Month: February 2013

Maharashtra ATS team goes to assist Hyderabad blasts probe

by

A seven-member team of Maharashtra Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) team has left for Hyderabad to assist the investigators probing Thursday’s twin blasts which left 16 dead, an official said.

The team, with its expertise in the Pune German Bakery probe of February 2010, will co-ordinate with the Hyderabad police and the National Investigating Agency, a senior ATS official said here, requesting anonymity.

The blasts took place on the eve of the fist day of the budget session of parliament.

Minor gangraped at gunpoint

by

A 14-year-old girl was allegedly gang raped at gunpoint by two youths in her house in Sururpur village here, police said today.

As the victim and the accused belong to different communities, the incident has lead to tension in the area, following which force has been deployed in the village to maintain law and order, they said

There Are Several Leads; We Will Unravel The Case Soon: Cyberabad CP

by

Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad said so far no one was taken into custody in connection with the twin blasts in Dilsukhnagar on Thursday. He however said police obtained several clues at the site of the crime. Stating that they found the identities of those responsible for the crime, the CP said it was not proper to divulge them.

Sonakshi hopes to dance her way to top of item songs

by

Actress Sonakshi Sinha, who has done her second special dance number in an upcoming film, says she hopes to become “queen of item songs” in Bollywood.

Sonakshi has done a special number in director Sajid Khan’s film Himmatwala. The song, Thank God Its Friday, is a take on the disco culture of the 80’s.

The Dabangg actress did an item number alongside noted choreographer Prabhu Deva in Akshay Kumar’s film Oh My God which released last year.

What Is Your Reply For Lives Lost: Revanth

by

TDP senior leader Revanth Reddy strongly criticized the Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy for stating that the government took centres warning about possible attacks as a routine matter. He angrily questioned what would be his reply now for the lives lost.

Hyderabad blasts: Blame game over intelligence inputs, IM under scanner

by

A blame game over intelligence inputs erupted on after the twin bomb blasts here as the role of banned militant outfit Indian Mujahideen was being increasingly suspected by probe agencies who got some “leads”. The death toll in the blasts in a crowded area at Dilsukhnagar on Thursday night rose to 16 with the number of injured being put at 117 even as the multi-agency investigative teams combed the blast sites at Dilsukhnagar rocked by near simultaneous explosions.

Lokayukta Seeks Against TTD Official

by

Responding to a complaint from TTD employees at Tirumala that TTD Joint Executive Officer K.S. Srinivasa Raju was making special arrangements for his family members, friends and relatives by camping in the temple and causing hardships to the devotees Lokayukta Justice B. Subhashan Reddy took up the case Suo Motu on February 21 and called for report from the TTD Executive Officer, Tirumala along with the CDs of VIPs break darshans and other important sevas for the period from February 1 and posted the matter to February 28. (NSS)

Hyderbabad Test to go on: BCCI

by

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has no plans to shift the India-Australia Test at Hyderabad despite Thursday’s bomb blasts in the Andhra Pradesh capital.

Senior BCCI official and IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla said adequate security will be provided to the players for the game beginning March 2. It will be second Test of the four-match series.

Voting begins in Meghalaya

by

Voting for the Meghalaya assembly elections began Saturday amidst tight security, an official said.

Men and women in large numbers queued up in front of polling stations well before voting opened at 7 a.m. in the entire state. Polling ends at 4 p.m., said chief electoral officer Prashant Naik.

The outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has called for a 36-hour shutdown from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Sunday (Feb 24) as part of the outfit’s boycott the assembly polls.

Centre Is Main Culprit For Blasts: Rajnath

by

BJP national president Rajnath Singh has alleged that the Dilsukhnagar bomb blast incident was due to the failure of Intelligence.

Speaking to the media at State BJP Office here on Friday after visiting Dilsukhnagar, Rajnath expressed condolences to the families of the deceased. He dubbed the UPA government as the main culprit for the bomb blasts.
Alleging that the bomb blasts have taken place owing to Centre’s failure criminal negligence of State government he said Hyderabad city has become a hub for terrorist activities and the Centre was not accepting terrorism as a challenge.

Sania Mirza in Dubai Open final

by

Sania Mirza and her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands Friday entered their second final of the season defeating Australia’s Anastasia Rodinova and Zimbabwean Cara Black in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The Indo-American pair took one hour and 20 minutes to complete a 6-2, 7-5 victory.

The battle was tougher than what the scoreline suggests and Sania-Bethanie got over the line by winning the crucial points. They converted three of their five break points while Black and Rodionova wasted the five opportunities they got.

War Only Solution To Discipline Pakistan: Paladugu

by

Reacting to the serial bomb blasts in the city on Thursday claiming precious lives, Congress leader Paladugu Venkatrao has stressed the need to discipline Pakistan with a limited war or parleys at diplomatic levels to settle the issues. Otherwise, incidents like Dilsukhnagar, will recur in other parts of the country, he added.

Hyderabad blasts: BJP blames Pakistan, wants scaled-down ties

by

Blaming Pakistan for the terror attacks in Hyderabad, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday asked the government to scale down relations with Pakistan and stop confidence building measures for the time being.

“There are no two opinions that all terrorist activities are sponsored by Pakistan and ISI. In such a situation, there is no meaning of continuing confidence building process. For the time being, the government should take a firm decision to stop confidence building measures,” BJP president Rajnath Singh told reporters here.

Botcha Condemns Serial Blasts

by

Condemning the Thursday’s serial bomb blasts at Dilsukhnagar, PCC Chief Botcha Satyanarayana has said the terrorist incidents were occurring even as the government was taking adequate security measures.

Communication Has Biggest Impact On Society: Brahma

by

Election Commissioner of India H.S. Brahma here on Friday said communication has the biggest impact on the State and Union governments like in all the 193 countries in the world.

Speaking on the “Effect of Communication of the Governance” Brahma said the role of Public Relations (PR) was paramount. Like the law and order, communication was the serious business for the government, he said, adding that communication impacts the society and business is run with the help of the communication.

Cabinet Strongly Condemns Terror Attack

by

The state cabinet at an emergency meeting here on Friday, strongly condemned the bomb blasts by terrorists, that killed innocent people.

The cabinet meeting observed silence for two minutes paying homage to those killed in the ghastly blasts that rocked the Dilsukhnagar area of the city on Thursday evening.

Governments Neglected Intelligence Warnings: Babu

by

The TDP chief Chandra Babu Naidu has charged both the state and central governments of grossly neglecting warnings from the Intelligence agencies. He demanded stern steps to ensure non-recurrence of such incidents in the future.

CC Cameras Deactivated Before Blasts !!!

by

The twin blasts in Dilsukhnagar on Thursday night, which created a nation-wide sensation and concern, seemed to have been put into operation after a well-hatched plan and a reconnaissance of the area four days earlier.

Hyderabad youth injured for second time in terror attack

by

Bad luck came to haunt a 25-year-old, who was injured in Thursday’s bomb blast, six years after he sustained critical injuries in the blast at Mecca Masjid.

Mirza Abdul Wasey was being treated at Yashoda Hospital for the injuries he received in his waist and back. Doctors said his condition was stable.

His father Mirza Shahid Moghal said his son had sustained grevious injuries in the blast at Mecca Masjid on May 17, 2007.

A resident of Kalapatthar area in the old city of Hyderabad, Wasey was selling garments in Dilsukhnagar area when the blast occurred Thursday evening.

One arrested in mother-daughter murder case

by

A 23-year-old youth was arrested in the double murder of a woman and her daughter inside their home here and has confessed to the crime, police said Friday.

The accused, identified as Nadeem, was detained from his hideout in Vijay Vihar Thursday night and was later booked for murder after he accepted the commission of crime.

Yasmin, 34, and her daughter, Sufia, 5, were found killed with their throats slit in their first floor house in west Delhi’s Vijay Vihar Sector-1 area around 2.15 p.m. Thursday.

Raj Thackeray attacks Shinde, Ajit Pawar

by

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray Friday hit out at Congress leaders like union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar for their “inaction” on various issues affecting the people.

Attacking Shinde in his home town, Thackeray charged Shinde with ignoring the issues of the local people. “(Congress president) Sonia Gandhi appointed a Dalit as the home minister, but what has he done for Dalits in his town,” he asked.

President, PM witness IAF firepower display

by

The Indian Air Force (IAF) Friday displayed its firepower at the “Iron Fist” exercise at Rajasthan’s Pokhran ranges with a potent show of the strength of its frontline aircraft witnessed by President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a host of dignitaries.

“The focus of day-dusk-night offensive operation ‘Iron Fist’ was building 24×7 operational capability,” the IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne said.

His son, Squadran Leader Omar Browne, along with Wing Commander Karulkar, demonstrated breathtaking manoeuvres in a Sukhoi SU-30MKI combat jet.

19 killed as bus plunges into river in Pakistan

by

At least 19 people were killed when a bus carrying wedding guests plunged into a river near Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, a media report said.

The bus, carrying around 45 people, fell into the river along the Charsadda road in Budhi area, Xinhua reported.

The dead include women and children. Five other people were injured.

The toll may rise as many people were still missing because water flow was on the rise at the time of the incident.

The bus was pulled out of the river with a crane and a team of divers was called in to search for the drowned people.

Bomb kills two children in Pakistan

by

Two children – a five-year-old boy and his 12-year-old sister – were killed in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region when a bomb they had found exploded, a media report said.

The incident took place in Tapi area in North Waziristan Friday evening, Xinhua reported.

The boy found the explosive device while collecting firewood and took it home.

However, it exploded when his sister snatched it from him, presuming the bomb to be something else.

Both children died on the spot, officials said.

-=–IANS

N.Korea n-test not an excuse for arms race: Russia

by

Nuclear tests by North Korea should not be used to justify a new round of arms race, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

“This is principally important not to use the current situation to spin up modern arms and any other weapons in that region, neither to use that situation as an excuse for military intervention from outside,” Xinhua quoted Lavrov as saying after his meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

He said Moscow and Beijing agreed that nuclear tests conducted in North Korea were unacceptable and deserved condemnation.