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Nine
Pakistani fishermen arrested off Gujarat coast
Ahmedabad
(Gujarat): The Border Security Force (BSF) said on Sunday
that an investigation was being carried out into this week's
incident of nine Pakistani fishermen illegally entering
Indian territorial waters off Gujarat. Three of the nine
Pakistanis, who were arrested on August 17 by the BSF from
a boat in the Sir Creek area in Gujarat's Kutch district,
would be subjected to polygraph test, said Raman Srivastava,
the Director General of BSF. "Six of the nine Pakistani
fishermen who were held had fishing permits issued by Pakistan.
The rest three did not even have that. They said they came
here for fishing. We need to investigate to find out what
the truth is," Srivastava said. "The state police and the
Border Security Force are investigating into the matter.
Nothing can be said at the moment. But, these fishermen
are definitely from Pakistan. Investigation is being carried
out to find out other details," he added. The arrest of
nine Pakistanis came just two days after India's Independence
Day and hours after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned
of terror groups in Pakistan plotting fresh attacks in India.
Fishermen of either country often stray into each other's
territorial waters and the neighbouring countries have instituted
measures to facilitate their early repatriation, but the
Mumbai attacks have made Indian Coast Guard and BSF to step
vigil.
Five
policemen killed in Naxal attack in Bihar's Jamui district
Top
Patna: Five
policemen, including an assistant sub-inspector, have been
killed and two injured in a Naxal attack in Sono Bazar area
of Bihar's Jamui district. Police sources said four of those
killed belonged to the Special Auxiliary Police. Around
50 armed Maoist activists assembled in the main market roundabaout
at Sono and sprayed bullets at the policemen patrolling
in a jeep. The Maoists also looted six rifles and ammunition
from the policemen before fleeing. Four policemen died on
the spot.The two injured policemen have been admitted to
Jamui Hospital . The attackers fled from the scene of the
attack under cover of darkness. Senior police officials
said all entry and exit points of the district have been
sealed to nab the ultras. District Magistrate Prem Singh
Meena said the Central Reserve Police Force and the Special
Auxiliary Police have cordoned off the area and search operations
have been launched.
Swine
flu death toll mounts to 66; 131 new cases Top
New Delhi:
A total of 131 fresh cases of swine flu were reported from
different parts of the country on Sunday, Health Ministry
sources said in Delhi. The new cases included Delhi 44,
Karnataka 21 (Bangalore 19, Gadag 1, Belgaum 1), Tamil Nadu
20, Chennai 17, Coimbatore 3, Maharashtra 23 (Pune 1 and
Nagpur 3). Out of the total cases reported, six in Delhi
and two in Kerala are cases with recent travel history to
affected countries. Meanwhile, the countrywide death toll
due to HINI virus climbed to 66 on Sunday with one person
each succumbing to suspected swine flu in Delhi, Chandigarh
and Jalna in Maharashtra, even as 131 fresh cases of infection
were reported from various states. Maharashtra now accounts
the highest cases with 35 flu deaths, followed by Karnataka
with 12 casualties.
N
Korean ship's cargo to be off-loaded for inspection Top
Kakinada
( Andhra Pradesh ): The cargo on board the suspect North
Korean vessel MV Mu San will be offloaded and searched for
any suspect material onboard. Sources said central security
agencies and nuclear scientists will conduct a thorough
investigation to check if the ship is carrying any radioactive
and nuclear material. Apart from that the 39-member crew
of the ship, its North Korean captain Yun Jong Sun, would
be questioned by the authorities at the port itself. The
vessel from Pyongyang has raised eyebrows for a number of
reasons. Firstly, there are fears that it may contain traces
of chemical or radio active material and secondly another
point of contention is the fact that there is a North Korean
government official onboard, which prompts questions on
the credibility of the claim that the ship is a merchant
vessel. Another critical question which needs to be answered
is why were there conflicting claims made by the crew on
their entry to different international ports, which did
not corroborate with their passports. Earlier, the seized
North Korean vessel M V Mu San left Hut Bay in Andaman waters
for Kakinada Port. The Indian Coast Guard escorted the North
Korean vessel, official sources said. The MV Mu San is likely
to be booked under the Indian Maritime Act for illegally
entering in to the Indian waters. According to sources,
the Union Home Ministry, Defence Ministry and External Affairs
Ministry are coordinating with each other to finalise procedure
in this regard. The Coast Guard detained the North Korean
vessel after chasing it for over six-hours near Andaman
and Nicobar Islands on August 6. The Union Home Ministry
had sent a letter to Port Blair Police asking it to file
a report on entire chain of events, which led to the interception
of the ship. A team of two nuclear scientists from the Kalpakam
Nuclear Power Station has carried out a preliminary investigation
of the ship and ruled out the existence of any chemical,
biological, radioactive and nuclear (CRBN) traces on board
the vessel. Indian security agencies want to find out whether
there was any CBRN consignment with sophisticated equipments.
The ship is said to be carrying 3.3 lakh gunny bags of sugar
weighing 16,500 kilograms, sources said.
Pak
students were strip-searched, sniffed by dogs in UK custody
Top
Islamabad:
Pakistani students arrested by the British Government on
charges of violating national security, have accused the
latter of ill-treatment during detention. Two of the ten
students, Abdul Wahab Khan and Shoaib Khan, returned to
Pakistan on Saturday abandoning their legal battle against
deportation, The Dawn reports. Amjad Malik , solicitor for
both the students, told reporters in Islamabad that his
clients were frequently strip-searched, subjected to searches
by dogs and served contaminated food. Abdul Wahab Khan described
his days in the British prison as ‘hell’. Khan said the
British officials had ‘no concept of justice’. London has
rejected the allegations as ‘unfounded’. A British High
Commission statement said the UK Government treated all
those in detention in UK prisons fairly and humanely, regardless
of their nationality, race or religion. “Whilst in detention,
these individuals were afforded the full protection of the
UK justice system,” the statement said. The statement said
the authorities did not receive any complaint from the students
during their detention apart from one complaint by their
lawyer in August about contaminated food being “In the case
of these individuals one took up the opportunity to take
part in an education course; and both used the prison gymnasium,
exercised frequently and were free to worship and undertake
other activities in accordance with Islamic teachings,”
the statement said further.
16
injured as inmates set Kentucky prison on fire Top
Burgin (Kentucky,
US): Rioting inmates set fire to a Kentucky prison in
the US on late Friday night, damaging six buildings and
causing minor injuries to eight staff members and eight
prisoners. A spokesperson for Kentucky Department of Corrections
said that no one had been admitted to hospital as a result
of the disturbance at the medium security Northpoint Training
Center . Twelve hundred inmates deemed high security were
bussed to another undisclosed facility whilst firefighters
tackled the blaze. By early Saturday morning, firefighters
had extinguished the fires at the prison located in a rural
area 30 miles south of Lexington . The Associated Press
news agency said officers in riot gear rushed the prisoners
with tear gas about 9 p.m. Friday, and all the inmates were
subdued in less than two hours. Among the buildings burnt
were a kitchen, medical center, canteen and visitation area.
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear praised corrections officials
and state police for handling the situation without any
serious injuries.
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