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Best Bakery case shifted to Maharashtra

          New Delhi: Severely indicting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for its apparent failure to provide justice to victims of the Best Bakery carnage in March 2002, the Supreme Court on Monday ordered a retrial of the case, shifting its hearing to Maharashtra. A two-judge bench of the apex court comprising Justices Doraiswamy Raju and Arijit Pasayat also announced the removal of the public prosecutor from the case that involved the killing of 14 people outside the Best Bakery in Vadodara and the acquittal of the 21 accused by the Gujarat High Court. The apex court order quashing the acquittal of the accused was passed following appeals filed by the Gujarat government and the case's key witness, Zaheera Sheikh, whose nine relatives were burnt alive in the incident.

Enrique mania hits first live performance in Mumbai  (Go To Top)

          Mumbai: Thousands of delirious fans swooned as electric Enrique Iglesias, labelled the sexiest man alive, performed in Mumbai. Enrique, son of legendary singer Julio Iglesias, is currently on a tour of seven countries including India, to promote his latest album "Seven". The Latino singer said his love for music got him into the business, and not money. "I came into music because I love music, I never did it because I needed money, it was not about money. It is because I honestly love what I do and I don't know where else I would have been if I was not into music," Enrique told a news conference before the start of the much-awaited concert on Sunday.

          Enrique performed his famous songs "Hero", "Love to see you cry", "Bailamos", "Rhythm divine", "Could I Kiss you forever", "Addicted" and "Escape". Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the flamboyant chairman of India's UB Group, said he will continue to sponsor popular pop stars. "We have picked the best. When McDowell said that we want to present a McDowell mega event, we have brought Elton John, Rolling Stones, Bryan Adams and now Enrique (Iglesias). You can see a trend, a trend to bring in best in the world," said Mallya. Enrique is among the battery of musicians and pop stars who have visited the subcontinent in recent years. Hugely popular ones include Canadian singer Bryan Adams, American rock n' roll group Rolling Stones, British group Spice Girls, Michael Jackson and Lou Bega. Enrique's concert took place at the MMRDA complex with fans ranging from small children to young girls, including models and film stars. The show also treated people with an audio-visual extravaganza of unprecedented scale - a fantastic set, with state- of-the-art special effects and awesome lighting. Enrique would now perform in Bangalore on Tuesday.

CBSE pre-medical test rescheduled for April 17 (Go To Top)

          New Delhi/Nagpur: Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) director Ashok Ganguly said on Monday medical entrance examinations, postponed after the exam papers were leaked, will be held on April 17. "I am announcing that pre-medical test, which was cancelled earlier, will be held on April 17. Now these examinations will be held in the same time-frame, as it was scheduled earlier," he said. The most prestigious medical entrance examination was originally scheduled for April 11, but was deferred after police arrested two medical college students from Nagpur selling the papers to a group of parents and students.

          The nexus was busted on Saturday by police in New Delhi. Meanwhile, student unions held protest demonstrations in New Delhi demanding the resignation of CBSE director and other officials, who were responsible for the paper leak. "We want CBSE director's resignation immediately. All those related officers should also go either on leave or be dismissed. The CBSE should apologise to the students and compensate them," Dr. Jatin Mohanty, National Secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said.

          Meanwhile, classmates and friends of Vikas Verma, arrested for selling exam papers, expressed shock. "He (Vikas Verma, one of the accused) was a simple person to talk to, though he was from an affluent family, his lifestyle was very simple. We never expected that he could do anything of this sort which has so much repercussion," Rakesh, Vikas Verma's classmate, said. Nearly 250,000 students across 31 cities were to appear for the test. The CBSE regulates secondary and senior secondary examinations in the nation besides conducting admission tests for over 100 medical and engineering colleges. 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.

Jogi stable after emergency operation (Go To Top)

          Mumbai: Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi was reported to be stable and semi-conscious after undergoing an emergency operation last night at the Mumbai Hospital here for a spinal injury sustained in a car accident on Sunday morning. "Jogi is stable and all his health parameters are fine and is semi-conscious. Only by the afternoon we will be in a position to tell how he is responding to the surgery," neurosurgeon Dr. Devpujari told reporters here on Monday morning. The five-member team of doctors headed by Devpujari operated upon Jogi for over three hours and aligned his spine. They also removed blood clots and a couple of broken bone pieces. Jogi has been placed on a ventilator as per the surgery procedural norms, Dr. Devpujari said, adding that it would take a couple of days to assess the recovery pattern of the former chief minister. Jogi, 59, was seriously injured after a car that was transporting him through his Mahasamund Lok Sabha constituency dashed against a tree and turned turtle. Apart from Jogi, Chhatisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Mehttar Lal Sahu and the car's driver were also critically injured in the accident that took place at Gariabandh, about 130 kms from Raipur, the state's capital. Jogi was on his way to Deobhang from Rajim for an early morning meeting.