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27 killed as bus plunges into gorge in Maharashtra
Cap on subsidised LPG cylinders may be raised
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Oz gang ‘targeted’ people of Indian appearance
N-energy centre to put Jhajjar
on global strategic map today
BJP rules out alliance with INLD for LS poll
Docs say WB gang-rape victim was pregnant
AIDWA members protest against the death of a 16-year-old gang-rape victim in Kolkata, near Banga Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI
Sarguja royal is Chhattisgarh CPL leader
BJP youth activists cane-charged in UP
Policemen lathicharge BJP workers protesting against the alleged involvement of HP Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in a corruption case, in Lucknow on Thursday. PTI
Cabinet nod to 1st project under Nirbhaya fund
Workers’ rights: India, Saudi Arabia sign pact
investment scam
Hardeep Puri joins BJP
Diplomat’s
Arrest in NY
$25m credit line for Maldives
Maldives President Abdulla Yameen with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI
10 trains cancelled till January 16
CD case: Judicial custody of six extended
Two hardcore Maoists held
AP minister resigns over portfolio rejig
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27 killed as bus plunges into gorge in Maharashtra
Mumbai, January 2 Police said the driver lost control of the bus after it collided with a tempo and plunged into the 150-foot gorge, splitting open on the rocky ground below, around 10 am. State transport department officials said the bus had left the Thane depot for Aurangabad with 40 passengers on board. It is yet to be ascertained whether more passengers boarded the bus on the way before the accident. Police said the death toll could rise as rescuers were still cutting the metal body of the bus. Eight passengers were hospitalised for injuries, some of them in serious condition. An official of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Development Corporation said driver Kisan Narayan Choudhari (55) had more than 25 years of experience and conductor DB Bondke (30) was also a regular employee. Police personnel at the state control room said poor telephone network in the area hampered their contact with the personnel on duty.
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Cap on subsidised LPG cylinders may be raised
New Delhi, January 2 Responding to queries on Rs 220 hike in the price of non-subsidised LPG cylinder, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said he read about it in newspapers and would take a look at the proposal. The hike in LPG cylinder prices has attracted widespread criticism from Opposition parties, including the BJP, the AIADMK and the CPM. Chidambaram said the government would look at the proposal to increase the number of subsidised cylinders to 12 from nine, which was the demand of a large number of chief ministers. The decision to hike the price of non-subsidised LPG cylinder has also triggered opposition from within the UPA government with senior minister Vayalar Ravi seeking its reconsideration. "It is quite natural that people will protest against the decision. The government should think about a solution to address the people's concern," Ravi said. The CPM said the hike in LPG cylinder prices as "totally unjustified". It would impose intolerable burden on the people already suffering due to high prices, the party said. This is the third increase in the rates of non-subsidised LPG cylinders over the past month. The price was hiked by Rs 63 a cylinder to Rs 1,017.50 on December 1. It was further increased by Rs 3.50 to Rs 1,021 on December 11. In September 2012, the government had capped the supply of subsidised domestic LPG cylinders to six per household in a year. The quota was raised to nine cylinders per household in a year in January 2013. Any requirement above this limit has to be fulfilled by making purchase at market rates. There is no restriction on the number of non-subsidised cylinders that a consumer can buy.
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Oz gang ‘targeted’ people of Indian appearance
Melbourne, January 2 A 17-year-old Sydenham boy was denied bail by a children’s court after being arrested for the Sunday attack on Manrajwinder Singh following which he remains in an induced coma in a hospital here. Singh, in Australia to study accounts, was bashed up by thugs in Birrarung Marr, near Princes Bridge, as he and two other friends waited for a train. He suffered serious head injuries in the incident. The offenders, perceived to be of African appearance, assaulted Singh by kicking him on the head and hitting him with a stick. They also punched his friend on the face. The teenager, charged with intentionally causing serious injury, robbery and theft, was refused bail when it emerged he was on bail at the time following an alleged assault and robbery on another Indian victim in November. He was remanded to return to court later this month. Victoria Police opposed the gang member's bail application on the grounds he allegedly committed the offence while on bail and would be a danger to the public if released, the Herald Sun reported. The court heard the boy, his twin brother and their younger brother were named by another of those arrested as being responsible for attacking the two men, The Age reported. The boy’s brothers were still at large and their father had little control over his sons despite trying to help investigators. The court was told the 17-year-old was a member of a gang of youths known as “KYR” - an acronym for “Kill Your Rivals” - who terrorise vulnerable people and Indians. CCTV footage has captured eight youths approaching the men. “Intelligence suggests that he and other associates are in a gang called KYR. They target vulnerable groups and they target Indians,” a Victoria Police officer told the court. Two other teens were arrested in connection with the attack while a search is on for five others. The victim's brother Yadwinder Singh today said his sibling was still in induced coma but was responding well to medicines. “He is not out of danger but he is responding well to the medicines. However, right now our main concern is the recovery of our brother,” Singh said. Officials at the Indian consulate in Melbourne are also in regular touch with Singh's family and helping them to speed up the visa process of his parents who are currently in India.
— PTI Victim remains critical: Manrajwinder Singh remains critical but was responding to medicine well, his brother has said. Yadwinder Singh said his brother was still in induced coma but was responding well to medicines Attacker was out on bail:
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N-energy centre to put Jhajjar
on global strategic map today
New Delhi, January 2 The project is the result of India’s collaboration with four countries that are permanent members of the five-member UN Security Council. “The centre will be set up with the assistance and collaboration of France, Russia, United States and United Kingdom,” Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda said today adding that these countries have the knowledge capital. Spread across 235 acres, the project will be owned by the Government of India and is located in Jasaur Kehri in Jhajjar District -- some 30 km from central Delhi. Proximity to the National Capital will mean that air and train connectivity will not be an issue. The project will be on the upcoming Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) highway that will allow easy access from not just Delhi but also from Gurgaon. The initiative had been announced by the Prime Minister at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington in April 2010. It will entail an investment of approximately Rs 1,000 crore. A College of Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems Studies, College of Nuclear Security Studies, College on Radiological Safety Studies, College of Nuclear Material Characterisation Studies and College for Studies on Applications of Radioisotopes and Radiation Technologies will be within its ambit. These establishments will study various aspects of the use of nuclear energy and related research. Deepender Hooda said the centre would facilitate deliberation and discussions among international experts on various issues including innovation in nuclear reactors and the nuclear fuel cycle, development of proliferation-resistant reactors, security technologies and the effects of radiation exposure. The centre will facilitate research by Indian and visiting international scientists, training of Indian and international participants, international seminars, workshops, group discussions by experts on topical issues along with development and conduct of courses in association with interested countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The facilities and infrastructure of virtual reality laboratories, hypothetical nuclear facility, barrier technology test site and vehicle access control test site, sensor evaluation test bed, accreditation facilities for monitors and systems and radiation monitoring, calibration and accreditation laboratory will also be set up. The PM will also lay the foundation stone of a 710 bedded National Cancer Institute (NCI). The institute will be set up at AIIMS-II in Badhsa, Jhajjar district. The NCI will have 200 beds dedicated to clinical research and another 200 for palliative care of patients in advanced stages of cancer along with a 24x7 cancer emergency ward. This institute will be set up in 45 months. Within its ambit
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BJP rules out alliance with INLD for LS poll
New Delhi, January 2 The quest for clean image scored over reality of votes, they said. Sources said though the saffron outfit could have benefited from INLD’s Jat vote bank, in the current political scenario, a party with leaders convicted in corruption cases could prove suicidal for the BJP’s national plans. In fact, the vision document being prepared by the party was quite specific on the issue of clean image. Under normal circumstances, the INLD would have been a natural ally for the
BJP. The INLD-BJP political friendship, which continued during Chautala’s tenure as the CM, ended when the two allies fought the 2005 elections separately and lost to the Congress. The last assembly elections also saw them going their separate ways. Though the BJP had a standing alliance with Kuldeep
Bishnoi-led Haryana Janhit Congress, the party, pre-AAP, was not averse to having the INLD on board. Last year, BJP president Rajnath Singh called on jailed Chautala in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, sparking off speculations of a tie-up with the
INLD. An NDA ally, Akali Dal’s chief Parkash Singh Badal was also keen that the two parties joined hands. INLD’s rural Jat vote bank would have added to the BJP’s urban
non-Jat votes so even though the HJC and the INLD abhorred each other, the BJP leadership was keen to have the Chautalas by its side in the 2014 quest. But, this was pre-Delhi elections and before Aam Aadmi Party declared its Haryana designs. “The conviction of
Chautalas, which could have been overlooked under normal circumstances, can prove dangerous for the BJP’s Lok Sabha plans. We do not mind losing a couple of seats, but clean image is a must,” a top BJP leader said. But, the option of a post-poll tie-up or “tacit understanding” on some seats seems still open. The Muzzafarnagar violence has shifted Jats to the anti-Congress camp and this has added to the BJP’s confidence. This is one of the reasons why the BJP turned down RLD chief Ajit Singh overtures for a pre-poll tie-up. After visible anti-Congress and
anti-Samajwadi Party sentiments among Jat voters in the Western UP, Singh wanted to return to the BJP and had sought alliance on seats less than what the BJP had left for him in 2009. Singh was left with nine seats, of which he had won five seats but he joined the UPA in December 2011. This apart, the party is sensing major gains in UP and BJP sources say they have decided to go alone in the state with 80 seats.
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Docs say WB gang-rape victim was pregnant
Kolkata, January 2 "We have filed a murder case against the two main accused on the basis of the final statement of the girl in which she had said that she was set on fire," Additional Commissioner of Police (Bidhannagar police) Anant said. "The doctor who was treating the girl also told us that she was pregnant at the time of her death. We have sent the foetus to the forensic science laboratory to determine the age of the foetus," he said. The victim was gang-raped twice in October before being set ablaze. Her family had claimed that she was burnt alive by the accused. Nitish gives
Rs 1-lakh ex gratia to family Taking note of the gangrape of a 16-year-old girl and her subsequent death on December 31 in West Bengal, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today announced Rs 1 lakh ex gratia assistance to the victim's family. Bihar Inspector General of Police Jiten Singh handed over the money to the bereaved family at their rented house in Dum Dum, where they had shifted from their original residence in Madhyamgram, and also assured them help in rehabilitation. The family, which originally hails from Bihar, apprehended fresh attacks from aides of the accused. The victim's father, a taxi driver, said he would not leave the city till all accused were sentenced to death. Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee chose not to comment on the Bihar government's help to the victim's family. But, she alleged that some people with vested interests were trying to malign her government's image over trifle issues. She said people who were in power for the past 35 years in West Bengal and did nothing for the welfare of the state were now trying to politicise some issues as they had no political activity to do after being deserted by the people in elections. Banerjee was speaking at a function organised to release the government's administrative calendar at the make-shift secretariat in Howrah today in the presence of Governor MK Narayanan. WB govt: Cooperated with victim’s family
Accusing the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and others of politicising the incident, state chief secretary Sanjoy Mitra said the West Bengal government had taken adequate steps to arrest the accused and protect the family. He said soon after the incident, all six accused involed in the crime were arrested. He said the government had decided to refer the case to a fast-track court for a quick trial so that the accused were punished. Meanwhile, Left front chairman Biman Bose alleged that the TMC goons, who were protected by the chief minister, were involved in the
incident.
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Sarguja royal is Chhattisgarh CPL leader
New Delhi, January 2 On Gandhi’s behalf, All India Congress Committee observers decided to give the charge to
Deo, who, in the recent state elections, led the party to victory in seven out of eight assembly segments in the Sarguja parliamentary constituency. Prior to this, the Congress had only four MLAs here. The Tribune had yesterday reported that Deo was due to be elected as the Chhattisgarh CLP leader. In another major decision which will impact the tribal and SC voters in the state, Renu
Jogi, wife of first Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Ajit Jogi, was named as the Deputy Leader of the Congress in the state assembly. Renu represents the legacy of her husband, who is a Satnami (a Scheduled Caste), though he likes to be called a tribal leader. With these developments, the Congress has ensured the representation of three major parliamentary regions of the state in its leadership - Sarguja tribal area represented by
Singhdeo; Raigarh-Raipur region represented by Chhattisgarh Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel and Bilaspur Lok Sabha region represented by Renu
Jogi. Under the new dispensation, the Congress hopes to make significant gains in the 2014 LS elections, considering it currently has only one Lok Sabha MP from the state, former state Congress chief Charan Das Mahant who resigned after the party failed to come to power in the recent state
polls. Deo, whose father MS Singh Deo was the Chief Secretary of undivided Madhya Pradesh and mother was a cabinet minister, represents the fifth generation of Congress men in his family.
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BJP youth activists cane-charged in UP
Lucknow, January 2 When stopped by the police outside the Assembly, the BJPYM workers allegedly indulged in stone-pelting prompting police to use force, sources said. Several BJPYM workers were detained and taken to police line from where they were released. BJP alleged that lathicharge on a peaceful demonstration reflected SP government's "mentality to kill the democracy". "On being stopped, the BJPYM workers staged a dharna and when they refused to return police used water cannon, lathicharged them and even fired in air," a BJP spokesman claimed. He said the party condemned the undemocratic act of the SP government. Earlier in the morning, some BJPYM workers were chased away by the Congress members when they reached the party office to stage a demonstration. "In democracy, every person has the right to stage a demonstration. But if someone will try to burn effigy of our leader and use abusive language, we cannot control our young party members," Congress spokesman Virendra Madan said.
— PTI
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Cabinet nod to 1st project under Nirbhaya fund
New Delhi, January 2 The decision came at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The CCEA also approved the construction of a 220kV transmission system from Alusteng (Srinagar) to Leh and an interconnection system for Drass, Kargil, Khalsti and Leh substations in Jammu and Kashmir. Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that the proposal cleared under the Nirbhaya Fund was one of the three proposals cleared in principle by him. The remaining two, which will include one from the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology, will be brought up for clearance subsequently. This will be implemented in 32 cities with a population of one million or more according to the 2011 census. This is the first phase of the implementation of the project. The second phase will cover the rest of the 21 cities with the population of one million.
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Workers’ rights: India, Saudi Arabia sign pact
New Delhi, January 2 Ravi expressed his gratitude to Saudi Arabia for adopting a humanitarian approach while implementing the “Nitaqat” policy for encouraging employment for the locals in the kingdom. He was also confident that the agreement signed today would help streamline the labour market. The Saudi minister said a committee of senior officials from the two countries would be set up to look into any possible future difficulties in protecting the rights Indian workers. The agreement, which has been in the works since April last year, protects the rights of both employers and domestic workers and regulates the contractual relations between them, ensures authenticity and implementation of the employment contract, takes measures against recruitment agencies that violate laws and establishes a mechanism to provide 24 hours assistance to the domestic sector workers. A standard employment contract would be finalised that would provide minimum wages, working hours, paid holidays and dispute settlement mechanism. The agreement
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Subrata moves SC to allow foreign visits
Legal Correspondent
Arguing for him, senior counsel Aryaman Sundaram told the Bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and JS Khehar that his client was running huge hotels in London and New York and had to immediately visit these two cities in that connection. He would return to India on three-day court notice, if required, Sundaram assured the court. Market regulator SEBI, however, opposed the plea, contending that Roy had not kept it informed about his approaching the SC with the plea. The SC had passed an order on October 28, 2013, restraining Roy from leaving the country until he provided property deeds worth Rs 20,000 crore to SEBI as surety for the funds two Sahara group companies had raised from the market in the form of fully convertible debentures. The apex court modified the order on November 1, allowing Roy to undertake foreign visits during the three-week deadline period set for submission of property documents. The Bench also wanted to know the reason for Roy’s hurry in approaching the court despite the fact that SEBI’s main contempt petition was slated for next hearing on January 9. The court said it would consider the plea for overseas visits on January 9 and asked SEBI to verify Sahara group’s property documents and file the response before that. The SC had passed the restraint order after hearing contempt petitions filed by SEBI against Roy and two of his companies-Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited (SIREC) and Sahara India Housing Investment Corporation Limited (SHIC)-for their failure to return funds to the small investors.
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Yeddy back in BJP
Bangalore, January 2 The much-expected merger announcement by Yeddyurappa came after a delegation of Karnataka BJP leaders met and formally invited him back to the party fold, thus setting the stage for the two parties to come together. “We have decided to merge KJP with
BJP,” said Yeddyurappa, flanked by BJP national General Secretary Ananth Kumar, who was perceived to be his bitter rival, and his other senior colleagues including state unit President Prahlad Joshi. Sources in BJP's central leadership said his return to the party fold was unconditional and he would not contest the coming Lok Sabha
elections. BJP extended the formal invitation to Yeddyurappa soon after it held the party's core committee meeting and proceeded to his house to welcome him back to the party, which he had deserted over a year ago and formed
KJP. Losing no time in accepting the invitation, Yeddyurappa announced the merger decision, saying: "All formalities will be completed within three or four days. From this minute, we both are going to work for winning more than 20 (of the 28) Lok Sabha seats in the state." Ananth Kumar said with Yeddyurappa's decision, BJP's strength would increase "10 fold" and added that "good news" had been conveyed to party President Rajnath Singh who gave his "good wishes".
— PTI
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Hardeep Puri joins BJP
New Delhi, January 2 Puri said he was delighted to formally join the party that he had long admired for its strong sense of nationalism. He said he looked forward to doing party work and was ready to contribute in whatever manner the party president and its senior leadership asked him to. Puri in his 39 years of service held several senior positions in the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence and held Ambassadorial assignments in London and Brasilia. In 2011 and 2012, as Permanent Representative at UN in New York, he led the Indian delegation to the Security Council.
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Adequate security at US missions: India
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 2 Official sources said at least 150 police personnel were being deployed in shifts round-the-clock at the US Embassy, School and American Centre in New Delhi. Another 50 police personnel were deployed at any given time in Chanakyapuri in the National Capital near the US Embassy. Also, two police vehicles had been permanently stationed along various roads near the Embassy, including Nyaya Marg. There was 24x7 patrolling to ensure smooth flow of traffic, and traffic calming measures, including speed breakers, were in place, said sources.
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$25m credit line for Maldives
New Delhi, January 2 On his maiden overseas visit after assuming office in November, the visiting leader assured the PM that bilateral ties “may have had rough patches in the past, but it is the commitment of my administration and my council of ministers that we look forward to a strong, healthy and working relationship with Indian enterprise”. Later, Yameen confirmed that GMR and the Maldives government were engaged in talks for an out-of-court settlement on the $500-million deal, scrapped in 2012.
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10 trains cancelled till January 16
New Delhi, January 2 Besides, the Railways has also effected partial cancellation of three pairs of trains and diverted
two pairs to avoid passenger inconvenience during the period. The foggy conditions during the winter season pose a great challenge to the Railways, especially in the northern region of the country in terms of operations and safety, the official said. He said in view of safety of trains and passengers, the speed of trains has been restricted to minimum. Twelve trains were running several hours late due to fog.
— PTI
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CD case: Judicial custody of six extended
Dehradun, January 2 All accused, Joint Secretary Suman Singh Valdiya, Neeraj Chauhan, Shiney Mac, Amit Garg and Sanjay Banerjee and the 26-year-old victim were produced in the court at the end of their 14-day judicial. Counsels of Ritu Kandiyal and Suman Singh Valdiya, both arrested on charges of conspiring to prepare a sleaze CD to defame JP Joshi, moved a bail application, but it was rejected by the Sessions Court. JP Joshi’s judicial custody will end on January 4. His lawyers are reportedly planning to move a bail application in the high court as the Sessions Court had already rejected his bail plea.
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Two hardcore Maoists held
Motihari, January 2 Acting on a tip-off, the CRPF and the STF jointly raided a hideout in Gurania village yesterday and arrested Manoj Kumar Agrawal, alias Agrawalji, and Baitha, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Operation, Sanjay Singh said. Agrawal, a native of Salempur village in Sheohar district, was said to be a self-styled area commander of the proscribed CPI (Maoists), the ASP said, adding that Baitha hailed from Majirwa village in East Champaran district. Two country-made pistols, two live ammunition, two mobile phones, a detonator and Moaist literature were recovered from them, the
ASP said, adding both were wanted in about half a dozen cases of violence.
— PTI
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AP minister resigns over portfolio rejig Hyderabad, January 2 After discussions with Congress leaders from Telangana and also his Mandhani constituency, an agitated Sridhar forwarded his resignation letter to Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, a close aide of the minister said. Sridhar, who hails from Karimnagar district in Telangana, had drafted his resignation letter yesterday itself but kept it on hold. Today, Sridhar met AICC Secretary Ramachandra Kuntia, who visited the state, and took up the issue with him. Kuntia is said to have told Sridhar that allocation or change in portfolios was the Chief Minister’s prerogative and no offence could be taken to it. — PTI
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New Delhi, January 2
The police today filed a murder case against the two main accused in the gang-rape of the 16-year-old girl who died of burn injuries on December 31, even as doctors treating the teenager said she was pregnant at the time of her death.
Members of BJP's youth wing were today cane-charged by the police in front of state Assembly when they allegedly indulged into stone-pelting while attempting to march towards the Congress office for demonstration.
The BJP, however, denied that the BJPYM workers indulged in violence and claimed several workers were injured in the police action.
New Delhi, January 2
New Delhi, January 2
New Delhi, January 2