Month: February 2013

Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde was apprised of the “highhanded” behavior of the police in arresting and dragging former minister Dr P. Shankar Rao om Thursday in Hyderabad.

Congress MP G. Vivek said he had provided all the details to the Union Home Minister regarding the humiliation meted out to Congress MLA Shankar Rao by the police. He charged that Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy was the main architect in the police drama enacted in Hyderabad. The Union Home Minister was also urged to institute a high-level inquiry into the incident, he added.

Ridiculing Congress for blowing its own trumpet for getting majority in the heavily rigged cooperative elections, YSR Congress has dared the ruling party to face the assembly elections as the government has drifted into a minority with some of its legislators switching sides.

“PCC President claiming that they have won 60 per cent of the seats in cooperative polls, which were nothing short of a farce, does not reflect the popularity of the party and if he is that serious about it the issue should be settled in a people’s court,” he told reporters here on Friday.

The Nizamabad police on Friday completed the questioning of MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi in the alleged hate speech case.

The Nizamabad Police which took Akbaruddin Owaisi into its custody from Adilabad District Jail questioned him for about six hours here. Sources say that a police team led by DSP Ram Mohan Rao posed various questions related to the speech that he delivered during a public meeting on December 8 at Quila Road.

In the wake of allegations of man-handling of a Dalit MLA by police, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday directed DGP V Dinesh Reddy to conduct a high-level inquiry into the entire episode.

Additional Director General of Police (Crime Investigation Department) Tenneti Krishna Prasad will head the inquiry panel, an official statement said even as the issue kicked up a major political storm today.

The Chief Minister directed the Director General of Police to initiate “follow-up remedial measures” based on the inquiry report.

The ordinary meeting of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, to be held on Saturday after a gap of nearly nine months, is likely to be stormy.

(Pervez Bari): The Central Secretariat of Popular Front of India, (PFI), has requested the filmmakers to give due respect to the belief systems and sentiments of different ethnic and religious communities in our plural society while exercising their right to produce films.

Seven years after the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in an allegedly fake encounter, a magistrate’s court here on Friday transferred the case to the special CBI court, paving the way for the start of the trial of nineteen accused, including former Gujarat minister Amit Shah.

“After completion of formalities the magistrate has committed the case to sessions court,” said special public prosecutor Ejaz Khan.

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a Shia mosque in Pakistan’s restive northwest today, killing 22 people and injuring more than 35 others, police said. The attacker detonated his explosive vest in a narrow alley as worshippers were leaving the imambargah at Pat Bazar in Hangu town of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

He struck shortly after Friday prayers had ended, witnesses said.

Hangu district police chief Mian Mohammad Saeed confirmed the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

He had earlier said that a bomb had been planted near the mosque.

The family of Delhi gang-rape victim has sought an appointment with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to apprise her of their woes and demands.

The father of the girl said that he has sought an appointment with Gandhi.

Her office has asked the family to wait for some time in keeping with her pressing commitments, he said.

The family is unhappy over the Juvenile Justice Board’s decision on the sixth accused, but have full faith that despite him being ruled as a minor, he would also get sternest of punishments, he said.

Two Maoists were arrested and their training camp smashed by securitymen inside a dense forest in Odisha’s Malkangiri district bordering Chhatisgarh, police said on Friday.

Acting on intelligence information, security personnel raided the training camp located inside the inaccessible forest near Mundaguda village under Mathili police limits on Wednesday night, Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Akhileswar Singh said.

A suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the entrance of the US Embassy in the Turkish capital on Friday and at least two people are dead, a police official said.

An Associated Press journalist saw a body in the street in front of an embassy side entrance.

The bomb appeared to have exploded inside the security checkpoint at the entrance of the visa section of the embassy.

Several ambulances were dispatched to the area. At least one woman who appeared to be seriously injured being carried into an ambulance.

Security forces today detected and defused five Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in a hideout in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.

On a specific information, a joint team of Army and Police today detected five IEDs in a hideout at Shekhari in Mahore area of Reasi district today, officials said.

The IEDs were later defused and the hideout busted, they said.

—–PTI

The Congress party on Friday expelled nine party MLAs for indulging in anti-party activities by switching loyalties to YSR Congress party.

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan here, PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana alleged that the MLAs have joined the Jagan-group for money and therefore, the Congress party does not need such leaders. He said Speaker Nadendla Manohar has been informed about the expulsion and he would look into the issue of their disqualification.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday directed the officials to see that Mee Seva is extended to 100 services at the earliest and the services be delivered on a time-bound programme.

The Chief Minister today reviewed the issues pertaining to the IT&C department with Ministers and officials at Secretariat. He asked the Principal Secretary (Energy) to issue strict orders to DISCOMS directly to see that IT companies are exempted from statutory power cuts as this has been assured under the ICT policy.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday reviewed the functioning of higher and technical Education departments at a high level meeting in the State Secretariat.

It was decided that legal status should be extended to ‘Admissions and Fee Regulatory Commission’ (AFRC) which was hither to governed by a Government Order. The meeting also reviewed the recommendations of ‘Task Forces’ to the professional colleges.

Deputy Chief Minister Damodara Rajanarasimha and senior officials of the higher and technical education department attended the meeting. (INN)

Under pressure from all quarters, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has ordered an inquiry into the incident of taking Dr P Shankar Rao into custody.

The inquiry would be led by Additional DG Krishna Prasad and will go into the whole episode of police and Dr Shankar Rao issue. The chief minister has ordered the inquiry following complaints from many ministers that the police behaved rudely with Shankar RAo.

After getting the inquiry report, action will be taken against the erring officials, the Chief Minister. (INN)

The issue of Shankar Rao is snowballing into a major controversy though the police are trying to hush up the issue saying that there was no arrest and he was only taken into custody for questioning while there was a spate of protests and complaints against the government and police.

DGP Dinesh Reddy held meeting with the concerned officials and took stock of the situation. Malkhajgiri DCP said that he was only taken into custody to question him in the Green Fields land case.

PCC President Botsa Satyanarayana said that the arrest was unfortunate.

PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana said that people are with Congress and the results of the cooperative polls prove the fact.

“Congress has won 60 per cent of the seats in the first phase which shows the popularity of Congress,” he told reporters here today. All opposition parties put together could not get 40 per cent of the seats, he said.

Botsa also said that the Congress will fare better in the second phase as well. (INN)

Spiraling prices of essential commodities, especially rice has upset the monthly budget of several middle and lower class families. Prices of popular rice varieties have witnessed steep rise during last week which is worrying common man.

Traders attribute this price spiral of rice to scanty rainfall and hike in diesel prices. They also feel that rice prices are likely to increase further in coming days. It may go up to Rs. 50 mark.

Siasat news

The union cabinet is likely to discuss the Justice Verma panel report on changes required in laws to curb crimes against women, government sources said here Friday.

According to the sources, the government will also discuss whether or not to bring an ordinance for the purpose as the proposed changes will cut across different laws relating to crimes by juveniles, rapes and the Indian Penal Code itself.

Sources said bringing an ordinance now, when the budget session is three weeks away, will send a message that the government means business.

Activist Anna Hazare slammed the government Friday for “betraying the people” on Jan Lokpal, saying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had failed to keep his word.

“The battle for Jan Lokpal has been on for two years. The government has been repeatedly betraying the people of this country,” he said.

He threatened to go on an indefinite fast.

Mr. PG R Sandhya acting president Karnataka Janata Dal (S) claimed that the people are fed up and disgruntled with the present Karnataka government. Since 2004 till date, coalition and unstable governments are ruling the state and now the people of the state want stable government.

Diesel prices will be hiked by 40-50 paise per litre every month till losses on the nation’s most used fuel are completly wiped out, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily said on Friday.

“Until further orders, oil marketing companies can increase it (diesel price) by 40-50 paise (per litre) every month,” he told reporters here.

The government had on January 17 decided to move towards deregulating or freeing diesel prices from state control and gave powers to state-owned oil firms to raise prices in small measures every month till all of their losses are wiped out.

The growth of country’s manufacturing sector slowed to a three month low in January, primarily due to moderation in new orders and power outages during the month, HSBC survey said on Friday.

The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) – a measure of factory production -stood at 53.2 in January, after hitting a six month high level of 54.7 in December. It stood at 53.7 in November.

The index, however, remained above the 50 mark level ; below which it indicates contraction.

With over Rs 80,000 crore of investment in oil and gas hunt stuck for want of defence nod, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily on Friday said the ice has been broken on getting clearance for 39 offshore areas including Reliance Industries’ already producing oil and gas fields.

Defence Ministry has declared 7 blocks including RIL’s KG-D6 which has been in production since September 2008 and its gas discovery block NEC-25 for reasons like overlapping with proposed Naval base or being close to missile launching and Air Force exercise area.