Home   Contact Us                                                                      Dateline New Delhi, Wednesday, Dec 10, 2003

Lover kills doctor friend in New Delhi (Go To Top)

         New Delhi, Dec 10: The police in New Delhi on Wednesday solved the mysterious disappearance of a doctor saying he was killed by his paramour. Commissioner of police RS Gupta said that the murder was planned by the doctor's girlfriend who was apparently miffed with him. "The case has been solved which indicated that Dr.R.K.Gupta had already been killed in Vasant Vihar by the time the incident was reported to us and this murder has taken place in a pre-planned manner by a lady known to the doctor with whom he has had relations and some problem developed between them on account of which the lady decided to eliminate the doctor," he said.

         The police has arrested the woman and her two accomplices. The doctor was reportedly kidnapped by unknown people on December 5. The family received a ransom call of 10 million rupees. R.K Gupta had divorced his first wife and remarried. He had two daughters from his second marriage.

Sheila Dikshit to continue as CM (Go To Top)

         New Delhi, Dec 10: The suspense over Delhi's next Chief Minister ended on Wednesday with AICC president Sonia Gandhi naming Ms Sheila Dikshit as the new leader of the Congress Legislature Party to give her a second consecutive term in office following the party's thumping victory in the Assembly elections. The legislative party had, instead of electing their leader, left it to Sonia to name the chief minister.

          The Congress president, during her meeting with DPCC president Prem Singh, a known detractor of Ms Dikshit, also scotched the idea of having a Deputy Chief Minister and gave a clear writ to the Chief Minister to run the government for another five years. The swearing-in of the Chief Minister and the new Cabinet is likely to take place on Friday at Chhatrasal Stadium, according to a top party leader.

Vajpayee assures impartial probe into Judeo case (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Dec 10: India's Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Wednesday said there would be an impartial inquiry into the allegations of corruption against a former junior minister. In identical statements in both Houses of Parliament, Vajpayee said there should not be any fear of misigivings regarding the indepndent probe into the corruption charges against the minister.

          "As honourable members are aware, the CBI has full functional autonony and under the recently enacted Central Viigilance Commission Act, the superintendents of the CBI in relation to offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act have been vested greater powers by the government in the Central Vigilance Commission. There should, therefore, be no fear of misgiving regarding the independence of this enquiry. I would like to assure this august House that the truth will soon be out and the law will take its own course," Vajpayee told the lawmakers.

          Vajpayee's junior minister Dilip Singh Judeo was forced to resign last month after he was shown accepting bribes in a videotape. The Opposition parties have been demanding a statement from the Prime Minister ever since the winter session of Parliament began on December 2. Vajpayee refused to make any more statement regarding the allegations against Judeo as the investigation agency has been asked to look into the matter. However, the Opposition said they were not happy with the Prime Minister's statement.

          "It's yet another attempt by the Prime Minister to confuse the issue. He says that enquiries are being conducted and the law will take its own course. And what I see from the CBI is that CBI is taking another course and not allowing the law to take its course. And what is that course, to hide the truth, to hide the facts," Kapil Sibal, a law-maker of the Congress party in the Rajya Sabha said.

          Though Judeo resigned just after the tape was aired, the main Opposition Congress party seized it as a major issue during its election campaign for the assembly election in Chhattisgarh. But Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept elections in Chhattisgarh along with neighbouring Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan leaving only Delhi for the Congress party.

Three killed in Poonch grenade attack (Go To Top)

          Poonch, Dec 10: Suspected militants threw a grenade and fired indiscriminately near a crowded bus station in Kashmir on Wednesday, killing three people, including an assistant police inspector, and wounding 15 others. The attack occurred in the border town of Poonch, about 250 km north of Jammu which is at the heart of decades of enmity between India and Pakistan. Police said the dead included a civilian and a suspected militant, who was killed when security forces fired at the attackers. Some police and soldiers were among the wounded, they said and added that troops were looking for a second attacker who was suspected to be hiding in the area.

Badals released on bail (Go To Top)

          Patiala, Dec 10: The jailed former chief minister of Punjab Prakash Singh Badal, accused of misappropriating wealth totalling over one billion dollars, was on Wednesday granted bail, sending a wave of jubilation across his supporters. Badal's Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) party held a massive victory rally outside the jail in Patiala town, where Badal and his son had been lodged. Badal's son Sukhbir was also granted bail. The SAD has been staging protests across the state in support of their leader. Badal also got unflinching support from the ruling Central coalition in which his party is a partner. Badal is charged with amassing the wealth when he was chief minister from 1997 to 2002. However, Badal and his son have denied the charges and accuse the Amarinder Singh government of political vendetta. The SAD, which is the state's main Opposition and the ruling Congress party are bitter rivals in Punjab. Since he took over from Badal in February last year, chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has vowed to crack down on corruption.

US brokered peace between India, Pak: Report (Go To Top)

          Washington, Dec 10: The US played a major role in getting India and Pakistan to agree to the announcement of peace initiatives. According to a report in the Dawn, `Uncle Sam' did not resort to pressure tactics on either of the two parties. It claimed that Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee agreeing to attend the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) was the handiwork of US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who reportedly remained personally engaged with both Indian and Pakistani officials.

          It was reported that soon after India announced a new set of proposals last week, Powell called Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha in Brussels and congratulated him on the move. The Indian response, however, was more cautious. Sinha told Powell that he would wait for a formal response from Islamabad before making any comments. Powell then traced Foreign Minister Khurshid Mohammad Kasuri in Spain the same day to say the US welcomed the latest peace initiative. He said he hoped for a positive response and quick action. The message was clear - that the US expected Pakistan to move quickly. Quoting a US official, the report further said that the Bush Administration has been watching the developments in the Indian sub-continent very closely thereby "putting in a word of advice or a hope for peace whenever we felt it's needed." "It wasn't one thing that broke the impasse. It was a constant engagement," an official said, adding that it was Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf who decided it was about time to do something positive for improving relations with India.

EU seeks legal opinion on Indian fencing along LoC (Go To Top)

          Brussels, Dec 10: The European Union (EU) has sought legal opinion from international law experts about the legality of India carrying out fencing operations along its side of the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. This step has been taken to evaluate the merit of Islamabad's claims that the Indian initiative is in clear violation of the UN Charter, besides breaching the cease-fire agreement between the two countries. Disclosing this here, an EU source said that Pakistan has expressed concern about the fencing by India through the EU mission in Islamabad, the News reported Wednesday. X

Iranian woman receives Nobel Peace Prize (Go To Top)

          Oslo, Dec 10: Iranian lawyer, Shirin Ebadi, received the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo on Wednesday for her democracy-building efforts and her work to improve human rights in Iran, making her the first Muslim woman to receive the award. Ebadi, 56, received the prize from chairman of the Nobel committee Ole Mjoes at a formal ceremony in Oslo's City Hall, marked by the absence of King Harald V of Norway who was recovering from cancer surgery.

IHF overhauls team for Azlan Shah Cup (Go To Top)

          Bangalore, Dec 10: Top hockey players, including captain Dilip Tirkey and star striker Gagan Ajit Singh, have been surprisingly excluded from India's hockey team for the prestigious Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia with even the chief coach finding himself sidelined. The Indian Hockey Federation, which had earlier named a list of probables on expected lines, on Wednesday made wholesale changes with a view to promote youngsters.

          The new 25-member list, announced here by IHF president KPS Gill, also excluded some other regulars like Deepak Thakur while chief coach Rajinder Singh was given a new role as observer for the January 8-15 tournament in Kuala Lumpur . Junior coach Harendra Singh takes Rajinder's place. "The idea is to give exposure to some of the juniors ahead of India 's participation in the Olympic qualifiers in Madrid next year," Gill told reporters here.

           Gill also indicated that IHF would pick junior players for the upcoming three-match Test series against the visiting Netherland side, which would serve as an "important preparatory series for the Olympic qualifiers." "We have to have two or three players for each position because of the possibility of injury on and off-the-field. Juniors are very good and extremely talented. What they lack is exposure, experience and temperament required for playing in big matches," he said. "The important task is to qualify for the Olympics," he added.

PCB wants India to tour from Feb 26 (Go To Top)

          Karachi, Dec 10: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is keen that the Indian cricket team's tour to Pakistan begins from February 26. The offer for the one-and-a-half month tour includes seven one- day internationals (ODIs) and three Tests. The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) is, however, yet to respond. If this proposal matures, this would be the first full tour by the Indian team to Pakistan after 1989. "We have suggested the tour last from February 26 to April 15 and seven one-dayers and three Tests are played with a few side matches. But we have not finalized the venues as yet," the News quoted an official of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as saying here Tuesday.

          The official said the dates and venues for the matches would be decided only after the BCCI gives its approval for the tour. But, he confirmed that Karachi and Peshawar would definitely be hosting matches during the Indo-Pak series. It may be recalled that in the recent past several international teams that toured Pakistan had refused to play at these venues citing security reasons. Pakistan Minister for Interior Affairs Saleh Faisal Hayat had also said during the final one-dayer between Pakistan and New Zealand that the government would direct the PCB to ensure in future visiting teams agree to play at Karachi as there were no security problems there.