In Bihar, Maoist claimed that one of the four captive police personnel Abhay Kumar Yadav had been killed today.Talking to a cross section of media Maoist spokesperson Avinash said that body of the slain police personnel will be handed over tonight. Maoist blamed the state government for the killing of the policeman and said we were forced to take the extreme step.AIR Patna correspondent says, there has not been any official confirmation of his killing yet.
The maoist have extended the deadline by 10 Am tomorrow. Besides, Sub Inspetor Rupesh Kumar Sinha, and Jawans of Bihar Military Police Lukus Tete and Ehatsaam Khan are under the custody of Maoists. Naxals are demanding release of their eight comrades in exchange of 3 captive security men.The eight naxals are undergoing imprisonment in different jails of the state.
Areas around Chief Minister official residence has been sealed because of security reasons. Our correspondent adds that a combing operation is continuing to mount pressure on naxals. A BSF helicopter has also been pressed into search operation.
IG (Operation) K S Dwivedi said that the forces have gathered vital clues about captive security men. Director General of Police Neelmani said that the government is ready to talk with the Maoists but they should talk to the authorities directly instead of communicating through media.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar himself is supervising the rescue operation. He assured the family members of the kidnapped policemen that they will be released safely.
Former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore will have to undergo his 18-month prison term with the Punjab and Haryana High Court today dismissing his plea challenging the sentence. Rathore is behind the bars for molesting 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra about 20 years back.
Justice Jatinder Chauhan also dismissed a petition by 68-year-old Rathore seeking release on probation. The Sessions Court had enhanced his six-month imprisonment awarded by a trial court in December last year to 18 months in jail on an appeal by CBI and her family. Rathore’s escape with a lighter sentence had sparked an outrage.
Ruchika, a budding tennis player, had committed suicide three years after being molested by Rathore on August
12, 1990. Rathore’s lawyer-wife Abha Rathore had filed the review petition on his behalf in the High Court on May 26 seeking bail, a day after he was sentenced and jailed.
by preeti on September 1, 2010
CBI today moved the Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta High Court order asking it to launch a fresh probe and register a murder case in the death of computer graphics teacher Rizwanur Rahman.
The agency said a fresh probe was not required in the case as it had earlier conducted the detailed probe and arrived at the conclusion that the offence was made for abetment of suicide against industrialist Ashok Todi and his relatives.
The agency has appealed against the May 18 order of the division bench of the High Court which had set aside the single bench decision directing CBI probe into the case.
Ashok Todi had on May 28 moved the Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta High Court’s order directing the CBI to conduct a fresh probe into the death of Rizwanur.
The division bench of the Calcutta High Court had on May 18 directed the CBI to treat as an FIR the complaint filed by Rukbanur Rahman, elder brother of Rizwanur, on September 21, 2007.
The bench had observed that Justice Soumitra Pal in his earlier order had only directed the CBI to investigate the
cause of the death and file a report to it and had not authorised the agency to investigate the alleged crime.
The CBI had then in its report concluded that Rizwanur’s death was a case of suicide and recommended initiation of an abetment to suicide case under Section 306 of the IPC.
Rizwanur was found dead near railway tracks in Dumdum area of Kolkata on September 21, 2007, just a month after his marriage on August 18, 2007, to Priyanka Todi, daughter of industrialist Ashok Todi.
Ashok Todi, owner of a 200-crore hosiery brand, his brother Pradip and brother in-law Anil Sarogi are accused in the case along with senior IPS officers then serving in the Kolkata Police.
by sanjay on September 1, 2010
Sharjah Court of Appeals today fixed 29 September as the next date for hearing of appeals related to death penalty of 17 Indians who were found guilty by the Sharjah Shariah Court of killing a Pakistani national and injuring three of his compatriots.
The Judge of appeals court heard the accused today who pleaded not guilty in the matter. The family members of eight Indians were also present in the court, who arrived at Sharjah to witness the hearing. The case was earlier adjourned on May 19, June 16 and 14 July.
Later talking to media persons the family members of eight convicted Indians expressed satisfaction on efforts being made by Indian Consulate on the direction of Indian Government.
The convicted, 16 from the Punjab and one from Haryana, were found guilty by the Sharjah Shariah Court of killing a Pakistani national and injuring three of his compatriots allegedly during a clash in January 2009.
by pavan on September 1, 2010
The Home Minister has expressed the hope to restart the dialogue process in Jammu & Kashmir in the near future. He said that the government is willing to speak to any group, political party and all sections of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that the Centre has acknowledged that a political solution must be found to the problems of Jammu & Kashmir.
In reply to a question, Mr. Chidambaram said that the answers to Pakistan’s dossier on David Coleman Headley, accused in the Mumbai terror attacks,have been furnished. These are expected to be handed over in a day or two.
On naxal violence, Mr. Chidambaram said that there was never any progress in the direction of talks with the CPI (Maoists), so there is no question of a set back. He said hat the government offer to hold talks with the CPI (Maoists), if they abjure violence remains on the table. He said that as stated by him earlier, there is no credible response to the offer by the Maoists.
In reply to a number of questions on the Home Minister’s reference to saffron terrorism at a recent conference in New Delhi, Mr. Chidambaram said that the right wing fundamentalist groups are suspected to be behind some bomb blasts. He said there are religious fundamentalist groups and the message should not be lost in the phrases. He said that this phrase has brought the message home and the purpose has been served.
by Arun on September 1, 2010
An Australia-bound Qantas flight with more than 200 passengers on board has been forced to make an emergency landing in San Francisco after an explosion punched a hole in its engine casing.
Local media is reporting that an engine on the plane’s right side exploded 45 minutes after it took off from San Francisco. The explosion blew a hole in the engine’s external casing.
It is believed the pilot declared an emergency and dumped fuel over the Pacific Ocean as a precaution before returning to the airport. San Francisco Airport officials say there were no injuries.
by preeti on September 1, 2010
Although Pakistan’s floodwaters are beginning to recede after the country’s month-long drenching, the heads of several U.N. agencies say aid still is in urgent need across the country.
The heavy rains that were so common during the past month are occurring less frequently now in Islamabad, a sign that the monsoon season might be drawing to a close. But U.N. officials say the end to the nightmare for an estimated 17.6 million people across Pakistan who are suffering because of flooding is nowhere in sight.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s special envoy for assistance to Pakistan, Jean-Maurice Ripert, spoke to reporters in Islamabad. He said that weeks into the disaster, Mr. Ban’s earlier assessment that the flooding was a slow-motion tsunami still is accurate. Ripert said Pakistan has received assistance and pledges of more than dollar one billion. But he said that is far from enough.
by admin on September 1, 2010
Home Minister P Chidambaram called for an “out of box” solution for the country’s internal security problems.
Addressing a programme jointly organised by Young Turks and CII in New Delhi, the Home Minister said that there is extreme left wing movement and extreme right wing movement,the Government needs to be innovative and inventive to douse fire and solve problems related to internal security.
When asked about repealing Armed Forces Special Power Act in Jammu and Kashmir, he said Prime Minister has publicly said that AFSPA should be repealed. Many civic societies have also advocated the same view.
Expressing his concern over the problem of Naxalism, Mr Chidambaram said that we have to address it at two levels. One is development and another law and order. We are addressing at both the fronts
The Supreme Court’s decision to examine CBI’s plea for restoration of the grave charge of culpable homicide against 1984 Bhopal gas leak case accused has been welcomed by the social activists and top law officer said his sincere efforts would be to get the petition heard by the apex court.
Founder of Gas Pidit Mahila Udyog Sansthan Abdul Jabbar and an activist Satinath Sarangi also hailed the decision of the Supreme Court and expressed the hope that the justice would be delivered soon.
While expressing happiness over CBI’s initiative to approach the Supreme Court, S R Mohanty, the Principal Secretary, Madhya Pradesh government, said that CBI took it up and the Supreme Court had issued notice. This opens the possibility of meeting the ends of justice.
Sunita Narain, Chairman of Centre for Science and Environment, said the apex court’s decision has assured that we are on the road to justice.
Earlier the Supreme Court issued notices to all the accused in Bhopal gas leak case. This follows a petition by the CBI seeking to restore against them , the stringent charge of culpable homicide, which attracts a maximum punishment of 10 year jail term. During in-chamber proceedings, a bench comprising Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices Altamas Kabir and R V Raveendran sought response from the accused on the curative petition filed by the probe agency seeking recall of the apex court’s 14-year-old judgement.
The accused include former Union Carbide India Chairman Keshav Mahindra and six others. The curative petition was filed after a nationwide outrage over the trial court judgement in the 26-year-old case. Following this the Centre appointed a Group of Ministers to recommend steps including ways to get the punishment enhanced. Over 15 thousand people died and thousands maimed in the worst industrial disaster in December 1986.
Bhopal gas disaster victims and NGO’s working among them have welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to consider the CBI’s curative petition against the apex court’s 1996 order diluting charges against accused in the Bhopal gas tragedy criminal case. AIR correspondent Shariq Noor reports from Bhopal that the Supreme Court’s move has given rise to hope of justice among the gas victims once again after 26 years. Most of the gas victims and NGO’s working for them have demanded that Supreme Court should set up a special court for hearing of the case so that justice is dispensed to the victims at the earliest. They also demanded that a time frame should be fixed for disposal of case.
by preeti on September 1, 2010
Scientists have found that food presented in a virtual reality environment causes the same emotional response as real food, a discovery that could be used for the evaluation and treatment of eating disorders.
Researchers believe that the technique, which allows one to pretend as if eating in a computer generated restaurant, could reduce the fear for food among people suffering from conditions like anorexia and bulimia.
The sight of food causes major anxiety to those patients, but the researchers said the new technique could help reverse their unhealthy relationship with food to the point where they can eventually be reintroduced to the real thing.
For their study, appeared in BioMed Central’s open access journal Annals of General Psychiatry, a team of international researchers compare the effects of the exposure to real food, virtual food and photographs of food in a sample of patients affected by eating disorders.
The virtual reality (VR) experience was shown to be much stronger than just showing the patients photographs.
Lead researcher Alessandra Gorini from the Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, said: “Though preliminary, our data show that virtual stimuli are as effective as real ones, and more effective than static pictures, in generating emotional responses in eating disorder patients“.
During the research, all the participants — 10 anorexic, 10 bulimic and 10 healthy subjects — were initially shown a series of six real, high-calorie foods placed on a table in front of them. Their heart rate, perspiration and psychological stress were measured during the exposure.
This process was then repeated with a slide show of the same foods, and a virtual reality trip into a computer-generated diner where they could interact with the virtual version of the same six items. It was found that the participants’ level of stress was statistically identical whether in virtual reality or real exposure.
Gorini said: “Since real and virtual exposure elicit a comparable level of stress, higher than the one elicited by static pictures, we may eventually see VR being used to screen, evaluate, and treat the emotional reactions provoked by specific stimuli in patients affected by different psychological disorders”.