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Mehar murder accused Pahari killed

    Lucknow: Sachin Pahari, the main accused in the Mehar Bhargav murder case, was shot dead in an encounter with Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh police this morning. Pahari, his friend Vijay Kanaujia and two other men were coming from Sitapur to Lucknow on two motorbikes when they were challenged by the STF and the Lucknow Police near the IIM campus near Madiyoan Road, police officials said. In an encounter, both Pahadi and Kanaujia were shot dead. The other two men, however, managed to escape. Earlier, five policemen, including the Hazratganj Police Station SHO (Station House Officer), had been suspended for failing to arrest Sachin Pahari. According to reports, the suspended policemen were part of the special teams formed to nab Sachin. Pahari, who carried a reward of Rs 20,000 on his head, had managed to escape after he was shot at in an encounter with the police last month in Lucknow's Kaiserbagh area. Mehar Bhargav, wife of state Congress leader Luv Bhargava, was shot at by four people when she objected to lewd comments at her daughter-in-law, Kavita on February 28. She succumbed to her injuries in a Delhi hospital on March 25.

Tamil Nadu minister dead (Go To Top)

     Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Minister P T R Palanivelrajan died in the early hours in a private hospital at Dindigul as a result of a cardiac arrest. The heart attack occurred when Palanivelrajan was travelling in a train. He was taken to the hospital, where he breathed his last this morning. He is survived by his wife Rukmani and a son, who is working in the United States. Palanivelrajan, 74, was elected from the Madurai Central Constituency and was also the speaker of the State Assembly between 1996 and 2001. The Dravida Munnettra Kazgham (DMK) minister, a good speaker in both English and Tamil, was the leader of the now defunct Justice Party. The first-timer was sworn in minister alongwith others on May 13 when DMK took over power after the Assembly election.

ULFA releases kidnapped OIL engineer (Go To Top)

     Guwahati: A drilling engineer of state-owned Oil India Limited (OIL) who was kidnapped on the night of Friday by United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militants in Upper Asom`s Tinsukia district was released in the morning. K Mohan Rao was kidnapped when he was on his way from the company headquarters, Duliajan to Barakuri to attend his night shift, official sources said. According to police official, Rao was safe and details of the incident would be provided later in the day. Earlier, at least a dozen officials were abducted for ransom and a few were killed as OIL and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) had been in the hit list of ULFA militants.

Muslims, Christians protest in Karnataka (Go To Top)
by KG Vasuki

      Bangalore: Thousands of Muslims and Christians took to the streets in Bangalore on Friday to protest against alleged atrocities by the Sangh Parivar on minority communities settled in the coastal areas of Karnataka. Organised by Karnataka Forum for Dignity, the rally was supported by minority groups which included Muslims, Christians and Dalits. Organisers said the rally aims at sending across the message of brotherhood among all religions, to those who want to break this bond. "When the police department did not respond, then we decided to organise a rally in the State. The purpose of this rally is to show the Sangh Parivar that we stand for peace. We will never allow Karnataka to transform itself into Gujarat. Here, all religions stay together," said Syed Khalimulla, Vice- President, Karnataka Forum for Dignity. Protestors alleged the BJP (JDS) government for failing to protect the rights of minorities in the state and in preventing attacks on a few Churches in the last couple of months.

IIM-Calcutta raises seats from 265 to 335 (Go To Top)

     Kolkata: With persistent demand on rollback on quota and protest from across the country, the Indian Institute of Management - Calcutta (IIM-C) has decided to increase the number of seats from the next academic session Director of IIM-C Shekhar Chaudhury today decided to increase the number of seats although it did not receive any order from the Human Resource Development Ministry to that effect. Chaudhry announced that the total number of seats for full time postgraduate programmes had been increased from 265 to 335 starting from June end. The director also informed that another full time one year programme for executives would begin with 30 seats. The institute's decision comes amid a controversy on whether the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and IIMs have the capacity to increase seats to offset the impact of a new quota on general category students'. On the other side, IIM-Ahmedabad Director B Dholakia said that it was impossible to increase the numbers of seats. The Centre had announced that a formula was being worked out to defuse the quota crisis by increasing the number of seats and also institutions, to ensure that the general category was unaffected, even after the implementation of quota. A Group of Ministers (GoM) has been appointed by the Centre to take stock of the controversy arising out of the reservation of seats for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in institutions of higher education.

Item girl Rakhi charged for obscenity (Go To Top)

      Kolhapur (Maharashtra): The police has registered a case of obscenity against Bollywood item girl Rakhi Sawant while performing at a stage show in Kolhapur on May 18. Rakhi who was performing at a Bollywood event sponsored by liquor company Haywards here, however, denied the charges. "I have not done anything vulgar. It was just one of the regular stage shows that I keep performing. I have in no way disrupted peace and harmony or incited violence. Nothing of the sort happened in that show," Rakhi said. She also said that she had not disrupted peace here but could not help if others turned unruly. Police has arrested one person named Gaurav Thakkar, who was associated with the event management company Mantra Events which was taking care of the show. But later, he was released on bail.

Maoists sabotage tracks: train derails (Go To Top)

     Raipur: Seven wagons of an empty goods train were derailed today between Kamalur and Bhanshi railway stations in the Dantewada district as a result of notorious activity by Maoists, who removed joints of two railway tracks. The incident happened about 425 kilometres from the State capital. However, there are no reports of injuries so far, Kirandul police said. In another incident, Maoist rebels assaulted security guards of the ESSAR and opposed the setting up of steel plants by Tata Steel and ESSAR Steel in Kirandul of Dantewada district. The Maoists have called a two-day general strike on May 21 and 22 in Bastar to oppose "barbaric acts of police on Bastar tribesmen". About 50,000 tribesmen have deserted their forested villages in Dantewada district since the state government launched the 'Salwa Judum' in June 2005. Officials say out of the 150 lives lost to Maoist violence in 2006, 127 were killed in the Bastar region alone.

No bar on Benazir's return: Musharraf (Go To Top)

     Islamabad: Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has said that there was no bar on the return of former Premier Benazir Bhutto to Pakistan. However, there were non-bailable charges against her and she would have to face them the moment she returned to Pakistan. He said he was working towards bringing sustainable democracy in Pakistan over and above party politics and wanted to encourage each and every political party in the country. "I am working to bring about sustainable democracy in Pakistan over and above party politics. I want to encourage every political party in the country," the Daily Times quoted him as saying. As far as Nawaz Sharif was concerned, Musharraf said the former Prime Minister had been sentenced to life-imprisonment.

Nepal Army resents King's loss of powers (Go To Top)

     Kathmandu: The 90,000-strong Nepal Army is unlikely to accept the Parliament's decision to curtail the powers of King Gyanendra. Arguments have already started erupting at the military headquarters here, days after the 205-member Parliament unanimously resolved to strip the king of his royal powers and take over the control of the Army. The nine-point declaration is part of an effort by an alliance of seven political parties to clear obstacles to the formation of a new constitution. It remains to be seen whether the military will acquiesce to the changes, particularly since the declaration overrides current constitutional provisions, including the king's title of commander-in-chief of the Army, and leaves him with only ceremonial powers, reports the Christian Science Monitor (CSM). The Army, whose name has been changed from the Royal Nepalese Army to the Nepal Army by Parliament's resolution, had reportedly been assured earlier by Prime Minister G.P. Koirala that the king's title as commander in chief, as well as his right to choose an heir would be protected. Now, the resolution has given full authority to the prime minister to appoint the commander-in-chief of the Army, and to mobilize it upon approval from parliament. Henceforth, all security wings of the state are under direct control of parliament; and all executive rights of the state are vested on the government. Hints of unhappiness in the barracks notwithstanding, the new resolution has broad political support.