Month: November 2012

Failed love affair led to suicide

Jagruti, the widow of slain former Gujarat minister Haren Pandya of the BJP, Thursday announced her decision to contest the Gujarat assembly elections on a Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) ticket.

“This is not about winning or losing in the election. It is about getting justice for my husband,” Jagruti told IANS.

The BSE benchmark Sensex today surged by nearly 329 points to close at 19-month high of 19,170.91 on Goldman Sachs’ upgrading Indian stocks and continued optimism that government will push through key economic reforms.

The Indian indices ended up as the best performer of the day in Asia-Pacific. Many market analysts have forecast that Sensex could even breach its all-time high of over 21,000 level next year.

“19,000-level has come sooner than most people expected. We would see much higher levels in the months to come,” said Manish Sonthalia, VP and Fund Manager Motilal AMC-PMS.

More than three years after a teacher sexually exploited six inmates of an NGO-run school-cum-hostel for the deaf, mute and mentally challenged, a court here Thursday sentenced him to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment for rape.

Vinod Kumar was held guilty by Additional Sessions Judge Virender Sharma, who acquitted three other teachers of the rehabilitation centre.

Public Prosecutor Ashwani Dhiman told IANS that Vinod Kumar was convicted under Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code. A fine of Rs.25,000 was also imposed on him.

The Congress Legislature Party on Thursday slammed Punganur MLA Peddireddi Ramchandra Reddy for leveling “baseless allegations” against Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.

The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has criticised the State Government for trying to legislate the SC-ST Sub-Plan without putting the draft into the public domain for suggestions and objections.

The two-day Special Session of the State Legislative Assembly beginning from Friday to give statutory status to Sub-Plan for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has been extended by one more day.

Therefore, the session will now be held from three days from November 30 to December 2. The decision was taken during the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee held in the Assembly premises under the chairmanship of Speaker Nadendla Manohar here on Thursday.

Indonesians from the historic city of Yogyakarta were treated to a scintillating dance performance by artistes from Manipur at a cultural programme held by the Jawaharlal Nehru Indian Cultural Centre.

The “Slice of India” programme was held at the Atma Jaya University in Yogyakarta as part of efforts by the centre to reach out to different universities in Indonesia and showcase Indian culture to them.

The programme presented the rich traditions and culture of India which emphasizes unity in diversity, according to the Indian embassy.

India produces more than five lakh engineers annually, but only 2.68 per cent of them meet skill requirements of the IT products sector, said a report.

According to a report by employability assessment company Aspiring Minds, nearly 92 per cent of engineering graduates lack computer programming and algorithms skill required for IT product companies whereas 56 per cent show lack of soft skills and cognitive skills.

“For a sector that has seen around 1,282 start-ups between 2008 and 2012, this exposes a huge dearth of talent and a pertinent risk,” the report said.

Actresses like Lara Dutta and Dia Mirza have stepped into the film production arena, but Kareena Kapoor is happy just acting. She says she is not interested in trying her hand at either direction or production.

Asked whether she wants to go beyond the acting domain, behind the camera, Kareena told IANS: “I don’t like direction, not at all. I don’t have the interest for that. I will never get into direction or production.”

Impulsive behaviour and materialism drive cellphone use and instant messaging addictions, comparable to compulsive buying and credit card misuse, according to an American study.

“Cellphones are a part of our consumer culture,” said study co-author James Roberts, professor of marketing at Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business. “They are not just a consumer tool but are used as a status symbol. They’re also eroding our personal relationships.”

At least 23 people were killed and more than 80 wounded Thursday in two bombings that targeted Shia Muslim pilgrims in Iraq, Xinhua reported.

The first attack occurred in Hilla city, 100 km south of Baghdad, when two car bombs went off near a restaurant, killing 15 people and wounding 60 others, an interior ministry official said.

Most of the victims were Shia pilgrims and security members guarding the area, the official said.

Cricket Australia today paid lavish tribute to retiring former captain Ricky Ponting, describing him as a “leader by example” and one of the “best prepared players in the modern game”.

Ponting, Australia’s 366th Test player and 42nd Test captain, announced that the Perth Test against South Africa starting tomorrow will be his last.

It will be his 168th Test for Australia, equalling Steve Waugh’s record as most Tests played by an Australian.

A man in Bihar got his wife married to her lover in the presence of hundreds of people, a police officer said Thursday.

The bizarre saga was reported from Navani village in Madhubani district after Shravan Kumar realised that his wife was unhappy with him.

He allowed his wife Ranju Devi to marry her lover Ravindra Chaudhary. The wedding was solemnised at a temple Tuesday, police officer Surendra Kumar Deo said.

The officer called it a “unique marriage”.

Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala has been admitted to a local hospital as she is unwell.

According to media reports she has been diagnosed with cancer.

However, Jaslok Hospital spokesperson Krishnakant Dasyam said, “She is undergoing some medical tests and will be in the hospital for some time,” without specifically confirming the ailment she suffered from.

“Manisha Koirala was admitted to our hospital yesterday,” he told PTI.

Manisha, who hails from a prominent family in Nepal, has worked in several Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam movies.

In response to the White Paper on irrigation over the past decade prepared by Maharashtra’s Water Resources Department, the Aam Aadmi Party has prepared an exhaustive “Black Paper” on the issue.

It would be released by Arvind Kejriwal at Roha on December 2 in Raigad district, political stronghold of irrigation minister Sunil Tatkare.

A 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a youth in Lank village of neighbouring Shamli district, police said on Thursday.

The girl was forcibly picked up by the accused Pappu when she had gone out of her house on Wedneday.

He also threatened her not to disclose about the incident to anyone, they said.

Victim’s medical examination confirmed rape and on the basis of a complain of family members, the accused was arrested and booked under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 of IPC, they said.

–PTI

India has given a total of 15 dossiers to Pakistan as evidence in connection with the Mumbai terror attack, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.

Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed also said that during the Home Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan in Islamabad on May 24-25, the Indian side handed over a list of fugitives from justice suspected to be hiding in Pakistan.

The BSE benchmark Sensex on Thursday regained 19,000 level after nearly two months by surging 329 points on heavy buying over optimism that government will push through economic reform initiatives and Goldman Sachs’ upgrade of Indian stocks further boosting sentiments.

After rising to a day’s high of 19,205.33, Sensex closed with a gain of 328.83 points, or 1.75 per cent, at 19,170.91. This is the third straight day the benchmark has gained.

At least four people were killed and nine injured in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region Thursday when a suicide bomber rammed his motorbike into a vehicle carrying a Taliban leader, and detonated his explosives.

The attack took place around 1.30 p.m. at a market area in Wana, capital of South Waziristan along the border with Afghanistan, Xinhua reported.

The motorcycle-riding suicide bomber hit the vehicle in which Mullah Nazir, a Pakistani Taliban commander in Wana area, was travelling.

The vehicle was destroyed in the blast, and Mullah was seriously wounded in the leg.

“Systematic flaws” have been found in procurement of gift items by External Affairs Ministry for foreign dignitaries, the government told Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

“The conclusions of the inquiries conducted into the matter by the Ministry and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) did not find any involvement or complicity of officials of the Ministry.

Manisha Koirala has been diagnosed with cancer. The lady who was hospitalized following illness is suffering from the disease, it has been reported.

Koirala is presently in Jaslok hospital in Mumbai where she was admitted three days ago. She will undergo treatment in the same hospital.

She fell unconscious after falling ill and was immediately flown to Mumbai for some tests. Her mother Sushma is with her. Her father Prakash and brother Siddharth too have joined in.

Talks between Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on the sharing of the Cauvery river water between the two states failed soon after they started here Thursday.

—IANS

Rebel BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is all set to resign from the party and his assembly membership tomorrow, severing his 40-year-old association with it.

“I will go in a march along with my supporters to Vidhana Soudha tomorrow at 12 noon and submit resignation to my assembly membership”, Yeddyurappa, who has rejected calls to remain in BJP, told reporters at Shikaripura, his home town in Shimoga district.

A man in Bihar got his wife married to her lover in the presence of hundreds of people, a police officer said on Thursday.

The bizarre saga was reported from Navani village in Madhubani district after Shravan Kumar realised that his wife was unhappy with him.

He allowed his wife Ranju Devi to marry her lover Ravindra Chaudhary. The wedding was solemnised at a temple on Tuesday, police officer Surendra Kumar Deo said.

The officer called it a “unique marriage”.