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M’rashtra Govt divided on arresting Raj Thackeray
Manmohan opens National Waqf Development Corporation
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Poll sop: Commission for nomadic tribes soon
Pathribal case: J-K Govt to seek retrial in civilian court
Praful Patel wants Gujarat riots matter put to rest
Panel for switching off mobile charge points in trains from 10 pm to 6 am
NIA court convicts 6 in fake currency case
Give special treatment to MPs: Govt to pvt carriers
Cong set to replace Uttarakhand CM
Govt to table Telangana Bill in coming House session
10 dead in Assam village attack
India looks at Central Asia for expanding defence ties
Sikh LI adjudged best marching contingent at R-Day parade
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M’rashtra Govt divided on arresting Raj Thackeray
Mumbai, January 29 After Thackeray's speech at a function on Sunday evening, MNS cadres went on a rampage smashing toll booths in many parts of the state. On Tuesday, MNS workers attacked the toll booth at the Bandra-Worli Sea Link disrupting traffic. Though several leaders of the party, including an MLA, Pravin Darekar, have been arrested in different parts of the state most have been released on bail. However, authorities in Pune,- considered to be a stronghold of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar- produced several MNS activists, including local corporator Rupali Thombre-Patil before a court which sent them to police custody. The Pune police today further warned that Thackeray would be arrested if he was found in the jurisdiction of the district. Sources say Ajit Pawar who sees Raj Thackeray as a threat to his own political career, wants to show him his place by getting him arrested. The Congress, however, is said to be going slow in taking him into custody. "Senior officials feel that arresting Thackeray without adequate preparation could result in a law and order problem," a Home Department official said. Home Minister RR Patil who is afraid of things going out of hand, is said to be on the same page as Chief Minister Prithiviraj Chavan on the matter, according to sources. The MNS leadership has asked its cadres to lie low. Even though toll collection continues, party cadres have not carried out any attacks on toll booths till late this afternoon. Raj Thackeray's campaign against toll collection has however come
in for strong criticism from his estranged cousin and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. "Some people who were sleeping so far suddenly woke up to attack toll nakas after the Shiv Sena-BJP-RPI alliance promised to make Maharashtra toll free if voted to power," an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamna edited by Uddhav Thackeray said. Saamna went on to say that the government needed political will to find an alternative to toll collection even as funds were arranged for improving roads in the state. Tolled roads were introduced in a big way when the Sena-BJP government was in power from 1994 to 1999. "The six-lane Mumbai-Pune Expressway came up because of the toll system. People paid because they could travel comfortably. But today in places toll is being collected even as the condition of roads remains poor," Saamna said.
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Manmohan opens National Waqf Development Corporation
New Delhi, January 29 The NAWADCO has been established with an authorised share capital of Rs 500 crore. It will facilitate and mobilise financial resources for setting up facilities like schools, colleges, hospitals on waqf properties for community purposes in a transparent manner. He said there were more than 4.9 lakh registered waqf properties in India today which fetch an annual income of about Rs 163 crore. Many of these properties have the potential of generating considerable returns, which in return could be used for the socio-economic development of the Muslim community. As per the estimates of the Sachar Committee, if these properties are properly developed, they could fetch an annual income of about Rs 12,000 crore, he said. The Prime Minister said to bring transparency in administration of waqf properties and provide an enabling environment for development and utilisation of waqf lands, the UPA government had also recently amended the Waqf Act. He said the amended Act had particularly strengthened the role of Central Waqf Councils which was established to advice government on matters related to working of State Waqf Boards and proper administration of Waqf properties. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who was chief guest on the occasion, cautioned people against forces weakening the country's secular ethos. Apparently referring to the Muzaffarnagar riots, she said the police should ensure that communal harmony is not disturbed over small, local incidents and they should be dealt with sternly without any bias. She said the Cabinet had already given its nod to the Communal Violence Bill. "I am hopeful that it would be tabled in Parliament soon," Sonia said.
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Poll sop: Commission for nomadic tribes soon
New Delhi, January 29 In the Cabinet agenda tomorrow there will be an item to approve the proposal for setting up a dedicated National Commission for Denotified and Nomadic Tribes, who comprise 10 per cent of India’s population. The move for an “in-principle approval” to the nomadic commission will, for the first time, recognise a separate and unique identity of the neglected tribes that exist on the ground but are not reflected in the census of India. Currently, these tribes are part of SCs, STs or OBCs in different states although they have been seeking a distinct identity citing their meagre development. The National Commission for Denotified and Nomadic Tribes will be asked to enumerate the tribes and to detail their places of residence, the benefits they are getting in different states and their socio economic status. Part of the Cabinet agenda will be the establishment of a dedicated National Denotified and Nomadic Tribes Finance and Development Corporation to assist the neglected tribes monetarily and consider the drafting of an umbrella scheme for their welfare. Sources in the Social Justice Ministry said that the Commission for Denotified Tribes and Nomadic Tribes would be the first step towards the creation of institutional mechanisms to address the concerns of the segment which has 10 crore people. The proposal to set up the commission was made by Kumari Selja, who quit yesterday as Social Justice Minister, with railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge being given additional charge of her ministry today. In July 2008, government constituted commission under Balkrishna Renake had gone into the grievances of the denotified tribes and recommended 10 per cent reservation for them in Central government jobs in line with their 10 pc population. The government, after examining the reservation demand, decided that legally the same could not be conceded unless there was an institutional mechanism to consider its appropriateness on the basis of the social and economic status of the nomadic tribes. “The National Commission for Nomadic Tribes will look into the location of these tribes, their residential conditions, welfare status and benefits and make recommendations. It has been decided in principle that the national commission route to address the issues of the nomadic tribes was the best. Right now, even if we talk of giving reservation to these tribes, there is no mechanism to achieve that objective,” said sources.
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Pathribal case: J-K Govt to seek retrial in civilian court
Srinagar, January 29 The Army had on January 23 closed the Pathribal encounter case after giving a clean chit to five Rashtriya Rifles officers saying the evidence recorded could not establish prime facie charges against them. In the 2000 encounter in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, five alleged civilians were killed on the ground that they were foreign militants and the case was handed over to the CBI. “We will file a writ petition before the high court to challenge the Army’s decision (to close the case), as there is no provision for appeal against the court martial proceedings,” J&K law Secretary Mohammad Ashraf said. He said the government will not reinvestigate the case as the CBI had already completed its probe and presented its chargesheet before the Srinagar Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in 2006. The CBI had charged the five Army officers with the “abduction” and “cold-blooded murder” of five civilians. The Army took over the Pathribal case from the Srinagar CJM in 2012 after deciding to try the accused Army officers before a court martial. The Law Department has shot off a reminder to the J&K Home Department for procuring the Pathribal records, which includes the CBI investigation findings and other evidence, for scrutiny. The Law Department had written to the Home Department for procuring Pathribal records after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted his disappointment over the Army’s decision to close the case. After the incident came to the fore in 2000, the Army said those killed were foreign terrorists involved in the massacre of 35 Sikhs in Chittisinghpora some days earlier.
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Praful Patel wants Gujarat riots matter put to rest
New Delhi, January 29 "We are in an era when we believe that the judicial system is the final recourse to getting justice… if the judicial system has given any pronouncement, we ought to respect it," said Union Minister Praful Patel. He was replying to questions on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's attack on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi accusing his government of abetting and pushing the 2002 riots. "The fact remains that if the judicial system has given certain finality to any controversy, then we should let it rest there," the NCP leader said. — PTI
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Panel for switching off mobile charge points in trains from 10 pm to 6 am
Bangalore, January 29 Bangalore-based Satish Kumar Mittal, Commissioner of Railway Safety (Southern Circle), who has been assigned to probe the dreadful fire in an AC 3-tier coach of the Bangalore-Nanded Express on December 28, resulting in the death of 26 persons and serious injuries to five, has recommended that power points provided in air-conditioned coaches for charging mobile phones/laptops should be switched off between 10 pm to 6 am. In the provisional report, Mittal also recommended that the Railways should do away with curtains in gangway portion of AC coaches. “Combustible material like curtains, linen, bed rolls (distributed as well as loaded for returned journey), when ignited intentionally or unintentionally, will cause fire to spread rapidly which will lay a virtual death trap for the innocent passengers”, observed the Railway Safety Commissioner. During the investigation, Mittal found burnt and melted adopter and burnt laptop on berth no 13. Burnt cells were also found. Another burnt laptop was found on berth No. 40. A three-pin top was found in burnt condition with snapped wire near mobile charging point of berth No. 39. The Railway Safety Commissioner wrote that that upon careful consideration of the factual, material and circumstantial evidence available with him, he came to the conclusion that the fire breaking out in the coach in the early hours of December 28 was “most probably caused by advertent act or by an act of negligence on the part of unidentified passenger(s) or person(s)”. Mittal classified the accident under the category “Error in working near railway line”. The report mentioned that as per the preliminary report of Andhra Pradesh State Forensic Science Laboratory, no sign of any explosion was found in the burnt coach. Forensic examiners also found that the pattern of fire signature was slow and progressive indicating absence of inflammable substances and sabotage as cause of fire. Majority of passengers who died were victims of gaseous asphyxia with 100 per cent burns and neurological shock.
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NIA court convicts 6 in fake currency case
New Delhi, January 29 Special Judge Prithviraj Chavan delivered the verdict, convicting the accused under Sections 16 and 17 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act dealing with terrorism and raising funds for terror acts. The NIA had investigated and prosecuted the accused following recovery of high quality counterfeit currency notes, mostly in the Rs 1,000 denomination, which could be printed only by sovereign countries. Chandigarh, Bhopal and Hyderabad are some of the places from where such notes were seized. An analysis of these fake notes had shown that the material used for printing them were identical to the official currency of a “neighbouring country,” the NIA said without identifying the suspect nation but making it as an easy guess. “The notes have been printed on sophisticated machines which a common man cannot acquire since such machines involve huge capital investment,” NIA said quoting experts. The convicts are Ravi Dhiren Ghosh alias Jadhav alias Ruby, Nuruddin Islam, Mohd Samad, Mohd Aijul Shaikh, Mohd Asruddin Shaikh and Azraul Shaikh.
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Give special treatment to MPs: Govt to pvt carriers
New Delhi, January 29 According to a reply to a Parliament question in August last year, a 2007 protocol is "to be followed by all concerned, including private airports and airlines". As criticism mounted over such privileges, the ministry today went into a damage control exercise, saying no fresh directive has been issued to airlines to provide special privileges to MPs. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said no "fresh guidelines" have been issued in this regard".
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Cong set to replace Uttarakhand CM
The decision was firmed up at a high-level meeting convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The meeting was attended by Ambika Soni, general secretary in charge of the state, Sonia’s political secretary Ahmed Patel, Congress general secretary in charge of organisation Janardan Dwivedi and senior minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Highly placed sources in the party confirmed that the party had decided that Bahuguna should be replaced ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and in deference to the anti-CM mood prevailing in the state
Congress unit. Sonia has appointed Ambika, Azad and Dwivedi as AICC observers to visit Uttarakhand at the earliest, talk to legislators about who should replace Bahuguna and take a final decision. The observers will visit Dehradun on January 31 and the announcement on Bahuguna’s replacement could be made soon thereafter. The task before the observers is to speak to all MLAs and groups and arrive at the most acceptable name for the job. A majority of MLAs are said to be rooting for senior leader Harish Rawat, currently Water Resources Minister at the Centre. But there are other claimants such as state Finance Minister Indira Hridayesh and food supplies minister Pritam Singh.
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Nine chargesheeted for killing 3 youths
Lucknow, January 29 Judicial Magistrate Narendra Kumar chargesheeted Rajendra Fauji, Manga, Arvind, Sharan, Harmor, Azad, Mangeram, Sahasarpal and Rajendra Kumar for brutally assaulting Amroz, Meherbaan and Ajmal to death on October 30, 2013. The three youths from Hussainpur village had gone to the fields around 7.30 pm on that ill-fated day. They were shot dead by men from the neighbouring Mohammadpur Rai Singh village. Mohammadpur Rai Singh was one of the worst affected villages during the Muzaffarnagar riots all 67 families belonging to a particular community had fled and are still living in relief camps or elsewhere. The police had registered cases against 15 persons. Of them, nine were arrested and have now been chargesheeted. The remaining six are still absconding. With this, 233 persons have been chargesheeted by the Special Investigation Cell formed by the state government to probe Muzaffarnagar communal violence that left 65 dead and 50,000 displaced.
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Govt to table Telangana Bill in coming House session
New Delhi, January 29 As the decision of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, either way, is not mandatory, the Central Government will go ahead with its decision to create Telangana by tabling the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill in the ensuing Parliament session, official sources said. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has already declared the Central Government's intention to table the Telangana Bill in the next session of Parliament. Reddy's letter to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking extension of the deadline for discussing and returning the statehood Bill has been termed by Home Ministry officials as time buying tactic of the Chief Minister. The GoM, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, is likely to meet on February 4 to articulate the government's view for recommending to President Pranab Mukherjee the next course of action. — PTI
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10 dead in Assam village attack Guwahati, January 29 A group of armed miscreants that came from the Arunachal Pradesh side suddenly stormed Chaoldhuwa forest village and opened indiscriminate fire on villagers. Seven of the killed persons were identified as Himangshu Subba, Bhalu Subba, Tamrukhel Subba, Ganesh Newar, Prabhat Subba, Moneswar Barman and Rupchand Munda. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has directed the Chief Secretary and the DGP to rush additional forces to the area.
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India looks at Central Asia for expanding defence ties
New Delhi, January 29 Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan border Afghanistan to its north while Kyrgyzstan borders China. India has now posted defence attaches to these three countries and is looking to conduct joint military exercises with these countries. Already an Indian military hospital functions in Tajikistan which also shares a border with Afghanistan while India has a schedule of military exercises with Kazakhstan, the oil-rich former Soviet Republic and a neighbour of China. The move into Central Asia is more of a precautionary step, as so far Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has refused to sign Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the US that would allow international forces in a supportive role of training and counselling after forces starts withdrawing in June 2014. During the days of the Taliban, Ahmad Shah Massoud, pro-India ‘Taliban-free’ leader in Northern Afghanistan, was treated once at the Tajikistan hospital. A similar footprint in other former Soviet republics is needed, a source said while underlining the need to ramp up ties. Sources said New Delhi is looking at all three countries as part of its outreach at the military level and the focus would be on capacity building, border patrolling tips and training in counter-terrorism skills. In resource-rich Turkmenistan, New Delhi is looking to build a 70 km rail link connecting Gorgan in Iran with Turkmenistan. This will bring mineral wealth of these countries directly to Chabahar port in Iran for onward transportation to India through the sea route. India has interests in the US-backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. India has been slow in moving into this area. China has already laid out its oil pipeline in Kazakhstan while India had no access to transporting gas or oil from that country. Beijing dominates the markets in these countries with goods transported over open land borders. The other focus of New Delhi military outreach is Kyrgyzstan that lies west of China. This would mean that India would now have some kind military relations with another country bordering China. Kyrgyzstan is crucial for Beijing as it does not allow any safe sanctuary to restive elements from Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province of China. Already New Delhi has conducted good number of rounds of military exercises with the Mongolia, lying north of China and is looking to deepen its existing exchanges with Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
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8 die in bus-oil tanker collision
Mumbai, January 29 The bus belonging to Prasanna Purple Travels was plying from Pune to Ahmedabad. The mishap occurred at around 1.30 am when the driver of the bus tried to overtake an oil tanker belonging to Bharat Petroleum carrying a full cargo of diesel. However, the two vehicles collided instead and almost immediately a car just behind the bus also crashed into it, the police said. Within minutes, the tanker and the bus burst into flames. While the driver and the cleaner of the tanker managed to escape, sleeping passengers on board the high-speed bus were caught unawares. The police said the bodies were badly charred and DNA tests would have to be carried out to determine their identity.
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Sikh LI adjudged best marching contingent at R-Day parade
The spit and polish of close order drill of the Indian infantry soldier once again came to the fore at Rajpath when, after a gap of several years, an army contingent was adjudged as the best marching contingent among the services during the Republic Day parade this year. The honour was bagged by the Sikh Light Infantry (LI). In the preceding three years, the IAF contingent had consistently bagged this award, though last year it was shared with the Navy. The Sikh LI traces its origins to the Sikh Pioneers raised in 1857 and deployed for various military campaigns in India and abroad. The regiment comprises troops recruited from the Mazhabi and Ramdasia elements amongst the Sikhs, who have a deep-rooted martial tradition. Interestingly, the Sikh LI contingent was drawn, not from the regular Army, but the Territorial Army (TA), also known as the “Citizen’s Army.”
Army Service Corps gets new chief
Lt Gen RP Rai is the new Director General Supplies and Transport at Army Headquarters. Prior to this, he had been serving as the Commandant of the Army Service Corps (ASC) Centre and School at Bangalore since November 2012. Lt Gen Rai, who is also the Senior Colonel Commandant of the ASC, assumed his new appointment in mid-January, taking over from Lt Gen AK Malhotra who had retired in November 2013. There are two vacancies of the rank of Lt Gen in ASC, one being the DGST and the other as the Center Commandant. Sources revealed that Maj Gen BS Sandhu, presently posted at Headquarters South-Western Command, has been approved for promotion in the ‘staff stream’, implying that he will have to be posted on staff or administrative duties outside the ASC. Sources add that since it is unlikely that a third vacancy of Lieutenant General would be given to the ASC, a Major General would have to officiate as the Centre Commandant.
Emotional moment for
Lt Gen Suhag
It was an emotional moment for Vice-Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag when he learnt that a young energetic boy from Nagaland whom he had personally known was no more. The boy lost his life while saving his friends. While meeting children who were given national bravery awards in New Delhi, he came face to face with an old man holding the picture of his grandson, Manio Cha-Chai, a former NCC cadet who wanted to join the Army. The Vice-Chief, who has had four posting in the North-East, had met the boy several times due to Army’s intense interaction with the local populace in Nagaland. After seeing the picture, General Suhag asked the old man about his grandson, only to be told that Cha-Chai had died saving two of his friends from drowning.
IAF hero’s course mates
to hold reunion
The memory of Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon, the only recipient of the Param Vir Chakra from the Indian Air Force, would come alive when his course mates from across the country get together for a reunion at Chandigarh on February 15. He was from the 97th GD (Pilot) course that passed out together with the 36th Navigators’ Course in June 1967. Hailing from Ludhiana, Sekhon, then deployed with 18 Squadron at Srinagar, was decorated posthumously with the nation’s highest gallantry award for engaging six Pakistani Sabre aircraft in aerial combat during the 1971 war. The 97th course produced two Air Marshals -- AD Joshi who served as AOC-in-C Eastern Air Command and later as Commander-in-Chief, strategic Forces Command. He was the first pilot to land a MIG-23 at Leh in May 1984 during Op Meghdoot. The other was Air Marshal AK Singh, who retired as AOC-in-C Western Air Command in January 2007. (Vijay Mohan and
Ajay Banerjee)
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The spit and polish of close order drill of the Indian infantry soldier once again came to the fore at Rajpath when, after a gap of several years, an army contingent was adjudged as the best marching contingent among the services during the Republic Day parade this year. The honour was bagged by the Sikh Light Infantry (LI). In the preceding three years, the IAF contingent had consistently bagged this award, though last year it was shared with the Navy.
New Delhi, January 29