Nasheman

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

You are here: Home / Archives for Nasheman

Chittoor encounter 'survivor' surfaces, cops come under fire

by

Chittoor_encounter

Chittoor: A rights group said on Wednesday it has traced a “survivor” from a group of loggers shot dead by Andhra Pradesh police in an incident dubbed as a “massacre” of wood-cutters from neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

On Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh police had claimed to have shot dead 20 illegal red sandalwood smugglers in a forest close to the temple town of Tirupati, sparking violent protests in the neighbouring state which continued on Wednesday.

Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee member Kranthi Chaitanya, in the forefront of a demand for a judicial enquiry into the encounter, said the organisation has “managed to establish contact with the survivor through relatives of the deceased who have come here (Chittoor) from Tamil Nadu.

“He is being kept at a safe place. We will produce him before the National Human Rights Commission,” he added.

The NHRC has already taken suo moto cognizance of the incident and asked for reports from the Andhra Pradesh chief secretary and police chief.

Family-members of a few of the slain “smugglers” arrived at the government mortuary in Chittoor also said the “survivor” was among of 8 wood-cutters hired by red sanders smugglers in Andhra.

The identity of the “survivor”, said to be from Arjuna Puram village in Thiruvanamalai district of Tamil Nadu, was not given.

They quoted him as saying that seven of his group were pulled out of a bus on Monday by police during a search at Nagari on the inter-state border.

“They were traveling in a bus from Thiruvanamalai to Chitoor on Monday afternoon. The bus was stopped by police and seven of the eight men were arrested. He was sitting separately and managed to slip away quietly,” said Raja Babu (38), a relative of one of those killed in the encounter.

The survivor is said to have returned to village on Tuesday morning, around the time news of the encounter broke on TV.

Media reports said that right group Amnesty International has also called for a fair probe into the incident.

Meanwhile, protests continued in Tamil Nadu with incidents of stone-pelting on buses originating in Andhra.

Police said four persons have been arrested over the attacks on buses. Several outfits organised protests in some parts of Tamil Nadu condemning the incident.

Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam had written to the Andhra government, demanding a probe into what he called a massacre of innocent Tamils.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh also called up Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu over the incident.

(Agencies)

Modi's 'Make in India' dream sours as defence firms spurn tenders worth $15 bn

by

MakeInIndia

New Delhi: Indian firms have spurned some $15 billion worth of government tenders to make a range of weapons since 2013, Defence Ministry officials say, in a blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his drive to wean the country off imported arms.

Executives cited unrealistic quality demands from a military short of planes, tanks and guns as a key reason for their reluctance to bid for projects. Complicating things further, the military doesn’t want weapons from Indian firms with no track record in defence manufacturing, experts said.

Irked by India’s status as the world’s biggest arms importer, Modi wants to build an advanced defence industry but almost a year into his “Make in India” campaign, which aims to turn the country into a manufacturing powerhouse, not one large domestic weapons project has been awarded.

Tenders for anything from air defence guns to surface-to-air missiles to transport planes have lapsed, Defence Ministry officials told Reuters. The tenders total around $15 billion according to a Reuters compilation of offers since early 2013.

“‘Make in India’ is a laudable aim, but it’s moving rather slowly. It’s not a switch you can press and everything will fall into place,” said Vivek Rae, head of procurement at the Defence Ministry from 2010-2012.

Anil Ambani, the billionaire chairman of the Reliance Group, recounted at a recent conference how Modi asked him if he knew India didn’t make tear gas shells.

“Even the tears we shed are foreign,” Ambani quoted the nationalist leader, who took office last May, as saying.

Modi wants to build a strong military after years of neglect that military planners say has left India vulnerable should rivals China and Pakistan ever launch a combined attack, although experts say this is highly unlikely. India is being challenged, however, in its Indian Ocean backyard, where China’s more modernised navy is starting to assert itself.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said new defence production policies will be unveiled this month to address the concerns of private firms: opaque procedures, unrealistic quality requirements and slow decision-making.

“We’re trying to simplify procedures, create a level-playing field but still there are many cases of zero participation in tenders,” said G. Mohan Kumar, the defence production secretary leading the localisation drive.

The military declined to comment, referring queries to the Defence Ministry, which controls procurement.

Ringfencing Projects

India gets 70 percent of its arms from abroad. For decades, it has bought off-the-shelf equipment mainly from Russia, which offered to assemble some weaponry locally but little in the way of technology transfers.

Modi has vowed to change that by ringfencing $100 billion worth of defence deals for domestic companies over the next decade under which they can build on their own or with foreign partners.

Last year the government asked several Indian companies to show interest in an estimated $1.7 billion deal to replace 1960s-era Swedish air defence guns, but only one said it could meet the requirements, said one of the Defence Ministry officials. He declined to identify the company.

The head of one firm which told the government it was not interested in the project said the military laid down “impossible” requirements by insisting on technology that only foreign manufacturers had. He declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of defence issues.

In November, the government put an estimated $2 billion proposal to replace its ageing fleet of Avro cargo planes on ice after the tender attracted only one bidder, a partnership between Europe’s Airbus Group and India’s Tata Sons .

“Even if there is an alternative better solution, as per current practice the requirements cannot be changed, or if they are changed it is questioned,” said M.V. Kotwal, head of defence business at infrastructure group Larsen and Toubro. “The flexibility is not there.”

Over the past 18 months, 41 requests for expressions of interest for naval projects alone fell through because of problems relating to manufacturing requirements, the Defence Ministry official added.

Jumpstart

Trying to move projects along, Modi’s government in February approved an $8 billion proposal to build warships in India that had been awaiting cabinet signoff since 2012.

It has also ordered an accelerated local programme to build six diesel-electric submarines, in addition to six similar vessels that French firm DCNS is assembling in Mumbai port to replace India’s ageing underwater fleet.

A Defence Ministry committee submitted a report last month identifying five private and state-run shipyards where the submarines could be built with a foreign partner. It will now invite expressions of interest for the $8.5 billion project.

Experts said one problem is that some military officers eye technology only available in the west, without understanding what Indian firms can produce.

“The armed forces are reluctant to accept hardware that doesn’t have a record in operational conditions. Indian companies have no track record,” said Bharat Karnad at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi.

Retired vice admiral Premvir Das added that to expect Indian companies to manufacture major defence platforms in the forseeable future is to “live in a dreamland”.

(Reuters)

Probe ordered into 'police encounter' killing of 20 sanders

by

Red Sanders

Hyderabad: A magisterial inquiry has been ordered by the Chittoor District Collector into the “police encounter” in which 20 alleged red sanders smugglers were shot dead in Seshachalam hill ranges in Andhra Pradesh.

“The Additional District Magistrate, who is also the District Revenue Officer (DRO), has been asked to inquire into the entire events and submit a report to me. It will be subsequentally submitted to the government,” Chittoor District Collector Siddharth Jain said.

“The report will go into details and reasons for the police opening fire and whether the situation warranted it,” Jain said, adding the DRO has been asked to inquire into the matter and submit the report at the earliest.

Twenty alleged red sanders smugglers were killed in a heavy exchange of fire after they allegedly attacked the police early morning today in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district.

Six police personnel were injured in the attack by the smugglers.

Meanwhile, after protests and reported stonepelting on Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) buses APSRTC buses in Tamil Nadu, senior APSTRC officials said today that the matter came up for discussion.

“They are yet to take a call on cancelling APSRTC bus services to Tamil Nadu,” they said.

“We have not yet decided about cancelling any services as of now but may consider it tomorrow morning depending on the situation. The Hyderabad-Chennai bus has already left and once it reaches Nellore (in AP), we may take a call,” an APSRTC spokesperson said.

APSRTC operates around 35 buses to Chennai and other destinations in Tamil Nadu.

(PTI)

Kejriwal relaunches Delhi anti-corruption helpline, gets over 12,000 calls in 24 hours

by

Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: AAP government’s anti-corruption helpline, re-launched on Sunday in Delhi, has received 12,731 calls in 24 hours, with most of them wanting to know about the process of registering a graft case.

“Most of the calls received at helpline were made to inquire about how to register corruption case with the Anti Corruption Branch (ACB). The calls received so far are being analyzed to segregate between frivolous and real calls,” a senior official said on Monday.

On Sunday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had launched the 24×7 helpline, which can answer over 10,000 calls a day. The made-over re-launch comes after the service, during AAP’s previous stint, could respond to only 1,000 calls a day due to shortage of lines, the official said.

He also said genuine calls, after segregation, would be forwarded to Anti-Corruption Branch for further investigation.

“Some of the calls which have been segregated have already been sent to the ACB for further probe. Cases being forwarded to the ACB include complaints against Delhi Police, Municipal Corporation, Education Department, Transport Department, Jal Board, Delhi Fire etc,” he said.

The data of calls received will be made public on a regular basis for the convenience and information of the public, official said.

In order to strengthen the Anti Corruption Branch, government has increased its strength from 30 to 40 inspectors who work with 40 teams to investigate cases of corruption at any point of time.

Besides increasing its staff strength, Delhi Government has directed to increase the budget allocation to the anti-graft wing to Rs 15 crore from Rs 8 crore.

The official also said the Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC), an advisory body of the AAP government, will study global practices and define a vision for ACB.

The anti-corruption helpline was first launched during Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) 49-day stint in power after the 2013 Assembly elections, but was later discontinued. Reviving the helpline was one of the poll promises made by the party in 2015.

Last time around 1.2 lakh calls were made on the helpline, during 49 days of AAP’s rule.

(IANS)

Israeli official says military action against Iran 'still on table'

by

Last ditch effort to undermine talks slammed as ‘desperate and reckless’

Israeli Minister of Intelligence Yuval Steinitz. (Photo: DFATD-MAECD/cc/flickr)

Israeli Minister of Intelligence Yuval Steinitz. (Photo: DFATD-MAECD/cc/flickr)

by Sarah Lazare, Common Dreams

In a last ditch effort to undercut a framework agreement between world powers and Iran, a top aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Monday that, regardless of the diplomatic process, military action against Iran is “still on the table.”

Yuval Steinitz, Likud Party minister for strategic affairs, told reporters that Israel is still unilaterally weighing the “military option.”

“It was on the table. It’s still on the table. It’s going to remain on the table,” said Steinitz. “Israel should be able to defend itself, by itself, against any threat. And it’s our right and duty to decide how to defend ourselves, especially if our national security and even very existence is under threat.”

“We are going to make an additional effort to convince the U.S. administration, Congress, Britain, France and Russia not to sign this bad deal, or at least to dramatically change and fix it,” added Steinitz.

Netanyahu’s administration, along with hardline allies in U.S. Congress, has vigorously opposed the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the five members of the United Nations Security Council (U.S., Russia, China, United Kingdom, and France) plus Germany.

Advocates of the nuclear talks—from the administration of President Barack Obama to grassroots civil society organizations—say that the push to undermine the diplomatic process, ultimately, amounts to a call for dangerous military escalation and potentially war.

Leading nuclear non-proliferation specialists, meanwhile, released a statement on Monday championing the framework agreement as a “vitally important step forward.”

Jamal Abdi, policy director for the National Iranian American Council, toldCommon Dreams, “The notion that the military option is still on the table, first of all, ignores the fact that any military option makes an Iranian nuclear weapon far more likely, not less likely. Anybody talking about military action is being disingenuous or just desperate and reckless.”

“Some of our own members of the U.S. Senate are goading Israelis to say things like this,” Abdi added. “Hopefully these people don’t do more and more crazy things to sabotage the more desperate they get.”

Pakistan debates military involvement in Yemen

by

Parliament discusses request by Riyadh for fighter jets as Saudi-led coalition continues to bomb Houthi positions.

Rival Pakistani rallies have been held for and against the Saudi-led campaign on Yemen [Reuters]

Rival Pakistani rallies have been held for and against the Saudi-led campaign on Yemen [Reuters]

by Asad Hashim, Al Jazeera

Islamabad: Saudi Arabia has asked for Pakistani fighter jets, ground troops and naval warships to join its campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, Pakistan’s defence minister has said.

Khwaja Asif was addressing a joint session of the Pakistani parliament, which met in Islamabad on Monday to begin a debate on whether to join the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, where air strikes against Houthi rebels have been ongoing since March 25.

Pakistan has regularly voiced support for the Saudi mission, but has so far not committed to taking material part in the air strikes against the Houthis, who are said to be backed by one of Pakistan’s neighbours, Iran.

Saudi officials and state media, however, have been citing Pakistan as one of 10 countries that are actively engaged in the military campaign in Yemen.

Asif said that while no decision had yet been taken on joining the military coalition, “any violation of Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity would elicit a strong response from Pakistan”, echoing the position publicly stated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif repeatedly in the last week.

Terming the Houthi rebels “non-state actors”, who had overthrown the “legitimate” Yemeni government, led by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Asif stressed that Pakistan, along with regional ally Turkey, was calling for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

“The situation is grave and might endanger the safety and security of the whole region,” Asif said.

In the last week, more than 980 Pakistanis have been evacuated from Yemen by the Pakistani government, which has sent commercial aircraft and naval ships to aid in this effort, in conjunction with Saudi military authorities. The country is host to approximately 3,000 Pakistanis.

‘Give peace a chance’

Asif, along with Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and several high-ranking military personnel, visited Saudi Arabia on March 31 to discuss the situation in Yemen.

While there, he told parliament, the Pakistani delegation assured Saudi officials that Pakistan would protect Saudi territory if need be, but that it was pursuing the path of dialogue, and wanted “to give peace a chance”.

He confirmed that during this visit, Saudi officials had “requested us for aircraft, naval vessels and ground troops”.

PM Sharif met his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Friday, where the leaders discussed possible diplomatic solutions to the crisis in Yemen, in addition to expressing support for Saudi Arabia.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is due to visit Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss the crisis.

Muslim-majority Pakistan is a long time ally of Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam’s two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina. It is also a major recipient of Saudi aid.

Pakistan has been walking a tight rope on the issue, analysts say, balancing its alliance with Saudi Arabia against the possibility of military involvement souring relations with neighbour Iran and possibly inflaming sectarian tensions at home.

Pakistan’s military is also currently engaged in ongoing operations against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its allies in the country’s tribal areas, with roughly 170,000 troops committed to that fight, in addition to fighter jets, the defence minister said on Monday.

The session adjourned late on Monday without a resolution being passed, and Speaker Ayaz Sadiq reconvened the debate for Tuesday morning.

UN: 100,000 new displaced in Yemen since strikes began

by

UNICEF says majority of those that have fled their homes since conflict escalated are women and children.

yemen

by Al Jazeera

More than a 100,000 people have fled their homes after Saudi-led coalition air strikes began in Yemen, according to UNICEF.

A spokesman from the UN agency, Rajat Madhok, told Al Jazeera that most of those who have been displaced are women and children.

“Most displacements have taken place from and within al-Dhale, Abyan, Amran, Saada, Hajja. The displaced persons are mostly being hosted with relatives,” Madhok said.

In a statement published on Tuesday, UNICEF, the UN agency that provides humanitarian assistance to children and mothers, said 74 children caught up in fighting had been killed and another 44 maimed since March 26.

“These are conservative figures and UNICEF believes that the total number of children killed is much higher,” the statement read.

The agency’s Yemen representative, Julien Harneis, said children were paying an “intolerable” price, and said more needed to be done to protect them.

“These children should be immediately afforded special respect and protection by all parties to the conflict, in line with international humanitarian law,” Harneis said.

Aden clashes

The comments came as Houthi rebels and forces backing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi engaged in fierce clashes in the country’s south, reportedly leaving more than 140 people dead in 24 hours on Monday.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, spokesperson for the Houthis, told Al Jazeera that the number of civilian casualties was not yet clear.

“We don’t have a clear account of the number of civilians being killed but obviously the number is increasing due to the strikes and also the humanitarian situation is deteriorating due to the siege and strikes hitting food storages,” he said.

Aden is a power base for Hadi, who fled to Saudi Arabia as the fighters from the Zaydi Shia sect expanded their control across the country.

As thousands are in dire need of aid, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said that one passenger plane carrying staff was able to land in the capital Sanaa on Monday, but that the organisation has not yet been able to find a cargo plane operator to fly supplies into the country.

Sitara Jabeen, the ICRC’s spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that the humanitarian situation was worsening.

“The situation in Yemen remains extremely critical. The conflict … has intensified, especially in Aden. We are still trying to find a cargo plane that can carry our supplies to Sanaa,” said Jabeen, speaking from Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition has bombed Houthi positions since March 26 and has dropped weapons to Hadi loyalists, but the rebels continue to put up resistance and have said they will accept peace talks only if the aerial attacks stop.

The Houthis swept into Sanaa in September and put Hadi under house arrest before he fled to Aden and then to Saudi Arabia. Backed by militias loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, they control large swaths of Yemen, which is also grappling with al-Qaeda.

VHP calls for ban on Kamal Haasan's 'Uttama Villain'

by

Uttama Villain

Chennai: Members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have called for a ban on actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan-starrer Tamil drama “Uttama Villain”, claiming it will affect the religious sentiments of Hindi people.

In their statement to the commissioner of police on Monday, the group alleged that the song “Iraniyan Nadagam”, about the disparaged conversation between Prahalad and Hiranyakashipu, will hurt the sentiments of Hindus.

“The lyrics of the song will upset followers of Lord Vishnu. It belittles the conversation between Prahalad and Hiranyakashipu. Hence, we demand a ban on the film,” K.L Sathiyamoorthy, member of VHP, told IANS.

Directed by Ramesh Aravind, the movie is about an 8th century theatre artist and a modern-day superstar.

(IANS)

BJP marks 35th foundation day, Advani not officially invited

by

a. Photo: Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times

L. K. Advani. Photo: Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times

New Delhi: The BJP held its 35th foundation day function at the party office here but party patriarch L. K. Advani was not “officially” invited for the event, sources said.

They said that Advani’s office got to know about the function through an SMS that was also sent to the media.

The foundation day function had special significance this year for BJP, which came to power with an absolute majority for the first time in last year’s general elections, as it has also become the largest political party in the world with about 9.5 crore members.

A Bharatiya Janata Party functionary, who did not want to be named, told IANS that there “had been a lapse” in the way the invitation for the function was sent to Advani.

Party sources said that normally a letter or a circular is sent about a function held in the party office.

They said since many party officials returned from Bengaluru on Sunday and there was not much time to prepare for the function, a SMS was sent communicating the time for the function.

Another functionary, however, said that no circular or invite was sent for the function as it is an event held every year in the party office.

Among the party’s founding members and its three-time president, Advani did not make a speech at the party’s national executive that ended in Bengaluru on Saturday – the first time in all such meetings which he has attended.

Apart from party president Amit Shah, the foundation day function was attended by union ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu and Thawar Chand Gehlot andgeneral secretary Ram Lal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who led the BJP to a sweeping victory in the Lok Sabha elections 10 months back, tweeted to greet BJP activists on the birth anniversary. “On the BJP’s ‘Sthapana Diwas’, my greetings to all the BJP ‘karyakartas’ and well-wishers,” he said.

“BJP’s phenomenal growth is due to the efforts and hard work of generations of selfless ‘karyakartas’ who devoted their lives to our nation,” he said.

The BJP would “leave no stone unturned to fulfil people’s aspirations and create an India that is strong, developed and inclusive”, Modi added.

The BJP was founded on April 6, 1980, after its earlier incarnation, Bharatiya Jana Sangh, merged into the Janata Party along with other parties in 1977.

Shah, in his address, asked party workers not to work with posts in mind.

Noting Syama Prasad Mookerjee had laid foundation of Jana Sangh with 10-12 youth, he said the party in its reincarnation as BJP was the “largest political party in the world” with about 9.5 crore members.

“Our journey is the most interesting of all political parties in the world,” he said.

Shah said the BJP was in power at the centre and in 12 states and BJP workers had “greater responsibility” and had to work for the poor, farmers and the disadvantaged sections.

“The party was formed to make India Jagat (world) guru,” he said and added that the Modi government was working to make India a front-ranking nation in terms of development.

(IANS)

BJP MP's brother allegedly runs his vehicle over school director

by

Vikramaditya Singh Judeo

Raipur: A school director was seriously injured today when he was allegedly run over by a vehicle belonging to the brother a Member of Parliament due to a property dispute in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district, sparking tension among locals.

A case has been registered against Vikramaditya Singh Judeo and his two associates on the charge of attempting to kill the school director Barmeshwar Gupta, Jashpur Superintendent of Police G S Jayaswal told PTI.

Vikramaditya is the younger brother of Ranjvijay Singh Judeo, BJP’s Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament and belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Jashpur.

“After committing the offence, the accused are on the run and efforts are on to nab them,” he said.

As per the preliminary probe, Barmeshwar Gupta (44) had bought a piece of land from Judeo’s family and planned to construct a school on it.

Judeo, along with his two associates, reached the plot in a vehicle today morning when Gupta was monitoring work there.

The accused allegedly misbehaved with Gupta claiming that the land belonged to his family which turned into a heated argument, Jayaswal said.

“Subsequently, Judeo ran his vehicle over Gupta and fled the spot leaving him seriously injured,” the SP said.

Soon after the incident, locals informed the police and the injured was admitted to Jashpur district hospital from where he was shifted to Ranchi (Jharkhand) for further treatment, he said.

“The trio have been booked under Section 307 (attempt to murder) and other relevant sections of Indian Penal Code,” the SP said.

The vehicle of the accused has been seized, he said, adding that efforts were on to arrest them.

After the incident, locals staged a protest in front of Judeos’ palace.

However, they were pacified by the police after which security forces were deployed in the region to prevent possible unrest.

(PTI)

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives