1. Doubts Swirl But State Govt Rules Out NIA Probe Into SIMI ‘Encounter’
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will not probe the police shooting of eight Islamist prisoners, who escaped from a Bhopal jail, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh said on Tuesday, despite persistent doubts that the killings were staged.
Instead, the state government said the ‘encounter’ will be investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department, part of its own police force that faces accusations of killing the eight men in cold blood.
“The encounter is unquestionable and it will not be probed by the NIA. They will investigate only the jail break and how it happened,” Singh told HT on Tuesday morning.
But later in the evening, the government appeared to hedge on seeking the NIA’s help on the jailbreak, with Singh saying a decision was yet to be made.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Ratan Tata: Cyrus Mistry's Removal Necessary for Future Success of Tata Group
As ousted Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry stepped up attack, Ratan Tata on Tuesday hit back saying his removal was "absolutely necessary" for the future success of the Tata group.
“The decision to change the leadership of Tata Sons was a well-considered and serious one for its board members. This difficult decision, made after careful and thoughtful deliberation, is one the board believes was absolutely necessary for the future success of the Tata Group,” the interim chairman wrote to employees of $100 billion Group.
The letter came shortly after Mistry ratcheted up war of words by rebutting "insinuations" of mishandling a dispute with Japan's NTT DoCoMo , saying Ratan Tata was party to all decisions regarding the telecom venture.
Tata, 78, who retired as Tata group chairman nearly four years back, justified his return for "maintaining stability and continuity of leadership" and promised to give the group "a world-class leader" when a full-time boss is appointed.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. 8 Die in Pak Shelling; 2 Rangers Killed, 14 Posts Destroyed in Retaliation
BSF on Tuesday said it had destroyed 14 posts of Pakistani Rangers in retaliatory action along the International Border (IB) in Ramgarh and Arnia sectors of Jammu frontier.
Eight people were killed, mostly children and women, and 22 injured when Pakistan troops resorted to heavy shelling on border hamlets and military posts with 82 and 120 mm mortar bombs along the IB and LoC in Samba, Jammu, Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir earlier in the day.
Earlier, Army sources said two Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliatory firing along LoC opposite to Naushera sector of Rajouri district.
174 schools in the border belt of Jammu district have been closed by the authorities in wake of the Pakistani shelling.
(Source: Indian Express)
4. Haji Ali Trust to Disallow Men from Main Tomb Area to Maintain Gender Equality
The Haji Ali Dargah Trust has decided to disallow both men and women from touching the sanctum sanctorum at the shrine as part of its proposal to ensure gender equality among worshippers.
An affidavit and a map submitted by the trust in the Supreme Court described how it would construct a restricted area around the tomb, called the “mujawar area”, where only “khadims” would be allowed to make offerings. Neither men nor women would be allowed inside the zone, it clarified.
According to the reconstruction plan, the mujawar area would extend to a sizeable 12 square metres around the tomb.
The trustees believe in complete equality of men and women, as envisaged in Islam. To give effect to the said principle of equality, we have decided that both men and women shall be allowed to enter the room that houses the sanctum sanctorum of Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari right up to the sanctum. However, neither men nor women will be allowed to touch the sanctum sanctorum.Affidavit
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Is The Arms Deal Trail Destined to Go Cold?
The sensational revelation that hundreds of crores was paid by Russian and British arms firms to companies controlled by alleged arms dealer Sudhir Choudhrie’s family may not result in any breakthrough against corruption in defence deals in India, say defence establishment sources.
For any breakthrough, especially in deals involving Russian firms, unwavering political will is necessary, at least two senior sources familiar with the entire sector said.
According to secret banking documents, one company owned by the Choudhrie family, Belinea Services Ltd., received €39.2 million between October 2007 and October 2008 from Russian firms. Another company, Cottage Consultants Ltd., was paid €32.8 million in the same period, while a third company, Carter Consultants Inc, was paid €23 million by the Russians.
Through the past several decades, the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate have investigated allegations of corruption in many defence deals. However, not one of them has resulted in successful conviction of all the accused.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Many Accused in Call Centre Fraud from Gujarat
The recent busting of the multi-million dollar scam involving call centres in Mumbai and Gujarat has led to the arrest of at least 20 people in the United States. All the arrested persons are of Indian origin, with a majority of them being from Gujarat.
On 28 October, US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said that fake call centres had defrauded thousands of US citizens of more than $300 million.
The mastermind behind the network of call centres was identified as Sagar Thakkar alias Shaggy, who ran the scam with the help of his aides in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
The crackdown by US authorities led to five call centres, all based in Ahmedabad, being shut down. Besides the 20 arrested in the US, 31 people have been arrested in Maharashtra and Gujarat.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. 24 High Courts Have a Total of 43% Judicial Vacancies
The justice delivery system is taking a beating as the Centre and the Supreme Court slug it out over norms for appointment of judges.
Andhra leads with 62% vacancy among the 10 high courts with most number of vacant judicial posts. The approved strength of the country’s 24 high courts stands at 1,079, of which 464 posts or 43% are vacant.
According to the law ministry, 10 HCs account for 355 of the 464 vacant posts as of 1 October. The Allahabad HC leads with 83 vacant posts of judges, accounting for 52% of approved strength.
(Source: The Times of India)
8. Arnab Goswami Resigns as Editor-in Chief of Times Now
Senior journalist Arnab Goswami has resigned as the Editor-in Chief of Times Now. Goswami was not seen on his prime time show ‘The Newshour’ in the past couple of days.
Sources said that he announced his resignation at an editorial meeting. Goswami resigned from the post as he wanted to start something on his own, said sources. The channel, however, is showing teasers of Newshours with the slug ‘Arnab is Back’.
Goswami started his career at The Telegraph in Kolkata. Within a year, in 1995, he joined NDTV where he was one of the more prominent faces along with Vikram Chandra and Rajdeep Sardesai.
He later joined Times Now as its Editor-in-Chief in 2006. He was known for bringing his own unique style of TV journalism into India.
Often criticised for being judgmental on his news show, Arnab has a dedicated viewer base of people who love his direct interrogative style of debates, and also those who hate him.
(Source: Indian Express)
9. As Delhi Chokes Yet Again on Diwali, Who is to Blame for Its Toxic Air?
Experts say though the Delhi government started taking measures to control pollution in the city, years of apathy, ignorance and denial, among both citizens and the governments, have led Delhi to such a state.
“Government initiatives will not help if there is no citizen partnership. It is important to step up awareness campaigns by involving the medical community, putting out hard health evidence in the public domain to sensitise people about the harmful effects of firecrackers,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director, Centre for Science and Environment.
The Delhi government on Monday reviewed a detailed analysis of the pollution levels in the city. Sources in the environment department said a special check was conducted to prevent the rampant sale of firecrackers.
But the state government is still to come out with a ‘radical and a long-term solution’ to check the health hazard.
Last winter, the government implemented an odd-even road rationing scheme. But it has been non-committal on replicating the exercise that it claimed to be a major success last winter.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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