NEW DELHI : Nearly 6,000 Indians are currently languishing in foreign jails with maximum of 1,400 being lodged in Saudi Arabia, government said today.
Replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who also looks after the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry, said a total of 5,986 Indians are reported to be lodged in foreign jails currently.
She said 1,400 Indians are lodged in jails in Saudi Arabia followed by 985 in the United Arab Emirates, 430 people in the United Kingdom, 377 in neighbouring Nepal and 128 in Bangladesh.
Swaraj said that as per the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, 219 civil prisoners, believed to be Indian, are languishing in Pakistani jails.
However, she said as per information provided by Pakistani authorities, 47 civil prisoners, believed to be Indian, are lodged in jails in Pakistan. Besides the civil prisoners, 249 fishermen are also in Pakistani jails.
The number of Indians lodged in China is 115 while 135 people are languishing in jails in Italy, 195 in the US, 86 in Bahrain, 274 in Kuwait, 128 in Bangladesh, 332 in Malaysia, 135 in Oman, and 73 in prisons in Myanmar.
The Minister said Indians are also lodged in jails in various other countries including Australia, Austria, Cyprus, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, Mauritius and Denmark. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI : External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State John Kerry today co-chaired fifth Indo-US Strategic Dialogue here today during which the two sides discussed “transformative initiatives” in key areas of security and energy.

The two leaders held nearly an hour-long restricted meeting before they were joined by their delegations comprising senior representatives from various ministries including energy and trade.

Ahead of the Dialogue, Kerry along with Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker met Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitely.

The US Secretary of State’s visit is first high-level interaction at the political level after the new government came to power here.

The visit two months ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to the US is aimed at instilling some vigour in bilateral ties, which appeared to have lost momentum in the final years of the UPA regime. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI : Outgoing Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh today said that India has given a befitting reply to Pakistan after the beheading of an Indian soldier by Pakistani troops in 2013 along the Line of Control (LoC) even as he did not rule out the possibility of skirmishes on the western front in future.

Talking to reporters before demitting office, he admitted that face-offs between Indian and Chinese Army soldiers take place while patrolling their ‘claimed areas’ along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) but they are dealt with in accordance with the existing mechanisms.

Asked if India had given a befitting reply after the January 8, 2013 beheading incident, he said, “It has been done. Please understand that when we use force, that use is from tactical to operational to strategic levels.

“When I mention that during that incident, it was aimed at operations at the tactical level, which have been undertaken. I think this has been done by the local commander, the chiefs have nothing to do with it,” Gen Singh said.

After the incident, he had said during a press conference that the Army will retaliate at a time and place of its choosing. He had given the statement six days after the incident in which Pakistani Special Forces and terrorists beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and mutilated the body of another jawan Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh along the LoC in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

On if there was a possibility of a skirmish with China and Pakistan, he said there was no such possibility with China, saying, “I do not foresee this as we have got robust mechanisms which are in place. There is an understanding at the macro level.

“When I went to China, there was tremendous understanding between the two countries and I do not foresee any contingency of a skirmish and (there are) very comprehensive rules of engagements.”

On Pakistan, he said, “On the western front, you know very well that it is the Line of Control which has traditionally been very active border and at the tactical level, there is firing always from across the border.”

To a query on spurt in incidents of ceasefire violation

with Pakistan along the International Border and the LoC, Gen Singh said, “It (spurt in ceasefire violation) has been on for quite some time.

“Our troops are responding to them. These are incidents at the tactical level and they should be left at that level. It is an ongoing process going on for years. The soldiers are doing their job effectively,” he said.

Asked about transgressions on the China border, he said, “On our northern borders, even we are carrying out patrolling and the patrolling by our troops and PLA soldiers is done in an area which is disputed.

“Both have claims to that area so when patrols come in over there, there is a face-off once in a while and that is dealt with as per the rules of engagement in place and we have robust mechanisms to deal with these issues and serious situations that come up, he said.

He said units of Mountain Strike Corps to be deployed along the China border have started being raised on January 1, this year.

Gen Singh is retiring today after a tenure of 26 months as Army Chief. (AGENCIES)

Dehradun : Five persons were killed in their sleep and a man was critically injured when a cloudburst hit Netad village in Tehri district in the wee hours today.

Two houses collapsed following the cloudburst at Netad village at about 2.30 AM which flooded the Ruis canal.

Five persons including four women and a man were buried alive as the houses collapsed over them when they were asleep, District Magistrate Yugal Kishore Pant said.

Five bodies and a man with critical injuries have been recovered from under the rubble of the houses and rescue operations are on to find out if any more persons are still trapped, he said.

The injured man was initially rushed to Bauradi District Hospital from where he has been referred to a hospital in Dehradun, the DM said. (AGENCIES)

SRINAGAR : An army jawan died in accidental firing in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, police said today.

Lance Hawaldar Parvinder Kumar received bullet injuries when his service rifle accidentally went off while he was cleaning it at 5 Rashtriya Rifles camp in Duderhama area, police said.

The incident took place on the night of July 29, they added.

Kumar, who hails from Kishtwar in Jammu region of the state, was rushed to Army’s 92 base camp hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries last night. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI : Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, whose appointment as Army Chief had kicked up a row, today took over as the head of the 1.3 million strong force succeeding Gen Bikram Singh.

Gen Suhag assumed charge after his predecessor handed over to him the Chief of Army Staff baton in his South Block office here.

The new Chief takes over at a time when the force is facing challenges of modernsation in its artillery, infantry and air defence arms and is also preparing itself for facing a possible multi-front war.

59-year-old Suhag, a Gurkha officer who had participated in the 1987 Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) operation in Sri Lanka, was till now the Vice Chief of Army Staff.

He will have a tenure of 30 months as the 26th Army Chief.

Suhag was made the Vice Chief of Army Staff in December last year. Before that, he was the Eastern Army Commander from June 16, 2012.

He was at the centre of a controversy triggered by ‘discipline and vigilance’ ban imposed on him by the then Army Chief Gen V K Singh in connection with an intelligence operation in Assam earlier.

The ban on Suhag, the then 3 Corps Commander, was lifted soon after Gen Bikram Singh took over in May 2012.

BJP had questioned the hurry in making the appointment and insisted that the matter be left to the next government.

However, soon after the NDA government took over, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had said the new dispensation will continue with the appointment made during the UPA rule.

Suhag was a Company Commander in ‘Operation Pawan’ in Sri Lanka in 1987 and commanded 53 Infantry Brigade engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley from July 2003 to March 2005.

An alumnus of Sainik School, Chittorgarh, he joined National Defence Academy in 1970 and was commissioned into 4/5 GR (FF) in June 1974.

The General Officer has attended various career courses in India and abroad which include LDMC at CDM, Secunderabad in 1997-98, NDC Course at New Delhi in 2006, Executive Course in USA in 2005 and Senior Mission Leaders Course (UN) in Kenya in 2007.

He holds the distinction of commanding 8 Mountain Division in Kargil from October 2007 to December 2008. (AGENCIES)

PUNE : With five more bodies being extricated today from the debris of the landslide that devastated Malin village near here, the death toll has gone up to 28 even as 150 people were still feared to be trapped under the huge mound of mud-and-rock debris.

While recovering 28 bodies as part the rescue operation since yesterday morning, the NDRF jawans also rescued eight injured persons who were being treated at nearby hospitals, Pune Deputy Collector Suresh Jadhav told PTI.

Rescue work, though affected by rain and muddy terrain, was continuing without a break in the village, he said, adding that the pace was slow because utmost caution was being exercised to ensure safety of those still alive under the debris.

About 150 people could still be trapped under the huge mound of landslide debris of mud and stones, he said.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is at the mishap site to inspect the relief and rescue operation, Jadhav said

As many as 44 houses were crushed in Malin village, located at the foot of a hill in Ambegaon taluka, about 120 kms from the district headquarters here in Western Maharashtra, by the massive landslide that occurred yesterday morning.

Scores of JCB machines, dumpers and ambulances have been pressed into service to clear the rubble and shift the dead and survivors to hospitals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had yesterday condoled the loss of lives in the tragedy and asked Singh to rush to Pune to take stock of the situation. (AGENCIES)

SRINAGAR : Traditional pujan of Chhari-Mubarak, holy Silver Mace of Lord Shiva, will be performed at Amreshwar temple near here tomorrow on the occasion of ‘Nagpanchami’. Mahant Deependra Giri, custodian of the holy Mace, will led the devotees, including sadhus, to join the pujan at the temple at Dashnami Akhara, Maisuma at 1600 hrs. On the occasion of ‘Tritiya’, Chhari -Sthapana and Dhwajarohan ceremonies were performed at Dashnami Akhara yesterday.
Mahant Giri led the devotees to perform pujan on the occasion.
The Chhari was taken to Shankarchariya and Shairka Devi Temples for pujan as per age old tradition last week. (AGENCIES)