Archives for February 2018

Indian Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba (PTI photo)

New Delhi: Maldives has declined India’s invitation to participate in the eight-day-long mega naval exercise — Milan — beginning March 6, in an apparent snub to New Delhi which has been critical of the Yameen government in view of the emergency in the island nation.

“Maldives was invited to join the Milan exercise but they have declined,” Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba told reporters, and indicated that the country may have taken the decision possibly due to the current situation there.

“They have not given any reason,” he said.

Admiral Lanba was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event.

Ties between India and Maldives nosedived after Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen declared emergency on February 5 following an order by the country’s Supreme Court to release a group of Opposition leaders, who had been convicted in widely criticised trials.

On February 21, India had reacted strongly over the extension of emergency by a month.

India will host navies from at least 16 countries for the mega naval exercise at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The exercise is taking place in the backdrop of China’s growing military posturing in the Indo-Pacific region and officials indicated that the issue is likely to figure during deliberations at the event.

Officials said China’s military manoeuvres in the South China Sea may figure during discussions among navy chiefs of the participating countries at the event.

‘Milan’ was first held in 1995 with the participation of just five navies. The aim of the initiative was to have an effective forum to discuss common concerns in the Indian Ocean Region and forge deeper cooperation among friendly navies.

The exercise is being hosted by the Indian Navy under the aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar Command.

Asked about the presence of Chinese ships in the Indo-Pacific region, an official said, “The deployment of ships by China’s Navy has been since 2008. At any point of time, there are 6-8 ships in the region. We monitor them and know what is happening.”

He further said, “There is no cause for concern, it is standard deployment in the Indian Ocean. As per what we have monitored, there is no change in it in the last few years. We are well aware of what is happening.

(PTI)

Bengaluru: Serial killer and rapist M Jayashankar committed suicide on Tuesday morning at the the Parappana Agrahara Central Prisons.

It is suspected that Jayashankar slit his throat with a blade that he got during a haircut in the jail premises.

According to the police Jayashankar was kept in isolation in a separate cell and was not allowed to mingle with other convict. At 2:15 am he slit his throat and was taken to the jail hospital. He was then shifted to Victoria hospital but he died at five in the morning.

Parappana Agrahara police have registered a case of unnatural death under suspicious circumstances and are probing in to his death. The police are also looking for the recent visitor’s record to enquire who visited Jayashankar about his reason for this extreme step.

Jayashankar had previously escaped the jail by scaling the walls of the Central Prison using a bed sheet. He had sustained severe leg injury and was admitted in a hospital near a slum from where the police arrested him.

(Agencies)

All India Mahila Empowerment Party’s (MEP) launched their election campaign in Bidar and Gulbarga, where party President Dr. Nowhera Shaik spoke about the problems faced by the people in the region.

Dr. Nowhera Shaik promised that if her party comes to power, she will ensure to modernise government schools, which lack basic amenities, especially girls. She said her party will ensure that govt schools are on par with private schools and that every student, irrespective of their economic status, get the same education.

Dr. Shaik also spoke about the acute water issues faced by the people and promised to solve the issue.

Dr. Shaik’s campaign, which was largely attended by women, saw a great number of people joining the party, who pledged to fight for justice and rights.

Dr. Nowhera Shaik also held a campaign in Gulbarga, where she promised justice for all women in the country, irrespective of their caste and creed.

All India Mahila Empowerment Party’s (MEP) has announced party worker Kaveri as candidate from Mandya.

MEP held a meeting for its party workers here in the city, where the party’s Founder and President Dr. Nowhera Shaik countered the negative rumours spread against her and the party.

Addressing both the workers and the press, Dr. Nowhera Shaik said that some mischief mongers are spreading lies against her that she is helping BJP by contesting in the elections. Dr. Shaik said that she registered her political party in February 2014 even before Narendra Modi became the PM, so there is no question of her helping anyone.

She said the party is contesting elections to create an impact in people’s lives, and promised interest-free loans for taxi drivers and farmers of the state, if they come to power.

Kolkata: Former Indian soccer captain Bhaichung Bhutia on Monday announced that he has resigned from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and was no more associated with any political party.

In a tweet, the country’s soccer icon also said that he has quit all the official and political posts of the TMC, which he joined ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

“As of today I have officially resigned from the membership and all the official and political posts of All India Trinamool Congress party. I am no longer a member of or associated with any political party in India,” he said.

In 2014, Bhutia received party nomination for the Darjeeling seat, but lost. He failed in his second electoral contest too, losing from Siliguri in the 2016 Assembly election.

Bhutia, however, gave no reason for his decision to sever all ties with the Trinamool. Despite several attempts, he could not be contacted.

The TMC also refused to comment on Bhutia’s resignation.

“I’m not saying anything on this,” Trinamool Secretary General and West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee told IANS.

Bred in the sleepy Tinkitam village of mountainous Sikkim, Bhutia traversed many an uncharted territory in Indian soccer.

Adored as the “Sikkimese sniper” for his uncanny ability to score goals in his two decade old soccer career, Bhutia led the country’s national team for 12 long years.

He had also turned out in the English professional league for Bury FC.

(IANS)

Mysuru: Mysuru Superintendent of police, Ravi D Channannavar, 2008 batch IPS officer has been transferred to Bengaluru West division as DCP here on February 24.

Amit Singh has replaced as the new SP of Mysuru district.

Ravi Channannavar from Gadag is known for his tough actions against criminal activities.

(Agencies)

New Delhi: Senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders Sanjay Singh and Ashutosh met Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik here on Monday and submitted video “evidence” of an assault on two AAP MLAs a few days back.

After handing over the videos to the police, Singh told the media that they have been assured of police action against the perpetrators.

Ashish Khetan and Imran Hussein were allegedly heckled and their party volunteers thrashed by a mob inside the Delhi Secretariat on February 20, after Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash alleged that he was assaulted by party MLAs at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence the night before.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Police told a court that CCTV cameras at the Chief Minister’s house were tampered with.

In response to which, Singh said: “CCTV cameras come under the supervision of the police. Delhi Police should be questioned if they were tampered with.”

(IANS)

Dubai: Indian actress Sridevi died due to accidental drowning in a bath tub in her hotel here, reports gulfnews.com.

Sharing the image of the forensic report, the media publication stated that Sridevi, who had traces of alcohol in her blood, lost balance and fell into the bathtub and drowned.

Sridevi, 54, died on Saturday night. It was earlier reported that she died due to cardiac arrest.

According to sources, Dubai Police have released the forensic report on Sridevi’s death to her family and the Indian Consulate representative.

IANS could not confirm the details of the forensic report.

The Padma Shri recipient was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor’s cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi.

Born in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu on August 13, 1963, Sridevi began her career at the age of four in the devotional film “Thunaivan”. That marked the beginning of a journey in filmdom that saw her work across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi productions, leading her to become one of the most formidable actresses of the 1980s and 1990s in Bollywood — in fact, the only female “superstar” the industry has seen.

She is remembered for her performances in some of the iconic Bollywood films like “Mr. India”, “Nagina”, “Sadma”, “ChalBaaz”, “Chandni”, “Khuda Gawah”, among many others in different Indian languages.

Sridevi, who made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with “English Vinglish” after a long break of 15 years, was last seen in “Mom” in 2017.

(IANS)