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No international probe into Sanaullah’s death
Pak prisoners protest, raise anti-India slogans in Kot Bhalwal jail
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Attacker booked for murder
Omar offers ‘sincere apology’ to family; separatist leaders condole death
Koran, tasbeeh among Sanaullah’s belongings
news analysis
SC refuses bail to Jagan, cites national interest
‘We are pained’
Chit fund scam
6 Rajasthan forts are World Heritage Sites
BJP pushed to 3rd spot in K’taka Assembly
AARUSHI MURDER Another Bansal nephew got plum post in bank venture Top Maoist leader
arrested in Assam IAF sets ball rolling for new transport fleet
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No international probe into Sanaullah’s death
New Delhi, May 9 According to MEA spokesman Syed Akbaruddin, New Delhi had some time ago indicated to Islamabad that the officials of the two countries should sit together and take forward discussions on the recommendations of the India - Pakistan joint judicial committee. This proposal was made after the death of two Indian prisoners - Chamel Singh and Sarabjit Singh - in Pakistan’s Kot Lakhpat Jail and the attack on Sanaullah at a Jammu jail. “We look forward to a response from Pakistan and we intend to take that further,” the spokesman added. He said India had assured the Pakistani authorities of all assistance in repatriating Sanaullah’s body to Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi said the brutal manner in which Sanaullah was attacked was “most unfortunate” and a matter of deep concern for Islamabad. “We have conveyed our concern to the Government of India in this regard and demanded that an investigation into the incident be held and the perpetrators of the heinous crime brought to justice.” Pakistan also asked India to hold discussions on the condition of Pakistani prisoners in India jails and repatriate those who have completed their sentences as per the consular access agreement between the two countries.
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Pak prisoners protest, raise anti-India slogans in Kot Bhalwal jail
Jammu, May 9 However, the prison authorities immediately initiated measures to prevent the situation from flaring up further. “After 22 Pakistani prisoners, kept in two blocks, came to know about the death of Sanaullah this morning, they staged a protest raising anti-India slogans,” said a prison official. Sources attributed the incident to “amateurish” move of isolating all Pakistani prisoners in two blocks of the prison post-Sanaullah incident. “They (Pak prisoners) were always kept segregated and not in majority. Post-Sanaullah incident, the jail administration isolated them and kept them in two blocks despite apprehensions expressed by State Home Secretary Suresh Kumar of a possible trouble. Whenever they were kept together, there had been problems like the protest this morning,” sources added. Sanaullah was allegedly attacked by ex-soldier Vinod Kumar of Uttarakhand on May 3 inside the prison-a day after Indian death-row convict Sarabjit Singh died at Jinnah Hospital in Lahore. Dinesh Sharma, superintendent of District Jail Ambphalla, who holds the additional charge of Kot Bhalwal prison, denied any protests. Deputy Inspector General of Prisons Mohammed Sultan Lone described the news of protest as a rumour. “There were no protests. They (Pakistanis) must be feeling sad over Sanaullah’s death and had expressed their sentiments,” said Lone. Home Secretary Suresh Kumar said Pak prisoners were giving vent to their sentiments, but “we have taken requisite precautions”.
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Attacker booked for murder
Jammu, May 9 “Following the death of Pakistani prisoner, ex-serviceman Vinod Kumar would be booked on murder charge. It happens automatically in such cases. A team of the state police is already in Chandigarh and as soon as the legal formalities are over, Section 302 of the RPC would also be added to the FIR against him,” Jammu IGP Rajesh Kumar said. Vinod Kumar is in seven-day police remand at
the Gharota police station these days. When asked how the ex-soldier reacted to the news of Sanaullah’s death, Sambyal said there was no reaction whatsoever from him. “He remained stone faced,” said the officer.
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Omar offers ‘sincere apology’ to family; separatist leaders condole death
Srinagar, May 9 “Although it is scant consolation, I would like to offer a sincere apology to the family of Sanaullah and my sympathies for their loss,” the Chief Minister tweeted hours after the death of the Pak prisoner. The attack on Sanaullah came a day after Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh lost his battle for life in a hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, last week. “While the inquiry will fix responsibility for any dereliction of duty, the fact that this has happened is a matter of great regret,” he tweeted. “I would also like to add a word of thanks to the doctors and staff at the GMC, Jammu, and the PGI, Chandigarh, for their efforts to save Sanaullah,” he added. Hardline APHC chairman Syed Ali Geelani paid tributes to the Pakistani prisoner. He appealed to the people to offer funeral prayers in absentia at all tehsil and district headquarters after Friday prayers tomorrow. According to Ayaz Akbar, spokesman of the Hurriyat Conference, Geelani demanded action against jail officials and dismissal of the Superintendent of Kot Bhalwal jail. Expressing grief over Sanaullah’s death, moderate APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has sympathised with his family. He said the attack was a result of “lawlessness and inadequate” security in jails.
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Koran, tasbeeh among Sanaullah’s belongings
Jammu, May 9 These included a Koran, a tasbeeh, a prayer cap, a suitcase, some books, a pair of spectacles, clothes, bed sheet and some money,” said the DIG (Prisons).
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Pakistan prisoner’s death embarrasses India
Ashok Tuteja/TNS
New Delhi, May 9 But last Friday when India was mourning the death of Sarabjit, New Delhi suffered acute embarrassment as Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah Ranjay was brutally assaulted at a Jammu jail in an obvious retaliatory attack. ‘An eye for an eye’ policy is certainly not going to improve relations between the two neighbours, which have hardly ever been cordial. In fact, it will only encourage hawks in both countries to dictate the terms of ties, Indian officials also acknowledge. “Sanaullah’s death certainly does not augur well for our ties. The jail authorities in India have been given strict instructions to segregate Pakistani prisoners and provide them adequate security,” an official source said. There is no denying the fact that the Pakistani authorities should have taken extra care to protect Sarabjit, especially after he himself expressed fear about his safety after Ajmar Amir Kasab and Afzal Guru were hanged to death in India for their involvement in Mumbai attack and Parliament attack, respectively. Perhaps India was not wrong in arriving at the conclusion that the attack on Sarabjit was instigated and carried out with active connivance of the jail authorities. But the Pakistanis are levelling the same allegation against India now that Sanaullah has met a similar fate. It’s high time that India and Pakistan start pondering over pathetic conditions in which the prisoners of the two countries live in each other’s jails. The high-powered judicial committee on prisoners, comprising retired judges from the two countries, has made some valuable suggestions on how India and Pakistan could improve the living conditions of each other’s prisoners.
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SC refuses bail to Jagan, cites national interest
New Delhi, May 9 “Economic offences constitute a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach in the matter of bail,” a Bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and MY Eqbal held while rejecting the bail plea of Jagan, who has been in jail for almost a year since his arrest on May 27, 2012. The corruption charges against Jagan were of serious nature, having “deep-rooted conspiracies and involving a huge loss of public funds,” the Bench noted. Further, releasing him at this stage would hamper the CBI investigation as he “may influence the witnesses and tamper with the material evidence”. While granting bail, the judiciary “has to keep in mind the nature of accusations, the nature of evidence in support thereof, the severity of the punishment which conviction will entail, the character of the accused, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger interests of the public/state and other similar considerations,” the SC held. Nevertheless, the Bench directed the CBI to complete the investigation and file the remaining chargesheets within four months, upon which Jagan would be entitled to seek bail again. According to the CBI, Jagan’s father, late YSR Reddy had abused his position as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, to benefit his son who started floating several companies since May 2004 and all those who made investments in them were rewarded with allotment of lands, contracts for irrigation projects and permission for real estate ventures and mines. Jagan is also facing charges of money laundering and several other related offences. Reports submitted by the CBI to the court talk about over Rs 530 crores and mining leases involving more than 400 hectares, besides several other transactions in which the amounts are yet to be ascertained. Jagan floated the YSR Congress after the Congress refused to make him the Chief Minister following the death of his father in an aircrash.
‘We are pained’
Hyderabad, May 9"We are pained over the Supreme Court rejecting bail to Jagan. This is clearly a case of political conspiracy to malign my family," said YSR's widow and Jagan's mother YS Vijayalakshmi, alleging that the CBI had become a tool in the hands of the Congress. The YSR Congress leaders have been accusing the Congress and the TDP of hatching a conspiracy to keep Jagan behind bars for a long time to prevent him from interacting with people ahead of next year’s Assembly election.
The Congress and the TDP welcomed the order. The leaders of the two parties said Jagan’s crime was not ordinary and hence the court dismissed his bail plea. "We were expecting a positive decision from the court which would have enabled our leader to go to the people and expose the Congress' game plan to defame him and block his political growth," YSR Congress leader J Prabhakar Rao said. — TNS
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Chit fund scam
Kolkata, May 9 In another case, the accused trio was remanded in nine days’ police custody by the Bidhannagar sub-divisional magistrate. They were produced at the court after completion of their term of 14 days’ police custody.
Sen’s lawyer told the magistrate that his client did not have any personal accounts in his name and all the funds collected from the depositors were deposited in the banks in several official accounts. The lawyer sought the court’s permission for allowing Sen to open a new account in his name so that his family members, friends and other well-wishers could deposit some money in that account which would enable him in meeting some urgent financial needs. But the court did not issue any order in this connection. Meanwhile, members of the Congress and the BJP demonstrated in front of the SDO’s court at Bidhannagar demanding a CBI probe into the scam while the accused were brought from the jail at New Town to the court today. A left front delegation met PM Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram and sought their intervention for protecting the interest of millions of defrauded depositors. They also demanded a CBI probe. The delegation also met President Pranab Mukherjee.
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6 Rajasthan forts are World Heritage Sites
To make it to the World Heritage List, a site must be of outstanding universal value and this is the first recommendation for inscription on the prestigious list after Chandresh Kumari Katoch took over as the Culture Minister. In 2012, nomination dossiers for Majuli Island, Qutub Shahi monuments of Hyderabad and the Great Himalayan National Park in Himachal Pradesh failed to make the cut with the international committee. The Rajasthan forts were also nominated for inscription by the state government last year but UNESCO rejected the dossier. This time also there was some disappointment. The dossier for the nomination of the Great Himalayan National Park again failed to impress the committee. According to the Culture Minister, the nomination for the Kullu-Manali site for consideration under the “natural category” has “not been rejected but deferred”. The Rajasthan forts comprise six sites located on rocky outcrops of the Aravalli mountain range and represent Rajput military hill architecture. The nomination dossier on five forts -- Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambhore, Amber and Gagron -- was prepared by the state government in 2011. Last year, the Centre added the Jaisalmer fort, reworked the documents and re-nominated the five forts. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), which evaluates the cultural properties for UNESCO, inspected the sites in November 2012. Built between 13th and 19th centuries, the forts are unique to the region. India has 29 world heritage sites — 23 cultural and six natural properties.
Inscription of the six Hill Forts of Rajasthan —a serial nomination — comes as a shot
in the arm of the ministry which came under the fire from a Parliamentary Standing Committee for sending dossiers to UNESCO in a “casual manner” and “without serious homework”. Though ministry officials claim that international inspection teams often fail to connect with Indian
culture due to language issues, the committee noted that dossiers sent to UNESCO are generally not found in order, as a result of which they are sent back for corrections.
Glorious past The forts of Rajasthan to get the coveted status of World Heritage Site comprise six sites located on rocky outcrops of the Aravalli mountain range and represent Rajput military hill architecture The six forts are Chittorgarh (pic), Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambhore, Amber, Gagron and Jaisalmer fort Built between 13th and 19th centuries, the forts are unique to the region
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BJP pushed to 3rd spot in K’taka Assembly
Bangalore, May 9 Both the BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular) have secured 40 seats each in the 225-member Karnataka Assembly. The Congress has secured 121 seats.
The question is since the BJP and the JD(S) have got an equal number of seats, which party will be recognised as the main opposition party in the House? The leader of the legislators of the party recognised as the main opposition party will be accorded the status of the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. Besides being a Cabinet rank office, the Leader of Opposition also performs various important roles, including taking part in the appointments for filling various constitutional positions in the state. In chapter 1 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Karnataka Legislative Assembly, the issue has been addressed. The rule book says, “Provided that if more than one party has got an equal number of members competing for recognition (as official opposition), the number of votes polled by members of each group in the general elections shall be calculated and the group which has polled more number of votes shall be recognised as the official opposition and its leader as the Leader of the Opposition.”
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SC to hear Talwars’ plea for calling CBI, police officials
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, May 9 A Bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir today agreed to hear the case on an urgent basis on a plea by Aarushi’s parents, Nupur and Rajesh Talwar who are the main accused in the case. The accused have come to the Supreme Court following the trial court’s refusal on May 6 to record the statements of 14 witnesses. During the trial, the CBI’s has contended that the needle of suspicion pointed towards the Talwars as there was no evidence to suggest the entry of any third person into their residence where the victims were found dead.
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Another Bansal nephew got plum post in bank venture Chandigarh, May 9 Vikram Bansal, who runs BR Advertising firm in the city, became an independent director on the board of Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company in 2010. His name figures as an independent director on the list of board of directors on company’s website. Former Member of Parliament and all-India in charge of the BJPs’ legal and legislative cell Satya Pal Jain claimed undue favours were given to Bansal’s relatives. He has demanded a CBI probe to look into the possibility of relatives being recommended by Bansal for top positions in financial institutions. Vikram Bansal had recently launched a counter-attack on BJP leaders by posting a comment on a social networking site saying: “His (Satya Pal Jain) every word against me and my father-like chacha (Pawan Kumar Bansal) will be given a proper reply. My chachaji is strong and has the confidence of his voters because he understands the value and meaning or relations.”
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Top Maoist leader
arrested in Assam Guwahati, May 9 Assam Home Secretary GD Tripathi said Naskar (75), was picked up yesterday from Silchar in Cachar district in southern Assam. He hails from Balia under Sonapur police station in South 24 parganas district in West Bengal. He had joined the MCC in 1967 and had risen to the rank of a politburo member in 2004 after the merger of the MCC and PBM, the official said. Guwahati City SSP AP Tiwari said Naskar alias Pareshji was picked up from a house on the outskirts of Silchar. The police is not sure about what the elderly Maoist leader was doing in Silchar and suspects he was looking for shelter to dodge fresh countrywide operations against Maoists across the country. |
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IAF sets ball rolling for new transport fleet New Delhi, May 9 The deal may end up costing Rs 13,000 crore with the aircraft being manufactured entirely in India by an Indian subsidiary of a foreign firm.
Avro’s HS-748 was originally procured from the UK in 1964 and later licence-produced by Defence public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Around 30 aircraft still remain in service, mostly relegated to training and communication roles. The tender or request for proposal (RFP) was issued to eight aviation majors, including European consortium Airbus, Spanish Casa, Russian Ilyushin, Swedish Saab, American Lockheed Martin, Brazilian Embraer, Italian Alenia Aermacchi and an Ubzekistan aircraft maker. Alenia Aermacchi is a subsidiary of Italian group Finmeccanica, which is under a cloud over bribery allegations in the supply of 12 VVIP helicopters by its subsidiary AgustaWestland. Sources say the tender has been issued to its subsidiary since the government has not taken any action against Finmeccanica so far. This is the first move to get Indian private companies in the military aviation sector. The RFP specifies that while 16 aircraft will be bought off-the-shelf from the foreign vendor, the remaining 40 will be manufactured in India by a private Indian Production Agency (IPA). The foreign aviation company will select the IPA based on qualification criteria for the IPA stipulated in the RFP. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd has been kept out. |
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Even as it deeply regretted the death of Sanaullah, India today ruled an international probe into the attack on the Pakistani prisoner in a Jammu jail on May 3.
Following the death of Sanaullah in Chandigarh, 22 Pakistani prisoners lodged in the “high-security” Kot Bhalwal jail, around 12 km from here, staged protests and raised anti-India slogans this morning.
Without sharing the “initial findings” of the attack, the Chief Minister had earlier this week described the incident as unfortunate.
New Delhi, May 9