| Malegaon (Maharashtra), Sept. 9: There was grief, concern and anger at the police in Malegaon on Saturday, a day after three explosions killed 31 people, injured 297 and shattered the lives of the people of this communally-sensitive town. The police has divulged no clue yet to the identities of the persons who carried out the bomb explosions and, even 24 hours after the blasts, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The clues that a section of the police and Maharashtra deputy chief minister and home minister R.R. Patil are talking about appear to be the three seized bicycles on which the bombs are believed to have been planted. It was earlier reported that two bicycles had been seized. The bicycles were brand new and were bought in Malegaon.
The police is checking the purchases of these bicycles and hopes it will lead to the persons behind the blast. The police is also said to have sketches ready of the people most likely to have been involved in the blast, but there was no official confirmation of this. Nine people were detained by the police at about 7 am on Saturday. They were brought from Manmad, a railway junction, after having left Malegaon on Friday night.
This reporter, who was at the Azad Nagar police station, saw them in a corner and asked them who they were. They said they were fakirs and had come to Malegaon as they did every year at this time to beg for alms. Four of them are from Aurangabad, two from Tamil Nadu and the rest from Mumbai. There were seven men, one woman and one young girl.
One eyewitness to the bomb explosion at Bada Kabristan, Mr Rahil Ansari, a member of the town’s 30-member peace committee, said they had sought greater police protection almost a week ago but, despite that, there had been few policemen present at the mosque. “...The people here are very angry at the police. We had a meeting with top police officials on Sunday and had demanded police deployment at the place because about 1.5 lakh people come to Bada Kabristan at night and pray through the night.” Mr Ansari said, adding,
“They had promised us that they would provide enough security, but at the time of the blast there were hardly any police officials on the spot.” There were hundreds of people like Mr Ansari complaining about the lack of police security at the mosque. Four families who lost their sons have returned the cheques for Rs 50,000 distributed by Union home minister Shivraj Patil on Saturday.
They are Mr Shafiq Ahmed, who lost his son Shajid; Mr Shakeel Ahmed, who lost his son Shavas; Mr Salman Asif, whose son Ashan was killed in the blast; and Mr Masool Haroon, who lost his son Ansal. They told Mr Patil that this money was of no use to them and that he could use it to beef up security measures and for the welfare of those who are suffering. The curfew, meanwhile, was lifted on Saturday morning as no violence had occurred overnight after the blasts.
Inspector-general of police (Nashik range) P.K. Jain said, “The first two bomb blasts took place at around 1.50 pm at Bada Kabristan one after the other, and the third one was at Musharia Chowk on Friday afternoon. We are investigating the matter and have also received several leads in this case.” Mr Jain added, “As per the investigation we have learnt that a bomb was placed in the box attached to the cycle. We have found the two cycles and have taken samples of explosive materials from both. These samples have been sent to the forensic laboratories in Nashik and Mumbai. We are awaiting the reports.”
The police has also seized two boxes from the spot of the bomb blast at Bada Kabristan. Mr Jain said, “When we investigated them, we found there was nothing, but we now have seized both boxes.” A team of 10 senior police officials has arrived to investigate the bomb blasts. Many corpses are yet to be identified. Thousands of people had gathered on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat on Friday at the mosque and the graveyard to offer prayers for the dead. All the injured are being treated in hospitals in Malegaon and persons with serious injuries have been taken to Nashik, Dhule and Aurangabad.
Of the three bomb blasts, two took place near the madrasa Islamia Hameediya Masjid near the Bada Kabristan. It is a residential area in the heart of the city. This reporter saw gruesome reminders of the day before: bloodstains on the gate of the graveyard and six badly mangled bicycles, slippers, dupattas and foodgrains (to feed the beggars who come from all over the country for food and alms on this occasion) strewn about the place. The power box of the mosque has been also damaged. The police has cordoned the area so that these tell-tale remains are not touched. The third blast took place at Musharia Chowk in the main market of Malegaon.
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| Hyderabad, Sept. 9: Gods too are under threat from predatory land sharks, if one goes by the encroachment of temple lands in the State. It seems land grabbers are not afraid of divine wrath. Be it the fiery Varaha Laxmi Narasimhaswamy of Simhachalam or the serene Lord Ram in Bhadrachalam, all deities and their dwellings are fair game for them. Of the 4,20,028 acres of temple lands owned by the endowments department in Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Guntur, Kurnool, Warangal and Hyderabad, 60,843.47 acres are under illegal occupation and 24,349.66 acres are caught in litigations of various kinds. Major temples whose lands are under encroachment include Jagannadhaswamy Balaji Mutt in Ramayapatnam (54 acres), Dharmatopu temple in Tangutur (5.17 acres), Sri Ramalingeswaraswamy temple of Chimakurthy (2.05 acres), and Sri Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy temple in Peddadornala (13.41 acres). Apart from this, lands belonging to Nageswaraswamy temple in Tangutur, Sri Madana Gopalaswamy temple in Chirala and Sri Lakshmi Chennakeshavaswamy temple in Markapuram have also been encroached upon. Agriculture lands constitute 3,49,359 acres of the total endowments lands, while forest lands amount to 27,213 acres. Encroachment of endowment lands is highest in Warangal with 19,228.12 acres followed by Visakhapatnam with 14, 858.77 acres and Hyderabad with 12,122.85 acres. Not all encroachers are professional land grabbers. Some are poor Dalits who have built dwellings in these lands. But the majority consists of “invisible” bigwigs with political clout. The government has initiated action against several encroachers and has succeeded in removing them from endowment lands. But several have pre-empted the government by moving court. “We are trying our best to check encroachments in temple lands,” said endowments commissioner Dinesh Kumar. “But the properties are huge and staff strength is low.” The government also tried to regularise some of the lands, but the High Court recently put a stop to it and asked it to dispose of its lands through public auction if necessary. “But the fact remains that auction can be conducted only if the lands are free from encroachments,” pointed an endowments official. In East Godavari, about 6.37 acres of wet land and 585.17 acres of dry land owned by the endowments department is under unauthorised occupation or caught in legal disputes. Thanks to an HC stay on acquisition of endowments land, the Indiramma housing scheme for the poor has also come to a halt here. Meanwhile, endowments officials in Khammam are fighting a bitter battle to recover 1,835 acres of encroached lands including 906 acres belonging to the Sita Ramachandraswamy Temple at Bhadrachalam. Mr V.S.C.V. Subba Rao, assistant commissioner of endowments in Ongole, said that 135. 46 acres owned by the department was under illegal occupation. “We have filed cases against some encroachers,” he said. The scene is no better in Nellore. About 16.05 acres of wet land, 40.11 acres of dry land and 48.61 acres of non-agriculture land have been illegally occupied. Here, it is Dalits who are occupying most of the lands with the support of Left parties while lands in urban areas have been occupied by others including a former Telugu Desam councillor. In all, 928.23 acres belonging to Sri Kodandaramaswamy temple of Buchireddypalem has been under encroachment for decades. In Gudur, officials are unable to take action on a farming society which has failed to pay the lease for 60 acres of land belonging Sri Kodandaramanjaneya temple because of political pressure. Similar is the case with 8.55 acres of prime land adjacent to historic Sri Chengalaparameswari temple. The land belonging to Kasi Visweshwaraswamy temple in Vatembedu was also encroached upon by local people with the support of political leaders. Officials are unable to take any action both in Gudur and Sullurpet as they are not even allowed to take measurements of the land by the encroachers. In Vishakapatnam, of the 11,000 odd acres of Simhachalam estate, 4,000 acres are under encroachment. In Nizamabad, land sharks have swallowed 3,514 acres.
Recently, there was a huge controversy over relatives of panchayat raj minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy allegedly buying up lands belonging to the Sri Swamy Hatiramji Mutt. The minister denied that he had anything to do with it. |
Salur (Vizianagaram): Ch Lalitha, 35, mother of Chada Pancha Mukesh, who was ragged and sexually abused at Rajam on Thursday, ended her life by hanging here on Saturday, reports our correspondent. Salur police said Mukesh and his father Ch Eswara Rao went to Rajam in Srikakulam district in the morning to meet National Human Rights Commission secretary S. Chellappa who had come from New Delhi to inquire into the incident. When Mr Mukesh and Mr Eswara Rao returned home in the evening, they saw the body of Ms Lalitha Rao hanging from the ceiling fan. They informed the police who have begun investigations.
| Police for ‘train and hire’ policy | | |
| | Hyderabad, Sept. 9: With thousands of jobs being thrown open for the posts of constables and home guards, the City Police Department will be formalising its unique experimental “train and hire” programme in about two months. Once finished with the recruitment on the currently available jobs, the programme would be extended to training youth for security guards, a section of the employment market that has huge potential. According to informed sources 3,000 posts of constables and 2,000 posts of home guards will be up for grabs beginning this month. The ‘H and T’ programme was taken up about a year ago in the South Zone to encourage youth to join the police force. Later, the project was also extended to training candidates for CRPF and Air Force. So far, Mr Sandeep Shandilya, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South Zone, said four batches each averaging 120 persons have been cleared. “It is difficult to say how many of them were really recruited but we know that they were well-trained,” he said. City Police Commissioner A.K.Mohanty said that the programme would continue round the year with a few breaks. “It will be like an open-school with no time limit. We will allot time according to the talents of the candidates,” he said. Two Sub-Inspectors of Police and two constables are involved in training about 120 candidates in the South Zone, the Deputy Commissioner said. Mr Mohanty said that after South and West Zone, the training centres would be opened in three other zones later. |  |
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Row at public tap turns violent, 6 held | | |
| | Hyderabad, Sept. 9: The Madhapur police on Saturday chased a seven member-member gang who were fleeing in a Gypsy after attacking three persons with rods and injuring them seriously. Six of them were arrested and two iron rods, one licenced revolver, three boulders along with the vehicle (Gypsy-AP 9 5367) were seized from them. Madhapur Inspector S. Jairam told this correspondent that a copy of a land document in litigation at Miyapur was also found under the gang’s possession. “We cannot rule out at this point of time whether this gang is connected to land mafia in Ranga Reddy district,” Mr Jairam said. Giving the details of the incident, the inspector said the issue started near a public tap at Madhapur when two residents, Devender and Naveen, were collecting water from the tap. The seven-member gang who were on their way to a farm house in Hitec City stopped their vehicle at the public tap and removed the vessels of the two men placed under the tap. This resulted in heated argument between the two parties which soon turned violent. Two of the gang members took out iron rods from their vehicle and hit Devender and Naveen, both students, on their heads. Passers by who saw this, alerted the residents who rushed to the spot with boulders, sticks and iron rods. Seeing them, the seven-member gang started to flee but the mob broke the windshield of their vehicle. However, the gang managed to speed away but not before injuring another person, Anjaneyulu. However, the locals who ran after them came across Mr Jairam, who chased the vehicle and arrested the gang. The arrested were identified as S.K. Zaheer, Mohammed Jaleel, Hameed, Abdul Majeed, Syed Ghouse and Shammeullah, while Laiq Hussain is absconding. | |
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14,780 SCCL staff took VRS | | |
| | Hyderabad, Sept. 9: As many as 14,780 employees of the State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited have taken voluntary retirement in the last five years.This was disclosed by the outgoing chairman and managing director of SCCL, Mr R.H. Khwaja, here on Saturday. It may be recalled that the recommendation by the Implementation Secretariat to remove 20,000 employees from SCCL through VRS had created controversy recently. Interestingly enough, Mr Khwaja was on Friday posted as principal secretary in the public enterprises department and will take over as chairman of the Implementation Secretariat, which oversees reforms in the public sector. Mr Khwaja, however, said he had no knowledge of the blueprint prepared by the Implementation Secretariat to prune staff in the SCCL. “We have not sent any such proposal. But we have been implementing VRS every year. Another 2,000 employees will be offered VRS in the next couple of years,” he said. The implementation of VRS in SCCL was different from other public sector undertakings, since unions themselves had demanded it, he said. Staff strength, which was around 1.10 lakh in 2000, has now come down to 83,296. Employees above 40, who cannot work in deep mines, are seeking VRS. Mr Khwaja said that SCCL was going in for extensive modernisation by avoiding conventional mining methods. “In the next five years, we are planning to close down six mines and open 10 new mines to increase production by 11 million tonnes a year,” he said. Meanwhile, SCCL announced payment of special incentives to the tune of Rs 22.15 crore to its employees, which works up to 12 per cent of the company’s profits during 2005-06. On an average, each employee will get Rs 2,500 as a special bonus. This year, SCCL has recorded a profit of Rs 184.63 crore. | |
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No breaks in 7-hour supply | | |
| | Hyderabad, Sept. 9: Succumbing to pressures from farmers, the State government on Saturday announced seven hours of continuous power supply to agriculture sector, instead of the current practice of supply in spells of four hours and three hours. Farmers in most parts of the Telangana, Rayalaseema and south coastal Andhra have been agitating for adequate supply, as the irregular timings are causing a lot of hardships to them. They are unable to provide wettings to the full crop due to the short spells. There have been reports of farmers attacking electric sub-stations and staging dharnas. Minister for energy Mohd Ali Shabber told mediapersons that the government had realised the difficulties of farmers and instructed all the field engineers of Discoms to see that farmers got seven hours of power supply at a stretch, so that they could save their crops from withering. It would be implemented in rotation. — while farmers in one area would get seven hours of power supply in the morning, those in the other area would be getting during the evenings, he said. The minister admitted that there was a severe shortage of power, as there was a loss of power generation to the extent of 1,670 MW due to breakdown of NTPC units at Talcher, Simhadri and Ramagundam, besides VTPS and other stations. Inspite of that, the supply was 163.7 million units on September 8, as against 130.1 MU the corresponding day last year.
“Due to reduced availability, the loads in the State are being regulated through power cuts in the urban areas to the extent of two to three years, depending on the local situation,” he said. | |
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Ali takes up TRS gauntlet | | |
| | Hyderabad, Sept. 9: The Congress on Saturday accepted the challenge of Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K. Chandrasekhar Rao to seek a fresh mandate from the people on the Telangana plank. Speaking to mediapersons, Minister for information and public relations Mohd Ali Shabber told mediapersons that he was accepting the TRS challenge on behalf of the Congress. But he suggested a sample contest to test the respective strengths of the Congress and the TRS. “Why should all the MLAs and MPs resign? It would only result in a Constitutional crisis and development will come to a grinding halt. Instead, I am prepared to quit my Assembly membership from Kamareddy. Let senior TRS leader A. Narendra resign from his Medak Lok Sabha seat. I am making this offer, because my Assembly segment is part of Medak parliamentary constituency. Let us contest against each other and find out whether the people are supporting the Congress or the TRS,” he said. | |
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Robbery in ladies bogie | | |
| | Hyderabad, Sept. 9: Robbers struck in a ladies compartment of Secunderabad-Guntur passenger Train (Train No 405) between Rajapur and Gollapalli stations in Mahbubnagar district and made away with over 30 tolas of gold jewellery, 10 cell phones and cash besides baggage.
There was no Railway police escort in the compartment at that time. According to reports reaching at Railway Police Control Room at Hyderabad, unidentified robbers got into the compartment at Rajapur while the train was moving and told the women that they would shift to other compartment at the next station. However, after train crossed the Rajapur limits, the robbers brandished knives and terrorised women. At knife point, they asked them to remove the jewellery they were wearing, and also took away their purses and other baggage. In the process, they also beat up several women passengers on the compartment, it is learnt. Before the train reached Gollapalli station, the robbers brought the train to a halt by pulling the chain and fled. According to B. Guruprasad, constable on duty at Railway police control room, some passengers from other compartments informed about robbery from Gollapalli over their cellphones. The train had started from Secunderabad railway station at 5.15 pm. The incident happened between 8.30 pm and 9 pm. Later, the train arrived at Jadcherla. Though the halt time at this station is only two minutes, the passengers did not allow the train to move for one hour and four minutes. They were protesting the absence of police escort in the ladies compartment. When contacted, Railway Police DG Mr Kamal Kumar said he was yet to get the details of the incident. Likewise, Railway Police Mahbubnagar SP Mr K Srinivas Reddy, when contacted, said he was in Delhi, and asked this correspondent to contact other railway police officers. | |
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Courts in rural areas planned | | |
| | Hyderabad, Sept. 9: The Union government was contemplating setting up of rural courts in order to provide speedy justice to the rural folk, Union Minister for Law and Justice H.R. Bharadwaj said here on Saturday. He was speaking at a national initiative on “Development of State policy for Access to Jutice for Victims and Survivors of Trafficking and HIV/AIDS,” jointly organised by National Legal Services Authority, AP High Court, AP State Legal Services Authority and AP High Court Advocates Association at Ravindra Bharati. “If we fail in our efforts to keep public faith in the judicial system in tact, the people may opt for a private route in the settlement of disputes. We need to take justice to the doorstep of the common man,” Mr Bharadwaj said. | |
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City gets Fisheries Board | | |
| | Hyderabad, Sept. 9: The National Fisheries Development Board, which was inaugurated on Saturday, will boost pisciculture and aquaculture in the country. Several States had lobbied for it but Hyderabad was selected as Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of fish in the country. Besides, Hyderabad has several national research institutes. Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar formally opened the Board’s office at a function held at Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University here. He said Indian fisheries and aquaculture constitute 4.4 per cent of the global fish production and the sector contributes to 1.1 per cent of the GDP and 4.7 per cent of the agricultural GDP.
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YSR seeks Centre’s help for aqua farmers | | |
| | Hyderabad, Sept. 9: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy met Union agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar at a meeting with aqua farmers here on Saturday and sought the Centre’s help to solve the problems being faced by the aqua farmers. “We discussed the problems being faced by aqua farmers. The Union minister promised to look into their grievances and take suitable action,” the Chief Minister told this correspondent after the meeting. Asked if the Telangana issue figured in their discussion, the Chief Minister, who met Mr Pawar at a star hotel smiled, quipped “We discussed several issues. Nothing specific.” Mr Pawar, who hit headlines with his alleged links with stamp scam acussed Abdul Karim Telgi, kept away from the media during his day long stay in the city. Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh State Prawn Farmers’ Welfare Association submitted a memorandum to the Union agriculture minister on 10 problems and requested him to take necessary steps to bring aquaculture within the nomenclature of agriculture. Association honorary president and legislator V. Vasanta Kumar and president D. Radha Krishna Reddy also urged the Union minister to ensure that the National Fisheries Development Board acts as a single window for the entire fishing sector providing insurance and bank loans to aqua farmers, checking on feed, seed, probiotics and other ingredients and representation to aqua farmers from State in National Fisheries Board. | Renuka’s focus on women in police | | |
| | New Delhi, Sept. 9: Union women and child development minister Renuka Chowdhary is eyeing a paradigm shift in the police treatment of women. Ms Chowdhary has urged Union home minister Shivraj Patil for making wide-ranging and comprehensive changes in the home ministry to bring about the change in the police department in the approach and treatment of women. According to sources in the women and child development ministry, Ms Chowdhary called Mr Patil and urged upon the need for urgent reforms in the police and on the need for special training for policemen, with focus on gender sensitising. Ms Chowdhary is understood to have suggested a joint action plan for the women & child development ministry and the ministry of home affairs, which will detail the combined strategy and action points that can be taken to ensure a safe environment for women and children in the country. Ms Chowdhary also desired the review of cases of women prisoners languishing in jails without trial, as it was a crime to keep women in custody without trial. Either trial should expeditiously be conducted or in cases of petty crime, the women prisoners could be let off. A key suggestion involved the creation of more women’s police stations and pending setting of up of women’s thanas, she suggested creation of women’s desks in police stations. Ms Chowdhary also impressed upon the need for gender sensitising in police training, specially at the level of sub-inspectors and constables, as they interact with women at the ground level. A major problem women, especially in rural areas, face is the conduct of policemen towards a woman, who enters a police station to lodge a complaint. She suggested creation of women desks in police stations, which would help women overcome inhibition in approaching police stations to register FIRs. Another suggestion she made was setting up CCTVs in all police stations and linking the same to the sub-divisional headquarters, in order to monitor the conduct of the police. Another suggestion pertained to launching of campaigns to promote awareness among women on their legal rights, with the involvement of local NGOs, community leaders and panchayati raj members. What Renuka really wants * aradigm shift in the way police treats women and gender sensitising in police
* CCTVs in police stations to be linked to Sub-Divisions, to facilitate monitoring police behaviour towards women
* Raising presence of women in Central Para-Military Forces to 30 pc, from the present abysmally low level of 3-4 pc and starting of more Women’s Police Stations
* Creation of Women Desks in Police Stations, which would help women overcome inhibition in approaching police stations to register FIRs | |
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Senate must remove Title II: US think tank | | |
| | Washington, Sept. 9: The Senate should “strip” Title II of its version of a Bill on Indo-US civilian nuclear deal if it is seen as causing undue delay in implementing the pact, a leading American think tank has said. The title two of the US-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act (Bill 3709) deals with the additional protocol which Washington is signing with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The additional protocol, about which some US lawmakers have expressed caution citing national security, entails inspections and payments and perhaps a perceived interference in the fashion Americans would want to run their nuclear programmes. It is also seen as running the risk of jeopardising substantial part of the legislation. “Some senators are wary of passing the Title II legislation for national security reasons, but US nuclear facilities used for national security purposes are subject to a national security exclusion clause under the agreement because the US is a recognised weapons State under the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” the Heritage Foundation’s Lisa Curtis and Baker Spring said. “The national security exclusion clause should be broadened and made permanent through an amendment to Title II. As appropriate, it should name specific facilities and categories of facilities that are covered by the exclusion clause,” they said in a report. | |
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VVIP arrivals add to problems | | |
| | Roads were closed for 45 minutes for security By OUR CORRESPONDENT Malegaon, Sept. 9: First the people suffered due to the terror attack in Malegaon and now they are facing the huge problems due to the arrivals of the VVIP’s in the city. It is a VVIP routine people have seen several times after every blast or tragedy on the television channels. They are now experiencing it first hand. Mr Ahmed Khan who is a resident of Malegaon said, “The security was so tight that I could not go and meet my relative at Farana hospital which is situated at Dhule Road. I was told that Congress president Mrs Gandhi and home minister Shivraj Patil are going to come to meet the injured persons. Let them come we don’t oppose their coming, but they should understand that we are also human beings and we also have to go to meet our relatives who have been injured in the blast.” When Congress president Mrs Sonia Gandhi along with Mr Patil came to meet the injured at Farana hospital, the roads were closed for almost 45 minutes, for security reasons. Mr Amin Shiekh, who was coming to Malegaon to me-et his friend, said, “We were told to stop at the entrance of the city, saying that some ministers are going to come to meet the injured persons and then will go and see the spot where the bomb-blast took place. If they are crazy for their vote-banks, they should understand how people are suffering, but coming in a convoy of air-condition cars and safari suited security men and just meeting the injured is not their only duty.” Mr Shiekh further added that, “In fact they should think of how to catch the accused person who are creating the rift in the State.” Some of the relatives who got a chance to meet Mrs Gandhi said that giving Rs 1 lakh was not enough. They wanted jobs in government. The list of the VVIP’s on Saturday included Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, home minister, Mr Shivraj Patil, chief minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshumukh, deputy chief minister and home minister, R.R. Patil, and NCP ministers, Chhagan Bhujbal, Baba Siddiqui, and many more. | |
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Troubled town has a bloody history | | |
| | Malegaon, Sept. 9: Once a flourishing textile township, Malegaon has a history of blood-soaked riots that have left a trail of destruction. The town, with a population of nearly eight-lakh of which 75 per cent is Muslim, grew over the years mainly due to relocation of weavers’ community that migrated from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who are at loggerheads with the local, old Marathi converts to Islam known as the Deccani Muslims. Local politics had led to violence on several occasions and the town burned for five days in October 2001 when protests against the US action in Afghanistan by an ex-MLA triggered riots in which 15 people were killed. Several people lost their lives in the riots of 1984, considered as the worst-ever yet as also in 1992 when a procession by a local leader over the possible demolition of the Babri mosque triggered violence. | |
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Rs 1 lakh compensation for kin of dead | | |
| | New Delhi, Sept. 9: UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union home minister Shivraj Patil, minister of State for home Manikrao Gavit, senior Congress leader Mohsina Kidwai, home secretary V.K. Duggal and other senior officers paid a visit to Malegaon on Saturday, where nearly 40 people were killed and nearly twice as many injured in bomb blasts on Friday. Mr Patil announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 50,000 for those grievously injured and Rs 5,000 for those who escaped with minor injuries. This, Mr Patil said, was in addition and over and above the compensation announc-ed by the State government. Meanwhile, a team of the NSG bomb detection and disposal squad was busy picking splinters from the blast site to ascertain the nature of the explosives used in Malegaon. “Prima facie, it seems to be a low-intensity explosive with the possible use of ammonium nitrate,” a senior home ministry official said. Maharashtra and other State governments have been advised by the Centre to involve local leaders in maintaining peace and communal harmony. | |
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Why Maharashtra? No one sure | | |
| | Mumbai, Sept. 9: Why is Maharashtra being targeted by the terrorists, with bomb blasts, riots, RDX dumping, and a hub for sophisticated arms and ammunition? The State has gone through traumatic periods in Nashik, Malegaon, Bhiwandi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Manmad and Aurangabad. It is a question that is even perplexing seasoned intelligence sleuths, both serving and retired. Mr V. Balachandran, former special secretary, cabinet secretariat, government of India, said “There is still absolutely no convincing theory yet as to why terrorists are targeting Maharashtra. People are just groping in the dark. I have been studying this phenomenon since 7/11. I am a student of terrorism and have written and spoken a lot on the subject, but there is no theory. One is not able to understand why Maharashtra is being targeted. I have been talking to several intelligence officers and both serving and retired police officials and even they have drawn a blank.” This is scary he says, “as an anonymous enemy is more dangerous than a known enemy.” Mr Balachandran does not buy the common argument that the terrorists want to destroy Mumbai’s USP of being the country’s commercial capital. He says they have not been able to destroy Mumbai since 1993 when the first serial bomb blasts took place. | |
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South Africa leader to get olive saplings | | |
| | New Delhi, Sept. 9: Wild olive saplings are coming as a special gift from South Africa to commemorate the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha movement. While India is celebrating the centenary of this people’s movement against colonial rule, South Africa wants its presence in the celebrations to be felt in a very special way. The South African deputy president’s visit to India will begin on September 10, which will see both countries enhancing cooperation for increased market and trade access. Deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is bringing along with him around 100 wild olive saplings which will be planted at Rajghat, the serene resting place of the Father of the Nation, who had claimed South Africa as his second home. A clearance has been obtained for these saplings to be allowed entry into India by the department concerned. Coming as a mark of peace and goodwill, these saplings are likely to be planted in Rajghat on September 11, marking the beginning of Mahatma Gandhi and his followers’ movement. Special arrangements have been made in Rajghat for these saplings. Mahatma Gandhi is equally revered in South Africa for beginning a non-violent resistance movement that not only changed the socio-cultural structure of this African country but also helped in uprooting racial discrimination. | |
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Karunakaran’s party heads for a split | | |
| | Thiruvananthapuram, Sept. 9: Veteran leader K. Karunakaran’s Democratic Indira Congress has suffered a major jolt with Kerala Congress leader T.M. Jacob and his followers deciding to leave the party. Mr Jacob had disbanded his party, the Kerala Congress (Jacob), a year ago and had merged with the DIC with the hope that he would finally end up in the left democratic front. However, with the DIC losing majority of the seats it contested in the Assembly polls and with the opposition and the LDF keeping it at arm’s length, Mr Jacob and his followers had second thoughts. When DIC president K. Muraleedharan, son of Mr Karunakaran, issued a show cause notice to his close aide Johnny Nelloor recently, Mr Jacob got the opportunity he was waiting for. Talking to mediapersons here on Saturday, Mr Jacob and Mr Nelloor said that there was no inner-party democracy within the DIC. “We tried to adjust but it became too much,” said Mr Jacob. Though Mr Jacob left the Congress-led united democratic front after former chief minister Oommen Chandy denied him a cabinet berth, he is now willing to go back. “We will revive our party and cooperate with the UDF,” he added. Meanwhile, the DIC’s attempts to merge with the Nationalist Congress Party also suffered a setback with the move being criticised at the meeting of the left democratic front state committee held here on Saturday. The CPI-M apparently warned the NCP that they would not be able to bring Mr Karunakaran on board while continuing in the LDF. Mr Karunakaran, however, put on a brave face and said that Mr Jacob’s exit would not harm his party. “I trusted him and that was my mistake,” Mr Karunakaran said. “His decisions will have no impact in Kerala politics,” he added. | |
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Jharkhand MLAs in Kerala | | |
| | Ranchi, Sept. 9: Ahead of a show of strength in the Jharkhand assembly on September 14, a section of UPA MLAs and dissident legislators are holed up in a Kerala resort, apparently to keep them away from “crisis managers” out to save the NDA government led by Chief Minister Arjun Munda. “We are here in the south, enjoying ‘god’s own country,” RJD MLA Girinath Singh told PTI on phone, obviously disclosing the team’s whereabouts. Asked, he said, “Itna hi saamjhie. Hum log yehan ka hara-bhara prakriti ka anand le rahein hein (I can just tell you that we are enjoying the natural beauty here).” | |
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