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Pre-medical paper leak leads to mass protest

          New Delhi: Angry parents and students on Sunday demonstrated outside the education board office in New Delhi after papers for one of the most prestigious medical entrance examinations were leaked. The nexus was busted late on Saturday in the Capital after police caught two medical college students from Nagpur selling the papers to a group of parents and students.The police arrested Vikas Verma, a third year medical college student from Nagpur, and his associate Rakesh Kumar Verma from a house in New Ashok Nagar where some 15 students had been collected and being briefed in the night.

          Local media reports indicate that the duo was getting a hefty payoff of about 600,000 rupees per student for the deal. The examination, scheduled for Sunday, was cancelled in the wee hours of the morning even as the students, ignorant of the leak, reached exam centres across the country.

          Nearly 250,000 students across 31 cities were to appear for the test. Outstation students, most accompanied by their parents, have spent in thousands, arranging for lodging besides having paid a mandatory entrance fee of 1,500 rupees and are demanding compensation. "I have already spent 1,500 rupees but I am lucky that I stay in a neighbouring state. What about those coming from far-off places like Calcutta or Tamil Nadu? They have spent nearly 15,000 to 20,000 rupees. I think that the Chairman of the Board should sponsor our travel expenses for the next exam and declare that as the final test for selecting candidates," Manoj, a medical aspirant, said.

          Police began investigation into the leak but some officials said, weak links in the transport and storage of papers could have led to the problem. Pavnesh Kumar, controller of examinations of the CBSE, said new dates would be announced by Monday. "Like I said earlier, we are working hard for declaring the next date and we hope to declare it by tomorrow (Monday)," he said. India's biggest education board, the CBSE regulates secondary and senior secondary examinations in the nation besides conducting admission tests for over 100 medical and engineering colleges. Fate of millions of students rests on these examinations, which are amongst the toughest in the country and the incident has seriously dented their credibility. Higher education in India, as a whole, has been facing a crisis with various state boards and even top institutes like the IIMs (Indian Institute of Managements), the prestigious business schools, being hit by paper leaks.

Fernandes for negotiated settlement on Ayodhya (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: A negotiated settlement of the Ayodhya issue has and will always be the government's endeavour, claimed the Union Defence Minister and convener of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, George Fernandes, today. Speaking in an interview with a national news agency, Fernandes also said that while talks were in active mode with various leaders of the Hindu and Muslim communities for a negotiated settlement, there was also a possibility of the issue being settled in the court.

         Ayodhya was a "national issue and there is nothing debatable about seeking a negotiated settlement of it," the minister also said when he asked to comment on a report that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was taken by surprise over the inclusion of the Ayodhya issue in the NDA manifesto that was released last week. He also said that he was in favour of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) interrogating Congress president Sonia Gandhi over her alleged connection to Bofors case accused Ottavio Quattrocchi.

Ex-Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi critically injured in car mishap (Go To Top)

          Raipur: Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi was seriously injured in a road accident early this morning and has been flown to Mumbai for further specialized treatment. The accident took place near Gariabandh in Raipur district, about 140 km from the state Capital, when the Toyota Qualis in which he was traveling in hit a roadside tree at about 3.35 a.m. Jogi, the Congress party's candidate in the Mahasamund parliamentary constituency, sustained multiple injuries in his head, spinal chord, arms and waist. He was initially admitted to the intensive care unit of Modern Medical Institute, a private nursing home in Raipur. "Jogi's spinal chord was damaged and his legs paralyzed though his head injury was not very serious," doctors at the hospital were quoted as saying. Officials said that the state's chief secretary was coordinating all arrangements and an aircraft had been kept ready to fly him out. One of his security guards said that about 10 km before the accident site Jogi had stopped at Mainpur guesthouse for a night halt, but as there was no response, he decided to move on. The accident took place when Jogi was sleeping.

Christians celebrate Easter (Go To Top)

         New Delhi: Christians gathered in the Capital on Sunday to celebrate Easter, the day which signifies the resurrection of Jesus Christ. To the devouts, the resurrection of Christ symbolises the victory of good over evil and life over death. At the Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi, devotees lit candles, sang devotional songs and attended special prayers to mark the day. In southern India, devouts came in huge numbers to attend midnight mass in Thiruvananthapuram which has a large Christian population. For most of the devouts it was a joyous occasion. "Today's importance is mainly Christ after resurrection went down to the world of dead and gave the message of eternal life to the dead," said John Michael. Easter eggs were a hit in Goa where people thronged pastry shops to buy eggs of different colours and shapes.

          Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox or the first Sunday after Good Friday - another important date on the Christian calendar, when Christ was crucified. It also concludes the Lent season which covers a forty-six day period that began on Ash Wednesday. The Lent season is a period of penitence in preparation for Easter, considered the highest festival of the church year. Christians make up about three percent of India's over one billion population.

Huge arms cache seized by Punjab police (Go To Top)

          Jalandhar: Police in Punjab on Sunday announced the recovery of a huge cache of arms and ammunition from suspected militants belonging to the outlawed Pakistan-based Lashkar-e- Taiba outfit. The militants had been arrested earlier on March 30, for their involvement in an explosion on the main Jalandhar- Ludhiana railway station on January 5. Officials said the men were trained in Pakistan and entered Indian territory via the Jammu and Kashmir, where a 15-year rebellion against Indian rule has already claimed more than 40,000 lives. G.P.S. Bhullar, senior superintendent of police of Jalandhar, said that the seizure was made in forested areas of Banihal during a joint operation conducted by Punjab police and the Indian army. "We had conducted a joint operation with the army in Jammu and Kashmir. A police party went there (Banihal in Jammu and Kashmir) and made a huge seizure. We have recovered 4 kg RDX, 7 rocket- propelling grenade launchers, shells, IED, 16 detonators, pencil cells, and a walkie-talkie set that they use for communication," said Bhullar.

Sonu Nigam concert turns sour; blast claims one life (Go To Top)

         Karachi: Indian playback singer Sonu Nigam's much awaited concert here took a dramatic turn for the worst on Saturday evening, when a car bomb explosion claimed the life of a man and caused injuries to nine others. According to a Daily Times report, the bomb exploded in the highly secured Defence Housing Authority area of the city, roughly three kilometres away from the scenic Defence Golf Club, the venue of the concert. Apart from Nigam, Pakistani singers Fareeha Pervaiz and Amjad Sabri graced the occasion before the calamity struck. Capital City Police Officer Asad Ashraf Mallick was quoted by the paper as saying that the deceased has been identified as Farrukh Zareen Effendi, the son of sub-inspector Zareen Effendi. He said that two of the nine injured were in critical condition and all of them were being treated at the privately owned Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. Some witnesses said that the bomb was planted in a Suzuki Margala car parked near the Marina Club in Gizri.

Musharraf keen to visit India again: Pak FM (Go To Top)

          Beijing: Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said that President Pervez Musharraf is very keen to visit India again, but both countries needed to do a lot more by way of confidence-building measures to ensure this objective. "President Musharraf will be willing to visit India if the conditions are right. He will be willing to go there as he did in the past (Agra 2001), but it depends upon the progress in the talks and a warming atmosphere with New Delhi. That depends on India. It depends on the progress of the peace talks. A lot of work has to be done for such a visit," Kasuri was quoted by the Daily Times as saying in an interview to the official China Daily newspaper.

          Kasuri also reassured China that Pakistan's enhanced ties with the United States would not affect its traditional alliance with Beijing. Commenting specifically on Washington's decision to grant Islamabad major non-NATO ally status, he said: "The purpose of this decision by the US administration is to facilitate the purchase of military equipment by Pakistan from the US and to assist us in the fight against terrorism." He also welcomed the Chinese government's decision to promote investment to Pakistan.