Kanchi Junior seer granted conditional bail

     Chennai/Kancheepuram: The Madras High Court today granted conditional bail to the junior Kanchi seer, Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigal, in connection with the September 3, 2004 Sankararaman murder case. The high court has set five conditions for grant of bail to the junior pontiff. He has been released on a bond of Rs 50,000. The court has asked that he cannot leave Chennai. He has also been asked by the court to submit an affidavit stating that he will not tamper with evidence. Vijayendra Swamigal has also been asked to surrender his passport, besides appearing before the Madras High Court every Sunday. The junior seer was arrested on January 10, and was since then kept in judicial custody. On the other hand, the senior Kanchi Sankaracharya, Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal, is likely to appear before the Kancheepuram Judicial Magistrate Court today. He will receive a copy of chargesheet filed against him in the Sankararaman murder case. Along with Jayendra Swamigal, all 24 accused in the case will also receive copies of the chargesheet.The Special Investigation Team's nearly 2,000-page chargesheet has cited 370 witnesses and contains 712 documents. Both seers are facing charges of criminal conspiracy in the Sankararaman murder case. The police are mainly thriving on the copies of the 39 letters written by the murdered temple manager to the pontiffs. In the aforesaid letters, Sankararaman condemned the administrative as well as the personal conduct and character of the seers.

Fourth phase of J and K civic polls begins (Go To Top)

     Srinagar: Voting in the 13 member municipal committees of Ganderbal in rural Srinagar and five municipal committees has begun. Sixty three polling stations have been set-up for the the fourth phase of civic polls in which 27,886 voters of Budgam and Ganderbal will exercise their franchise. In the Meantime, one of the PDP councillors elected unopposed to Beerwah municipal committee has been shot dead by militants.

India responds to WB Baglihar queries (Go To Top)

     New Delhi/Islamabad: India has responded to the queries of the World Bank on Pakistan's petition regarding the construction of controversial Baglihar dam in Kashmir. The bank had last month asked New Delhi to explain certain points related to the Indus Basin Waters Treaty of 1960. It had also intimated Pakistan about its correspondence with India. India's High Commissioner in Islamabad, Shiv Shankar Menon, told The News that New Delhi is of the view that the objections raised by Islamabad could be sorted out through talks. Menon claimed that work on the dam had been continuing with normal pace, but regretted it was behind the schedule. India, he said, would not halt work on the project.