News accross India , Month of June

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...nority-in-Rajya-Sabha/articleshow/6061350.cms

Cong wins 3, remains in minority in Rajya Sabha
TNN, Jun 18, 2010, 06.38am IST

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha elections in five states saw Congress win just three seats out of 17, which keeps the party in a minority with a total of 74 MPs in 250-member Upper House. While Congress won two of these in Rajasthan, with Union commerce minister Anand Sharma winning along with Ashk Ali Tak, the only other win it registered was in Karnataka, where Oscar Fernandes got elected for the third consecutive term.

For the BJP, the 'Raajneetik' drama had no anti-climax, with BJP's Ram Jethmalani and VP Singh both winning, with BJP actually strengthening its position by winning over four more MLAs to its side. Sharma and Tak got 51 first preference votes each while Santosh Bagrodia had to contend with just 11 first preference votes. The BJP, on the other hand, managed to get 82 valid votes, sharing 41 first preference votes each for VP Singh and Ram Jethmalani. Two BJP votes were declared invalid.

In Bihar, the biennial elections for the Upper House exposed fissures in almost all the parties and saw the victory of LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudi of BJP, JD(U)'s RCP Singh and Upendra Kushwaha and RJD's Ram Kripal Yadav. Bangalore-based entrepreneur B G Uday, who created ripples by joining the fray as an Independent candidate and necessitated the polling, could fetch votes of only two Independent MLAs as against 38 required for a win.

Cross-voting hit most of the parties with at least ten legislators, including all the five of BSP, two of RJD, one each of BJP and Congress and the lone member of NCP, voting for candidates other than their parties'. Of the five winners, three are making their debut in the Rajya Sabha. They include Paswan, who had been a member of the Lok Sabha for eight terms. Kushwaha and Singh have never been an MP.

Business tycoon Vijay Mallya began his second innings as a Rajya Sabha MP by winning as an independent from Karnataka: his victory also reviving the compact between two foes BJP and JD(S) to keep the Congress out.

Backed by ex-PM H D Deve Gowda's JD(S), Mallya who was to have a razor's edge contest with Congress' T V Maruthi, landed a bonanza with the ruling party allotting all its 120 second preference votes to him resulting in his defeating Maruthi by 59 votes. Of its total 121 votes, the BJP had allotted 61 first preference votes to Naidu and 60 to Manjunath. Former minister Haratal Halappa, who is imprisoned, did not vote. Oscar Fernandes polled 50 of the total 74 votes the Congress had, while Maruthi failed to make with the 23 allotted to him.

From Jharkhand, Chandigarh-based business tycoon KD Singh and local liquor baron Dheeraj Prasad Sahu were elected, while BJP's Ajay Maroo lost. Orissa, on the other hand, saw ruling BJD taste yet another spectacular electoral success, winning all three seats on offer.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...rape-capital-Minister/articleshow/6059108.cms

Goa is not India's rape capital: Minister
PTI, Jun 17, 2010, 04.50pm IST

PANAJI: Goa's tourism minister Nilkant Halarnkar on Thursday said it would take time to stop rave parties, notorious for drug abuse, in the tourist-favoured coastal belt of the state.

"Practically, it is not feasible to crack down on them at once. It is to be done over a period of time," Halarnkar told reporters.

The NCP legislator, inducted into the cabinet after former Tourism Minister Fransisco Mickey Pacheco stepped down, said the state Home Department should take action in this regard.

Halarnkar said his priority would be to attract more tourists in the state.

"I do not believe that Goa is India's rape capital. I want to assure tourists that they are safe here. They can come and peacefully enjoy their vacation," he said.

Former Tourism Minister Pacheco during his tenure had raised fears that the state is turning into India's rape capital after a spate of crimes against foreigners were reported.

Goa is well-equipped to protect visitors, the newly- inducted minister said.

"New tourism security force will be in place soon, which will increase patrolling on the beaches," Halarnkar said, adding the schemes implemented by his predecessor would continue.

"Government is a continuous process. The decisions once taken cannot be changed if minister changes," he said.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-artificially-ripened/articleshow/6056991.cms

3 Vasco godowns raided, fruits found artificially ripened
TNN, Jun 17, 2010, 05.01am IST

VASCO:Three godowns in Khariawaddo, Vasco, were raided on Wednesday morning, where a joint team of the police, FDA and state administration found 12.5 tonnes of Neelam mangoes being artificially ripened. Godown owners Mohammed Narangi, Abdul Wahab and Riyaz Ahmed have been taken into custody by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

They will be produced before the magistrate on Thursday, said Rajaram Patil, inspector, FDA. Mormugao deputy collector, Levinson Martins told TOI, "We received information that chemicals were being used to ripen fruits at three godowns in Khariawaddo. We raided the godowns along with the police." Finding the godowns locked, the police called the owners, threatening to break open the locks, sources said.

Once in, the raiding team was "shocked to find small paper packets under the mangoes". The godown owners confirmed that the same was calcium carbide which was being used to ripen the fruit, sources said. Using litmus paper, the FDA team, called to examine the finding, confirmed that a chemical was being used in the paper packets to ripen the mangoes. Vasco health officer Vikas Kuvelker, who was part of the raiding team, claimed, "The paper contained calcium carbide which releases the harmful gas acetylene. Acetylene produces heat and within a closed compartment the mangoes ripen within 24 hours." The harmful effects of eating such fruit include "giddiness, mental confusion, respiratory distress and if consumed for long can cause cancer of the intestine", he said.

"Since it is not possible to tell if a fruit has chemicals on it, it's best to keep it in hot water before eating it," he added. Sources said the raiding team themselves felt suffocated on entering the godowns. FDA's Patil told TOI, "The testing of the samples will be done on Thursday. If needed, the samples will be sent to Hyderabad for further testing." The three godowns, meanwhile, have been sealed by the Vasco police. Sources said the godown owners told the police that the mangoes "come from Mumbai in a raw state and we treat them with calcium carbide which is bought from hardware stores".

Meanwhile, the health officer called an urgent meeting of the Mormugao municipal council, wherein the chairperson has said he will take strong action against such fruit vendors. The raiding team comprised of Martins, Kuvelker, DySP Mahesh Gaonkar, PI Braz Menezes and other police personnel, while the FDA team included inspectors Patil, Rajiv Korde and Shivdas Naik.

 

[Pintu]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/725336_La-Martiniere-bans-corporal-punishment

La Martiniere bans corporal punishment

STAFF WRITER 16:42 HRS IST

Kolkata, Jun 18 (PTI) Under pressure from all quarters following the alleged suicide of a student after being caned by the principal, the premier La Martiniere School for Boys here today banned corporal punishment.

"No child will be subjected to physical punishment and mental torture and whoever contravenes such provisions, shall be construed a major violator of rules and if found guilty, shall be liable for disciplinary action," the school's board of governors said in a notification.

Board member Lt Gen (retd) J R Mukherjee said that under the service rules, which has been amended with immediate effect, violators would attract halt to increment, promotion and even removal and suspension.

The school authorities decided to form a committee for students to file complaints and counselling for them shortly.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...down-to-Punjab-killed/articleshow/6061448.cms

Bihar couple tracked down to Punjab, killed
I P Singh, TNN, Jun 18, 2010, 07.14am IST

MAHERU (PHAGWARA): A young couple from Bihar, on the run from their homes for defying their families and marrying out of their caste, were allegedly tracked down and killed in a farmhouse in Maheru.

The Punjab police on Thursday registered a case against the girl's father, Arvind Sharma, charging him with murder. The police said they would send a team to Bihar to look for Sharma.

The boy, Kamlesh (23), belonged to the Yadav caste while the girl, Khushboo (20), was from a Brahmin family. Police sources say the girl's father had allegedly threatened to kill them and they suspect that it is a case of honour killing. Kamlesh belonged to Paharpur village in Jehanabad district of Bihar and the girl was from a neighbouring village.

They were killed in their sleep on the roof of a room in the field where they worked for the last eight months. Other farm hands here, who were acquainted with the couple, said Kamlesh and Khusboo apprehended trouble and feared that they could be killed.
SSP Ram Singh said the victims' throats were slit and there was no other sign of robbery, raising suspicion that it was honour killing. He said the couple had a court marriage nearly three months back.

 

[Pintu]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/727382_JD-U--says-alliance-with-BJP-in-Bihar-to-continue

JD(U) says alliance with BJP in Bihar to continue

STAFF WRITER 14:41 HRS IST



New Delhi, June 19 (PTI) Amid a spat between Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi, JD-U President Sharad Yadav today cleared the air, saying the party's alliance with the BJP in Bihar would continue.

"The ties between the two parties are old and they will continue. There is no question of any break-up", he said when asked about the fate of the alliance after Kumar returned the Gujarat government's aid to Bihar during the Kosi floods of 2008.

The "unpleasantness" over the publication of Kumar?s photograph with that of Modi in an advertisement published in Bihar dailies was over on the day it had appeared, Yadav said.



Kumar had criticised the Gujarat government for advertising that it had liberally donated aid to Bihar during the 2008 Kosi floods, calling it "uncivilised".

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...y-for-BJP-outside-Guj/articleshow/6067102.cms

Is Narendra Modi a liability for BJP outside Guj?
Rajeev Deshpande, TOI Crest, Jun 19, 2010, 12.27pm IST

He has looked the part. Steely eyed, unsmiling, an inflexible jaw line. In the world that Narendra Modi inhabits, any sign of weakness could be a fatal error. Any suggestion that he is less than what he appears to be would give his critics - and they are legion - just the flicker of hope that Modi is, after all, vulnerable. And the weak don't last the week in politics.

Modi lives up to the title of the "saffron strongman, " conferred on him by his liberal detractors, with ease. A primary reason for his nonchalance is Gujarat's strong economic indicators, endorsed by business celebrities - recall the confidence with which Ratan Tata chose Gujarat as the new home for his Nano factory. Again, on the ideological front, Modi has been very good at projecting himself as an uncompromising voice on terrorism.

So, when Modi announced his arrival in Patna last week for the BJP national executive with ubiquitous advertisements in local dailies, speaking of Gujarat's generous help to Bihar during the Kosi floods and a file photo of him and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar holding hands in a symbol of unity and friendship, it was not out of line with his studied effort to project a larger-than-life image.

Good for him, but not for Nitish, as it turned out. Nitish angrily promised to return Modi's monetary help, and he even called off a planned dinner for BJP leaders, while branding the advertisements "unethical and uncivilised. "

The intensity of the reaction seems to have taken Modi by surprise. People who interacted with him in the wake of Nitish Kumar's angry outburst found Modi genuinely flummoxed.

But should he have been? With state elections bearing down in a matter of months, this ad blitz was ill-timed. Nitish Kumar has painstakingly wooed a sizable section of "backward" Muslims in Bihar over the years. He has given them job reservation and political empowerment, and has carefully positioned himself as their well-wisher. His obvious effort has been to blunt the Muslim antipathy towards his political partner in the state, the BJP, and neutralise the advantage enjoyed by his "secular" rivals, RJD and LJP leaders Lalu Prasad and Ramvilas Paswan.

Modi's self-promotion through these full page ads, beaming while holding aloft Kumar's hand in warm camaraderie, was obviously tearing into this nonthreatening image that Nitish has built for himself amongst Muslims. Modi - an astute politician - would surely have realised this.

So, why was he seeking to queer the pitch for his party's ally in Bihar? Nitish Kumar's wariness of Modi isn't new. He has consistently kept his distance from Modi. In the run-up to the 2009 Lok Sabha election, he told the BJP brass to keep the saffron icon away from the state. Yet, the more Nitish has shunned him, the more Modi seems to have been keen to force himself into the frame.

At the NDA rally in Punjab, where the Modi-Nitish photo was taken, the Gujarat CM had walked across the dais to clasp the Bihar CM's hand in front of the full glare of media. Nitish smiled weakly as hundreds of flash bulbs popped, recording his politically dangerous liaison.

Often, the urge for acceptance can be as much personal as it is politically driven. Several leaders who have made the cut by espousing "hardline" politics have been tempted to recast themselves in a more middle-of-the-road image, possibly because extreme political postures in India can take them only up to a point and no further.

L K Advani, for instance, realised this and sought to temper his fiery Ram-bhakt image with statements like "December 6 was the saddest day in my life" and the more infamous "Jinnah-is-secular" episode in Pakistan.

Modi's experience is not very different from his leader's. He wishes to talk of Gujarat's development, of high-yielding crops, drip irrigation, industrial clusters, and so on, but none of these accomplishments takes the focus away from his controversial role during the post-Godhra riots. This has seriously crippled his rise as an all-India leader.

Modi is probably not out to change his plumage altogether. It is his both his strength as well as weakness that he seems most convincing when targeting the politically liberal sections of society in the ideological war he has been fighting for years now.

Yet, some signs of change have been evident. These pertain mainly to his personal style. For instance, a set of photos were released last year showing Modi astride a horse in a suit, dark glasses and a red muffler (a throwback to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin bare-breasted on a black steed?). The pictures intrigued political observers. Why was Modi, an earthy practitioner of politics, promoting this obviously elitist image? Whatever else, Modi does not really have to have a to-the-manor-born hauteur.

Though the Gujarat government has denied it, the Bihar advertisements were issued at Modi's behest. His party colleagues point out that it was an individualistic and self-centred act. Some said it was in keeping with his belief - never articulated - that he was larger than the party. Why else would he seek to promote himself in Bihar, when the upshot of this misadventure was a body blow to the BJP's national executive meet? Its political resolution, it attacks on the UPA government, and its future plans were obscured by a haze of controversy and bad publicity. Even at the public rally, the focus was on what Advani & Co would say about ally Nitish. It demoralised the party cadre in a state where an election is due in four months.

It brought no credit to Modi either. Though he put on a brave show, the episode would have brought home to Modi his serious limitations outside Gujarat. He can still draw on the hurt pride syndrome, but this time his critics are bound to point out that he doesn't exactly kindle faith in allies - in fact, he can rub them the wrong way. And in this era of coalition politics, that would be a big handicap. At earlier BJP meets, Modi's arrival would often be greeted with a flurry of questions on his cases and other controversies. The leader would simply stand before the mikes and cameras with folded hands and say absolutely nothing till the crowd parted. It was in a way a statement of the man he is, unremitting and unflinching.

The Patna fiasco might bring home to Modi that he could be losing his sense of timing and his sharp sixth sense for politics. Already, the Lok Sabha polls were a setback as the confidence of a BJP sweep in Gujarat proved misplaced. He has been helped by some incompetent ticket allocation by Congress in subsequent bypolls, but the gap is closer than what it was.

Modi's backing of lawyer Ram Jethmalani in the Rajya Sabha elections despite the opposition of most other BJP leaders is telling. With Advani playing the supporting cast, Modi got the BJP parliamentary board to field Jethmalani as its candidate in a dicey election from Rajasthan. The reason, party sources say, was the hope that the master lawyer would prove to be an intrepid counsel in court when cases against the Gujarat government are being keenly argued.

A quintessential loner, with no real friends, Modi just about makes it to the category of the socially adjusted. It's said he can be charming when he wants to, but more often he revels in the glow of power and invincibility. This has won him many admirers, especially when it became apparent that there was no challenge to him in Gujarat. In the state, he can, and does, deal on his own terms. The issue is: can he do this elsewhere? The Patna episode shows that he can't - at least not yet.

When Modi stood up to speak at last Sunday's BJP rally in Patna, right after braving Nitish Kumar's fusillade, he fell back on his "maut ka saudagar" line to target Sonia Gandhi over the Bhopal gas tragedy, asking who let the then Union Carbide boss Warren Anderson out of India. Good lines, but it did not quite work for him. This time, the Congress responded by flashing a MoU that the Gujarat government was considering with Carbide's new owners Dow Chemicals.

It seems Modi will have to watch his step. His swagger and style may still be there, but his political sense seems to be faltering.

TALKING POINTS

APRIL 27

At the launch of his book compiling his speeches on B R Ambedkar, Modi said the dalit icon had converted to Buddhism as the religion was native to India rather than Islam and Christianity which were not. "He converted to a religion, Buddhism, which was originated in Hindustan like Hinduism, " he said

JUNE 9

Advertisements in Bihar dailies proclaiming progress in integrating minorities in the mainstream in Gujarat showed photos of Muslim girls from Azamgarh. The photograph was misleading as the girls were from UP

JUNE 11

Large advertisements of Modi and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar holding hands and claims of Gujarat donating generously towards Kosi flood relief. The ads anger Kumar who calls them 'unethical and uncivilised'

A WELL-ENDORSED PRODUCT

His politics may be divisive, but Narendra Modi has not lacked celebrity backers. Big business loves him. If a poll were to be conducted among the rich and influential, Modi would beat most other political contenders in popularity ratings. It was, therefore, hardly surprising when at the Vibrant Gujarat meet last year (just before the Lok Sabha polls) industrialists tripped over one another to hail him as PM material.

Anil Ambani led the way saying, "Narendrabhai has done well for Gujarat ... Gujarat has seen progress in all fields under his leadership. Now, imagine what will happen if he leads the nation. "The words were met with applause as investors greeted the leader.

Of course, this was in January, 2009 and the Congress's stunning victory was still a little more than three months away. In fact, the mismatch between corporate praise and popular approval became apparent when in Gujarat the BJP won just 14 to the Congress's 12 Lok Sabha seats. But at the meeting itself, Ambani went on to cull a line from Deewar to quote his father Dhirubhai, who apparently described Modi as a "lambi race ka ghoda".

Not to be outdone, Sunil Bharti Mittal joined Ambani in saying, "Chief minister Modi is known as a CEO, but he is actually not a CEO because he is not running a company or a sector. He is running a state and can also run the nation, "he said as the ringing endorsements were lapped up by a receptive audience.

Bollywood has not been far behind business in beating a path to Modi's door. Recently, Amitabh Bachchan courted controversy and the wrath of "secular" commentators by agreeing to be Gujarat's brand ambassador.

Soon after, a fairly apolitical Ajay Devgn also met Modi, apparently for a solar power project in the state. Fading actor Raveena Tandon offered unstinted praise, saying she was his fan and India needed more leaders like him.

Unfazed by the criticism Bachchan received, Tandon said "We need leaders like you to run this country, " at a function where Modi was present. It would seem Modi is quite a draw with the glam crowd. Clearly, the strong leader image works - at least in boardrooms and Bollywood.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Cop-knocked-down-by-bus/articleshow/6067575.cms

Cop knocked down by bus
PTI, Jun 19, 2010, 02.53pm IST

MUMBAI: A traffic police constable was fatally knocked down by a tourist bus on Saturday morning at suburban Mahim, police said.

Suhas Sadanand Chavan (34) was on his way back home in suburban Malad after his duty when he was hit by the bus near Mahim Church.

The policeman was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead, police said.

"The bus driver, Nirbhay Singh Rathod, has been arrested and a case of causing death by negligence registered against him," deputy commissioner of police Brijesh Singh said.

The bus had come from neighbouring Gujarat.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-channel-Pak-comedian/articleshow/6065740.cms

MNS threat fails to deter channel, Pak comedian
Bharti Dubey, TNN, Jun 19, 2010, 02.55am IST

MUMBAI: A day after the film cell of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) issued a letter to Sony Television warning it of dire consequences if it didn't take Pakistani artiste Shakeel Siddiqui off its laughter show immediately, the channel as well as the comedian seem to be defiant.

According to sources, the comedian is very much in the city and will return to Pakistan only after he completes shooting for the show. Siddiqui didn't shoot on Friday.

According to a source, there was heavy police bandobast at the set on Friday. "Anticipating that MNS men may disrupt the shooting, heavy police force was deployed. The producers don't want to take any chances. That was the reason why Siddiqui did not shoot on Friday," said the source.

The MNS, however, is confident that the actor has been sent back to Pakistan. "He has gone back to his country,'' said MNS Cine Workers' Association chief Ameya Khopkar.

Incidentally, there were hints that the show's producer had taken MNS' 'consent' before inviting the actor. Khopkar vehemently denied this, saying, "Nobody asked us. After what happened on 26/11, we will not allow Pakistani actors to work in India.'' Khopkar said that if Sony didn't abide by the party's diktat, it would not allow the channel to shoot in Mumbai.

Archana Puran Singh, a judge on Sony's laughter show, said, "This is a political issue and ramifications are huge, but creative people should be kept out of it.''

Danish Khan, marketing head of Sony, said, "We have not made any commitment to the MNS. We will meet the show's producer to discuss the issue. No call has been taken on Siddiqui yet."

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...acebook-in-Mantralaya/articleshow/6061403.cms

Maha bans Facebook in Mantralaya
TNN, Jun 18, 2010, 06.52am IST

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has restricted access to the social networking site, Facebook, in Mantralaya. After receiving complaints, the IT department has put ban on the use of Facebook. "We decided to block the site as many employees were seen spending hours on it," said a senior Mantralaya official.

The move hasn't gone well with the employees, though. "The administration has wrong impression that work is getting affected due to Facebook. We log on to the site only during the lunch break or in case if there is less workload on a particular day," said an employee.

But A B P Pandey, principal secretary, IT department, said the internet connection was intended for office purpose.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Trunk-murder-cracked/articleshow/6065704.cms

Trunk murder cracked
Vijay V Singh, TNN, Jun 19, 2010, 01.46am IST

MUMBAI: A mother of two who had killed her husband's paramour, stuffed the body in a trunk and dumped it near a mall in Goregaon last week has now confessed to the crime, afraid that he would be booked in the case.

The Goregaon (E) police were looking for clues after they found the body of a 40-year-old woman in a trunk on June 12. After two days of investigation on the missing persons complaints lodged at various police stations, the cops identified the victim as Shilpa Raut. From her close friends and relatives, they learnt that she was close to her former employer Vijay Shrivastava. He ran a garments factory in Malad where Shilpa was employed. After the factory was shut down, Shrivastava took up a job in a garment shop but kept in touch with Shilpa, a widow and mother of two children.

Shrivastava's wife Neelam was aware of his relationship, the police said. The police first questioned Shrivastava, who denied his involvement. Though the police found his explanation convincing, they were not willing to clear the charges against him.

Neelam feared that the police would arrest her husband in the case and confessed to the crime to her relative. She also told him how the murder was executed. The relative passed on the information to a police officer at Samta Nagar police station.

The Samta Nagar police questioned Neelam and then handed over her custody to the Goregaon (E) police. Neelam told the police that on June 11, she called Shilpa at her residence stating that her husband was not well and he wanted to meet her. Neelam's husband was at work and she had sent her two children to their friends' residence. Neelam and Shilpa had an argument, following which she strangulated Shilpa, the police said. Neelam also sustained injures during the fight. She then stuffed the body in the trunk and hid her blood stained clothes, the police added.

Neelam hired a tempo from the vicinity and told the driver that she wanted to transport a trunk to Dadar, the cops said. She loaded the trunk in the tempo with the help of the driver. When they reached Bandra, she noticed policemen on the streets and asked the driver whether the cops would check the tempo and the trunk. This surprised the driver who asked her the reason. Neelam then told him that she was carrying a dead body in the trunk, the police said.

"The driver took a turn to drop her back and insisted that she get off the vehicle. He stopped the tempo near the mall, threw the trunk on the road and asked Neelam to go away,'' said zonal deputy commissioner of police, Satyanarayan Chaudhary.

The tempo driver didn't inform the police about the incident. After Neelam's arrest, the police called the driver for the questioning. "He will be our prime witness in the case,'' said an officer.
The police recovered the body the next day after a roadside garage employee informed them about it.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...otographs-land-on-net/articleshow/6061120.cms

Rape victim's obscene photographs land on net
TNN, Jun 18, 2010, 04.32am IST

MUMBAI: Investigations into the rape of a 17-year-old girl in Dahisar (E) have revealed that obscene photographs of the victim have been posted online.

Devendra Gohil (25), the prime accused, was nabbed on Wednesday, after a complaint was filed against him. The two live in the same neighbourhood at Raidongri. The couple was reportedly in a relationship after Gohil promised the girl that he would marry her.

"Gohil took her to a shack on Gorai beach, where he raped her repeatedly. He then clicked nude photographs of her on his mobile and circulated them to his friends. The friends blackmailed her using the photos and raped her," an official said. A probe is on to find out who posted them online and to identify the other youths.

Both Gohil and the girl will undergo a medical examination at Nagpada Hospital.

"The victim is in shock. After the photographs were circulated, it became difficult for her to step out of her house. She hasn't yet been able to identify the other culprits," a senior official said. Gohil has been booked on charges of rape and kidnapping and under provisions of the Information Technology Act.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-crorepati-club-in-RS/articleshow/6069355.cms

With Rs 615 crore, Mallya leads crorepati club in RS
Pradeep Thakur, TNN, Jun 20, 2010, 01.58am IST

NEW DELHI: The richest man to enter the Rajya Sabha in the just concluded elections, Vijay Mallya, has in his sworn affidavit claimed he does not own a house but his net worth is a staggering Rs 615 crore. Mallya said he had a 1989 model Ferrari he bought for Rs 25 lakh.

Like Mallya, environment minister Jairam Ramesh said he does not have a house and his wealth is a modest Rs 62 lakh. Ramesh is clearly the odd man out considering 78% of the 55 candidates just elected to the RS have assets of Rs 25 crore on average.

Kanwar Deep Singh of the JMM from Jharkhand is among the top three crorepatis with assets of Rs 83 crore, following behind Y S Chowdary of the TDP from Andhra Pradesh, who has declared assets of Rs 190 crore.

The analysis of RS winners' wealth was carried out by the election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...p-in-nation-building-/articleshow/6068941.cms

CJI urges Parsis abroad to return, help in nation building
PTI, Jun 19, 2010, 10.19pm IST

MUMBAI: Chief Justice of India Sarosh Homi Kapadia called upon members of Parsi community settled abroad to return to India and contribute to nation building.

"It is better to be a first class citizen in India rather than accepting second class citizen status elsewhere," Justice Kapadia said during his felicitation by the Parsi Panchayat and other community organisations in Mumbai.

Kapadia, who took over as CJI on May 12 this year, said there is no discrimination in India and that the Parsi community would flourish here.

"I am a believer of religion and right from young age, I have been spiritually inclined. I wanted to become a judge to fulfil my father's wish", he said.

"My father, who was based in Surat, used to see a sessions court judge while walking from home to court and was thrilled to see the response the judge got from the people. So he told me to become a judge...I am very happy my Dad is alive and saw me elevated as the Chief Justice of India", the Chief Justice said.

"I am a workaholic and have faced humiliation at a young age which is why after matriculation I decided to learn and earn together", he said.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...s-of-friendship-clubs/articleshow/6069473.cms

Police freeze 10 bank accounts of 'friendship clubs
S Ahmed Ali, TNN, Jun 20, 2010, 03.55am IST

MUMBAI: In a development in the probe into the alleged prostitution racket being operated in the guise of "friendship clubs'', the Social Service (SS) branch of the Mumbai police froze around 10 accounts of the six clubs, which are under the scanner.

Last week, the SS branch arrested the owner of Bobby Friendship Club, Zakir Ismail Shaikh (45), who allegedly duped a Vasai resident on the pretext of making him a member of the "entertainment club''.

Shaikh, who allegedly ran 10 such clubs, has reportedly duped more than 200 people. The police have frozen six of Shaikh's banks accounts where money collected from people "membership charges'' was deposited. Bobby, Dolly, Tulsi, Sony and Ranjini are the names of a few of his clubs.

Anupam Pal, a resident of Vasai, had claimed that according to an advertisement in a local newspaper, the club offered a year's membership and promised "parties and girlfriends'' for Rs 9,000. Pal told the police that when he called up the mobile number, two women called, Vishaka Nair and Aditi, attended to him. He paid the amount but after that the club had "shut down''; the women are now wanted accused, the police said.

Pal is not the lone victim as the police have received similar other complaints from across the city. In most cases, the clubs would charge a victim Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 as memership fees. Once the vitims would pay the amount, the clubs would deposit the money in their bank accounts, shut their offices or change their mobile numbers and fled, the police said. "Many of the other friendship clubs also ran prostitution rackets,'' said an officer.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...y-groom-ties-the-knot/articleshow/6069477.cms

Girl who rejected greedy groom ties the knot
Manthan K Mehta, TNN, Jun 20, 2010, 03.57am IST

MUMBAI: Rani Tiwari from Mulund, who had called off her marriage after her would-be in-laws started making dowry demands, chose her life-partner in a musician from Mira Road—from the 100 proposals she received after her courageous act—and tied the knot with him on Saturday, the day fixed for her "earlier wedding''.

Rani was supposed to get married to Nikhilesh Phatak from Airoli on June 19. When dowry demands began to go up, she decided to call off the wedding. Rani and her brothers recorded the demands made by her would-be in-laws and submitted the clips to the cops. On May 26, the boy and his family were booked for criminal breach of trust and cheating.

Despite the setback, the girl's family did not lose hope of finding a suitable match for her and get her married on the earlier fixed date. Rani's brother Deepak said, "We decided not to cancel the booking of the wedding venue. We advertised that we were willing to give Rani's hand to a suitable person from our community. After the media highlighted the news, we received at least 150 proposals.''

From among them, Rani chose Pawan Tripathi, a music composer, as her groom. "After we called off the wedding, the episodes that followed mirrored the progressive nature of our community and dispelled all notions that my sister would not get any suitable match anymore,'' Deepak said.

Sister-in-law of the bridegroom Sujata Tripathi said, "I felt proud of Rani when I read about how she stood up for her family and her honour. So I told my brother-in-law about her and he expressed his willingness to marry her.'' The groom, Pawan, said, "I wanted her to know that this marriage proposal was not a favour but that I really wanted to marry her.''

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...aid-of-going-it-alone/articleshow/6072946.cms

Bihar BJP chief: We're not afraid of going it alone
Mohua Chatterjee & Abhay Singh, TNN, Jun 21, 2010, 04.24am IST

NEW DELHI/PATNA: The JD(U)-BJP fracas over Gujarat CM Narendra Modi touting his state's assistance to Bihar during the Kosi floods deepened on Sunday with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and deputy CM Sushil Modi skipping each other's programmes.

While BJP had decided to downplay the "insult" by Nitish Kumar, who returned the donation for Kosi flood victims from Gujarat on Saturday, matters seemed to have fast spinned out of control, even as both sides maintained on Sunday that "the alliance will continue" despite the rift that has arisen on account of the 'overwhelming' presence of Narendra Modi in Patna last weekend. Modi had so far been kept out of Bihar, which has a considerable Muslim population, as his hard Hindutva image could have come in the way of Nitish Kumar's attempt at wooing Muslim votes.

Bihar BJP chief C P Thakur told TOI that "BJP was not afraid of going it alone if things came to that, but we would not want that to happen and would prefer to keep the 15-year-old alliance going as the coalition government has worked well for Bihar over the past four-and-a-half years."

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...hes-Bihar-development/articleshow/6072904.cms

Congress cautiously watches Bihar development
TNN, Jun 21, 2010, 03.58am IST

NEW DELHI: Congress has adopted a cautious wait-and-watch approach to the looming crisis in the ruling coalition in Bihar with chief minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and partner BJP coming on the verge of separation.

The UPA leader, which has decided to contested all the assembly seats in the state, has decided to hold its cards close to the chest.

"It is too early to say anything," said a party general secretary when asked about the brewing trouble in the alliance.

Enthused over the possibility of the alliance breaking up, the party, however, refused to take a stand and declined comments on the prospect of its getting closer to the JD(U).

The reason for the Congress hesitation is its decision to go it alone in Bihar after its success in neighbouring UP in last year's general election without any alliance.

The party, according to sources, views the development as Nitish Kumar's way of wooing the Muslims and getting rid of an 'overbearing' ally.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...mark-Tamil-conference/articleshow/6069627.cms

TN may free 500 convicts to mark Tamil conference
TNN, Jun 20, 2010, 05.15am IST

CHENNAI: Two years after more than 1,400 life convicts were prematurely released from prisons, the Tamil Nadu government is planning to offer similar relief to at least 500 life convicts to mark the Classical Tamil Conference.

The proposal, which is yet to be announced, has raised the expectations among other long-term, as also short-term, convicts as well.

Though yet to be finalised, jail authorities are in the process of preparing a list of life convicts who had spent at least seven years in jail so far. "Though this by itself would easily cross the required 500-mark, it
is only fair that the benefit is extended to convicts serving short-term sentences of up to three years, and long-term sentences of up to 10 years," said a retired jail department official.

The case of senior citizens, aged above 70 years, languishing in several prisons could also be considered on humanitarian grounds, he added. Referring to the frequent deaths of inmates and the large number of seriously ill convicts in prisons, he said they too deserved to be considered for early release this time.

The last time when such a large number of convicts were prematurely released was in 2008, when the government set free 1,402 people to mark the birth anniversary of former chief minister CN Annadurai. That year, while those aged above 65 years were required to complete five years of the actual imprisonment, others became eligible for release if they had completed seven years.

A public interest writ petition filed by the Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy opposing the release of life convicts in 2008 is still pending before a division bench of the Madras high court.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...artner-for-forced-sex/articleshow/6061400.cms

Actor lodges FIR against live-in partner for forced sex
TNN, Jun 18, 2010, 06.51am IST

CHENNAI: A 29-year-old Tamil film actor on Thursday met the Chennai police commissioner and lodged a complaint against her live-in partner, alleging that he had tried to force her into a physical relationship with some politicians to help get a post.

Her partner also lodged a counter-complaint with the commissioner saying that she had concealed the fact about her appearance in a few sex movies and that she had demanded Rs 30 lakh from him.

Indira, who has done small roles in 'Katradhu Kalavu', 'Aadu Puli Aattam' and the lead role in 'Pattu Vanna Rosa', in her complaint said she was separated from her husband and had later met P Satishkumar.

"He was very much aware that I had been married to one Mahesh and had later left him. I worked as a dancer and acted in many Tamil movies. Satishkumar was my driver and later we began living together. Soon, he tried to get me to sleep with some politicians so that he could get a post in their party. I did not agree so he lodged a complaint against me to tarnish my image." She denied that she had asked him for money.

But Satishkumar, in his petition, said, "Indira had never revealed to me about her marriage. She forced me to live with her. She even fed me sleeping pills and demanded Rs 30 lakh to hush up the issue. She then sent goondas to my house. I lodged a police complaint."