Madani’s bail hearing in SC on Wednesday

Posted On Tuesday, May 03, 2011 at 05:56:34 PM

Hemanth Kashyap

The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce its verdict on Abdul Naseer Madani's bail petition when it comes for hearing on Wednesday. Eminent lawyer, Shanthi Bhushan will represent Madani, who is seeking bail on health grounds. Senior counsel, Andhiya Arjun, will represent Bangalore police in the court.

Sources say the state government will argue heavily against granting bail to Madani, who is accused of hatching a conspiracy to create communal unrest in Bangalore by triggering a series of bomb blasts from Electronic City to Mysore Road in July 2008. One person died in those blasts.

A team of police officials led by Alok Kumar, joint commissioner (crime), has gone to New Delhi to brief the legal team handling Madani's bail petition on behalf of Bangalore police.

In an earlier hearing last month, the court had indicated that it may grant him bail on health grounds as the PDP leader was confined to a wheelchair and had a host of medical problems such as spondylitis and hypertension. But police maintain that Madani's health problems are a smokescreen and the he is in good health ever since his arrest. The police have prepared a detailed argument to Madani's plea.

Madani was arrested in his native Kerala after much drama two years ago. He is now lodged in Parappana Agrahara Central Jail. He had received a stream of visitors in jail during recent Kerala elections where PDP had contested elections.

Madani was arrested based on an extra judicial confession given to the police by another accused in the case. The confession stated that Madani planned and supervised the entire bomb blast operation — from start to completion.

Courtesy:Bangalore Mirror

Peaceful polling in Nandigram, Singur

UPDATED  3/5/2011 10:38:31 AM

Kolkata: The polling for fourth face of state has started with brisk note on Tuesday morning. An electorate of 1.26 crore will poll to decide the fate of 366 candidates, including several ministers, in 15,711 polling stations.Nandigram and Singur are voting today to change the political scene of state for next five year. Bihar's Chief Electoral Officer Sudhir Kumar Rakesh will be the Special Observer for the fourth phase of the polls.

In fourth phase of elections, 63 constituencies spread over Howrah, Hooghly, East Midnapur and parts of Burdwan district will also vote in fourth phase. There are 16 seats each in Howrah and East Midnapur districts, 18 in Hooghly district and 13 in Burdwan. CPI(M) heavyweight and Industries Minister Nirupam Sen is pitted against retired professor of Burdwan University Rabiranjan Chattopadhyay of Trinamool Congress from Burdwan South constituency.

Courtesy:News 24desk

US dilemma over releasing Osama's picture

UPDATED  3/5/2011 4:27:06 PM

Washington: The White House on Tuesday said that it was weighing whether to release pictures of Osama bin Laden’s corpse to put at rest speculations and disbeliefs in some quarters about the death of world’s most wanted fugitive.

"We are going to do everything thing we can to make sure that no body had bases to try to deny that we got Osama bin Laden," Deputy National Security Advisor for Counter-terrorism and Homeland Security John Brennan told reporters.

"And so, therefore, the releasing of information and whether that includes photographs -- this is something to be determined," he said.

His remarks came after some key U.S. lawmakers said releasing the photographs would put speculations at rest and prove that al-Qaeda chief is dead.

Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman made the demand, saying it was necessary to release the picture -- as gruesome as they undoubtedly will be because he has been shot in the head -- to quell any doubts that this somehow is a ruse that the American government has carried out.

Backing the demand, another Senator Susan Collins said the photographs would silence those who will try to generate a myth that bin Laden is alive.

She also called that an edited video tape and the DNA test carried out on bin Laden should also be released. Pakistani electronic media yesterday created a flutter by circulating a fake photograph of bin Laden's body after he had been shot. Later, the media apologized and retracted the picture. (PTI)

Award in the name of Gandhian in Pak

UPDATED  3/5/2011 2:36:56 PM

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad: A leading Pakistani NGO on Tuesday announced that it has instituted an award in the name of late Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande to honour individuals and institutions of South Asia working for peace.

General Council of Pakistan Institute of LabourEducation and Research (PILER) decided to institute the Nirmala Deshpande South Asian Peace and Justice Award, which includes a cash prize of Rs 1 million, at a meeting held yesterday.

The award is a "mark of abiding respect for Didi Nirmala Deshpande and a permanent tribute to her service to humanity", PILER said in a statement. PILER executive director Karamat Ali said an independent jury, selected from all eight member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, will decide the recipients of the award.

The award will be given away every year on October 17, the birthday of Deshpande. "There would be no other better method to recognise the service of Didi Nirmala," Ali said. Popularly known throughout South and Central Asia as 'Didi', Deshpande died on May 1, 2008. Her love for the people of Pakistan was proved by her last wish to have part of her ashes immersed in the Indus river, Ali said.

Ali and rights activist B M Kutty, who attended Deshpande's funeral in Delhi, brought an urn containing her ashes to Pakistan. PILER and other civil society organisations arranged a peace caravan in May 2008 that travelled from Karachi to Sukkur and immersed the ashes in the Indus at Sadhu Bela in Sindh province. (PTI)

Courtesy:News 24

Thousands search missing chopper of CM

Itanagar: The search to find the missing chopper carrying Arunchal Pradesh Chief minister took to new level on Tuesday as three thousand security personnel started searching the inhospitable altitudes of Sela Pass.

Two IAF Mi-17 choppers took off from Tawang thismorning for aerial search but had to return from Sela Pass due to thick haze over the mountains. Four MI-17 choppers have been positioned at Tezpur and are likely to conduct search operation if weather condition improves, Defence spokesman NN Joshi said.

Several local people have also voluntarily joined thesearch as a somber mood descended among the people after the the ISRO satellite report showed metal parts in the area. Official sources said two commando platoons of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB), a Deputy Inspector General of Police and Superintendent of Police were deputed to supervise and closely monitor the ground operation yesterday.

Besides Khandu, others on board were pilots Captain JS Babbar, Captain T S Mamik, Khandu`s security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lhamu, sister of Tawang MLA Tsewang. Government Spokesperson Jarbom Gamlin said the Army, ITBP and SSB along with police are moving into Naga Jiji of Dirang in Sela Pass, about 85 km from Tawang, from where the helicopter carrying the chief minister took to the air on Saturday last.

He said search teams have reached Chabrela, about 6-7 kms from the area, indicated by ISRO yesterday.Satellite images from its RISAT-2 reportedly traced few metal parts in the area, which may be parts of helicopter.

"In any case it will not be possible before 2 PM today for us to say anything concrete," Gamlin said. The ground search operation is being conducted by 3000 personnel from the Indian Army, ITBP and SSB with assistance from state police, Defence sources said. (With inputs from PTI)

Courtesy:News 24 desk

Obama watched Osama die in White House

Vivek / Chetan

New Delhi: It was really incrediable to see, of course in picture (Courtesy: Daily Mail), President Barack Obamawatching on a TV screen as a commando gunned down Osama bin Laden. The leader of the free world saw the terror chief shot in the left eye. He was watching the whole scene with his close aides including foreign secretary Hillary Clinton. Obama and all his aides look very grim and pensive while watching the operation.

Apart from him and Hillary, Vice President Joe Biden, Defence Secretary Robert Gates, and  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, alongside other Security staff, including  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, and Counter-Terrorism chief John Brennan were present. It is said when they were watching the operation, nobody knew about it.

Meanwhile, the footage of the battle in Bin Laden’s Pakistani hideout– which played out like an episode of 24 – is said to show one of his wives acting as a human shield to protect him as he blasted away with an AK-47 assault rifle. She died, along with three other men, including one of Bin Laden’s sons. Within hours, the Al Qaeda leader’s body was buried at sea.

Despite President Obama claiming the master terrorist’s death made the world a ‘safer, better place’, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency declared that terrorists would ‘almost certainly’ respond. President Obama announced Bin Laden’s death in a televised statement.He recalled the images from the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 which were ‘seared into our national memory’.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed – including 67 Britons – when four jets hijacked by Al Qaeda extremists crashed in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The attack left ‘a gaping hole in our hearts’, said the President.

Courtesy:news24

SC stays probe into Ishrat Jahan encounter case

Updated May 03, 2011 at 04:52pm IST

New Delhi: 

The Supreme Court has stayed investigations into the Ishrat Jahan encounter case. The investigations were stayed after Indian Police Service officer GL Singhal, filed a petition in the apex court saying Ishrat Jahan case was to be investigated by a team and now that only one officer is left in the team, the SIT will have to be reconstituted.

The Gujarat High Court-appointed SIT has just one investigating member, Inspector General of Police Satish Verma. When the SIT was constituted it comprised of senior Indian Police Service officers Karnail Singh, Mohan Jha and Verma.

A division bench of the High Court comprising of justices Jayant Patel and Abhilasha Kumari had on April 22, 2011 passed an order relieving Singh from the SIT probing the encounter case.

The Bench had also directed that Verma would investigate the case while Jha would look after the administrative work of SIT

.

Singhal is presently the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Vadodara and he was part of the police team that had gunned down Ishrat and three others - Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar - on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004

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Ahmedabad police had accused the four of being Lashkar-e-Toiba members and claimed that they were plotting to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi

Courtesy:CNN-IBN .