One killed as goons open fire in court in Bihar

          Gaya (Bihar): Panic struck a civil court in Bihar on Wednesday after goons opend fire in the complex, killing one person and injuring seven others. The men were associates of four local criminals, who had been brought to a local court in Gaya for a trial. Two of the accused along with the miscreants escaped in the ensuing chaos. Police said a manhunt to nab the absconding criminals was on. "Around 11.30 am, people came from outside and fired in the court premises and they tried to rescue the prisoners. As per our information, two of them have fled. One person is dead. While escaping, three prisoners were also injured," city superintendent of police, Sanjay Kumar, said. Daylight robberies, murders and kidnappings for ransom are not new to Bihar, one the most lawless states in the country. Police say, massive red tapism in the government machinary coupled with an open criminal-politician nexus has left them toothless. Most either tow the line with the goons or face their ire in the form of severe harassment to their family members, resulting sometimes in even blatant killings.

Bid to revive militant movement thwarted (Go To Top)

           Majitha (Punjab): Police in Punjab on Wednesday arrested four people carrying a huge cache of arms and ammunition, they which were to be used to revive a militant movement in the region. The men, affiliated to a defunct Babbar Khalsa, were arrested in Majitha, 20 kilometers from Amritsar. Senior superintendent of police, R.P.S. Bajaj said that the group was being funded by agents from neighbouring Pakistan. "They are trying to revive the Babbar Khalsa group. They are employing runaway boys. Pakistan is definitely involved as all the money and the funding is coming from there. They are trying fully to revive it. They have not been successful because the Punjab police is very alert and whatever moves they make are thwarted," he said. New Delhi had crushed a violent Sikh campaign in Punjab for a separate state of Khalistan in the eighties. Nearly 30,000 people, including civilians, militants and policemen were killed in encounters in a decade of Sikh agitation. The state returned to normal after the movement died down in the 90s. New Delhi accuses Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence or the ISI for stoking the Khalistan (homeland for the Sikhs) movement.

Bihar reels under heat wave (Go To Top)

          Patna: With the mercury touching nearly 45 degrees Celsius, the people of Bihar have been hit by a severe heat wave. India normally records around 32-35 degrees Centigrade in May. But this year most parts, including Jharkhand and Maharashtra, are experiencing temperatures well above normal as the hot winds from the deserts of Rajasthan have been blowing towards the east. In Patna the people looked for shaded parks and commuters put on headgears to escape the sweltering temperatures. People complained that their work schedules have been affected by the severe heat. "Our work is being affected by at least ninety percent. People get tired so fast because of the heat, all of us are a harassed lot. Once we go inside our homes we think twice whether to come out or not," Ashwini Kumar, a local resident, said. Weatherman said the situation could turn grim in the coming days. "Temperature in Bihar right now has been recorded at forty degrees centigrade. The highest has been recorded in Gaya at 44 degrees. We can expect a lot of stations to record temperatures at 45 in the coming days," T.N.Jha, Director of Metereological Center, said.

3 Pak infiltrators killed in Rajouri (Go To Top)

         New Delhi: Indian security forces killed three Pakistani infiltrators in the Keri sector of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir late last night. Confirming the news, an army spokesman was quoted on the wire as saying that the infiltrators were shot dead as they were attempting to cross the Line of Control in Bhimbar Gali last night. The firefight lasted for over two hours. It was reportedly the seventh bid by Pakistani militant groups to infiltrate across the LoC, the spokesman said. Meanwhile, security forces have killed eight other militants in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir over the past 24 hours during its search operations.

Amnesty condemns beheading of American in Iraq (Go To Top)

          London: Amnesty International condemns in the strongest terms the abduction and beheading of an American civilian by an armed group, Muntada al-Ansar, in Iraq - a video of which was released yesterday. The organization is appalled by the public display of the victim's execution by the group. The killing of prisoners is one of the most serious crimes under international law. It is a war crime, and if part of a deliberate and systematic attack against a civilian population, it would also constitute a crime against humanity. "Such acts are unjustifiable under any circumstances and constitute a serious crime under international law. Those responsible should be brought to justice in line with international standards," said Amnesty International.

No foul play in tickets handling, says Rameez Raja (Go To Top)

         Karachi: There was no foul play in the printing, sale and reconcilement of tickets of the recent Indo-Pak cricket series, PCB Chief Executive Rameez Raja has said. "Not a single ticket had been given away free of cost apart from the tickets given to the teams and match-officials and under the contractual obligations to sponsors etc.," The News quoted Raja as saying here Tuesday. He further said that all the tickets taken by the PCB in the series were accounted for and, in fact, a final reconcilement was in process. "The reconcilement is not an easy process it is a long one. Because our accountants and auditors are getting final figures from different sources like the consultants, banks, booths etc," the CE added

          Earlier, a section of the media had reported that the Board officials took tickets worth Rs. 18.6 million during the five match ODI series which was a runaway success and from which the Board had netted an income of approximately 65 million rupees from only ticket sales. This amount do not include the 18.6 million to be reconciled by the Board. But, Rameez said that the final figures for ticket sales were still unclear. "I don't know from which sources you have got your figures but if they are correct than I would say our ticket sales have been much higher than we anticipated in terms of money. But the correct figure would only be known after the final reconcilement is done," he said. He said that there was no chance of any misuse of tickets taken by the Board as they were meant for specific purposes and used only for them. "Each and every ticket is being accounted for now," he added. The PCB would ensure that the accounts for the ticket sales were not left incomplete and with question marks as was the case in the 1996 World Cup, he said adding "once the final reconcilement is done it would be known to everyone."