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Bilkis Bano trial deferred till Sept 29

          Mumbai: A special court deferred the trial of the Bilkis Bano gangrape-cum-massacre case, which took place during the post-Godhra riots in 2002, till September 29. It also directed the CBI to provide the accused copies of direction given by the Supreme Court to investigate into the case. The court remanded all the accused to judicial custody till the next hearing. Dr Sangita Prasad, one of the prime accused in the case, was produced in the court while the other accused could not be brought to the court due to lack of proper escort. On March 1, 2002, six-month pregnant Bilkis Bano was allegedly gangraped and her relatives were killed by a mob during post- Godhra riots in Dahod district of Gujarat.

Central team visits Godhra, inspects Sabarmati Express coach

          Godhra: A high-level Central committee appointed at the behest of Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to inquire into the Sabarmati Express fire, today visited the incident site and also inspected the S-6 coach that was gutted by a mob killing around 60 karsevaks in 2002 at the Godhra Railway station. Led by retired Supreme Court judge U.C. Banerjee, the team comprises fire and technical/mechanical experts Balakesariya, S.K. Khanna and S.K. Dheri. Banerjee told reporters that the team, formed under the Railways Act, aimed to understand what had actually happened inside the coach on that day. He refused to comment if he would consider the evidence gathered and the findings of the Special Investigating Team (SIT) of the Gujarat police and other state agencies. Banerjee said that the committee was given a three-month time to complete the probe.

Geelani's political secretary shot dead (Go To Top)

          Srinagar: Hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's political secretary Pir Hissamuddin was on Wednesday shot dead by unidentified gunmen inside his house here. Two men gained entry into his house at Bemina at around 11.30 am on the plea that they wanted to discuss some legal matter with Hissamuddin, a lawyer by profession, and shot him in the forehead killing him instantly, official sources said. They fired a single shot which pierced his head and fled the scene, the sources said. 57-year-old Hissamuddin was also a senior member of Jamaat-e- Islami. Hailing from Sopore town of Baramulla district, he was staying in a make-shift house in Bemina locality of the city. Various leaders from different political parties, including Yaseen Malik, Chairman, JKLF,Shabbir Shah are visiting the residence of Pir Hissamm-u-ddin,an aide of separatist leader Geelani, at Bemina, where he was shot dead by an un-identified gunmen. The funeral ceremony will take place tomorrow. Relatives of Pir Husamm-u-ddin are waiting for Syed Ali Shah, who is currently in Delhi. "Whoever has committed this crime, is a henious killer. Killers are killers. It's an unfortunate incident. They neither have a face or religion. Any person has to die oneday. Pir has worked for 70 years. God bless his soul," said Geelani Advocate Hasamm- u-ddin was a senior worker of Jamat-i-Islami and was close friend of Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

Trishul missile test-fired (Go To Top)

         Balasore: India's indigenously developed short range surface-to-air missile Trishul was test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur on Wednesday. The missile was launched from a mobile launcher at about 2.15 pm, defence sources said. Trishul is a short range, quick reaction, all-weather surface-to- air missile designed to counter a low level attack.

Conservative Muslims shut doors on two-child norm (Go To Top)

          Bhopal: Dozens of Muslim children and women took to streets in Bhopal against a family planning proposal for the community, which according to a central census, is growing faster than majority Hindus. The rally here comes a day after a senior Muslim leader urged couples to adopt the two-child norm, a dangerously radical statement for a religion which condemns contraception as unholy. Syed Kalb-e-Sadiq, vice president of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, has since been under fire from various conservative groups. The board as well has since distanced itself from Sadiq saying his views were entirely personal. "We cannot follow this two child norm because children are the ones who will work for the nation. We should have more children because they are our future. They will work for the progress of the nation," Saira Khan, a protestor said.

Vaiko, six others arrested, released (Go To Top)

          Chennai: Shouts of joy rent the air as MDMK Leader Vaiko and six others, who were arrested for defying prohibitory orders, were released from the Chindatripet police station today. Thousands of party workers carrying party flags celebrated the release of their leader. Vaiko, after being released, left for the party headquarters 'Thayagam. In a news conference today Vaiko said that he had no intentions of flouting the law. "I wanted to reach the place by walk as I have already announced. We did not go by a procession," said Vaiko. Meanwhile, DMK president, Karunanidhi today termed as undemocratic the arrest of MDMK General Secretary Vaiko at Chennai for violating prohibitary orders. He said that the police should have given a special permission to Vaiko's renaissance march. "Vaiko's arrest is undemocratic. The police should have given a a special permission for Vaiko's renaissance march, entering Chennai but instead they arrested him," said Karunanidhi, DMK president.

Centre to devise strategy to combat Maoists in N-E (Go To Top)

         New Delhi: The Centre will next week hold a meeting with the chief ministers of seven northeastern (N-E) states fighting Maoists, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters in the Capital today. Mukherjee said the meeting, to be held on September 21, would focus on strategies to be taken by law enforcement agencies to combat the Maoists' threat. "Various aspects of the growing naxalite movement will be discussed. And it was thought that probably the general approach not only to deal with the law enforcement machineries, that is, policing and but also to think of comprehensive development of the naxalite infested areas," Mukherjee said after a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting.

Pak Army creating another Bangladesh in WANA: Fazl-ur-Rehman (Go To Top)

         Islamabad: By carrying out military operations in Waziristan, a tribal area bordering Afghanistan, on US directions, the Pakistani Army will create another Bangladesh, warned Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazl-ur Rehman. Blaming the army for the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 out of East Pakistan, Fazl said: "Now it's paving the way for the separation of the country's western part." According to the Daily Times, Rehman said that Pakistan was fighting a war in Waziristan for fulfilling US' interests and was bombing and killing innocent tribesmen in the name of terrorism. Innocent tribesmen were offloaded from buses, tortured and shot dead, Rehman said in Peshawar adding that all those killed so far were locals.

Use our forward bases as long as you want: Pak to US (Go To Top)

          Karachi: US Air Force planes have been deployed at several forward bases in Pakistan and have reportedly been given blanket permission by the federal government to stay on as long as they want. Quoting the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Kaleem Saadat, The News said that the American planes were landing and taking off from what he called "forward operating bases which are used in an emergency or in a war-like situation." "The US forces are present at a few of our forward operating bases where they will stay as long as they like," Sa'adat said.

Anju gets Khel Ratna, Rathore bags Arjuna award (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Ace long-jumper Anju B George on Wednesday named to receive the coveted Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award while 15 sportspersons including Olympic medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore will be getting Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance in their respective disciplines in the year 2003. It was double delight for Anju since her husband and personal trainer Bobby George also named to get the Dronacharya awards, an honour conferred on coaches.