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Ardh Kumbh begins; 20 lakh take dip
Rajnath to have 20 pc new faces in his team
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Medha Patkar back at Jantar Mantar
Arrest of gangster a breakthrough for Bihar Police
Villagers lynch British tourist
Lab set up to combat cyber crime
SC stays proceedings against Jaya
VHP to work for ‘Hinduisation’ of politics: Togadia
CIEFL to train ASEAN countries
Govt turns down FM radio demand
Parents sacrifice sons for money
Boy brought dead from Ramdev’s yoga camp
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Ardh Kumbh begins; 20 lakh take dip
Allahabad, January 3 A steady stream of devotees made a beeline for about 30 ghats from early morning despite chilly winds and fog enveloping the sprawling “Kumbh nagri”. Many foreign tourists were also seen there. Bath over, many pilgrims were seen moving towards the Bade Hanuman temple, which is the only one with supine idol of Hanuman. While some others tried to venture out to the sectors, having attractive
'pandals' of different 'akharas'. Around 10,000 policemen and 4,000 Homeguards jawans have been deployed for maintaining law and order. In addition, there 32 barricaded check-points have been set up. These are manned by BSF and CRPF personnel. National Security Guards commandos, anti-terrorist squads, quick response teams of commandos, 10 bomb disposal squads and 12 anti-sabotage teams have also been deployed. The police has been keeping a close watch from towers and through CCTV cameras. Plying of vehicles in the area has been banned. The turnout was, however, much thinner than the earlier official estimate of 80 lakh people. Devotees attributed it to fear of law and order problems and the poor quality of water in the Ganga.
—PTI
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Rajnath to have 20 pc new faces in his team
New Delhi, January 3 “Though I have not yet applied my mind on the composition of the team and have not begun consultations with my elder leaders and colleagues but I can only say at the moment that there would be 20 per cent new faces in the team,” the BJP president said. “I will begin the exercise around January 14 and the new team will be announced after that,” he said adding that no one would sit idle and every one would be used according to his or her experience, expertise and knowledge.” Asked about the coming Assembly elections in Punjab, Uttranchal and Manipur, Mr Singh said that he would be travelling to Muktsar on January 13 to be the chief guest at the Shiromani Akali Dal congregation. He said that the BJP would contest at least 23 Assembly seats in Punjab. “We, along with our senior partner SAD, will win the election and form the government replacing the five-year old Congress administration.” The SAD-BJP combine was going to win the elections because the Congress rule had contributed to the worsening of the plight of farmers, who had been forced to commit suicide, he pointed out and added that common man was suffering because of spiralling prices of the essential food items. “The Congress government had promised uninterrupted flow of electricity at the time of the formation of the government but five years have passed, the power availability has only worsened,” Mr Singh said. Similarly in Uttaranchal, the BJP would form the government, he said that the people of the hill state were fed up with the five-year-old Congress regime, which has wasted public money for favouring henchmen. “There has been gross misuse of the government money and the state has suffered because of lack of development,” he said. In
Manipour, the BJP would improve its tally, he said expressing concern over the continuing militancy in not only Manipur but in the entire North East.
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Medha Patkar back at Jantar Mantar
New Delhi, January 3 Today she chose the roadside protest venue to announce the “Action-2007” that aims at building up radical mass movement by all people in the country against “displacement, privatisation and monopolisation of resources” and bring them on a common platform. Surrounded by tribesmen from affected areas in the Narmada valley, who have joined her on another indefinite dharna against raising the height of the dam till 122 metre and inadequate rehabilitation of affected families, Ms Patkar said a joint manifesto from a common platform would be launched in March, 2007. The NBA activists, including representatives of affected adivasis and farmers from the three affected states, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, staged a demonstration in protest against the alleged non-rehabilitation of people affected by a raise in Sadar Sarovar Dam's height. In spite of biting cold, the roadside protest venue presented a colourful scene with tribesmen from Maharashtra singing “the government trembles with fear when it sees us” in their native language Pavri. The native song had sufficient foot-tapping rhythm to attract passers-by, who, despite the evening rush hour, stopped to listen to the group. The NBA also submitted a detailed report to Social Justice and Empowerment Secretary Veena
Chouthray, claiming that even though the work to raise the dam's height was over, about 40,000 affected families were far from being rehabilitated. “The Prime Minister's direction that construction should be undertaken only after complete rehabilitation of affected people had been consigned to the dustbin,” she said, adding that the NBA would now also try to meet Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The NBA would continue the demonstration till its demands were met, she told The Tribune, adding that the need of the hour was that different people’s movements and mass-based organisations brought the government and policy makers to account through a strong and radical mass movement on commonly agreed issues. “Death and displacement continues to take place as is evident by farmers’ suicides in Maharashtra and Kerala. Land is being acquired forcibly at below market rates by setting up special economic zones by various state governments, destruction of slums or removal of colonies in the name of JNURM,” she said. “Focussed action is required on securing livelihoods, rights over resources for agriculture, fisher people, adivasis and other people. There is a political demand for changes in democratic processes and structure of policy, dignity, social justice and due rights and privileges to Dalit minorities and women and all those victimised by discrimination. Our strategies will have to be novel and effective and we must not allow state machinery to ignore and sideline our protest,” she added. |
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Arrest of gangster a breakthrough for Bihar Police
Patna, January 3 Tiwary`s subsequent interrogation by a joint team of the UP and the Bihar police in the past two days again revealed how the Indo-Nepal border was posing serious threat to the internal security of the country, besides precipitating general law and order problem. Another noted gangster and a close aide of the ‘D’company, Fazl-ur-Rahaman,who hailed from Darbhanga in Bihar, was arrested in last August from the Indo-Nepal border.This was preceded by the arrests of the two prime suspects of Mumbai blasts in local train in July from Madhubani which was again located on the Indo-Nepal border. The UP police had announced Rs 5 lakh award for Rishimuni Tiwary who was evading arrest for past few years. Sources in the police disclosed that during the interrogation Tiwary admitted of having gifted a watch worth Rs 5 lakh to Chota Rajan in Nepal a few years back, besides his involvement in over half-a-dozen sensational kidnapping cases. The sources said Tiwary confessed to his involvement in the killing of 20 persons, including Basgaon MLA Om Prakash Paswan at Gorakhpur in UP. Over 150 persons were reportedly injured in the attack on Paswan in 1999. Tiwary further admitted that he had taken Rs 75 lakh as ransom for the release of Delhi-based trader Khurana, and fetched another Rs 1.75 crore for the safe release of Gorakhpur businessman Yugal Kishore Jalan kidnapped by him in 2002. The police were also verifying Tiwary`s claim of having "good relations" with some politicians in UP and Bihar and helping them to win elections. While Gopalgang SP R.K.Rathi was happy over the major breakthrough by the police in arresting
Tiwary, the sources admitted the vulnerability of the Nepal border in aiding and abetting crimes in Bihar and UP. The Shasastra Seema
Bal(SSB) guarding the Indo-Nepal border already brought to the notice of the Union Home Ministry how criminals and anti-national elements were taking advantage of the soft-border treaty between Indian and Nepal. It was also learnt that Birganj in Nepal and Raxaul in Bihar, both located in close proximity, were fast emerging as hubs to smuggle arms, fake currency and narcotics into India. In a report submitted to the Home Ministry, the SSB stressed the need to link all border posts on the Indo-Nepal border in both Bihar and UP with the national highways for better surveillance.
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Villagers lynch British tourist
Mumbai, January 3 Stephen Bennett (40), a resident of Cheltenham in
Gloucestershire, was beaten up with sticks and later hanged by locals in the Malsai village of Roha taluka in the wee hours of December 10, Inspector-General (Konkan Range) Satyapal Singh told PTI here today. Though four persons were arrested in connection with the case, mystery surrounds the murder as the Briton was “in Roha for three days prior to have been killed,” he said. “The purpose of his visit to Roha, not on tourist map, was not clear”. According to him, Bennett, who was on a tourist visa to India, alighted from Mumbai-bound train en route from Goa at Roha on December 7. Meanwhile, an investigating officer from the Roha police station said he was killed by villagers for allegedly misbehaving with a local woman in the wee hours when she had stepped out to relieve herself. “She complained to her husband who immediately started beating up the British man using sticks along with some others. He was later hanged to a mango tree in the village using a sari,” said the official. The police is also ascertaining if the woman was acquainted to the tourist during his three-day stay and if her husband had killed her in rage, a senior official said. Four persons, including the woman’s husband Ramesh Mene (38), Vithoba Mene (21), Nathuram Mohite (35) and Kashinath Marathe (40), were arrested and have been booked for murder while Raja Malusare and Ravindra Dalvi have been shown as wanted accused. All the arrested are farmers of the village situated seven km from Roha who also used to work as labourers in nearby factories during non-agricultural season, he said. The police are, however, ruling out possibility of robbery behind the murder as 330 pounds were found along with Rs 570 on Bennett’s person apart from the passport. They contacted the British Deputy High Commissioner’s office and the body was sent back to England after a post mortem at a hospital in the Raigad district. — PTI
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Lab set up to combat cyber crime
Bangalore, January 3 The lab, which has been established in the Corps of Detectives Complex here, is the third such initiative taken in the state to combat cyber crime. Earlier, Karnataka was the first to establish a cyber cell in 1999 and a cyber police station in 2001. Twenty one trainees, including 15 police officers, started training in the cyber laboratory today. The laboratory is offering a ten-day course for police personnel, bank, excise and custom officials, besides company executives from the IT industry. It expects to train 1,000 personnel in a year. Nasscom Director, Cyber Security Nandkumar Saravade disclosed that the organisation had gone in for a public private partnership to establish the laboratory to create unity among different stake holders affected by cyber crimes. He said this was the third such laboratory in the country after the two established at Mumbai and Thane. Mr Sarvade said the lab would introduce police officials to ways and means of using data generated during investigations of cyber crimes. He said an effort would be made to create awareness of the ways and means of resolving cyber crimes among the lower levels of the police force. The lab would also train personnel on cyber forensics, he added. Karnataka Director-General of Police Srinivasan
K.R. disclosed that the cyber lab would have a full time project manager from the police, two instructors and part time volunteers from the student community. He said in view of the rise in cyber crimes bet it internet fraud or false e-ticketing, it had been realised that lower-level investigating officers had little knowledge of ways and means of analysing data on hard disks, e-mail tracking, extracting evidence using internet and mobile phones and on cyber crime-related legislation. He said lab would focus on training police personnel on these issues.
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SC stays proceedings against Jaya
New Delhi, January 3 Jayalalithaa and Sasikala had moved the apex court after the Madras High Court had rejected their appeal against a Chennai trial judge’s order asking them to appear in person on Juanuary 29. The Income Tax authorities had registered criminal cases against them for not filing tax returns for three consecutive financial years of 1991-92, 1992-93 and 1993-94. The IT Department had also named Sasikala’s company - Sasi Enterprises - in its complaint for violating the tax law. A battery of senior advocates consisting of Harish Salve, Ravi Shankar Prasad and K T S Tulsi, who appeared for them, claimed that during these assessment years the income of their clients was nil. They also said that since the apex court had yet to interpret the provisions of amended Section 276(cc) of the Income Tax Act under which certain new grounds had been added to make cases for assessment, till then the proceeding should be stayed in these cases. In all four criminal complaints were filed against them by the tax authorities.
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VHP to work for ‘Hinduisation’ of politics: Togadia
Ayodhya, January 3 Talking to reporters at Karsewakpuram here, Togadia said the VHP’s efforts would be for ‘Hinduisation’ of the country’s politics and to ‘minimise influence of Muslims in the elections’. He said the VHP had drafted a strategy to ensure victory of ‘Hinduvadi’ candidates in the next Lok Sabha elections and would try to change the “mindset that Muslims support was necessary for victory in the polls.” Togadia said efforts would also be made for reduction of Muslim representation in Parliamentary and Assembly elections. Accusing the UPA government of indulging in Muslim ‘appeasement’, he claimed that the Union Finance Minister has directed the public sector banking institutions to liberalise loan policy for the Muslims. Similar directions have been issued by the Rural Development Ministry. The Human Resources Development Ministry, too, has earmaked Rs 5,425 crore for Muslims under various programmes, he said. The VHP leader said construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya would be discussed during the ‘Mahasammelan’ at Allahabad next month, in which representatives of about one lakh villages in the country and Hindus from 100 countries would participate.
— PTI
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CIEFL to train ASEAN countries
Hyderabad, January 3 “A team of professors from the institute has already visited Vietnam for setting up the centre at Danang near Hanoi. This centre is likely to start functioning from March this year,” Prof V.S.S. Sastry, Vice-Chancellor, told The Tribune. Another team is presently visiting Cambodia, he said. Ciefl, an autonomous national institution of higher education established in 1958, is the only deemed university in the country catering exclusively to teaching and learning of foreign languages. The institute, recently elevated to the status of a central university through Parliament legislation, offers academic programmes in English, Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. The proposed centres will offer training in English language and communication skills for professionals in those countries like civil servants, doctors, engineers and businessmen. These centres, funded by the Indo-ASEAN Foundation, will also train teachers in English in these countries. Ciefl will have two of its resource persons in each of these centres. “We have a global advantage being a teaching and learning centre for the planet’s lingua franca,” Prof Sastry, himself a professor in French, said. “We have to target Chinese market for English, because at Ciefl, we have the expertise for this task,” he said. Ciefl is already into organising international training programmes in English at its 15-hectare campus near the Osmania University for professionals hailing from non-English speaking countries of the world. The three-month programme offered on the campus is utilised by diplomats, pilots and engineers among others. Started in 1998, this programme is now into its 25th batch. “The response has been tremendous. We can’t really meet the demand,” the Vice-Chancellor said. Besides English, the most sought after languages at the institute nowadays are Spanish, Japanese and French at
Ciefl. There is also lot of potential for Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean languages, according to Prof Sastry, who disclosed that Ciefl submitted proposals to start these courses under the 11th Plan.
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Govt turns down FM radio demand
New Delhi, January 3 Bar on private operators to use OB vans is in conformity with the present policy of not allowing the private FM radio to broadcast news and current affairs programmes, an official in the Ministry told UNI. Once these operators are allowed to broadcast any event live, it would be tantamount to stepping into broadcasting the current events, he added. FM Radio operators have been demanding permission to broadcast news and current affairs programme ever since they started their operations last year, arguing that it would go a long way in ensuring their
viability. Such programmes would give a variety to private FM besides boosting their advertisement revenue. The phase-II of FM radio, under which licenses were given for 280 new stations in 91 cities, was launched on the recommendations of the Amit Mitra Committee that had recommended allowing news and current affairs
programmes on FM radio. However, the government has so far been turning down the demand in view of the sensitive nature of such programmes. The official said FM operators will have to wait for clearance of their first demand before they could be allowed use of OB vans.
— UNI
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Parents sacrifice sons for money
Baripada (Orissa), January 3 The couple sacrificed their sons at their home at Tilapada village, about 55 km from here, after observing some rituals in the presence of the tantric, identified as Jagannath Tudu, police said. Though the incident had occurred about a week ago it came to They found the bodies of the two boys and informed the police, which has arrested the couple. The tantric has absconded. The couple also has a two-month-old daughter, who had been spared, the police said.
— PTI
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Boy brought dead from Ramdev’s yoga camp
Bhubaneswar, January 3 His brother Sarbeswar Das dropped him at gate number two of the camp at 4.30 am. Sarbeswar could not accompany his younger sibling as they had only one ticket. When Manoj did not report after the camp session, a worried Sarbeswar telephoned his relatives and finally came to know that his brother was brought dead to the Capital Hospital from the yoga camp. Sources said the boy had complained of chest pain and was found sitting near the OPD. The camp doctors advised that he should be immediately shifted to the hospital. The boy was rushed to the hospital but was declared ‘brought dead’ by the doctors. When contacted, the Khurda Superintendent of Police said it was yet to be known whether the boy participated in the camp. — UNI
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14 feared drowned
Lucknow, January 3
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Quintuplets delivered, dead Fire
reduces huts to ashes Trinamool chief Mamata stable BSF gets six copters
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