The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

M’rashtra cops join probe
Shiv Kumar/TNS

Mumbai, July 8
The Anti-Terror Squad of the Maharashtra Police has joined investigators probing the serial bomb blasts at the Mahabodhi temple in Bihar’s Bodh Gaya on Sunday, the police said.

A team of investigators from the state rushed to Bihar late Sunday evening after officers discerned a pattern similar to the bomb blasts in Pune last year. “Indian Mujahideen operatives who were arrested in connection with the blasts at the Jangli Maharaj road in Pune last year had told investigators that they had conducted a recce at the Bodh Gaya temple as well,” a senior police officer said.

Four operatives of the IM hailing from Maharashtra were arrested by the Delhi Police last October. Their names were then given as Asad Khan (33) from Aurangabad, Imran Khan (31) from Nanded, Sayed Feroz, alias Hamza (38), from Pune and Landge Irfan Mustafa (30) from Ahmednagar. They had planted explosives on bicycles and dustbins in the crowded Jangli Maharaj area in Pune.

The terror cell was led by Imran Khan, who the police said, had obtained training from Pakistan.

After their arrest, the four told investigators that they had also visited the Mahabodhi temple with the intention of carrying out bomb blasts to avenge the attacks on Muslims by Buddhists of Myanmar.

The four also revealed that Iqbal and Riyaz Bhatkal who headed the IM were also part of the plan to attack the Mahabodhi temple.

The Maharashtra government says all information obtained from the IM operatives was passed on to the state Home Department.

Security stepped up in Kamakhya Temple
Bijay Sankar Bora/TNS

Guwahati, July 8
In the wake of a terrorist strike at Mahabodhi Mahavihara at Bodh Gaya yesterday, security has been tightened in and around the ancient Shakti shrine, Kamakhya Temple, here in Guwahati as a precautionary measure.

City Senior Superintendent of Police AP Tiwari said the existing security apparatus in and around the temple had been geared up in the wake of Bodh Gaya terror strike.

He said senior police officials made a supervision of security arrangement to protect the shrine today and after that vigil had been beefed up, including monitoring of CCTV camera footage.

Armed Assam Police personnel and CRPF men have been deployed in and around the famous temple that is visited by thousands everyday coming from various parts of the country.

Armed Assam Police battalion personnel as well as an unarmed police contingent have been deployed inside a main gate to the temple while all the devotees are being frisked at the entrance to the temple premises for security reasons.

All the CCTV cameras installed in and around the temple are being closely monitored while all the routes to the temple located atop a hill in the city are being scanned.

The SSP said security of the temple had been a priority for the city police for several years now and the arrangement had been given a re-look today in the wake of the changed scenario. Besides armed and unarmed police contingents, more that 50 private security guards engaged by the temple management committee, volunteers keep round-the-clock vigil on the temple and its surroundings.

India to share probe findings with Myanmar
Ashok Tuteja/TNS

New Delhi, July 8
India today assured Myanmar that it would share with the Southeast Asian country the outcome of the investigations into the serial blasts at the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya yesterday.

The assurance was given by Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai to Myanmar Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin in Naw Pyi Taw, the capital of Myanmar. One of those injured in the blasts at Bodh Gaya is a pilgrim from Myanmar.

The two countries also decided to enhance cooperation in the field of security in the wake of the Bodh Gaya incident.

Mathai, who is in Myanmar for Foreign Office consultations between the two countries, assured the leadership in Myanmar that Bodh Gaya remained a place of peace and worship, official sources here said.

The meeting between the two countries assumes significance against the backdrop of reports that the blasts at Bodh Gaya were an offshoot of the ongoing tension between Buddhists and minority Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Ishrat case: 6 suspended cops summoned

Ahmedabad, July 8
A CBI court today issued summons to six suspended police officers accused in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, for handing over the chargesheet filed by the investigating agency.

Judge HS Khutwad asked DG Vanzara, GL Singhal, JG Parmar, Tarun Barot, NK Amin and Anaju Chaudhary to remain present in the court on July 15. The court is likely to hand over chargesheet to them on that day. One of the accused senior IPS officers PP Pandey, out of the seven named in the chargesheet, is absconding. — PTI

After Cong rap, Beni calls Mulayam an old friend
Tribune News Service

Lucknow, July 8
Congress’ stern warning to Union Minister for Steel Beni Prasad Varma seems to have worked as the leader today described Samajwadi party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav an old friend.

“I will welcome him (Mulayam) with garlands if he becomes the Prime Minister after next year’s general election,” Varma said while interacting with mediapersons after a function in Gonda.

Launching a frontal attack on the BJP, Varma accused Narendra Modi of vitiating the environment in Uttar Pradesh.

He said it was a manifestation of the party’s degeneracy that they had to summon former Gujarat minister Amit Shah who was an accused in the fake encounters of Ishrat Jahan and Sohrabuddin.

Recently in news for attacking the SP patriarch, Varma appeared bighearted towards his old friend after the party reprimand as well as Mulayam’s comment that Varma was instrumental in keeping him in news.

Varma claimed the Congress would win at least 50 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in the next general election, and vice-president Rahul Gandhi would be the next Prime Minister.

On July 2, Varma had said the SP chief was not even fit to be a sweeper in the Prime Minister’s office after which he was taken to task by AICC general secretary and UP in charge Madhusudan Mistry.

Mamata invites Jagan’s party to join Federal Front
Suresh Dharur/TNS

Hyderabad, July 8
The Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has approached the YSR Congress, headed by the jailed MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, and invited the fledgling party to join the proposed Federal Front as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP.

Mamata called up the honorary president YSR Congress and Jagan’s mother YS Vijayalakshmi and extended an invitation to join hands with her in forging the Federal Front, a conglomeration of regional parties. Vijayamma thanked the TMC chief for her gesture and told her that a decision would be taken after consulting Jagan who is presently in jail in connection with the alleged illegal assets case.

The development comes as a major embarrassment for the main opposition Telugu Desam Party and its president N Chandrababu Naidu who has already expressed his willingness to work with Mamata in building the alternative Front. He had even claimed that he was in talks with the

West Bengal Chief Minister and leaders of other like-minded parties in this regard. Incidentally, the TDP and the YSR Congress are arch rivals in Andhra Pradesh politics.

Basu remembered on birth centenary
Tribune News Service

Kolkata, July 8
CPM leader and longest-serving chief minister of the country Jyoti Basu was remembered on his birth centenary at various functions today. A memorial meeting organised by the party was attended by prominent communist leaders, including party general secretary Prakash Karat, where they paid tributes to the leader. Basu’s son Subhabrata Bose garlanded his portrait at the function.

A similar meeting was held in the Assembly where MLAs belonging to different political parties paid floral tributes to the leader. Somnath Chatterjee and former Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim were also present.

Basu’s portrait in front of the Chief Minister’s chamber at the Writers’ Building was also garlanded at a simple function. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, skipped both meetings.

District committees of the CPM held meetings and seminars to pay their respect. The party’s state committee has drawn a detailed programme for the year-long celebrations.

13 dead as building housing popular eatery collapses in AP
Suresh Dharur/TNS

Hyderabad, July 8
At least 13 persons were killed and 20 others injured when a three-storey building, housing a popular restaurant, came crumbling down in Secunderabad early this morning.

The dead included the son of the hotel owner, restaurant workers and a few daily wage earners and auto-rickshaw drivers who had come for their morning cup of tea. The “City Light” hotel, located on the busy Rashtrapathi Road, is a popular joint for aromatic Irani chai (tea), biryani and light snacks besides Haleem during the holy month of Ramzan.

The 80-year-old building came crashing down at 6.45 am, taking all those inside by surprise, and within seconds, all that remained was mounds of debris and rising dust all around. While some managed to escape, the officials believe that at least 10 persons may still be trapped inside. According to one of the rescued hotel workers, there were about 30 workers in the building at the time of the mishap.

The personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), city police, fire fighting personnel and other rescue workers managed to evacuate about 45 persons, of whom at least 15 were shifted to the state-run Gandhi General Hospital in Secunderabad. The condition of some of the injured remains critical.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who visited the accident site and Gandhi Hospital to inquire about the condition of the injured, ordered a departmental probe. He also directed the officials to provide immediate relief to the injured.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Commissioner MT Krishna Babu, who supervised the rescue operations in the morning before CISF took over, said they had also sought the assistance of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for the rescue operation.

While the residents in the area alleged that negligence on the part of municipal officials was the cause for the collapse, Krishna Babu, however, maintained that the building was not a dilapidated structure and was also not among 57 buildings in Secunderabad area which were issued demolition notices.

Stating that the building looked stable during the recent inspection, the GHMC official said: “The construction of a ‘bhatti’ (clay oven) for preparation of ‘haleem’ on the top floor of the building may have weakened the structure, but the exact reason will be known only after a probe.”

The municipal commissioner said a case would be filed against the hotel owner. There were no concrete pillars to support the decades-old structure. Despite the structural weaknesses in the building, City Lights was not among the buildings in the city that were recently issued notices on safety. City Planning Commissioner Raghu said in future, all buildings over 60 years old will be given notice for renovation.

Meanwhile, the main opposition Telugu Desam Party President N Chandrababu Naidu, who also visited the mishap site and Gandhi Hospital, said the tragedy reflected the failure of the Congress government on all fronts. He demanded a judicial inquiry into the collapse and an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the victims.

Coal scam: Lift ban on sharing probe report with govt, CBI tells apex court
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, July 8
The CBI today pleaded with the Supreme Court to lift the ban on sharing its investigation reports on the coal block allocation scam with any government official, contending that this was necessary for getting sanctions for prosecuting the accused and fighting the case effectively in the trial court.

In an application filed in the SC, the agency said under the existing provisions in the law governing CBI functions, the agency had to share the probe reports with the Central Vigilance Commission and the sanctioning authorities for proceeding against the accused.

Further, the CBI would have to share these reports with the law officers who would argue its cases in various courts. Under the circumstances, it was necessary to modify the SC’s May 8, 2013, order restraining the CBI from sharing the probe reports if it had to proceed effectively in all aspects of the cases, the agency pleaded.

While clamping the restriction on May 8, a three-member Bench headed by Justice RM Lodha had taken the CBI to task for changing the “heart” of the status report on its investigations at the instance of the then Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and one Joint Secretary each from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Coal Ministry, besides Attorney General GE Vahanvati.

It then directed CBI Director Ranjit Sinha to ensure that “no access of any nature is provided to any person or authority, including the Law Minister” or any other union minister and law officers, including Vahanvati.

The Bench had also directed the government to try and put in place a law insulating the CBI from outsider interference by July 10. In response to this, the government submitted an affidavit last week assuring the court that this would be done by bringing the probe agency under a three-pronged superintendence by the CVC, the government and an accountability commission comprising three retired judges of the SC or high courts.

Further, the appointment of CBI Director would be done on the basis of the recommendation of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India or a SC Judge to ensure that the credentials of the agency’s chief were beyond doubt. Also, CBI would be given financial autonomy. The Bench would consider both the CBI plea and the government’s assurance on July 10 when the PILs pleading for cancellation of the coal block allocations are listed for hearing.

Backing JMM, Cong sets ball rolling for UPA-III
Aditi Tandon/TNS

New Delhi, July 8
As the JMM stakes its claim for government formation in Jharkhand tomorrow ending months of President’s rule, the Congress circles here remain agog with talks of UPA-III whose foundation stone stands laid with the party stitching an alliance with the Sorens in the tribal state.

The alliance, though reluctant, will benefit the Congress in 2014 General Election, the reason why it came about despite months of dilly-dally on the part of senior party leadership that wanted to keep a distance from the tainted JMM.

But in the new bargain, the Congress has bagged 10 Lok Sabha seats out of 14 in Jharkhand with the JMM promising not to contest any of these in the state.

It has further agreed to abstain in favour of Congress candidates in parliamentary constituencies with a tribal sway in Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Bihar.

“The understanding with the JMM will help us in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections where we will gain in tribal belts. The alliance is the first move in stitching UPA-III for general election next year,” said a senior party leader.

In Jharkhand, JMM today received letters of support from the Congress, the RJD and some independents. In the 81 member Assembly, the JMM needs 42 legislators to sail through. Of these, it has 18 and the Congress 13.

The timing of the Congress-JMM alliance is crucial with the BJP losing the JDU, its friend of 17 years, which parted ways to save the flag of secularism after the saffron party elevated Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its campaign committee chief for next year’s elections.

Though cozying up to the JDU in Bihar, the Congress didn’t mind trucking with the RJD in Jharkhand to help the JMM form the government and strike a hard deal in the bargain.

“The reality of these two states is different,” said a Congress leader when asked if it was fine to woo the JDU on the one hand and marry the RJD on the other.

The Congress remained non-committal on whether it would join the JMM government under Hemant Soren, the son of JMM chief Shibu Soren. “Let him first stake claim. We will see later whether to join or support from outside,” Congress party leader said.

Govt formation

JMM will stake its claim for government formation in Jharkhand on Tuesday
In the 81 member Assembly, the JMM needs 42 legislators to sail through
Of these, it has 18 and the Congress 13; the RJD and some Independents have pledged support

SC notice to states for better mental healthcare
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, July 8
The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Centre and the states seeking their response to a plea by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for providing better mental healthcare in the country.

A Bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and PC Ghose passed the order after the NHRC contended that not even clear data was available on the number of people suffering from mental illnesses and the extent of the problem.

“In the absence of a clear data base, proper policy interventions and allocation of resources is not receiving due priority. Therefore, there is a need to undertake a country-wide epidemiological survey to identify the magnitude of the problem” and draw up a perspective plan covering the task, financial implications and time-frame, keeping in view the present as well the future requirements, the commission pleaded.

Medical colleges should have sufficient number of seats for courses such as MD psychiatry and M.Phil in clinical psychology and psychiatric social work by relaxing the Medical Council of India norms.

There was also need for training an integrated team of psychiatrists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers, nurses and other personnel required to manage mental hospitals, medical college hospitals and district hospitals in the country.

Every state should have at least one mental health hospital fully equipped with latest equipment, well developed infrastructure and sufficient medical and paramedical manpower.

Psychiatry and mental health care should be made a compulsory independent subject in the MBBS examination so that young medical professionals could identify the problem at the initial stage itself, NHRC pleaded.