Moily says he is keeping a close watch on PF case

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New Delhi, October 19: Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily today said he was keeping a “close watch” on the PF case in which the prime accused died in a jail in Ghaziabad, and promised to ensure a “proper enquiry” into it.

“Yeah, I am keeping a close watch on that and ensure that there should be a proper enquiry and I am getting reports on that,” Moily told NDTV when asked whether he is taking a close look at the enquiry into the case and taking it as some sort of a benchmark case.

BJP promises rice at Rs 2 per kg for poor in Jharkhand

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Godda/Ranchi (Jharkhand), October 19: People living below poverty line in Jharkhan would get rice at Rs 2 per kg if the NDA is voted to power in the state, BJP President Rajnath Singh said today.

“If we come to power, 35 kg rice would be given to each BPL family every month at the rate of Rs 2 per kg. Loans at two per cent interest rate would also be given to farmers and all villages would be electrified,” Singh said at a public rally in Godda.

SSP and MLA lock horns with each other

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Amritsar, October 19: BJP MLA from Amritsar North Anil Joshi raised demand for immediate transfer of SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh for his alleged indifferent attitude towards him.

Joshi alleged that on Diwali night, the SSP booked dozen of people from his constituency in fake cases with the motive to inflict harassment to them.

He said that the SSP got removed all the hoarding in the city carrying his photos and had humiliated party workers.

Sibal wants higher minimum in 12th Board exams for IIT

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New Delhi, October 19: Opening a new front, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal today favoured more weightage be given to Class 12 Board exam for IIT entrance and felt that the required minimum of 60 per cent marks could be raised but left it to a Committee to take a decision.

Sibal’s suggestion came in an attempt to ensure that students taking entrance tests to the premier institutes gave equal importance to the secondary school exam and to check the growth of IIT coaching centres.

A Committee of IIT directors has been appointed to work out a revised system for IIT entrance from 2011, he said

SHO beaten up for ‘torturing’ boy for money

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New Delhi, October 19: A Station House Officer of Delhi Police was today beaten up allegedly by a family which claimed that he tortured their boy for money, an allegation denied by the police.

The incident was reported from Inderpuri police station, police sources said.

The family living in JJ Colony in Inderpuri alleged that their 11-year-old son Kanwaljeet was beaten up by SHO Ramesh Kumar for money.

However, Delhi Police denied the allegations claiming that the boy was beaten up by some other man of the locality.

Delhi Police gets complaints of 11,000 obscene calls

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New Delhi, October 19: Delhi Police has received over 11,000 complaints from women that they have got objectionable calls or SMS in the last ten months.

A total of 11,027 calls were received at the ‘Anti-Obscene Calls Cell’ set up by Delhi Police’s Crime Branch between December 20, 2008 and October 15 this year.

“Of these complaints, action has been taken in 10,130 cases,” Delhi Police Commissioner Y S Dadwal told reporters here.

Man held for posing as CISF SI, cheating people

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New Delhi, October 19: A man, who allegedly posed as a CISF Sub Inspector and duped several people, including personnel of the paramilitary force, of their mobile phones and cash, was arrested here, police said today.

Jaswant Singh (42), the alleged impersonator, and Deepak, who allegedly bought the stolen mobiles from him, were arrested three days ago, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West) N S Bundela said.

Singh allegedly posed as ‘CISFCrime Branch Sub Inspector’ and duped CISF personnel, deployed in official duties in various Metro stations, of their mobile phones.

Youth in eunuchs’ group cuts off private parts in Raj

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Kota, October 19: Poverty drove a youth, living with a community of eunuchs at Kaithun village here, to cut off his private parts to earn money, police said.

Chauthmal Raigar (22) was rushed by his relatives to the MBS Hospital in the city yesterday.

Earlier, he was seen in a group of eunuchs collecting money from people and police suspect that he might have been under pressure from the trans-genders to take the step.

–Agencies

No ransom demand so far: Company

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Hyderabad, October 19: The employer of an engineer, who was kidnapped by suspected NDFB militants in Assam, today said they had not received any ransom demand even as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah asked his Assamese counterpart Tarun Gogoi to set up a special team to trace him.

The city-based Gyatri PCI (JB) company said it had not received any ransom demand from the captors for the release of P Krishna Rao who was abducted on October 16 in Kokrajhar district.

Dikshit visits Commonwealth Games project sites

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New Delhi, October 19: Racing against time to complete infrastructure projects related to the Commonwealth Games, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today personally visited various construction sites to take stock of the situation.

Dikshit inspected the Barapullah elevated road project which is being constructed to provide seamless movement of traffic to and from Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, the main venue of the mega sporting event.

She was accompanied by PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta and other top officials of CPWD, MCD and Delhi Jal Board.

Bagh-e-bahu to be developed on modern lines: Minister

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Jammu, October 19: Asserting that Bagh-e-bahu fort being one of the centre of tourist attraction here ought to be developed on modern lines, Jammu and Kashmir government today asked the officials to create tourist interest avenues and upgrade the existing infrastructure within and around the fort.

Speaking during his tour to the area here, minister for revenue, relief and rehabilitation, Raman Bhalla said that the entire vicinity around the fort needs to be revamped particularly in view of heavy rush of pilgrims and other visitors to the fort and temple.

13 policemen, 5 others injured in a clash

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Siliguri (WB), October 19: Thirteen police personnel and five others were injured in a clash today when a mob opposed the arrest of some persons allegedly involved in gambling at a Diwali fair at Binnaguri tea estate in Jalpaiguri district.

The police fired 30 rounds after 13 policemen including an inspector-in-charge were injured by the mob when the gamblers were picked up, Inspector-General of Police (north Bengal) K L Tamta said.

SSB jawan arrested for outraging modesty of woman

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Siliguri, October 19: An SSB jawan was arrested for allegedly outraging the modesty of a woman in Darjeeling district, police said today.

Sanjay Singh, attached to the 10th battalion of the SSB, was arrested last night for allegedly outraging the modesty of a housewife at Jaldhaka village, Superintendent of Police D P Singh said, adding that he was caught by the villagers, who later handed him over to police.

–Agencies

Karna CM refused to comment on J & K cricketer’s issue

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Bangalore, October 19: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today declined to react to the detention of a cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir by the city police for allegedly carrying explosives.

“I don’t have any details. I can’t react to it”, Yeddyurappa said when his comment was sought on the detention of Parvez Rasool on October 17 after a metal detector picked up signals from his bag suggesting presence of explosive material.

However, a search of the bag yielded nothing and he was released for lack of evidence.

War of words in K’taka over flood relief

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Bangalore, October 19: A war of words broke out between Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and opposition Congress and JD(S) over the state government’s plans of leading an all-party delegation to the Centre seeking higher assistance for flood relief, from which the two parties decided to stay away.

White House says stimulus saving education jobs

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Washington, October 19: The Obama administration said on Monday its economic stimulus had saved or created 250,000 education jobs, as it sought to push back against Republicans who contend the package was wasteful and had not worked.

Faced with pressure to act to help spur job growth with the U.S. unemployment rate at 9.8 percent, President Barack Obama is considering new steps to help the economy, on top of the $787 billion stimulus package passed earlier this year.

Iran threatens U.S. and Britain after Guard bombing

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Tehran, October 19: The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Monday vowed to “retaliate” against the United States and Britain after accusing them of backing the perpetrators of a suicide bombing that killed six Guards commanders.

Iranian media say the Sunni Muslim insurgent group Jundollah (God’s soldiers) has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bombing in Sistan-Baluchestan province, which killed 42 people in all.

The incident threatened to overshadow talks between Iran and global powers in Vienna on Monday intended to tackle a standoff about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Pakistani forces pound Taliban in South Waziristan

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Islamabad, October 19: Pakistani forces backed by artillery attacked Taliban insurgents on Monday as the army moved to wrest control of militant strongholds in a lawless region on the Afghan border.

The fighting is a new test of the government’s determination to tackle an increasingly brazen insurgency that has seen a string of attacks in different parts of the country, including an assault on army headquarters, in which more than 150 people were killed.

Afghan poll picture darkens with run-off looming

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Kabul, October 19: The chances of a second round run-off being needed to end Afghanistan’s political crisis increased on Monday when a U.N.-backed fraud watchdog submitted a long-delayed ruling into voting irregularities in August’s poll.

The August 20 election, tainted by allegations of widespread fraud, has fanned tension between President Hamid Karzai and Western governments whose troops are fighting a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan in a war that has entered its ninth year.

Bernanke cautions on risks from imbalances

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California, October 19: U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned on Monday that Asian policies promoting exports could lead to a reemergence of imbalances in trade and capital flows, which some believe helped fuel the U.S. housing bubble.

Trade surpluses achieved through policies that artificially enhance domestic saving and export industries distort the allocation of resources, he said.

Hope of less sectarian politics in Iraq

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Baghdad, October 19: Politicians from Iraq’s Sunni Arabs have failed to forge a single alliance to fight January’s general election but, with the Shiites also split, analysts say the vote may herald a welcome end to confessional politics.

The last parliamentary election in 2005 was held amid raging sectarian violence that brought Iraq to the brink of civil war and many Sunni Arab voters stayed at home, disenchanted by the US-led invasion.

Obama warns Sudan to respond to new US policy

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Washington, October 19: President Barack Obama warned Monday of more US pressure on Sudan if its government did not respond to a new US policy of offering incentives to stop “genocide” and “abuses” in Darfur.

“Our conscience and our interests in peace and security call upon the United States and the international community to act with a sense of urgency and purpose,” Obama said in a statement.

“First, we must seek a definitive end to conflict, gross human rights abuses and genocide in Darfur,” Obama said, in the statement issued as the State Department unveiled a new US-Sudan strategy.

Egypt’s Brotherhood denies leader has quit

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Egypt, October 19: The Muslim Brotherhood’s deputy leader denied reports on Monday that its supreme guide Mohammed Mahdi Akef has quit in a row with conservatives in Egypt’s leading opposition group.

Egyptian dailies reported that Akef, who had been due to stay on as the movement’s supreme guide until next year, resigned on Sunday after conservatives blocked the appointment of a senior reformist to the politburo.

Freed Darfur aid workers to go home

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Khartaum, October 19: Two female aid workers released after more than 100 days of captivity in Darfur arrived in Khartoum on Monday, exhausted but delighted to be free and eager to get back home.

Irishwoman Sharon Commins, 33, and Ugandan Hilda Kawuki, 42, were kidnapped in the North Darfur town of Kutum on July 3 by a gang of armed men from a compound run by Irish relief group GOAL.

“We are very happy to be here,” said Commins, as she walked on the tarmac of Khartoum airport.

Egypt to Hamas: we won’t wait ‘forever’

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Cairo, October 19: Egypt warned Sunday it would not wait “forever” for Palestinian factions to agree a unity deal after the democratically elected movement Hamas postponed signing the accord with its Fatah rivals.

“Egypt is not prepared to wait forever,” foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki told Al-Arabiya television.

The signing of the unity agreement was to be held in Cairo on October 26.