Month: January 2013

Rajesh Gangwar, an anti-rape protestor who has been on hunger strike form the past 14 days at the Jantar Mantar here, was moved to hospital as his health deteriorated rapidly on Sunday.

Gangwar, who belongs to Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, had started his hunger strike along with another demonstrator, Babu Singh, to protest against the Delhi gang-rape incident of December 16.

Gangwar was rushed to a nearby hospital after the doctor attending to him, Prashant Yadav, confirmed that his vital organs were under threat of failure.

Two people were killed in the major fire at the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) fuel storage terminal here in Gujarat on Saturday.

The dead were identified as Raisingh Choudhary, 38 and Rahul Prasad, 20, the company said in a statement on Sunday, which added the fire has now been brought under control.

“The fire, which broke out in the Motor Spirit (MS) tank of IOC”s bulk storage terminal at Hazira yesterday afternoon has been fully contained now. All other tanks are safe,” said a company official.

India has won the final one-day international against Pakistan at the Ferozshah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi by 10 runs, albeit losing the series 2-1. After a catastrophic batting performance by the Indians, which saw them getting all out for 167 within 44 overs, the bowlers did well to pull things back, and help the hosts register their first win in the series by dismissing Pak on 157. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and debutant Shami Ahmed not only controlled the flow of runs, but also added pressure on the visitors by picking up wickets at crucial interval.

The conference of state police chiefs and chief secretaries has suggested a slew of measures such as increasing punishment for gang-rape and recruiting more women in police to combat crimes against women, an official press release said Sunday.

Others include fast-track courts for crimes against women, a single dedicated helpline for women across the country, zero tolerance for petty offences and bringing down the age of juveniles to 16 from 18.

Blaming the cold weather conditions responsible for his team’s 10-run loss to India in the third ODI here, Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq today said the Kotla pitch changed its behaviour as the fog descended on the ground which made the run chase “very difficult”. “The weather made all the difference. Survival became difficult as the fog descended on the ground. The pitch which looked like a batting track changed its behaviour as the temperature dipped,” Misbah said at the post match press conference.

A 21-year-old Ludhiana based woman, who was allegedly forced into prostitution and spent over a year into captivity, was today rescued by the police here. The police have booked a man and two other members of his family. The woman was held hostage in a rented accommodation in Kacha Dalip Nagar area of Mandi Gobindgarh allegedly by one Sahjad Khan and his family members, police said. Neighbours of the woman approached police after suspecting some foul play, as main gate of the house was kept permanently locked, however, the woman lived inside, police said.

Hailing Indian spirituality for having solution to problems such as global warming and terrorism, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said the world was yet to realise its full potential. “The world has accepted the power of our youth in information technology, but it has yet to realise India’s power of spirituality. Solutions to so many global problems such as global warming lie in the path shown by our saints, through our spirituality,” he said. Modi said this at the closing ceremony of the 60th Youth Anniversary celebrations of the Aksharpurshottam Swaminarayan Sanstha here today.

The services of an FM Radio station was disrupted when a fire broke out at 200-metre high TV tower in Pitampura area of North West Delhi. The blaze was reported from the TV tower at around 10.30 PM yesterday following which the services of Radio Mirchi were disrupted, a statement from the FM Radio said. “The cables which connect the transmitters to the aerials were badly damaged in the fire due to which the services of Radio Mirchi and other stations have been affected,” the statement said.

The Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandai scheme would be implemented in all the districts of Maharashtra after successfully running it as a pilot project in eight districts, Health Minister Suresh Shetty said here today. He was speaking after laying the foundation stone of the rural hospital building at Karmad village. He said that the state government was committed to provide health facilities to the poor and funds were being made available for the cause. He also informed that more doctors and nurses would be appointed soon to ensure prompt service to the patients. PTI

Slamming the Congress government’s reported move to hike power tariff, various opposition parties today organised protests at different places in the state. The proposal was also opposed by senior Congress Rajya Sabha member V Hanumantha Rao who sought that the government reconsider it. The move would face tremendous opposition from the people who are already paying hefty surcharge levied on power consumption, he said. Speaking at a protest in Vijayawada, CPI(M) state secretary B V Raghavulu said electricity consumers should write letters to the Chief Minister voicing their opposition.

Twenty passengers were saved due to their timely escape from a mini bus that caught fire near Satragachi in Howrah district today. The bus was moving on Kona Expressway when flames were noticed in the front part of the bus, following which passengers were asked to disembark, police said. The fire was put off shortly afterwards. The cause of the fire is yet to be known, police said, adding that it could be due to some technical glitch. Months back an AC bus on Satragachi-Barasat route had also caught fire on Vidyasagar Setu and then too all passengers were miraculously saved. PTI

The Banjara Hills police today arrested seven accused for allegedly detaining a woman’s car and slapping her boyfriend, the police said. One Amer Hasan and his friends were arrested after they detained the car of the woman, who is a stock broker, at Banjara Hills late last night and slapped her boyfriend Sridhar after a heated argument, the police said. The woman and her boyfriend who were allegedly inebriated had earlier “threatened” Amer after he allegedly “teased” her at a pub in Madhapur, the police said.

US President Barack Obama is expected to nominate Chuck Hagel as his new defence secretary tomorrow and Republicans are signaling a fierce confirmation fight even though he is one of their own. Obama has decided he wants the 66-year-old former Republican senator to succeed Leon Panetta at the Pentagon and will make his announcement tomorrow, a Democratic aide told AFP, confirming earlier US media reports.

The decomposed carcass of a tiger was today found in the forests of Ekara (Bhujruk) under South Brahmapuri Forest Range. The carcass was found this afternoon in compartment number 156 of Ajni beat of Ekara, under South Bramhapuri Range by a group of environmentalists from Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) while they were conducting a survey, Sanjay Thawre, Divisional Conservator of Forests, Brahmapuri Division, said. The gender of the carcass and the cause of its death was yet to be ascertained, he said. Postmortem of the carcass will be conducted tomorrow, Thawre added. PTI

Cathay Pacific flight bound for Hong Kong from here has been delayed by more than 10 hours due to a technical snag, airport sources said today. The aircraft with 225 passengers on board was to leave Chennai around 13.30 hrs. However, the pilot detected a snag as it was taxiing to the main runway, they said. All the passengers were asked to disembark and were later put up in nearby hotels, they said. The flight is expected to resume its ownward journey at around 0100 hrs tomorrow, they added. PTI

Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi, booked for allegedly delivering a hate speech against a particular community, is likely to appear before police on Monday, even as fresh complaints against him poured in for the same. “He (Owaisi) will appear before the police tomorrow (Monday),” a senior police officer said, adding that his statements will be recorded in connection with cases registered against him.

Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad in a rare speech today called for a national dialogue to end the 21-month conflict, but stressed he would not talk to those who have taken up arms against his regime.

Describing the Western-backed opposition as “slaves” of foreign powers and admitting that Syria was in the throes of a “real war”, the president urged opponents at home to join his regime in ending the bloody conflict.

China does not want India to progress and take a leading position in Asia, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Monday.

“You all know that India’s border is unsecured and porous. India does not harbour enmity against any country. However, the countries that are against us are trying to weave a web from all sides,” Bhagwat said.

A 42-year-old man was arrested in North Delhi for allegedly sexually assaulting his minor daughter three days ago, police said on Sunday

The incident was reported from Burari on January three and the father of the victim was arrested the same day.

The accused, who is living separately due to marital problems, molested the victim and then attempted to sexually assault her.

According to the complaint, the man stripped his daughter and then tried to sexually assault her. The girl screamed and her mother rushed to the spot from the neighbourhood.

Four policemen were suspended today and the SHO was shunted to police line after the alleged rape and murder of a 21-year-old woman factory worker here on the outskirts of Delhi.

Shocked over the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announced a compensation of Rs 15 lakh and a job to the victim’s family.

Meanwhile, three persons were questioned in connection with the incident which occurred on Friday night when the victim, an employee of a garment factory at Sector 65, was returning home in Sector 63 area of Noida.

Three people were killed when police fired at a mob after clashes broke out between members of two communities at Dhule town in north Maharashtra today, leaving 50 people, mostly policemen, injured.

The violence started at a hotel over a trivial matter and spread to Machibazar and Madhavpura areas of the city, officials said.

A senior state official told PTI tonight that the police fired after violence erupted between two groups in Madhavpura area of the town in which three persons were killed.

As many as 48 policemen were injured in the violence, the official said.

Thousands of devotees today gathered at Central University of Tibetan Studies (CUTS) in Sarnath as Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama arrived here amid tight security.

The spiritual leader is in the city to give a discourse on ‘Bodhicharyavtar’ from January 7 to January 10 at CUTS.

He will also address the staff and students of the university on January 11 and meet with a special foreign delegation on January 12.

He will leave for New Delhi on Jan 13.

—PTI

India’s cricket selectors Sunday dropped opening batsman Virender Sehwag from the 15-member squad for the first three One-Day Internationals (ODI) of the five-match series against England starting Jan 11.

The out-of-form Sehwag was replaced by Cheteshwar Pujara — who stands to make his debut — but surprisingly Rohit Sharma managed to retain his place in the team.

A person was arrested Sunday for passing lewd remarks at a woman here, police said.

The incident was reported at around at 12:30 p.m. when a 28-year-old woman was standing at a bus stop near Gandhi Museum in central Delhi.

“She was waiting for her husband at the bus stop when a person passed lewd remarks at her. The police personnel present at the spot arrested the person,” an official said.

The official refused to reveal the identity of the person.

—IANS

The Abu Dhabi City Municipality recently held a blood donation campaign at its office here which witnessed the participation of scores of municipal employees, customers and visitors.

The camp was organised in collaboration with the Health Authority Abu Dhabi and Mobile Blood Bank.

—IANS