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Shinde: Plot to create communal rift
Modi instigated violence, alleges Mamata
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Locals refuse to bury dead
3 Bodo ultras killed; toll 34
India successfully test-fires air-to-air Astra missile
Rahul may prefer
rebuilding
Saunders’ killing: Bhagat Singh’s name not in FIR, says Pak police
Desert drill puts to test Army’s fighting skills
ISI plan to attack US, Israeli consulates in India thwarted
2G case
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Shinde: Plot to create communal rift in Assam
New Delhi, May 4 Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said that in the past few days, there have been wanton acts of depredation leading to death of 34 persons, mostly women and children, and of them, 31 belonged to the minority community. "These innocent lives were lost at the hands of cadres of a certain group. The objective of this group seems to be aimed at starting a full-fledged communal conflagration," he said in a statement here. Without naming the NDFB(S), the Bodo militant group believed to be responsible for the violence, the Home Minister said these acts of violence have started only after the group started steadily losing its cadres either through surrender or elimination during operations when they opened fire on the forces. "The central government cannot remain unaffected by these killings and is determined to ensure the safety and security of innocent human lives. "This determination is all the more important since these incidents are
targeted at the minorities," he said. Strongly condemning the acts of the militant group, Shinde said the Home Ministry has already deployed 43 companies (4,300 personnel) of central armed police forces and 10 more companies (1,000 personnel) are being sent. He said the Ministry of Defence also has deployed 15 columns of the Army comprising of approximately 1,500 soldiers. These numbers were not fixed and could be increased as
per further requirement, he said. — PTI
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Modi instigated violence, alleges Mamata
Krishnagar (WB), May 4 “We will keep everyone close to our hearts - Hindus, Muslims, Bengalis and non-Bengalis. Let him touch a single one of them. We will rock Delhi,” she said.
— PTI
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Locals refuse to bury dead
Salbari (Assam), May 4 Angry protesters in Nankekhadrabari area today said they would not perform the last rites of the bodies of the 18 persons, including children and women, till Gogoi comes and personally assures to provide security to their lives and property. "Does our life have no value? We are only demanding that we are protected and we are not attacked and killed in the future," they told reporters. "The district administration, instead of providing security to violence-hit people, is now threatening to arrest us if we do not perform ‘janaja’ (last rites) of our dead," they alleged. There is no immediate word from official sources about the Chief Minister visiting the area. Heavily armed NDFB-S militants had gunned down 18 persons on Friday night and torched over 100 houses since the militant outfit started its mayhem against a minority community in the BTAD's twin districts of Baksa and Kokrajhar from May 1. Altogether 32 persons were killed in the violence, several others injured and thousands rendered homeless in the two districts. Meanwhile, indefinite curfew imposed in neighbouring Chirang district of the Bodoland Territorial Administrative District (BTAD) since Friday night was relaxed for six hours from 10 am today, the district administration said.
— PTI
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3 Bodo ultras killed; toll 34
Guwahati, May 4 The police and NDFB(S) militants were engaged in an encounter in Udalguri district in which a militant was killed, though two others managed to escape. IGP L R Bishnoi claimed a major attack had been averted as the militants came to unleash further violence in nearby villages. The police recovered a pistol, a grenade and a mobile phone from the encounter site. In another encounter, two NDFB(S) militants were killed at Laijanguri under Rangapara police station in Sonitpur district
along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. The two militants were killed in an exchange of fire after four NDFB(S) activists hurled grenades at an Assam Police patrol.
— PTI
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India successfully test-fires air-to-air Astra missile
NEW DELHI, MAY 4 After having hit by setbacks in the over decade-old programme, the BVRAAM was successfully tested at a naval range in the western sector. The sequence was captured by the forward and side looking high-speed cameras with the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) claiming that the launch met "all the mission objectives" and the separation was exactly as per the simulation. Astra is India's first BVRAAM indigenously designed and developed by the DRDO, which it said possesses high single shot kill probability and makes it highly reliable. Astra is an all-weather missile with active radar terminal guidance, ECCM features, smokeless propulsion and process improved effectiveness in multi-target scenario making it a highly advanced, state-of the-art missile, the DRDO said in a statement. Congratulating the team for the success, DRDO Director-General Avinash Chander said: "Astra's successful launch from the Su30 combat aircraft is a major step in the missile aircraft integration. Extensive flight testing that has preceded today's air launch was indeed a joint effort of DRDO and IAF. This will be followed by launch against actual target shortly. Many more trials are planned and will be conducted to clear the launch envelope. Weapon integration with 'Tejas' Light Combat Aircraft will also be done in the near future." The project saw a Su-30 modified by Hindustan Aeronautics along with IAF with Indian industry joining hands in the production of reliable avionics, propulsion system, materials, airframe and software, each of which had to pass stringent airworthiness requirement for the missile. Top scientists associated with the project including Director General (MSS) V G Sekaran, DRDL Director S Som, his predecessor P Venugopalan and GD (Aeronautics) K Tamilmani who oversaw the flight safety in the programme hailed the quality of integration and performance. The missiles underwent rigorous testing on Su30 in the captive mode for avionics integration and Seeker evaluation in 2013.
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Rahul may prefer
rebuilding
New Delhi, May 4 At a time when the nine-phased elections entered the home stretch, suggestions from the likes of Jairam Ramesh and Salman Khurshid among others that the Congress should either support or join a coalition of the emerging political alternative were nipped in the bud. A top Congress leader told The Tribune that contrary to the perception that the party had thrown in the towel, the machinery and resolve among them was to fight till the end. “We are contesting these elections keenly,” was the assertion after polling crossed the half-way mark. Since that point, there was a discernible change in the strategy of the party with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra vigorously campaigning in the adjoining constituencies of Amethi and Rae Bareli, represented by her brother Rahul and mother Sonia. The Congress vice-president’s assertion during campaigning at Amethi that the party was in the race to form the next government and hence, there was no question of supporting the Third Front sounded odd given the predictions by most poll surveys of an imminent Congress rout. While the talk of forming the government could be dismissed as pep talk to the cadres, Rahul Gandhi’s preference to concentrate on rebuilding the grand old party is not a secret. In informal interactions with correspondents over the past year, the Congress vice-president has let it known that he was concentrating on the organisation just as he had worked to strengthen the Youth Congress and National Students Union of India -- affecting systemic changes, putting structures to eliminate the practice of bestowing favours on preferred individuals and also rewarding those who work for the party. A glimpse of what he proposed to do was made known at Jaipur last year when he was appointed the vice-president. However, the older guard, who have been at the helm of affairs and in the government, holds the view that instead of conceding any ground to the BJP under Modi, the Congress should work to install an alternative government in case of a fractured mandate.
Strengthening the base In informal interactions, the Congress vice-president has let it known that he was concentrating on the organisation just as he had worked to strengthen the Youth Congress and National Students Union of India -- affecting systemic changes, putting structures to eliminate the practice of bestowing favours on preferred individuals and also rewarding those who work for the party
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Saunders’ killing: Bhagat Singh’s name not in FIR, says Pak police
Lahore, May
4 Petitioner Imtiaz Rashid
Qureshi, chairman of the Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, had filed a petition seeking an attested copy of the first information report (FIR) registered against Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru for allegedly killing then SSP John P
Saunders. Bhagat Singh was awarded the death sentence for killing Saunders and he was subsequently hanged at Shadman Chowk in Lahore in 1931, aged 23. Over eight decades after his hanging, the Lahore police searched through the record of the Anarkali police station on the court's order and found the FIR of Saunders’ murder. Written in Urdu, the FIR was registered with the Anarkali police station on December 17, 1928 at 4.30 pm against two “unknown gunmen”. An officer of the Anarkali police was the complainant in the case. The complainant-cum-eyewitness said the man he followed was “about 5’-5” tall, had Hindu face, small moustache, slim and strong body, wearing white trouser
(pyjama) and grey shirt (kurta) and also a small black christi-like hat”. The case was registered under Sections 302, 120 and 109 of the Indian Penal Code. An inspector of Lahore police’s legal branch yesterday handed over the attested copy of the FIR in a sealed envelope to additional district and sessions judge (Lahore) Tariq Mahmood
Zargham. A copy of the FIR is also available with PTI. The court handed Qureshi a copy of the
FIR. Qureshi said special judges of tribunal handling Bhagat Singh's case awarded death sentence to him without hearing 450 witnesses of the
case. Bhagat Singh's lawyers were not given the opportunity of cross-questioning them, he said. Qureshi has also filed a petition in the Lahore High Court seeking reopening of Bhagat Singh's case. “I want to establish Bhagat Singh's innocence in the Saunders case,” he said. The Lahore High Court has referred the case to the chief justice for constitution of a larger bench to hear the case.
— PTI
Refers to 2 ‘unknown gunmen’
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Desert drill puts to test Army’s fighting skills
Abohar, May 4 “Sarvada Vijay” is being conducted as part of regular training where a large Army formation is practising and honing war fighting skills braving 45 °C heat and dust storms. Composite infantry and mechanised forces practised swift maneuvers deep into “enemy” territory and got linked up with
airborne troops. Networked radars, UAVs and aerial surveillance platforms ensured continuous flow of information resulting in battlefield transparency that enabled commanders to assess and suitably modify their operational plans to meet the emerging challenges. Mobile communication systems integrated with terrestrial network provided efficient “communication on the move” across the battlefield. Lt General Arun Kumar Sahni reviewed integrated operational manoeuvres of the formation.
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ISI plan to attack US, Israeli consulates in India thwarted
New Delhi, May 4 Official sources claimed today that Sakir Hussain, a Sri Lankan national, told his interrogators that he had been hired allegedly by an official in the Pakistani High Commission in Colombo according to the alleged ISI plans to conduct reconnaissance of the US Consulate in Chennai and Israeli Consulate in Bengaluru. Hussain was arrested on April 29 in a coordinated operation involving various countries including a South-East Asian nation. He is reported to have told the interrogators that the Pakistan spy agency was planning to send two men from the Maldives to Chennai and that he had to arrange their travel documents and hideouts. Hussain's name cropped up during an investigation in a South-East Asian country which tipped a central security agency in India about possible attacks on US and Israeli consulates, the sources said.
— PTI
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Ready to go to jail if proven guilty: Raja
New Delhi, May 4 "The same day I went to the judge, showed him the newspaper report and said I want to challenge the Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate and the CBI if they find one rupee or a dollar in my name, I will not contest the case and I will live my entire life in jail," a channel quoted Raja as saying. Raja was arrested on February 2, 2011 and is under trial in an alleged mutli-crore 2G scam by CBI. He is out on bail now. — PTI
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With 34 persons having been killed in Assam, the Centre today said it was determined to curb attacks on minorities as the violence there was aimed at starting a "full-fledged communal conflagration".
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said that in the past few days, there have been wanton acts of depredation leading to death of 34 persons, mostly women and children, and of them, 31 belonged to the minority community.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today accused Narendra Modi of inciting violence in Assam and demanded his arrest for allegedly trying to instigate caste-based violence in West Bengal. “He wants to cause caste-based violence. We are telling the Election Commission that he should be arrested and should not be allowed to campaign in the state,” Banerjee said at an election rally here in Krishnagar
Salbari (Assam), May 4
India today successfully test-fired its indigenous all-weather missile, Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile
Astra, with an Indian Air Force Sukhoi-30MKI launching it. After having hit by setbacks in the over decade-old
programme, the BVRAAM was successfully tested at a naval range in the western sector.
Lahore, May
4
Abohar, May 4
