Maoists kill five policemen in Bihar, ten missing, loot 35 rifles

Five policemen were killed and 10 others injured during a fierce encounter with Maoists, who decamped with 35 rifles of the security personnel in Lakhisarai district, a senior police official said today.

Ten other security personnel went missing after the encounter and a helicopter has been pressed into service to locate them.

The Maoists opened fire at a joint team of CRPF, Bihar Military Police (BMP) and State Auxiliary Police (SAP) personnel combing Ramtalnagar village in the district yesterday, IG (Operation) KS Dwivedi told PTI over phone from the spot.

The security forces retaliated. Three BMP personnel and two policemen were killed in the encounter though their bodies were yet to be recovered due to the difficult, hilly terrain, Dwivedi said.

The Maoists took away 35 rifles and several magazines from the security personnel, he said.

"Three sub-inspectors, two havildars and five constables have not returned to their base camp after the encounter," Director General of Police Neelmani said in Patna.

Many Maoists were believed to have been injured in the encounter, but were dragged away by colleagues, Dwivedi said.

Ten BMP and SAP personnel were injured in the encounter. Seven of them were admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital where their condition was stated to be out of danger, officials said.

Meanwhile, Tariyani block development officer Manoj Singh, his driver and a health department employee who were kidnapped by Maoists from Ladhoura village were yet to be traced, Neelmani said.

A police team led by IG (Muzaffarpur) Gupteshwar Pandey was searching for them, he said.

Maoists on motorcycles had intercepted the BDO's vehicle and took him, his driver and a public health centre employee away, he said.

A report from Gaya district said a road construction mixing plant was bombed by Maoist at Mufassil police station area last night.

Source http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_maoists-kill-five-policemen-in-bihar-loot-35-rifles_1430839

Indian arrested at US airport for carrying jihadi materials

An Indian documentary filmmaker has been arrested at the Houston airport for allegedly carrying suspicious Islamic jihad literature, brass knuckles and $10,000 in cash.

40-year-old Vijay Kumar was arrested at the George Bush Intercontinental airport on Friday after he was spotted "acting suspicious," when screeners thought they saw a possible handgun in a scan of his baggage.

Investigators found brass knuckles, a manual for a handgun and Islamic literature in Kumar's checked luggage.

State district judge David Mendoza yesterday lowered Kumar's bail from $50,000 to $5,000 after learning more details about the case and that prosecutors were willing to let him plead to time served for unlawfully carrying a weapon in an airport.

Kumar was in Houston to lecture a Hindu organisation about Islamic fundamentalism and the books packed in his checked luggage were educational tools, authorities and his lawyer told the court.

Attorneys for Kumar said that he has surrendered his passport while he mulls the deal. He does not want a criminal record to interfere next time he visits the US, his attorney Grant Scheiner said.

"I think that everybody realised that he is not a threat. He's a peaceful man," Scheiner said.

"He was here to visit the Hindu Congress of America, to deliver a lecture. It was about an interfaith discussion between Hindus and Muslims about the harms of terrorism."

Scheiner said that Kumar, who speaks very little English, carries the brass knuckles for protection in India.

When Kumar was pulled aside for secondary screening, after raising suspicion with the transportation security administration 'behavioural detection officers,' even more alarm was raised by what was found.

The title of one book was Spycraft and another was titled New Voices of Islam and police noticed mentions of "infidels" in some of the writings that could be made out clearly, the Houston Chronicle reported.

"It definitely raised our concerns," said one law enforcement official involved in the arrest.

"Not your everyday passenger would have this sort of stuff and it definitely poses a concern for anyone involved in airport security," he said.

The books and radical material was found in stacks, packed in Kumar's carry-on luggage, according to the police report.

Officers also found a pair of brass-knuckles in the luggage he had checked with his airline to be carried in the cargo hold of the aircraft.

In Texas, brass-knuckles are prohibited by law so he was booked on a felony charge of Possessing a Prohibited Weapon in a Prohibited Place (airport).

FBI agents, who were called to the secondary screening area where Kumar was being detained, checked his name on terror watch lists and 'no fly' lists, but there is no indication that his name has appeared on any of those lists.

Besides, police also confiscated more than $10,000 in cash that Kumar is accused of carrying on his trip and the per Federal law he had not declared the currency.

Police and FBI agents said they were turning their attention to Kumar's background and what he was doing in Houston, and they're also planning to examine a computer flash drive (or "thumb drive") that Kumar was carrying.

Flash drives can hold thousands of documents or diagrams, but no one had seen the contents as of Friday.

A search warrant may be required to view the thumb drive, even though international passengers typically have fewer legal protections when the government wants to look at something they were going to be carrying onto an airliner.

Kumar told police he was in Houston attending an "Islamic seminar."

A search of federal court records in Houston shows a 2007 lawsuit filed by a man with the same name, same age and same hometown as Kumar.

In that lawsuit, Kumar described himself as a native and citizen of India, who was admitted to the United States in 2004 on a student visa to the University of Connecticut.

The lawsuit said he had earlier studied at Texas Tech University after entering the US in 2003.

He then transferred to University of Connecticut, where the lawsuit said he earned an MBA degree to bolster his undergraduate engineering degree.

The lawsuit said he married a US citizen in 2004 and he filed to change his immigration status to allow him to remain in the US past his student visa in 2005.

His lawsuit claims FBI has been holding up his citizenship paperwork by claiming it couldn't complete the proper background checks.

Source http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_indian-arrested-at-us-airport-for-carrying-jihadi-materials_1428033

Tharoors celebrate Onam at poor home

It isn't quite how you expect to find your MP - on a swing with his new bride. But that's how Sunanda and Shashi Tharoor were spotted at a welfare home for the under-privileged in Tharoor's constituency of Thiruvananthapuram.

On 'Thiruvonam', the most auspicious day of the 10-day Onam festival, the Tharoors shared a vegetarian meal served in a plantain leaf at the home. They distributed gifts, and looked on enthusiastically as Onam folk songs were performed.

The couple was married this weekend. "I had a great time. After my wedding ceremony, the best moment that I have had is at this orphanage," said Sunanda, showing none of the nerves of a rookie political wife.

Sunanda's share in the Indian Premier League team for Kochi catapulted her then-companion and now-husband into a national controversy. Confronted with charges of misusing his public office to promote private interests, Tharoor was forced to resign. Sunanda surrendered the 70-crore sweat equity she had been promised in return for marketing the Kochi cricket team.

Recently, the couple has been photographed at places of worship of different faiths - including shrines in Maharashtra, and the Ajmer Dargah.

In the midst of the celebrations today, Shashi Tharoor said that his message is " 'Onashamsakal' which means wish you all a happy Onam. It's a time for wishing everybody prosperity, joy and peace and we wish that for everyone in Kerala, India and the world."

The cameras kept rolling.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/tharoors-celebrate-onam-at-poor-home-46610?cp

Source http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/tharoors-celebrate-onam-at-poor-home-46610

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/tharoors-celebrate-onam-at-poor-home-46610?cp

Still have concerns over nuclear bill

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) today said it still has concerns over the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill though government dropped a controversial addition in a clause bowing to opposition pressure, which it termed was “good“.

“The word ‘and’ should not have been there at the first place. But now the government has changed it. That is good.

Our demands have been partially met. But we have other concerns (on the bill),” CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury told reporters.

He said the party was of the view that there should not be any sealing on the liability in case of a nuclear accident.

“You can set a minimum on liability as many other countries have done,” he suggested.

Mr. Yechury also said there should not be any ambiguity on India joining any conventions dealing with liability.

Left parties had opposed the cap of Rs. 1,500 crore on the liability of a nuclear plant operator, saying it was “hardly significant”, pointing out that a nuclear accident would be much more devastating than the Bhopal gas disaster.

The Cabinet this morning put its stamp of approval on the Civil Liability for Nuclear Bill, deciding to omit the word ’and’ — connecting two sub-clauses of Clause 17 of the draft legislation.

Source http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article583875.ece

Death toll reaches 40 in Himachal road accident

The death toll in a truck road accident in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district, has gone up to 40, police said on Thursday, Aug 19.

The accident occurred on Wednesday, Aug 18, evening, when an overcrowded truck skidded off the road and fell into a 200-foot deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district.

The accident spot is some 175 km from state capital Shimla.

According to the police sources, the victims were mostly from Sudhyani village and were on their way home after attending a ceremony.

Superintendent of Police S M Agnihotri said the bodies would be handed over to the families after conducting post-mortem at the Zonal Hospital in Mandi.

He said one family has lost eight members in the accident.

Witnesses told police that the truck was overcrowded and the driver lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a turn.

Source http://news.oneindia.in/2010/08/19/death-toll-reaches-40-in-himachal-road-accident.html

Declare assets or face jail, Jharkhand tells employees

All state government employees in Jharkhand have been asked to declare their assets every three years or face a year's imprisonment, a press statement said Tuesday.

"Jharkhand Governor M O H Farook has passed an order under which all the state government employees will have to declare their assets every three years till retirement. If any employee fails to declare assets then he or she will be liable for punishment of one year in jail," the statement said.

"The newly-appointed employees will have to declare their assets within three months of appointment," it added.

The new circular, applicable to all state government employees except fourth grade employees, will cover around 60,000 employees, including over 1,200 officers.

Earlier, only IAS and IPS officials had to declare their assets every year but their declaration of assets was not monitored. More than 80 percent of IAS and IPS officials did not declare their assets for two to three years.

Under the new circular, it is mandatory for all employees to declare their assets.

Source http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Declare-assets-or-face-jail-Jharkhand-tells-employees/articleshow/6324437.cms

Farooq hopes for normalcy in Kashmir

Union minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah today expressed hope that the situation in Kashmir will improve and normalcy would be restored soon in the bruised valley.

"Kashmir won't go anywhere. The situation was worse in 1989 than what it is now. But things changed and normalcy returned to the valley. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent peace steps will improve the situation there," the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister told reporters here after inaugurating a solar energy system in Van Vihar Zoo.

Asked whether a sense of anger and alienation in Kashmir triggered off violence and unrest in the valley, Abdullah said there were many reasons for it.

"There are many factors. Some agencies want to destabilise the government in Kashmir and others want to secede from India," he said.

The Valley was rocked by violence following the death of a teenager on June 11 after allegedly being hit by a teargas shell at Gani stadium near Rajouri Kadal. After that street protests continued in the Valley which claimed 52 lives.

Source http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Farooq-hopes-for-normalcy-in-Kashmir/articleshow/6298875.cms

Mumbai ship collision: Captain blames Captain

The Captain of the MSC Chitra, the ship carrying oil and pesticide that collided with another close to the Mumbai harbour on Saturday, has been granted interim bail by the Sessions court. (Mumbai oil spill in pics)

Captain Mandeleno Ranjit Martin had said in his bail plea that the collision happened because of a navigational error which was caused by the failure of radio communication. He said there was no error on his part and pointed out that he had been a part of the industry for 18 years

Martin also said in his bail application that there was no point of sending him to police custody as there was nothing to recover from him.

He added that the MV Khalijia, with which his ship had collided, was not fit to sail at sea and that it was the Captain of this ship who was responsible for the accident.

The Chitra had collided with the Khalijia on Saturday and tilted dangerously. A leak in the ship caused its cargo of oil to start pouring into the sea, causing a huge oil spill. To make matters worse, some containers detached from the ship and started floating. There were fears that these contained hazardous material, but those 31 containers were later found secure in the ship's hold.

The oil leak was finally plugged on Tuesday, but 800 tonnes of oil was spilt, double of what was thought earlier. Both the Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) have been closed. The Mumbai Port may not open till Friday. It will take days to clean up the slick and could take up to six to eight months to refloat the ship and tow it away. (Mumbai oil spill: Clean up to take 45 days)

A Singapore-based company will conduct salvage operations from Friday. A crane mounted on a ship has been placed next to the Chitra and preliminary clearing operations have begun.

First, the ships containers will be removed and oil will be pumped out and only then will the ship be towed to the shore.

Images shot by NDTV show that the oil slick is affecting marine life and the environment.

NDTV travelled to Uran in Raigad district to find out the impact of the spill, and the situation is scary. A snake which came in from the sea was covered in oil, and the mangroves here are bearing the brunt of the accident.

Source http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/mumbai-ship-collision-captain-blames-captain-43592

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/mumbai-ship-collision-captain-blames-captain-43592?cp

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/mumbai-ship-collision-captain-blames-captain-43592?cp

Rescue efforts continue in Leh, 500 still missing

After a night's halt, thousands of rescue workers fanned out across Jammu and Kashmir's Leh town on Monday, three days after a cloudburst caused flash floods, killing 132 people and causing widespread destruction. "Out of 132 bodies recovered so far, 128 have been identified,"

Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) Farooq Ahmad told IANS. "No foreigner is among the 128 dead identified. While one Spanish national is still missing, another is being treated for injuries in a Leh hospital," he said.

Over 500 people, including the Spanish tourist and 20 army soldiers, are still missing after the tragedy.

Around 1,200 foreign tourists, who had been stranded in Leh because of the cloudburst, have been evacuated by special flights of Air India and other airliners, Ahmad added.

"Helicopters have been pressed into service today (Monday) to evacuate some foreign tourists who are stranded in Zanskar Valley of Ladakh region," the officer said.

Over 400 injured people are being treated in makeshift hospitals established in Leh with the help of the army and the local administration.

Four Air India flights reached the town on Sunday to evacuate stranded passengers, most of them foreigners, while the Indian Air Force sent more planes with relief supplies.

Special Air India flights are scheduled to Leh to evacuate stranded passengers there on Monday as well.

At least 20 soldiers deployed near the base camp of Siachen glacier - the highest battleground of the world at the height of 18,000 feet above sea level - are still missing and are feared dead, army sources said in winter capital Jammu.

The police have set up tented accommodation for 2,000 victims in Choglamsar village and Leh town where free meals are being served.

Over 6,000 army soldiers and troopers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) are involved in the massive relief and rescue operation and are assisting the local administration.

Leh is 434 km from Srinagar and 474 km from Manali in Himachal Pradesh, to which it is connected by an alternative highway.

The cloudburst occurred at Choglamsar village, which is situated above Leh town, causing flash floods and mudslides that washed away government offices, paramilitary camps and residential homes.

Among the worst hit are the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), many local hotels and shops.

The headquarters of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a government polytechnic, an ITBP camp, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp, some government offices and the main transmitter of All India Radio Leh have been extensively damaged.

Situated at 3,524 m above sea level, Leh is spread over 45,110 sq km comprising the main town and 12 adjacent villages.

Source http://www.hindustantimes.com/Rescue-efforts-continue-in-Leh-500-still-missing/Article1-584207.aspx

Bihar train robbery: 21 passengers injured, Rs. 2.5 lakh looted

A large group of armed robbers struck the Sealdah—New Delhi Lal Quila Express today, fired at GRP personnel, assaulted passengers and looted them near Bhalui halt in Bihar’s Lakhisarai district, leaving 21 people, including a jawan, injured.

Enraged over the incident, passengers, mostly kanwarias (devotees of Lord Shiva), shouted slogans and ransacked the office of the station master in Kiul.

Around 35 robbers boarded the train at Jamui station and walked into AC and sleeper coaches of the train and started looting cash and valuables, including jewellery and mobile phones worth Rs 2.50 lakh, from the passengers, official sources said quoting the FIR registered by six passengers.

As the unarmed GRP personnel resisted them, they opened fire critically wounding one of them. The jawan has been hospitalised at a nearby hospital, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Railway) R K Sharma said.

Passengers travelling on the reserved berths, besides the kanwariyas were assaulted by the robbers with butts of pistols and rifles when they refused to part with their belongings.

While five passengers, including three women, suffered serious injuries, 15 kanwariyas and others sustained minor injuries, sources said.

A team of doctors was called by the Railways to provide first—aid to the passengers and the train resumed the onward journey to New Delhi more than two hours behind schedule, they said.

About four to five unarmed GRP personnel were present in the train when the incident took place at around 4.45 AM, the sources said, adding “no weapons are given to the GRP personnel on the route“.

According to the sources, four robbers had earlier boarded the train at Jamui railway station, but passengers and the jawans overpowered them and caught two of them. The other two who managed to escape, alerted their accomplices and the robbery took place at the next halt.

Police sources said that of the 275 trains that need security in Bihar, only 15 per cent are patrolled by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the rest by the Bihar Police.

Senior police officials have reached the spot and raids are on to track down the robbers.

Source http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article555259.ece

College student raped by businessman in Delhi

A teenaged college student was abducted and raped in a car in west Delhi allegedly by a businessman who was arrested, the police said today.

Mukesh Singhal, who runs a paper producing factory, allegedly raped the 17-year-old first year student of a Delhi University college last evening, a senior police officer said.

Singhal stopped his car and asked her an address. When she responded, he allegedly pulled her inside the car and took her to an isolated place where he raped her, the officer said.

The businessman, who resides in Ashok Vihar in north Delhi, later dumped her in front of her college.

The victim then rushed to a police station and filed a complaint. Police personnel took her to a hospital for medical examination which confirmed sexual assault.

Following the medical report, Singhal was arrested and a case of abduction and rape was registered against him.

Source http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_college-student-raped-by-businessman-in-delhi_1419195

India railways suspends Kashmir service amid unrest

The Valley was under the grip of tension for the fifth day.

Indian railways said Wednesday that unrest in the Kashmir Valley had forced it to suspend services that were hailed at their launch two years ago as a symbol of peace and prosperity in the region.

Additional Divisional Railways Manager R.S. Ghera said the decision had been taken after a weekend attack on Sopore railway station and would only be restored once the safety of railway staff and property could be ensured.

"The service is totally disrupted since Sopore station was set on fire and it is too early to say when it could be restored because at present we cannot even assess the damage due to the security situation," Ghera said.

He said a majority of the 1,500 railways staff in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley -- where more than 40 people have been killed since June in daily clashes between anti-India protesters and police -- were reluctant to report for duty.

"We cannot force them to return to work unless the state government gives an assurance on their safety," Ghera told AFP by telephone from Indian Railways regional headquarters in Ferozepur town in Punjab state.

Around 100 railways staff and their families have already left the region which has been under nearly constant curfew for the last two months.

The 120-kilometre (75-mile), 15-station train service links Baramulla town in the north of Indian Kashmir with Qazigund in the south.

It was personally flagged off by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in October 2008, who said it sent a message that Kashmir's future "should be socially, economically and politically bright."

The 20-billion-rupee (470-million-dollar) project was started in 2000 and involved thousands of engineers and labourers who had to contend with tough Himalayan weather and rugged terrain.

The death in early June of a teenage student -- killed by a police tear-gas shell -- sparked a series of violent protests in Indian Kashmir in which 44 people have been killed, 27 of them since Friday.

"First they damaged tracks, then a bridge and signalling system at Sopore and then a 10,000-strong mob told our employees not to report to work," Ghera said.

Source http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gmXojp2AYgiSq3kkx2ddw4BG__SQ

Another youth killed in Kashmir, clashes continue

A 23-year-old man was killed in Srinagar on Tuesday as crowds defying curfew orders clashed with security forces, taking the toll to 23 in the last five days of unrelenting violence in the Kashmir Valley. Mehraj-ud-Din was killed in Barthana locality of Srinagar city, six kilometres from the city centre Lal Chowk. "The incident occurred when a violent curfew defying mob attacked the security forces," a senior police officer said here.

In another incident, mobs attacked security forces in Sheikhpora area of central Kashmir Badgam district, 14 km from here.

"Despite repeated announcements and warnings that nobody should take to the streets since curfew continued in the area, unruly mobs came out in Sheikhpora area hurling rocks and stones at the security forces."

"In the resultant firing, two protesters were injured and immediately moved to the hospital where doctors said they were out of danger. They suffered leg injuries," the police officer said.

Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani called for a peaceful rally from Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura (SKIMS), where he is admitted. The rally will proceed to the martyrs' graveyard in Old City.

Geelani Monday said he would lead the rally himself and assured authorities that the rally would be peaceful.

However, authorities continued with curfew restrictions in the Srinagar city and all other major towns of the valley.

Roads were completely deserted as shops, educational institutions, banks, post offices and other businesses remained closed throughout Srinagar city. The only visible traffic movement was that of the security force vehicles.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who returned after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and union Home Minister P. Chidambaram in Delhi, chaired a meeting in Srinagar late Monday.

The meeting was attended by senior officers of the army, state police, central and state intelligence agencies and paramilitary forces.

An official said the security forces have been instructed to firmly tackle violence in the Kashmir Valley, but ensure that firearms are not used unless all other preventive measures are exhausted.

The valley has been on the boil due to violent protests against civilians being killed in firing by security forces since June 11. Thirty-seven civilians have been killed in the last six weeks, with 23 of them dying since Friday.

Source http://www.hindustantimes.com/rssfeed/srinagar/Another-youth-killed-in-Kashmir-clashes-continue/Article1-581552.aspx

Compensation announced for Uttarakhand accident victims

Compensation of Rs.200,000 will be given to the kin of each of the 23 Hindu pilgrims who died in a road accident in Uttarakhand, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced on monday. He also expressed grief over the death of the 'Kanwarias' (Shiv devotees), residents of Baghanki and Khedki villages in Haryana's Gurgaon district.

The pilgrims were killed on Sunday when the truck ferrying them fell into a 150 metre deep gorge at Dabrani in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district.

"We are in touch with the administration of Uttarkashi to bring home the bodies of the deceased," a state government spokesperson said.

The truck was on its way to Gangotri. The accident took place on the Rishikesh Gangotri national highway, about 70km from Dehradun.

"We have made all arrangements to transport the bodies to their respective houses," he added.

Source http://www.hindustantimes.com/Compensation-announced-for-Uttarakhand-accident-victims/Article1-581189.aspx