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Five held guilty in Shakti Mills gang-rape cases
New poll alliance takes shape in AP
BSP to go it alone in LS polls: Maya
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Azad in fray after 29 yrs, fielded from Udhampur
India, Pakistan move closer to power deal
Snooping: HC moved seeking FIR against Modi
AAP urges EC to put on hold govt decision to double gas prices
AAP: We will win 100 seats
ED issues fresh summons to Karuna’s wife in 2G case
Maj Gen gets disability pension after 13-yr wait
IAF copters roped in to douse blaze near Tirupati temple
6 held as CBI conducts nationwide search against ‘fake’ doctors
Shinde: No info on terror threat to BJP leaders
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Five held guilty in Shakti Mills gang-rape cases
Mumbai, March 20 Principal sessions judge Shalini Phansalkar Joshi found all the five accused guilty in the two separate incidents. The verdict comes within seven months of the FIR being filed in the two cases. Three of the men were found guilty of both the rapes. The incidents came to light after the assault on the photo-journalist who along with her colleague were on assignment at the Shakti Mills compound in Mahalaxmi. The other incident came to light after the survivor informed the police shortly after the assault on the photo-journalist. Three of the accused common to both cases have been named as: Vijay Jadhav, Salim Ansari and Kasim Shaikh. The other two who were convicted have been named as: Ashfaq Shaikh and Siraj Khan. The trial of the two juveniles is scheduled to start on April 1 at the Dongri juvenile justice board. The quantum of sentence in the cases will be announced later.
Two cases, three common accused
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New poll alliance takes shape in AP
Hyderabad, March 20 The BJP-TDP-Jana Sena combine is expected to be in place within a week, according to indications in the opposition camp. The political entry of 43-year- old Pawan
Kalyan, who is the younger brother of superstar and Union Minister K
Chiranjeevi, has changed the dynamics of the state politics, raising prospects of a new alliance. While launching his new party "Jana
Sena" on March 14, the actor gave a call "Congress Hatao, Desh
Bachao" that bears close resemblance to BJP's poll plank. Pawan Kalyan left for New Delhi this evening and is scheduled to meet BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad tomorrow. Sources in the actor's camp said he would explain to Modi the political objectives of his party and offer to work with the BJP to defeat Congress in the coming elections. Pawan
Kalyan, a mercurial star who has acted in 29 films, finds himself pitted against his elder brother who is now a key player in the Congress and chairman of the party's campaign committee in Seemandhra region.
Pawan Kalyan has a huge fan following and a string of mega hits including the recent blockbuster
"Gabbar Singh", a Telugu remake of Salman Khan starrer "Dabangg". The actor is said to be nursing a strained relationship with Chiranjeevi ever since the latter merged his Praja Rajyam Party
(PRP) with Congress in 2011. He had headed the youth wing of PRP founded by his brother in 2008. After a hectic tour across the state, the actor suddenly withdrew himself from public glare, apparently unhappy with its merger with the Congress. There are also indications that Lok Satta Party
(LSP), headed by civil servant turned politician Dr N Jayaprakash
Narayan, may also join hands with BJP to become part of the new alliance. The four-party combine is expected to make an impact in Seemandhra region where
"Kapu" community, to which Pawan kalyan belongs, forms a significant chunk of the
electorate. BJP and TDP leaders are engaged in seat-sharing negotiations. Senior BJP leader Prakash Javdekar is in city to iron out the differences that had cropped up in sharing of seats, particularly in Telangana region where local BJP leaders are seeking a greater share in view of the perceived strength in the region. The
TDP, headed by N Chandrababu Naidu, had ended its seven-year alliance with BJP in 2004, soon after losing power in the state. Naidu is now keen on reviving friendship with the saffron party in a bid to regain power.
Chiru vs his younger brother?
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BSP to go it alone in LS polls: Maya Lucknow, March 20 Addressing the media at the BSP state headquarters today, Mayawati officially released the list of 80 candidates from Uttar Pradesh. Giving a caste and religion-wise breakup of candidates BSP supremo Mayawati appears to have clearly displayed her faith in the Brahmins once again by giving them 21 out of 80 seats (26.25 per cent). Dalits, the party's core voter get the 17 reserved seats (21.25 per cent). 15 seats (18.75 per cent) have been allocated to OBC candidates. Muslims voters upon whom the BSP is heavily banking post- Muzaffarnagar riots get 19 candidates (23.75 per cent). Rajputs have been allotted 8 candidates (10 per cent) while seven women (8.75 percent) find a place in the BSP list of candidates. Mayawati said BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's decision to contest from Varanasi was based on a strategy to strengthen communal forces. "We are also fully prepared to not let the BJP succeed in their nefarious designs in UP," she claimed. Mayawati charged the Samajwadi party and the BJP of being hand in glove in Uttar Pradesh to ensure communal polarisation for electoral gains. Substantiating her point, she said after creating communal tension in Western UP, Mulayam Singh Yadav has decided to contest from Azamgarh in response to BJP declaring Modi as its candidate from Varanasi. "This is one more step towards heightening communal passion in the politically significant Purrvanchal region", she said. Urging the Election Commission to keep a close watch on the activities of these political parties in Poorvanchal, Mayawati said that they should not be allowed to vitiate the communally harmonious environment of Poorvanchal. Clearly rejecting the possibility of supporting a BJP-led alliance at the Centre after the polls, Mayawati said she has thrice tried them out through alliance governments. "I do not think they have changed their ideology", she said. BSP chief regretted that once again issues like poverty, unemployment, corruption and terrorism would be sidelined in the forthcoming elections. "It appears to be a fight between the secular and communal ideology. Parties are selecting their candidates keeping this mind".
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Azad in fray after 29 yrs, fielded from Udhampur New Delhi, March 20
Azad, who turned 65 on March 7 this year, was named Congress candidate from the Udhampur parliamentary constituency in the fourth list of 50 nominees the party released late tonight. His last Lok Sabha stint was between 1985 and 1989 when he represented Washim in Maharashtra. The nomination of Azad, former J&K CM, from the state is expected to have a positive impact on all three segments the Congress is contesting in alliance with the National Conference. From Ladakh, the Congress named local leader Tsering Samphel as a candidate after veteran P Namgyal declined to contest due to ill health. Sitting Lok Sabha MP from Jammu Madan Lal Sharma has been fielded again to defend the seat. Lal Singh, who lost his parliamentary constituency of Udhampur to Azad, will be adjusted as a member of the Legislative Council in the state, said Madhusudan Mistry, party general secretary. No announcements were made on Punjab where Information Minister Manish Twari is expected to be named again from Ludhiana. Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Shipping Minister GK Vasan, however, opted out of the race. Chidambaram's son Karthi was named candidate from his current Lok Sabha segment of Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu. Rajya Sabha MP and former minister Manishankar Aiyar also returned to the LS fray and was fielded from Mayiladuthirai in Tamil Nadu. Others on the Congress' fourth list include Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh's brother Laxman Singh (opposite BJP's Sushma Swaraj in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh) and Kirit Patel (opposite BJP veteran LK Advani from Gandhinagar). Sitting MPs Ramesh Kumar and Mahabal Mishra were re-nominated from South Delhi and West Delhi, respectively. With this, the Congress has renamed all seven sitting MPs from Delhi. From Bihar's Gopalganj (SC) seat, the party junked its formerly named candidate Dilip Kumar to accommodate JDU rebel Puranmashi Ram who joined the party yesterday. The announcement comes two months after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi declared at an AICC session on January 17 that Congress men and not outsiders would be given the ticket. Cong’s fresh list
Kirit Patel to take on Advani Former minister and three-time MLA from Gujarat Kirit Patel is the Congress candidate against Advani in Gandhinagar. Patel hails from North Gujarat and is an influential Patel leader, a community that forms major chunk of Gandhinagar votes.
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India, Pakistan move closer to power deal
Islamabad, March 20 The move comes as the World Bank has offered to finance the feasibility study and transmission line to import 1,200 megawatts (MW) of power from India. "Now, the World Bank has also offered to finance a feasibility study along with the (installation of) transmission line to import 1,200 MW power from India," an unnamed government official told the Express Tribune daily. The official said a draft of Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) was handed over to Indian authorities in a recent meeting held in New Delhi. India would respond to Pakistan after going through the draft of the initial deal, the official said. Indian diplomats said Pakistan and India have constituted technical working groups which would review the aspects of the export of 500 MW of electricity to Pakistan. The Pakistani cabinet had decided in January to import electricity from India. — PTI
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Snooping: HC moved seeking FIR against Modi
Ahmedabad, March 20 "The petition will come up for hearing in a day or two," said Amrish Patel, Sharma's lawyer. "The petition demands the court's direction to the state authorities to lodge an FIR and hold a fair inquiry against the Chief Minister," Patel said. Sharma had earlier approached the Sector-7 police station of Gandhinagar, seeking registration of FIR against Modi for ordering illegal surveillance of the woman. But the police refused to file the FIR. "As per a recent judgement of the Supreme Court, the police cannot refuse to lodge a complaint," Sharma's petition said. — PTI
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AAP urges EC to put on hold govt decision to double gas prices
New Delhi, March 20 Kerjriwal asked the EC to direct the Centre not to implement its decision till the election process gets over. The Supreme Court is currently hearing the matter. He stated that the move to increase the price of natural gas from the existing $4.2 per mmbtu (One million British Thermal Unit) to $8.4 is a “clear violation of the model code of conduct, since it is directly aimed at providing huge financial benefits to RIL and falls within the ambit of corrupt practices during the elections”. “The Aam Aadmi Party seeks urgent intervention of the Election Commission to prevent the Union Government from implementing an anti-people decision at this critical juncture,” the former Delhi Chief Minister wrote in his letter to the poll panel. It has been reported in the media that Planning Commssion Deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia on March 11, 2014, told the Congress-led Centre that it must seek the Election Commission’s approval before announcing and implementing the new price. “The Central Government’s decision will have an adverse impact on the lives of commoners as it will lead to increase in fuel costs and transportation,” the letter said.
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AAP: We will win 100 seats
Sultanpur, March 20 "The party is missing Hazare... Had he been with us, we would have easily achieved our target," said Singh, a core committee member of the AAP. Claiming that the AAP would win 100 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, Singh said the party has so far declared candidates for 287 seats and will contest in all seats in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Except the BJP and the Congress, his party would support any party that would promised bringing in the Jan Lokpal Bill, Singh said. — PTI
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ED issues fresh summons to Karuna’s wife in 2G case
New Delhi, March 20 Ammal, 84, has been given an option to present her case through an authorised legal representative, in case she cannot come herself and answer questions of agency sleuths on March 28, sources said. The agency, they said, wants to investigate the role of Ammal with regard to alleged channelling of Rs 200 crore to the DMK family-run Kalaignar TV through a circuitous route in which her daughter Kanimozhi and MD of the TV group Sharad Kumar are also accused. The DMK supremo's wife has, however, denied any wrongdoing in this case. A chargesheet in this case, under provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is pending at present. The agency has already questioned Kanimozhi and former Telecom Minister A Raja in this regard. Both DMK leaders and others have been questioned by ED about the alleged transfer of Rs 200 crore to the TV channel, in which Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar each hold 20% stake. ED had earlier also scrutinised documents related to both the DMK MPs' incomes, properties and personal investments. It had also initiated attachment proceedings under PMLA against other individuals and certain telecom firms involved in the case. Besides the cases of Raja and Kanimozhi, a similar probe is underway under the provisions of the anti-money laundering Act against Asif Balwa, director of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, Rajeev Agarwal and Karim Murani of Cineyug Films (Pvt) Ltd. — PTI |
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Maj Gen gets disability pension after 13-yr wait
Chandigarh, March 16 The Bench ordered the petitioner, Maj Gen JS Kapoor, would be entitled to a disability element of 50 per cent. It also ruled that it would be open for the authorities concerned to hold a re-survey medical board to freshly assess the petitioner’s disability, if they so desired. The petitioner retired in 2001 after putting in 38 years of service, during which he developed hypertension due to stress and strain of military service and later even had to undergo cardiac surgery. A medical board had earlier assessed his disability as 20 per cent and attributed the same to military service. The medical adviser attached to the Adjutant General’s branch at the Army Headquarters, which deals with medical cases concerning officers, however, had refused to sanction the disability element of pension, saying it was not attributed to military service, without assigning any reason in support of its decision.
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IAF copters roped in to douse blaze near Tirupati temple
New Delhi, March 20 The IAF had also deployed the An-32 and the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft for carrying out a recce of the area to get a clear picture about the fire in the forest near the temple. The Ministry said the Defence Crisis Management Group headed by the tri-services Integrated Defence Staff had deployed assets soon after the state administration requested for help yesterday at around 1500 hours. The Army also deployed around 150 personnel from Chennai to assist the state administration in handling the crisis. "HQ Integrated Defence Staff is in touch with Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam authorities and continuously monitoring the Armed Forces response. The helicopter operations are likely to continue till tomorrow," the ministry added. — PTI
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6 held as CBI conducts nationwide search against ‘fake’ doctors
New Delhi, March 20 The CBI said an information pertaining to this scam was received and intelligence was developed before filing an FIR against eight people who claimed they had medical degrees from Russia and China. CBI officially spoke about five arrests but sources one more person has been apprehended. At least three of the doctors, who had allegedly got a forged registration from MCI, were working in government hospitals in Gujarat, West Begal and Chhattisgarh. The CBI case was also against unnamed officials of MCI and private persons. The CBI conducted raids at the premises of a Meerut medical practitioner who was allegedly a conduit between MCI officials and the potential candidates coming from these countries. According to the CBI, the arrested people told its sleuths that they paid upto Rs 20 lakh for getting registration from MCI. Government has made it mandatory for screening test of medical students from erstwhile USSR countries and China who wanted to practice in India. CBI alleged these candidates had colluded with MCI officials who gave them permission to practice in return for illegal gratification even as the doctors did not fulfil the necessary parameters. CBI Director Ranjit Sinha, who was personally monitoring thes case, told PTI "this is a very important case as such people were playing with the lives of patients." "When the report came to us, we viewed it with utmost seriousness and today after finalising the FIR, we have carried out nationwide searches," he said. CBI sources said the these medical practitioners had allegedly greased the palms of MCI officials who made false entries in the records enabling them to get a registration number permitting them to practice here. A medical practitioner earning a foreign degree is allowed to work in India only if they qualify in the examination conducted by National Board of Examination in Noida, which is held twice every year. CBI sources said none of these eight practitioners passed the examination. They said that using a chain of middlemen who had contacts in MCI, they ensured in January 2013 that data about their passing the examination is fraudulently entered in the system on the basis of which a registeration number was generated for each one of them. — PTI
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Shinde: No info on terror threat to BJP leaders
New Delhi, March 20 "We have no information regarding a terror threat to BJP leaders," he told reporters here after the saffron party claimed, citing media reports, that the lives of its top leaders were under threat. Shinde said adequate security has been given to BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate. "We have given adequate security to
Modi," he said. Shinde's comments came hours after BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said there were media reports that quoted Intelligence sources that the lives of the top BJP leaders were under threat. "There is a threat to all BJP leaders. Based on IB sources, a section of media has been reporting that the BJP leaders' lives are under threat and the BJP is very concerned and worried," she said here. — PTI
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Mumbai, March 20
Ruling out the possibility of any pre-poll alliance with any political party BSP national president Mayawati today asserted that she saw BSP emerge as "balance of power".
