Wednesday, June 9, 1999

MGR-ADMK to join NDA
CHENNAI, June 8 — The MGR-ADMK party, led by a former Tamil Nadu minister, Mr S. Thirunavukkarasu, has decided to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, and will seek five seats from the BJP-DMK front in the state for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

NTPC defers plan to cut power supply
NEW DELHI, June 8 — The National Thermal Power Corporation today announced the deferment of the proposed power supply cut to six states, including Delhi in view of discussions with the state electricity boards concerned on liquidation of outstanding dues.

Kiran Bedi joins Delhi Police
NEW DELHI, June 8 — Dr Kiran Bedi, who was Inspector General of Police, Chandigarh, today joined the Delhi Police as Joint Commissioner of Police (Training).

Cong, others endorse PM’s stand
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, June 8 — The Congress party today welcomed the ‘’firm and unambiguous’’ stand taken by the Prime Minister delineating the parameters of a visit by the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Mr Sartaj Aziz.

Extending its support, the party said that the only subject on which India should and might be willing to hear Pakistan out is to undo the intrusion, a point emphasised by Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee in his address to the nation last night.

“Mr Sartaj Aziz should have no illusion about our national intention to throw out the aggressors. It has now been proved regulars of the Pakistan Army are involved. Agenda (for the proposed talks) should be quite clearly no departure from what is agreed to in the Simla agreement of July, 1972,’’ Mr K Natwar Singh, Chairman of the AICC Foreign Affairs Department, said today.

He said there should be immediate withdrawal from the areas occupied by the intruders in the Kargil sector.

Commenting on statements of Mr Aziz, the Congress said the party believed that he wished to come to India to justify the ‘’desperate adventurism’’ of the infiltrators.

Mr Aziz cannot be allowed to renegotiate a settled position. We welcome the strong, resolute and purposeful statement of the Prime Minister, ‘’ the Congress said.

On the BJP charge that the Congress was politicising, the issue, the Congress said, while supporting the government in its firm stand, the party regretted attempts being made by the BJP to ‘’politicise not only the Kargil issue but also to foist tender wounds by generating hysteria at a time when political parties should be united and circumspect’’.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India said in Calcutta that India should not agree to any ceasefire proposal by Pakistan before flushing out the armed intruders.

In Hyderabad the Telugu Desam Party pledged full support to the Vajpayee Government in its efforts to flush out the intruders and appealed to all parties not to politicise the issue in the interest of national security.

The BJP also “warmly” endorsed the clear and unambiguous enunciation by the Prime Minister of the government’s policy regarding Kargil. “He has unequivocally spelt out that the doors for talks with Pakistan are always open, but the talks shall be confined to only one point and that is, the undoing of armed intrusion into India by Pakistani men and materials”, said party spokesman M. Venkaiah Naidu in a statement issued here today.

Laloo quizzed again

PATNA, June 8 (UNI) — The CBI today interrogated the Rashtriya Janata Dal President Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, for more than two hours in connection with the disproportionate assets case.

According to CBI sources, the interrogation carried out at the state CBI headquarters here was over and the chargesheet in the case would be filed soon.

The team headed by the Joint Director (East), Mr U N Biswas, along with other officials interrogated Mr Yadav, about the details which he did not file in the income tax returns besides other particulars about him and his family’s other sources of income.

The CBI had interrogated Mr Yadav earlier on October 21, 1998, in connection with the case involving disproportionate assets of more than Rs 42.52 lakh.

It also wanted to know how much he spent during the festivals when people thronged his residence and queried about certain individuals who had deposited and withdrawn money from his accounts.

Meanwhile, Mr Yadav told newspersons that CBI sleuths behaved well with him during the interrogation and had asked only eight to 10 questions in all. He said all questions were related to his IT return and some of them were the same he had been asked, during the first time.

The former Chief Minister said: “I am ready to be quizzed a thousand times as I have done nothing wrong and no unaccounted money is available with me’’.

Mr Yadav said he asked the CBI officials why they were playing “football” with him when there was certainly no evidence against him in the case.

On being quizzed by the officials on Rs 10,000 which the former Union Minister, Ms Kanti Singh gave to his daughter, he claimed the said amount was given to his daughter on her birthday without his knowledge. He said he did not mention it in the IT returns as it was not known to him.

The CBI officials were very courteous and “I too cooperated with them’’.

Mr Yadav reached the CBI headquarters well in time in response to the summons. The interrogation began at around 10.45 am and continued till 12.45 pm.

When the CBI had interrogated Mr Yadav earlier, he had disclosed that some funds used in the construction of his house was taken as loan from his wife and Chief Minister, Ms Rabri Devi. His answer forced the CBI to question her twice on May 20 and 27.

The CBI had also quizzed the former Union Minister, Ms Kanti Singh on May 28 in the same case. Ms Singh, who happens to be close to the Chief Minister’s family, was shown some papers by the officials during her 25-minute interrogation.

The CBI filed the case of the disproportionate assets against Mr Yadav on August 19 and raided the the residence of the Chief Minister’s and their close relatives on August 21, 1998.

2 LTTE agents held, 15 kg heroin seized
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, June 8 — Within a day of the arrest of the first human bomb in the capital, the Delhi Police apprehended two persons allegedly having links with the outlawed LTTE and seized from them 15 kg of heroin after a raid on a farmhouse in the Nangloi area of West Delhi.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Uday Sahay said the 15 kg drug packet, priced at around Rs 15 crore in the international market, was seized from a farmhouse in the Nangloi area last night. A shoot-out had preceded the arrest in the morning.

Hem Lata (25) and Shri Ram, suspected LTTE members, were arrested by the police which was searching another two suspected Sri Lankans. Shri Ram, a Sri Lankan Tamilian, was injured, probably in the shoot out, the police officer said.

Giving details, Mr Sahay said the police yesterday received a call that two unidentified persons had shot a man dead and injured another in the Shaunkinda farmhouse in Nangloi. The farmhouse, owned by a local landlord Zile Singh, was given on rent to Hem Lata and her brother Sanjeev Rathi.

The identity of the unidentified persons, who were employed by Hem Lata for carrying out her illegal operations, have been established and efforts were on to nab them.

Mr Sahay said during the search of the farmhouse, stacks of heroin were found to be well-hidden inside the folding cots to be despatched outside the country. Hem Lata’s husband Kamal Maku operated from Canada, while she looked after the operations in India.

MGR-ADMK to join NDA

CHENNAI, June 8 (PTI) — The MGR-ADMK party, led by a former Tamil Nadu minister, Mr S. Thirunavukkarasu, has decided to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and will seek five seats from the BJP-DMK front in the state for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Mr Thirunavukkarasu told newsmen here today that the main objective of his joining the NDA was to ensure the defeat of the AIADMK General Secretary, Ms Jayalalitha. Dubbing her as an “evil force”, he said anybody not interested in having a stable government at the Centre should support her.

The MGR-ADMK party leader said he had called on the DMK President and the Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, yesterday and staked his party’s claim for five seats — the same number it had contested and lost in the 1998 elections, in alliance with the Congress.

NTPC defers plan to cut power supply

NEW DELHI, June 8 (PTI) — The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) today announced the deferment of the proposed power supply cut to six states, including Delhi in view of discussions with the state electricity boards (SEBs) concerned on liquidation of outstanding dues.

The NTPC which had earlier threatened to cut power supply to Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim, UP, Delhi and the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) from first week of June, said most of the states had agreed to increase the letter of credit (LC).

Orissa had agreed to increase the LC from Rs 32 crore to Rs 40 crore immediately and to the level of full current billing within two months, an NTPC statement said.

Kiran Bedi joins Delhi Police
From Our Correspondent

NEW DELHI, June 8 — Dr Kiran Bedi, who was Inspector General of Police, Chandigarh, today joined the Delhi Police as Joint Commissioner of Police (Training).

Another former senior Chandigarh police official, Mr R.K. Niyogi, who had served as SSP, Chandigarh, some years ago, has been posted as Joint Commissioner, New Delhi range.

The other Joint Commissioners posted yesterday were Mr Y.R. Dhuria (Security), Mr Puran Singh (Operations), Dr Chandra Prakash (Armed Police).

Mr N.S. Randhawa, on posting from Chandigarh, has been appointed DCP Second battalion (Delhi Armed Police).

Engineer, 3 kin killed in mishap
CHENNAI: In a mishap, an engineer working in the Sriharikota centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and three members of his family were killed in a car-mini lorry collision at Kavarapettai, near suburban Gummiddipoondi, on Monday, the police said here on Tuesday. The engineer, P.C. Reddy (53), his wife Vasantha (50), daughter Sharmili (24) and grandson Sathik (2) were coming to Chennai from Sriharikota when their car and the lorry laden with oxygen cylinders collided. — PTI

BEd degree racket unearthed
NEW DELHI: A racket of sale of BEd degrees on payment of Rs 1.5 to Rs 2.5 lakh by some universities in Bihar with involvement of top bureaucrats and university officials has been unearthed after a vigilance probe by the state government, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has said. Some arrests have already been made and further vigilance inquiries are likely to throw up more such cases, the NCTE, a statutory body set up by the Centre to regulate and maintain norms and standards in the teacher education system in the country, said. — PTI

Class X student commits suicide
NEW DELHI: A class X student, having failed to clear the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations for the fourth successive year, committed suicide on Monday, police sources said. Tara Singh 20 allegedly hung himself to death when he learnt that he had failed to clear the examinations again. — PTI

Warrant against UP minister
KANPUR: A local court has again issued a non-bailable warrant in a 13-year-old case against Uttar Pradesh Women and Child Development Minister Premlata Katiyar. The court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (second), during its hearing in the case on Monday, also issued orders for attachment of the property of Katyar following her failure to appear before the court. She has been accused of roughing up officials and looting ballot papers during the counting of votes in the 1986 UP assembly elections, here. — UNI

‘Sex party’ racket busted
MUMBAI: The police has busted a major “sex party” racket with the arrest of 150 persons, including 25 women and two foreigners, at Madh Island, a popular picnic spot in suburban Mumbai, on Sunday. Acting on a tip-off that “sex parties” were being organised at a bungalow at Patilwadi, on Marve road, a special team comprising around 50 police personnel was deployed on the spot, the Additional Police Commissioner, Mr Rakesh Maria told reporters here on Monday. — PTI

Lt-Gen Mann take charge
LUCKNOW: Lt-Gen H.R.S. Mann on Tuesday assumed charge of the Chief of Staff, Central Command, here. He succeeds Lt-Gen S.B.S. Kochar, who has taken over as the Commandant of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla. Before taking over the present charge, Lt-Gen Mann was Chief of Staff, Western Command, since September, 1997. — PTI

Navy gets extra-fast attack craft
NEW DELHI: India has built in collaboration with Israel an “extra-fast attack craft” for coastal surveillance and reconnaissance, the Navy said on Tuesday. The vessel, the T-81, has been built by Goa Shipyards Ltd and is the first complete weapon system made by any defence industry indigenously with technological tie-up and collaboration with Israel, a Navy spokesman said. It was commissioned by the Goa Governor, Lt-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), last week. The ship, one of the smallest of world class standard with a displacement capacity of 60 tonnes, had a gun with a facility for remote-control firing. — PTI