt that her neighbour had been arrested for stealing another woman’s gold, she contacted the alleged thief in prison who promised to return her the ornament once she came out of captivity. However, the “thief” did not keep her promise prompting the neighbour to lodge a police complaint. When the alleged thief was again arrested by the police, she said the ornament was passed on by her to her associate in Bangalore. A police team from Chikmagalur - consisting of the five who have been put under suspension now - had brought her to Bangalore so that she could lead the police to her associate. The thief was allegedly raped by the three policemen in Bangalore during their visit.
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The CBI has arrested one more police officer in connection with the 2004 alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan and three others, officials of the agency said.
The CBI late last evening arrested police inspector, Special Operation Group
(SOG), Gandhinagar, Bharat Patel in the case
A Lt Colonel and five others were detained by the Manipur police for alleged possession of prescription drugs that were meant to be smuggled into neighbouring Mynamar for producing 'party drugs'.
In Manipur, the police has said tablets are worth Rs 1.50 crore and these were found inside three vehicles at
Pallel, in Chandel district of the state. Once in Myanmar, these are converted into well known party drugs and the price goes up by 15-20 times.
Tirupati, February 24
