Italy rushes top diplomat to India; to move High Court to quash FIR

Italy today rushed to a top diplomat to India among a deepening row over the arrest of two Italian Naval guards who also planned to move to move the Kerala High Court tomorrow to quash the FIR  charging them with the killing of two Indian fishermen.

The Italian foreign ministry said ina statement in Rome while announcing the visit that Junior foreign minister Staffan De Mistura will continue on a political level the action so far carried out by a delegation of experts from the Italian foreign, defence and justice ministries.

The statement also said that Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi will visit India personally by next Tuesday.

A counsel represnting them said in Kochi that the petition put forth by two marines namely Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone was likely to be filed in the Kerala High Court tomorrow.

A counsel who did not want his name to be revealed was quoted as saying that so far it was not yet decided in whose behalf – the government or any other party, the petition would be filed.

The counsel said that the contention of the accused who has been charged with murder was that the Kerala police has no authority to conduct investigation in the case and courts in India have no jurisidiction  as the incident occurred beyond the Indian territorial waters.

The interrogation of the two accused, who were remanded in a three-day police custody yesterday, by a court in Kollam district continued today. The Naval crew has claimed that the fishermen were killed on suspicion of them being pirates.

Dora Valentine, wife of Valentine alias Jelstine, aged 45 years, one of the two fishermen killed in firing from the Italian merchant ship in February 15 off Kollam coast in Kerala, and her two children V Derick and V Jeen meanwhile moved a petition in the Kerala High Court seeking Rupees one crore as compensation.

News reported by AR for New vision news paper

Locked in dark bathroom, 6 year-old dies of trauma

A six-year-old boy who was locked in a bathroom for several hours allegedly by his school teacher as a punishment for not completing his homework, has finally lost the battle of life after remaining ill for over 55 days.

Pankaj, a kindergarten student of Rajkul Senior School Kamela in Gharonda sub-division, was locked in a bathroom for over several hours on December 27 last year by his teacher after he failed to complete his homework.

The boy remained in a state of shock due to alleged inhuman and insensitive attitude of the teacher before falling sick. He finally died on February 19.

Parents of the boy Jaiver Singh and Reena have held the school authorities responsible for the death of their child claiming that after locking Pankaj in the bathroom, the teacher forgot to open the bathroom door.

It was only after the school was over that his elder brother Sagar informed the bus driver that his brother had not arrived yet.

Even after undergoing treatment at several places, Pankaj attended school for a day before plunging into shock again.

However the school manager Bablu Rana has said that the child had been suffering from various diseases and ultimately succumbed to it, a fact which was denied by the parents of the child.

The district administration has ordered a probe into the incident.

News reported by AR for New vision news paper

Strauss-Kahn questioned in another sex case

Former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is being questioned today by French police investigating a suspected hotel prostitution ring.

Mr. Strauss Kahn arrived at the police station in the Northern City of Lille. Police are probing a suspected prostitution ring in France and neighbouring Belgium that has implicated police and other officials. They had questioned commercial sex workers who said they had sex with Strauss Kahn during the year 2010 and 2011 at an luxury hotel in Paris, a restaurant in French capital and also in Washington D.C.

Two men with ties to Strauss Kahn have been put to preliminary investigation in France and charges including organising a prostitution ring and misuse of corporate funds.

Investigators are seeking to discover if sex workers were paid using corporate funds from a large French construction company.

It is Mr. Strauss Kahn latest run -in with the police over alleged sexual misconduct.

Mr.Strauss Kahn was charged by New York police in May with making a hotel maid perform oral sex.

New York prosecutors dropped the case against him in August because the woman had undercut her credibility by lying about her background and changing her account of her actions right after the alleged attack. She says she was truthful about the encounter and is persuing her claims in a lawsuit.

The Paris prosecutor's office dropped the investigation into writer's claim that Mr. Strauss Kahn tried to rape her during a 2003 interview  for a book she was writing, saying they could'nt send him to trial because it happened too long ago.

News reported by AR for New vision news paper

Evaluation of treasure at Padmanabhaswamy temple begins today

The documentation of the treasure unearthed at the famous Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple last year began Monday morning with a joint meeting of the two committees appointed by the Supreme Court. One of the committees is headed by M.V. Nair and the other by retired Justice M.N. Krishnan. Both committees comprise representatives from the Kerala government, the royal family of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore who are the official custodians of the temple, and also experts in this field.

According to the earlier reports, the temple is belived to have a treasure trove of precious jewels which is belived to be worth of more than Rs. 1 lakh crore, making it the richest temple in the world.

In all, there are six vaults in the temple of which five have been opened so far based on a petition filed by former IPS officer T.P. Sudararajan. It was in July last year that the Supreme Court appointed a committee to estimate the treasure from Vault A which had remained unopened for more than 150 years.

A committee member told the reporters that the first step would be to open Vault C. each item would be videographed, a bar code placed on it and then the valuation would be made.

An official was quoted as saying that a State-of-the-art-equipment from the ISRO is being used and state owned Keltron is co-ordinating the valuation. It is going to take a long time to complete this process and the entire valuation operation will be monitored by officials sitting in a control room set up inside the temple premises.

On February 9, a trial stock-taking was done and Nair had expressed his satisfaction at the way it was undertaken and had announced that the original valuation would begin from today.

The member again added that the E and F Vaults would be documented today. Then, an interim report would be submitted to the court and only then the stock-taking on Vault A would be done. With regard to Vault B, it would be the discretion of the Apex Court.

Incidentally, Sunderarajan passed away last year and another co-petitioner also passes away early this month.

News reported by AR for New vision news paper

Economist Kalyan Sanyal passes away

One of the stalwarts in the field of International Economics and the former head of the Calcutta University Economics Department Kalyan Sanyal passed away on February 18 at a private hospital in Kolkata. He is 60 and is survived by his wife Saswati and two sons Arani and Avik.

Sanyal did his postgraduation from Calcutta University in the year 1971 after comleting his graduation from Presidency College. He later on did his PhD from Rochester University in the year 1973. Sanyal was regarded as one of the brilliant Economists in India. Sanyal's work in the arena of International Economics and Globalization and economic development were acclaimed all over the world.

 He was also attached to the Institute of International Studies, Geneva. Noted economist and long time colleague of Sanyal, Arup Mallick said that he was a brilliant teacher.

He added that his last book was translated in Chinese as well. Sanyal's 'trade in middle product' theory is being used as reference in International Economics.

Incidentally, the last Sanyal book "Rethinking Capitalist Development" is now being discussed in the economist circle throughout the world.

Former head of the department of Indian Statistical Institute Dipankar Dasgupta believed that Sanyal was one among the last few members of a great genre of economists in Bengal. Dasgupta was a colleague of Sanyal for five years.

News reported by AR for New vision news paper

Italian Marines remanded to judicial custody

Two Italian Naval guards charged with the killing of two Indian fishermen off Kerala Coast were today remanded to three-day police custody by a Judicial Magistrate at Karunagapally in the Kollam district.

First Class Judicial Magistrate K.P. Joy, at whose residence the Marines were produced and remanded the two accused to judicial custody till March 5^th, but handed over them to the investigators accpeting a plea put forth by the police for further questioning into the matter. The marines could not be produced in a court as it was a holiday due to Mahashivratri festival.

Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone were arrested by the Kerala Police on Sunday and brought ashore from the ship which was intervened and anchored at the port, were brought to Kollam for court proceedings from Kochi.

The two Italians have been charged with murder under Section 302 of IPC.

The arrest of the two men who were part of the six-member security detail of Enrica Lexie from Italian Navy, climaxed four days of heavy negotiations netween the two countries India and Italy over the incident, which has sparked a diplomatic row.

The Italians claimed that the fishermen Valentine Jalestine and Ajeesh Binki, who had set out to sea along with nine other fishermen on February 15^th were shot on suspicion that they were pirates.

News reported by AR for New vision news paper

Girl kills self after rape in Northwest Delhi, 2 held

The police said on Saturday that a girl allegedly committed suicide after being raped by two people in Northwest Delhi. The 15-year-old girl was confronted by the men when she was on the way to her relative's house along with a friend on Friday evening. The accused offered them a joyride on their bikes and picked them up from Prashant Vihar. The cops said that they forced themselves on the girls on reaching a deserted stretch in Jahangirpuri. An officer said that the due raped the girls, who managed to get home by 8:30 p.m and one of the girls consumed poison within an hour and added that the accused have been identified. Additional DCP (Northwest) Romil Baaniya said that a case of kidnapping has been registered by the outer Delhi police. DCP (outer) B.S. Jaiswal said they have apprehended the culprits.

In another incident, a seven-year-old resisted the rape attempt by a close relative at a wedding. She was able to escape from his grip by bitting him and informed her parents about the incident. The locals handed over the accused to the police, who arrested him and lodged a case of attempted rape. The girl's father told the reporters that his daughter had finished her dinner and had gone to her room adjoining the marriage hall. It was then the accuse attacked her. She managed to escape from him by bitting the accused on the hand and ran away from the room.

Reported by AR for News Vision Newspaper

2 schoolgirls raped by 15 men in MP

Another shocking incident has occurred where two teenaged school-going girls were allegedly raped by atleast 15 men in broad daylight in a deserted farm at Betna, near Indore. One of the accused is the son of a corporator in the local municipal council.

The incident took place on February 10, but the girls revealed about it to their parents only on Saturday, following which the parents approached the police.

A secret meeting that one of the girls had fixed up with one Javed sparked the ordeal that is bound to haunt them their entire life. Javed reportedly persuaded the girl to meet him, threatening to consume poison in front of her house if she failed to do so. Panicking, the girl decided to meet him at an isolated place, but took her cousin along. Javed and the girl later on decided to go elsewhere for a chat, and as they were leaving, a gang of ten men interrupted them. According to police inspector D.S. Baghel, the men dragged the girls to a deserted field nearby where they took turns to rape the two. And Javed, who has since been arrested, too joined in the act.

The ordeal of the girls, who hail from very poor families and are a student of local government school, didn't end there. Some men working in neighbouring field's landed up in the farm after hearing the commotion. And instead of rescuing the twosome, they too allegedly raped them. Baghel said they were still to ascertain if more than 15 men were involved in the brutal incident.

According to the girls, some of them men also took pictures of the girls on their moblies and warned them not to reveal anything. For a week, the shocked victims remained mum, but on Saturday morning, they gathered enough courage to tell their parents about the incident.

Reported by AR - Newsvision - Online newspaper

India wants Italian Ship captain to surrender

New Delhi wants the Captain of Italian ship Enrica Lexia and two marksmen who shot dead two Indian fishermen to surrender to Kerala Police on Sunday after several rounds of diplomatic confabulations on Saturday concluded in a telephonic conversation between External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his Italian counterpart.

The sources said that Rome wanted the three to be permitted to go in return for a joint investigation into the incident. But in the later conversation, Mr. Krishna turned down the offer an hour after Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy sought the Central assistance to persuade the Captain and the two security personnel to give themselves up. Mr. Chandy claimed that his government was left with no option but to arrest the Italians after receiving advice on the issue from the State's Attorney General.

Mr. Krishna and the Indian Ambassador in Rome told the Italians that this was not a diplomatic row that could end with discussions. The question was that those responsibility for killing two Indians must submit to the law of the land.

The call from the Italian Foreign Minister capped a hectic day of activity in Rome, where the Indian Ambassador was offered options such as the despatch of a multi-Ministerial team to Kochi and a high-level investigation of the incident.

Reported by AR - Newsvision - online news blog

India-born Kamal Bawa bags maiden Gunnerus Sustainability Award

India-born Biologist Kamal Bawa has bagged the World's First International Award for outstanding scientifirc work that promotes sustainable development globally.

An official aanouncement has claimed that Dr. Bawa, distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts in Boston is to receive the Gunnerus Sustainability Award from the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (DKNVS) at a function in Norway on April 17.

Professor Kristian Fossheim, President of DKNVS said that they are very pleased to have selected such a person who is worthy of getting the Gunnerus Award.

The Gunnerus Award is the first major international prize for outstanding scientific work that promotes sustainable development globally, and will be awarded every two years starting in 2012.

Dr. Bawa is most noted for his pioneering work on population biology in rainforest areas.

His widespan of research comprises of groundbreaking biological discoveries made in Central America, Western Ghats in India and the Himalayas.

He is also noted for the establishment, and as President of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore.

Until recently, he has also held Ruffolo Giorgio Fellowship in Sustainability Science and Bullard Fellowship at Harvard University.

Dr. Bawa was quoted as saying that he is very happy and pleased over the recognition that their work has attained.

The award is named after DKNVS Founder Bishop Johan zernst Gunnerus (1718-1773) and is the result of collaboration between DKNVS, Sparebank1 SMN and the society Technoport.

Reported by

      AR

 

Woman bites off man's tongue who tried to rape her

Police said that a 25-year-old woman bit off a man's tongue when he tried to sexually assault her at her house in Javalgaon Village in Maharashtra District.

They said that Anita Pawar, who works as a labourer, was alone at her house in the village on Wednesday when the accused, named Daddaro Hare, aged 35 years, tried to force himself on her.

Police said that in a bid to save herself from the attacker, Anita cut-off Hare's tongue with her teeth.

 The accused has been charged under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), Section 452 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) among other charges.

Police said Hare had been admitted in a local hospital and  is recovering.

Reported by

     AR

 

NHRM Scam: UP health official found dead

The NHRM scam in Uttar Pradesh has turned murkier with another health official found murdered at his home, the fifth victim in the last one year after the alleged bungling of Rs. 10,000 crore of central funds surfaced.

The UP police found the body of Mahendra Sharma, an Accountant, lying in a pool of blood with severe injuries on face and head, from the Pasgawan health centre in Lakhimpur Kheri district on Wednesday evening.

The police said that Mr. Sharma aged 52 years has been reported missing since February 7.

The CBI, which is probing the scam has asked the State police to beef up securityof witnesses and suspects.

In 2010-11, two senior doctors associated with the Health Department were murdered within months. Another official was found dead inside Lucknow jail. In January, a U.P Jal Nigam officer allegedly committed suicide because he was being investigated in connection with the scam.

Congress Campaigner Priyanka Gandhi has blamed the Mayawati Government for the misuse of funds which was allocated for the improvement of health facilities in the state.

 BJP Spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad said that the larger issue is the liability of Mayawati herself as the Chief Minister and the earlier regime of Mulayam Singh Yadav because the entire scam was spread over last 7-8 years.

Family members of the accountant have accused the health department officials of harrassment.

 Mithilesh Sharma, the wife of the deceased, said that frequent transfer of her husband had depressed him a lot. She also accused the health officials of withholding his salary.

Mithilesh alleged that after solemnising their daughter's marriage on November 21^st last year, when Sharma reported for his duty in Pasgawan, he was informed of his transfer.

Meanwhile, the CBI in New Delhi denied having questioned Sharma in connection with the scam.

CBI Spokesperson said that CBI has neither questioned nor summoned this person. CBI has always been in close touch with the local police reagarding safety concerns of potential witnesses, suspects etc.

Reported by

    AR

 

Teacher held on charges of sexual abuse in Bangalore

Police said that a 30-year-old teacher of a private school was arrested on charges of sexual abuse, levelled against him by a 11-year-old girl student today in Bangalore.

Acting on a complaint filed by the parents of a fifth standard student, the police affirmed that Krishnamurthy was arrested. The police said that the girl alleged that Krishnamurthy was sexually abusing her for the past one month and detaining her after class on some pretext.

Reported by

    AR

Maharashtra to Supreme Court: Kasab given fair trial, deserves death

The Maharshtra Government on Tuesday disproved the allegation of the sole convict  in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, that he was not given a fair trial and said the death sentence awarded to him was a permissible means of punishment.

Former Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for the State Government, contended that Kasab was never tortured or maltreated and there has been no violation of constitutional rights.

He submitted before a bench comprising of Justice Aftam Alam and C.K. Prasad that, at no point of time he was tortured or maltreated by the authorities and there has been no violation of constitutional rights given to him.  

Subramaniam also submitted that death sentence which has been awarded to Kasab, is a permissible means of punishment.

Referring to the sequence of events of 26/11 attack which was planned by the LeT in Pakistan, he submitted that had Kasab not been caught alive, then it would have been possible to know that outsiders were involved in the mayhem.

Kasab had on Tuesday pleaded with the Supreme Court to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment.

Senior dvocate, Raju Ramachandran, who has been appointed amicus curiae by the Supreme Court to defend Kasab, had told the bench that he was not a part of the conspiracy for waging war against the nation.

Stressing on Kasab's age as an important factor to commute his death sentence, he had pleaded for a lenient approach as he was drawn into it  as a result of exploitation of religious faith and false ideology.

Maintaining that the prosecution has failed to prove the case against Kasab beyond reasonable doubts, he had said that his right against self-incrimination as well as his right to get himself adequately  represented by a counsel to defend himself in the case had been violated during the trial.

The Supreme Court had on October 10 last year stayed the death sentence of Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

Reported by  

     AR

Supreme Court refuses to grant protection to Essar and Loop : 2G

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to grant interim stay on the summonses issued against Essar Group and Loop Telecom and their officials by a Special CBI court to appear before it on February 22 for their alleged involvement in a 2G scam.

A bench of justices comprising of Justice G.S. Singhvi and S.J. Mukhopadhaya, however agreed to hear their petitionchallenging the jurisdiction of the special court to hear the case on the ground that corruption charges has not been levelled against them like other accused in the multi-crore rupee scam.

The bench said that they would quash the proceedings if they attain into a conclusion that the the court have no jurisdiction to hear the case.

The bench also issued a notice to CBI and other parties and asked them to file their responses within two weeks on the companie's plea.

The two telecom firms, in their petitions, said that thay have been chargesheeted under Section 420 (Cheating), Section 120 B (Criminal Conspiracy) of the IPC and the charges were triable by a Magistrate and not by a Special Court constituted by the Prevention of Corruption Act for hearing the 2G case.

Other accused named in the chargesheet are namely Essar Group promoters Anshuman and Ravi Ruia along with Loop Telecom promoters Kiran Khaitan, her usband I.P. Khaitan and Essar Group Director Vikas Saraf.

They have been asked to appear before the CBI Special Judge O.P. Saini on February 22.

The companies and their promoters have denied any kind of involvement in the 2G scam.

Reported by

    AR

     

Kasab pleads Supreme Court to commute death sentence to life term

Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only terrorist caught and sentenced in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack has asked the Supreme Court to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment.

Raju Ramachandran, Kasab's lawyer who was appointed by the court, said the cost of keeping Kasab alive should not be taken into consideration whilde deciding whether to hang him or not.

Kasab's lawyer on February 9 told the Supreme Court that such acts committed by Kasab on 26/11 do not amount to waging war against the government as they do have an extra element of challenging the sovereign authority.

Kasab was sentenced to death by a special anti-terror court and is lodged in a special cell in the high security Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.

Ramachandran requested the court to commute Kasab's sentence taking into consideration his age and added that he was exploited by false ideology and distortion and led astray.

Kasab was sentenced to death on May 2010 by a Trial Court. The order was upheld by a Bombay High Court in February last year.

Reported by

     AR

2G Case: Delhi High Court dismisses honcho's plea

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea of corporate honchos Asif Balwa and Rajiv B Aggarwal, accused in the 2G scam case, that the officer investigating the case be barred from attending their trial.

Justice M.L. Mehta while dismissing the petition said that he will fail to appreciate as to how any witness would be in a fear or under pressure of investigating officer in the court room.

The court observed that the mere presence of the investigating officer in the court room at the time of recording of statement of witnesses would not be a ground to say that the trial will be unfair.

The duo had moved the Delhi High Court demanding that the CBI investigating officer would be barred from attending the trial as the officer, himself as a witness in the case, could not remain present in the court when the statements of other witnesses were being recorded.

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for the petitioners had argued that during the trial, the investigating officer, himself as a witness in the case, cannot remain present in the court when the statements of other witnesses being recorded.

Earlier, the CBI Special Court had also rejected this argument.

The CBI has charged the two business tycoons of routing Rs. 200 crore as bribe to Kalaignar TV, in which DMK MP Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar, both co-accused in the 2G scam, and DMK Chief M Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal 60% stake.

Reported by  

     AR

Karnataka Minister V.S. Acharya dies

V.S. Acharya aged 71 years, Karnataka Minister for Higher Education died in Bangalore on Tuesday.

Dr. Acharya's death was announced by Chief Minister V. Sadananda Gowda to reporters in Vidhan Soudha, the State Secretariat. Mr. Gowda informed about this sad demise to the reporters minutes after the Minister's death around 1 p.m.

Dr. Acharya, who arrived from Udupi on Tuesday morning, reached Government Science College on Nrupathunga Road in Bangalore, where he was scheduled to participate in a seminar. As he was approaching the stage, Dr. Acharya collapsed, and was soon rushed to a hospital.

 He had been keeping indifferent health for the last few months, prompting the media speculation that he would be stepping down.

Dr. Acharya is a doctor by profession and later on he became a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council in the year 1996. He is survived by his wife, four sons and a daughter.

Reported by

     AR

Valentine Special: Brain, not the heart, drives you to fall in love

Ahead of Valentine's Day, a new study has revealed that intense romantic feelings actually comes from brain and not from the heart.

Researchers at the State University of New York found that it is the brain and not the heart which plays a vital role in falling in love. In a small study, the researchers looked at magnetic quality images of the brains of 10 women and 7 men who claimed to be deeply in love.

The length of their relationships ranged from one month to less than two years. Participants were shown photographs of their beloved, and photos of similar looking person.

The brains of obsessed participants reacted to photos of their sweethearts, producing emotional responses in the same parts of their brain normally involved with motivation and reward.

Arthur Aron, a psychologist at the State University, was quoted as saying  by LiveScience that intense passionate love uses the same system in the brain that gets activated when a person gets activated to drugs.

The researchers said that, in other words, we start to desire for the person we are in love with like a drug.

Experts said that romantic love is one of the most powerful emotions a person can have. Human brains agitated to chose a mate, and we humans become motivated to win over that mate, sometimes going to extremes to get their attention and care.

Lucy Brown, a neuroscientist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York said that you can feel happy when you're in love, but you can also feel anxious. The other person becomes a goal in life, essentially a prize.

 Brown said that the reward part of the brain, also dubbed the pleasure center, is an essential part of the brain needed to survive. She added that, it helps us recognise when something feels good.

Reported by

    AR

Three Indians charged in Praveen Reddy stabbing case

Three indians have been charged with the attempt to murder of Praveen Reddy, an MBA student in Britain, who was critically stabbed on Friday night in Newham.

The Metropolitan Police on Sunday told the reporters that the three accused are namely Amareshwar Arava aged 25 years, Sai Kishore Balguri aged 25 years and Nishanth Puttapaka aged 23 years.

The police spokesperson said that they are not treating the incident as racially motivated at this point of time.

The police said that the three accused will appear at the Thames Magistrate's court on Monday.

Earlier 11 persons were arrested in this connection.

External affairs ministerS.M. Krishna had spoken to the acting High Commissioner in UK, Rajesh Prasad, asking him to extend all the possible helpto Reddy, who was stabbed several times.

Krishna also had a discussion with the Andhra based businessman Sudhakar Reddy, father of Praveen Reddy, asking him of all help in getting visa.

They also said that the High Commission officials in the UK were co-ordinating with the doctors treating Praveen Reddy and MEA officials in Delhi is to take up the matter with the British High Commission so as to ensure expeditious issuance of the visa to his parents.

Reported by

    AR     

Man rapes mother of boy who eloped with his daughter

A man enraged after his daughter eloped with a boy, kidnapped and raped the boy's mother and aunt and subjected them to physical torture. The man, Suresh Bhil, has been arrested by Sarkhej Police who is now on a search for 10 other persons involved in kidnapping.

Renuka, Bhil's daughter, aged 20-years eloped with Leela's son Deepak, aged 22 years, from Asarwa in January. Deepak's family members also lodged a complaint in Shahibaug police station about his missing. Meanwhile, Leela and her sister Kokila got to know that the couple were hiding somewhere in Sarkhej.

On February 1, both the sisters went to Sarkhej to find Deepak and Renuka. However, Suresh, his wife Nanda and few others reached Sarkhej, and kidnapped the women. Police said that both the ladies were taken to houses in Sanand and Viramgam. Suresh allegedly raped both the women there. He insisted that both the women's were aware about his daughter's whereabouts but weren't ready to reveal.

On February 2, the women were forcibly taken in a vehicle to Deesa where Suresh subjected them to physical torture. The very next day, he released Leela and threatened her that unless she brought back his daughter, he won't let Kokila go.

Leela then came to Ahmedabad and approached Sarkhej police station. A team of policemen took her to Deesa where they got to know that Suresh has already taken Kokila to the Sabramati area, in Ahmedabad. Sabramati police launched a massive search operation in the area. But ironically, she was located from a house right opposite the Sabramati police station.

R.K. Patel, the Deputy Superintendent of police, Sarkhej division said that they have sent both the women for medical check-up at the Civil Hospital and teams have been dispatched to various areas to nab the remaining accused.

Reported by

    AR

 

 

 

Being in love is not an offence : Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court while hearing a petition of a 23-year-old youth seeking to quash rape case registered against him for sexually assaulting the minor victim under the pretext of marriage held that "being in love is not an offence".

The victim girl's parents have informed the High Court that they would not like to track the matter as it has been decided that the girl would be married to the arrested accused after she attains 18-years of age after three years.

A division bench of Justices V.M. Kanade and R.G. Ketkar said that being in love is not an offence. They need to look at these matters in a different angle. They will ensure that the girl is happily married. If the guardians of the girl had consented themselves to the match then it needs to be handled carefully.

The petitioner in the case, Amol Dhawale, aged 23 years was arrested on September 19 last year by Islampur Police in Sangli district for allegedly sexually assaulting the minor at a hotel room in Khandala under the pretext of marriage.

The victim and the accused had been in a relationship for a long time.

According to the police, the victim had accompanied two of her cousins (both minors) and the accused to Khandala. On her return, the girl's mother learnt about the incident and lodged a complaint.

Following the family's decision so as to amicably settle the matter, Dhawale approached the High Court seeking to revoke the FIR lodged against him.

The matter has been kept for further hearing later this week.

Reported by

     AR

 

Facebook files compliance report before court

Facebook India today filed its compliance report before the Delhi court which had ordered it and 21 other websites to remove objectionable content from their websites.

Google India also claimed that it has removed certain web pages from the internet on which objections were raised by the petitioners.

Meanwhile, Facebook, Yahoo and Microsoft told the court that they have no role to play in the case and that there is no cause of action against them in the matter.

Additional Civil Judge Praveen Singh also posed a query to the counsel appearing for the petitioner Mufti Ajiaz Arshad Qasmi, as to whether the blog service-providing companies can be made a party to the case for the content posted by the users on the blogs.

 The court, which will further hear the matter in the afternoon, asked Google Inc as to why it was not coming up properly  with a reply and brushed aside its contention that it had received the copy of its judgement and other documents related to the case only on last Friday.

The court said that why the Google Inc is not coming forward with a proper reply.

The court also asked the petitioners to supply all the documents that was relied upon, to all the opposite parties.

The court had on December 20 last year, in a ex-parte order issued summons to 22 social networking websites asking them to remove anti-religious or anti-social content in the form of photographs, videos or text which might hurt the religious feelings.

In had on December 24 set February 6 as deadline for the websites for the same.  

 Reported by

    AR

Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh undergoes Chemotherapy in USA for Cancer

Yuvraj Singh, a prominent Indian cricketer, has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing Chemotherapy in the United States.

The 30-year-old left hander has been in US since last month for the treatment of tumour in the lungs as alleged by his family.

But now it has been diagnosed as malignant and Yuvraj is currently undergoing Chemotherapy  in the Cancer Research Institute in Boston.

His Phsyiotherapist Dr. Jatin Chaudhary assured that the ailment is curable and the batsman would be fit to play cricket in May.

Reported by

   AR

Lokayukta court issues summons to Yeddyurappa, son's and son-in-laws

The Lokayukta Court today issued summons to former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and five others to appear before it on March 3 for their alleged involvement in an illegal land denotification case.

Lokayukta Judge N K Sudhindra Rao besides Yeddyurappa also issued summons to Yeddyurappa's sons B.Y. Raghavendra, B.Y. Vijayendra, his son-in-law Sohan Kumar, former minister Krishnaiah Setty and directors of Dhavalgiri properties Limited.

The above named persons are believed to be the main accused in the alleged illegal land denotification of government land in Rachenahalli and amalgamation of a public road on the outer ring road belonging to Vyyalikaval House Building Cooperative Society for pecuniary gain, causing loss to the state exchequer.

The Lokayukta Judge asked Yeddyurappa's sons and son-in-laws to not only to appear before in their personal capacity but also as Directors of Dhavalgiri Properties Limited.

The Lokayukta Police had submitted its inquiry report in October 2011 on a private complaint by Advocate Sirajin Basha.

Reported by

      AR  

   

 

 

Minor girl raped by her father

As per the police reports on Saturday, an 11-year-old minor girl was raped by her father at their residence in Seoni.

The police said that the incident is alleged to have taken place on Thursday, when the accused identified as Laxmi Prasad, allegedly raped his own daughter, when his wife had gone to relative's place to attend a marriage function.

After the mother's return, the girl narrated about the incident to her mother as well as some of their close relatives, following which, a complaint was registered subsequently and Prasad was arrested under Section 376 of IPC. The police also added that he was sent to jail by a local court on Saturday.

Reported by

    AR

 

CBI says it found no evidence against Chidambaram

Even as a special court dismissed a plea to make the Home Minister P. Chidambaram a co-accused in the 2G case, the CBI on Saturday said that it has not found any evidence of criminal culpability against him during its probe.

Sources say that while being asked about the court's rejection of the petition by the Janata Party President Swamy that it had conducted a thorough investigation in the allocation of 2G spectrum license and no evidence of criminal culpability on the part of P. Chidambaram has emerged so far.

Swamy, in his petition had sought making Mr. Chidambaram a co-accused in the 2G case alleging that he was culpable as the then Telecom Minister A Raja in determining the price of the spectrum.

Special Judge O.P. Saini dismissed Swami's petition holding that Mr. Chidambaram had not acted with malafide intention and had not conspired with Mr. Raja to destabilize the telecom policies for pecuniary gains.

The court said that it will commence the hearing on the complaint filed by Dr. Swamy in which he had made further allegations against Mr. Raja without making Chidambaram an accused from March 17.

Reported by

       AR

 

Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case hearing to begin

The trial in double murder case Aarushi-Hemraj is set to begin in a CBI court in Ghaziabad on Saturday. The Supreme Court on January 9 had dismissed the plea by Aaruhsi's parents Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Talwar to quash criminal proceedings against them for the murder of their daughter Aarushi and servant Hemraj in the year 2008.

However, the Supreme Court had directed that Rajesh Tiwari to be on bail till February 4 when he will face a Ghaziabad court to to face the trial in the twin murder case.

The Apex Court bench of justices A.K. Ganguly and J.S. Khehar passed the directions on a plea by Talwar seeking the continuation of his bail granted in 2008.

The court said that its order allowing the Talwar to remain on bail would not come in the way of both the CBI and the Talwars taking the further steps in pursuance of the on-going trial.

Aarushi, aged 14 years, was found dead in her bed with her throat slit in her parent's residence situated at Noida on May 15, 2008. The family's domestic helper, Hemraj who was initially suspected to be the prime suspect, was also found dead on the residence's terrace a day later.

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the CBI to respond to the Talwar's plea to transfer their trial in their daughter Aarushi's murder case from Ghaziabad to a Delhi court.

A bench of Justices of B.S. Chauhan and Jagdish Singh Kehar issued notice to the CBI after the senior counsel Harish Salve told the court that most of the 60 witnesses in the case were residing in Delhi and Rajesh Talwar was facing threat to his life if he attended trial before the Special CBI court in Ghaziabad.

The Supreme Court on January 6, 2012 had cleared the decks for the trial of Talwar couple after it rejected their pleas against the main accused in the 2008 murder case of their 14-year-old daughter in their own flat in Noida.

Reported by

    AR

 

Baby Falak stable for now, but still critical : Doctors

The two-year-old baby named Falak who was admitted into the AIIMS trauma centre days before is in stable condition now and has been taken off the ventilator but the doctor's claim that she is still in critical condition.

A senior doctor from the team of doctors monitoring her condition was quoted as saying that the baby's condition is still critical, but her vital parameters have been stable without the ventilator. And that they are constantly monitoring her.

The baby who was left at the hospital by a teenager on January 18 with multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, human bite marks on her tiny face and a clot on the right side of her brain. The baby has been battling with severe chest, brain and blood infections.

The teenager, who initially claimed to be Falak's mother  is now in a Juvenile home. She got hold of the baby from Rajkumar Gupta, who is alleged to be the key accused in the case who is on the run.

Though the serach for Gupta is going on who had handed over the baby to his teenage girlfriend, four people have been arrested in the case.

The treating doctor has said that it is too early for them to decide whether her life is out of danger or not as she has suffered brain damage.

Reported by

   AR

 

Supreme Court grants bail to Susanta Ghosh

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to former Left Front Minister and CPI(M) MLA Susanta Ghosh in connection with a skeleton recovery case.

A bench of justices comprising of Justice Altamas Kabir and Gyan Sudha Misra while granting bail imposed the condition that Mr. Ghosh would not visit West Bengal's West Midnapore district other than his Assembly constituency Garbeta.

The court, which allowed the appeal against the denial of bail by the Calcutta High Court on September 29, last year, said Mr. Ghosh would also have to visit a police station nearest to his residence on the last Sunday of every month between 11 am and 2 pm.

Other conditions for bail would be imposed by the trial court.

Mr. Ghosh's bail plea was argued by Advocate Ajay Sharma, who had filed the appeal against the High Court order.

Mr. Ghosh had been custody since last August after his arrest by the state CID for his alleged complicity in the murder of Ajay Acharya, whose son filed an FIR following the discovery of a skeleton from a pit.

Seven skeletons were found from a pit dug near Ghosh's ancestral house at Benachapra in West Midinipur district. DNA results proved that the skeletons that were found out were of Ajay Acharya. In the FIR, Shyamal Acharya named Mr. Ghosh as one of the key accused.

 He alleged that his father was killed along with the other six, all Trinamool Congress supporters in September, 2002 and their bodies were buried.

Mr.Ghosh has maintained that it is a politically motivated case and was filed after a change in the government in the state.

Reported by

    AR