IIT Kanpur student commits suicide

      Kanpur: In yet another incident of quashed dreams, a final year student of IIT Kanpur's Chemical Engineering department committed suicide in his hostel room on Thursday. This was the second suicide incident at the prestigious institution in the last six months. According to police, Shailesh Sharma, hailing from Varanasi, had gone into depression after faring badly in recent examinations and this might be the reason behind committing suicide. "He was a fourth year student of chemical engineering. He went into depression after failing two courses in the second semester exams. He had locked himself in his room and he wasn't meeting anyone. At around 2 p.m. his friends tried to open the door but could not. They broke through the room window to find Shailesh hanging from the ceiling fan with computer lead wire. He had even tried to cut his wrist veins but might not have gone through with it because of the pain. There was no suicide note," said Inspector Kalyanpur Shamakant Tripathi.

    According to IIT authorities, Shailesh's friends tried very hard to cheer him up today after the declaration of the results. "His friends were with him till 12:30 and left when he seemed okay. After having the lunch, they returned to see how he was doing but did not get any response after beating on the door for 15 minutes. They broke through the window and quickly untied his body from the fan and tried to revive him. In the meantime, the ambulance arrived and took him to the health centre where he was declared brought dead by the doctors," said Praval Pratap Sinha, the Dean, Student Affairs. Shailesh's suicide has deeply affected the student community. Parents and authorities are equally concerned. "It's a very grave problem and students and parents are very worried. IIT will take the required steps in the future so that such incidents don't happen again," said Sinha.

Two killed in Kashmir grenade attack (Go To Top)

      Srinagar: Two civilians were killed and six people wounded in a Jammu and Kashmir town on Thursday. The grenade attack in Chadoora town, which is 15 km (10 miles) west of Srinagar, came a day after Kashmir's moderate All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and New Delhi agreed to work together to bring peace to the revolt-torn region. "I was standing outside a shop to buy something. But suddenly, something happened and it became dark. A person got injured. I don't recollect the time," said Shaheena, an eyewitness. Although overall violence levels have fallen since New Delhi and Islamabad launched new moves to make peace after being on the brink of another war in Kashmir in 2002, there has been a rise in militant attacks in recent weeks. Thirty-five Hindus were killed this week by militants in Jammu region. And, hours before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks with the main separatist conglomerate, three militants and three policemen were killed in a nightlong gunbattle. Some Indian officials say the violence could be a response to a high voter turnout in by-elections last week in the state. Despite the background of violence, Wednesday's talks with representatives of the Hurriyat Conference ended on a positive note for wider consultations, which is expected to set the stage for a round-table conference with separatist groups in Srinagar on May 25.

CBI raids on Chautala premises  (Go To Top)
by Chandrika Jain

      New Delhi/Chandigarh: The Central Bureau of Investigation today raided 21 premises of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala across the country in connection with a disproportionate assets case. Raids were conducted in New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. In the national capital, his 13-acre farmhouse in Asola village on the outskirts of Mehrauli, which is under construction, was raided. Another farmhouse at Fathepur Beri named Rohit Garden was also raided. Even Chautala's son, Abhey Chautala, who is a Member of Parliament, could not escape the raids. The raids started early in the day, and included scouring of various residences, official premises and farm houses of both leaders. Both Chautala and his son are currently in the United States. The places raided in Haryana were Palwal, Sirsa, Kurukshetra and Bhiwani. Sirsa is the native place of the leader. Telephone lines at his home here have been snapped for the time. Even the premises belonging to one of Chautala's main supporters, Vidya Dhar, was not spared. Chautala's ancestral house at Teja Khera in Sirsa is also being searched. Sirsa Police Chief K K Rao said the CBI had not taken the local police into confidence while carrying out the raids. Om Prakash Chautala is the leader of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), a Harayana based political party. He was also the former Chief Minister of the State. However, in the 2005 Haryana state Assembly elections the INLD lost its majority, winning just 9 out of the 90 seats compared to the Congress party's 67 seats. Chautala resigned and Bhupinder Singh Hooda became the Chief Minister of Haryana. During his controversial tenure as Chief Minister of Haryana, he was accused of significant amounts of corruption and extortion, and of creating a cult of his family, especially his father Chaudhari Devi Lal, a former deputy Prime Minister of India.

Manmohan campaigns in TN (Go To Top)

      Tiruchirapally (Tamil Nadu): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government was committed to ensure safe and secure environment for all the people of the country irrespective of caste and religion. Canvassing for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Democratic Progressive Alliance candidates in the State, Singh said: "The Congress Party is committed to the welfare of the common man," and urged the people to make Tamil Nadu the leading state of the country. Prime Minister promised the people of Tamil Nadu that the Centre would provide all the necessary help to bring more development in the state. "Tamil Nadu must ensure bright future for the people by bringing in more investments, growth and higher productivity", Singh said. The Prime Minister asserted that the DPA alliance under the leadership of M. Karunanidhi was best place to deliver the development of the State. "There would be not a single person hungry, no poverty, no unemployed youth in the state", Singh said. Tamil Nadu will vote on May 8 to choose 234 legislators.

Kanchi seer moves SC for case transfer (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: The Sankaracharya of Kanchikamakodipeetam, Jayendra Saraswati, accused in the Radhakrishnan attack case, today moved the Supreme Court again to seek the transfer of case outside Tamil Nadu. The hearing of the transfer petition will be on May 9. Petitioner has sought transfer of the case on the grounds that another case in connection with Sankararaman murder, in which, he is a prime accused has already been shifted to the Pondicherry Court following a Supreme Court order. Petitioner has also argued that it was not possible to have the fair trial as the personal has been taking by the Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The attitude of the state police and administration were also biased against him. Radhakrishan is the one who was also the conspirators in the high profile Shankarraman murder case. The Supreme Court on April1 had already stayed the trial in the Sankararaman murder case. The apex court posted the case for further hearing in the second week of July. Sankararaman was murdered on September 3, 2004, allegedly at the behest of Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi, who is facing trial along with his junior Vijayendra Saraswathi and 22 others.

Pakistan says no to Kargil-Skardu bus (Go To Top)

      Islamabad/New Delhi: Pakistan has rejected an Indian proposal for starting a bus service between Kargil in Ladakh and Skardu in Northern Areas. According to media reports emanating out of the Indian capital after two days of talks between Indian and Pakistani officials on activating further Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, the Pakistani delegation led by Syed Ibne Abbas, Director General, Pakistan Foreign Office, told the Indian side led by Dilip Sinha, Joint Secretary in charge of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, that such a proposal was not feasible due to security considerations. People of Ladakh have been seeking a bus link to Skardu to enable them meet their relatives and friends across the LoC. New Delhi has been unsuccessful in pushing for this proposal for over a year. Both countries, however, have decided to start a second bus service and truck link across the Line of Control. The Srinagar- Muzaffarabad truck service will facilitate cross-LoC trade in the first half of July. A second bus service will also commence between Rawalakot and Poonch from June 19. Initially, the bus service will operate on a fortnightly basis. This will be the second bus link across the LoC after the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad service launched on April 7 last year.

Life term for 9/11 accused Moussaoui (Go To Top)

      Washington: An American jury decided today to spare the life of Zakriya Moussaoui for his role in the September 11, 2001 terror strikes, sentencing him instead to life imprisonment without the possibility of release. After a penalty trial that consumed more than eight weeks, the nine-man, three-woman jury decided against the death penalty sought by prosecutors. The same jury found 37-year-old Moussaoui eligible for the death penalty last month. US District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema has no choice but to impose the penalty of life imprisonment decided by the jury. The only person charged in an American court in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks, Moussaoui pleaded guilty to six terrorism conspiracy counts last year, admitting he plotted with al Qaida terrorists to crash hijacked planes into prominent American buildings. Moussaoui was arrested about three weeks before the attacks when authorities grew suspicious after they learned that he was training on Boeing 747 flight simulators despite not having a pilot's licence.

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