CBI may send a team to get Jagtar Singh Tara, an accused in the assassination of the then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in 1995, from Thailand where he has been arrested by authorities of that country.
According to CBI, Tara, 37, was directly involved in the assassination of Beant Singh as he had purchased the car which was used to kill Singh in the Chandigarh secretariat using a humam bomb.
The conspiracy of all the accused was unearthed when a car painter Balwinder Singh identified the vehicle used in the blast by the terrorists as he had painted it.
Beant Singh was assassinated in a bomb blast at the secretariat complex in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995 by Babbar Khalsa International terrorists. The blast had claimed the lives of 17 others including three commandos.
Thirteen people were named as accused in the case, out of whom nine were arrested, three were at large and the suicide bomber, Dilawar Singh, died during the explosion.
Tara, who along with two other terrorists, had fled from high-security Burail Jail in Chandigarh by digging a 110-feet tunnel from his barrack in January 2004, was apprehended in Thailand yesterday.
According to Thai authorities, Tara entered Thailand as Gurmeet Singh in October and was arrested in the eastern Province of Chon Buri on Monday.
A team of Chon Buri Provincial police and soldiers raided a house on Soi Mabyailia in Tambon Nong Phreu in Bang Lamung district and arrested Gurmeet Singh, one of six militants convicted for the 1995 blast.
Officers also arrested Pakistan national Ali Alat, 48, the owner of the house. Alat said he was not aware of Gurmeet Singh’s criminal background.
The Indian government had been in touch with Thai authorities to nab Jagtar Tara Singh who had been hiding in Thailand for months and probably under another identity.
Maharashtra government increases 2015 ‘ready reckoner’ rates
UAE-based non-resident Indians (NRIs), who plan to buy a property in Mumbai, will now have to shell out more money in taxes this year because the Maharashtra government has increased 2015 ‘ready reckoner’ rates.
The hike, effective January 1, 2015, ranges between 15 and 40 per cent and makes buying property far more costly for the common man.
Ready reckoner rates, which are mandatory for the state government to be released at the beginning of the year, are used to calculate the market value of properties for paying stamp duty, registration charges, value added tax, sales tax. These rates are different from market rates.
Upscale residential localities such as Worli and Bandra-Kurla Complex are among places where rates have been increased by 30 to 40 per cent, The Times of India reported.
Rates in suburbs such as Goregaon, Borivali, Malad, Chembur, Ghatkopar and Vikhroli have also increased.
While the average hike across the city is between 15 per cent and 20 per cent for 2015, the highest increase is about 40 per cent. On an average, the hike in the past two years has been 13 per cent only, the newspaper said.
A survey carried out by Sumansa Exhibitions, the organizers of the Indian Property Show, in December 2014 found majority of NRIs favouring Mumbai as the most popular property investment destination.
“Its sad to know that the ready rates have gone up. I am going to pay more for my property purchase this year… well for us (NRIs) the rupee weakening is already a bonus and so it will offset some of the cost. The rate increase isn’t likely to change my decision,” Sai Pandare, an account with a Dubai-based firm, told Emirates 24|7.
S Maheshwari, who already owns a one-bed house in Borivali, says: “The rates have shot up and I believe that they will be revised soon. The government cannot tax people to fill their coffers. I will wait and see for some months and then take a decision on whether to buy in Mumbai or some other Indian city.”
A weakening rupee helps NRIs to buy a property in India at approximately 10 to 20 per cent (depending on the currency rate) cheaper. On Sunday, one dirham was fetching Rs17.22.
Washington: Amidst simmering tension between India and Pakistan after shelling across the border, the United States has said it encourages dialogue between the two South Asian neighbours.
“We certainly support dialogue between the countries. There have been some steps over the past year, that you know, where there have been more positive exchanges. Obviously, there’s more work that needs to be done,” US State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki said yesterday.
Psaki was responding to questions on flare up in tension between the two countries after cross border shelling.
“Our thoughts would go out to the families of any lives who have been lost. We certainly remain concerned and watch over tensions along the border, and we encourage dialogue between the countries,” she said.
PTI
Days of fighting between Burundi troops and rebels who entered the Central African country killed 97 people, mostly rebels, Burundi’s government said Monday.
Army spokesman Col. Gaspard Baratuza said that 95 of those killed were members of a rebel group that entered Burundi from bordering Congo. Nine rebels were also arrested from the group that is yet to be identified, he said.
Two government soldiers had also been killed in the fighting that started a week ago some 60 kilometers northwest of the capital, Bujumbura, Baratuza said.
“We decided to bury the dead rebels in the gardens of residents of the area to avoid a human catastrophe such as diseases and the stench that comes from the dead bodies but we are looking at how their remains can be moved,” the military official said.
Burundi’s government released information about the fighting after a civil society organization in Burundi accused government forces of quickly burying the bodies to avoid scrutiny from rights groups saying the government executed the rebels after they surrendered.
Vital Nshimirimana, the head of the local civil society platform Forum Pour le Renforcement de la Societe Civile (FORSC), called for investigations into reports that the army violated the rights of those caught.
Col Baratuza denied the accusations.
“No one was killed after surrendering or after being arrested,” he said.
Between 180 to 200 rebels were thought to have crossed from Eastern Congo into Burundi where they launched the attack, he said.
Eastern Congo is home to a myriad of armed groups and militias.
In 2009, the government signed a peace agreement with Burundi’s last rebel group, raising hopes of a return to a more durable peace.
The attack in Burundi comes ahead of a crucial presidential and parliamentary vote scheduled for May and June. The tiny nation is still on a recovery path after more than a decade of civil war that underscored long-standing ethnic tensions between the country’s Hutu and Tutsi people.
New Delhi: Self-styled ‘godman’ Asaram, who is in jail since his arrest in August, 2013 in a rape case, does not need any surgery and his aliments can be managed through medicines, a report submitted by a panel of AIIMS doctors to the Supreme Court said on Monday.
A bench of justices TS Thakur and Adarsh Kumar Goel, referring to the findings of the panel, said, “the opinion of half-a-dozen doctors of AIIMS is that at present, any surgical intervention is not required. He can be treated in OPD. Now what remains?”
Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for Asaram, however, sought some time to go through the report.
The bench then fixed the matter on 20 January for hearing and asked its Registry to supply the copies of the report to the parties, including the accused.
It also asked the counsel for Asaram to ensure that the expenses incurred by the Rajasthan police in getting him examined at AIIMS here are paid.
Earlier, the jailed ‘godman’ was brought to Delhi by the Rajasthan police to undergo various tests at AIIMS to ascertain veracity of his claim that he was unwell and be granted bail on medical ground.
During the previous hearing, the bench had said that there was no medical urgency to grant bail to him and he cannot be given special treatment.
It had refused to pass any order on how 72-year-old Asaram is to be brought from Jodhpur jail to the national capital, saying that it is for the state government to decide on it.
The apex court had on October 15 directed AIIMS Director to set up a medical board to review medical reports and if required clinically examine Asaram to ascertain whether interim bail should be granted to him in the Jodhpur rape case.
Charges have been framed against Asaram for rape, criminal conspiracy and other offences by a Jodhpur court in connection with alleged sexual exploitation of a minor girl in his ashram in Jodhpur.
The District and Sessions Court had retained all the charges slapped by the police, except Section 26 of Juvenile Justice Act related to child labour against Asaram and his aides and co-accused Sanchita Gupta alias Shilpi and Sharad Chandra.
Charges have been framed under sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 354A (sexual harassment), 370(4) (trafficking), 376(2)f (rape on a woman when she is under twelve years of age), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509/34 and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy).
The Techfest organized by IIT Bombay started from 2nd January till 4th January. Ex President Abdul Kalam is to grace the exhibition on 4th January.
Techfest is Asia’s largest annual IT exhibition. Students from all over India, Asia and abroad are present in the Techfest. The ambience is done up very artistically which has a real Festival outlook along with young aspiring IT students bustling with various activities. The different innovative products on display show the talent and intelligence these students posses.
The main exhibits which are of great innovation, invention and attraction of TECHFEST are as follows.
1 OPEN-SOURCE 3D PRINTED LIFE-SIZE ROBOT
The In Moov bot seen here can be built in a relatively tiny 3D printer, cheap servos, Arduino boards and off-the-shelf parts. Even the software is open source
2 ROBOWARS
Metal takes on metal as the robots go to war.
This is the adrenaline surge as robots armed with saws, hammers and armour take on the competition by pinning them to a corner and bashing the one and zeros into them.
3 SEPIOS
Sepios is a cuttlefish inspired robot that is super silent and can navigate in the water to a depth of around five feet with relative ease. Sepios’ electricals are hidden within the polycarbonate hull to keep them away from water.
4 BIONICOHAND
The hand is a 3D printed open source prosthetic created by Nicolas Huchet. The prosthetic uses sensors to automatically move the hand when needed.
5 OCULUS RIFT
Oculus Rift has been in the news for more than a year now, especially after Facebook acquired the company. Techfest has a setup where one can watch a 5-minute rollercoaster demo.
6 FLIGHT SIMULATOR
7 BEBeachbot is a beach ball-sized robot that can write and draw in sand autonomously, the bot can detect the size of its frame using reflective sticks as markers, creating the design within the area.
8 WORLD’S SMALLEST ELECTRIC BIKE
The MECH CUB is a tiny 26.5cm-long bike that weighs in at 4.7kgs and can carry a maximum weight of 80kgs. The electric bike running on a 12V battery also has a USB port to charge your devices and a 2Watt LED bulb to light up the road.
9 AUTOMATED CHESS
Created by students from KJ Somaiya the automated chess board called Riidl, can help you play a physical game of chess over the Internet. The chess pieces are moved with magnets while an Arduino board powers the device.
10 FULL THROTTLE
IIT Powai’s favourite fuel burning competition is back with college students competing with their mean machines on a dirt track that is a notch tougher than last year. It should be noted that the participants have to build their own car.
You might want to hold off eating anything while at IIT just so you can experience the Gs with this nifty flight simulator. The exhibit takes you through a jet simulation where you have to take down enemy aircrafts.
On the entertainment front various entertaining programs are lined for these three days program
Some of the highlights are:
Thoughts of darkness- Winners of Arab’s got talent
Modern times- Flow Motion dance company from Austria – Pioneering Shadow Performing Show and World Premier of their 3D mapping Show. Based on the simple idea, that any kind of silhouette or shape can be produced with human bodies as shadow pictures.
The Techfest has a series of talk programs. The prominent speakers are MR. R. Chidambram Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), MR Bedabrata Pain , National Award Winner. Other speakers are Ada Yonath, Anil Kakodkar and Sushanata Mitra .
KISHANGANJ ( BIHAR): Police today recovered 30 bombs from a village pond in Kishanganj district after local residents informed about them. The recovered bombs were kept in a sack and dumped in a pond at Matiari village under Pothia police station of the district, police said. The bombs somehow became loose and surfaced on the water. “The recovered bombs were country-made but powerful ones. They had become inactive after being in water for a long time. It seems crimina .. Read more at:
PTI
Delhi will be developed into a “global city” and the country’s first ‘smart city’ will be set up here to decongest the national capital and facilitate it with all modern amenities, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said here today.
“We want to make Delhi a truly global city, having all latest and modern amenities and facilities that any other global city like London or San Francisco has. We want to have world-class entertainment venues like Disneyland or Universal Studios here,” Naidu said.
The Narendra Modi-led NDA government has planned to set up 100 ‘smart cities’ and Naidu said that the first such city will come up in the national capital.
“Delhi is the heart of India and the first smart city would come up here. The city of Barcelona in Spain has also promised technological support to us in our effort in this direction,” he said.
“I saw the city of Barcelona, and apart from modern buildings, they have also preserved their old architecture. We also want to preserve our traditional architecture, that India is so richly endowed with, even as we embrace modernity,” he added.
The Minister was speaking at a function organised by DDA at its headquarters here to officially kick-start the allotment process of its ‘Housing Scheme 2014’
Naidu handed over allotment letters to the first few successful applicants.
Talking about the ‘smart city’ initiative further, he said the focus would be to build global educational and health institutes and entertainment facilities.
“We also want to liberalise the industrial estate policy.
An industrial space may not necessarily contain factories, but showrooms also. A committee will be formed to look into this issue as well,” the Minister said.
DDA’s Vice-Chairman Balvinder Kumar in a media briefing yesterday had outlined the plans for the ‘smart city’ in the capital.
The ‘smart city’ will be a complete sub-city, which would be located in an area of 20-24 hectares, zoned out of Dwarka, Rohini and Narela, and will be equipped with latest technologies and waste-management techniques.
“The smart city will have a world-class infrastructure, 24-hour power supply, complete wi-fi connectivity, and will employ green technology and latest water conservation techniques like rain-harvesting and waste management techniques, among other facilities,” Kumar said.
Outlining the achievements of the government in the financial sector, Naidu said, “As per the PM’s vision of ending financial untouchability, we have opened 10 crore new bank accounts in the last nine weeks under the Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana.”
PTI..
PUNE: Committing to bold reforms that would professionalise public sector banks, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today assured bankers that government was ready to protect their commercial decisions as “risks have to be taken” by them.
Speaking at the Gyan Sangam here, he said the government was willing to “reconsider the rules” to help banks reduce the non-performing assets (NPAs), which have become a major challenge for the banking industry.
“Government is open to bold decisions for professionalisation of the management and autonomy in decision making, rewarding merit, and relooking at the recruitment process at the top management level of PSBs,” Jaitley said.
He further said the government was ready to protect commercial decisions so as to avoid the delay in good decisions.
“Risks have to be taken. The positives are that there is an element of decisiveness in the new government and there is large popular support for that,” the Finance Minister added.
In order to improve the economic situation, Jaitley said the government has taken a number of “bold steps” on pushing the Goods and services Tax and amendment to the Land Acquisition Act with a view to reviving infrastructure growth.
In addition, he said, steps have been taken to increase FDI and domestic investment to give big push to the manufacturing sector.
“Banks have a major role to play in the financing of infrastructure. Growth in power and other infrastructure sectors needs to be revived,” Jaitley said.
Referring to the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY), he said most of the inactive accounts will become operational with the introduction of Direct Benefit Transfer. “These account holders will become symbol of the identity of the cashless system.”
Till date, over 10 crore bank accounts have been opened under the scheme, one month ahead of the deadline.
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