Delhi's Neha Kapur is Miss India

      Mumbai: Delhi girl Neha Kapur's dream of representing India at the prestigious Miss Universe contest has come true, for she was recently crowned the new Pond's Femina Miss India at a glittering pageant held in Mumbai on 18 January 2006. Neha managed to beat off competition from 25 other contestants, including runners-up Natasha Suri and Amruta Patki, to lay claim to the Miss India Universe crown. The 22-year old winner will now represent India at the 54th annual Miss Universe contest to be held later this year. Meanwhile, first runners-up Natasha Suri will be India's hope to bring home the Miss World crown for the fifth time, while second runners-up Amruta Patki will competing for the crown of next Miss Earth after being declared the Pond's Femina Miss India Earth. The pageant, hosted by actor Madhavan and TV star Mini Mathur, saw breathtaking performances by Band of Boys, Fardeen Khan and Kareena Kapoor that left the audience mesmerised. The event was judged by directors Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra and Karan Johar; fashion designers Tarun Tahiliani and Suneet Verma; actors Karisma Kapur, Shamita Shetty, Neha Dhupia, Rakshanda Khan and Zayed Khan.

Woman Maoist arrested in Chhatisgarh (Go To Top)

      Surajpur (Chhatisgarh): A woman Maoist was arrested in Jelha village near here on Saturday. Acting on a tip-off, the police team raided Jelha village, known for providing shelter to Maoists, and arrested Kabootari, wanted in a number of cases. Kabootari carried a reward of Rs 5000. Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar Devangan said: "Through the interrogation of other Maoists, we came to know that she was an active member and had been involved in a number of crimes". Police interrogation of Kabootri revealed that the Maoist gun- wielding males were physically exploiting women in the Maoist camps. "When we interrogated her after the arrest she told us that she was being harassed in the camp," Devangan said. "We should convey this information to the people who sympathise with the Maoists. We should chalk out a strategy to shun people from joining Maoists by telling that their women are not safe inside the camps as they can fall prey to such crimes," he added. Kabootari, estranged from her husband, said that she had joined the Maoists on the insistence of an acquaintance. She was, however, ill treated and brutally beaten whenever she mentioned of visiting her home. Kabootari, also mother of a three-year-old boy said: "I have not been to my house for the last eight months. They never let me go. I had kept my money and clothes ready to sneak out of the camp. But whenever I talked of leaving the camp, I was beaten up and was not given food". According to the analysts, for nearly four decades, the Government has underestimated the threat posed by Maoist guerrillas lurking in the countrys central, eastern and southern forests and the Government has been lacking a coherent strategy to combat the menace. Security analysts say New Delhi ignores the seriousness of the Maoist threat in the country. The Maoists, or Naxals as they are called, believe in the Maoist ideology of violent struggle for the establishment of peasant rule. They operate in several states across India and have pitted their campaign against landlords and the state administration that they accuse of exploiting the poor. The Maoists have stepped up attacks in the last one year, killing dozens of people, including police personnel. Indian authorities say there are about 9,300 Maoist guerrillas operating in the country. Home Ministry last month said that Maoist violence has been rising, with 892 people killed in 2005 as compared to 653 in 2004.

Four bombs in Kolkata train (Go To Top)

      Kolkata: Panic struck passengers in Kolkata after four crude bombs were recovered inside a train on Saturday evening. Railway Protection Force (RPF) recovered the live country-made bombs from under the seats of the coach of the passenger train during a routine check, minutes before its departure at the overcrowded Sealdah Railway Station. Nabarun Bhattacharya, Superintendent of Railway Protection Force, Sealdah, said that the security had been intensified after the recovery. "These are ordinary bombs and not special bombs. Anyways, a bomb is a bomb and had it exploded, it would have harmed people. We are already on the alert and we have taken a programme intensifying our checking and frisking," he said. The train was allowed to depart after the bomb disposal squad diffused bombs and the entire train was thoroughly scanned. Authorities, however, ruled out the involvement of any militant outfit in the incident. The incident is the latest in the series of live bomb recoveries during the past week. Security has been beefed up at all vital installations, religious shrines and railway stations after two serial blasts in Varanasi on March 7 in which 15 people were killed and dozens injured.

Not cheers, only jeers for Master Blaster (Go To Top)

      Mumbai: Booed by one's own home crowd and that too when you are called as a legend is really ridiculous, and this is exactly what happened to Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar, today at the Wankhede Stadium here. But this is not for the first time in the history of Mumbai's home crowd. In the 1987 World Cup semi- final, Little Master, Sunil Gavaskar was also booed by his Mumbai home crowd. Today, it was Sachin's turn, regarded as one of the world's finest batsmen. Dismissed after having scored only one against England in the third and final Test today, fans and his supporters jeered at him while Sachin was walking back to the pavilion. Wankhede Stadium that witnessed the growing years of Sachin which saw him to achieve more than an iconic figure also stood testimony to what some former cricketers termed it "as really in poor taste". Sachin probably would have never thought this coming even in his worst nightmares, as today his face bored the anguish and pain not likely due to the boos but due to his falling prey English bowler Anderson in a cheap manner, and that too when India was facing a challenging score of 400 runs in the first innings. Sachin has not been able to show his brilliance, off late for which he is known. The number of 50's and centuries he has made in the last five years has been constantly depleting. His average in the last six matches adds up to a paltry 18.66 runs only.

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