New Delhi, May 1, 2009
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Retrial
of Gujarat riots by fast track courts
New
Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered a retrial of the Gujarat riots
cases by fast track courts. The apex court also directed that the trial would
not be shifted out of Gujarat. Besides, it also ordered he filing of additional
chargesheets against new accused named by the Special Investigating Team (SIT).
On April 27, the apex court asked the SIT to probe the role of 64 people, including
that of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the cases. The apex court order
was passed in response to a petition filed by Congress parliamentarian Ehsaan
Jaffery. The court asked the SIT to submit the report within three months. The
order came over two months after Gujarat High Court Judge A. S. Dave declined
to hear a SIT petition that challenged the anticipatory bail granted to State
Minister Maya Kodnani and the former VHP leader Jaydeep Patel in connection with
the Godhra case. The SIT had moved the Gujarat High Court and challenged the anticipatory
bail granted by a lower court to Kodnani and Patel, in the post-Godhra and Naroda
Gram riot cases. The apex court had constituted a five-member SIT to re-investigate
the post-Godhra communal riots. The SIT is reinvestigating into nine post- Godhra
riot cases and was expected to submit its report to the apex court by February
15. Several prominent leaders like, Maya Kodnani of BJP and Jaydeep Patel of Vishwa
Hindu Parishad are at the center of investigation, following many witnesses naming
them in their statements in the Naroda Gam riot case. The SIT had filed a 300-page
supplementary chargesheet against 24 people in the Naroda Gam case in which 11
people, belonging to the minority community, were killed by a mob during the riots.
The accused include, Fula Vyas of VHP, local BJP leader Jitendra Patel and ex-BJP
municipal councilor Ashok Patel. The SIT has also filed a second charge sheet
in Naroda Patiya case against 15 accused, where over 80 people were killed during
the Godhra riots. The third chargesheet in the Gulburg society case, named some
VHP and BJP leaders in the list of absconders among the 14 accused, where 38 people
were killed. The five-member SIT team is headed by R. Raghavan, and includes former
Deputy General of Police C.D. Satpathy and three Indian Police officers -- Geetha
Johri, Shivanand Jha and Ashish Bhatia. Each chapter in the report is being carefully
drafted and separate reports are being prepared for each of the nine cases.
SC should take 'pro-active' steps in other
cases Top
like Gujarat riots: BJP
New
Delhi: Welcoming the Supreme Court's decision on the Gujarat riots cases,
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday said the apex court should take similar
"pro-active" steps for speedier justice in other cases, including the cases relating
to the Bhagalpur riots, the 1984 Sikh carnage and the Ramjanama Bhoomi land dispute.
"We welcome the order of the Supreme Court as it will bring justice to victims
of Godhra train carnage and the riots after the carnage," said a party spokesperson,
Prakash Javadekar. "We hope that the Supreme Court will also take such pro-active
steps for speedier justice in case of Bhagalpur riots, 1984 Sikh carnage and Ramjanma
Bhoomi land dispute which is pending in courts for 50 years," he added. The reaction
came after the apex court ordered a retrial of the Gujarat riots cases by fast
track courts. The apex court also directed that the trial would not be shifted
out of Gujarat. Besides, it also ordered he filing of additional chargesheets
against new accused named by the Special Investigating Team (SIT). On April 27,
the apex court asked the SIT to probe the role of 64 people, including that of
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the cases. The apex court order was passed
in response to a petition filed by Congress parliamentarian Ehsaan Jaffery. The
court asked the SIT to submit the report within three months.
Two polling officials die in Maoist attack
in Bengal Top
Jamboni
(West Bengal): A landmine blast triggered by the Maoists claimed the lives
of three persons, including two polling officials in West Bengal on Thursday.
The blast, which took place at around 6:00 p.m. in Jamboni region of West Midnapore
district of the state, was triggered using a remote device. The blast was aimed
at the polling officials returning from election duty under the security of paramilitary
personnel. Two polling officials and the driver were killed in the blast. In another
incident, a paramilitary personnel lost his life in a landmine blast in Purulia
region of the state. The attacks came on the third-phase of polling and were seen
as an attempt to disrupt the otherwise peaceful poll process in West Bengal. In
the past few weeks, several police personnel and other officials had been fatally
attacked across four states - Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa termed
as the 'Red Belt' due to the presence of ultra Maoist-Leninists. Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh had described Maoist violence as India's biggest internal security
threat.
Pak to
seek World Bank's help to resolve Kishanganga Top
dispute with India
Islamabad:
After the Baglihar Dam issue, Pakistan is considering an approach to the World
Bank (WB) to appoint a neutral arbitrator to resolve the Kishanganga water dispute
with India . The Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) claims New Delhi has not responded
positively to Islamabad 's call to resolve the issue amicably, thus forcing it
to urge the World Bank to step in. "We have not received any satisfactory response
to a letter written on Kishanganga by the Indus water commissioner to his Indian
counterpart in March, and we are now in the process of considering the option
of approaching the WB for a neutral expert," the Daily Times quoted FO spokesperson
Abdul Basit, as saying. Pakistan has been opposing the construction of the Kishanganga
hydropower project on Ganga River in Kashmir, which is called Neelum upon entering
Pakistan . Pakistan has said the diversion of waters of the Neelum is not allowed
under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, and it will face a 27 per cent water deficit,
when the project gets completed. The reduced water flow in the Neelum would not
yield the required results of the proposed 1.6 billion dollars Neelum-Jehlum hydropower
project that has been designed to generate 969 MW of electricity. It has said
that India has almost completed a 22-kilometre long tunnel to divert Kishanganga
waters to Wullar Lake in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pak
shares confidential information about its nukes Top
with West to allay fears
Lahore:
In the face of a Taliban advance, senior Pakistani civil and military officials
are sharing confidential information about the country's nuclear arms programme
with Western countries in order to allay fears about the security of the weapons.
The decision highlights global concerns about the safety of up to 100 atom bombs
in Pakistan 's possession, as the Taliban advanced last week to within 100km of
Islamabad , according to a Financial Times (FT) report. According to the FT report,
Western diplomats have said a Taliban advance on Islamabad threatened to bring
them close to the country's nuclear installations. They doubted the Taliban were
capable of overwhelming heavily protected facilities, it added. A senior Western
envoy in Islamabad said diplomats had been assured about the security in place
for the weapons systems and also their distance from Taliban-held territory. The
report said the Pakistani officials presented this as an action to satisfy the
West that its weapons would not fall into Taliban hands. "We have renewed our
pledge to keep our nuclear weapons safe," said an official. The briefings were
meant to be reassuring to the international community in regard to safety measures.
The Pakistan Army said this week it had halted the latest Taliban incursion in
Buner district of Malakand division, 100km north-west of Islamabad , after two
days of fighting. "We have successfully blocked Taliban advances and confined
them just to a pocket," said Interior Minister Rehman Malik. The report quoted
Western diplomats as saying the nuclear programme resides in a "ring-fenced" part
of the military under the command of a well-respected general and protected from
rogue elements within the army that might seek to capture a weapon. But although
security improvements have been made, Pakistan has still to comply with the high
levels recommended to it, it added.
India
conveys its concern to Pak about Taliban Top
targeting Sikhs in FATA
New
Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs has conveyed its concern to Islamabad
about the treatment and safety of minorities in Pakistan, after reports of Sikhs
being expelled and forced to pay 'Jaziya' by the Taliban. "On seeing reports about
Sikh families in Pakistan being driven out of their homes and being subject to
Jaziya and other such impositions, the Government of India has taken up the question
of treatment of minorities in Pakistan with the Government of Pakistan," a spokesperson
of the ministry said. Earlier, the Taliban had expelled at least 50 Sikh families
from the Orakzai Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) after
they failed to pay 'Jazia'. The Taliban had demanded 12 million rupees as protection
money from the Sikhs, who have living in the region from hundred of years, but
they could arrange only 6.7 million rupees. Later, it was reported that the extremists
occupied houses and shops of the Sikhs in Qasim Khel and Feroz Khel areas of the
Agency and auctioned their valuables for 0.8 million rupees, The Daily Times reports.
The Taliban had also demolished houses belonging to the Sikh community in the
region. The Taliban's Orakzai Agency chief Hakeemullah Mehsud ordered the demolition
of the houses after the Sikhs failed to meet a deadline fixed for delivering the
protection money. According to reports, many tribal families have started migrating
to different parts of Hangu and Kohat out of fear of the Taliban action.
New
Pension Scheme launched in India for all citizens Top
New Delhi: The New Pension Scheme (NPS) has
been launched on 'Labour Day' on Friday for all the citizens. This followed the
confirmation by the National Interim Pension Regulator of the scheduled launch
of the Mega Pension Plan from Friday. According to the Pension Fund Regulatory
and Development Authority (PFRDA), the necessary infrastructure for the roll out
of the NPS is now ready and it will be available to all the citizens. Under this
scheme, the Central Government employees who joined on or after January 1, 2004
are also covered under this. Besides the government employees, bank branches and
post offices will be used to collect contributions for all the citizens. Six pension
fund managers will plan schemes and manage funds. A central record-keeping agency
has also been appointed. All these institutions will be regulated by an independent
regulator, the PFRDA.
Varun
Gandhi's parole extended till May 14 Top
New
Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday extended the parole of Bharatiya Janata
Party leader Varun Gandhi till May 14. On April 16, the apex court had ordered
the release of Varun on parole for a period of two weeks after it received an
undertaking from him that he would not indulge in communally sensitive and hate
speeches. Varun was booked under the National Security Act (NSA) for an alleged
hate speech delivered in his parliamentary constituency of Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh
last month. Earlier, a lawyer representing him revealed that his client has given
an undertaking to the apex court that he will not make any more hate speeches,
raising prospects of his early release on bail from the Etah District Jail where
he had been lodged under the NSA Act. Varun had moved the apex court seeking relief
to allow him to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Pilibhit.
ADAG
officials given clean chit in key witness' death Top
in Ambani chopper case
Mumbai:
Three officials of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, who were interrogated in connection
with the death of Airworks technician Bharat Borge, have been given a clean chit
by Railway Police. These officials had met Borge at the Airworks hanger in Kalina
a day before he was found dead on the railway tracks on Tuesday. "We do not suspect
the role of these officers in influencing Borge (or) leading to his death. They
just casually met him and spoke to him," said Prakash Sawant, assistant commissioner
of police, Railway Police. Borge was a key witness in Ambani chopper sabotage
case. He was among the first persons to spot the open fuel cap of Ambani''s Bell-412
helicopter last Thursday and on inspection found pebbles and gravel inside, one
day before Ambani was scheduled to fly to Navi Mumbai. "In fact, the trio had
appreciated Borge after they came to know that he was the person to have discovered
pebbles and gravels in the fuel tank of helicopter," Sawant said. The ADAG officials
who were given clean chit are security officer and former DGP, K K Kashyap, retired
assistant commissioner of police Shailesh Kale and the company's aviation security
officer and Retired Wing Commander Sawla. The Anil Ambani Group has alleged that
business rivals may be behind an "attempt to murder" the industrialist by trying
to sabotage his helicopter. According to the sources, the letter recovered from
Borge said some "Reliance" people came to see him and questioned him before his
death. "We have verified with the Reliance employees that they met Borge briefly
after being introduced to him as the person who found the pebbles in the fuel
tank region of the helicopter," GRP Commissioner (Mumbai) A K Sharma said. "There
is no evidence so far to suggest any abetment to his death and even his phone
records of the day when he died, show nothing suspicious," Sharma added. The police
are also awaiting the report of the Forensic Science Laboratory on the viscera
of Borge. The preliminary post-mortem report had indicated he died of multiple
fractures and injuries sustained.
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