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Meerut police gun down two criminals

     Meerut: The Meerut police today killed two criminals in an encounter. The slain gangsters were fleeing after killing a contractor and seriously injuring his son in Shastri Nagar area. Earlier, both the gangsters barged into the Shastri Nagar B Block residence of Contractor Ramesh Bhatia and fired upon Bhatia and his son, Mukul. While Bhatia died on the spot, Mukul was later shifted to a local hospital, where he is battling for his life. Bhatia received three bullet wounds, while Mukul received one bullet. "Two criminals came from behind and fired upon them. When his son came to the spot, he was also fired upon on his knees. We do not know why they were here or why did they kill him," said Ajay, relative of the victims. After the attack the criminals escaped but were chased by the public. The police soon arrived and cornered the gangsters. When asked to surrender, the duo opened fire on the police. In the ensuing exchange of fire both were killed. "Their motive may have been both killing and looting. After their identification, it will be clear, which gang did they belong to. No vehicle was found on them. Neither any associate was sighted. We are investigating the motive," said Rajeev Ranjan, SSP Meerut. An english Mouser and several rounds of bullets along with a country-made weapon have been recovered from the gangsters. Many in the locality blame the incident on past enmity. The police is on the look out for the associates of the gangsters.

Sonia Gandhi visits flood-hit areas of Maharashtra (Go To Top)

     Kolhapur/Mumbai: Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who is on a visit to flood-affected areas of Maharashtra, today said that the State Government was making all efforts to ensure proper relief and rehabilitation package to the affected people. Ms Gandhi was accompanied by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and State Marketing Minister Harshwardhan Patil. She directed the Chief Minister to address concerns of the affected people at the earliest. The UPA Chairperson is visiting flood-hit areas of Maharashtra, including Mumbai to review the ongoing relief and rehabilitation operations. Sonia reached Pune today at around 11 a.m., and left for Sangli district by helicopter. She is also scheduled to undertake an aerial survey of Kolhapur, Satara and other parts of flood hit Konkan and Western Maharashtra regions. Gandhi will also hold talks with Congress leaders and officials at the airport on various relief works before departing fro Delhi. On her way back to Delhi, Sonia Gandhi is scheduled to arrive in Mumbai where she would visit the Saki Naka locality of Andheri in suburban Mumbai, where 80 people died in a landslide and also survey the Mithi River area where large-scale encroachments have come up, resulting in the devastating floods in the vicinity, triggered by the July 26 deluge.

Fill five vacant posts of SPs by Aug 17: EC to Bihar Govt (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The Election Commission has expressed its concern over vacant posts of Suprentendent of Police (SP) in five districts of Bihar ahead of forthcoming Assembly Elections in the State. Asking the State Government to fill up the vacancy, in five districts - Siwan, Supaul, Sasaram, Shekhpura and Jamui immediately, the Commission has sought compliance of its orders by August 17. The Commission is taking strong measures to ensure that free and fair election takes place in the State. Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon and Election Commissioners N Goplaswami and N C Chawala will take a tour of the State on 24th and 25th August to review the poll preparedness. During their visit, the Election Commissioners will have meetings with the representatives of the recognised national and state political parties. The Commissioners would also discuss the arrangements with the senior state and police officials, EC sources said. Earlier, it ordered the Buta Government to transfer all those officers who had been in one place for over three years and not deploy any tainted official. Without mincing words, the EC ordered the Chief Secretary G. S. Kang to transfer all those officials, "involved in the polls directly or indirectly who had been posted in their home district or or the district of their spouses, or had completed three years in a district in the past four years." This rule would apply to all officials including the District Election Officers, Returning Officers, Assistant Returning Officers, Additional District Magistrates, Deputy Collectors, Sub-Divisional Magistrates, Block Development Officers, IGs, DIGs, SSPs, SPs and Sub- Divisional Heads of Police, officers-in- charge of the police stations including inspectors or sub- inspectors. The DGPs have been asked to send a comprehensive list carrying details from all the districts to the EC by August 19. The EC officials have also asked the Superintendents of Police of all the 38 districts of the state to submit an Action Taken Report to the DGP by August 15 regarding arrest of persons against whom non-bailable warrants were pending. The Election Commission is also sending four teams to Bihar from August 19 to review the progress in the Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) programme and other arrangements.

Gujarat's 'Godmother' Santokben arrested (Go To Top)

     Rajkot (Gujarat): After a chase of five months, Santokben Jadeja alias 'Godmother' was arrested in Gujarat's Rajkot District on Friday in connection with the murder of BJP councillor Keshu Odedra in March this year. Santokben, on whose life the film 'Godmother' starring Shabana Azmi was based, was arrested by a police team from Porbandar after it had received a tip-off about her whereabouts. "We got information that Santokben is in Rajkot. So, we went there and around 5.15 in the evening we arrested her," said Vipul Aggarwal, Superintendent of Police, Porbander. Santokben, who hails from Kutyana town in Rajkot District, has been on the run since the murder of Odedra. Two of her sons, Karan and Kandal are already in custody in connection with the same case, while a third son, Kanho, is still at large. Odedra was shot at point blank range by Santokben's sons through Kamlabaug in Porbandar on March 1, 2005. He died on the spot, while his cousin, Rama Kara, sustained bullet injuries. Kara later identified the assailants as Karan and Kandhal. Santokben has been taken to Porbander under heavy security and will be produced in a magistrate's court today.

Emergency in Sri Lanka after Kadirgamar's assassination (Go To Top)

     Colombo: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga imposed a state of emergency across the island-nation on Saturday, hours after the country's Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was assassinated by an unidentified gunman outside his private Bullers Lane residence. Presidential spokesman Eric Fernando said the emergency to go into effect from today, would give security forces sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects for long periods. The announcement of the state of emergency came as Defence Ministry spokesman Daya Ratnayake asked Colombo residents to remain indoors today to facilitate a major search operation for the culprits involved in the assassination. Ratnayake said the Tamil Tigers were the prime suspects in the assassination, as Kadirgamar was high on their hit list, but added that the authorities were working with an open mind. Meanwhile, messages of condolence are pouring in from across the world condemning the late Friday night assassination.

     U.N.Secretary General Kofi Annan, U.S.President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were among the world leaders who expressed their shock over the assassination. Annan said that he hoped the tragedy would not weaken the resolve of the people to achieve a durable peace. "The Secretary General is shocked and saddened to learn that a few hours ago, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar Was shot and killed in Colombo," Annan's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement yesterday. "He deplores in the strongest of terms this criminal and senseless act and hopes that the perpetrators will be found and brought to justice," Dujarric said. "Sri Lanka has lost deeply respected statesman dedicated to peace and national unity," the spokesman said. "He worked tirelessly for peace throughout his career. It is a great loss," Justice Minister John Senevirathne told reporters who had gathered outside the National Hospital in Colombo. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who last met Kadirgamar in June, said those responsible must be brought to justice. "This senseless murder was a vicious act of terror, which the United States strongly condemns," she said in a statement. She praised Kadirgamar as a man of "dignity, honour and integrity, who devoted his life to bringing peace to Sri Lanka". "Together, we must honour his memory by re-dedicating ourselves to peace and ensuring that the ceasefire remains in force," she added. "He worked tirelessly for peace throughout his career. It is a great loss," Justice Minister John Senevirathne told reporters who had gathered outside the National Hospital in Colombo.

     Kadirgamar murder was blamed by a senior police officer on the separatist Tamil Tigers, who have been observing a ceasefire since 2002. A spokeswoman for the Norwegian monitors overseeing the truce, was quoted by a foreign news agency as saying that the 11 p.m.killing could "put the whole ceasefire under risk". Kadirgamar, 73, was shot near his heavily-guarded home on Friday evening. Police believe one or two snipers carried out the attack, hitting the veteran minister several times in the head and chest. He was rushed to hospital in a critical condition. He died later despite undergoing emergency surgery. A large security operation was launched after the shooting, with armed police cordoning off the area as helicopters circled overhead. Police sources said two men had been arrested but gave no further details. "It's the Tigers," Inspector General of Police Chandra Fernando told reporters, the agency said. Vilja Kutvonen, spokeswoman for Nordic Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission,said: "It's likely to have serious consequences. It puts the whole ceasefire under risk." The minister, who was himself from the South Asian island's minority Tamil community, was a close aide of President Kumaratunga. He was appointed foreign minister in April 2004, but had previously held the position from 1994 to 2001. A lawyer by training, Kadirgamar was seen as a tough opponent of the Tamil Tigers. He played a key role in getting the group listed as a banned militant organisation in the US and the UK.

Zimbabwe team: Kumble , Laxman dropped (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced a 15-member squad for the one-day series tour of Zimbabwe, and predictably dropped veteran leg spinner Anil Kumble and wristy batsman V.V.S. Laxman. The team, to be led by Sourav Ganguly, will play in the tri- nation series featuring Zimbabwe and New Zealand from August 24 to September 6. Kumble and Laxman have, however, been included in the Test squad. Sachin Tendulkar has also been included in the team for the Tests. Virender Sehwag has been made the vice-captain for the ODI series, while Dravid will be Gangulys deputy in the Test matches. Others included in the one-day team are: Yuvraj Singh, V Rao, Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Kaif, S Raina, Aashish Nehra, Gauatm Gambhir, M S Dhoni, Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh. R P Singh will get his maiden chance to represent India. The selection of the team was done in consultation with coach Greg Chappell and captain Sourav Ganguly. Ganguly was reinstated as captain of the Indian team on Friday after day-long deliberations by the five-man selection committee. He had earlier been forced to relinquish the captaincy of the team after the International Cricket Council (ICC) had imposed a six-match ban on him for allowing a poor overrate during India's one-day series against Pakistan in March-April this year. That ban was reduced to four matches the BCCI and ICC approached South African judge Albie Sachs to re-examine the case.

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