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Four held in Navi Mumbai church attack case

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Navi Mumbai church attack

Navi Mumbai: Three days after the attack on a church here, police today claimed to have cracked the case with the arrest of four persons.

“Four persons have been arrested in connection with the attack on the Saint George Catholic church,” Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner K L Prasad told PTI.

The IPS officer, however, refused to share further details at the moment.

Under fire from the opposition, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis yesterday had set a 48 hour deadline to police to nab the culprits.

The Opposition members had yesterday walked out of the Assembly in protest against the incident.

Police had announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the accused.

Fadnavis is likely to make a statement in the House later today.

According to Khandeshwar police, the attack was carried out by two masked persons, who were riding pillion on a motorcycle at around 1.30 AM on Saturday when they hurled stones at the Saint George Catholic church located near a bridge in New Panvel.

In the incident, the covering glass outside the statue of Saint George got damaged.

The trio, comprising the biker and the two pillion riders, were covering their faces, a police official said.

An offence has been registered against the unidentified men under sections 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 427 (mischief) of the IPC, police said.

The church was built in 2007 and can accommodate over 800 people for prayer.

(PTI)

Amitav Ghosh among 10 finalists for International Booker prize

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Amitav Ghosh

London: Amitav Ghosh today emerged as the only Indian author among 10 finalists for this year’s Man Booker International Prize for his contribution to the English language writing.

Kolkata-born, 58-year-old Ghosh had narrowly missed out on the Booker Prize back in 2008 when he was shortlisted for his work ‘Sea of Poppies’.

The international version of the popular literary prize, to be held in London on May 19, is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language.

The winner is chosen solely at the discretion of the judging panel and there are no submissions from publishers.

“This is a most interesting and enlightening list of finalists,” said Jonathan Taylor, Chairman of the Booker Prize Foundation.

“For the first time authors included in the list are from 10 countries with six new nationalities,” said Taylor.

The finalists were announced at the University of Cape Town in South Africa by writer and academic Professor Marina Warner, chair of the five-person judging panel.

They are from Libya, Mozambique, Guadeloupe, Hungary, South Africa and Congo and the proportion of writers translated into English is greater than ever before at 80 per cent.

It brings attention to writers from far and wide, so many of whom are in translation.

The others on the list include from Argentina, Lebanon, Guadeloupe, Mozambique, the United States of America, Libya, Hungary, Republic of Congo and South Africa.

“The judges have had an exhilarating experience reading for this prize we have ranged across the world and entered the vision of writers who offer an extraordinary variety of experiences,” said Prof Marina Warner, chair of the judging panel.

The awards comes with a 60,000 pounds cheque and can be won only once in an author’s lifetime.

In addition, there is a separate award for translation and, if applicable and in accordance with the rules of the separate prize for translation, the winner may choose a translator of his or her work into English to receive a prize of 15,000 pounds.

(PTI)

An interview with Pahlaj Nihlani the new chairman of Central Board Of Film Certification

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“The Film Industry Should See The Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) As A Friend, Not As A Hostile Force.” – Pahlaj Nihalani

Pahlaj Nihalani. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Pahlaj Nihalani. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Pahlaj Nihalani, the reputed filmmaker, needs no special introduction as far as his filmmaking repertoire is concerned. But of late he has come in for a lot of flak since the time he has been appointed as the chairperson of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC). On this account Pahlaj Nihalani averred in clarification, “Maybe some people don’t like that I have restored transparency in the censor board. I can’t comment on what someone in the censor board thinks to be right or wrong. All I can tell very categorically is that I have been working within the Information & Broadcasting Ministry & Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) guidelines.” Even otherwise 2 members of the Censor Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) Ashoke Pandit & Dr. Chandraprakash Diwedi have leveled serious charges of autocratic functioning against Pahlaj Nihalani. Both of them have expressed their dissatisfaction by categorically stating that the Government is not pleased with the cuss – word ban by Censor Board, can take action. Here in this free wheeling interactive session Pahlaj Nihalani clarifies his stance.

One of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) board member Ashoke Pandit has leveled some very serious charges against you. Do you think it was right on the part of Ashoke Pandit to go public with his grievances?

Frankly speaking I can’t comment on what someone in the censor board thinks what is right or what is wrong. All I can tell you very categorically is that I have been working within the Information & Broadcasting Ministry & Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) guidelines. Maybe so far the censor board has been functioning in a different way. And now some people don’t like the fact that I have restored discipline & transparency in the workings of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) and its  circular banning cuss words put on hold.

The protesters in the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) say that your style of working is tyrannical?

But It is my duty to do my job to the best of my abilities. As long as I am the chairperson of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) I won’t compromise on my work and I won’t buckle under pressure just because some people are uncomfortable with my style & way of working.

Do you think it was right of Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) board members to go public with their grievances?

I don’t want to comment on any individual. But if anyone chooses to go public with the grievances against a Governmental organization, then he or she is working against the interests of the Government. It’s therefore ethically & legally wrong of them.

Has the Information & Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore been informed about the revolt within the censor board?

If I answer that I would be doing exactly what these other board members are doing. Let me just say that the Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore is a very smart & an intelligent person. He knows exactly what people are doing and those who are going against the guidelines are definitely brought to his notice. For instance Central Board Of Film Certification’s – CBFC rifts (spilt) in the open.

Ashoke Pandit also claims that you see every film on your own and decide what is to be done?

Firstly, as the chairperson I have a right to either watch films personally as and how I want, or depute someone from the censor board to watch it. If so far, my predecessors have not been watching films personally, they were in the wrong. If I am doing the right thing now, if I am clearing as many as 5 films in 1 day, why are some members of the censor board getting jittery?

Your working method has diminished the chances of corrupt practices?

For the 1st time in the existence of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC), I scheduled 5 films to be watched by the Revising Committee on the same day. Never before has the censor board watched more than 1 film on any given day. Is that not a good thing? We went out of the way of our schedule by censoring ‘NH10’ as we didn’t want to delay their 13th Mar, 2015 release.

Both disgruntled board members Ashoke Pandit & Dr. Chandraprakash Diwedi have accused you of being unfair to NH10?

Unfair? After seeing the film audiences are laughing at such accusations. We have gone out of our way to retain the violent flavor of the film. We have censored the film according to the script’s demand. That’s how every film will be censored. We only changed the dialogues a bit. I am a producer & a director myself. I know what cuts can be made without affecting the narrative. I wonder how Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) board members commented on the picture without seeing it.

Even the film’s producers including Anushka Sharma have been voicing protests against the CBFC?

After the film was censored the producers & the directors said they were satisfied with the cuts. They had appealed to us not to cut certain scenes. All of us 9 members conceded to their appeal for the sake of their creativity. We will deal with every film on an individual basis. ‘NH10’ needed the violence. The social message is quite clear and very strong here. The producers were happy. I don’t know if some of the Central Board Of Film Certification  (CBFC) board members are unhappy.

Are you saying that Ashoke Pandit & Dr. Chandraprakash Diwedi have commented on your censoring of ‘NH10’ without seeing the film?

If they had seen the film they wouldn’t have said what they had to. I don’t know what they are talking about. From the day I have taken over as chairperson of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) they have ganged up against me. Without the permission from the Information & Broadcasting ministry they have been publicly commenting on the internal workings of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC).

What would you say in your defense?

I don’t have to defend myself against such absurd charges. From the day I took over as the chairperson of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) I have respected the opinion of each & every member of my censor board. I value their opinion. They have toiled hard to clear the backlog of films to be censored. We have cleared all applications for censorship till 4th Mar, 2014. Even the promotional clippings will now be cleared within 24 hours. The film industry should see the CBFC as a friend, not as a hostile force.

How do you plan to deal with the revolt?

By doing my duty and working honestly. I am not bothered with the naysayers. My work will speak for itself. As for the protesters, they are violating the rules of the Information & Broadcasting ministry by working against the interest of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC). The Ministry will decide what to do with them.

Karnataka: HC tells govt to improve infrastructure in prisons

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prison-jail-hands-bar

Bengaluru: In response to a public interest petition, that questioned the lack of facilities to convicts incarcerated in prisons in the State, a division bench of Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice Ram Mohan Reddy, on Monday, directed the State government to come up with long-term solutions and frame guidelines and policies to improve the infrastructure in prisons.

They also directed the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority to help the prisoners get access to legal aid. The bench said there must be a designated room for prisoners to discuss their cases with their lawyers.

The bench reminded the government of its duty to ensure sufficient remuneration was paid to inmates for the work they do and make them more productive. It said yoga must be introduced in prisons.

No Infrastructure

The petition had highlighted the lack of infrastructure in prisons such as shortage of sleeping berths, lack of bathrooms and toilets, insufficient bedding and accommodation. The government counsel said prisons were overcrowded and the government was “making every effort” to shift some of the prisons to ease the burden.

(Agencies)

CBI Chennai office likely to handle DK Ravi's case

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D-K-Ravi

Bengaluru: The Chennai office of the CBI has a homicide and burglary squad which is likely to handle the case of DK Ravi once referred by the state government to the CBI HQ through the MHA, which may take another couple of days. This is subject to the headquarters not appointing any special team for the purpose, sources said.  “But given the heat generated by Ravi’s death, a special team handling the matter cannot be ruled out,” they added.

“Normally, in such cases, the case will be either handed over to the CBI office nearest to the place of crime, or a special team will be formed,” police sources familiar with the way the CBI works said. The nearest CBI office in Bengaluru is headed by an officer of the rank of superintendent of police but this chapter specializes only in ‘anti-corruption and banking frauds’ and officials are not well equipped to investigate cases like the one on hand, the sources pointed out.

A fresh line of inquiry?

CBI sleuths will start afresh from the scene of crime and parallel question officials from the CID and city police, and forensic science laboratory experts who have handled the case till now, sources said. Advocates say they can register a case of murder under section 302 and start the investigation from that angle till they reach a conclusion.

Investigating officials will collect all material evidence, documents, statements and related things from the CID and local police. The video CD of the postmortem will also be taken by the CBI.

If required, the CBI may go in for another postmortem, send viscera samples to special labs in Delhi and Hyderabad. Ravi’s call detail records (CDR) for the past six months have been already taken by the CID and if needed, the CBI will get more CDR, sources said.

The investigators will also keep an eye open for any tampering or destruction of evidence, if any, during the course of investigation by local authorities.

(Agencies)

Mars Orbiter mission extended for another six months

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Launch of PSLV C25

Bengaluru: India’s maiden Mars Orbiter mission was extended for another six months on Tuesday to further explore the Red Planet and its atmosphere, a senior official said here.

“As the 1,340 kg Mars Orbiter has sufficient fuel (37 kg) to last longer than it was intended earlier, its mission has been extended for another six months,” the senior official of the Indian space agency told IANS.

The historic mission has completed six months of orbiting the Red Planet.

India created history by becoming the first country to enter Mars orbit in maiden attempt on September 24, 2014 after a nine-month voyage through the inter-planetary space from Earth.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present on the occasion at the Indian space agency’s Mars Orbiter Mission centre in this tech hub.

India also became the first Asian country to have entered the Mars sphere of influence (gravity) in maiden attempt, as a similar mission by China failed to succeed in 2011.

The Rs.450-crore ($70 million) ambitious Mars mission was launched on November 5, 2013 on board a polar rocket from spaceport Sriharikota off Bay of Bengal, about 80 km of Chennai.

“The five scientific instruments onboard the spacecraft (Orbiter) will continue to collect data and relay it to our deep space network centre here for analysis,” state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director Devi Prasad Karnik said.

Of the five payloads (instruments) onboard, the Mars Colour Camera (MCC) has been the most active, taking several stunning images of the red planet’s surface and its surroundings, including valleys, mountains, craters, clouds and dust storms.

“The camera has beamed to us several breathtaking pictures of the Martian surface and its weather patterns such as dust storms. We have uploaded many pictures on our website (www.isro.gov.in) and our Facebook account for viewing,” Karnik said.

The other four instruments have been conducting experiments to study the Martian surface, its rich mineral composition and scan its atmosphere for methane gas to know if it can support life.

The four instruments are Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM), Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP), Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) and Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS).

MSM measures the natural gas in the Martian atmosphere with PPB (particles per billion) accuracy and map its sources.

LAP is studying the atmospheric process of Mars and measure the deuterium (isotope) and hydrogen ratio and neutral particles in its upper atmosphere.

MENCA and TIS are analysing the neutral composition and measure the temperature during day and night to map the surface composition and mineralogy of Mars.

“As methane is an indicator of past life on Mars, the sensor is looking for its presence in the Martian orbit. If available, we will know its source in terms of biology and geology. The thermal infrared sensor will find out if the gas is from geological origin,” Karnik pointed out.

Scientists at the mission control centre here are monitoring the orbital movement of the spacecraft around Mars and checking health of its instruments round the clock.

“Health and other parameters of the spacecraft are fine and all the essential functions continue to perform normal,” Karnik asserted.

Orbiter takes 3.2 Earth days or 72 hours, 51 minutes and 51 seconds to go round Mars once while orbiting at a distance of 500 km nearest and over 80,000 km farthest from its red surface.

Success of the Mars mission has made India join the elite club of the US, Europe and Russia, which reached the red planet after initial failures.

ISRO became the fourth international space agency after National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US, Russian Federal Space Agency (RFSA) and European Space Agency to have undertaken successful mission to Mars.

Besides Orbiter and NASA’s Maven, two other NASA orbiters, Europe’s Mars Express orbiter and two NASA rovers have been exploring the red planet.

Maven, which reached the Martian orbit on September 22, 2014, is an acronym for Mars atmosphere and volatile evolution. It has been designed to study the red planet’s thin atmosphere in attempt to learn what happened to Mars’s water.

As the fourth planet away from sun, Mars is the second smallest celestial body in the solar system. Named after Roman god of war, it is also known as red planet due to the presence of iron oxide in abundance, giving it a reddish appearance.

(IANS)

Govt asked me to go to Pak National Day celebration: V K Singh

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General-VK-Singh

New Delhi: Shortly after representing the Government at the national day reception at Pakistan High Commission tonight which kicked up a storm, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh issued a series of intriguing tweets defining “disgust” and “duty” indicating that he may have been unhappy at being deputed to it.

In the first of the five quick tweets, Singh, a former Army Chief, said, “To offend the moral sense, principles, or taste of”.

This was immediately followed by another which said, “To sicken or fill with loathing”.

While the third tweet said, “A job or service allocated,” the fourth one said,”The force that binds one morally or legally to one’s obligations”.

The last tweet said,”A task or action that a person is bound to perform for moral or legal reasons”.

Earlier tonight, Singh told reporters after attending the reception that he was asked by the government to represent it at the function.

“The Government of India has to send an MoS. They sent me and I went there and came back,” he said replying to a question about his presence at the reception.

Asked specifically whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to attend the event, he said, “The Government of India asked me to go there.”

Singh attended the event where several Kashmiri separatist leaders including Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yaseen Malik were also present.

The Minister’s visit to the Pakistani High Commission came on a day India and Pakistan sparred over Hurriyat leaders’ meeting Pakistani envoy Abdul Basit with government making it clear that there was no role for a third party.

Mirwaiz, Chairman of Hurriyat Conference, along with Abdul Gani Bhat, Maulana Abbas Ansari, Bilal Gani Lone, Aga Syed Hassan, Mussadiq Adil and Mukhtar Ahmad Waza had held talks with Basit last night.

Basit, who invited them to the Pakistan National Day celebrations, said that India was not against these interactions. However, India hit out, saying “the Government of India prefers to speak for itself”.

(PTI)

Supreme Court scraps Section 66A of IT Act

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Supreme Court India

New Delhi: In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court on Tuesday, struck down section 66A of the IT Act, which gives power to arrest a person for posting offensive contents on web, as unconstitutional.

The verdict came in the hearing of a batch of petitions challenging constitutional validity of certain sections of the cyber law including section 66A.

A bench of justices J Chelameswar and R F Nariman had on February 26 reserved its judgement after Government concluded its arguments contending that section 66A of the Information Technology Act cannot be “quashed” merely because of the possibility of its “abuse”.

Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had said that the Government did not want to curtail the freedom of speech and expression at all which is enshrined in the Constitution, but the vast cyber world could not be allowed to remain unregulated.

However, the court had said that terms like ‘illegal’, ‘grossly offensive’ and ‘menacing character’ were vague expressions and these words were likely to be misunderstood and abused.

The first PIL on the issue was filed in 2012 by a law student Shreya Singhal, who sought amendment in Section 66A of the Act, after two girls — Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Shrinivasan — were arrested in Palghar in Thane district as one of them posted a comment against the shutdown in Mumbai following Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray’s death and the other ‘liked’ it.

The apex court had on May 16, 2013, come out with an advisory that a person, accused of posting objectionable comments on social networking sites, cannot be arrested without police getting permission from senior officers like IG or DCP.

The direction had come in the wake of numerous complaints of harassment and arrests, sparking public outrage.

(Agencies)

Shashi Kapoor to receive Dadasaheb Phalke Award

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shashi-kapoor

New Delhi: Veteran actor-producer Shashi Kapoor has been named for the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award.

The actor who turned 77 on the 18th of this month is known for his performances in films like ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’, ‘Deewar’ and ‘Kabhi Kabhie’. He stepped into the world of acting at the age of four, when he used to perform in plays directed by his father Prithviraj Kapoor.

Shashi Kapoor has got the National Award for best actor for the film New Delhi Times in 1986, National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film) for Muhafiz (1993) and the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (as Producer) for Junoon in 1979.

Along with acting in movies, he has worked as a film director and assistant director. He worked as an assistant director for the debut movie of Sunil Dutt titled ‘Post Box 999′.

He has appeared in 160 movies all together, 12 being in English and the rest in Hindi. He was also honored with the Padma Bhushan Award by the Government of India in the year 2011.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award will be given out with the National Film Awards this year. The previous recipient was lyricist-director Gulzar.

Pursue Hashimpura massacre case in higher court: CPI-M

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Hashimpura massacre

New Delhi: The CPI-M on Monday said the acquittal of all the 16 accused in the massacre of 42 Muslims at Hashimpura in Uttar Pradesh in 1987 should be pursued in the higher court.

“The acquittal by a Delhi court of all the 16 accused in the Hashimpura (Meerut) massacre has angered those who had wanted to see that justice is done in this police atrocity,” it said in a statement.

“The acquittal due to insufficient evidence highlights the callous manner in which the prosecution of those guilty for communal killings are being conducted,” the Communist Party of India-Marxist said.

The party demanded that the verdict be appealed and the case “strongly pursued” in the higher court.

Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel rounded up the 42 Muslims from Hashimpura locality in Meerut on May 22, 1987 during Hindu-Muslim riots, shot them dead and dumped their bodies in water canals.

This triggered a long legal battle in courts. On Saturday, a lower court in Delhi acquitted all the surviving accused for lack of evidence.

(IANS)

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