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JN Dixit cremated

     New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, top cabinet ministers, ambassadors and leading lights of India's strategic and diplomatic community bade farewell to J.N Dixit, national security advisor, as he was cremated today. Dixit had died early on Monday morning due to a massive heart attack. He would have completed 69 years on Jan 8. The prime minister, looking deeply anguished at the loss of a very close aide, came to the Brar crematorium in the Delhi cantonment with his wife Gurshran Kaur and offered floral tributes before the funeral pyre was lit by Dixit's son Ashok, a journalist, in the presence of Dixit's wife, children, sisters and other family members. It was the third straight day that the Prime Minister had come to pay homage to Dixit since his death on Monday. Manmohan Singh, said aides, had come to depend on Dixit on crucial foreign policy and strategic issues and valued his judgement greatly.

     Others present included Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, virtually the entire staff of the Prime Minister's Office, including Minister of State Prithviraj Chavan, besides Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit and Lt Governor B.L. Joshi. Also present were M.K. Narayanan, special advisor on intelligence who has temporarily taken over Dixit's job, T.K.A. Nair, principal secretary to the prime minister, Pakistan High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan and Sri Lankan High Commissioner Mangala Moonasinghe. Dixit was a former envoy to Colombo and played a prominent role in the island's politics between 1985 and 1989, and was described by Sri Lankan President Chnadrika Kumaratunga in a condolence message as "a very close, personal friend". Members of the Indian Foreign Service, both present and retired, came in strength to pay tributes to a man who not only was a very distinguished former foreign secretary but who many considered their guru. Also present were members of the strategic, intelligence and security communities for whom Dixit provided the ideological underpinnings of their discourse and deliberations.

CBI inquiry into skeleton at Tripura CM's bungalow (Go To Top)

     Agartala: The Tripura Government has ordered a CBI inquiry into the recovery of pieces of human skeletons from the official residence of Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, police said today. Besides the CBI inquiry, the CID was also inquiring the case, said the state police. The pieces were recovered when the Agartala Municipal Council workers were cleaning a septic tank in the old staff quarters of the Chief Minister's official residential campus yesterday. The pieces recovered included, one skull, three pieces of rib bones, three pieces of forearms and two pieces of shin bones. A white plastic bangle (shnakha) was also recovered. As soon as the news reached the police, scientists from the state's forensic laboratory, rushed to the CM's residence and seized the findings. Some experts from the forensic laboratory are now examining the pieces of skeleton to ascertain its age, origin and other related details. However, according to the officials, the remains appear to be very old. Police has registered a case under section 157 CrPC. In the midst of all this, the main opposition party, Congress has demanded resignation of Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, who is also the state's Home Minister.

Uma 'encouraged' people to demolish disputed structure: CBI (Go To Top)

     Lucknow: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders including Uma Bharti had "encouraged" the people on the public address system to demolish the disputed structure at Ayodhya, the CBI on Wednesday told the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court. Arguing before the court, CBI Counsel P K Chaubey contended that there were 'shouts of joy' at the demolition of each of the three domes of the disputed structure and BJP leaders, including Uma Bharti "encouraged" people. There were no attempts to dissuade the people from carrying out the demolition, he told the court. Chaubey's contention came while advancing arguments on the five criminal revision petitions challenging the special Rae Bareli court order by which it had discharged BJP president L K Advani but directed issuance of summons against former Union minister M M Joshi and six others in the Ayodhya demolition case on September 19, 2003.

EC issues show cause notice to INLD (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The Election Commission received complaint alleging that 819 constables and 72 sub-inspectors were being recruited and appointed by the Haryana government after the model code of conduct came into force, thereby violating the model code. According to a press release, thereupon, the Election Commission called for a report from the Chief Secretary, Government of Haryana. The report of the Chief Secretary of Haryana was considered by the Commission. The Commission was not fully convinced about the course of events mentioned in the report. The Commission has therefore decided to send a team of officers comprising Rajesh Aggarwal, Principal secretary-cum-Director in the Commission and Afzal Amanullah, Special Observer of the Commission for Haryana to inquire into the matter and submit a report within three days. The team will leave for Chandigarh tomorrow.