MUMBAI:
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has received an e-mail that threatens to harm him and seeks to extort money as police launched a probe and sought Google’s help to track down the sender.
Rajan received the mail from a gmail account, prompting authorities to step up his security. Cyber Cell of Mumbai Police today registered a case against unknown persons.
“A case (no. 20/15) has been registered with us under the Sections 387 (demanding extortion), 506-2(criminal intimidation) of IPC and Section 66-D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of IT Act,” said Mukund Pawar, Investigation Officer of Cyber Cell.
He declined to divulge the line of investigation.
The message, which threatened to eliminate the Governor, was received last month at the RBI’s official e-mail address, police said.
Though the police did not elaborate on the content of the threatening mail sent from isis583847@gmail.Com, police sources said it warned Rajan that he would be eliminated as a contract had been received to execute him.
The Reserve Bank had not issued any official statement on the matter till late in the evening.
RBI spokesperson said Rajan was in Washington along with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for the annual World Bank Group meeting and it will take some time to get his comments. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI:
Like individuals, there should be a ceiling on expenditure made by political parties during polls, says an Election Commission draft document based on the ‘general agreement’ among participants who were part of a recent consultation on electoral reforms.
At present, while there is a ceiling on campaigning fund for individual candidates in electoral fray, there is no such cap on the money political parties can spend for electioneering.
The Election Commission today came out with a draft outcome paper based on the March 30 consultations on political finance and the latest Law Commission report on electoral reforms.
It said there was a “general agreement” among participants on fixation of a ceiling on party election expenditure, depending on number of candidates sponsored by them. The participants felt that details about the ceiling amount should be worked out by EC.
Thee was also a general agreement on providing “legal backing” for the provision requiring the candidates to open a separate bank account for election purposes and incur expenses from that account by way of cheque or bank transfer.
Most participants also felt that parties should also have separate bank accounts for the purpose of election campaign expense and incur election expenses only by bank transfer or cheque from the said accounts. This will help segregate parties’ other non-campaign expense from the campaign expense.
On the issue of Government advertisements, there was a general agreement that no Government ads to be featured in party-owned media and that there should be no telecast of Government ads six months before expiry of the tenure of the House — state assembly or Lok Sabha. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI:
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today rolled out a wi-fi service in Hyderabad, which has become the first city in the south zone to sport a BSNL wi-fi.
The wi-fi hotspots will initially cover 30 places in the city, but in 2-3 years, will be available across all other major cities of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
BSNL plans to commit about Rs 500 crore for the service in the region.
“The Prime Minister has said India should be digitally empowered and for this purpose, I seek the state Governments’ cooperation in realising PM’s dream,” Prasad told reporters here.
The minister added that the next wi-fi destination will be Taj Mahal.
“We are planning to invest Rs 7,000 crore over 2-3 years to provide wi-fi services in major cities and tourist destinations across the country,” BSNL CMD Anupam Srivastava said.
The state-owned company will be providing free wi-fi service for the first 30 minutes in a day for maximum three occasions in a month for the same mobile number.
After free usage, a customer can pay Rs 30, Rs 50, Rs 90 and Rs 150 for a validity of 30, 60, 120 minutes and one day, respectively. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI:
A three-member committee of bureaucrats today decided to revisit the existing instructions for classifications of Government documents, amidst growing chorus for declassification of all files related to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
The panel, comprising Secretaries of Home, Law and Personnel, also decided to throughly examine the earlier suggestions regarding the need to amend the Official Secrets Act.
The committee, which was constituted yesterday, in its first meeting decided to have a fresh look at the existing instructions on classifications of Government documents, official sources said.
The panel decided to involve officers of security and intelligence agencies in its future deliberations.
The committee was set up yesterday to go into implications of the Official Secrets Act in view of the RTI law.
Sources said the committee may suggest upgrading the authorisation for classification of documents from under secretary level officer to joint secretary level officer in the Government.
Sources said the committee favoured a thorough review on the declassification process. (AGENCIES)

JAMMU:
Protests sparked in this winter capital of the State today against Separatist leaders Masrat Alam and Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
Protestors representing various outfits, including Shiv Sena Hindustan, Shiv Sena Kesari, Bajrang Dal, Kranti Dal and Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party, held demonstrations against Masrat Alam for waving Pakistani flags and raising pro-Pakistani slogans yesterday in Kashmir to welcome Hurriyat (G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, his visit to New Delhi.
The agitators demanded immediate arrest of Masrat and also blamed Mr Sayeed for backing the release of Separatist leader and not initiating any action against him for unlawful activities. They alleged that the Chief Minister is in hand in glove with the anti-national elements.
Meanwhile, the protestors burnt effigies of Masrat Alam, Geelani and also set ablaze Pakistani flags amid slogans. Masrat Alam was yesterday booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for waving Pakistani Flag during a rally. (AGENCIES)

SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI:
Under attack over pro- Pakistan slogans and flags being waved at a rally by hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed today said it was “not acceptable” and “will not be tolerated’.
Hours after the rally in Srinagar on Wednesday, Sayeed had received a phone call from Home Minister Rajnath Singh asking him to take “immediate and stringent” action against the law breakers.
The Home Minister today asserted, “We will not tolerate anyone raising slogans like ‘Pakistan zindabad’ on Indian soil.
“There can be no compromise on national security. Politics cannot impinge on national security,” he told Sayeed.
The State Government, in which BJP is an alliance partner, came in for a flak over its decision to allow Geelani to hold a rally after five years in Srinagar city as pro-Pakistan slogans were raised and Pakistani flags waved.
During the rally, separatist Masarat Alam, released from jail last month, praised founder of Lashker-e-Taiba terror outfit Hafeez Mohammed Sayeed and asked people to join hands with his outfit.
Pushed on a backfoot, Sayeed tried to defend his decision of giving permission to the rally but made it clear that hoisting of Pakistan flags and raising pro-Pakistan slogans “is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.”
“I think authorities have taken note of that. They have taken a video of what has happened. I think law will take its own course, action will be taken.
“As far as the public meeting is concerned, I think it is okay. As I say, democracy is a battle of ideas. They are free to have their own way, speak their own mind but something which is not acceptable (hoisting of Pakistan flag or raising Pakistan slogans) will not be tolerated.”  (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI :  Government owes around Rs 600 crore to Air India for using its aircraft for travel of VVIPs.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has taken up the issue with various ministries regarding the pending amount related to the services of Air India aircraft availed for such VVIP travel.
According to official sources, Ministries of Home Affairs and External Affairs, among others, have accrued “Rs 500-600 crore” dues till March 31.
“These are dues to be paid to Air India for using aircraft for travel of VVIPs,” a source said.
Air India is surviving on a bailout package approved in 2012.
The erstwhile UPA dispensation had in April 2012 approved Air India’s turnaround plan, with a committed public funding of Rs 30,231 crore, staggered over a period of nine years, with some specific riders.
Besides a debt of Rs 40,000 crore, the airline had reported losses to the tune of Rs 5,388 crore in FY-14 as against Rs 5,490 in the fiscal 2012-13.
After a streak of losses, Air India had reported a net profit of Rs 14.6 crore in December last year, from a loss of Rs 168.7 crore in the corresponding period of 2013.
The airline in its budget estimates for this fiscal, presented late last month, has forecast that it would become operationally profitable by March next year, much ahead of the TAP projections. (AGENCIES)

Will not tolerate anyone raising slogans like ‘Pakistan
zindabad’ on Indian soil: Home Minister Rajnath Singh. (AGENCIES)