Six Chhattisgarh policemen abducted by Naxalites

     Raipur: Six policemen were abducted today by Maoists in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh. According to the police officials, two head constables and four constables were abducted near Chintagufa area of the district. The details of the abducted policemen are not known and police forces have been rushed to the place to find their whereabouts. Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh is severely affected by Naxalites and today's event comes close on the heels of the February 28 attack when the rebels set off a landmine under a truck in Darmagura area in Dantewada district, killing 23 persons and injuring at least 34, belonging to a government-backed anti- Maoist group. Maoists, who operate in at least nine of the country's 29 states, have stepped up attacks in the past year, killing dozens of people, including police. The Maoists often target those they consider government informers, landlords and local officials deemed to be corrupt. The Union Home Ministry has said that there are about 9,300 Maoist guerrillas operating in the country. The Ministry has said that Maoist violence has been rising, with 892 people killed in 2005, compared to 653 in 2004. A conclave of Chief Ministers of 13 Naxal affected states is also scheduled to begin in the month of April to chalk out a strategy to overcome the Naxalite problem.

Sarabjit's family appeals to Musharraf (Go To Top)

     Amritsar: Sarabjit Singh's family on Sunday appealed to Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf for clemency, even as they renewed their threat of self-immolation, if he was hanged. Giving a month's time to India and Pakistan to set Sarabjit free, his family members including his sister Dalbir Kaur, his wife and two daughters staged a sit-in here, today and appealed to Musharraf to intervene and secure his (Sarabjit's) release. Slogan-shouting residents, holding placards, also joined them. "We hope that President Musharraf will keep his promise to do whatever possible for Sarabjit's release, following which our government could come into action and hold talks with Pakistani authorities for my brother's release. If this does not happen and then a day would come when we would be forced to immolate ourselves," said Kaur. Sarabjit Singh was sentenced to death in 1991 for allegedly spying and carrying out four bomb blasts in Pakistan that killed 14 people.

     Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the first of the four review petitions filed on his behalf. Elsewhere, in Meerut, a social group held a demonstration, seeking Sarabjit's release. Locals signed their names in blood on a big banner and pasted it on the wall. "We demand that Sarabjit, who is lodged in a Pakistan jail should be released. We appeal to President Musharraf to release Sarabjit keeping in mind the good relations, the two countries share," said Dinesh Talwar, an activist. Singh's defence team filed four separate petitions for review, one for each of the four bomb blasts, after the Pakistan Supreme Court rejected his appeal against his conviction last year. His lawyer, Rana Abdul Hameed, said in Islamabad that a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court dismissed the first petition on technical grounds, saying it had been filed too late. Singh's family says he is a poor farmer from a border village who accidentally wandered into Pakistan in 1990 in an inebriated state. Pakistani officials say Singh was arrested while trying to slip back into India after carrying out the bomb attacks. The Indian government has pressed for clemency for Singh but has not made a formal request on his behalf.

Bhopal gas victims marching to Delhi  (Go To Top)

     Morena (Madhya Pradesh): Survivors of the 1984 Union Carbide chemical disaster, the worst industrial disaster in the country, have set out on foot to the national capital New Delhi to seek Prime Minister's intervention for their rehabilitation. The survivors, including some women, joined by human rights and environmental activists will trek about 900 kilometres to submit their six-point charter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The survivors, under the banner of Bhopal Group for Information and Action, are demanding the government to set up a National Commission to provide them health care, economic rehabilitation and social support. "We are taking out this march to remind the Prime Minister of the country that the condition of the people affected by the tragedy has not improved. They are still drinking poison. We want him to know that his intervention is required to provide relief to the people," said Satinath Shadangi, President of Bhopal Group for Information and Action. Shadangi said some 20,000 people in the vicinity of the Union Carbide plant, now in disuse, are compelled to drink water contaminated by toxic wasters. The marchers are expected to reach Delhi in the last week of this month, after which they would seek a meeting with the Prime Minister. If refuted, they have threatened to go on fast unto death. In December 1984, tones of a toxic gas leaked from an Indian pesticide plant owned by Union Carbide in Bhopal, killing 3,800 people almost immediately. Thousands more were maimed for life. Union Carbide in 1984 accepted moral responsibility for the tragedy and established a 100-million dollar charitable trust fund to build a hospital for victims. Later, Union Carbide was taken over by Dow Chemical. After the incident, Union Carbide India Ltd. began cleanup work at the site spending some two million dollars. The Union Carbide, after a protracted legal battle, paid 470 million dollars to the Government of India in a settlement reached in 1989. The victims, on an average, received 25,000 rupees (575 dollars) in case of illness and Rs. one lakh (2248 dollars) or so in case of a death in the family. 22 years on, thousands of victims of the tragedy are still battling deadly diseases. Doctors say many survivors -- and some from a generation born after the disaster -- still suffer from deep psychiatric disorders and stunted growth while thousands of women have severe gynaecological problems.

Nankana-Amritsar bus service delayed (Go To Top)

    Lahore: The Nankana Sahib-Amritsar regular bus service has been delayed for another two weeks due to lack of facilities at Nankana Sahib. The Indian government was scheduled to run its first bus on the Amritsar-Nankana Sahib route on March 10, but now it has been delayed till March 24. On the other hand, the Pakistan would operate its first bus on this route from March 28, reported the Dawn today. Quoting sources, the paper said that the Indian government delayed its first bus run because the Pakistan government could not finalise facilities, including the bus terminal, at Nankana Sahib. They further said that the ministry of communication officials were scheduled to hold a meeting tomorrow to finalise arrangements at Nankana Sahib. The sources said that following the Pakistan government 10-member delegation's inspection visit to Amritsar on Feb 11, both governments had decided to begin regular operations of the bus service from Feb 24. However, it was later delayed for March 10. Notably, both Pakistan and India had initially stated in a joint statement that the regular bus service on the route would begin within a month from the trial run.

London bombers' ring leader worked for govt

    London: Mohammad Sidique Khan, the suspected leader of the four suicide bombers who launched the attacks on July 7 in London killing around 55 people, is said to have worked for the UK's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) between 1995 and 1996. Citing local authority (Leeds) documents, The Independent reported that Khan, a Briton of Pakistani origin, used to help promote British companies overseas. The paper specifically cited a file on the 30-year-old kept by the education authority in Leeds, which showed details of Khan's work in the mid-1990s for the DTI's export arm in Yorkshire, when Britain was seeking greater trade links with Asia. According to the report, Khan helped in a government-led drive to launch more trade missions between 1995 and 1996. The future bomber reportedly left the service in 1996 to study business management at Leeds Metropolitan University, reported the UK paper.

SA chases 434 ODIs runs to victory (Go To Top)

     Johannesburg: South Africa today created history by successfully chasing a score of 434 runs in One Day Internationals (ODIs). While, earlier in the day, Australia created a new record, and set the stage for a grand finale at the fifth and final ODI of the series, posting 434 runs for the loss of four wickets, the Proteas made sure the day belonged to them. At the Wanderers, Herschelle Gibbs scored a career best 175 to lead the South African team to victory, blasting away Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting's career best knock of 164 into oblivion. South African skipper Graeme Smith scored 90 and Mark Boucher scored 50, hitting the wins runs. With today's scintillating victory, South Africa won the series 3-2. Earlier, Ponting scored 164 of 151 balls, Mike Hussey scored 80, with Simon Katich putting in 79 and Adam Gilchrist 55 to take the Australian score to 434, breaking Sri Lanka's score of 398 against Kenya in the 1996 World Cup. Altogether the match saw 872 runs being posted in a limited overs game. Ponting scored 164 runs from 105 balls, with 13 fours and an astonishing nine sixes. Interestingly, Ponting's last inning at this ground also produced a century, against India at the 2003 World Cup final. There he belted 140 not out.

Back to Headlines                  Go To Top