Month: April 2010

Kolkata, April 29: CBI Special Director A P Singh today said shortage of staff is one of the main reasons for delay in investigations in different cases.

“CBI is functioning with 50 per cent of required staff which is delaying investigations,” Singh told reporters here. Asked about the main reason for the shortage, Singh said “though in CBI the staff gets 25 per cent more salary, people don’t want to leave their home states. IPS officers are also reluctant to join the central cadre.”

He said the agency was thinking of posting people in their states.

Washington, April 29: The United States has expressed support for the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Thimphu on the sidelines of SAARC summit, saying that’ s “good for the region”.

“We always think that when leaders of countries, particularly countries with the unique history of India and Pakistan, anytime they can get together for high-level constructive dialogue, that is good for the region and we support it,” a State Department spokesman said Wednesday.

Srinagar, April 29: Indian diplomat Madhuri Gupta, arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan’s spy agency ISI, had visited the Sunderbani border area in Jammu and Kashmir last month and stayed with a doctor couple, intelligence sources said.

Gupta, 53, had been to Sunderbani, close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district, for two days on March 28 and 29 this year, intelligence sources said. Officials said they do not have exact information on the kind of relationship the diplomat had with the doctor couple.

Mumbai, April 29: Fifty-year-old Jamuna Waghela, who escaped death by a whisker on the fateful night of 26/11, recalls with horror how her young son was shot dead after serving a glass of water to gun-wielding Ajmal Kasab and wants the Pakistani terrorist hanged without delay.

“Why has Kasab been kept alive? He should not be shown any mercy and hanged without delay,” says an angry Jamuna as she waits for justice to be done to her family five days from now when the anti-terror court is to pronounce its verdict in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case.

Washington, April 29: Top Democrat Senator Christopher Dodd would receive ‘Friend of India’ award for his contribution in strengthening the Indo-US relationship.

The award, instituted by the Connecticut chapter of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) would be presented to Senator Dodd at the GOPIO-Connecticut’s fourth annual gala on May 2 in Stamford.

Mumbai, April 29: Police plans to dispose of 24 kgs of RDX recovered from the target spots of the 26/11 terror attack after the verdict in the case is delivered on May 3.

Judge MH Tahaliyani had last month allowed police to dispose of the RDX recovered from the terror target areas. The RDX will be burnt in a controlled atmosphere in the presence of a magistrate, crime branch sources said, adding that they have yet to decide the place where the explosive would be destroyed.

New Delhi, April 29: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) got over 370,000 complaints against the police force related to human rights abuse in the last 10 years – most of them from Uttar Pradesh, a document of the rights body has revealed.

According to the available documents, the NHRC registered 377,216 complaints against the police.

“Among the complaints registered with the commission until March 31, 2010, those relating to police are the highest. Those pertaining to service matters is also quite high,” an NHRC official said.

New Delhi, April 29: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) got over 370,000 complaints against the police force related to human rights abuse in the last 10 years – most of them from Uttar Pradesh, a document of the rights body has revealed.

According to the document made available to IANS, the NHRC registered 377,216 complaints against the police.

“Among the complaints registered with the commission until March 31, 2010, those relating to police are the highest. Those pertaining to service matters is also quite high,” an NHRC official told IANS.

New Delhi, April 29: The Planning Commission has been asked to find out the correct number of urban poor in the country, Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja told the Rajya Sabha Thursday.

“There is an urgent need to arrive at a more robust figure for urban poverty…I have written about it to the Planning Commission,” she said.

Replying to a debate on working of her ministry, she shared concerns of members concern over lack of reliable and consolidated figure about the numbers of urban poor, most of whom live in slums.

New Delhi, April 29: In the wake of an Indian woman diplomat arrested on charge of spying for Pakistan, an SP member said in the Lok Sabha that India should make its secret service effective in countries where it has diplomatic missions.

“In all those countries where India has a diplomatic establishment, our secret service should be made very efficient and effective,” Shailendra Kumar said during Zero Hour.

Washington, April 29: On the eve of a crucial meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani, the US today said that it encourages such development which is good for the region.

Singh and Gilani are scheduled to meet tomorrow on the sidelines of the on going 16th SAARC Summit in Thimphu, the Capital of Bhutan.

New Delhi, April 29: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said that prices of essential commodities have started softening and food inflation will decline in the coming months.

“Indications of softening food inflation are clearly visible… It is expected that this would decline in the
coming months uninterruptedly,” he said while initiating discussions on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha.

Food inflation, the minister said, had declined from over 20 per cent in December, 2009, to 17.7 per cent in March, 2010.

Bangalore, April 29: Tamil actress Ranjitha, who was disappearing from the scene after her sex video tape with Swami Paramahamsa Nithyananda had hit the net, has now appeared before the CID Police. Police sources claim that the actress has assured that she would fully co-operate with them during the investigation of Kami Swami’s illegal activities in the Ashram.