Yet another theft in Maharashtra's village without locks

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), Feb 6: Known for its homes and shops with no doors or locks, the temple village of Shani-Shingnapur in this Maharashtra's district on Saturday reported yet another theft early Saturday, police said. Four thefts were reported in the village last year.Saturday's theft took place at the house of Dagdu Sheth, one of the members of the trust which looks after the main temple to Lord Shani (Saturn) in the village.The theft worth Rs.73,000 was reported in Sonai police station. "Rs.50,000, two gold rings and a mobile phone have been stolen from Sheth's residence," Assistant Police Inspector B.D. Mane told the media."It is very disturbing that the village that was well-known for door-less homes and shops is seeing thefts of late. Last year, there were four thefts in this temple village," he added.Shani-Shingnapur, with a population of around 2,000, is situated around 375 km from Mumbai.The village was renowned as a place where no thefts or robberies take place, with the strong belief that the Lord Shani, the presiding deity of the village, protects the village and its surroundings.The dwellings in the village have no doors or locks, but just a curtain to protect the privacy of the occupants, and people left their homes unattended for hours or days. (IANS)

Facing the past...

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Located in Delhi, India The Qutub Minar (Qutub Tower) is the world's tallest brick minaret with a height of 72.5 meters (237.8 ft). Inspired by the Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan and wishing to surpass it, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the first Muslim ruler of Delhi, commenced construction of the Qutub Minar in 1193; but could only complete its basement. His successor, Iltutmish, added three more stories and, in 1368, Firuz Shah Tughluq constructed the fifth and the last story. The Qutub Minar is notable for being one of the earliest and most prominent examples of Indo-Islamic architecture.

CIC indicts IIT-Kharagpur for giving false info

NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission on Saturday severely indicted IIT-Kharagpur, and its former public information officer T K Ghosal, for giving false information under the RTI Act about the Joint Entrance Examination-2006.

"It appears to the Commission that false information has been given knowingly by the then PIO T K Ghosal," CIC said. It also said, "The commission is surprised, pained and horrified at this complete falsehood to which the PIO of one of India's leading education institutes has resorted to." Ghosal is now the officiating registrar.

CIC has asked the chairman of the board of governors of IIT-Kharagpur to inquire into the allegations made by appellant Rajeev Kumar, a professor of computer science in the same institute. CIC has also asked the additional superintendent of police, Kharagpur, to provide security to Kumar after making an assessment of the threats to him. "If any physical harm comes to Rajeev Kumar the police will be held responsible for not having performed their duty," the order said.

The commission took strong note of the fact that instead of appearing personally, Ghosal asked law firm Fox Mandal & Associates to represent it in this case. CIC said three people appearing on behalf of Ghosal A Patra, public information officer, IIT-Kharagpur, Brigadier A K Joshi and Rajan K Sarkar, law officer "are clueless as to why false information has been provided... Public money and interest could have been better served if Ghosal, who is officiating registrar, had appeared before the commission in this matter."

CIC has issued show-cause notice to Ghosal and asked him to be present in the commission on March 17 with a written submission as to why penalty should not be imposed on him and disciplinary action should not be recommended.

Omar expresses deep sorrow over Handwara killing

CHIEF MINISTEROmar Abdullah after arriving in Srinagar here this afternoon straightly drove immediately to Handwara in North Kashmir to visit the family whose son has been killed in Army ambush. Omar Abdullah stayed with the bereaved family for quite some time, expressed his deep sorrow over the unfortunate incident, showed sympathy and solidarity with the family. I am here to share your grief and be with you at this movement of great tragedy, he told the bereaved family while consoling them and conveying his heartfelt condolence. The Chief Minister described the incident most unfortunate and said that he has given categoric directions to the Army, Security Forces and Police in the Unified Headquarter Meetings to apply highest degree of caution and restraint and stick to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to avoid any killings of civilian under all circumstances. I repeat this once again, he said and emphasized the need for such cautions while laying ambush for militants. Assuring the bereaved family of proper probe into the incident, the Chief Minister urged them to exhibit patience and calm. There are people who would try to exploit your pain and feelings for disturbing peace and order as was done by them after the killing of Tufail Mattoo last June, he told the bereaved family and a large number of people who gathered there on the occasion. He appealed them not to get led astray by such elements. Omar Abdullah said that he would always condemn the killings of innocents by anyone whosoever he may be and assured that during his tenure as the Chief Minister of the State he would endeavour to put an end to such incidents and work for peace and tranquility in the State. Omar prayed for the eternal peace to the departed soul and patience to the family who has lost their dear one. Later, the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir also visited the bereaved family on the instructions! of the Chief Minister

Dhobi Ghat, Udajpur

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Dhobi Ghat, in other words a place where local women wash the clothes in traditional way.

Defence Minister sacks Navy officer for sexual misconduct in Moscow

Defence Minister A K Antony has sacked a senior Navy officer for having sexual relations with a Russian woman in Moscow as head of the Indian team overseeing the refit of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov there.

Commodore Sukhjinder Singh was posted in Moscow between 2005 to 2007 as the Indian warship production superintendent to oversee Gorshkov's refit when he developed the illicit relationship with the woman.

"He (Singh) will be discharged. He will not be in service now," Antony told reporters when asked about the progress in the case.

Singh, who has at least two years of service left, will have to immediately pack his bags.

Singh's affair was exposed in April 2010, three years after his posting in Russia when his explicit pictures with the woman were brought to the notice of the Defence Ministry.

Soon after receiving the pictures, the Navy had ordered a Court Of Inquiry against him to establish his relations with the woman and whether the relationship had affected the Admiral Gorshkov deal in any way.

The CoIonel had established Singh's relations with the woman but maintained that his "loose moral conduct" had not "adversely impacted" India's position during the long-drawn wrangling with Russia over the 44,570-tonne carrier's refit.

After completing its inquiry, the Navy had sent the file to the Defence Ministry for further action.

Even after returning from Russia, Singh had continued to be associated with the Gorshkov programme as the principal director (aircraft carrier project) in New Delhi till mid-2009.

He was later relieved of his posting in the defence ministry's directorate-general of quality assurance.

After repeated Russian demands for higher prices for retrofitting the aircraft carrier, the two sides last year finally settled on US $2.33 billion as the cost of the warship.



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Pakistani traders want more trade with India

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story Islamabad, Feb 5: Pakistani traders on Saturday urged the governments of India and Pakistan to shun differences and boost economic activities.Pakistani traders participated on Saturday in celebrating Kashmir solidarity day and expressed concern that differences between the two neighbours are pulling them backwards, the media reported."It is the only instance in the world where trade is allowed but only for two days in a week," Zulfiqar Abbasi of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce in Muzaffarabad was quoted as saying.The differences have resulted in poverty and unemployment in the valley on both sides "and we certainly need to go beyond that", he said.Mirza Ikhtiyar Baig, the adviser to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and a leading industrialist, said: "There is certainly a need to expand the list of items in which trade is allowed through the LoC.""We know that there is unexploited potential and are looking into possibilities in this regard", he added.Trade in 21 agreed items, including Kashmiri embroidery, dry and fresh fruits and wooden furniture, opened along the LoC Oct 21, 2008 as part of confidence-building measures between India and Pakistan.The current volume of trade across the LoC stands at around Rs.2 billion annually. (IANS)

Nice ploy by Hayden to sell his book: Bhajji

Sonia Gandhi keeps her promise to ace athlete

Rae Bareli: On December 1 last year, Sonia Gandhi promised ace athlete Sudha Singh that her demand for a state- of-the-art sports complex in Rae Bareli will be granted. And within two months, that promise was delivered when on Friday, the Congress president laid the foundation stone for the first-ever sports complex in Navodaya Vidyalaya in Rae Bareli.

Sitting next to her was a beaming Sudha Singh, who also went home richer by Rs 11 lakh. Sudha Singh recently won a gold medal in Guangzhou in the steeplechase discipline and is also the national record holder for it.

When Sudha earlier met Sonia Gandhi, she had expressed the need for a sports facility for Rae Bareli and told her how in the absence of one she had no choice but to stay away from her family and train in sports colleges of Lucknow and Agra.



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Gujarat questions IPS officer for furnishing riots call data

AHMEDABAD: Following the Special Investigation Team's (SIT) report that indicted Gujarat's Chief Minister Narendar Modi for his alleged complicity in the 2002 riots, the state government has taken a senior IPS officer to task for sharing telephone records with various inquiry panels.

The Gujarat administration issued a show-cause notice to senior IPS officer, Rahul Sharma, asking him why he should not be charge-sheeted for handing over the telephone records concerning the 2002 riots to inquiry panels without obtaining due permission from the government.

The in-charge Director General of Police Chitranjan Singh confirmed the issuance of the show-cause notice and added that the government had granted 15-day time to Sharma to reply to the notice.

Sharma was posted in Ahmedabad during riots. He had asked private service providers like Celforce and AT&T to furnish details of calls made across the state during late February and early March of 2002. The CDs obtained by Sharma, however, went missing before it was brought on record by the investigating agency, the city crime branch that probed three major massacres of the city at Naroda Patia, Naroda Gam and Gulbarg Society.

When Sharma was called for deposition at the Nanavati-Shah commission, he submitted a copy of the CD to the inquiry panel. Later, he also submitted a copy of call records to the Banerjee committee, set up by former union railway minister, Laloo Prasad to probe the incident of fire in S-6 of Sabarmati Express at Godhra station on February 27, 2002. It was after killing of 59 passengers in this incident, violence spread across the state resulting in more than 1,100 deaths.

After the Supreme Court set up a special investigation team in 2008, Sharma was one of the key witnesses for the SIT to probe the larger conspiracy behind the riots. SIT also got telephone details from Sharma. He has been examined by one of the special courts set up to hear post-Godhra riots cases.

Following! the rec ent SIT report, the Modi government questioned Sharma on why he furnished the data before the probe panels without consulting the government.

Interestingly, the Narendra Modi government has been questioning the authenticity of the call details provided by Sharma to different inquiry fora. When the chief minister was sought to be questioned in connection with the 2002 riots on basis of the call details, the government raised a question on veracity of the data claiming before the Godhra probe panel that the CD furnished by the senior cop was not verified by any authority.

China New Year: Top 10 global Chinese celebs

ULFA top leadership announces talks with Centre

Guwahati: The central committee of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) announced today that it has decided to hold talks with the Centre. The talks would begin on February 10.

"Every killing from ULFA's side and government's side is wrong," ULFA's publicity secretary Mithinga Daimary said in a presser.

Paving the way for possible talks with ULFA, its chairman Rajib Rajkonwar alias Arabinda Rajkhowa was recently released on bail to facilitate dialogue.

ULFA's self-styled vice chairman Pradip Gogoi, deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah, cultural secretary Pranati Deka and publicity secretary Mithinga Daimary were also earlier released on bail, as also senior leader and political ideologue Bhimkanta Buragohain.



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Unnikrishnan's uncle dies after immolation bid

New Delhi: Uncle of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, the NSG commando killed by terrorists during the 26/11 attacks who attempted self-immolation on Thursday outside Parliament, died on Friday night. The 56-year-old K Mohanan suffered 98 percent burns when he set himself on fire.

Although it was not clear why he took the drastic step, some reports say he was disturbed over his nephew's death. He was apparently also upset with the government's apathy in treating 26/11 victims.

K Mohanan attempted to set himself on fire in front of Parliament on Thursday.

He was admitted to the RML hospital in the capital with 70 per cent burns.

K Mohanan, a native of Kozhikode in Kerala, poured kerosene on his body and set himself afire outside Gate No 4 of Parliament House near Vijay Chowk at around 5:45 pm, a senior police official said.

(With inputs from PTI)

Naag, Kanchipuram

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One of the numerous "side-temples" within the main temple. So many hopes and aspirations and wishes shared quietly at this very spot. Every string tied here and around the peepal tree behind is a wish, a prayer. This one is shot at the Varadaraja Perumal Temple at Kanchipuram.

Kanchipuram, Kanchi, or Kancheepuram (Tamil: ) is a temple city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district. Kanchipuram is also called as "City of 1000 Temples". Kanchipuram is also famous for its silk sarees, which are hand woven [Source: Wikipedia]

Man shot dead in south Delhi

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story New Delhi, Feb 5: A 30-year-old man, who worked in an education department, was shot dead near his residence by unidentified armed assailants in south Delhi's Neb Sarai area, police said on Friday.The incident took place around 10.30 p.m. on Thursday when the deceased was returning home along with his mother and relatives after attending a ceremony at his cousin's residence.Police said Naveen Rawat alias Bunty was working at Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Janakpuri."When he was returning along with his mother, uncle and aunt, he was shot dead by unidentified people. He collapsed on the spot. The family members raised an alarm. Locals roaming in the area rushed to the spot," a senior police officer said.The deceased was rushed to a private hospital where he was declared brought dead.The deceased lived in Rajupark area in Khanpur alongwith his family. He is survived by his wife, four-year-old daughter, mother, father, younger sister and brothers Dalbir and Darban.The deceased's father Daya Singh works in private company.The family has ruled out any personal enmity. Dalbir, a manager of a private hotel, said the family has no personal dispute with anybody."Two cars of our neighbour were parked outside the residence. It was dark when my mother raised an alarm and we rushed to the spot, my brother was in a pool of blood he was immediately rushed to Batra hospital," Dalbir added."The body has been sent for post mortem. A bullet was pumped into his forehead from the left side. Prima facie it seems to be a case of personal enmity. We are probing the matter," the officer said."We are scanning the call details of the deceased's mobile phone to g! ain head way in the case. A case has been registered and further investigation is on," he added. (IANS)

First journo death takes Egypt death toll to 11

Cairo: The death toll in the popular uprising in Egypt has now risen to 11, following the death of an Eqyptian reporter who died after being shot during clashes in Cairo last week.

Ahmed Mohammed Mahmoud had been taking photographs of fighting between protesters and security forces from the balcony of his home when he was shot on January 28.

This was the first reported death of a mediaperson as chaos surrounded the country's anti-government protests.

The al-Jazeera office in Cairo was vandalised as the media remained as a target of violence.

Across the city, several journalists have been targeted including CNN-IBN's foreign editor Surya Gangadharan and video journalist Rajesh Bhardwaj who were detained and questioned by cairo police - twice in the last two days.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama has condemned the attacks, and stopped short of asking his Eqyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak to step down.

But unlike the past 10 days, the Friday protests were largely peaceful, with prayers ending on a calm note.

Taking shade!

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Omani held for 'spying'

HISAR: The district police claimed to have arrested an Oman national from near military stud farm area, near the DN Colony on Thursday night.

Suspecting that Hasaan Bin Abdullah Bin Abraham, the arrested Oman national could be a spy, police have started investigations after registering a case under various sections of the IPC against him.

The chief judicial magistrate (CJM) on Friday ordered one-day police remand for him.

"He is an educated person and claims to have lost the passport and visa in train. During interrogation, he stated that reached India on November 25. Before being caught, he had visited Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and Ajmer. We have informed the embassy,'' Hisar superintendent police Hanif Qureshi said. "Mainly, we want to know his purpose of moving around in military stud farm here. This for sure s a serious affair," the SP added.

Elaborating, Qureshi said acting on tip off, a police party headed by Inspector Virender Sheoran was formed that apprehended the accused.

Initially, a case under Foreigners' Act was registered. As the investigations proceeded, various sections of IPC were also added in the case, Sheoran said.

Protesters throng Cairo, call for Mubarak to go

Cairo: Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians marched peacefully in Cairo on Friday to demand an immediate end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, but there was no sign of his generals, or his U.S. allies, squeezing him out just yet.

Turnout nationwide seemed short of the million seen on Tuesday and which leaders had hoped to match on what they called "Departure Day." Many Egyptians, weary of disorder, feel Mubarak did enough this week by pledging to step down in September. Some also were wary of renewed violence by shadowy Mubarak loyalists.

On the 11th day of unprecedented massive protests which have revolutionized Egypt and the wider Arab world, some 200,000 men and women from all walks of life streamed past patient soldiers to the capital's Tahrir, or Liberation, Square.

A similar number marched in the second city of Alexandria and smaller pro-democracy rallies were held elsewhere.

"Leave! Leave! Leave!" crowds chanted after Friday prayers on the square in Cairo. A cleric praised the "revolution of the young" and declared: "We want the head of the regime removed."

"Game over" said one banner, in English for the benefit of international television channels beaming out live coverage.

Yet for all the enthusiasm on the streets, and new-found tolerance by the army, Mubarak's fate, and that of a 60-year-old system of military-backed rule, lies as much in bargains struck behind the scenes among generals keen to retain influence and Western officials anxious not to see a key Arab ally against radical Muslims slide into chaos or be taken over by Islamists.

European Union leaders echoed calls from the United States for Mubarak to do more than promise not to run in September's election: "This transition process must start now," they said.

! The 82-y ear-old president said on Thursday he was "fed up" but would not stand down because that would create chaos.

Prominent figures

A handful of prominent figures from academia and business said they proposed a compromise under which newly appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman, a former intelligence chief who has the confidence of Washington, should take over real authority while Mubarak could serve out his fifth term as a figurehead leader.

There was a festive, weekend atmosphere as secular, middle-class professionals and pious, generally poorer, members of the mass Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood, mingled, sang and chanted under banners and ubiquitous Egyptian flags.

Food and water, medical treatment for those overcome by heat and crowding, opinions and jokes were all shared.

Away from the square, groups of Mubarak loyalists harassed journalists. Some attacked the offices of Al Jazeera television. Others tried to deter people from demonstrating. But there was little of the extreme violence seen on Wednesday and Thursday.

Earlier, the veteran defense minister visited the square, inspecting troops who were out in force promising to protect demonstrators after the bloodshed of previous days.

Mumbai: Post-Adarsh scam, Chavan reassures builders

Email Story Write to the editor Print Story Mumbai, Feb 4: With the builders in Maharashtra running scared in the aftermath of the Adarsh Housing Society scam, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today sought to assure that those who came up with "genuine projects" would get approval by the government.Addressing a meeting of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry here, Chavan took pains to assure the state's top builders that the government was not against legal and transparent projects.He also categorically denied reports in some sections of the media that builders were barred from entering all state government offices, the chief minister's office and the state government headquarters Mantralaya."These are baseless rumours and I don't know from where they emanated. I have not imposed any such ban," Chavan asserted, adding the doors of his office were open not only for builders, but also individuals coming forth with legal and valid projects at all times.The chief minister declared that builders and realtors were an important section of the state's infrastructure development and the state was aware of their contribution in all fields.However, Chavan made it clear that all such project must be genuine, transparent, within the legal framework and timebound in implementation.Chavan said that the government had no grudges if the builders earned reasonable profits out of their ventures, but any attempts to reap huge profits by manipulating the laws would not be tolerated.Top MCHI builders have expressed apprehensions off-the-record in the past few months that their work has suffered greatly after the Adarsh Co-Operative Housing Society scam in which the involvement of top p! oliticia ns, bureaucrats and defence personnel came to the fore."After the Adarsh Society scam, the builders community has been treated like a pariah and we are not entertained in most government departments. As a result, our projects worth crores of rupees have been indefinitely held up as the concerned officials are scared of granting the permissions," a leading developer told the media, requesting anonymity.Others have said that several small and large housing projects in the public-private sector have also been indefinitely delayed with permissions from various departments not forthcoming despite all documents being in order, especially in the western suburbs.The delays in these projects have created panic among the builders who have made investments and the prospective lower, middle and upper-middle class buyers who have made part-payments for securing a shelter through such schemes.After a patient hearing to their grievances, Chavan assured the MCHI office-bearers, including G. L. Raheja, Dharmesh Jain, Nayan Shah, Paras Gundecha, Madhur Shah, Deepak Goradia, Niranjan Hiranandani, Praveen Doshi and others that they would be given all help in the matter.Present at the meeting were top state officials from the CMO, Urban Development, Revenue, Finance, Environment, Housing, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, MHADA, slum redevelopment authority and others. (IANS)