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Charges against Bofors, Hindujas quashed

     New Delhi: Delhi High Court today quashed charges against Hinduja brothers in Bofors kickback case on the grounds that the CBI failed to produce originals of Swiss documents on which it had framed charges against the accused. The case fell completely flat as the Swedish arms manufacturer A B Bofors was also freed from the charges. Now, only one accused, Ottavio Quattrocchi, is left for consideration as the other accused former Defence Secretary S K Bhatnagar, arms agent Win Chadha and former Bofors company Chief Martin Ardbo are dead and the trial against them has abated. Delivering the judgement, Justice R S Sodhi said,"No case can be proceeded against the Hindujas or the Bofors Company in the absence of original documents. I quash the framing of charges by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate against the Hinduja brothers and the A B Bofors Company". The CBI has failed to extradite Quattrocchi, who has been abroad for more than a decade.

     Meanwhile, the Agency said today that it would examine the Delhi High Court judgment and decide on further course of action. "We will legally examine the judgment and decide on the further course of action," a CBI spokesman said here when asked to comment on the order. The three Hinduja brothers G.P. Hinduja, S.P. Hinduja and P.P. Hinduja were charge sheeted by the CBI in its supplementary charge sheet filed in the Bofors case on October 9, 2000 on receipt of further documents from Swiss authorities. The two charge sheets were clubbed together. The first charge sheet of October 22, 1999, filed nine years after registration of the First Information Report (FIR), had named S.K. Bhatnagar, the former Defence Secretary, Win Chadha, the former Bofors agency, Ottavio Quattrocchi, Italian businessman, Martin Ardbo, the then Bofors chief, and A.B. Bofors. While S.K. Bhatnagar and Win Chadha have died, the CBI has failed in securing the extradition of Martin Ardbo from Stockholm. Mr. Quattrocchi is reported to be in Italy after efforts to extradite him from Malaysia did not succeed. India and Swiss arms manufacturer Bofors had signed a deal in 1986 for supply of 155mm Howitzer Field Guns for Rs 1437 crores. The deal later sparked off a big controversy after Swedish Radio announed that kickback was paid to Indian government officials in the deal. The CBI registered a case in 1990 and started investigating the charges.

Rajasthan government embarrassed over book glorifying sati (Go To Top)

     Jaipur: The Rajasthan government today is engaged in a damage control exercies following the controversy that has erupted over the publication of a book 'The Gods and Goddesses of Rajasthan' highlighting the 'sacrifices' of women who committed Sati. The book brought out by the Department for Religious Affairs and has embarrassing passages, which the Tourism Minister Usha Punia tried to brush it aside as printing mistake. "This could be printing mistake. We are going to look into the matter and it will be taken out from the book," said Punia. "Rani Sati is famous as Lok Devi. Her name was Narayani Bai and was born in an Aggarwal family in Meham. She got married to Thanmandhan Das, who was in the army of Nawab of Hissar. When Das died in a war in 1652, Narayani Bhai committed Sati on Krishna Navami day to protect her loyalty to her husband," said the book giving a detailed account of the Sati temple in Jhunjhunu. Authored by Dr. Mahendra Bhanawat of Udaipur, the book was released by Usha Punia at a function in state capital on Monday (May 30). "It is a national shame. Those who have always believed in Sati have been praised in the book. We want that the government should clarify their position on Sati," said C.S. Vaid, spokesperson of Congress party. The instance comes just as a 70 year-old woman burnt herself to death at her husband's funeral pyre in Banda in neighbouring UP. The custom had disappeared from the public eye until 1987, was revived when Roop Kanwar committed Sati at Deorala in Rajasthan, actively abetted by villagers.

Six employees of KFC burnt alive in Karachi (Go To Top)

     Karachi: Six employees of American fast-food franchise KFC were burned to death in Karachi during a riot that followed a suicide attack on a mosque in the southern Pakistani city on Tuesday, rescue workers said. Angry Shi'ites set fire to the restaurant after the mosque attack in which five people died on Monday night, but the bodies of those burned were only found on Tuesday morning, said Rizwan Edhi of the Edhi Foundation, a private emergency service. Chief fire officer Kazim Ali said bodies of the six people were recovered from the debris of the KFC early this morning. All the dead were employees of KFC, he said. "A man named Asif was missing (initially) upon which we started the search at about 2:30 am in the morning. During this search we recovered four bodies; one was a security guard Ghulam Hussain, an electrician Saleem, Ghulam Hussain, a servant and a sweeper Johny Peter. Two other bodies were missing and a search was carried out. At last we found the bodies in the deep freezer," Ali said. On Monday, at least five people, including two assailants, were killed in the suicide bomb attack on the Shi'ite mosque in the same Gulshan-e-Iqbal area of Karachi.

    The attack on the KFC outlet came just minutes after attack on the Karachi mosque. Mobs of angry Shi'ite youths also attacked a hospital, two petrol stations and burned more than a dozen vehicles. Hours before the mosque attack, unknown assailants killed a provincial leader from the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Islamic opposition alliance in Karachi. Aslam Mujahid, deputy chief of Jamaat-e-Islami in the city, was kidnapped early on Monday and his bullet-riddled body was later found in an abandoned car in the east of the city. Mairaj-ul-Huda, head of Jamaat-e-Islami's Karachi wing, said the party suspected the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a rival regional party that is a member of the governing national coalition, of being behind the killing. At least 18 people were wounded, four seriously, in the attack on the Mandinatul Ilm mosque, the latest incident of religious violence to hit Pakistan. The mosque attack came just three days after a suicide bombing at a Muslim festival in Islamabad on Friday that killed at least 19 people, most of themShi'ite Muslims, in the worst such attack ever in the capital city. More than 100 people have been killed in tit-for-tat attacks by majority Sunni and Shi'ite militants in the past year. Most of the attacks have been blamed on Sunni militant groups with links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, which have been angered by Pakistan's support for the war on terrorism.

Villepin replaces Raffarin as French PM

     Paris: Dominique de Villepin has been named as France's new prime minister, following the country's rejection of the EU constitution in Sunday's referendum. According to the BBC, the former interior minister replaces Jean- Pierre Raffarin, who tendered his resignation following the vote. President Jacques Chirac promised cabinet changes after the referendum, in which almost 55 per cent voted "No". The result reflects domestic discontent as well as wider anxiety about the European project. Chirac had campaigned for the "Yes" vote, along with government and main opposition parties. He is due to address the nation on Tuesday evening to present a policy for the new team, which is expected to govern until elections in 2007. Chirac has not yet named other members of the new government. But reports say Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader of the ruling UMP party, will return to the interior ministry, a post which he held before Mr de Villepin. Sarkozy is one of France's most popular politicians, and seen as a possible future president. de Villepin is best known abroad for expressing France's implacable opposition to the war in Iraq at the United Nations, and is likely to go down well with European allies. He is also regarded as a consensual politician and is personally loyal to Chirac.

South Korea beat India 4-1 in Azlan Shah Cup Kuala (Go To Top)

     Lumpur: India's chances of a podium finish virtually evaporated today after they were steamrolled by South Korea 4-1 at the Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here on Tuesday. Though the current Asian Games champions dominated the proceedings, India were lucky to go into the break at 1-1 despite conceding the tournaments first penalty stroke. In an earlier match, Olympic champions Australia rode on their luck to hold a fired up Pakistan 2-2 in a thrilling contest at the Bukit Jalil Stadium. After surviving the Korean onslaught in the early part of the match, India took the lead through Len Aiyappa. But the Asian Games gold medallists bounced back with a first-half equaliser before three strikes in six minutes after the break to take home full points. Korea, who earned five penalty corners in the first 15 minutes of the match but failed to benefit from them, levelled the score through Kim Kyung Seuk. They also missed the penalty stroke they got in the first half. The Korean attack lacked the sharpness of their earlier outings here as many unforced errors were committed against the tentative and toothless Indians. Meanwhile, Pakistan and champions Australia ended in draw today as the rival teams netted two goals each. Pakistan remained undefeated in the tournament and tops the point's table.

References: Bihar election dissolution challenge MLA, warrant Gautam Goswami, Advani Pakistan PM, army Gohar Ayub Khan, Bofors Hindujas, Rajasthan book sati, KFC employees burnt alive Karachi, Villepin Raffarin French PM, South Korea beat India 4-1 in Azlan Shah Cup, Indian art UK, Colin Farrell male butt, Rings soundtrack, Jolie independence failed marriages, Goldie Hawn, Swazi monarch 11 wives, Elton John Madonna, Doherty Kate Moss, Paris Hilton shipping heir, G-string health, India, India News, Newspaper, Indian, News, Travel News, India Travel Times, Travel,Tourism, Tour, Tourist, India, Times, News, Hotels, Airlines, Ayurveda, Yoga, Hindu, Taj Mahal, Cuisine, Festival, Temple, Trekking, Hindu, Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Odissi, Dance, Shimla,Varanasi, Kullu, Manali, Dehra Dun, Mussourie, Mussoorie, Haridwar, Hardwar, Rishikesh, Nainital, Delhi, Goa, Kovalam, Darjeeling, Bodh Gaya, Kancheepuram, Kanchipuram, Thekkady, Badrinath, Amar Nath,Vaishno Devi, Tirupati, Sabarimala, Guruvayoor, Kanyakumari, Kodaikanal, Ooty, Chennai,

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