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Sunanda death not natural: Delhi Police chief

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sunanda pushkar

New Delhi: The death of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, was not natural but no radioactive substance was found in her body, Delhi Police said today on the basis of report by a medical board of AIIMS which analysed FBI findings on her viscera sample.

Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi said the high-profile case will be taken to its logical conclusion soon and all possible angles are being examined.

“One thing is clear that the death was not natural. It was unnatural as per our investigation till now and evidences collected so far. I can say that with certainty,” Bassi told reporters here.

In January last year, Delhi Police had registered a case of murder in connection with the death of Sunanda. An AIIMS medical board had found poisoning as reason for her death following which the police had sent her viscera samples to an FBI lab in Washington last year.

There was earlier speculation that Sunanda may have died as a result of poisoning through radioactive substances.

The FBI had sent its report to Delhi Police two months back. The report said the radiation levels in Sunanda’s viscera samples were “within the standard safety norms” besides mentioning other details.

As police could not firm up about cause of the death based on the FBI report, they requested a medical board of AIIMS to analyse the contents of the report.

“The medical board has submitted to us 11-page report with 32 pages of annexures which are to be examined. They have mentioned about certain conclusions which are now to be investigated,” Bassi said.

51-year-old Sunanda was found dead at a suite in five-star hotel in South Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014, a day after her spat with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar on micro-blogging website Twitter over her alleged affair with Tharoor.

“I have no knowledge on the mention of any dangerous chemical in the FBI report. The FBI report had said none of the samples contained any radioactive material. I can confirm there’s no radiaoactive material but certain other findings are there. We had given the entire report to the medical board which has examined and gave us a report.

“FBI report had said that radioactive levels were within acceptable range. It had ruled out the radioactive angle. Certain other chemical compounds were found by the FBI lab. The medical board has given certain conclusions. We will investigate those,” Bassi said.

The Delhi Police Commissioner today held a meeting which was attended by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case. Special Commissioner of Delhi Police (Law and Order) Deepak Mishra briefed all about all related angle in the case.

“Have been told that Medical Board’s advice in late Sunanda’s case has been received,” Bassi tweeted earlier. Bassi added Mishra was reviewing the progress in the case.

The investigators have so far conducted polygraph test on six persons, all prime witnesses in the case, including Tharoors’ domestic help Narayan Singh, driver Bajrangi and Sanjay Dewan, a close friend of the couple. Tharoor was not subjected to the test but was questioned thrice in the case.

The FBI report had ruled out the theory of the variant of a radioactive element named Polonium having caused Sunanda’s death, noting that radiation levels in her viscera sample were within the standard safety norms.

In January last year, police had claimed that Sunanda was poisoned, and registered a murder case against unknown persons. Three others — S K Sharma, Vikas Ahlawat and Sunil Takru, had also undergone the polygraph test.

The police team probing the case has so far questioned at least 15 people. Tharoor, his staff members and close friends were among those questioned by Delhi Police. Sunanda’s son Shiv Menon was quizzed by the SIT on February 5 last year.

(Agencies)

Urdu teachers with two wives not eligible for govt jobs in UP

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Urdu_Schools

Agra: The new notice of the Akhilesh Yadav led Samajwadi Party government, pertaining to appointment of Urdu teachers to government-run schools has sparked widespread protests among Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.

The notice for appointment of 3,500 Urdu teachers says: “All those who have two wives, both living, will be considered non-eligible for the post. Also, female candidates who are married to a man who has two wives, both living, will also be considered non-eligible.”

While the Muslims have been calling this rule to be discriminatory, justifying the move the government officials say that it has been done only to avoid confusion with regard to payment of widow or widower’s pension.

However, the Muslim clerics refuse to accept this explanation.

Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali, Imam of Lucknow’s Eidgah and member of the Muslim Personal Law Board told Times of India that the government cannot impose such conditions when it comes to recruitment of staff.

“There is a provision for four marriages in Islam. Even though just about one percent of Muslim men have two wives, such conditions should not become part of the job application process,” he opines further adding that if a man leaves behind him two wives, the pension can be divided among the two wives, rather than snatching away a man’s right to job.

(Agencies)

Madani can approach trial court seeking to combine trials: SC

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abdul_nasser_madani

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday has said PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madani can approach the trial court seeking to combine the trials in all the nine cases against him in connection with the 2008 Bengaluru blasts.

The apex court, while considering Madani’s plea, also asked him to file a plea in the trial court in this regard in a week. “The trial court should take a decision on it in a week,” the court said.

The Supreme Court also questioned the trial court how long would it take to complete the trial proceedings in the case.

Madani is among the 31 persons chargesheeted for the 2008 Bangalore blasts, which killed one person and injured 20 others, on charges of conspiracy and sheltering some of the key accused.

(Agencies)

India’s Aadhaar increased access, reduced corruption: World Bank

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Aadhaar

Washington: Citing how India increased access and reduced corruption in public services by providing unique digital identification to one billion people in five years, the World Bank says digital technologies can promote inclusion, efficiency, and innovation.

Indian are using their digital IDs called Aadhaar “to open bank accounts, monitor attendance of civil servants, and identify recipients of government subsidies,” noted the new ‘World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends,’ released here on Thursday.

“In public health services, simple SMS messages have proven effective in reminding people living with HIV to take their lifesaving drugs,” said the 350 plus page report that was two years in the making by a 15 member team led by co-directors, Deepak Mishra and Uwe Deichmann.

However, the report noted that while the internet, mobile phones and other digital technologies are spreading rapidly throughout the developing world, the anticipated digital dividends of higher growth, more jobs, and better public services have fallen short of expectations.

As many as 60 percent of the world’s population remains excluded from the ever-expanding digital economy with the benefits of rapid digital expansion skewed towards the wealthy, skilled, and influential around the world.

In addition, though the number of internet users worldwide has more than tripled since 2005, four billion people still lack access to the internet.

“The digital revolution is transforming the world, aiding information flows, and facilitating the rise of developing nations that are able to take advantage of these new opportunities,” said Kaushik Basu, World Bank Chief Economist.

To deliver fully on the development promise of a new digital age, the World Bank suggested two main actions that the report calls analog complements to digital investments.

These are closing the digital divide by making the internet universal, affordable, open, and safe and strengthening regulations that ensure competition among business, adapting workers’ skills to the demands of the new economy, and fostering accountable institutions.

China has the largest number of internet users, followed by the US, with India, Japan, and Brazil filling out the top five.

The world’s offline population is mainly in India and China, but more than 120 million people are still offline in North America.

With the internet enabling more products to be exported to more markets, often by newer and younger firms, the report noted firms in India, Jamaica, and the Philippines have captured a share of global markets for services ranging from traditional back-office services to long-distance online tutoring.

The internet’s ability to reduce transaction costs increases opportunities for people who face barriers in finding jobs or productive inputs. This promotes inclusion for women, for persons with disabilities, and for people in remote areas, the report said.

The Indian state of Kerala, for example, set up the Kudumbashree project to outsource information technology services to cooperatives of women from poor families; 90 percent of the women had not previously worked outside the home.

The internet is also encouraging more cross-border exchanges of goods and services, allowing consumers and firms to bypass national borders.

But cross-border issues-such as barriers to data flows and uncoordinated intellectual property rights regimes-are impairing the growth of internet firms and robbing consumers of gains from increased digital trade.

The small scale imposed by cross-border barriers may also partly explain why e-commerce firms are often losing money in Africa while being profitable in China and India, the report said.

(IANS)

Hindu Sena members vandalise Pakistan Airline office

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New Delhi: Members of a right-wing group allegedly vandalised the office of Pakistan International Airlines today near Barakhamba Road here.

The incident took place around noon following which police were informed and a team was rushed to the spot, said a police official.

DCP (New Delhi) Jatin Narwal confirmed the development and said that appropriate action will follow.

Preliminary investigation suggests that the accused are associates of the person who had called up the police last year regarding “beef” being served at Kerala House here, an official said.

(Agencies)

Moulana Masood Azhar held for Pathankot attack

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Islamabad also sealed several offices of JeM after India demanded action on the group

masood-azhar

Islamabad: Terrorist leader Maulana Masood Azhar, who India says plotted the terror attack on the IAF base in Pathankot, was detained on Wednesday along with several others, the media reported.

The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief, known for his close ties with Pakistani intelligence agencies, was taken to an undisclosed destination and was being questioned, The News said.

Also detained was his brother Mufti Abdul Rauf, it said.

The report quoted unidentified sources as saying that “concerned authorities were interrogating them about the armed attack on Pathankot”.

Pakistan earlier said that several JeM activists had been arrested and its offices sealed as part of an investigation into the suspected Pakistani links to the January 2 terror attack.

Six Pakistani terrorists believed to be from the outlawed JeM sneaked into Punjab and raided the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot, killing seven security personnel.

Security forces killed all the terrorists. India later said it had delivered “actionable intelligence” for Pakistan to act against those who masterminded the audacious terror attack.

News of Wednesday’s arrests came ahead of a scheduled meeting between the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan in Islamabad on January 15. Amid doubts, New Delhi has not said if it will take part in the talks.

Masood Azhar and two other Pakistani terrorists were freed by India in December 1999 in exchange for the passengers of an Indian Airlines flight hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

The hijacking, from the Kathmandu airport, reportedly was masterminded by Masood Azhar’s brother Ibrahim Athar. Once the three terrorists in Indian custody were handed over to the hijackers, they fled to Pakistan.

In Pakistan, Masood Azhar keeps ranting against India. He also praised the Pathankot terror attack.

(IANS)

“Arrest of Moulana Anzar Shah Qasmi a character assassination attempt”: Umar Shariff, DIET

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Moulana Anzar Shah Qasmi

Bengaluru: The arrest of Bengaluru-based Imam, Maulana Anzar Shah Qasmi over alleged links to Al Qaeda, has united Muslim clerics across India.

On Monday, more than 150 Muslim clerics and heads of mosques and madrasas across Karnataka held a meeting at the Eidgah grounds and decided to extend him all possible legal help.

On the direction of President Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Maulana Syed Arshad Madani, Secretary Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra Legal Aid Committee Gulzar Azmi has requested M S Khan, a Delhi-based advocate, to follow up the case of Maulana Anzar Shah.

Today at a press conference organised in support of the fireband Moulana Mr. Umar Shariff, president of Discover Islam Educational Trust (DIET) expressed his detestation over the manner the Moulana was arrested.

“Moulana Anzar Shah Qasmi is a well-known and respected Islamic scholar and the way he is being paraded as a criminal without any evidence, shows the absolute disregard for the sentiments of the Muslims and even the law,” he said.

He said, the media has become the new judges, where they term any and everyone as a ‘terrorist’, even before the court of law passes its judgement.

Talking about the Moulana, he said he is been under the watch of the police for years. “His fiery speeches is well-known in the community, if was the member or recruiter for Al Qaeda, how did it go unnoticed by the police for all these years”.

He also quoted Police Commissioner N.S. Megharik, who had earlier said that although he was under watch for his speeches, “but do not have any evidence that he was involved in terrorism”.

Mr. Sharifff said his arrest is an attempt of character assassination, and the community will stand by the Moulana.

SC seeks clarification from Mysore lab on Maggi samples

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MAGGI

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today asked the government laboratory in Mysore to further clarify whether test reports relating to lead and glutamic acid in Maggi noodles are within permissible parameters under the law.

The apex court passed the order after perusing two communications received from the Mysore laboratory which had carried out the test about the monosodium glutamate (MSG) content in the samples.

While Nestle India, makers of Maggi, claimed that the lead content was within the permissible limit prescribed under the Food Safety Act, the Centre said there was a need for comprehensive findings of all other parameters.

Making it clear that it was not passing any interim order, a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra said there was a need for the clarification.

“We have perused the test reports. We would like Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore to apprise this court on two aspects, whether the test report relating to lead and glutamic acid are within the permissible parameters and to clarify that those are within parameters prescribed under the Food Safety Act,” the bench, also comprising Justice N V Ramana, said.

The bench further said the institute in Mysore shall also give clarification on the test relating to glutamic acid.

The bench said additionally if the institute feels more samples were necessary, it can requisition the same from the authority concerned.

The bench said for the additional samples the court may communicate with the joint registrar, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), who was appointed as local commissioner. He shall collect the samples from FSSAI godown in Lucknow.

The court said the entire exercise has to be carried out within eight weeks and posted the matter for April 5.

The court had on December 16, last year ordered testing of samples of Maggi noodles in the Mysore laboratory after NCDRC had directed that it be done in Chennai.

(Agencies)

Marine Latorre will not return to India: Italian senator

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Massimiliano Latorre

New Delhi: Massimiliano Latorre, one of the two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen in 2012 off the Kerala coast, will not return to India, according to the Head of Italian Senate’s defence committee.

Latorre was allowed by the Supreme Court in September 2014 to go to Italy initially for four months after he had suffered a brain stroke. His stay there was extended subsequently.

“Massimiliano Latorre will not go back to India and work is being done on the possibility of requesting for Salvatore Girone to be able to return to Italy,” Senator Nicola Latorre was quoted as saying by Italy’s ANSA news agency today.

Salvatore Girone, the other accused, is still here and Italy has been seeking his return as well.

The Supreme Court on July 13 last year had allowed Latorre to stay in Italy for another six months on medical grounds, after the government did not object to his plea. The six- month period ends tomorrow. The matter may come up for hearing in the apex court tomorrow.

The marines, who were on board ship ‘Enrica Lexie’, are accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast on February 15, 2012 after mistaking them for pirates.

The Supreme Court which was handling the case suspended the court proceedings relating to the trial of two marines in August last year following an order to this effect by International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) which was approached by Italy for international arbitration.

(PTI)

Supreme Court declines to permit Jallikattu

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Jallikattu

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to vacate its order barring the bull taming sport Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu that is held during Pongal festivities beginning on Thursday.

An apex court bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra and Justice N.V. Ramana
declined to lift an earlier order that put on hold a central government notification allowing Jallikattu and bull races.

Rejecting the contention of petitioner Ramakrishna, the judges said they were not inclined to vacate the Supreme Court order of Tuesday prohibiting Jallikattu on grounds of cruelty to the bulls.

Jallikattu, an ancient sport, is held in rural parts of Tamil Nadu during Pongal festival. It involves young men clinging on to the hump of bulls to win prize money.

(Agencies)

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