The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	RS polls: Sonia, Rahul hold strategy meet Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 25 The Congress is likely to announce its candidates for Rajya Sabha nominations any time with party president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi concluding elaborate discussions through the evening with general secretaries of states where the vacancies are arising. Of the 55 RS seats falling vacant in 16 states, the Congress holds 19. In Haryana where the party currently has two MPs in the Rajya Sabha, it can return one. Sources say five names are under discussion from Haryana, including the two sitting MPs whose terms expire on April 2 — Ram Prakash and Ishwar Singh. The name of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Phool Chand Mullana has also been discussed. Sources indicated that the names of former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, former Himachal state Congress chief Viplove Thakur, former Himachal Speaker Gangu Ram Musafir and former minister Harsh Mahajan were among those discussed in the meeting today.
	J-K Law Dept seeks Pathribal records Ishfaq Tantry Tribune news Service Srinagar, January 25 As rage mounts over closure of Pathribal case, the J&K Law Department has sought CBI records and other evidence pertaining to the encounter from the Home Department. “After examining the records, the statements of the witnesses and the Army’s closure report, the government will take a call on whether to go for an appeal or file a writ petition in the high court,” said sources. “Our department has already written to the Home Department to procure the records,” said Law Secretary Mohammad Ashraf. A day before, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had tweeted that he would ask the Law Dept & Advocate General to examine (legal) options in the case. The Army had announced the closure of the Pathribal case on January 23 after giving a clean chit to five Rashtriya Rifles officers. “Based on the scrutiny of the grounds taken by the Army for closing the case and the CBI report, a decision on the legal options would be taken”, Ashraf said.
	Kejri justifies Rail Bhawan protest Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 25 In his first Republic Day address, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today justified his Rail Bhawan dharna and said the Constitution does not stop the CM from protesting for people. “I have read the Constitution and it does not state anywhere that a CM can’t hold protest for people,” said Kejriwal. “The imposition of Section 144 of the CrPC was an unconstitutional act, not my dharna,” he said. Kejriwal’s two-day protest had paralysed traffic in Delhi and invited flak from all political sections. He said the government has completed the draft of Jan Lokpal bill and plans to pass it in a special session that will be organised at Ramlila Maidan in the first week of February. “Women security in the national capital is highly compromised. It is our utmost duty and priority to provide security to women. We have formed a committee under the Chief Secretary for formation of Mahila Suraksha Dal,” he said. Kejriwal also presented a cheque of Rs one crore to Savita Devi, widow of Delhi Police constable Vinod Kumar, who was killed during a raid on suspected liquor mafia in south Delhi’s Ghitorni area last month.
	Bharti mounts attack on media, later apologises Tribune News Service/PTI New Delhi, January 25 Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti on Saturday lashed out at the media accusing it of biased coverage, but later apologised. "How much did Modi pay you?...This is a conspiracy against me and I will take all involved to the court," Bharti said when reporters questioned him on the midnight raid controversy. Doing a U-turn later in the day, Bharti retracted his statement and said: "I didn't mean it. If anyone is hurt by my statement then I apologise." Bharti said his intentions were good but he was projected in the "wrong way" and had he been "aware" of procedures, he could have avoided the wrangles. "I am not aware of procedures. If I would have known them, I would not have made these alleged mistakes," he said.
	Samjhauta blasts: Panel may go to Pak to record statement of injured Tribune News Service Panchkula, January 25 The Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Panchkula will start examining — from February 24 — the Pakistani nationals who were injured in the Samjhauta Express blasts in 2007. “Witnesses will either be summoned or a commission will be set up that will go to Pakistan to record their statement,” said a senior NIA official. Yesterday, the Special NIA Court had framed charges against swami Aseemanand and three co-accused for murder, sedition and under various other Sections for the blasts that killed 68 persons. Out of the 299 witnesses in the case, many of them are Pakistanis or Indian residents who are the relatives of the Pakistani nationals killed in the blasts. Sources in the NIA said that they would first record the statement of the relatives of the injured or dead passengers who stay in India. Another official said, “As it will be difficult for around 20 Pakistani nationals to come to India to give evidence, talks are on to send a commission to Pakistan to get their versions recorded.” Over 20 persons — relatives of the dead or injured — are also in the list of witnesses. They are residents of Mewat in Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bhopal and Srinagar. In the early hours of February 19, 2007, as many as 68 persons, mostly Pakistanis, were killed in the blasts that rocked the Samjhauta Express. The train was going from Delhi to Attari, the last station on the Indian side. The passengers were to board the train to Lahore the next day. The blasts took place in two coaches at Diwana village near Panipat.
	Mashelkar, Iyengar get Padma Vibhushan Tennis ace Paes, shuttler Gopichand get Padma Bhushan; mountaineer Mamtaa Padma Shri Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 25 The government today announced the Padma awards covering a wide spectrum of society-scientists, yoga experts, actors, judges, doctors, authors, social workers and sportspersons. This year the President approved conferment of 127 Padma Awards - 2 Padma Vibhushan, 24 Padma Bhushan and 101 Padma Shri, the Ministry of Home Affairs said today. A total of 27 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and Posthumous awardees. These awards are conferred by the President of India at a ceremonial function at Rashtrapati Bhawan in March-April every year. The country's highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, has been conferred on Dr RA Mashelkar and yoga guru BKS Iyengar. Mashelkar, a former Director-General of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and also of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet set up by successive governments. Iyengar is founder of 'Iyengar Yoga' a method that is very popular. In the category of Padma Bhushan the list includes Justice JS Verma, who led the commission that led to a change in rape laws in the country after the December 16, 2012, gang-rape in New Delhi. Justice Verma has been awarded posthumously. Actor Kamal Haasan and Justice Dalveer Bhandari, who was elected to the International Court of Justice in April 2012 for six-year tenure, are also in this list. Prof P Balaram, director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and Dr Madappa Mahadevappa, an agricultural scientist, are on the list along with thrice Booker-award nominee, author Anita Desai, and acclaimed short story writer Ruskin Bond. Tennis player Leander Paes and former Badminton ace and All England Champion Pullella Gopichand are the two sportspersons. American authors Prof Lloyd I. Rudolph and Prof. Susanne H. Rudolph have been jointly awarded the Padma Bhushan. On the list of Padma Shri awards is Prof Amod Gupta, eye specialist at the PGI in Chandigarh, Delhi-based Cardiologist Dr Nitish Naik, Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dinesh Singh, authors Manorama Jafa and Keki N Daruwala. Dr Narendra Achyut Dabholkar, rationalist and anti- superstition crusader, who was killed in April 2013, is also on the list along with fashion designer Wendell Rodricks, cricketer Yuvraj Singh, woman cricketer-turned-commentator Anjum Chopra, actors Paresh Rawal and Vidya Balan. Woman squash player Deepika Pallikal, mountaineer Mamtaa Sodha of Haryana and kabbadi player Sunil Dabas from the same states will also get the Padma Shri.
	Uttarakhand flood rescuers sweep gallantry awards Four from region get Shaurya Chakra Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 25 Daredevils of the Indian Air Force, the Army Aviation and the Army’s Parachute regiment, who carried out the arduous, risky and much reported ‘Jungle-Chhati’ rescue operations in the aftermath of the June 2013 floods in Uttarakhand, have been awarded a clutch of gallantry medals on the eve of Republic Day. Separately, Wing Commander Darryl Castelino, whose Mi-17V5 helicopter crashed on June 25, near the Kedranath Shrine during the Uttarakhand rescue operations has been posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peace time gallantry medal. Naib Subedar Bhupal Singh Chhantel Magar of 5/5 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army and Constable Bhrighu Nandan Chaudhary of the CRPF’s 205 ‘Cobra’ battalion are the other two receipts of the Kirti Chakra. The Army man has been awarded for his role in stalling infiltration along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara in August while the CRPF constable has got it posthumously for operations in Naxal areas. Chandigarh-origin Army Officer Lt Colonel Bikramjit Singh of the 16 Light Cavalry has been posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra for his role is stalling the terror attack on a Army Camp at Samba in September last year. His Commanding Officer, Col Avin Uthaiya, has been awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry. Two Army officers from Punjab and one from Himachal Pradesh have been awarded the Shaurya Chakra-Major Mandeep Singh Ghumman of 1 Assam Rifles hails from Pathankot, Captain Mahabir Singh, 9 Para (SF), is from Gurdaspur and Major Gaurav Thakur of Bihar Regiment hails from Shimla. Wing Commander Castelino’s entire team which died in the crash has been awarded. They are: Flight Lt K Praveen - Shaurya Chakra; Flight Lt Tapan Kapoor; Junior Warrant Officer Akhilesh Kumar Singh and Sergeant Sudhakar Yadav-all Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry). The copter had crashed amid sudden bad weather due to frequently drifting clouds and poor light conditions prevalent in the unforgiving terrain. The crew had carried out three sorties that day under deteriorating weather conditions and saved 80 lives.
	776 security personnel awarded on R-Day eve, CRPF tops list Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 25 The Central Reserve Police Force, India’s main anti-Naxal force, won the highest number of gallantry medals among all the police forces in India, on the eve of this year’s Republic Day. The CRPF is also the only Central Armed Police Force which won the gallantry medals this time. Last year also, on the eve of India’s 67th Independence Day, the CRPF had won the highest number of gallantry awards among all the police forces in the country. The force had then won 34 gallantry medals, including four posthumously. This time, the CRPF has been awarded 15 gallantry medals, including two President’s Police Medal for Gallantry, both posthumously, and 13 Police Medal for Gallantry, including five that were given posthumously. Constable Ugrasen Tripathi, of the 155 Battalion of the CRPF and Constable Santosh Kumar Singh of the 209 CoBRA battalion were awarded the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry posthumously. A total of 766 personnel were awarded police medals on the occasion of Republic Day this year. President’s Police Medal for Gallantry has been awarded to four personnel, Police Medals for Gallantry has been given to 44 personnel, President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service to 94 personnel and Police Medal for Meritorious Service to 624 personnel. The President has also approved 41 Correctional Service Medals on this occasion. The Correctional Service Medal for Distinguished Service has been awarded to two officers, while Correctional Service Medal for Meritorious Service has been given to 39 officers from 15 states and union territories. Police Medal For Gallantry Chandigarh: Avtar Singh, Inspector (Orp) Jammu & Kashmir: Tahir Sajad Bhat Superintendent of Police, Pankaj Sharma SI, Imtiyaz Mohammad HC, Lateef Ahmad Constable, Sher Mohammad HC, Mohammad Majnoon Follower, Fayaz Ahmad Dy. Superintendent of Police, Showkat Ahmed HC. Punjab: Gurdial Singh (Posthumously) ASI. Rajasthan: Nihal Singh (Posthumously) Constable. Uttar Pradesh: Govind Singh (Posthumously) Inspector, Rajesh Kumar Verma Inspector, Rakesh Kumar SI, Satayendra Kumar HC. CRPF: Ali Hasan Constable, Prabhu (Posthumously) Constable, Narender Singh (Posthumously) HC, Parasmani Jha (Posthumously) Constable, Subir Das Constable, Pradeep Kumar (Posthumously) SI, Anjani Kumar Assistant Commandant, Raj Kumar Constable, Sanjay Yadav Constable, Mukesh Kumar Bunkar (Posthumously) Constable, Sibo Prasad Panigrahi Constable, Trilok Nath Singh Dy. Commandant, Birju Kumar Constable. President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service NCT of Delhi: Sandeep Goel Joint Commissioner Of Police, Central Range Phq New Delhi, Tajender Singh Luthra, Joint Commissioner Of Police, South Western Range Phq New Delhi, Priya Mitra Kaushik, Assistant Commissioner Of Police, Phq New Delhi. Haryana: Parminder Rai, Director General Of Police, Svb (H) Panchkula, Muhammad Akil, Inspector General Of Police, L&O(H) Pkl. Punjab: Gurdev Singh Sahota, Adgp, Jalandhar, Harpal Singh, Inspector, Mansa.
	SC rejects plea against benefits to disabled soldiers Chandigarh, January 25 The Supreme Court has dismissed a review petition filed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) seeking reversal of its earlier decision that had extended the benefits of broad-banding disability pension to those who had retired before 1996. The court’s decision, pronounced recently, could affect thousands of disabled soldiers who were placed at a disadvantage vis-à-vis similarly placed venerates who had retired or had been discharged in or after 1996. The review petition was dismissed on grounds of merit as well as delay. In March 2011 the SC had, in the case of Capt KJS Buttar versus Union of India allowed the rounding-off of disability pension, also known as broad-banding of disability percentage. The Fifth Pay Commission had introduced this concept to minimise medical subjectivity and rationalise the perception of medical boards by providing that those with a disability below 50 per cent would be granted disability pension applicable for 50 per cent disability, those with 50-75 per cent would be granted the benefit of 75 per cent and disability above this would be considered as 100 per cent. — TNS
	AICC gen secy Nirupam threatens immolation over power tariff demand Mumbai, January 25 AICC general secretary Sanjay Nirupam today threatened to immolate himself if his demand for reduction in power tariff in Mumbai was not accepted. Talking to mediapersons outside the Reliance Energy office in Kandivali where he is on a hunger strike, Nirupam said he would immolate himself outside Reliance ADA group chief Anil Ambani's house if his demand was not met. Nirupam wants Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to announce audit of all power companies supplying electricity to Mumbai. He said his fast had entered the third day and his health was good. “Sugar levels are fluctuating but I will continue with my hunger strike," the MP from Mumbai North said, adding that he would continue his agitation till the demand was met. — TNS