Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / 2018 / Archives for March 2018

Archives for March 2018

Lalu sentenced to 7 years each on two counts in Fodder Scan

by

A special CBI court in Ranchi today sentenced RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav to 7 years in prison in Dumka treasury case. The case is related to fraudulent withdrawals of Rs 3.13 crore from December 1995 to January 1996 from the Dumka treasury, was completed on March 5.

Lalu Prasad Yadav has been serving a jail term in Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Central Jail since December last year after his conviction in two other fodder scam cases. He was shifted to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences
(RIMS)on Wednesday after he complained of chest pain.

Earlier in the week, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s wife Rabri Devi, said,” We will follow Court’s order & won’t leave Bihar & go anywhere else however we are also going to appeal in the Court.”

Lalu Yadav was first convicted in a fodder scam case in 2013 and was awarded five years’ imprisonment while the conviction in the second case came in December last year.

BJP tally in Rajya Sabha goes to 69, Cong tally goes down to 50 from the present 54

by

The BJP has made a significant gain of 11 additional seats while the Congress made an overall loss of four in the biennial elections to 58 Rajya Sabha seats, consolidating the saffron party’s position in the House and leaving its main rival far behind.

Its 28 candidates emerged victorious in the polls held yesterday against 17 retiring members, while the Congress won only 10 seats while 14 of its members will retire next week.

A calculation of tallies shows that the BJP’s strength in the 245-member House will go from the existing 58 to 69 and that of the Congress will fall from 54 to 50 when the new MPs take oath next week.

However, a majority in the Council of States will continue to elude the BJP-led NDA.

It recently suffered a setback when the Telugu Desam Party, its ally of four years, decided to break ties. The TDP has six members in the House.

However, NDA managers are upbeat following the loss in numbers of most vocal opposition parties like the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, which won only one seat while its six members are retiring.

BJP sources said treasury benches will now be more comfortably placed in the House as regional parties like the AIADMK, TRS, which has gained three more seats, YSR Congress and the BJD, all of whom are outside the NDA, have been more open to supporting the government’s legislative agenda.

The Modi government’s bills have often been stalled in the House, where it has lacked a majority, by a united opposition after it managed to pass them in the Lok Sabha, where it enjoys a strong majority.

BJP’s winning spree in state Assembly polls has resulted in a steady rise in its numbers in the House, whose members are elected by assemblies, while the loss of power of the Congress in many states has led to a fall in its numerical strength.

Vidwath assault case: HC issues notice to Cubbon Park Police

by

The Cubbon Park Police were issued a notice by the Karnataka High Court on Friday regarding the bail plea by Abhishek, one of the accused in the bar assault case at Farzi cafe on February 17.

Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar who was hearing the petition to issued headings to Special Public Prosecutor Shyam Sundar to document his objections on behalf of the respondent.


Abhishek, a businessperson, has moved the high court looking for bail. Abhishek with Mohammed Nalapad and six others are in legal custody for assaulting Vidwath.

The six accused in the case are Arun Babu (a juice shop owner), Mohammed Afraz Ashraf (unemployed), Balakrishna (driver), Manjunath (driver and bouncer) and Nafi Mohammed Nasir (runs a juice shop in Indiranagar). Another accused Balakrishna is still absconding.

The high court on March 14 had rejected a plea- challenging the denial of his bail plea by the sessions court- filed by Mohammed.

’37 burned alive’: Syria forces hit shelter in East Ghouta

by

Hundreds of opposition fighters and their families were evacuated on Thursday from the town of Harasta in Eastern Ghouta (Anadolu)

by Al Jazeera

At least 37 people, mostly women and children, have been killed and 80 others injured after regime forces bombed an underground shelter in Eastern Ghouta, according to rescuers and activists on the ground.

Sources on the ground and rescuers from the Syrian Civil Defence, a volunteer rescue group also known as the White Helmets, said on Friday that the victims were burned to death after air strikes carrying napalm gas hit the shelter in the town of Arbeen.

“An airstrike targeted one of the underground cellars in Arbeen last night where between 117 to 125 people, mostly women and children, were hiding,” Izzet Muslimani, an activist in Eastern Ghouta, told Al Jazeera.

“Those who were injured are still being treated for first and second degree burns. With the lack of emergency services, we are expecting the death toll to rise,” added Muslimani.

Zaher Hassoun, another activist in the rebel enclave, confirmed reports that the Syrian government had hit the shelter with napalm gas, a flammable liquid that is used in warfare as it sticks to skin and causes severe burns.

Earlier this month, the Syrian Civil Defence said the Syrian government hit Arbeen with chlorine gas, phosphorous and napalm. The news followed reports of several alleged chemical attacks in a matter of days.

Eastern Ghouta has been under control of armed opposition groups since 2013 – two years into a popular uprising in Syria calling for the removal of President Bashar al-Assad.

More than 1,500 civilians have died in the enclave, east of the capital, Damascus, since the regime forces backed by the Russian warplanes launched a fierce assault on February 18.

Evacuation ongoing
The attack reportedly came just hours before a ceasefire went into effect after midnight which saw hundreds of opposition fighters and their families evacuated on Thursday from the town of Harasta in the eastern part of Eastern Ghouta, according to Syrian state media.

Sana, the official Syrian news agency, said at least six buses carrying the evacuees were headed to Idlib province in Syria’s north, which is an area under opposition control.

The evacuation comes as part of a deal brokered on Wednesday by the Syrian government’s principal ally, Russia, between fighters in Harasta and a Syrian government delegation.

The operation was facilitated by a United Nations delegation as well as the Syrian Red Crescent.

Until recently, Eastern Ghouta was one of the last remaining rebel strongholds. In a renewed offensive by the government since February 18, the opposition lost large parts of it, with the Syrian army claiming it has now recaptured 80 percent of the suburb.

CBI books Deccan Chronicle Holdings in Rs 30cr fraud

by

The CBI has filed a case against Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd (DCHL)and its Chairman T. Venkatram Reddy for allegedly causing a wrongful loss of Rs 30.54 crore to United India Insurance Co Ltd (UIIC), an official said on Friday.

The FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday also named Mumbai-based private firms CARE Rating Ltd and Infrastructure Development Finance Co Ltd and two former officials of UIIC.

The UIIC officials — Deputy General Manager A. Balasubramanian and Chief Manager K.L. Kunjilwar — made suspicious investments in the “privately placed short term unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures issued by DCHL in 2011 in violation of the regulations”.

Balasubramanian and Kunjilwar entered into a criminal conspiracy at Chennai and other places to cheat UIIC and abused their official position as public servants by making the investments which was not repaid by DCHL, causing loss of Rs 30,54,25,350, said the CBI FIR.

“It is revealed that UIIC was investing the premium collected from the policy holders during the ordinary course of business in the form of shares, debentures, commercial papers, term loan etc in the public and private sector companies as per the investment policy guidelines based on the rules of Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA),” the FIR said.

These investments are based on the rating made by Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved rating agency CARE Rating Ltd, it said.

The FIR said the overall borrowing powers of DCHL was increased from Rs 700 crore to Rs 1,000 crore on the Board of Directors’ annual general meeting held on September 29, 2007 and from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore in a similar meeting on February 28, 2013.

“As on the date of issue of debentures, DCHL’s total borrowings was Rs 3,755.70 crore.”

According to the FIR, in the pursuance of the criminal conspiracy between July to October 2011, three office notes were put up by Kunjilwar for investment of Rs 10 crore each in 11.25 per cent unsecured non convertible debentures issued by DCHL for purchase of short term unsecured debentures with 364 days maturity without analyzing the proposal in detail and the same was approved by Balasubramanian.

“The investments were made in three different occasions deliberately in order to by-pass the investment committee of UIIC. Thus UIIC invested Rs 30 crore in DCHL. UIIC relied on the rating awarded by CARE Ratings Ltd.

“At the time of investment in 2011, the rating awarded by CARE Rating Ltd was PR1+ and at the time of redemption in 2012, the rating was drastically downgraded to D within a short span of one year.

“On the date of maturity in 2012, the principal amount with interest was not repaid by DCHL. DCHL had issued three cheques of Rs 10 crore each but when presented through encashment, they were dishonoured. Regarding which UIIC lodged a complaint against DCHL which is peding before court,” the FIR said.

(IANS)

Congress In Trouble As Muslim Leaders Hold A Secret Meet

by

A secret meeting of more than 20 senior Congress Muslim leaders, soon after the meeting of Congress Election Committee on the background of state Assembly elections has created tension in the Congress party.

K. Rehman Khan, who missed entry to the Rajya Sabha for the second term, former union minister C K Jaffer Sharief, Ministers Roshan Baig, U T Khader, Tanveer Sait, C M Ibrahim, Firoz Sait, Rizwan Arshad and many other MLAs, MPs and former ministers were present on the occasion.

According to the sources, Muslim leaders are unhappy with AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal, who is also the party’s state in-charge. “The community is facing dearth of political leadership,” the leaders are believed to have told while pressing for post of either DCM or an equivalent position for any Muslim leader.

The meeting has decided to directly speak these issues out to the party high-command and AICC President Rahul Gandhi. It has decided to demand minimum 25 seats for Muslim candidates and ensure seats to Christian, Jain and other minority candidates in 5 constituencies.

There was a lengthy discussion regarding the possible effect on Muslims by providing minority status to Lingayats.

One-Third Women In Rural India Unaware Of Breast Cancer: Study

by

While early detection is the key for successful breast cancer treatment, one in three women in rural India had not even heard of the deadly disease, finds a research led by a doctoral student of Indian-origin.

Breast cancer is the most common of the types of cancer occurring in India, followed by lung cancer and cervical cancer.

The findings showed that as many as 90 per cent of the women in rural areas are unaware of the possibility of self-examination of their own breasts.

A delay of more than three months in seeking care was observed in almost half of the women.

The delay in diagnosis and treatment was for more than twelve weeks in 23 per cent of the patients.

“Early detection may be crucial for successful breast cancer treatment. Therefore, it’s important to influence women’s awareness of the symptoms and their attitudes towards treatment,” said doctoral student Nitin Gangane in a statement released by the Umea University in Sweden.

“It’s urgent to have a national breast cancer programme in India, while at the local level, we need to raise awareness among women about breast cancer,” Gangane said.

The team performed two studies including over 1,000 women in the mainly rural-dominated district of Wardha in the state of Maharashtra in central India.

Hardly any women in the studies self-examined their breasts. Every third woman had not even heard of breast cancer.

On the other hand, most of the women showed a great deal of interest in learning more.

“Illiteracy, ignorance, poverty and superstition regretfully lead to many women delaying their contact with the health care system too long,” Gangane said.

In addition, no pain in the breast lump delayed a visit to the doctor.

Incorrect initial diagnosis or late referral for examination led to diagnostic delay, while the high costs delayed treatment.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) India is likely to have more than 17.3 lakh new cases of breast cancer and over 8.8 lakh deaths due to the disease by 2020.

A recently published study, in the Journal of Business Research showed that lack of early diagnosis of breast cancer may kill 76,000 Indian women in a year by 2020.

It also revealed that the average age of death from the disease has shifted from 50 years to 30 years.

(IANS)

Polling underway for four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka

by

Polling was underway on Friday for four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka.
“Polling began at 9 a.m., on a steady note in the state legislature building to elect four of the five candidates in the fray for the Upper House seats,” said an election official.
Five candidates, including three from the ruling Congress and one each from the opposition — Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) — are contesting for the four seats.

New Delhi: A View of Parliament house during the ongoing Winter Session in New Delhi on Wednesday. PTI Photo by Kamal Kishore (PTI12_9_2015_000201B)


The Congress candidates are L. Hanumanthaiah, G.C. Chandrasekhar and Syed Naseer Hussain and BJP candidate is Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who is seeking a second term, as his first term as an Independent member ends on April 2.
The election has been necessitated to fill the vacancies arising out of the retirement of incumbent members Basawaraj Patil, Rahman Khan and R. Ramakrishna of the Congress and Chandrasekhar.
In the 225-member state legislative assembly, including one nominated, the Congress has 122 legislators, BJP 48 and JD-S 37. Of all, seven seats are vacant.
As each candidate needs 45 votes to win the contest, the Congress is in a position to get two of its nominees elected easily, while its third candidate with 37 votes, will have to get 13 more votes to make up for the shortfall.
The ruling Congress legislature party met here to plan its strategy to win the third seat.
With Chandrashekar assured of victory by virtue of the BJP having 48 votes, the contest will be for the fourth seat between the Congress and JD-S, whose strength got reduced to 37 after 3 of its members were suspended for revolting against its leadership.
The JD-S also fears cross-voting by some of its members in favour of the ruling party’s (Congress) third nominee.

Conspiracy Being Hatched Against Us: Chandrababu

by

Amid speculation that a CBI inquiry may be ordered into allegations of corruption against him, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday told TDP MPs that a ‘conspiracy is being hatched against us’.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief advised MPs and other top party leaders to remain alert and be prepared to face any difficulties.

In a teleconference with party MPs to take stock of the developments in Parliament, Naidu again voiced his apprehension that the BJP may target him, his son Nara Lokesh and other TDP leaders by slapping cases as they have pulled out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The TDP chief also alleged that the BJP was trying to weaken the political leadership in south India. He said since a strong TDP means a strong Andhra Pradesh, attempts were being made to weaken the party by using the YSR Congress Party and Jana Sena.

Naidu had earlier accused the BJP of trying to politically destabilize Andhra Pradesh by repeating what it did in Tamil Nadu.

“I have come into politics to serve the people and not for conspiracies and machinations. This should be kept in mind by the three parties,” he said referring to the BJP, YSR Congress and Jana Sena.

Naidu’s comments came in the wake of all the three parties making allegations of corruption against the TDP government, targeting him and his son Lokesh, who is also a cabinet minister.

On Thursday, BJP leader Vishnu Kumar Raju alleged that TDP government was involved in corruption in the Pattiseema project and cited the report of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

Speaking in the assembly, Naidu made a counter attack by claiming that same CAG found fault with the Modi government on many issues.

Naidu also slammed the three parties for making similar allegations on Polavaram project.

“There were no corruption allegations when we were in NDA. How could we suddenly become corrupt after leaving the NDA?” he asked.

The TDP pulled out of NDA over the latter’s refusal to accord special category to Andhra Pradesh and fulfill other commitments made at the time of state’s division in 2014.

The TDP has also moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government in the Lok Sabha. It could not be taken up due to unending uproar in the House.

7 years later, Anna Hazare to begin indefinite hunger strike for Lokpal again

by

Social activist Anna Hazare began an indefinite hunger strike against the Centre in Delhi on Friday, nearly seven years after his anti-corruption movement caught the imagination of millions of Indians and shook the then UPA government.
The venue of his protest will be the same iconic Ram Lila Maidan, where he had sat on a hunger strike in 2011 demanding that the then government set up a Lokpal to investigate cases of corruption. This time, however, his target is the Narendra Modi-led BJP government.

Hazare has been pressing for setting up of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states, besides implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, which has suggested ways to address the agrarian distress.

Hazare previously has accused the Union government of not appointing the Lokpal to investigate the cases of corruption, despite having a law in place. “Anna will first visit the Rajghat and then come to the Ram Lila Maidan, where he will go an indefinite strike,” said an aide of Hazare.
The day, March 23, has been chosen on purpose as Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death on this day by the British, the aide said. A core committee meeting of Hazare’s trusted aides and representatives of farmers’ organisations took place at the New Maharashtra Sadan on Thursday.
The 2011 anti-graft agitation by Hazare, which aimed at the increasing corruption cases that had surfaced during the UPA rule, had received the support of millions of people across the country. Some of the main organisers of that anti-corruption movement later formed the Aam Aadmi Party, which now governs Delhi. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was one of Hazare’s key aides.
The Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory warning to commuters to avoid taking routes towards Aruna Asaf Ali Road, Delhi Gate, Darya Ganj, New Delhi Railway Station, Ajmeri Gate, Paharganj, ITO, Rajghat, Minto Road, Vivekanand Marg, and JLN Marg.

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives