NewsBriefs
Back to Headlines

Militant attack in Doda: two dead

      Srinagar: Two persons were killed and over 25 injured in a militant attack on Saturday in Doda district of Jammu. Police said that the militants hurled a strong hand-grenade at a bus stand in Doda district. A good number of people were waiting for the bus and the scene was a chaotic after the attack. "The injured have been taken to the local district hospital," Inspector-General of Police Dr S P Vaid said. Reports suggest that the grenade attack was targeted at the BJP supporters, who had gathered to protest against the sex scandal. Security personnel have cordoned off the entire area. Senior police and security officials of the district have rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. The blast has spread panic in the area, which is already witnessing massive protests in the past few days. No militant group, so far, has claimed responsibility for the blast. On May 5, hundreds of people stormed and set fire to the house of Sabina, the alleged kingpin of a sex-racket in Srinagar, in which several senior politicians and security officials were said to be involved. So intense was the public's anger over the exposure of the sex racket, that they entered Sabina's residence and threw down cupboards, chairs, tables and her clothes. The whole locality was cordoned off by security personnel as people moved into the area to vent out their irritation against the high and mighty. At least 22 Hindu villagers were killed and eight others critically wounded in a militant massacre in village Kalhan in Doda district of Jammu region on May 1.

Kashmir TV channels off air after threat (Go To Top)

      Srinagar: Cable TV operators in Jammu and Kashmir have stopped broadcasting after renewed threats from militant groups, which accused the channels of showing obscene programmes. Four leading English-language TV channels were taken off the air on Wednesday after a little-known militant group accused cable stations of spreading obscenity. The Al-Madina Regiment warned cable operators they would have to "face the consequences" if they did not shut down all broadcasts in the Muslim-dominated Himalayan valley. Operators in Srinagar, the region's summer capital, and surrounding areas resumed services on Thursday after police promised them protection. However, all operations were shutdown after militant outfits threatened on Friday (May 12) to launch suicide attacks on cable TV relay centres in the region if they did not shut down. Cable operators said the diktat would jeopardize their business and thousands of people would be rendered jobless. "The threat by militant outfits to ban cable television will have an adverse affect. At least 25,000 people are employed in this sector who will go jobless because of their diktat," said Zarool, a cable operator on Saturday. Majeed, a local resident, said, "Already there are several boys who are jobless. The diktat will render more men unemployed." Cable television is the main entertainment for most Kashmiris weary of years of a bloody separatist insurgency. The revolt in Jammu and Kashmir has claimed the lives of almost 47,000 people since it erupted in 1989. Kashmir's frontline rebel group Hizbul Mujahideen said on Thursday the threat to cable operators was a ploy to divert attention from an alleged prostitution racket which saw girls, including minors, being supplied to politicians and policemen. The controversy has triggered widespread protests across the Kashmir Valley since last week. Shops and businesses were closed in many parts of Srinagar on Friday after a strike call by local traders and lawyers. Liquor shops, cinemas and beauty parlors were closed in the Kashmir Valley after the separatist revolt against New Delhi's rule broke out. A few alcohol shops and one cinema hall reopened in Srinagar three years ago along with beauty parlors.

Maoists kill four SPOs in Chhattisgarh (Go To Top)

      Raipur: Maoists attack in a relief camp in the wee hours in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh today killed four village Special Police Officers (SPOs) and left three injured. Around 300 heavily-armed maoists attacked the relief camp, police said. "Around 300 armed Naxalites attacked the Injeram relief camp, 540 km from here, and opened indiscriminate fire, killing four village SPOs and injuring three others in the wee hours today," Dantewada police sources said. The Nagaland Armed Police (NAP) personnel retaliated to the attack and a gun battle ensued thereafter that continued for over an hour. With the increase in maoists activities since June last year, about 50,000 people had shifted in government-run relief camps in Dantewada district and about 6,000 villagers are staying in such camps at Injeram, the sources said. The SPOs were recruited by the government to provide security to the villagers. In another incident, two villages were abducted on gun point on Friday by the Maoists when they had gone to their village Akhirguda in Dantewada district, police said. The villagers have lodged a First Information Report in connection with the incident. Naxalites on April 29 killed 13 of the 52 villagers they had abducted and released 37 others in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada District and also instructed them to keep off from anti-Naxal activities. About 60 villagers, who are staying in Dornapal relief camps, had gone to their Manikonta village to look after their belongings on April 25. The Maoists, who were present in the village, surrounded them and assaulted them. These villagers were staying in government relief camps after the Naxals had threatened to attack them for participating in an anti- Maoist campaign in Dantewada and Bijapur Districts.

Buddhists pray on Buddha Purnima (Go To Top)
by Girish Dubey

      Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh): Special prayers for world peace marked solemn celebrations of Buddha Purnima, the most important festival of Buddhists across India on Saturday. Scores of devout lit lamps and incense sticks at Buddhist temples and monasteries to commemorate the 2550th death anniversary of Lord Buddha. In the holy town of Sarnath, Buddhists gathered in large numbers to pay obeisance at an ancient Buddhist temple. Sarnath is situated 10 km away from Varanasi and is the place where Lord Buddha preached his first sermon in 500 B.C. Sarnath has a number of stupas (pillars) and monasteries. Monks at Sarnath said devotees would renew their pledge to follow the principles of the faith. "Buddha's principles carry a special significance in modern world as well. If people obey the Buddha's principles, the entire civilization will be blessed," said Veni Madhav, principal of Maha Bodhi Inter College, a Buddhist-run institution. "This year special celebrations are being held throughout the year as it is the 2550th anniversary of Buddha's enlightenment," added Ashok Kumar Varma, a Buddhist. In the early days of Buddhism, stupas were constructed to honour important events in Buddha's life including his Enlightenment, his first Sermon, his Death and the four famous Buddhist councils. Buddha was born a prince at Lumbini in Nepal over 2,600 years ago. He attained enlightenment at the age of 35 in Bodh Gaya in India's eastern Bihar and finally departed from the world at the age of 80 in Kushinagar. It's a coincidence Buddha was born, achieved his enlightenment and salvation on the same day. Buddhists constitute nearly five million or 0.75 per cent of India's population.

Buddhists take out peace march in Varanasi (Go To Top)

      Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh): Buddhist monks took out a peace march here on the eve of Buddha Purnima celebrations on Friday, to spread the message of peace and non-violence. Office bearers of Mahabodhi Society of India (MSI) said that the march was organised to spread the message of peace. "Today, we are taking out a peace march in Varanasi to spread the message of Lord Buddha who taught peace and non-violence to the people," Sumedh Thero, secretary of the MSI said. Buddha Purnima is celebrated to commemorate the anniversary of Lord Buddha's birth, enlightenment and Nirvana (salvation). Special prayers are offered on the day at Buddhist temples throughout the country. The Buddha Purnima has a special significance for the followers of Lord Buddha as all three stages of his life - birth, enlightenment and death - are viewed as the keys to Buddhism. On the holy day devotees do pious deeds and distribute food and alms. Buddhists constitute nearly five million or 0.75 per cent of India's population. Lord Buddha was born a prince at Lumbini in Nepal over 2,600 years ago. He attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya in Bihar.

Explosives recovered in Nasik: 4 held (Go To Top)

      Nasik: Four persons were arrested from Malegaon in Nasik District today in connection with the arms seizure from suspected Lashker-e-Taiba militants in Aurangabad, even as another consignment of explosives was recovered from Manmad, police said. They were brought before a Mumbai court and charged with assisting three LeT suspects who were arrested on Tuesday, taking the total number of those arrested in the case to eight, Anti- Terrorist Squad (ATS) sources said. They were involved in changing the registration number plates of the two cars in which the LeT suspects were carrying arms and explosives, ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi said. ATS will invoke the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the Aurangabad arms seizure case in view of the "unearthing of a bigger plan involving many people", ATS sources said. Those arrested would be brought to Mumbai later in the day and produced before a local court. Meanwhile, following the recovery of a car used by another group of suspected LeT militants near Nashik, the ATS today seized one more AK-47, 200 rounds of cartridges and some RDX from Ankai Fort in Manmad, police said. Senior police officials said that the RDX seizure was biggest so far. The arms and explosives were found in computer cabinets, similar to those seized by the ATS from the LeT suspects, the sources said. The suspected LeT operatives who abandoned their car near Nashik yesterday may have dumped the two cabinets fearing arrest, ATS sources said.

Maharashtra Minister surrenders, jailed (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: Swarup Singh Naik, who had on Friday resigned as Maharashtra Transport Minister today surrendered before the police. He was earlier sentenced for one year imprisonment by the Supreme Court on charges of contempt of Court after he had given licences to six saw mills operating in the reserved forest area, in a complete violation of the apex Court's order. Today's surrender comes in the wake of Naik's plea for a review of the imprisonment sentence getting rejected by a bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal. According to the officials, Naik today surrenders before Malabar Hills police early in the morning and was taken to the Thane jail. While Naik has already been arrested, the warrant against State Additional Chief Secretary Ashok Khot who has also been sentenced with a one year imprisonment is yet to be executed. Naik was Environment and Forest Minister and Khot Principal Secretary in the Ministry when the licence was granted for operating the saw mills by them. In spite of the Supreme Court banning the operation of saw-mills in 2002, both Nayak and Khot gave licenses to six such mills in violation of the order. After returning from Delhi on Friday night, Naik faxed his resignation to Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's office which according to official sources had been forwarded to the Governor S M Krishna for approval.

Four witnesses in Salman case disappear (Go To Top)

      Mumbai: Four witnesses in the hit and run case involving Bollywood star Salman Khan have disappeared from their addresses and have not been available for disposition. Salman Khan stands trial in a car accident that killed a homeless bakery worker sleeping on a footpath, way back in September 2002. The witnesses were considered important for the case as they were also injured, when the car being driven by Salman rammed into a bakery. The prosecution counsel in the case told the court that the witnesses were not available in their homes and perhaps might have shifted to some other place. Salman's lawyer Deepesh Mehta, however, said on Saturday that though the witnesses might have disappeared, the case would still continue. "We all know that in Mumbai, thousands of people come everyday from villages and other parts of the country. Now for somebody, who is sleeping on the footpath, it is possible that he will go back to his village or to some other place or some other city. It appears that it is difficult to locate the people, who were alleged to be sleeping on the footpath. Now, even if they are not found, or they are not available the case will proceed," said Mehta. Four witnesses have already deposed in the case, including Salman's bodyguard Ravindra Patil, who was with him when the accident took place. Salman, who has a huge fan following, faces charges of damaging property, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a license, though a severe charge of culpable homicide has been dropped by the Bombay High Court. Salman, who has had regular brushes with the law, has also spent three days in a prison in Rajasthan as part of a five-year term for killing a protected antelope.

Lathi-charge on medicos in Mumbai (Go To Top)

      New Delhi/Mumbai: The police on Saturday baton charged medical students in Mumbai for protesting against the Centre's proposal for reserving 27 percent seats for OBC's in higher education. The students had staged a road-blockade at Walkeshwar in South Mumbai, when the police mercilessly resorted to lathi-charge them, and subsequently drag them from the venue, even as others students continued to maintain peace there. The police detained around 25 students, as they went about pulling them out from the crowd and mercilessly beating them with batons. However, according to police officials no one was reported injured. Meanwhile, the anti-reservation protests have gained momentum with reports of protest and strike by the doctors coming from Cuttack in Orissa and Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The doctors have joined the strike to show solidarity for their brethrens in Delhi and Mumbai who have been at the receiving end of police action. Meanwhile, medical services in state-run hospitals in Delhi were hit today with doctors resorting to strike in protest against the manhandling of medical students by police personnel during their anti-reservation protest. With student doctors boycotting medical services in the Government run hospitals, patients are facing the brunt, and have to trudge from one hospital to another for check-up and cure. "I first went to Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital to admit my wife but was returned, then we went to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital but was again without luck. There are no doctors in the hospitals. I am a poor and cannot afford private facilities," said Virender, a harried man who has been carrying his wife from one hospital to another. On the other hand, the student doctors working in major government hospitals, however, promised to continue treating patients outside the hospital premises. "The students, undergraduates and post graduates will not work in government OPD (out patients department). We are making sure to run OPD services, so we are opening a panel of OPD for the patients outside the hospital premises. We will dispense medicines at our own cost. We might sit on the road but we don't want the patients to suffer," said Manish Nethani, a representative of youth for equality. Senior resident doctors of all the five medical colleges in Delhi namely, Maulana Azad Medical College, Lady Hardinge, UCMS, AIIMS, Mahavir Vardhman College have decided to join the strike against reservations.

Australian band 'Air Supply' rocks Delhi (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: After 30 golden years of romancing music, the Australian band 'Air Supply', comprising of British guitarist and singer Graham Russell and Australian singer Russell Hitchcock, grabbed the hearts of music buffs with their heavily orchestrated sweet ballads in Delhi. Formed in 1975, 'Air Supply' struck the right chord in 1980 with the release of their album, 'Lost in Love', which turned out to be a massive success in the U.S. It sold selling over two million copies and spawned hit singles 'Lost in Love', 'All Out of Love', and 'Every Woman in the World'. Fans flooded the venue and were rapture over the music. "It (the show) was wonderful. It was the kind of music that we enjoy. It's our kind of music, it's romantic and talks about love. Despite the hot temperature, they managed to get everybody rocking, so, I think it was wonderful. I hope, they come back again in cooler climate, so, we can enjoy them again," said Poonam Bhagat, a fashion designer. "I have been listening to 'Air Supply' since I was 10 years old. It was very nostalgic. It was great. It was a superb performance and I think, they are amazingly good in their lyrics and music. That's why, they have a lot of fans in India," said Jai Singh Anand, a spectator. The Russell-Hitchcock duo sang a number of other hits including, 'Faith in Love', 'Lost in Love','Goodbye', Sweet Dreams' and 'The One That You Love' during the performance. "The show was absolutely amazing. It was mind blowing and I loved the fact that they actually came out and were right in front of us. It was cool and this is my first concert in India and I loved it. It was a very cool performance," said Rakhi, another spectator. On a three-city tour in the country, 'Air Supply' will be performing at Palace Grounds in Bangalore on May 12, followed by a concert in Meghalaya capital Shillong on May 14. After the India tour, the band will launch its new album 'The Singer and the Song' at a show in Hong Kong on May 20.

Pakistani cricketer Asghar dead (Go To Top)

     Karachi: Former Pakistani cricketer Muhammad Asghar, 35, committed suicide after hanging himself from the ceiling of his house under Jauharabad police jurisdiction. The police said that not finding Asghar in morning his family knocked at his room's door but found response. And on breaking open the door the family members found Asghar hanging from the ceiling, The News reported. Resident of Block 9 Federal B Area, Asghar was rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. Once a first-class cricketer Asghar was running a local cable network.