'Godman' nabbed with six women, sex racket busted

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Friday claimed to have busted a sex racket allegedly run by a 'godman', Shiv Murat Dwivedi (39). One of the godman's aides and six women, including two airhostesses, have been arrested along with the godman.

According to police, the godman had set up a temple, out of which he ran his prostitution business, in south Delhi's Khanpur area. The accomplice, who police say is a pimp, has been identified as Praveen Kumar (28).

The godman's disciples call him Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale.

According to DCP (south) H G S Dhaliwal, of the six women, two are air-hostesses, one an MBA student and another an aspiring Bollywood actress. The aspiring actress has been taking regular acting classes. All the girls are between the ages of 22 and 25.

''The godman supplied high-class escorts. His clients often flew down to Delhi and stayed in five-star hotels,” said Dhaliwal.The entire gang was nabbed on Thursday after police received information that some pimps and sex workers were coming to PVR Saket to strike a deal. A sub-inspector was sent as a decoy customer. A deal was struck and the gang arrested.

According to Dhaliwal, Dwivedi comes from Chitrakoot in UP. He came to Delhi in 1988. ''He started working as a security guard at the Park Royal in Nehru Place and later shifted to a massage parlour in Lajpat Nagar. In 1997, he was arrested for being involved in prostitution. He was again arrested for receiving stolen property in 1998,” said Dhaliwal.

It was then that Dwivedi disguised himself as a godman and a disciple of Sai Baba. He constructed a 200-bed hospital and a temple in Chitrakoot.

The two airhostesses who were arrested have worked with leading Indian and international airlines and were living in huge apartments in posh south Delhi colonies.

Suicide bomber kills three in Pakistan: Police

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Two policemen and a civilian were killed and over 20 injured on Saturday when a suicide bomber rammed a van packed with explosives into a police station in northwest Pakistan, police said.

"The attacker detonated his pick up van at the gate of the main police station in Karak town" of North West Frontier Province, local police chief Sajid Mohmand told AFP. "Two policemen and one civilian were killed."

At least 26 people were wounded, 21 of them are policemen, he added.

"We have received three bodies and 26 wounded," local hospital doctor Nazrul Islam said, adding that some of the wounded were in a serious condition.

'My name is Osama... And I am a Gujju trader'

For Muslims across the world, life changed drastically, and in many ways, after 9/11. Finding rented accommodation became increasingly difficult, a beard and skull cap invited wary stares on buses and trains, and the police randomly picked up innocent Muslim youth on suspicion of being involved in terrorist activities. It's the unfairness of the entire situation that makes Shah Rukh Khan's character in My Name is Khan repeatedly clarify: "My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist."

But leave Khan aside. It's a movie, after all. What if your name is Osama, Saddam or Dawood in real life and you live in communally sensitive Gujarat? Do people immediately see the shadow of a terrorist lurking behind the name? These names had become popular at different points of time in the past. For instance, many children were named Saddam immediately after the first Gulf War in 1990, when the former Iraqi dictator was hailed as a hero in the Muslim world for taking on the might of the Western armies. These children have grown up today and what should have been just a name, suddenly isn't.

There's the baggage of ideology and an unhappy modern context to deal with. Muslims will tell you they don't face any problem with such names as long as they are confined to their ghettos. But step out of the ghetto and a name like Osama or Saddam raises eyebrows, leads to subtle ostracism and excessive questioning at high-security zones like airports. Life is a struggle for these people, and they don't have a film's poetic licence to fall back on for a happy ending.

People often double check with Ahmedabad businessman Usama Daruwala.Many ask, Osama bin Laden? The question usually comes with a smirk. "No, Usama bin Ibrahim," he corrects them. "My father's name is Ibrahim." It is obviously not easy to live with a name that resembles that of the most wanted terrorist in the world. But Usama, 30, insists he was named after a sahabi, a person who was a companion of the Prophet and looked after his needs. "When I was given the name, Osama bin Laden was nowhere on the horizon," Usama says. "But I am not bothered by what people say. My name has its roots in the Quran."

That the men named Osama are mostly on the defensive now and unwilling to indulge in much talk about it is obvious. They will look at you suspiciously when you ask why they were called so. They will go out of their way to tell you that the terrorist did not inspire their name. Some will even refuse to talk to you if you start asking questions about the origin of their name.

Saddam Banjara, for instance, is clean-shaven and won't be mistaken for a Muslim until he puts on his white prayer cap. "Occasionally, a head turns in surprise when I tell people my name," says the 20-year-old motorcycle mechanic. "But I am proud of being named after Saddam Hussein."

And though 'Dawood' has almost disappeared in the last few years, partly because no one wants his child to be identified with the underworld don, there is nothing Dawood Ibrahim,a 65-year-old retired businessman from Bharuch, now settled in the UK, can do about it. He considered changing his name at one point, even telling friends in India it was a nightmare passing through immigration and security at the Mumbai airport. He is always frisked more than other passengers and has to answer many more uncomfortable questions.

Of the many Saddam Husseins in Ahmedabad, one is a 19-year-old roadside mechanic in Shahpur, specialising in fitting air-conditioners in cars. "Six months back, I visited a popular place in Gandhinagar with my friends, two of whom were Hindus and two Muslims. They let all my friends go, including those with names like Altaf and Mahir, but I was stopped. They questioned me for half an hour, took down my address and made a detailed check of my wallet. It was humiliating. I am never going back."

Usman Patel, a transporter who shifted from the small town of Modasa in Gujarat to Hubli in Karnataka, was about to catch a flight to Jeddah for Haj in 2002 when security officials stopped him and did not let him board the flight. Why? His son's name was Osama and he was travelling with him. "We were allowed to fly the next day, but I still carry the hurt of that experience," he says.

Osama Shaikh, a 15-year-old schoolboy, remains uncomfortable with the name he has been saddled with. "Because I live in a Muslim locality and (because) most students in my school are also Muslim, my name does not matter. But it becomes an issue the moment I have to go out, while visiting a doctor, for instance." The kid knows there's lot more in a name, especially in these uncertain days, than what Shakespeare would have you believe.

US favours direct India-Pakistan talks: Hillary Clinton

WASHINGTON: As the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan prepared to meet in New Delhi, the US said it had encouraged the two countries to resume direct talks at the highest political level.

"With respect to India and Pakistan, we've encouraged the resumption of the direct talks which were suspended when (Pakistan) President (Pervez) Musharraf left office," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a Senate panel on Wednesday.

Those talks between Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "had actually been quite productive particularly in producing results on the ground in Kashmir", she said at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee on her department's budget for Fiscal Year 2011.

"But they've been in abeyance now for I think slightly more than two years," Clinton said in reply to a question from Republican senator Judd Gregg who wanted to know what the US was doing on the issue of the India-Pakistan relationship.

"So we've encouraged both countries to begin a dialogue. They are going to be doing so. There will be a meeting within days as I recall the date," she said.

"We are sensitive to the concerns that they each have, that it's their issues that they have to address," Clinton said. "But we continue to raise it and make the case to each separately as to why it's in their mutual interest to proceed."

On US relations with India, she noted: "We've had a very successful start to this Administration building on, frankly, the success and the investment of the prior two administrations in working with India, creating more opportunities for investment, more relationship building between our two governments."

With Pakistan too US was "trying to create a new relationship with Pakistan that is of longer duration and making the Pakistanis know that we're in it for the long term".

"So I think that in these two areas, which are two of the most significant areas for America's long term security, we are working very hard and you know trying to make even very small but significant progress in any way we can," she said.

"What's going on in Pakistan right now is very significant," Clinton said, referring to "the increasing efforts by the Pakistani military and intelligence services to capture Taliban leaders" and "work with the United States both on the civilian and the military side, better to assist in what they're doing to reclaim territory from Swat to North Waziristan".

The $52.8 billion State Department budget, a $4.9 billion increase over 2010, includes $3.6 billion for supporting efforts in "frontline states", Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq.

The request for Pakistan includes $3.2 billion "to combat extremism, promote economic development, strengthen democratic institutions, and build a long-term relationship with the Pakistani people."

Police officer, Maoist killed in encounter

BANKURA (WB): A police officer and a Maoist were killed and two others injured in a gunfight between the security forces and the ultras at Sarenga in Bankura district, police said on Thursday.

A group of armed Maoists shot at and injured local CPM leader Tarashankar Patra late last night.

On getting the information, police and joint forces rushed to the spot.Another team of joint forces from Lalgarh came and a gunbattle with the security forces ensued.

Inspector-in-charge of Sarenga police station, Rabi Lochan Mitra and a Maoist cadre Dule were killed in the encounter, Superintendent of Police Vishal Garg told PTI.

Another guerrilla Mithun was injured in the gunfight, Garg said.

Patra has been admitted to Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Mithun was taken to Sarenga hospital, police said.

M F Husain given Qatar nationality

NEW DELHI: India's eminent artist M.F. Husain, who has been under attack from Hindu fundamentalists for his paintings of Hindu goddesses and has been living in Dubai and London, has been given Qatar nationality, it was reported here on Thursday.

"I, the Indian origin painter M.F. Husain at 95, have been honoured by Qatar nationality," the celebrated artist wrote above a line sketch of a horse, the leitmotif of much of his work. The black and white drawing was carried by The Hindu newspaper.

In a signed article, The Hindu editor N. Ram wrote that the artist had given him the news from Dubai "by reading out the few lines he had written on a black-and-white line drawing that he released to The Hindu".

According to the report, Husain did not apply for the nationality but it was conferred on him at the instance of the emirate's ruling family.

Photographer, designer and activist Ram Rahman, who is close to the Husain family, responded to the news by saying: "The citizenship has been offered by the sheikha, the wife of the sheikh of Qatar, and it has several implications.

"On a personal note, I feel it is quite clear that the man who is 95 years old and cannot return to his country to die, there is no point of him remaining an Indian citizen."

"It would be a tragedy. He has not given up his Indian citizenship yet but if he decides to take up the Qatari offer, he will not remain an Indian citizen anymore. It is also a reflection of our legal system because the cases against him will drag on for 20-30 years.... so it is justified if he takes up the Qatari offer," Rahman told IANS.

14 months after 26/11, India, Pakistan begin talks

NEW DELHI: The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan on Thursday began official talks here, the first formal engagement since the Mumbai terror attacks 14 months ago.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao greeted her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir at Hyderabad House as the two top officials along with their delegations sat down for talks, aimed at breaking the deadlock in bilateral ties.

"We look forward to our talks," Rao told reporters outside Hyderabad House.

"Hyderabad House is a familiar venue. We look forward to a very, good constructive arrangement," a smiling Bashir added before going inside for the talks.

Besides Rao, the Indian team included India's High Commissioner to Islamabad Sharat Sabharwal, joint secretary in charge of Pakistan Y.K. Sinha, ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vishnu Prakash and other officials of the MEA.

The Pakistani delegation comprised Afrasiab, director-general of the South Asia division and a former deputy high commissioner to India, Pakistan's High Commissioner Shahid Malik, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit and other senior officials.

The delegation-level talks are expected to last for at least two hours.

Rao will host a lunch for the Pakistani delegation.

The two sides have made it clear that although they have their differing core concerns, they are going into these crucial talks with "an open mind".

For India, the core concern is terrorism and the alleged use of Pakistani territory by anti-India terror outfits, but it is willing to discuss other issues. Pakistan has made it clear that it will focus on the Kashmir dispute and other issues like sharing of river waters.

The Pakistani delegation will also call on National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, a former foreign secretary and a former Indian envoy to Islamabad, on Thursday evening. On Friday morning, the Pakistanis will call on External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna before heading back to Islamabad.

The outcome of the talks is expected to determine the future trajectory of engagement between the two neighbours.

Indian and Pakistani leaders met at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt last year. But this is the first structured dialogue since the Mumbai attack in November 2008 that put the brakes on the composite dialogue between the two countries.

Rohit Bal undergoes emergency angioplasty

NEW DELHI: Designer Rohit Bal underwent an emergency angioplasty – often referred to as rescue angioplasty late on Tuesday night after he complained of fresh chest pain. Bal had suffered a massive heart attack on Tuesday morning that had damaged a significant part of his heart muscles.

Doctors had initially decided to conduct an angiography on Wednesday morning to access the extent of blockage in Bal’s cardiac arteries and then take a call on whether he would require a bypass or an angioplasty.

But late on Tuesday night, Bal complained of acute chest pain once again forcing doctors at Medanta Medicity to conduct the hour-long emergency angioplasty.

Speaking to TOI, chairman of interventional cardiology at Medanta Dr Praveen Chandra who conducted the angioplasty on Bal said "we realized that if we didn’t conduct the angioplasty immediately, Rohit Bal’s heart would suffer more damage."

So what caused the heart attack?

Doctors found that one of Bal’s arteries – the left anterior descending (LAD), was blocked almost 90%. A thrombosuction to clear up the artery was then conducted on Bal following which he was administered a clot dissolving medicine to clear up the remaining partial block. A stent was then put ino the artery. LAD supplies blood to the front of the left side of the heart.

Another artery – the right coronary, was also found to be blocked 100%. But doctors left that untouched since they found that the body had already created a bypass channel through which blood supply to the heart was continuing.

An intra aortic balloon pump has also been put on Bal which will support Bal’s heart in the next 48 hours and help it recover faster. The balloon will increase blood flow to the heart muscle and decreases the heart’s workload through a process called counterpulsation. It can produce up to 20% of the heart’s workload. The IABP is placed in the aorta, which is the main artery that carries oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body.

"We will have to be watchful over the next 24 hours. He is on the intra aortic balloon pump and blood thinning medication. The attack was very severe," Dr Chandra added.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a condition in which plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply our heart muscle with oxygen-rich blood.

Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol and calcium. Plaque narrows the arteries and reduces blood flow to the heart muscle. It also makes it more likely that blood clots will form in your arteries. Blood clots can partially or completely block blood flow. When our coronary arteries are narrowed or blocked, oxygen-rich blood can’t reach the heart muscle. This can cause chest pain or heart attack.

Doctors at Medanta said that the drug administered on Bal on Tuesday afternoon at Aashlok hospital where he was first taken failed because of which the designer faced another bout of chest pain on Tuesday night.

Chairman of clinical cardiology at Medanta Dr R R Kasliwal had told TOI that the echo showed that large parts of Bal’s heart muscles had been damaged. Two valves of the heart were also not moving.

Bloom or bust moment for NRI's green power technology

WASHINGTON: Hot air or cool energy? Hope or hype? Boom or bust? Savior or Segway? Hours before the official launch of a compact, new power plant-in-a-box that promises to change the world’s energy paradigm, speculation is rife over whether the so-called Bloom Box will live up to its billing.

Bloom Energy’s principal scientist-CEO K.R.Sridhar has been incommunicado for the last 72 hours since CBS’ 60 minutes first broadcast a story about his breakthrough technology, but experts and analysts, bloggers and twitterati, geeks and gearheads, have taken apart the little information now in public domain to see if the promise of the holy grail of energy – cheap, clean power – is true.

This much is known: Sridhar, a former NASA advisor, has devised a fuel cell contraption that combines oxygen and fossil fuel (like natural gas) to create electricity. The contraption can be the size of a loaf of bread (which can power a single home) or it can be scaled to the size of a refrigerator (to power, say, a large office building). It can be installed in your garage or back yard, independent of the larger transmission grid.

There are questions and doubts aplenty, most notably about the costs, and Bloom Energy has promised to answer them at the formal launch at its client eBay’s headquarters in Silicon Valley on Wednesday at an event where California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected. But even Bloom buffs are warning against over-expectation, suggesting it is still a work in progress.

This is because while fuel cell technology is not new -- it has been around for decades -- and no company had managed to scale down the costs and scale up production to make it viable. Not even giants like General Electric and Siemens, two companies that are closely watching Bloom bloom. Conspiracy theorists are already suggesting the Bloom hype is aimed at selling the technology to the biggies; some are even worrying for Sridhar’s life.The company's name, incidentally, was coined by Sridhar's nine-year old son.

The 49-year-old mechanical engineer from Madras has been at the technology for eight years, in course of which he has managed to get Silicon Valley’s famed venture capitalists pony up nearly $ 400 million in funding, mainly from the storied firm of Kleiner Perkins, where another Indian geek, Sun Microsystems’ co-founded Vinod Khosla, is a general partner. Khosla has taken a back seat on the Bloom story, but it is being driven by his colleague John Doerr, prime investor in such successes as Netscape, Amazon, and Google, and an occasional lemon like Segway, an auto module that was expected to revolutionize transport but is now used by tour companies, on campuses, and by police.

Sridhar’s technology centers round a floppy-disk sized ceramic tile coated with a secret "sauce" (both propriety technologies) that are stacked together into bread-loaf sized boxes which in-turn can be scaled up to the size of a refrigerator. When fossil fuels like natural gas or renewable like bio-gas are fed into this Bloom Box, it combines with oxygen to create a chemical reaction that produces electricity, with no need for power lines from an outside source. Several such boxes are working in Google, eBay and other well-known US firms to much acclaim and minimum problems.

So what’s the big deal, since the Bloom Box still needs fuel – and why not use the fuel directly to product electricity as is traditionally done? Well, simply put, the Bloom Box produces more bang (electricity) for the buck (fuel). The precise numbers haven’t been provided, but roughly, the Bloom Box is said to produce double the amount of electricity the same fuel can produce by traditional methods. Plus there is savings in terms of real estate and infrastructure.

According to eBay CEO John Donohoe, the company uses five Bloom Boxes that run on landfill waste-based bio-gas and generate more power than the company's 3,000 solar panels. A four-unit box, using natural gas, has been powering a Google data center for 18 months. Ball-park calculations indicate that a 30,000-square-foot office building would use four of these boxes, each costing between $ 700,000 to $ 800,000. The unknown factors include how much fuel it uses, wear and tear, and maintenance.

But such is the excitement over the technology that even skeptics are willing it to succeed. "I'm skeptical. I'm hopeful but I'm skeptical," Michael Kanellos, Editor of GreenTechEnergy, told 60 Minutes. "'Cause people have tried fuel cells for since the 1830s. And they're great ideas, right? You know, producing energy at an instant. But they're not easy. They're like the divas of industrial equipment. The little plates inside have to work not just for an hour or a day, but they have to work for 30 years, nonstop. And then the box has to be cheap to make."

Sridhar reckons it will be another five to ten years before the Bloom Box can be sized to residential requirements to cost around $ 3000. But that’s just the capital cost and doesn’t factor in the fuel input. By then, says Kanellos, giants like GE and Siemens will be in on to the game. The Bloom Box that may be in your basement, says Kanellos (who gives it a 20 per cent chance of the technology gaining ground) might well have a GE sticker on it.

Some other skeptics have been even harsher. Amid raging debates on tech sites and blogs, one skeptic scoffed at the Bloom Box claims, asking if it could run on pixie dust and unicorn droppings. "I think whoever the PR flak was who got this on 60 minutes deserves a Maserati for a bonus. This is the biggest ass-kiss I've seen on a network in a loooong time," another sneered.

Mumbai office rents twice of Manhattan

MUMBAI: Despite the global meltdown, office rentals all over the world are expected to hold firm or increase in 2010 according to global property consultancy firm Knight Frank's annual projection for the year. Tokyo continued to command the highest office rents in the world during 2009.

Although Mumbai does not figure in the top ten global office rentals, its rentals are sometimes twice those of Manhattan. For instance if space opposite the Grand Central Station in Manhattan is in the vicinity of $3 to $4 (Rs 138 to Rs 184) a square foot a month, some of the commercial space in the Bandra-Kurla Complex commands as much as $7 (Rs 322) a square foot every month, according to Knight Frank. Prices in the central business district of Nariman Point are also in the same range.

According to the Knight Frank survey, despite substantial rental falls during 2009, eight of last year's top 10 still remained there. These are London (West End) at the second spot, Paris (3), Moscow (4), St Petersburg (5), Abu Dhabi (6), Dubai (7), Singapore (8) and Hong Kong (9) London's City Market (10).

St Petersburg and London's City Market returned to the top 10, moving up from their 2008 positions of 13 and 12 respectively.

Joe Simpson, head of commercial international research, Knight Frank, said, "A quarter of the cities surveyed are expected to see a fall in rents in 2010, but in most cases the degree by which rents will decrease will be marginal in comparison to the negative movement seen in 2009. The remaining 75% will, at worst, see rents holding firm with approximately half expected to show positive rental growth in the year ahead."

London's West End witnessed falls of more than 20% in Euro terms and Hong Kong, Dubai and St Petersburg saw rental falls in excess of 30%; Singapore saw rents more than halve in 2009.

New York saw one of the heaviest falls of all the major global office markets, with a 45% decline in Euro terms. "This has resulted in a plunge in New York's rank amongst the expensive major office markets from 15th at the end of 2008 to 21st at the end of 2009," the survey said.

More than half the cities surveyed by the consultancy firm are not forecast to see further rental decline in 2010, and 40% of the markets surveyed are expected to see growth in the coming year.

Although not officially included in the top 10 list, Luanda, Angola, commanded prime rents that outstrip those in Tokyo, London, Paris and New York. The best buildings in the capital of the resource-rich South-West African country commanded rents of up to Euro 1,500 a square metre per annum.

Toll of US dead in Afghanistan hits 1,000: Website

WASHINGTON: The number of US soldiers who have died in Afghanistan reached 1,000 on Monday, according to website icasualties.org, a grim milestone in the war launched more than eight years ago.

The independent website, which tracks military deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq, said 54 US soldiers have died in Afghanistan so far this year, compared with a toll of 316 last year -- the worst since the US-led invasion of 2001.

The top-ranking US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, warned of more casualties as US-led forces press an offensive in Marjah, a key Taliban stronghold, where foreign troops have faced strong militant resistance.

"We must steel ourselves, no matter how successful we are on any given day, for harder days yet to come," he told reporters.

Melbourne not safe for Indians: Australian opposition leader

MELBOURNE: Streets of Melbourne were not safe for Indians and the government should spend money on policing and preventing racial attacks to improve relationship, Australia's Opposition Leader Tony Abott said on Tuesday.

The remarks came in the wake of government's move to arrange accommodation for a team of Indian journalists touring Down Under.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is spending $250,000 on flights and five-star accommodation for the journalists in a bid to clear up a diplomatic row over a series of attacks on Indians, the AAP reported quoting Herald Sun.

During their visit, the team of 25 reporters will tour the Melbourne Cricket Ground and see the concerts of Bollywood composer AR Rahman scheduled to be held in Sydney and Melbourne.

Abbott said the money would be better spent preventing the bashing which was the basic "PR problem" between India and Australia.

"I think it would be much better spending the money on better policing of our streets because that's the basic problem," Abbott told Fairfax Radio Network.

"Our streets aren't safe, particularly the streets of Melbourne, which appear to have been pretty seriously under-policed.

"If you didn't have these racially motivated bashings in unsafe streets we wouldn't have the PR problem, so let's go to the heart of the matter."

According to the DFAT, about $10,000 would be spent on each of the visiting reporters.

Spokesman of the Federation of Indian Students in Australia Gautum Gupta said that the visits were "just marketing junkets paid for by the taxpayer", tightly scheduled and designed to gloss over problems.

No pre-condition for talks with Maoists, says govt

NEW DELHI: Responding to the ceasefire offer by Maoists, the Union government on Tuesday made it clear that it will not accept any pre-conditions for talks with "ifs and buts" and asked the militants to come out with a simple statement saying they will abjure violence.

"I would like no ifs, no buts and no conditions," Home Minister P Chidambaram said in a statement, a day after the CPI(Maoists) made a conditional ceasefire offer asking the Government to halt the offensive against them for 72 days and involve mediators for talks.

He said Government has seen many versions of a statement reportedly made by the leaders of the CPI (Maoist). "In the absence of an authentic statement, Government is unable to respond to these versions," the statement said.

Nevertheless, in order to clear the air, the Home Minister said, "I would like a short, simple statement from the CPI (Maoist) saying 'We will abjure violence and we are prepared for talks'".

Chidambaram said he would like the statement to be faxed to Home Ministry number 011-23093155.

"Once I receive the statement, I shall consult the Prime Minister and other colleagues and respond promptly," he said.

Last night, top Maoist leader Kishenji told the media over phone from an undisclosed place that "state governments and the Centre should not indulge in violence between February 25 and May 7 and concentrate on development of tribal areas which will be reciprocated by Maoists".

He was responding to Chidamabaram's statement last week that if the Maoists halted violence for 72 hours, the government would be ready for talks with them.

Parliament were adjourned

NEW DELHI: Both the houses of the Parliament were adjourned on Tuesday, the second day of the budget session, as the opposition parties cornered the ruling UPA over price rise.

With opposition sticking to its demand, there was an uproar in Lok Sabha with government insisting that the problem of price rise was "more a failure" of the state governments than the Centre.

Meira Kumar adjourned the house till noon after opposition MPs including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) demanded that their adjournment motion be accepted and all other businesses of the house postponed to discuss the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities.

The house witnessed noisy scenes soon after the speaker introduced Sushma Swaraj of the BJP as the new Leader of Opposition welcoming her.

"I extend warm welcome to her," she said.

Meira Kumar also thanked former leader of the opposition L.K. Advani for his support in running the house.

Swaraj returned the compliment to the speaker but said she was compelled to move an adjournment motion "because the government has been sleeping over the price rise issue".

"I am sorry but the people are suffering. We want discussion on top priority basis. All the businesses should be delayed. The price rise is the most important issue," Swaraj said.

"Please accept my adjournment motion. We will allow the house to function but price rise should be discussed first."

Other opposition members shouted slogans against the government forcing the speaker to adjourn the house.

Earlier, BJP had insisted on bringing an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha to discuss the issue of price rise as previous debates have yielded no results.

"We want to bring an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha on the burning issue of price rise. Previous debates under Rule 193 (short duration discussion) have yielded no results," party's Deputy Leader in the Lower House Gopinath Munde told reporters here after the Parliamentary Party's meeting this morning.

The BJP had already given a notice for adjournment motion and said the government should not make it an ego issue.

A discussion under an adjournment motion entails voting. Similarly in Rajya Sabha, BJP wanted a debate on price rise under Rule 167 which allows voting.

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Youth News Express (Part -2)

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Delhi govt seeks Rs 2,000 crore in Union Budget

NEW DELHI: Reeling under huge cost overruns for the Commonwealth Games projects, Delhi government has sought a special assistance of Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre in the Union Budget to meet its revenue shortfall. Delhi government has written to the Union finance ministry requesting it to help tide over the situation arising out of huge spending on infrastructure development in the run-up to the mega sporting event, finance minister A K Walia said. "We have sought over Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre in the Union budget as special assistance to meet the growing expenses on account of the Games," Walia said in an interview. The minister also forecast a financial shortfall in the next fiscal and said the government had small savings of Rs 11,000 crore which helped it to a great extent in meeting the increasing expenses on Games-related projects this year. "The small saving fund helped us in tide over the situation. As the small saving fund is going to be exhausted soon, either we will have to increase our revenue generation or or cut down on expenses," he said. Officials in the finance department said cost-overruns of almost all the projects relating to the Games have been making a severe dent on the exchequer.

Ahmedabad to celebrate 600 years of existence

AHMEDABAD: One of the oldest city of the country from where Mahatma Gandhi spearheaded the Indian freedom movement will be entering 600th year of its existence in a big way from next week. In the last six centuries city has seen many ups and downs and has developed into a mega-city which is at heart of Gujarat state's development. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) plans to have year-long celebrations for the city's 600th anniversary bash which was founded by Ahmed Shah in 1411. "We plan to have many events through out the year to mark the 600 year of this historic city," AMC Deputy Commissioner, Dileep Mahajan said. "The celebrations will begin on February 26, which is the day when the foundation of the city was laid by Ahmed Shah six centuries ago. A city-run has been organised inside the walled city followed by some cultural programmes," he said. "City's artists, historians, industrialists and various leaders have promised their support and cooperation for the celebrations," City Mayor Kanaji Thakore said. He said that he already had meeting with some of the well known personalities of the city who have suggested various ways for celebrating the heritage of the historical city.

Pak courts adjourns 26/11 trial again, next hearing on March 6

ISLAMABAD: The hearing in the Mumbai attack case against LeT's operations chief Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects could not take place today in a Pakistani anti-terror court in Rawalpindi in view of local Bar Council elections and the trial will now resume on March 6.

The proceedings, scheduled for today, could not take place because of the Bar Council elections, sources said.

They said it was also not possible to schedule the hearing for next Saturday on February 27 as it would be a public holiday in view of Eid-e Milad-un Nabi, Prophet Mohammad's birth anniversary.

So, the next hearing in the Mumbai attack case had now been set for March 6, the sources said.

Last week also, the trial, which was being held within high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, was adjourned without proceedings as the judge was busy with another official work.

The accused - Lakhvi, Zarar Shah, Abu al-Qama, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum - were last year formally charged with planning and helping execute the assault on India's financial hub in November 2008.

Meanwhile, Lakhvi's lawyer Khwaja Sultan told PTI in Lahore that he believed the proceedings in the anti-terrorism court could not go ahead till a bench of the Lahore High Court gave its verdict on Lakhvi's appeal for acquittal.

The two judges of the Rawalpindi-based bench of the High Court had reserved their verdict on Lakhvi's application, but were subsequently recalled to Lahore. No new judges have been appointed in their place.

Hyderabad under Telangana siege; 300 students detained

HYDERABAD: Over 300 students, who violated prohibitory orders and tried to march towards the State Assembly to disrupt the ongoing budget session in support of separate Telangana, were taken into preventive custody today.

As part of the call given by the Telangana Students Joint Action Committee and Osmania University Students Joint Action Committee to lay siege to the Assembly demanding resignation of elected representatives of the region, hundreds of students began a rally from Osmania University campus, but were stopped by police on Shivam Road near Vidyanagar.

Tension prevailed in the area when the processionists sat on the road raising slogans against the police and indulged in heated arguments with the cops.

Over 50 protesting students were taken into preventive custody for undertaking the rally. The situation is normal now. The agitating students have returned to the Osmania University, East Zone DCP M C Laddha told PTI.

Some pro-Telangana activists threw stones on the car of Osmania University (OU) Vice-Chancellor T Tirupati Rao. However, he was not in the vehicle, the senior police official said, adding window panes of the car were damaged.

In another incident, 150 students were taken into custody after they forced their way by breaking the barricades at the Nizam College hostel near the Assembly.

A group of students were taken into custody when they tried to barge into the Ranga Reddy District Collectorate's office at Lakadi-ka-Pul area, Saifabad Police said.

Similarly, over 100 students were prevented and taken into custody after they tried to march towards the state capital from Ramanthapur on the outskirts of the city.

Govt clears 5,000 more post-grad medical seats

NEW DELHI: India will now produce 5,000 more specialized doctors every year. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved health ministry's proposal to add more postgraduate seats in 148 state government medical colleges.

The Rs 1,350 crore scheme will see a cost sharing ratio of 75:25 between the Centre and states. Though still far short of the numbers needed, the decision is being viewed as a positive step for a country that has a shortfall of six lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and two lakh dental surgeons.

Ironically, Indian doctors who have migrated to the developed world form nearly 5% of the medical workforce of their respective countries.

Thursday's decision will see more doctors specializing in clinical disciplines like anatomy, microbiology, physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, forensic medicine and community medicine. The country will also have more gynaecologists, paediatricians and general surgeons.

But where will India find teachers to teach these extra students? Ministry officials said they have recently amended the PG regulations wherein the student teacher ratio has been revised from 1:1 to 2:1 to enable medical colleges to increase seats in PG courses.

``The ratio of number of students to postgraduate teachers like a professor in the subjects of broad specialties has been increased to 2:1 in all our 146 government medical colleges from the 2010-11 academic session. This will help create 4,000 additional seats in different PG courses. For super-specialty courses too, the ratio will become 2:1 for both professors and associate professors. This will increase availability of nearly 700 seats,'' he added.

The same rule will apply to private medical colleges from 2011-12, the official added. The teaching experience required for the post of professor/associate professor has also been reduced by one year.

At the same time, India is trying to tap into the expertise of Indian doctors settled abroad and wishing to return to the country.

The teaching experience gained by persons of Indian origin in recognized colleges from five countries — the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — is permitted to be taken into account in India, enabling such persons of Indian origin who have settled abroad to return and take up teaching assignments.

``The objective of the scheme approved by the CCEA is to meet the shortage of faculty in clinical disciplines which is a bottleneck for starting new medical colleges,'' the official said.

Three convicted for raping teen in Surat

SURAT: Three youths were on Friday convicted by a district court and sentenced to life imprisonment here for abducting and gangraping a minor girl in a moving car last year.

District Judge R P Dholariya found the three - Sahid Sayyed, Tariq Sayyed and Abu Bakar - guilty of abducting the 17-year-old girl while she was on her way to coaching classes and raping her in a moving car on June 12 last year.

The incident that shocked the city last year took place when the girl and her male friend were going for tuitions in the morning.

The three youth came in their car and forced the two inside the car, saying they were policemen. The duo were taken to a secluded location where the boy, who is also studying in Class 12, was tied up inside the car by the accused, who then raped the girl in turns.

The ordeal continued for more than two hours after which they were left at the same spot from where they were abducted.

Two of the accused in the case, Sahid Sayyed and Tariq Sayyed, are cousins. While Sahid is son of Circle Police Inspector of Dholka town of Ahmedabad district, Tariq is the son of a police constable who is serving with the Surat city police.

Medal rush for India at Commonwealth Shooting Championship

NEW DELHI: To further strengthen India's dominance in the Commonwealth Shooting Championship Anisa Sayed and Anurag Singh won the second gold for the country at the Dr Karni Singh shooting range on Friday.

They won gold in 23m sports Pistol category on the first day of the Championship.

Earlier, Gagan Narang and PT Raghunath won gold in the 10m Air Rifle pairs with the scores of 599 and 594 respectively.

National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) named a 43-member Indian squad for the eighth edition of the Championship, which will see top shooters from 12 nations vie for honours.

Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra will miss the 11 day event as he had been ruled out of the Championship for not attending the trials.

Arun Kamal - Best Journalist Award 2006

Five killed in US small plane crash

BELMAR (United States): A small plane crashed in the US state of New Jersey, killing all five people onboard, officials said.
The plane crashed at the Monmouth Executive Airport, about eight kilometres west of the central business district of Belmar in New Jersey.
A spokeswoman for the US Federal Aviation Administration in Washington told Xinhua Monday night that all five people onboard the small aircraft were killed.
TV footage showed the plane was completely destroyed.
Officials meanwhile launched a probe into the accident.

Al-Qaida unit warns sportspersons against visiting India

ISLAMABAD: Vowing to carry out attacks across India, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir-based terror group HuJI has warned international sportspersons against visiting the country to participate in upcoming events like the Hockey World Cup, IPL and Commonwealth Games.

Asia Times Online claimed Ilyas Kashmiri, a former Pakistani commando whose 313 Brigade is an operational arm of al-Qaida, has vowed to continue attacks across India while threatening international sportspersons to face the consequences if they chose to visit the country.

"We warn the international community not to send their people to 2010 Hockey World Cup, IPL and Commonwealth Games... Nor should their people visit India - if they do, they will be responsible for the consequences," Kashmiri, the fugitive chief of PoK chapter of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, warned in a message delivered to the Asia Times online.

The message comes after the Pune bomb blasts but does not specifically claim responsibility for the incident.

"The message does not specifically claim responsibility for the bombing, but implies the Brigade's involvement," the news portal said in a story from Islamabad.

Kashmiri is believed to have directed LeT operative David Coleman Headley in his planning missions for the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008

Indian-American professor among 3 killed in US university shooting

WASHINGTON: An Indian-American professor was among three people killed when a woman teacher allegedly opened fire during a faculty meeting at the University of Alabama in the southern city of Huntsville Huntsville Police Chief Henry Reyes identified the Indian-American professor as Gopi Podilla, who was the chairman of the biological sciences department. The other two killed, Maria Davis and Adriel Johnson, were associate professors of biology.

Three people were also injured in the incident on Friday evening, local media reported. Of the wounded, two were faculty members and the third was a staff member.

Reyes said a woman shooting suspect was in custody and a second person was detained, but not arrested.

"We have a suspect and possible persons of interest," he told reporters on Friday night. "Until we go through everything, we're not going to say exactly how many or who we have."

Police did not give the reason behind the incident, but local television WAFF, citing authorities, earlier said the woman shooter had opened fire after learning at a biology faculty meeting that she would not be granted tenure.

The incident is reported to have occurred shortly before 4 pm in Shelby Hall in the university campus on Friday evening.

Police arrived at the scene at 4:01pm and residence halls were locked down at 4:10 pm, Reyes said, adding the building was secured by 5:45pm.

The University in an emergency notice posted on its website said the shooter has been apprehended.

"The campus is closed tonight (Friday). Everyone is encouraged to go home. Classes are cancelled for tonight," the university said.

Erin Johnson, a second-year student, told the Hunstville Times that the biology faculty meeting was underway at the Shelby Centre when she heard screams coming from one of the rooms.

San Francisco Chronicle reported that neuroscientist Amy Bishop was the key suspect and being held along with her husband.

Bishop, who joined the faculty in 2003, and her husband Jim Anderson had created a portable cell-incubator called "InQ" which won the couple an award in a state competition and they also received USD 25,000 of seed money in a business competition, the report said.

The Huntsville campus houses 7,500 students in northern Alabama. The university is known for its scientific and engineering programmes.

Is Chavan Maharashtra CM or SRK's bodyguard, asks Thackeray

MUMBAI: Continuing his tirade against Ashok Chavan, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Saturday asked whether the Congress leader was the chief minister of Maharashtra or Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's bodyguard.

"Is Chavan the chief minister of Maharashtra or actor Shah Rukh Khan's bodyguard? If it is the latter, then he should adorn the uniform of a security guard and stand outside Khan's 'Mannat' bungalow here, saluting the passers-by," Thackeray said in an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna'.

"What different work has Chavan done for the last seven-eight days," Thackeray asked and flayed Chavan for "siding with Pak-lover Khan."

The entire police force has been used as Khan's "slave and domestic help", Thackeray said, referring to the police action against Shiv Sainiks during the agitation against SRK-starrer 'My Name Is Khan'.

"The only thing that remains is to erect a marble memorial for Kasab and his nine dead accomplices and ask policemen to salute it," the Sena chief said.

Thackeray had on Friday accused Chavan of "succumbing to vote-bank politics and deploying tight security with AK-47s to ensure that Khan's film release was smooth."

"He arrested thousands of Shiv Sainiks and beat them up till they bled and put them in jail. In the end there was no place remaining in jail. For one Khan, how weak and helpless the chief minister has become," he had said.

Pakistan sports ministry gives NOC to hockey team for World Cup

KARACHI: The Pakistan sports ministry on Thursday issued a no-objection certificate to the national hockey team to participate in the Hero Honda FIH

World Cup to be held in Delhi from February 28-March 13. "The sports ministry has decided as a matter of policy that it had no objection to our national teams playing India in any multi-national event," a ministry spokesman said. The spokesman, however, clarified that the NOC was subject to clearance from the country's Foreign Affairs and Interior ministries as well. "But we have also sought advice of the Foreign and Interior ministries and this NOC is subject to clearance from them as well," the spokesman said. Since the security issues were involved in sending the Pakistan team to India, clearance from both the ministries were important, the spokesperson said. "The World Cup is a global event and security is the responsibility of the International Hockey Federation (FIH). But obviously we need to have a look at the security issues as well while sending team to India," he said. "But as far as bilateral sporting ties with India are concerned for the time being the policy is to take a case to case decision," he added. Pakistan plays India in the last match on the opening day of the high-profile tournament. Pakistan last won the World Cup in 1994.

I didn't sell IPL team: Preity

The Hero Group has not acquired Kings XI Punjab, one of the eight franchisees of the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 cricket tournament, the company as well as Preity Zinta, the co-owner of the team, clarified Wednesday. "Hi everyone! Just want to clarify that we have not sold the team to Hero Honda! Another example of how the media can get it all wrong," Preity posted on her Twitter page Wednesday following TV channel reports that the team had been bought over. "The reports are absolutely baseless. Neither has the group acquired Kings XI nor was it in talks for such an acquisition," a spokesperson for the Hero Group told IANS in the capital. Kings XI Punjab is co-owned by actor Preity and industrialists Ness Wadia, Karan Paul, and Mohit and Gaurav Burman. Kings XI Punjab is led by Kumar Sangakkara, while Tom Moody is the coach. "It is not true -- totally baseless. We have not sold Kings XI Punjab to anyone. These are just speculations. We have no information regarding this," added Anil Srivatsa, the chief executive of the franchisee, said reacting to reports. "I don't know from where this news has emerged. We are also verifying from where these reports have come," Srivatsa told IANS in Chandigarh. Hero Honda also re-affirmed its association with the IPL and Delhi Daredevils, another franchisee. "Hero Honda's association with IPL as an associate sponsor and the main team sponsor of Delhi Daredevils team remain unchanged," it said in a statement. The $3.5-billion Hero Group, which started operations as a small component company for the bicycle industry more than 50 years ago, is the largest manufacturer of two-wheelers in the world today and has a 21-year-old collaboration with Honda of Japan. The group is a sponsor of several major sporting events, including a high-profile golf tournament and has set up the Hero Indian Sports Academy to recognise, build and award outstanding talent within the country. The third edition of the IPL begins March 12 with holders Deccan Chargers taking on Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai.

Mulayam a "green snake in the grass" for Muslims: Amar Singh

NEW DELHI: Attacking Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for the first time after being expelled from the party, Amar Singh virtually dubbed him as a "green snake in the grass" for Muslims. "I don't support Kalyan Singh ideologically, but personally feel he is better than Mulayam Singh Yadav... At least people like Kalyan and Bal Thackeray openly attack Muslims. "These people are less dangerous than those secular leaders, who say they are with Muslims but stab them in their back. Who is more dangerous, the enemy who is visible or the one who is like a green snake in the grass. It is for you to decide," Singh said. The expelled SP leader, who was addressing a symposium on 'Prevailing Conditions in the Country and Muslims' organised by Muslim Political Council of India, used the opportunity to vent his ire against the SP chief. "Mulayam Singh Yadav said he and Kalyan Singh came closer in order to consolidate Yadav and backward community votes, thinking that even if Muslims don't vote for SP, the Yadav-OBC votes would far outnumber them. However this plan of his backfired as Muslims left him and backward votes could not be consolidated," he said. The former SP spokesman added that after the failure of this move, "The party leadership conveniently put the entire blame on me, as I was the dustbin of the party". Singh said, "It was Yadav who made Kalyan Singh's son Rajvir SP general secretary and it was again Mulayam who during his earlier tenure as UP Chief Minister had made Rajvir and Kalyan's close associate Kusum Rai, his cabinet colleagues".

UK disputes Shah Rukh's claim on body scanners

Britain's airport officials have disputed the claim by Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan on a popular television show last week that his naked image taken from body scanners at the Heathrow airport were printed and circulated by staff. Khan claimed on the BBC prime time 'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross' show that female security staff at the airport had printed his naked image from the newly-installed body scanner and that he had autographed them.

However, the British Airports Authority (BAA) said the claim was 'completely factually incorrect' because the body-scanning equipment had no capability to print images. Also, the images captured by the equipment could not be stored or distributed in any form, a BAA spokeswoman said. Speaking on the widely-watched show, Khan said, "I'm always stopped by the security, because of the name. And I think its okay: the western world is a little bit worried, paranoid and touchy, I guess, and freely when they're frisking you".

Khan, who was on a visit here to promote his new film ,'My Name Is Khan', added, "I was in London recently going through the airport and these new machines have come up, the body scans. You've got to see them. It makes you embarrassed if you're not well endowed".

"You walk into the machine and everything, the whole outline of your body comes out. I was a little scared. Something happens [inside the scans], and I came out. Then I saw these girls they had these printouts. I looked at them. I thought they were some forms you had to fill. I said 'give them to me' and you could see everything inside. So I autographed them for them".

The BAA spokeswoman said the scanners had only been brought into use four days before the chat show was recorded and was only used for departing passengers, making it unlikely that Khan would have been put through them. She added that said there would be no investigation into Khan's claims because they "simply could not be true". The decision to install body scanners at UK airports was taken in the wake of the transatlantic Christmas Day terror attack on a plane as it neared Detroit

Chavan threatens to withdraw Uddhav's security

Mumbai, Feb 10: In the latest update on the Sena-Shah Rukh conflict, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has issued a stern warning against the Shiv Sena, stating that the government would not tolerate Sena's bullying tactics.

Speaking to CNN-IBN in the wake of the Sena's attacks on theaters due to screen Shah Rukh's upcoming film 'My Name Is Khan', Chavan said that protesters attempting to disrupt the screening of the film will be dealt with a firm hand.

"There is no question of what Shiv Sena feels about it. I have assured the people of Maharashtra that we will take strong action against anybody who will take law into their hands. For the Sena, it has become a matter of prestige, they are losing ground politically. So a non-issue has been picked up by them to create terror in the city, but we will not, under any circumstances, tolerate this," he said.

The chief minister said that the government will strict action against the bullying tactics of the Sena.

" We will not tolerate the bullying tactics. We will take strict actions," he said.

He added that the security provided to the Sena members, including party leader Uddhav Thackeray, will be withdrawn if necessary.

"We have told them(Sena) that we'll withdraw security of all those people who are involved in those activities. I have already withdrawn the security of all Shiv Sena leaders, and if required, I will also withdraw the security of Uddhav Thackeray," he said.

The state government is currently providing security to three of the Sena's leaders-Ravindra Waikar, MLA and BMC, Standing Committee Chairman Bala Sawant, MLA and Anil Para, MLC.

Meanwhile, responding to Chavan, Uddhav Thackeray in the Sena's mouthpiece 'Saamna' has said that he does not require the state security and the state can withdraw it.

"I don’t need his security. My party’s MLAs will also return their security. Let the men guard Kasab as he seems dearer to government instead of those who express their love for the country," Uddhav said in a TV news report.

1shot dead in Patna students rampage

Patna, Feb 10: Students of some private coaching centers in Patna went on a rampage on Tuesday, Feb 9 which led to the dead of one student, while ten people including three policemen were wounded.

Demanding action against the centers, the students blocked roads, alleging that they been duped by the centers, police said.

Police informed that the victim had fallen prey to a bullet which was accidentally fired by a guard posted in front of a institute.

Reacting to the incident Chief minister Nitish Kumar has ordered a probe into the incident.

An ex-gratia payment of Rs 1.5 lakh has been announced for the family of the victim, identified as Sachin Sharma of Naya Tola.

Police said that roads in Bazaar Samiti, Pathar Ki Masjid, Kankerbagh, Kadamkuan and Rajendra Nagar localities were blocked by agitated students, adding that the police had to resort to lathicharge and use teargas shells as the mob burnt police motorcycles and pelted stones at coaching centers.

Earlier on Monday, Feb 8, a coaching institute owner, Neeraj Kumar, beat up a student after an argument which triggered protest from over 500 students from various coaching centres at Naya Tola, Bazar Samiti and Bhikna Pahari areas in the city.

Blind student found dead with hands tied

New Delhi, Feb 10: The body of a visually-impaired student was found hanging in hostel room in Delhi under doubtful circumstances, police said.

According to media reports, the watchman found 22-year-old Mukesh Bhangel hanging from the ceiling fan in room no. 143 in Hans Raj College around 7:30 pm .

"He was found hanging but his hands were found tied in the front," a senior police official said.

The fact that Bhangel's hands were tied when his body was discovered has led his friends to suspect foul play behind the incident.

However, police said that the cause of death is yet to be determined.

"We are not sure whether it is a case of suicide or murder. It appears to be a case of murder. We are probing the matter," the official said.

Bhangel was a second year BA Hindi Honors student from Agra.

Orissa: Maoists strike Howrah-Mumbai train route

Rourkela, Feb 10: Suspected Maoists blasted a portion of railway tracks linking Howrah-Mumbai route in Orissa on Wednesday, Feb 10.

According to railway sources, eight wagons of a goods trains derailed when the Maoists blew up a portion of the railway track between Bisra and Bhalulata stations.

Sources said that all up and down trains on the Howrah-Mumbai main line have been controlled at different stations as a result of this.

However, there was no report of casualty.

CRPF and GRP personnel have left for the spot from here on Wednesday morning, Feb 10.

Kurla: 5-yr-old raped, killed, put in gunny bag

Mumbai, Feb 10: In a gruesome case of child sexual abuse and murder, a five-year-old child was raped, killed and stuffed in a gunny bag and left on staircase of a Kurla building.

The girl's body was found on Tuesday, Feb 9 morning, on the staircase of a seven-storied building in Kurla, reports The Indian Express.

"On Tuesday morning, residents of the building found a gunny bag on the stairway leading to the terrace. On opening the bag, they found the girl's body and informed the police. We suspect that she was strangulated and her head was banged on the wall leading to her death," Dilip Sawant, deputy commissioner of police, is quoted as saying in the report.

The police has registered a case of murder and said that the medical reports have confirmed rape.

The child reportedly had several wounds on her body, her mouth was gagged and her undergarments missing.

The parent had filed a missing report on Monday, Feb 8. The father of the victim is sure that someone they knew was behind the act as his daughter never went with strangers.

This not the first time this kind of crime surfaced here. According to the locals, this is the third incident

"A year ago, a 7-year-old had gone missing from their area and was never found. Six months ago too, a six-year-old was found raped and murdered," the report quotes a 45-year-old local as saying.

Over 1000 Sainiks detained over MNIK protest

Mumbai, Feb 10: In line with Maharashtra Chief Minister's warning against Shiv Sena, over 1000 Shiv Sainiks were detained by the police on Wednesday, Feb 10.

The arrests came at the backdrop of Sena protest against the release of Shah Rukh Khan's latest film 'My Name Is Khan', following the actor's remark against the exclusion of Pakistani players from IPL

“In the last 24 hours, a total of 1,023 Sainiks have been arrested. While 955 were picked up under the preventive action, the rest were put behind bars for different cases, including for protesting outside the theatre, vandalising screens among others,” police said.

Following the Sena's fresh threat against the screening of the movie, State Reserve Police Force personnels and Home Guards will be deployed at 63 theatres.

The leaves of city policemen have been canceled to ensure a trouble-free screening of the movie, while the city police chief has issued guidelines on security arrangements to all police stations.

After disassociating themselves from the film, the Sena came back with a fresh warning against its release on Tuesday, Feb 9.

"We will not allow the movie to be released. Shah Rukh should first apologize to Bal Saheb (Thackeray) and then only we can talk with him," Sena leader Manohar Joshi said.

Pak offers Taliban talks to 'counter' India: NYT

New york, Feb 10: Pakistan has offered talks with Taliban to counter the growing Indian presence in Afghanistan, a media report said on Wednesday, Feb 10.

According to New York Times report, Pakistan has told the US it wants a central role in resolving

the Afghan war.

The report said Pakistan has offered to mediate with Taliban factions who use its territory and have long served as its allies

The report said Pakistan has offered to mediate with Taliban factions who use its territory and have long served as its allies

The report noted that the offer could both help and hurt American interests as Washington debates reconciling with the Taliban.

"What the Pakistanis can offer is their influence over the Taliban network of Jalaluddin and Siraj Haqqani, whose forces American commanders say are the most lethal battling American and NATO soldiers in Afghanistan," the report said.

"In return for trying to rein in the Haqqanis, Pakistan will be looking for a friendly Afghanistan and for ways to stem the growing Indian presence there," the Times said citing Pakistani and American officials.

"The Pakistani offer makes clear that any stable solution to the war will have to take into account Afghanistan's neighbours, in a region where Pakistan, India, China, Iran and others all jostle for power," Times said.

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