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11 killed in TN wall collapse; 2 held
Rescuers at the site of the wall collapse near Uttarapalayam in Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu on Sunday. PTI
Moradabad violence |
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Disabled soldiers
Black Money
Teacher raped by 3 youths in Muzaffarnagar
Ganga cleaning not a Hindutva project: Ramesh
219 doctors sacked in Maharashtra
K’taka ex-CM in cash-for-seat controversy
Pillar trouble along border Thousands of pillars along India’s border with Nepal and Bhutan have either gone ‘missing’ or are ‘damaged’. Pti File photo Kasab class: Where LeT recruits learn what not to do
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11 killed in TN wall collapse; 2 held
Chennai, July 6 “In all, 11 persons died on the spot, including a child and four women,” Tiruvallur District Collector K Veera Raghava Rao told mediapersons at the site near Upparapalayam. Among the victims, nine are from Andhra Pradesh, while the remaining are from Tamil Nadu, K Veera Raghava Rao said. The compound wall was constructed by a private warehousing company and its owners — Ramanathan and his brother Balu — have been arrested, district Superintendent of Police Saravanan said. A 19-year-old youth, Nagaraj, was rescued from the debris and has been admitted to hospital with minor injuries. Heavy rains had lashed the area last night. Jayalalithaa mourned the deaths and announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured. She also instructed police officials to take stern action against those responsible for the tragedy. The incident occurred eight days after an 11-storeyed building crashed at Porur, claiming 61 lives.
SIT to probe Porur incident
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has announced a Special Investigation Team headed by a Joint Commissioner of Police to probe the recent Porur building collapse that claimed 61 lives. The SIT comprises experts in engineering and architecture. — PTI
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Centre seeks report from UP Govt
Hyderabad, July 5 Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju today said a report had been sought from the UP Government. “I would not like to comment on state’s (UP) law and order situation now, because I have to seek the report first and then see the reason behind the incident,” Rijiju said on the sidelines of a seminar in Hyderabad. Violent protests erupted yesterday after the police tried to stop some people from holding a ‘mahapanchayat’ in Kanth area over removal of a loudspeaker from a temple there. A police spokesperson in Lucknow said 12 officers, including District Magistrate Chandra Kant, were injured in stone pelting by the protesters. He said a case was filed against 362 people, out which 62 were named under various sections of the IPC, including attempt to murder. He said 62 accused were arrested and sent to jail today. BJP leaders, including four MPs and an MLA who was accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots, were detained. — PTI
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Ex-servicemen write to PM over litigation in SC
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 6 In a letter to the Prime Minister, Defence Minister, Law Minister and the three Service Chiefs, the Indian Ex-servicemen Movement (IESM) pointed out that the maximum number of appeals pending in the SC is against disabled and war disabled soldiers against their disability pension benefits amounting to, at times, as little as Rs 1,000 per month. It is not only financially impossible for soldiers to fight the might of the government at the Supreme Court level but also a morale wrecker to see the establishment fight tooth and nail against its own soldiers, the letter adds. The IESM said the PM had made it known that he was not in favour of such litigation and this was emphatically highlighted even during his rally for ex-servicemen in Rewari, Haryana. The ruling party had also made this a part of the manifesto wherein it was emphasised that such appeals would be minimised. However, much against the wishes of the PM and the manifesto, government lawyers were continuing to fight pending cases against disabled soldiers and were also filing fresh cases on the instructions of the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare of the Ministry of Defence. Claiming that thousands of more such cases were in line to be filed in the SC against relief granted to disabled soldiers by the High Courts and Armed Forces Tribunals, the IESM said many of such cases/appeals were against the concept of “broad-banding” of disability percentage of disabled soldiers, which are already covered under earlier judgments. Stating that ex-servicemen had high hopes from the current government to look after the welfare and morale of our soldiers and veterans, the IESM said it would not only be ethically and morally, but also legally correct to initiate withdrawal of all such unprincipled litigation so as to boost the spirit of the soldiers and their families, rather than weaken it.
The plea
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Make justified requests: Swiss banks to India
New Delhi/Zurich, July 6 The Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland, an over four-decade old grouping, is also of the view that a clear and transparent policy can help in dispelling “apprehensions” and the “conjectures” should not be allowed to dominate the public opinion. To bring back illicit money stashed away overseas, India has recently made a fresh request to Switzerland to seek bank details of such entities. “India should be aware that its reputation in Switzerland as a country with a proper legal system and functioning rule of law has been seriously hampered as of late — for reasons not related to financial matters. But the mistrust spills over in other matters,” the Zurich-based association’s General Secretary Martin Maurer told PTI. Indian money in Swiss banks rose 43 per cent last year to close to 2.03 billion Swiss francs (Rs 14,000 crore), as per the latest data from Switzerland’s central banking authority Swiss National Bank (SNB). Two ‘big banks’ in Switzerland — UBS and Credit Suisse — account for nearly two-third of such funds. A UBS spokesperson said: “While we do not comment on specific cases, the UBS applies the highest international standards worldwide in the fight against money laundering and corruption. “Over the years, UBS has further strengthened and enhanced its anti-money laundering policies, ensuring it has one of the highest standards with respect to corroboration and verification of sources of wealth.” A spokesperson for Credit Suisse said: “We conduct our banking business in strict compliance with the applicable laws, rules and regulations in the markets where we operate, and our employees receive ongoing training in this area.” The banks in Switzerland apparently also follow a code of conduct framed by another grouping, SBA (Swiss Bankers Association), with regard to due diligence process and measures required to check money laundering and other illegal activities. When contacted, an SBA spokesperson declined to give any specific details and said that “the Swiss Bankers Association has published a number of guidelines, to which its member- banks adhere and which amend to the Swiss jurisdiction”. — PTI
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Teacher raped by 3 youths in Muzaffarnagar
Muzaffarnagar, July 6 The incident took place last night when the teacher was engaged in a door-to-door campaign to increase enrolment of children in schools in Balwakheri village under the Charthawal police station, Circle Officer Karamvir Singh said. The three accused have been identified as Sorabh, Mohit and Vipin, Singh said. They also took an objectionable photo of the victim and threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed the incident to anyone, he said. An FIR was lodged in this connection by the victim’s father. — PTI
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Ganga cleaning not a Hindutva project: Ramesh
New Delhi, July 6 “Don’t look it as a Hindutva project. This is not a Hindutva project. This is a national project. Don’t try to polarise politics through Ganga cleaning,” Ramesh told the government ahead of the first national dialogue on the Ganga — Ganga Manthan — being organised by the Centre tomorrow. The former Environment Minister said the government’s Ganga Mission programme should be a people’s programme and “we must involve society”. “But don’t make it a sadhus and sants’ programme. Ganga is a national river. It defines Indian culture,” he said, adding Jawaharlal Nehru also spoke about the role of Ganga in Indian culture. Union and state ministers, MPs, experts, NGOs and sadhus are expected to participate in the day-long brainstorming on Ganga cleaning plan. Spelling out the steps taken by the previous UPA government to conserve the holy river, Ramesh said: “The NDA is going about this whole thing as if nothing has happened.” He accused the BJP-led government of not acknowledging the initiatives taken by the UPA including establishment of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) for cleaning Ganga. — PTI
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219 doctors sacked in Maharashtra
Mumbai, July 6 Dismissal notices were issued to 219 doctors, officials said. More dismissals have been planned for this evening as well. So far the state government has not arrested any of the doctors though notices have been issued to them. The Maharashtra Association of Gazetted Medical Officers said 12,000 doctors, including specialists, permanent doctors and those who have signed bonds with the government, are on strike seeking implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations. — TNS
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New Delhi, July 6 The condition of these security structures is not only bad along this fence-less 1,751-km-long border on the eastern side of the country, but also along the Bhutan frontier where close to 900 border pillars are either damaged or have simply vanished. According to a latest confidential report sent by the field formations of security agencies to the Ministry of Home Affairs, a total of 1,451 border pillars are “missing”, while 1,282 have been “damaged” along the Indo-Nepal border over a period of time. This frontier, notorious for the movement of smugglers and terrorists, has a total of 6,402 such structures, which are used by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) as a guide for patrolling and area domination. In the absence of these structures, the SSB personnel, for some time now, have begun using grid references on their GPS devices or marking local landmarks to patrol the Indian side. The Home Ministry recently decided that the SSB will undertake repair and maintenance of these structures. The report goes on to state that of the 1,705 border pillars on the Indo-Bhutan border, 448 are "missing", while an equal number of these are "damaged". India shares a 699 km open border with Bhutan. – PTI
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Kasab class: Where LeT recruits learn what not to do Srinagar/New Delhi, July 6 This emerged during interrogation of LeT terrorist Mohd Naveed Jutt alias Abu Hanzala, a resident of Multan in Pakistan, who was arrested by the police in the third week of last month in South Kashmir, official sources said. Giving details of his background, Jutt told interrogators that his father was a retired Army driver and he, along with his brothers, was part of madrassas which were owned by Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a front for LeT, sources said. Jutt is the first Lashkar terrorist who has said during interrogation that he had met Kasab, the Pakistan terrorist hanged in November last year after being sentenced to death for his role in the 2008 Mumbai carnage. Accused of killing many policemen in South Kashmir, Jutt reportedly said he was part of Borevalla Sahiwala camp of the LeT in Multan district of Punjab where he had met Kasab. Among the mistakes which were pointed out by the LeT in its presentation was the inability of Kasab and his team to destroy the boat that carried them to the Mumbai coast, speaking on satellite phones with real identities, inability to take any hostages and getting arrested, sources said. — PTI
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K’taka ex-CM in cash-for-seat controversy
Bangalore, July 6 In the audio clip played by Kannada TV channels, Kumaraswamy was heard telling the supporters of Vijugowda Patil, a JD(S) functionary from Bijapur in north Karnataka: “Each MLA (of the JDS) is asking for one crore. They are saying you make anybody MLC.” At another point, Kumaraswamy, son and political successor of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, was heard saying: “Forty people (JDS MLAs) are asking for 40 crore... This is my fate.” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today hit out at the JD(S) leader and said Kumaraswamy should not defend himself claiming other parties were also indulging in corruption. “I haven’t seen the conversation in the CD. I will not comment on it. Let people of the state take a decision on it,” Siddaramaiah told mediapersons. Union Minister Ananth Kumar also demanded a probe into the controversy. “Whoever is guilty, after a thorough probe, he should be punished”, the BJP leader said. Kumaraswamy did not disown the authenticity of the conversation but said he had only discussed the direction in which the current politics was moving.
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Eleven persons, including a child and four women, were killed when a 20-foot-high compound wall adjacent to their huts collapsed in Tiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu today.
New Delhi, July 6
