Lucknow, August 09: A local court today issued non- bailable warrants against two accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case, who had continuously remained absent from proceedings.
Other than the NBWs against Laxminarayan Das Mahatyagi and Om Prakash Pandey, the court also issued production warrant against another accused, Jay Bhagwan Gopal.
The court fixed August 17 as the next date of hearing.
Ahmedabad, August 09: Geetha Johri, a former investigation officer in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, today sought more time from CBI in appearing before the agency in connection with the case.
Johri who resumed today work as police commissioner of Rajkot city after a long leave, made the request to CBI to grant her more time, officials said.
CBI had asked her to appear before it on August 10.
In her request, Johri said that since she has joined after a break, she needs to get appraised about the case, before answering CBI questions, they said.
Ahmedabad, August 09: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today reviewed the situation emerging after heavy rains across the state in the past few days and directed the district officials to take measures to prevent outbreak of any kind of epidemic.
Modi asked officials at a meeting held today to work on war footing to drain out water from low lying areas of the city and those districts and to monitor the water level in Ukai and Narmada dam.
Modi directed to offer quick assistance to families who lost their kins due to heavy rains.
Lucknow, August 09: The Uttar Pradesh government today said the law and order situation in the state was much better than in rest of the country.
The government informed the Legislative Assembly the state stood at 34th position in terms of crime records.
The situation in other states was worse, it said citing state-wise National Crime Record Bureau statistics.
Satish Mahana, a BJP MLA, ridiculed the government claim saying “just as it is forging crime records, it has also forged the number of states in the country.”
New Delhi, August 09: Australian spin wizard Shane Warne today expressed his willingness to play in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League next year.
The Rajasthan Royals skipper, who lead his team to a title win in the inaugural edition two years ago, had a three-year contract with his twenty20 franchise which expired after the last edition.
Although a fresh auction will be held in September for IPL-IV, the Australian legend is not in favour of IPL franchisees retaining any player for the next season.
New Delhi, August 09: Allegations of corruption in the preparations for the Commonwealth Games generated much heat in the Lok Sabha on Monday with a key government ally calling for a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and two opposition parties demanding a parliamentary probe into the issue.
Vijayawada, August 09: In an effort at soul-searching, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has admitted that people have moved away from the Left Front due to “certain shortcomings” and vowed to re-build the links.
In the political resolution adopted at the extended meeting of the central committee meeting here Monday, the party said it was in the process of correcting the shortcomings.
“The Left Front is determined to reforge links with the people who have moved away due to certain shortcomings that have been identified and are in the process of being corrected,” it said.
New Delhi, August 09: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya has alleged that infected foodgrains were being supplied to poor people and tribals through ration shops in Mumbai and Thane.
Somaiya, a national secretary of the BJP, said in a statement that he visited a Food Corporation of India (FCI) warehouse in Borivli, Mumbai, along with some party leaders and found “dead rats and rotten, infected foodgrains” in the storage facility.
Kolkata, August 09: A lorry hit a car of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s convoy Monday evening at Kolaghat bridge in East Midnapore district when she was returning to the city after her meeting in Maoist-affected Lalgarh. The Trinamool Congress leader alleged that the lorry had targeted her car.
“When the convoy was crossing the congested Kolaghat bridge in East Midnapore district, a lorry coming from the opposite direction seemed to lose control and hit a car of the convoy,” East Midnapore district magistrate Archana told IANS over phone.
Hyderabad, August 09: The incessant rains and floods in Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh during the last four days have claimed 13 lives and damaged standing crops in over 30,000 hectares, an official said Monday.
The overall food situation in the affected districts barring two Godavari districts improved Monday with flood waters beginning to recede.
The death toll mounted to 13 Monday as officials reported three more deaths. Eight people were killed in rain related incidents in Warangal, three in East Godavari and two in Adilabad.
New Delhi, August 09: The 18th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award will be given to Maulana Wahiduddin Khan for his contribution towards promotion of communal harmony and peace, it was announced Monday.
Congress treasurer Motilal Vora, who is member secretary of the advisory committee of the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award, said in a statement that the award will be given to Maulana Wahiduddin Khan for his “outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill”.
New Delhi, August 09: Concerned over rising prices, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said more fiscal and monetary steps could be taken to ease inflation, if required.
“The Reserve Bank is constantly watching monetary expansion. To improve the supply position, import doors are kept open and as and when some steps are called for, we will be in a position to take them,” he said in an interview to private news channel CNBC TV18.
Mumbai, August 09: The oil spill from Panamanian ship MSC Chitra, which ran aground off Mumbai harbour after Saturday’s collision with another vessel, has stopped, the Coast Guard said today.
“The leakage of oil from the ship has stopped on its own,” S P S Basra, IG Coast Guard (Western Region) told PTI.
“It is observed that in the last six hours, the fuel from the ship tank has stopped coming out. So, it is a relief kind of a thing,” Basra said.
Bhopal, August 09: Former RSS chief KS Sudarshan did a Gadkari invoking “son-in-law” term to target Congress leaders over issues relating to minorities.
Sudarshan asked are minorities the “son-in-law” of prime minister Manmohan Singh for his 2006 remark advocating that minority communites, especially Muslims, should have first claim on resources so that benefits of development reach them equitably.
London, August 09: Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari has claimed that he is in full control of the powerful ISI and that it is “completely accountable now” to the civilian government.
Zardari also insisted that the days when the country’s spy agencies, which have long been accused of working with militant outfits in the region, were more powerful than the country’s elected leaders are over.
Tehran, August 09: Iran has put multi-billion dollar plans to create a liquefied natural gas industry on hold, the government has said, as new sanctions against Tehran’s nuclear programme start to bite in crucial economic areas.
Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Ghalebani made no mention of sanctions when he announced the policy shift in a recent interview with the ministry’s news website SHANA, saying that exporting via pipeline made better sense for Iran “in the current situation”.
New Delhi, August 09: Somdev Devvarman’s stay in the top-100 lasted just one week as the Indian suffered a huge loss of 15 positions to find himself at 111th spot in the latest ATP rankings, issued today.
He failed to defend 55 points at Washington event last week and could not even qualify for the main draw, thus suffering a huge blow.
In the WTA rankings, Sania Mirza’s slide continued as the Indian found herself at number 153 after a loss of 15 spots.
New Delhi, August 09: The deadly swine flu seems to have made a comeback with a vengeance in the country with a whopping 83 deaths due to the disease being reported in the week ending August 8.
Maharashtra reported the maximum number of 51 deaths, 12 were reported from Karnataka and 6 from Andhra Pradesh.
Seven deaths were reported from Gujarat and one each from West Bengal, Goa and Uttar Pradesh.
New Delhi, August 09: Five Armymen were killed in the cloudburst at Leh and other areas of the region while 33 personnel, swept away in flash floods that struck a camp near Siachen glacier, are yet to be traced.
The Army has sought Pakistan’s help to rescue the soldiers, including three junior commissioned officers, who were manning Tyakshi post in Turtuk sector, about 150 metres from the Line of Control, officials said Monday.
New Delhi, August 09: A Supreme Court judge has expressed the view that all cases of custodial deaths should be investigated by an independent investigating agency like the CBI.
“My personal opinion is that all custodial deaths should be handed over to the CBI,” Justice Dalveer Bhandari, heading a bench which included Justice Deepak Verma, observed, while dismissing the Kerala Government’s appeal challenging the CBI inquiry into a custodial death case.
New Delhi, August 09: Seeking cooperation from all quarters for making the Commonwealth Games a success, Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy today said a total of Rs 28,054 crore have been spent on the games out of which Rs 16,560 crore was given to the Delhi Government for upgrading the capital infrastructure and building of various stadia.
Making an intervention during a debate in the Lok Sabha on the Commonwealth Games, Reddy said of the total of money given to the Delhi Government, only Rs 670 crore has been spent directly on the games — on building stadia.
Mumbai, August 09: Suspended Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi will provide documents relating to the T20 League tomorrow to the Enforcement Directorate authorities here, it has been learnt.
The ED authorities have asked Modi, suspended by BCCI for alleged financial irregularities in the running the IPL, for details regarding all IPL contracts, agreements and some personal details.
Declining to comment on the matter, Modi’s attorney Mehmood Abdi said that the former was always willing to co-operate with the government authorities.
Patna, August 09: Chief Election Commissioner S Y Qureshi today inaugurated a photo exhibition on Elections in India since 1951.
The exhibition, held to mark Diamond Jubilee of ECI, showcases various facets of the election process since 1951 in old photographs of voters and top political leaders of various parties exercising their right to vote.
He was accompanied by Election Commissioner V S Sampath, Director (IEC), ECI Akhsay Raut and senior state government officials.
New Delhi, August 09: Twenty-five more swine flu cases were reported in the national capital, officials said today.
This brings the total number of cases of H1N1 influenza in the city to 197 this year and a total of 9,895 cumulative cases from May 2009.
“25 people tested positive for H1N1 virus in the last 24 hours. With this, the total number of people affected by the virus rose to 197,” a Health Ministry official said.
New Delhi, August 09: The government is likely to take a decision whether the Bill, which would have blocked possession of ancestral property for citizens whose close relatives migrated to Pakistan after Partition, should be totally scrapped or introduced again with amendment after consultation with all stakeholders.
Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will soon meet Home Minister P Chidambaram to discuss the issue.