The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Telangana MLAs evicted by marshals from AP House Hyderabad, December 19 House marshals evicted about 40 MLAs from the Telangana region belonging to the Telugu Desam, Telangana Rashtra Samiti and BJP from the Andhra Pradesh Assembly tonight and drove them off to their respective party offices. The MLAs had been sitting near the Speaker's podium in the House since afternoon, in protest against the manner in which the Assembly was adjourned till January 3 without taking up a debate on the draft AP Reorganisation Bill-2013 referred by the President. As the legislators vowed to stay put through the night, the marshals evicted them on the instruction of the Speaker, Legislature sources said. The Assembly was today adjourned till January 3 without taking up the crucial debate on the draft Bill. President Pranab Mukherjee has given time till January 23 to the AP legislature to express its view on the state bifurcation and return the Bill. The session will now be held in two phases —between January 3 and 10 and 16 to 23 — to discuss the draft Bill. The Seemaandhra faction of the ruling Congress has said it would request the President to extend time beyond January 23, as every legislator has to express his/her views. The Seemaandhra Congress legislators said they would meet the President during his southern sojourn here and present their case against the division of the state. — PTI
	At IB lecture, President ‘deviates’ to praise Anna Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 19 President Pranab Mukherjee today made a ‘diversion’ from his lecture and talked about Anna Hazare’s movement and mentioned how it has opened new dimensions in the democratic structure. He was candid in admitting that these dimensions cannot be brushed under the carpet. Yesterday, the Parliament had passed the Lokpal Bill. Mukherjee made extempore remarks during the annual endowment lecture of the Intelligence Bureau in New Delhi. The President said, “Just 10 years ago, nobody could think of social activists and non-governmental organisations not only demanding a particular piece of legislation to protect the interests of the people, but also insist that you have to adopt this model, this structure.” The President, who has been the Finance, Defence and External Affairs Minister at various points in time in his long political career, said this in an apparent reference to the adoption of the Lokpal Bill for which a spirited campaign was mounted by Hazare over the past two years. The President recalled that two years ago, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had asked him to head a Group of Ministers to have negotiations with the anti-corruption campaigner. He recalled that at that time he had gone on a trip to Vietnam. “On being asked how he would respond to the movement, he had said: It is opening new dimensions in our democratic structure which we shall have to address,” the President recalled. He said that earlier it was thought that democracy meant people would choose their elected representatives who would make legislations for them and govern them. At the end of that stipulated period, “we shall have an account from them if we have been successful or not”. Speaking on the occasion, the President said that challenges to our security could come from many sources. “We have to fight against terrorism that receives support from outside our country. Both state and non-state actors inimical to the nation are continuously engaged in efforts to destabilise India.” He termed Left-wing extremism as a serious threat to social peace. The rapid change in technology has also resulted in new threats. The misuse of the social media was now a weapon that terrorists across the world and anti-nationals were employing with greater sophistication, he said. This has to be combated by adopting superior tactics and technology. He said, “As new challenges emerge, we would also need to upgrade our skills and technological capabilities. For the security personnel to effectively counter these threats, timely and reliable intelligence is of utmost value”.
	Widow’s remarriage no ground to deny relief: HC Mumbai, December 19 The Bombay High Court has held that remarriage of a widow would not deprive her from getting compensation for accidental death of her first husband. The ruling was delivered by a Bench headed by Justice Dharmadhikari recently. "The law postulates grant of just compensation to the claimants. That she was married to deceased and had given birth to a daughter is undisputed. That she has lost company of her husband and will have to take care of her child even after remarriage ought to have, therefore, weighed with the tribunal while awarding compensation," the bench observed. A tribunal had refused compensation to the wife on the ground that she had remarried, although it awarded the same to the victim's child. Sandeep Purandare, a city resident working with L&T was killed on July 5, 2007, when a dumper truck hit his motorcycle on Western Express Highway near suburban Andheri. The Accidents Tribunal awarded his family compensation of Rs 30 lakhs. But on an appeal, the high court increased this amount to Rs 66.98 lakh along with interest observing that calculations were not proper and rise in income, if the deceased was alive, was not taken into account. The high court also ordered that the family be paid Rs 30,000 towards litigation costs. The high court further ordered 20 per cent of the compensation amount of Rs 67 lakh should be paid to deceased's wife and 60 per cent to his 11-year-old daughter. The remaining 20 per cent was awarded to deceased's mother. The court gave substantial share of compensation to the child as it felt that she will require this amount for education, day-to-day maintenance and marriage. The bench ordered that this amount may be kept in a fixed deposit in a nationalised bank. — PTI The case * Sandeep Purandare, working with L&T, was killed in an accident near suburban Andheri in Mumbai * A tribunal had refused compensation to his wife on the ground that she had remarried, although it awarded the same to the victim's child * The court gave substantial share of compensation to the child as it felt that she will require this amount for education, day-to-day maintenance and marriage.
	AAP to get more time to form govt: Shinde Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 19 Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today said the government was ready to give some more days to Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Admi Party (AAP) to explore the possibility of forming a government in Delhi where political uncertainty continues after the recent Assembly elections failed to give a clear verdict to any political party. Shinde said the Centre had asked Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung as to how much time the AAP had sought for the government formation in Delhi. “We will give some more days (to AAP) for government formation in Delhi. This is a democratic process,” the Home Minister told reporters today. Shinde indicated that the Central government was not in a hurry to impose President’s rule in Delhi. It was ready to wait for some more days. With 28 MLAs in its kitty, AAP had announced its decision on form the government after eliciting views from people. The Congress with eight MLAs has offered outside support to AAP. When it met the Lieutenant Governor on December 15, AAP had sought 10 days to arrive at a decision. AAP had set 18 conditions for the Congress and the BJP before it could decide on taking their support to form a government. The Congress had put the ball in AAP’s court, saying 16 of its 18 demands needed administrative decisions and had nothing to do with Parliament or Assembly. ‘Govt ready to wait’ * Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the government was not in a hurry to impose President’s Rule in Delhi * AAP had announced its decision to form the government after seeking views from the people * The Congress with eight MLAs has offered outside support to AAP
	ganguly case Govt may make Presidential Reference New Delhi, December 19 The government today appeared to be moving towards making a Presidential Reference for removal of Justice AK Ganguly as chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission. The Law Ministry and the Home Ministry are learnt to be in agreement that prima facie a case can be made out against the former Supreme Court judge, sources said here. The matter has now been referred to Attorney General GE Vahanvati to work out legal details. The procedure of referring the matter to a senior law officer ensures that the case presented in the Presidential Reference is watertight to withstand the scrutiny of the apex court. The Home Ministry had recently referred the matter to the Law Ministry. The move came after President Pranab Mukherjee referred to the Home Ministry a letter by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking Ganguly's removal from the post following a woman law intern’s allegation of sexual harassment against the former judge. Justice Ganguly has strongly denied the charge and refused to quit his post. The Presidential Reference to be made to the apex court will first be cleared by the Union Cabinet before it is sent to the President. The Protection of Human Rights Act is clear that a Chairperson or member of the NHRC or a state human rights commission can only be removed “by order of the President of India on the grounds of proven misbehaviour or incapacity after the Supreme Court, on reference being made to it by the President, has, on enquiry... reported that the Chairperson or the member, as the case may be, ought on any such ground to be removed.” “Papers have come to us. I can say as of now that we have sent to legal department and then after obtaining their opinion, we will go ahead,” Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told mediapersons here earlier today. The chairman of State Human Rights Commission can only be removed on the orders of the President following the receipt of the Supreme Court's inquiry report that would be vetted by the Union Cabinet. Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising has also written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking Ganguly’s removal. She has also written an article bringing out excerpts from the intern's statement before the Supreme Court panel. Ganguly has questioned how the confidential statement made by the young woman has been made public. — PTI Weighing legal options * The Law Ministry and the Home Ministry are learnt to be in agreement that prima facie, a case can be made out against the former SC judge * The matter has now been referred to Attorney General GE Vahanvati to work out legal details * This is being done to ensure the case presented in the Presidential Reference is watertight
	Diplomat’s father threatens fast Mumbai, December 19 The father of Devyani Khobragade today threatened to launch a fast if "fabricated" charges of visa fraud against his diplomat daughter were not dropped and her honour restored even as he dubbed as "blatant" attack on Indian judiciary US attorney Preet Bharara's remarks after the incident. Uttam Khobragade, a retired IAS officer, said the arrest of his daughter was part of a conspiracy and asserted no fraud was committed by Devyani and no false information tendered by her regarding the salary to be paid to her missing housemaid Sangeeta Richard. He castigated Bharara for his comments which he said were against the Indian judicial system and "scandalised the process of justice in India". "I will try to meet Sonia Gandhi, I will try to meet Manmohan Singh. If this justice is simply not acceptable, then I will go on fast," he said. "I have no purpose in staying in this world... If my daughter cannot be secured, her honour cannot be restored, if false criminal cases cannot be withdrawn even by such a strong country of 100 crore," he said. "They have made a false deposition in the FIR that we mentioned USD 4500 as the salary of the servant. It was the salary of Devyani. The FIR is a false document. It was fabricated to arrest Devyani," he said. Khobragade said if at all any fraud had been committed, it was by Sangeeta. "Sangeeta made the application for the visa. Sangeeta put her signature on the application, she was twice interviewed by the US officials. Who got the benefit? Sangeeta got the visa. If there is any fraud, it has been done by Sangeeta Richard," he said. — PTI
	Religious leaders hail SC verdict on Article 377 Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 19 Religious leaders today welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on Article 377 of the Constitution saying it was in line with the tradition of the country, moral values and religious teachings. They said Article 377 has rightly described homosexuality as a punishable offence because it not only prevents evolution and progress of human race but also destroys family system and social relations. It is also a great danger to public health. Medical research has also found it as a basic reason for the spread of AIDS, they said. Appreciating the Supreme Court’s verdict at a joint press conference of Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian religious leaders, president of the Jamat-e-Islami Hind, Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari, said homosexuality was against nature. “When homosexuality is not even visible in the animals, how it can be practical in human beings which are considered the most developed creatures,” he said. Maulana threatened that any amendment by Parliament in the Article 377 to make the law lenient for homosexuality would not be tolerable. Jagat Guru Swami Omkar Anand of Sanatan Dharm said with its decision, the apex court had prevented the country from going on to the path of destruction. Late marriage is the cause of homosexuality, he claimed. Christian religious leader Father Dominic Emmanuel said in Bible it was clearly mentioned that a man could only marry a woman. It is natural and beneficial for the society, he said. Chief granthi of gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Gyani Ranjit Singh, also hailed the Supreme Court order saying that same-sex marriage should not be allowed.
	5 months on, 2 Indian sailors jailed in Togo freed Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 19 Sunil James, a merchant navy Captain who had been languishing in a jail in Togo, western Africa, for five months has been released, the government said today. He is expected to be in India latest by tomorrow. Another sailor who had been imprisoned along with Captain James, Vijayan, has been released too. "Sailors from India -- Capt Sunil James and Vijayan -- have been released from detention in Togo. Will leave for home later today," MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said. He said the two men were released after India’s High Commissioner in Ghana K Jeeva Sagar met Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe. “The two sailors are with the Ghana High Commissioner right now,” he said. "It came as a surprise. We didn't have hope until yesterday. We are relieved," said Captain James' wife Aditi. Captain James was arrested by Togo in July on charges of helping pirates who had attacked and looted his ship, MT Ocean Centurion, near the tiny African country that borders Ghana. His family had been making desperate attempts to secure his release ever since. Earlier this month, his 11-month-old son, Vivaan, died of septicemia. The family has refused to perform the last rites of the infant till his father has seen him one last time. The baby's body has been kept in a morgue in Mumbai and the last rites are expected to be conducted after Captain James' arrival.
	Tejas set to get clearance for IAF induction today Shubhadeep Choudhury Tribune News Service Bangalore, December 19 The stage is set for the indigenous fighter-bomber LCA (light combat aircraft) Tejas being accorded the initial operational clearance (IOC) on December 20 paving the way for its induction into the IAF. K Tamilmani, chief executive, CEMILAC (Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification), will hand over the “Release to Service Document” of Tejas to Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne in a function to be held at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) airport here. The handing-over ceremony will be preceded by a 20-minute flying display. At least two LCAs will take part in the exercise. Defence Minister AK Antony will be the chief guest at the function. “Tejas is among the few fighter planes in the world that went from the drawing board to the IOC stage without a single incident or accident,” Air Marshal P Rajkumar (retd), who was instrumental in creating the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC) in Bangalore for Tejas trials, said. The accordance of IOC to Tejas may not lead to IAF pilots immediately flying the LCAs. HAL - the contractor for manufacturing the fighter-bomber jets - is slated to roll out two fully equipped planes by March-April next year. Only then, IAF pilots will be flying the planes. By 2015, the HAL is supposed to roll out eight planes each year. It has an order from the IAF to supply 40 planes initially to replace the IAF’s ageing fleet of MiG 21 and MiG 27 fighter jets. The LCA version being given the IOC can carry two laser-guided 500 kg bombs, besides missiles for air-to-air and air-to-ground attacks and has a helmet-mounted display system. The next LCA version, which is supposed to be ready by 2015, will have additional features like “beyond visual range” (BVR) missile-launching capabilities, air-to-air refuelling and 23 mm guns. All this will entail a lot of work on the airframe of the aircraft and a more powerful engine. “I wrote in my book that from the first flight in 2001 to getting the IOC, it will take 10 years. It has taken 13 years instead of 10. I won’t call it much of a delay. Those familiar with aircraft production knew that it would take time. It is the DRDO scientists who kept setting up optimistic targets,” Rajkumar said. Himself a MiG 21 pilot, Rajkumar said the LCA Tejas was “much, much superior to the MiG 21”. “I shall call it 65 per cent indigenous. The engine is American and the radar is Israeli. But most of other things, including the mission-control computer, the flight-control computer and the design, are all Indian”, he said. LCA was earlier given IOC in January 2011. But the then IAF chief Air Chief Marshal PV Naik expressed his reservations about the jet at the IOC function itself, necessitating a second IOC for the jet.
	Narayan Sai in 14-day judicial custody Surat, December 19 Self-styled godman Asaram's son Narayan Sai was today remanded in 14-day judicial custody by a local court in a rape case filed against him by one of the two Surat-based sisters. Chief Judicial Magistrate Jatin Thakkar sent Sai to judicial custody till January 2 after his remand, which was granted yesterday, ended this afternoon. Police had yesterday sought Sai's custody to question him about 21 SIM cards recovered during the course of the probe. The police also wanted to find out the source of Rs 5 crore recovered from Sai's aides. The police had detained six persons, including a police sub-inspector, in connection with an alleged conspiracy to bribe cops, doctors and judicial officers to weaken the case against Sai. Sai and two of his aides were arrested by the Delhi Police on December 4 from the Delhi-Haryana border. His two aides have already been remanded in judicial custody. Two Surat-based sisters had accused Sai and his father Asaram of rape. — PTI
	CD case: 2 more officials quizzed Tribune News Service Dehradun, December 19 Two more secretariat officials were questioned by the police for their alleged involvement in blackmailing suspended Additional Secretary JP Joshi and conspiring against him. Their names had cropped up during the interrogation of other accused in the case. However, they have not been arrested. "We still don't have adequate evidences against them for effecting their arrest," said an officer. The 26-year-old girl, who had levelled allegations of physical assault against JP Joshi, did not surrender in the court today. Her lawyer sought one more day for it saying the girl was not keeping well. Ritu Kandiyal arrested in the case will have to remain in judicial custody for some more time as the sessions court today deferred hearing on her bail plea to January 2. Bail plea of Neeraj Chauhan would be heard on December 21.
	40 inmates flee juvenile home Tribune News Service Lucknow, December 19 At least 40 inmates of Meerut’s Juvenile Justice (JJ) Home escaped last night after snatching keys from the lone home guard on duty. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered by the district administration. The police managed to trace 24 of the missing inmates, two returned on their own while the police are on the lookout for the remaining 14 absconding inmates of the Surajkund JJ home in Meerut. Taking advantage of the thick fog in the bitterly cold night the inmates brutally thrashed the Home Guard Sushil Kumar to take hold of the keys after which they unlocked the gates and walked out into the deserted streets. When a police patrol tried to stop the group of adolescents roaming the streets, they ran away raising police’s suspicion. The injured home guard also informed the police that managed to round up 24 of the inmates.
	Cabinet panel approves Rs 6,600-cr interest-free loan for sugar mills New Delhi, December 19 The government today decided to provide interest-free loans of Rs 6,600 crore to cash-starved sugar mills to make payments to cane farmers. The entire interest burden, estimated at Rs 2,750 crore over the next five years, will be borne by the government, according to sources. "The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Rs 6,600 crore interest-free loans to the sugar industry. The interest subvention will be 12 per cent, which will be borne by the Sugar Development Fund," Food Minister K V Thomas said. The Food Ministry proposal before the CCEA was based on the recommendations of the informal group of ministers, which was set up by the Prime Minister under the chairmanship of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to address the industry's cash crunch. The loans will be provided by banks to sugar mills exclusively for making payments to sugarcane farmers, including arrears. The loans are equivalent to the excise duty paid by the mills in the past three years. Mills have to repay the loans in five years and can avail of a moratorium on repayment for the first two years. The ministry had originally proposed that 7 per cent of the interest burden would come from the Sugar Development Fund and the rest from the exchequer, which the CCEA revised. The Rs 80,000 crore sugar industry has been facing a cash crunch due to higher cost of production and lower selling prices in the wake of surplus output over the past few years. Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) Director General Abinash Verma hailed the government's decision to provide interest-free loans. "The loans will have to be used to pay cane price of farmers, will ensure timely payment to the farmers to that extent at least, including the clearance of past cane arrears of Rs 3,000 crore," Verma said. "It's a wonderful gesture by the Central Government for both the farmers and the industry at the same time. It will help the industry reduce around Rs 500 crore annually of interest burden in the next five years," he added. The CCEA also extended sugar exports without quantitative restrictions for the year that started in October 2013. Other recommendations of the ministerial panel that are yet to be considered include the recasting of loans taken by mills, sops to produce 4 million tonnes of raw sugar, setting up a buffer stock and doubling of ethanol blending in petrol to 10 per cent. — PTI
	SBI cuts home loan rates by up to 0.4% New Delhi, December 19 The SBI, country’s largest bank, today cut home loan rates by up to 0.4% for new borrowers, a day after RBI kept its key policy rates on hold. Women borrowers would get an additional 0.05% concession on card rates. The SBI home loans will now be available under two slabs - under Rs 75 lakh and above Rs 75 lakh. Loans of up to Rs 75 lakh would be available to fresh borrowers at 10.15% against the existing rate of 10.50%. For women borrowers, the rate of interest after an additional concession of 0.05% would be 10.10% for home loans of up to Rs 75 lakh. The new rates would be effective from tomorrow, the State Bank of India (SBI) said. With regard to loans above Rs 75 lakh, the new rate would be 10.30%. For women borrowers it is 10.25%. The revised EMI per lakh for a loan tenure of 30 years will be Rs 885 (for women) and Rs 889 (for others). The prevailing EMI for Rs 1 lakh is Rs 900 for 30 years, it said. The RBI in its monetary policy review yesterday kept short-term lending rate unchanged at 7.75%, while the cash reserve ratio (CRR) remained at 4%. — PTI
	BJP turns focus on UP, Maharashtra, K’taka Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 19 With three out of the five states clearly going its way in the just concluded Assembly elections, the BJP is now turning attention toward the states still below the mark but crucial for helping it cross the 200 mark in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Senior leaders explain that the party is confident of getting more seats than it currently holds in Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi — states either ruled by the BJP or its allies. But Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra — holding a massive chunk of 80, 28 and 48 seats, respectively — have been perceived to be the ones sitting on the fence. “In these states the party will have to perform well if we want to cross the 200 mark,” a leader said. While Maharashtra and Karnataka are with the Congress, UP — the state with the maximum number of seats — is with the Samajwadi Party. It is also the state where the BJP has planned the maximum number of Narendra Modi rallies in the coming days. Starting his run with Belgaum in Karnataka where Modi attended a valedictory function at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College-a non-political event-his next stop is Varanasi on Friday. A BJP bastion, Varanasi is being held by the saffron party but the rest of the region is predominately with the SP. Varasnasi is also one of the constituencies shortlisted for Modi for the general elections, sources say. Lucknow, the seat of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, is also being actively considered in internal deliberations of the party, they add. The final decision on the issue is expected in January. With 80 Lok Sabha seats, UP will play an important role in the formation of government at the Centre and the party has planned rallies key regions like Bareilly, Gorakhpur and Lucknow. However, the next in line is the ‘mahagarjana’ rally in Mumbai on December 22. The rally, the BJP claims, will be attended by 5 lakh people.
	Cold relents, fog continues to trouble North India New Delhi, December 19 Minimum temperatures registered a dip, bringing slight respite from mounting cold in north India where dense fog continued to throw normal life out of gear, hitting air and rail traffic. Delhi witnessed a marginal rise in the minimum, which stood three degrees above normal at 10.8°Celsius. The maximum was 22.4 degrees in the national capital, which is normal for the time of the year. Delhiites also got some respite from foggy conditions today after witnessing a dense fog cover for the past three days, which severely affected road, rail and air traffic. There was some relief from the chill for the northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir as well with mercury in most parts of the Valley, including in the summer capital of Srinagar, improving to settle near freezing point. The minimum in Srinagar was at -0.4°C as against the -1.2°C recorded yesterday. But Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a dip of three degrees as the mercury settled at -3°C as against 0.1°C the day before. Leh in Ladakh continued to be the coldest recorded place in the state with a low of -12.2°C. Lower down, Punjab and Haryana were under a dense fog cover, which posed problems at several places across the two neighbouring states even as both recorded a slight increase in temperatures. The common capital of Chandigarh saw the minimum settling at 7.8°C and experienced heavy night-time fog. Visibility levels dropped to below 50m in the morning in Patiala, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Bathinda, Hisar, Karnal, and Ambala, among other places. Train schedules were thrown out of gear with the New Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi delayed by close to 90 minutes. Meanwhile, an undertrial died in the Gurdaspur Central Jail in Punjab as a result of the cold, the police said. The undertrial, Haqim Singh, breathed his last at a hospital to where he was shifted after complaining of uneasiness due to cold, the police added. Uttar Pradesh, too, complained of dense fog which affected visibility in the early hours of the morning. Night temperatures fell in the Meerut division but changed little in the remaining parts of the state. However, the Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra and Faizabad divisions registered a rise in the mercury. The lowest recorded minimum in UP was 5°C at Bijnore. Rajasthan reported a dip in night temperatures with the Erinpura area near Jawai Dam in Pali recording a minimum of 6°C. — PTI
	Gujarat snooping: Govt may order probe New Delhi, December 19 A commission of inquiry may be ordered by the Centre into the alleged “snooping” on a woman in Gujarat allegedly at the behest of Amit Shah, a close aide of BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today said many women organisations and NGOs had given representations to President Pranab Mukherjee demanding a probe into alleged "snooping" on the woman and the President had referred the applications to the Home Ministry. "My department is examining them. There are some formalities too that have to be completed. It should not happen or look like as if we are taking a haphazard decision against a party. Hence, our department is going into details and once that is done, very soon we will take a decision on that," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function here. Shinde was replying to a question on the possibility of ordering a probe into the alleged "snooping" incident. Two news portals, Cobrapost and Gulail, had claimed on November 15 that Amit Shah had ordered illegal surveillance of a woman in Gujarat at the behest of one "saheb". They had released purported taped conversation between Shah and IPS officer G L Singhal to support their claim but said the authenticity of the tape could not be confirmed. But the woman’s father had told the National Commission of Women that his daughter did not want any probe. — PTI
	Production warrant against Irom Sharmila New Delhi, December 19 A Delhi court today issued production warrant for January 30 against rights activist Irom Sharmila after she failed to turn up in a case lodged against her for allegedly attempting suicide during her fast-unto- death here in 2006. The Manipuri activist, who has been on a fast for over 12 years demanding repeal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in her home state, did not appear before the court despite its October 30 direction in that regard. Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain issued the production warrant for January 30, next year. The matter is fixed for recording of prosecution evidence in the case. During the proceedings, Sharmila's counsel appeared before the court. On March 4, the court had put 40-year-old Sharmila on trial after she had refused to plead guilty for the offence of attempting to commit suicide (Section 309, Indian Penal Code). — PTI
	Pinaka rockets test-fired Balasore (Odisha), Dec 19 India's indigenously developed Pinaka rockets were successfully test-fired from a multi-barrel rocket launcher from a base at Chandipur-on-sea near here today. "Six rounds of Pinaka rockets were successfully tested from the proof and experimental establishment at Chandipur," defence sources said. — PTI
	Indian, Afghan forces train for counter-terror ops Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 19 To strengthen its military ties with Afghanistan, India is now conducting a joint training between the Special Forces of the Indian Army and Afghan National Army at Jodhpur. The joint training, the focus of which is counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism, will culminate on December 29. The aim of the training is to promote lasting military relationship between the two countries through jointness and mutual exchange of ‘special operations tactics’, primarily in a 'sub-conventional scenario'. Lt Gen Ashok Singh, GOC-in-C, Southern Command, viewed the conduct of the training at Jodhpur today and interacted with the participants. He also witnessed various operational exercises executed jointly by the forces of the two nations.