PATNA, July 11: Bihar Governor Dr V C Pandey has begun consultations with legal experts on CBI’s....more

PK observing summit with cautious optimism

NEW DELHI, July 11: Terming as one-sided India’s Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), the.......more

SC upholds one year
sentence against Dalal

NEW DELHI, July 11: The Supreme Court today upheld a 1993 judgement of a Mumbai special court....more

India unveils its
space plane "Avatar"
to the world

NEW DELHI, July 11: Indian scientists have designed a reusable space plane......more

MUMBAI, July 11: In a renewed effort to seek liberty, dismissed judge J W Singh.....more

Diamond crown
for Tiruchendur
Murugan temple

CHENNAI, July 11: A devotee has donated an ornate diamond crown to Lord Murugan at the....more

Centre’s assistance to
make Uttaranchal a ‘tourism state’

DEHRA DUN, July 11: With financial assistance under a special tourism development....more

UP facing herculean task of maintaining greenery, forest

LUCKNOW, July 11: Uttar Pradesh, after creation of Uttaranchal, was now facing the.......more

V C Pandey begins legal consultations on CBI move

PATNA, July 11: Bihar Governor Dr V C Pandey has begun consultations with legal experts on CBI’s request seeking his nod to prosecute former Bihar Chief Ministers Laloo Prasad Yadav and Jagannath Mishra in a fresh conspiracy angle case of multi-crore fodder scam.

Pandey consulted several legal experts yesterday seeking their opinion on the request of the premier investigating agency to file chargesheet against Yadav and Mishra, Rajbhawan sources said today.

The conspiracy angle case, relates to fraudulent withdrawals of Rs 39 crore from chaibasa treasury, presently in Jharkhand state, by Animal Husbandry Department officials through forged and fake bills between 1992-93.

Seventy-two persons including Yadav, Mishra besides former Bihar Ministers Chandradeo Prasad Verma, Vidya Sagar Nishad, RJD MLA R K Rana, independent MLA Rajo Singh and senior IAS officers Mahesh Prasad, K Arumugam, Sajal Chakravorty figure are in the list of accused in the case.

Sources said Governor’s decision on grant of sanction for prosecution of Laloo, Mishra, C P Verma, Vidya Sagar Nishad, Mahesh Prasad and K Arumugam would be communicated to CBI very soon after critical examination of documents furnished by the investigating agency with respect to allegations against them.

Since Sajal Chakravorty, former Deputy Commissioner of Chaibasa, currently belongs to Jharkhand cadre, CBI had moved Jharkhand Governor seeking his sanction to chargesheet him (Chakravorty) in the case.

Meanwhile, RJD supremo Laloo Yadav took serious exception to the CBI’s fresh move and said he was a victim of injustice by the premier investigating agency.

"How many times CBI wants to send me to jail for the same case....The CBI comes up with a new case under the larger conspiracy angle every two months or whenever it decides," Yadav charged.

"All the cases against me carry similar angle and similar charges," he said expressing unflinching faith in the judiciary.

Nationalist Congress Party leader Jagannath Mishra criticised CBI for its fresh move and said it had been proved beyond doubt that the agency was functioning with a "bias".

Yadav and Mishra have already been chargesheeted in four scam cases, sources said.

The two leaders are on bail in three cases, while the apex court had stayed execution of non-bailable arrest warrant against them in a case till July 23 after the designated CBI judge in Ranchi took cognisance of a chargesheet by the investigating agency in the case.

Trial has already begun in a Disproportionate Assets (DA) case, which is an offshoot of the fodder scam, against Yadav and his wife Chief Minister Rabri Devi, they said.

Da case charges Laloo with having accumulated wealth worth over Rs 47 lakh disproportionate to his known sources of income, they added. (PTI)

PK observing summit with cautious optimism

NEW DELHI, July 11: Terming as one-sided India’s Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), the Panun Kashmir today accused Pakistan of not being sincere in resolving the Kashmir issue and apprehended that the Agra summit might not yield desired results.

"New Delhi’s positive steps have not been reciprocated by Islamabad. The summit could have been a pathbreaking event but the latest developments and rhetoric by Pakistan does not leave much hope for any desired results," Panun Kashmir convener Dr Agnishekhar told UNI here.

He said the summit would be pathbreaking and the Panun Kashmir is observing it with an "extra element of care and cautious optimism".

"Pakistan’s invitation to Hurriyat leaders for the high-tea is a violation of the protocol and raises doubts whether they will have an open mind about the summit," he added.

He said if the Centre and opposition parties boycotted the Pakistan High Commissioner’s function, Panun Kashmir would support it.

Rebutting the Hurriyat Conference’s claim of representing the majority voice of the state, Dr Agnishekhar said, "Jammu and Kashmir is formed of three regions — Ladakh , Jammu and Kashmir—how can the supposed representation of one region be called the majority voice."

"The displaced Hindus are the indigenous inhabitants of the Kashmir Valley and they have to be involved at every level of the negotiating process," he reiterated.

"People from Ladakh and Jammu are not represented by the Hurriyat, and if the vote of these two regions are combined with the displaced community then that would form the majority."

Dr Agnishekhar said, "Kashmir imbroglio is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and should be resolved within the ambit of the Indian Constitution. There is no scope for any third party."

The Panun Kashmir is a representative oraganisation of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits fighting for their rights.

"The Government has appointed an interlocutor to talk to all the groups in the state and if some of them chose not to meet him then they are not serious about resolving the matter," he added. The Hurriyat Confernce had rejected Mr K C Pant’s offer of talks saying they "would not board the train which goes nowhere".

About the UN held plebiscite in the state, he said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, during his visit to the sub-continent, had reiterated that the Kashmir issue did not qualify for any UN intervention.

"The Secretary General has said the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter which did not require any third party intervention."

The Panun Kashmir was formed in early 1990. It’s long-standing demand has been a separate homeland within the Valley for the exiled Kashmiri Hindus, under the Constitution of India.

"We have a right to territory... We have been rendered homeless in our own country. So we demand a creation of a homeland north east of Jehlum," Dr Agnishekhar said.

A mass exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits took place since the outbreak of militancy in the state.

A joint working group of the organisation had met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Monday to submit a memorandum on the Agra summit and the future of the displaced community.

The memorandum demanded that the issue of a religious and historic site Sharda, located in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, be taken up with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

Genocide and ethnic-religious cleansing of Hindus, cross-border terrorism, forcing out the Hindu minority to "Islamise Kashmir" in place of secular democracy and reparation from Pakistan for crimes against humanity were other issues included in the memorandum.

Meanwhile, a Panun Kashmir delegation which called on Home Minister L K Advani here last evening, expressed apprehensions about the success of the upcoming Vajpayee-Musharraf summit and said the centre was "gradually retreating" from its position on Jammu and Kashmir.

The delegation led by Dr Ajay Chrangoo, told Mr Advani there was widespread feeling that New Delhi was giving concessions while islamabad was not reciprocating.

Dr Chrangoo told a press conference here that in this entire exercise, Kashmiri Pandits had become "cosmetic appendages to perverted secularism."

The confidence-building measures, particularly the easing of visa restrictions, had "de-sanctified the Line of Control (LoC) which the Government was held as sacrosanct," he said adding that "these are symbolic gestures to give legitimacy to porous borders."

The delegation presented a memorandum to the Home Minister which said that India, unlike Pakistan, had not so far underlined the nature of the dispute between the two countries.

A delegation had also called on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee earlier.

It criticised the Centre’s announcement of the ceasefire at a time when Amarnath pilgrimage was taking place and lakhs of people were on their way to the holy cave shrine. "a small band of dedicated terrorists can cause havoc," Dr Chrangoo added.

The Panun Kashmir reiterated the demand for a separate homeland for nearly 700,000 Kashmiri Pandits to the northeast of the Jhelum river with a Union Territory status within the Indian Constitution.

Cautioning the Government against any compromise on the dixon plan, Kathwari plan or the greater autonomy plan of national conference, the Panun Kashmir said any withdrawal on the lines of the above plans was a ploy to dislodge India from the Himalayas.

"The proposals are aimed at snatching strategic ground from India, cut off the whole of the northern frontier of India, push across the Pir Panjal to consolidate the forces of Muslim crusade into the foothills of upper Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu. The Government should not lose sight of the fact that not only the river chenab but the Shivaliks as a whole are the strategic ground on which India stands to defend Kashmir, Ladakh and Kargil," the memorandum added. (UNI)

SC upholds one year sentence against Dalal

NEW DELHI, July 11: The Supreme Court today upheld a 1993 judgement of a Mumbai special court sentencing tainted stock broker Hiten Dalal for defrauding Standard Chartered Bank of over Rs 78 crore in connection with transactions in shares during the securities scam in 1991.

Dismissing Dalal’s appeal against the special court order, a three-judge bench comprising Justice B N Kirpal, Justice Ruma Pal and Justice Brijesh Kumar imposed a further cost of Rs 10,000 on him.

With the final court upholding the trial court verdict, Dalal may soon be taken into custody to serve the sentence. The Supreme Court also upheld the trial court order imposing a fine of Rs one lakh on dalal.

On April 30, 1993, special judge S N Variava, who is now a Supreme Court judge, had held Dalal guilty under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act and had sentenced him to one year rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs one lakh.

The court had also said that in case of non-payment of fine Dalal would undergo further rigorous imprisonment of three months.

The complaint against Dalal was filed by the bank through its Director Badrinath Banerjee alleging that four cheques for Rs 27 crore, Rs 14.50 crore, Rs 17 crore and Rs 19.95 given by Dalal to the bank were dishonoured.

The bank had said that these cheques were given by Dalal in discharge of his liability to the bank arising from differences in the contract rates and delivery rates in transaction of securities undertaken by the bank at his instance.

When the cheques were dishonoured, the bank on June 1, 1992 issued a notice to Dalal to pay up the money within 15 days’ time.

The prosecution alleged that the accused failed to pay the amounts within 15 days thereafter and thus committed the offence punishable under section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act.

The special court in 1993 had said that it has to take judicial note of the fact that there had been a major fraud in the country following which the court was established.

Terming the securities scam as a major blow to the economy of the country, the special court had said "the accused is guilty under section 138 of the NI act.

"I, therefore, hold that the accused be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term of one year and a fine of rs one lakh, in default of which he would undergo further rigorous imprisonment of three months," Justice Variava had said in 1993. (PTI)

Centre’s assistance to make Uttaranchal a ‘tourism state’

DEHRA DUN, July 11: With financial assistance under a special tourism development package from the Centre, Uttaranchal is now on its way to become one of the finest tourist destinations in the country.

Uttaranchal Tourism Secretary N N Prasad told UNI here that a host of tourism development schemes were being launched with Rs. 968.15 lakh central assistance which the state had recently received. The schemes are related to beautification of tourist sites, setting up tourist reception centres, renovating guest houses, improving amenities on tourist routes and creating tourist villages, Mr Prasad said.

A sound and light show on the Ganga river was also in the offing for tourists to Uttaranchal, he said, adding that 2001-2002 had been declared as the "Visit Uttaranchal Year" by the State Government. Heritage buildings such as the George Everest House in Mussoorie, Rangers’ College in Doon and snow view, Nainital, would be repaired and strengthened to give visitors a feel of the colonial era.

An ice-skating ring is proposed to be setup at Auli, the world famous Ski-resort in the Chamoli district. The cave garden at Sukhatal in Nainital would also be developed and beautified, Mr Prasad said.

He said priority would be given to augment the infrastructure facilities for tourists and to mobilise resources for this purpose. Private sector participation would be encouraged in a major way. Winter sports activities such as skiing, ice-skating and ice-hockey would be especially promoted in the state to make it a round-the -year tourist destination.

The unlimited tourism potential of Uttaranchal has so far not been fully realised in the absence of a planned and coordinated strategy of tourism development. Limited capital investment and almost negligible private sector participation have also been reponsible for this. With the creation of a separate hill state, tourism would be the main source of revenue new state.

Uttaranchal, with its innumerable shrines, national parks and sanctuaries and picturesque hill stations, has vast untapped tourism potential which can easily make it the strongest state in the sphere of tourism.

A widespread network has been established by the State Government’s Tourism Department to publicise Uttaranchal as a tourism state in the country as well as abroad. A website has been created and tourist information centres have been set up to provide detailed information about bookings, packages and other aspects.

To provide self-employment opportunities for local residents, a new "Uttaranchal Tourism Development Scheme" will be implemented soon. Under this, the state assistance upto a maximum of 20 per cent for projects with a capital investment up to Rs ten lakh would be provided. Projects under this scheme will include fast food centres, retail outlets for local handicrafts, plying of buses and taxis, setting up of tourist information centres, garages and establishing small motel-like residential accommodation. (UNI)