News accross India , Month of June

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ot-day-ahead-in-Delhi/articleshow/6031300.cms

Mercury to climb up, hot day ahead in Delhi
IANS, Jun 10, 2010, 10.57am IST

NEW DELHI: Clear skies and a rising mercury level paved the way for a hot day in the capital Thursday.

According to the met department, while the minimum temperature was below average, the maximum temperature will be higher than the day before.

"The minimum temperature recorded this morning was three degrees below average at 25.4 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 38 degrees," an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The humidity level was recorded at 54 percent.

On Wednesday, the minimum and maximum temperatures were recorded at 22.2 and 36.3 degrees Celsius respectively.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...t-Ngr-houses-flooded-/articleshow/6039290.cms

Day after pipeline burst, Lajpat Ngr houses flooded
Indrani Basu, TNN, Jun 12, 2010, 03.22am IST

NEW DELHI: A day after a water pipeline-burst caused flooding in areas around Moolchand Crossing, the dirty water entered some of the houses in Lajpat Nagar-III on the Link Road on Friday.

Lok Mani, a Lajpat Nagar resident, complained: ''The water gushed into our driveway. We had to place bricks to stop it from entering our drawing rooms. This continued all night. The filthy water containing drainwater dried up only in the afternoon.''

The litany of woes didn't there. ''The water level had started decreasing after 10 in the night. But in the morning, it suddenly started again,'' said security guard Manoj Pandey. Some residents blamed it on the continuing construction work in the area. ''Water has started leaking from these pipes after the line was shifted due to the Delhi Metro construction. Even though the DJB fixed the water pipe only a few months ago, the leakage did not stop completely. It didn't restore the road to its original condition and it was only recently that the DJB cemented it again, after over six months,'' said resident Trupti Ajmera.

When contacted, DJB officials said that flooding was due to the deficient drainage system. ''We have fixed the crack in the pipeline. The flooding of the houses is because of the drains not functioning properly. During the monsoon, it will get worse. The drains need to be spruced up,'' said a DJB official.

However, senior Public Works Department official Dinesh Kumar said: ''The drains in Lajpat Nagar area are working fine." The problem had started with the leakage that started around 11 am on Wednesday morning. ''A crack, 2feet-long, developed longitudinally in the water supply pipe due to water pressure. We were here within 10 minutes and have been fixing it ever since. We stopped the water supply while the repair work was going on but now we are switching it back on,'' said a worker fixing the burst pipeline.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...arks-yields-111-acres/articleshow/6039473.cms

Crackdown on land sharks yields 111 acres
TNN, Jun 12, 2010, 03.27am IST

NEW DELHI: In a crackdown on land sharks grabbing agriculture land, Delhi government's revenue department, in the last one week, claims to have wrested back 111 acres of land in the southwest and northwest districts. Demolitions will continue and directions have been issued to file FIRs against violators.

The department has adopted a zero tolerance policy against any further construction. Government action comes in the backdrop of the Narela land scam involving largescale unauthorised construction that was unravelled by the Anti Corruption Branch recently. ACB teams have been combing the city's revenue districts to look for unauthorized constructions on agricultural land.

The Delhi cabinet had decided on Monday to take strict action against unauthorized construction in new colonies coming up on agricultural land and any extension of the 1,639 unauthorized colonies which are being considered for regularization. "The cabinet has taken a serious view of unauthorized construction which is bound to damage planned growth of the city apart from creating hindrance in providing basic amenities," a statement from the CM office said.

Orders have been issued to continue with demolitions in places where unauthorised constructions are found. Soon the reclaimed land will be restored to the gram sabha and fenced, a senior official said.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...by-Jaipur-businessman/articleshow/6039481.cms

Model alleges rape by Jaipur businessman
TNN, Jun 12, 2010, 03.29am IST

NEW DELHI: A 22-year-old Gujarat-based model has alleged that she was raped by a music album financier inside a leading hotel in Greater Kailash in Delhi. The model, who has worked in several private albums, had struck a friendship with the album financier in the past one year.

Police said the accused financier, who is a native of Jaipur, is on the run. ''We have sent a team to Jaipur in order to nab the accused,'' said a senior southeast district police officer. They added that a rape case was registered after the victim approached the National Commission for Women (NCW) after she learnt that the financier was married and had two children.

According to reports, NCW initially even wrote a letter to SSP Jaipur to lodge an FIR but the case was later transferred to Delhi police as she had alleged that she was raped inside a hotel in south Delhi.
According to cops, the financier came to Delhi in December and befriended the model. ''The model who stays presently at S Block in Greater Kailash has claimed that the accused wanted to make an album with her but later dropped the project. The accused even took the victim to Jaipur and proposed marriage to her. Then, he allegedly used several pretexts to develop a physical relationship with her in Ambala and Delhi,'' said an officer.

In another incident, a 16-year-old girl was raped by her neighbour in Amar Colony. The girl approached the police on Thursday, five days after the incident. ''The girl had come from Punjab to meet her uncle. She was sleeping in her room when her neighbour Jitender woke her up to say her uncle was calling her. She went downstairs from her first floor room only to find both of them sleeping. While returning, Jitender raped her. The girl went back to Punjab the next day and narrated the incident to her parents. The parents then came to Delhi and registered a case,'' said a police officer.

[email protected]

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Delhi/3-held-for-girls-rape-murder/articleshow/6039487.cms

3 held for girl's rape, murder
TNN, Jun 12, 2010, 03.30am IST

NEW DELHI: More than two years after a 10-year-old girl was kidnapped, gangraped and murdered by three men from Tilak Marg, the south district police arrested the trio on Thursday.

Main accused Arif (23) was first arrested from outer Delhi. His interrogation led to the arrest of the other two identified as Riyasat Ali (23) and Hasrat (23). They confessed to the crime. The 10-year-old victim was kidnapped on February 19, 2008.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...d-inside-Blueline-bus/articleshow/6039287.cms

Doc thrashed, robbed inside Blueline bus
Vineet Gill, TNN, Jun 12, 2010, 03.19am IST

NEW DELHI: A 29-year-old doctor, who recently came from Chandigarh to the capital, was allegedly beaten up a gang of robbers inside a Blueline bus near Chandni Chowk on Friday morning. The victim, Siddalingaiah, was travelling in the bus plying on route no. 753 when he was thrashed by the robbers who took away his valuables and mobile phone.

Speaking to TOI, Siddalingaiah said, ''I took the bus from Kashmere Gate ISBT and was on my way to Rajendra Nagar. Around 6am, the bus stopped near the Red Fort area, and a few men entered it. Seeing this, couple of passengers in the bus got up and got into a heated argument with these men,'' said Siddalingaiah, who was in the city to appear for the IAS examination. ''Later two of them started abusing passengers."

Siddalingaiah was slapped and punched in the head before his cellphone was snatched from him by one of the goons. ''There were about 8-10 people in the bus and nobody said a word. Many had their stuff taken away from them, and a lot of them were roughed up. When the robbery was in taking place, the driver and the conductor were not in the bus,'' he said.

''The police said they have registered a case of theft and the investigations are on. We will question the driver and the conductor of the bus," said a senior police officer.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-same-gotra-marriages/articleshow/6039270.cms

Panchayat diktat against same-gotra marriages
Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN, Jun 12, 2010, 03.15am IST

GHAZIABAD: Days after prominent Haryana leaders claimed that same gotra marriages were illegal, several Ghaziabad panchayatas have followed suit. In fact, they have gone a step ahead saying ''all efforts will be made to separate the husband and wife if they belong to the same gotra''.

In response, the Ghaziabad police said: ''Despite the public outcry over the diktat issued by them, we will not get into any confrontation with them. We will, however, not let anyone take the law in their hands. We will deal with each case as and when the complaints come. We will provide security to anyone who approaches us,''said SSP (Ghaziabad) Raghuvir Lal.

The new declaration came after over 100 village panchayat members met at Garh Mukteswar on Thursday. The next and final mahapanchayat of the Jat and Gujjar communities will be held at Muradnagar near Ghaziabad on Sunday to decide on a ''future course of action".

''We decided that same gotra marriages will not be tolerated at any cost and couples will be separated forcibly if they marry against the wishes of society,'' said Akhilesh Kumar, who attended Thursday's mahapanchyat.

The mahapanchayat was headed by Bhartiya Kishan Union leader Dinesh Kumar and was presided over by Neeraj Kumar. The khap panchayat also demanded that government amends the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, to make marriages between same gotra illegal.
Khap panchayats have been facing flak for denouncing same gotra marriages. Though not common in western UP, several cases of same clan marriages have been reported in the rural areas of Ghaziabad and Greater Noida in the past three months.

On May 14, a khap panchayat had issued a death threat to a couple from Greater Noida, who later married under police protection.

[email protected]

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-Muslims-as-Gujaratis/articleshow/6039155.cms

Modi ad passes off UP Muslims as Gujaratis
Amit Arora, TNN, Jun 12, 2010, 01.40am IST

GANDHINAGAR: There is a controversy brewing over one of the pictures used in these full-page advertisements issued in Bihar dailies to project a Muslim-friendly image of chief minister Narendra Modi in Bihar before his visit to Patna for attending BJP national executive meeting.

A news website has claimed the copyright of the picture of young girls working on computers saying that it was of Muslim students in Azamgarh in UP and not Gujarat. The website claims that it was clicked by their photographer in UP for use with a story titled, "Muslim girls in Azamgarh getting higher education, giving tough fight to boys." The website has put up a large picture, which it claims to be the original one and is identical to the one used in the ad. What's more, the website has embedded a link of the earlier story published on November 24, 2008, to substantiate its claim.

"As the ad is about Muslims' progress in Gujarat one can expect the pictures are also from the state... Neither the girls are Gujarati, nor the picture was shot in Gujarat. In fact, it is a picture of Azamgarh's Shibli College girls attending a computer class in the college campus...," says the website.

There were three pictures published in the ads. One is of chief minister Modi being greeted and garlanded by Muslims, another of children studying religious books at a madrasa and third one of three burqa-clad young girls working on computers. It is this third picture, whose origin is being contested.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...r-corporal-punishment/articleshow/6039693.cms

Now, a watchdog for corporal punishment
TNN, Jun 12, 2010, 05.16am IST

KOLKATA: The storm over alleged corporal punishment at La Martiniere for Boys has has forced the state government to take notice. On Friday, it decided to set up a committee with sweeping powers to investigate child abuse and punishment in government and private schools, even those run by minority institutions, such as La Marts.

As things stand now, the state government cannot take action against the school for the suicide of Class VIII student Rouvanjit Rawla, who was allegedly caned and humiliated so badly that he killed himself. La Marts for Boys principal Sunirmal Chakravarthy — who has reportedly confessed to caning Rouvanjit — is the focus of multiple inquiries by the police, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions. Five teachers are also named in the FIR filed by Rouvanjit's father Ajay Rawla.

On Friday, state school education minister Partho De said at a press conference corporal punishment was unlawful in Bengal but the state did not have direct control over private schools. "In case of schools like La Martiniere, the state government's role is restricted to giving no objection certificates when it is set up and when it chooses a board for affiliation. However, corporal punishment is banned in the state. The accused have committed a criminal offence. We have decided to form a committee that will act as the government's eyes and ears in such matters and its purview will extend to all schools of the state," De said.

After remaining silent for nearly a month, La Marts for Boys issued a press release on Friday, denying responsibility for Rouvanjit's death. "We deeply regret the loss of a young life. Attempts being made to hold the school entirely responsible are certainly misplaced. There are times when children need to be corrected and helped," said the statement.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...h-corporal-punishment/articleshow/6038268.cms

Rouvanjit case: WB govt to take steps to deal with corporal punishment
PTI, Jun 11, 2010, 08.26pm IST

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government on Friday said it plans to set up an authority to deal with the issue of corporal punishment to students following an outcry over the alleged caning of a city school student that led him to commit suicide.

Speaking on the controversy surrounding the suicide by Class VIII student Rouvanjit Rawla of the La Martiniere for Boys School in February, state school education minister Partha De said that there should be an appropriate body under the Right to Education Act to deal with such cases.

The minister, however, did not specify any time frame for setting up the body, saying "we plan to set up the authority soon".

Describing the episode as very "unfortunate", De said, "There cannot be a minority right on punishing children. There should be a general rule for all education institutions."

The school is under the management of the Church of North India.

He said that the school education department has informed all education boards that corporal punishment to students is an offence.

"Such incidents create fear psychosis among children and the problem should be addressed properly," he said.

Rawla had allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his home after being caned by the school principal on February 12 for indiscipline, according to a complaint lodged by the father of the child.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Kolkata-/Ananda-Marga-meet-/articleshow/6039744.cms

Ananda Marga meet
TNN, Jun 12, 2010, 05.44am IST

KOLKATA: The Ananda Marga Pracharak Samgha organised a three-day "Ananda Purnima Dharma Mahasammelan" at Ananda Nagar in Purulia. More than 5,000 devotees from various states, including Orissa, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and various other parts of the country, participated. Acharya Sarveshvarananda Avadhuta, who is the Margaguru representative, delivered spiritual and social discourses during the sammelan.

The society has also taken up various social service projects like the opening of 10 primary schools, digging two ponds and other social service projects around Ananda nangar. Clothes and food was also distributed among the needy at the sammelan.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ng-from-tree-thrashed/articleshow/6039274.cms

73-year-old hung from tree, thrashed
TNN, Jun 12, 2010, 03.12am IST

JAIPUR: For Jagdev, 73, it was police at their worst: three cops of Saipau police station in Dhoulpur tied and hung him to a tree inside the police station while interrogating him about a theft on Thursday. When the man's wife pleaded with cops to get her husband down from the tree, they threatened to hang her as well. The cops then brutally assaulted the victim in full public view.

SP (Dholpur) Surendra Kumar while ordering an inquiry suspended SHO Rajendra Kaviya, ASI Chaman Lal and constable Gajendra. Additional SP Kishorilal Meena will investigate the matter and file a preliminary report within three days. IG, human rights, Sriniwas Rao Janga will visit the police station to take stock of the situation.

"It was an inhuman act for which the three policemen have been suspended. Further action will be taken on the basis of the investigation," Kumar said. According to police, Jagdev was involved in a burglary case in which Rs 1.5 lakh were stolen from a motor-parts shop in Dausa on March 27. The police also claimed to have found a stolen mobile phone from Jagdev.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-murder-no-case-filed/articleshow/6034683.cms

Cong MLA accused of servant's murder, no case filed
TNN, Jun 11, 2010, 05.03am IST

JAIPUR: A domestic help succumbed to burns in Jodhpur hospital, where he was admitted after Congress MLA from Chohtan, Padmaram Neghwal, allegedly slapped him and he fell into a huge pan which contained steaming tea. The police said that the post-mortem report confirmed death due to shock and burns. However, the MLA has gone "scotfree" as no case has been registered. To make things murkier, the MLA did not even inform the police about the death.

According to reports, preparations were on for the marriage of the MLA's daughter. A grand ceremony was organised at Fagalia village in Barmer on June 7. During the ceremony, delay in serving tea annoyed MLA. When domestic help, Nagji Ram (20), brought tea, he was allegedly slapped by Meghwal so hard that fell into the huge vessel which contained the brew.

However, Meghwal claimed that when the incident occured (near the kitchen), he was at the entrance to welcome guests.

He claimed Nagji suffered an epileptic fit after which he was sent back home. However, after some time he returned to the venue. "I was not even aware of the incident. In fact when I came to know of the incident, I sent Nagji to Chohtan hospital in my car," he said.

He also said he was referred to Sanchore government hospital in Jalore but the authorities there referred him to Jodhpur Hospital. While undergoing treatment at the hospital in Jodhpur, Nagji succumbed to his injuries late on Wednesday night. Meghwal said his political rivals spread this rumour to tarnish his image.

SP Barmer, Santosh Kumar Chalke, said that victim's sister was present at the spot but she did not confirm the incident. The victim's father confirmed that Nagji suffered from epilepsy and often had attacks. His family members have not complained against the MLA.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...unjhunu-bank-loot-bid/articleshow/6030593.cms

Constable, robber killed in Jhunjhunu bank loot bid
TNN, Jun 10, 2010, 05.31am IST

JAIPUR: A police constable and a robber were killed and two villagers sustained injuries in an encounter with police after a group of armed men looted Rs 4.13 lakh from the Bank of Baroda branch in Baloda village in Jhunjhunu district on Wednesday.

Later the police managed to catch all the four robbers with the help of villagers and recovered the cash from them. Two of the robbers, who sustained injuries in the exchange of fire, were referred to Jhunjhunu hospital where one of them succumbed to injuries.

According to sources, four armed men barged into the Bank of Baroda branch in Baloda village around 11.40 am and snatched Rs 4.13 lakh from the cashier.

After the robbers escaped, Jhunjhunu police, who got information that they have fled towards Haryana, sealed all the entry and exit points of the district.

A constable, Chandrabhan of Surajgarh police station, who had gone to Kajala village, got information about the loot and he blocked the highway with the help of villagers. As the miscreants approached the barricade, one of them fired on Chandrabhan. The bullet hit him on the chest and he died on the spot. However, the villagers chased the miscreants and caught one of them.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...tribunals-for-elderly/articleshow/6034672.cms

State govt to set up maintenance tribunals for elderly
TNN, Jun 11, 2010, 05.11am IST

JAIPUR: In a first of its kind step in Rajasthan to ensure the welfare of senior citizens, the state government on Thursday okayed setting up of maintenance tribunals at block and district levels to address the greivances of the elderly on a priority basis. These tribunals will be established under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.

As per the new rules, which were approved by the cabinet on Thursday, the block level tribunals would be headed by the respective sub-divisional offices. "Any senior citizen or parents who are being ill-treated by their children may approach the tribunal. The tribunal will ensure that their grievances are resolved,'' said chief minister Ashok Gehlot after the cabinet meeting. If a tribunal finds the complaint of a senior citizen against children or relatives as genuine, it is authorised to order a monthly maintenance amount up to a maximum of Rs 10,000 per month, to be provided by the accused. This maintenance includes the provision for proper food, shelter, clothing and medical treatment. No legal practitioner is permitted to represent either of the parties.

Gehlot said that if the accused do not pay the money, the tribunal can sentence them to jail for three months, a fine of Rs 5,000 or both. The order of the block level tribunal can be challenged at the district appellate tribunals. However, the district level tribunal's order would stand final and cannot be challenged in any civil courts.

A childless senior citizen who is sixty years and above can also claim maintenance from relatives who are in possession of or are likely to inherit their property. In case a senior citizen has already willed his or her property in the name of someone, the tribunal has been given the power to cancel the transfer of property. The government also gave its clearance for construction of old-age homes in all districts.

Meanwhile, acknowledging the courage of Chandrabhan of Surajgarh police station, who died trying to stop the four robbers who had looted a bank in Jhunjhunu on Wednesday, the state cabinet decided to provide his family with facilities similar to the martyrs of Kargil war. This includes medical facilities for the family, educational scholarships for his children, a flat for the kin and a school to be named after him. "Chandrabhan was not even on duty but after he was contacted and informed that the robbers were moving in his direction, he laid down his life trying to nab them. His family will get all the benefits which are included in the Kargil package,'' said Gehlot.

The cabinet on Thursday restricted the entry of construction material in Mt Abu, where the Supreme Court had banned any sort of construction activities. The cabinet in its meeting decided to withdraw the powers of the Mt Abu Nagarpalika with regard to any construction, which would now be monitored by a new state-level committee.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Meira-allotted-2-bungalows/articleshow/6039260.cms

Meira allotted 2 bungalows?
TNN, Jun 12, 2010, 03.00am IST

NEW DELHI: Conflicting replies from the government relating to the 6 Krishna Menon Marg bungalow has deepened the mystery around the house. Two departments of the urban development ministry seem to have contrasting views on the issue with the Directorate of Estates saying the bungalow, which was allotted to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar during her tenure as a minister in UPA-1, is yet to be allotted to someone, while CPWD has said that it is still in the name of the Speaker.

Kumar was allotted another bungalow at 20 Akbar Road after she was elected Lok Sabha Speaker last year.

Replying to an RTI query by S C Agrawal, CPWD on June 3 said, "As per office records, bungalow number 6 Krishna Menon Marg is in the name of Meira Kumar." Earlier, J P Rath, deputy director of estates, had said that the bungalow "is yet to be allotted".

According to allotment rules, a MP cannot be allotted two bungalows at the same time. "I appeal that reply to the query may be made clear especially because Meira Kumar has since been allotted another bungalow in her capacity as Speaker of Lok Sabha, and a person cannot be entitled simultaneously for two government bungalows," Agrawal said in his appeal before CPWD.

The bungalow, where Kumar's father and former deputy prime minister Babu Jagjivan Ram had lived for nearly four decades, has remained with the family even after his death in 1986 except for a brief period.

After his death, there were efforts to convert the bungalow into a memorial which could not materialise because of the government's policy against letting houses owned by it to be converted into memorials.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-on-alleged-stripping/articleshow/6033656.cms

NCW asks police for report on alleged stripping
TNN, Jun 11, 2010, 02.14am IST

NEW DELHI: National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken cognisance of a TOI report saying a 30-year-old woman was allegedly forced to strip in the presence of her minor son at a west Delhi police station.

Expressing shock, NCW chairperson Girija Vyas said she had written to Delhi Police asking for a report in the matter by June 17. The commission has set up an inquiry committee under Wansuk Syiem.

The inquiry committee will look into the circumstances leading to the incident and the action taken by the authorities, the commission said in a statement.

The committee is expected to meet the officers concerned, the victim and her relatives to ascertain the facts and circumstances. It has also been tasked with recommending remedial measures and strategies to punish and prevent recurrence of such incidents.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...rl-whos-Gujarats-face/articleshow/6042314.cms

Sick joke, says UP girl who's Gujarat's 'face'
Manjari Mishra, Jun 13, 2010, 03.27am IST

LUCKNOW: "This is the sickest joke I've heard in 20 years of my life," says Shahla Muzaffar when she finds out she has unwittingly become the new brand ambassador for the Gujarat government led by Narendra Modi.

In Aligarh for her PG entrance test, this graduate of Azamgarh's Shibli National College — one of India's largest minority institutions – wants an unconditional apology. Without knowing it, Muzaffar helped sell the 'secular Narendra Modi Sarkar' in the run-up to the BJP's national executive meeting in Patna.

"Modi's rukh (attitude) towards minorities is well-known and hardly needs elaboration," Shahla told TOI on Saturday, adding that the fake advertisement only goes to prove the level of insincerity and callousness. She regrets becoming a pawn in Modi's promotional strategy.

The photograph of her and two coursemates, Fauzia Zarin and Fareen Mehmood, appeared in the state government's full-page advertisement claiming that minorities in Gujarat have better educational employment opportunities, more financial stability, health facilities and infrastructure than anywhere else. The ad appeared in Patna newspapers a day ahead of Modi's visit.

Gujarat information commissioner V Thirupugazh defended the ad saying the photograph was symbolic. "Nowhere do we claim that that the photographs are from Gujarat." He claimed the government had no idea what photographs the ad agency was going to use but sources close to Modi said the CM usually takes a look at relevant propaganda material before it is published.

Shahla posed for the photograph for a foreign magazine two years ago. "The interviewer wanted to play up the empowered image of Muslim girls and we happily cooperated." Little did she friends realize the episode would turn intoa "ghatiya mazaaq" (poor joke).

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...to-snap-ties-with-BJP/articleshow/6042228.cms

Lalu dares Nitish to snap ties with BJP
TNN, Jun 13, 2010, 02.32am IST

PATNA: RJD chief Lalu Prasad has dared CM Nitish Kumar to snap ties with the BJP.Reacting to remarks made by Nitish with regard to an advertisement appearing in local vernacular dailies showing him holding the hand of Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, Lalu on Saturday remarked, "The question is not how the advertisement was published or who did it.

Nitish Kumar gave his right hand to Narendra Modi as a show of solidarity and unity and so did JD(U) president Sharad Yadav." Lalu alleged that Nitish was trying to fool the people by declaring that he would take legal action against the advertiser.

"If Nitish Kumar is honest and secular, he should snap ties with the BJP. He should either break relations with the BJP or merge his party with it," Lalu remarked.

Reacting to Nitish's statement threatening to return the money given by the Gujarat government for the relief of victims of Kosi deluge, Lalu recalled that several states have donated funds for the victims of the Kosi deluge. "I was railway minister and donated Rs 43 crore raised from the donation of railway employees. When there was an earthquake in Surat, it was my government in Bihar, which gave Rs 10 crore as relief to the Gujarat government. If the Gujarat government has donated money for the victims of Kosi deluge, it did not do Bihar any favour," Lalu said.

Lalu described Nitish as the 'host' of the BJP meet. "There is nothing he (Nitish) can do because his government depends on communal forces," he remarked.

"Nitish Kumar used to say that he would not share dais with Narendra Modi. Why did he not run away from the dais?" Lalu said. "Why did they put up the poster of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He is sick," Lalu said and added he respects Vajpayee.

State Congress president Mehboob Ali Qaiser on Saturday said that the true face of Nitish has been exposed by the advertisement.

He said that it seems that Nitish through the advertisement is teasing the members of minority community.
Regarding decisions taken at the BJP national executive meeting, Qaiser said the BJP leaders should ask the state government why it has not taken any action against the black marketeers in Bihar.

Meanwhile, the activists of Muslim United Front on Saturday staged a Black March in the city to protest Modi's visit here to participate in the BJP meeting.

The front activists raised slogans against Modi and demanded Nitish's resignation for shaking hands with him.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...or-stealing-cellphone/articleshow/6042237.cms

Dalit lynched for 'stealing' cellphone
TNN, Jun 13, 2010, 02.40am IST

SASARAM: A man was lynched at Torana village under Sheosagar police station of Rohtas district on Saturday allegedly for stealing a cellphone, said police. This is the tenth incident of lynching of a Dalit-Adivasi in Rohtas and Kaimur districts over the past two years.

Sources said Buchan Musahar of Mojari village under Sheosagar PS went to Torana village to catch rats. While drinking water from a hand pump after finishing his job, villagers gathered there and started thrashing him allegedly for stealing a mobile phone. Though he repeatedly kept on denying the charge, the mob kept on beating him up. Later, his body was dumped before the house of a chowkidar. Even after two hours, police failed to reach the spot.

The spurt in the lynching of Dalits, accusing them of being thieves, has raised a question mark on the functioning of the police. In fact, this has been going on for sometime now. On August 6, 2009, five Dalits, alleged to be thieves, were stoned to death by the people of Kudra village in Kaimur district.