AFSPA .... no harm in withdrawal....give peace a chance to survive in 'fearless' atmosphere

CRPF amenable to AFSPA withdrawal from J&K

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Oct 29, 2011, 04.41AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which has deployed about 70,000 personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, is amenable to the withdrawal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from certain areas as it feels the "immunity'' to its men under other law is "enough" to fight militants when "overall security situation has improved" in the state.

The paramilitary force that is also at the forefront in fighting terrorism has reduced its overall deployment by nearly 13,000 personnel from different areas in the state in the past few months. CRPF has whittled down its 'actual' level of deployment from 548 to 417 companies, thanks to the prevailing normalcy.

Though the CRPF's stand has no takers in the defence ministry, which is opposed to the withdrawal of the AFSPA, the feeler prompted the home ministry to lend its support to J&K CM Omar Abdullah, who wants to revoke the law from areas that are largely free from violence.

Undeterred of the Tuesday's grenade attack in which three of his men got injured in Srinagar, CRPF chief K Vijay Kumar on Friday said the overall security situation in the state had certainly improved and it (2011) was one of the best years. He hinted that the time was ripe to take a decision on withdrawal that could show some perceptible change.

He was addressing a press conference ahead of the CRPF's 72nd anniversary that will be observed on November 1. Besides deploying 70 Battalions (nearly 70,000 personnel) in J&K, the force has its 56 Battalions in Maoist-affected states and 34 battalions in the north-eastern states.

Stating that the "CRPF will go by the home ministry's stand" on withdrawal of the AFSPA, Kumar said the force had two requirements - "protection against prosecution" and "immunity against action (operation)" - and he believed that both provisions were there under Section 197 (Clause 2) of the CrPC Act and under Ranbir Penal Code that was applicable in J&K.

The CrPC Section, referred to by Kumar, says: "No court shall take cognizance of any offence alleged to have been committed by any member of the Armed Forces of the Union while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty, except with previous sanction of the central government".

As against the Section 4 and 7 of the AFSPA which give sweeping powers to Armed Forces in terms of search, seizure, detention and destruction (of militant hideouts) without warrants, the CrPC provision is only meant for search, seizure and detention.

"The CRPF personnel don't need such power which allows them to blow up buildings, purportedly used by militants as their hideouts, in some peaceful districts. There is no point terming those areas disturbed under the Disturbed Area Act," said a senior home ministry official.

Maintaining that counter-insurgency operations cannot be equated with normal law and order duties, both defence ministry as well as the Army are, however, sticking to their position that there should be "no significant change'' in Sections 4 and 7 of AFSPA, under which sweeping powers and legal safeguards are given to security forces for undertaking counter-terrorism operations......http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAxMS8xMC8yOSNBcjAwOTAw&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Crime scene in India : MHA comes out with 2010 official figures ..... merely 'policing' can't stop crimes like 'rape'

Crime rate up by close to 5% in 2010

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Oct 28, 2011, 06.21AM IST

NEW DELHI: Crime in India increased by 4.9% in 2010 with relatively smaller cities like Kochi, Bhopal and Indore reporting higher crime 'rate' - number of crimes per lakh of population -- compared to biggies like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

The Capital, however, reported the highest number of 'rape' cases (414) followed by Mumbai (194) among 35 'mega' cities in the country. These mega cities, having population of over 10 lakh, collectively reported 3,68,883 crimes under Indian Penal Code in 2010, a rise of 7.3% compared to 3,43,749 crimes in 2009.

Although the official crime figures - released by home minister P Chidambaram for the year 2010 on Thursday - showed the usual trends of increase in most crime incidents in India, cases of new age cyber crime jumped substantially by 89.9% last year compared to 2009.

Among states, Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest 33.9% of the total crime reported in the country last year followed by Andhra Pradesh (13.9%) and Tamil Nadu (11.4%). Overall, the country reported 22,24,831 crimes under IPC in 2010 compared to 21,21,345 such incidents in 2009.

Crimes against Schedule Castes (SC), however, declined by 2.6%. Compared to 33,594 cases of crimes against SCs in 2009, 32,712 cases were reported in 2010.

Since crime 'rate' is universally taken as a realistic indicator because it balances the effect of population growth, its increase in cities like Kochi, Bhopal, Indore, Jaipur, Jabalpur, Vijaywada, Patna and Vishakhapatnam will throw a new challenge for the respective state governments. Officials attribute this trend to relatively lesser policing in these cities compared to high priority cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata.

Interestingly, Dhanbad, Chennai, Madurai and Kolkata were the only four mega cities which reported lesser rate of IPC crimes than their domain states - Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal respectively.

The figures, compiled by the home ministry's National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), are widely referred to by policy makers, police personnel, researchers, NGOs and other stake holders. The Bureau comes out with these data under 'Crime in India' every year.

"The NCRB has planned to bring out the next edition of these reports (covering the Indian crime scene of the year 2011) in the month of April 2012," a home ministry official said. The Bureau hopes that the ongoing 'Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems' (CCTNS) -- connecting 15,000 police stations and 6,000 other higher police offices in the country -- will be rolled out by March next year, making it possible to compile crime figures on time.

The figures show that cases of kidnapping and abduction reported highest increase (13.5%) among all 'violent' crimes in the country followed by robbery (4.4%), rape (3.6%) and murder (3%).

The report also has separate chapters on policing and police infrastructure. Though it reported an increase of 1.4% in terms of strength of police personnel per unit area (per 100 sq km) in the country, the higher police footprint did not show much improvement if the number of incidents is taken into account.

Many states have not done enough to increase the strength of police through new recruitment. Ironically, UP -- which reported highest number of crimes last year - recruited maximum number of police personnel in two successive years since 2009......http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTEvMTAvMjgjQXIwMDkwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Do they have something to hide? .... It seems there is no 'benami' out there in the game ...

One-fifth of IPS officers in the country yet to submit property returns

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Oct 25, 2011, 02.03AM IST

NEW DELHI: Nearly one-fifth of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in the country -- including police chiefs of Delhi, Bihar, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh - have not declared their annual immovable property returns (IPR) for 2010 despite three deadlines given to them by the home ministry. Their action will now put them in the negative list of vigilance clearance for future postings.

After the latest deadline of October 10 went by, the ministry - which is the cadre controlling authority of IPS officers - on Monday made public the names of 864 officers who are yet to submit their IPRs.

Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, with 92 officers each, top the list of defaulters followed by Karnataka (56), Tamil Nadu (51), Maharashtra (47), Jammu & Kashmir (42) and West Bengal (37). There are nearly 4,300 IPS officers (sanctioned strength) in the country.

Many top IPS officers, including officers of the rank of DGP and Additional DG figure in the list. It includes Delhi Police commissioner B K Gupta, Bihar police chief Abhayanand, Sikkim DGP Jasbir Singh and UP police chief Brij Lal among other prominent top cops of the country.

Issuing the latest deadline in September, the home ministry had asked IPS officers to submit their annual IPR for 2010 before October 10 else their vigilance clearance may be denied for future postings.

The ministry, in its circular issued last month, also directed the officials to ensure that phrases such as "same as previous years", "no change" or "no addition" should not be used in filing these returns and instead full particulars of immovable property (inherited/owned/acquired or held) should be furnished.

"If the IPRs for 2010 are not received within the aforesaid period, names of defaulting officers will be posted on the website of this ministry," the circular said.

The home ministry also said if the officers failed to submit their returns before October 10, action may be initiated as per the modified guidelines of the department of personnel.

It was the third deadline given by the ministry after the IPS officers failed to adhere to their first deadline of January 31 and second deadline of September 20.

IPS officers of almost all states and Union Territories have, however, become defaulters. The list of defaulters also shows 35 officers from Punjab, 30 from Jharkhand, 28 from Kerala, 28 from Chhattisgarh, 25 from Haryana, 24 from Sikkim, 22 from Orissa and 22 from Madhya Pradesh among others.........http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTEvMTAvMjUjQXIwMTEwMw==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Delhi High Court blast: ... a real test for the central anti-terror probe agency ... Will the NIA ever come out with interrogation video of accused the way FBI does?

NIA issues 'wanted' notice for 3 Hizbul terrorists in Delhi HC blast case

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Oct 22, 2011, 02.22AM IST

NEW DELHI: Stepping up its hunt for key conspirators of the Delhi High Court blast, the NIA on Friday disclosed for the first time terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen's role in the incident and issued a 'wanted' notice for three of its cadre - all residents of Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir. Through the notice, it sought public help to trace them, saying they played a "crucial role" in the conspiracy.

The fugitives include 19-year-old Junaid Akram Malik, younger brother of Wasim Akram Malik. Wasim, a medical student in Bangladesh, is presently in NIA custody in Delhi.

The other two are Shakir Hussain Sheikh alias Chota Hafiz (26) and Amir Ali Kamal (25). While Sheikh has been active in the Kashmir Valley since 2005, Kamal has been operating since 2008.

Stating that the trio had "played a crucial role in the conspiracy which led to the blast at the high court on September 7" in which 15 persons were killed and over 80 injured, the NIA also announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh each for any information leading to their arrest. The agency also said that the three were involved in "several terrorist related cases in Kishtwar region".

Sources said the names of these three Hizbul terrorists had first surfaced during the questioning of the outfit's overground cadre Azhar Ali, who is presently in Kotbalwal jail in Jammu for his alleged role as 'financier' and 'recruiter' for the terror group. It was subsequently corroborated by Wasim who was arrested by the NIA early this month after coming from Dhaka, they added.

"A number of details about them have also surfaced during examination of three mobile phones and several documents, including money transaction papers, which were seized by the NIA from the Jammu and Kishtwar houses of Wasim on Tuesday," said a source.

Wasim was on Friday remanded by a city court to NIA custody for three more days on the agency's plea that there was need for his further interrogation for nabbing some more of his accomplices.

Besides Wasim, the NIA had also arrested Amir Abbas Dev and a juvenile from Kishtwar in connection with sending terror email after the blast. The email, sent to media, had, however, claimed that the incident was the handiwork of the terror outfit Harkat-ul-Jehadi-Islami (HuJI).

Both Dev and the juvenile, who have already made a confession under Section 164 of the CrPC, are currently in jail in Delhi. The NIA can use their confession as evidence in the court during the trial.

All of them have been booked under various sections of the IPC, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act, dealing with conspiracy, murder, attempt to kill, causing hurt and using explosives.

Wasim's family members have, however, been maintaining that there is no substance in the NIA's probe as the agency had merely been following what Hizbul terrorist Azhar Ali told it due to his enmity with them. They also alleged that their son was being "pressured" by the agency officials to accept responsibility for the blast by giving a confessional statement..............http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTEvMTAvMjIjQXIwMTAwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Communal Violence: ... shows character of a country ... Are Indians getting more and more intolerant?

Chidambaram alerts states on communal violence

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Oct 21, 2011, 02.36AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked the states to maintain tight vigil and identify communally sensitive towns or wards for keeping close watch on "fundamentalist elements" who are deliberately escalating tensions. This comes in the backdrop of a spurt in communal violence that claimed the lives of 32 persons in different parts of the country in the past two months.

Urging chief ministers to comprehensively review the situation in their respective states, home minister P Chidambaram said in a letter that since there were a number of religious occasions as well as commemorative dates and public holidays from now until the end of January, it was important that the state governments maintain a high degree of vigil so that there were no communal incidents.

Besides a number of festivals including Diwali, the period referred to by Chidambaram will see the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary on December 6 - the day which is considered very sensitive from the communal point of view due to the various protest marches planned across the country.

In the letter, written on October 14, the home minister also asked the CMs to be particularly careful and watch those elements that are likely to provoke discord among different communities and trigger communal incidents. He said: "Such elements should be identified and dealt with suitably."

Chidambaram referred to the growing number of incidents of communal strife and mentioned that the period from August to October (till 11th) witnessed a total of 119 incidents that left 32 persons dead. Though he did not specify the incidents, the period had seen communal violence in Rajasthan's Bharatpur and Uttarakhand's Rudrapur.

There were 44 incidents in August, 60 in September and 15 in October. Ten persons were killed in the incidents in August, 16 last month and six this month. Home ministry statistics show that a total of 75 people have been killed and 1,161 injured in 413 incidents of communal violence this year so far.

Of the incidents, 10 people were killed in Bharatpur district on September 14 while four persons lost their lives in Rudrapur district on October 2.

Chidambaram said: "A careful analysis of the incidents shows that the spark was usually a trivial issue such as collision of two motorcycles, dispute over playing of loudspeaker, wordy quarrel over a petty issue etc. In such cases, it appears that the incident was deliberately provoked by attempting to disturb a religious procession or an attack on a place of worship."

A total of 114 people were killed and 2,115 injured in 651 incidents of communal violence in the country last year while 123 people died and 2,417 were injured in 773 incidents in 2009........http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAxMS8xMC8yMSNBcjAxMDAw&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Saranda forest area .... an experiment which can be replicated elsewhere to save people from the clutches of Red Terror

More forces to aid project in Red belt

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Oct 19, 2011, 03.13AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Union home ministry will back the rural development ministry's multi-pronged action plan to tackle naxalism through comprehensive development activities in the Saranda forest area of Jharkhand by deploying an additional 3,000 paramilitary personnel soon and helping the state in raising an India Reserve Battalion (IRB) -- having nearly 1,000 personnel -- in the next four months.

Getting on the job quickly, the home ministry on Tuesday asked the CRPF to send three battalions to the area as early as possible so that the additional personnel could help the existing force in consolidating the logistic gains that they have already made after clearing it of Red ultras.

The Saranda forest area, once considered by the ultras as one of their 'liberated' zones, comprises 56 villages of six panchayats having a population of about 36,000 tribals. The CRPF will keep its personnel in 20 identified camps to secure the entire area.

"Besides sending additional forces, the home ministry will also help Jharkhand in raising one IRB battalion by providing all financial and technical support, including training facility. The battalion will be raised by recruiting tribals living in the Sardana forest area," said an official.

These decisions were taken in a meeting of ministry officials with Union home secretary R K Singh in the chair. CRPF chief K Vijay Kumar too attended the meeting which took note of the existing security situation in the forest area in view of government vigorously pursuing the development programmes.

"This is a kind of a test case for us. We have first pushed the Maoists out of the area and now started moving in with various development projects under proper security. The forces will be there in the area for a long time," said the official.

The action plan for the Saranda forest area, finalised by the rural development ministry, includes major activities like distribution of solar lanterns, bicycles and transistors, besides installing hand pumps for drinking water under the protection of the central paramilitary forces. Other development activities under various schemes like Integrated Action Plan (IAP), Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) will go on simultaneously.

The Centre will replicate the plan in other naxal-affected areas of the country in due course. "The Jungalmahal area of West Bengal may be the next area where such an experiment could be carried out, provided the security personnel dominate it by 'overthrowing' the Maoists," said an official..............http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JSC8yMDExLzEwLzE5I0FyMDE0MDI=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Coffin on wheels

Security forces asked to shun armoured vehicles in Naxal areas

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Oct 17, 2011, 02.42AM IST

NEW DELHI: With mine protected vehicles (MPVs) becoming virtual death traps, claiming 150 personnel in the last two years, security forces fighting the Naxal menace have been asked to rely more on foot patrols to detect underground mines and use these armoured vehicles sparingly.

Every time security forces upgrade the landmine protection capability of their MPVs, the Maoists move one step ahead using high quantity of explosives in their IEDs to make these mine protected vehicles redundant.

Unfortunately, security forces realize the vulnerability of MPVs only after suffering casualties. Over 150 personnel were killed in the past two years despite moving in mine protected vehicles, forcing CRPF chief K Vijay Kumar to call them "coffin on wheels".

Futility of using such vehicles had come to notice as early as in 2005, the year the Centre approved 120 MPVs for CRPF and state police in Naxal-affected areas. Barely months after procuring the vehicles -- supplied by Ordnance Factory, Medak, Andhra Pradesh -- 27 security personnel lost their lives when Maoists used powerful landmines to blow apart their mine protected vehicles in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh in September 2005.

That was, however, just the beginning. The Ordnance Factory started upgrading its vehicles but it could not prevent several such incidents with major ones reported again in Dantewada in April last year followed by another incident in Bijapur district a month later. In one such incident, the Maoists used 80 kg of explosives, which the MPV just couldn't withstand.

In the backdrop of such incidents, the CRPF director general had last week said the paramilitary force was looking for better ways to counter hidden IEDs as the mine protected vehicles had become "coffin on wheels" in Naxal-hit states.

Addressing a seminar here, Kumar said, "However, these vehicles cannot be completely written off and we are looking for better ways to take up the challenge." He also said the response in such cases has to be smarter and tactful and the force has reduced travelling on such vehicles.

CRPF has asked all its units in Naxal-affected areas to prefer foot patrol and use such vehicles in very rare instances. The force has opted for better training for its personnel, using Army's existing facilities, to detect and defuse 'deep' landmines. It recovered 1,547 IEDs during 2006-11. The Army has, so far, trained over 2,000 personnel of central paramilitary forces and various state police to deal with IEDs.

Besides, four Naxal-affected states -- Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa -- have started recruiting ex-Army personnel for de-mining activities and training their police force in handling landmines................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAxMS8xMC8xNyNBcjAxMDAw&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Maoists-Mamata tussle is on the card ... Centre is ready with ammunition

Centre watches Naxals' response to Mamata deadline

Vishwa Mohan,TNN
Oct 17, 2011, 02.26AM IST

NEW DELHI: With West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee toughening her stand against Maoists, the Centre -- which wanted the state to return nearly 1,000 CRPF personnel for better use elsewhere -- will now not pitch for their 'recall' and would rather wait for her next move after expiry of the seven-day 'deadline' she gave to the Red ultras.

A day after Banerjee warned the ultras at a rally in Jhargram that violence would not be tolerated any more, officials in the home ministry said there was no point asking the state to withdraw central paramilitary forces from the Jungle Mahal area -- the Maoists' stronghold -- at this juncture when there was indication of action against the Naxas if they didn't stop violence.

"Paramilitary personnel, who have literally been sitting idle in absence of any operation against the ultras, may now be used if the state government decides to go against them after the seven-day deadline," an official said.

Referring to killing of two local leaders by suspected Maoists, Banerjee on Saturday made it clear that "killings and negotiations cannot go hand in hand". She also said the state had stopped operations against ultras but they continued with killings.

Though the state has deployed nearly 4,000 paramilitary personnel in the Jungle Mahal area, the forces have remained in various camps as Banerjee did not want them to be used against the Maoists as part of her soft approach towards them.

Under the circumstance, the home ministry had last week written to the West Bengal home department asking it to withdraw Battalion No.167 of CRPF having nearly 1,000 personnel. Since the personnel were idle in the absence of any operation, the Centre wanted them to go to Chhattisgarh where there is a need for more central forces.

"The main purpose of sending the forces to West Bengal was to conduct anti-Naxal operations. Since they were not deployed for the required purpose, we wanted to send them to Chhattisgarh. But now, we will wait for the state's response in the wake of the chief minister's new stand," an official said.................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTEvMTAvMTcjQXIwMTUwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Jammu and Kashmir : Will this new attempt bring peace? .... waiting for the report

J&K report questions Pak stand on plebiscite

Vishwa Mohan\TNN\Oct 15, 2011, 02.50AM IST

NEW DELHI: The report of the interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir, which talks about a "permanent political settlement" for the troubled state, has explained in detail the 'misinterpretation' of the United Nations resolution made by both Pakistan and the separatists. It has even questioned Islamabad's move to cede certain territory to China.

One chapter of the report is learnt to have explained the UN resolution on J&K. It deals in detail as to how Pakistan and separatists in the state have conveniently ignored one key point of the resolution that refers to withdrawal of Islamabad from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) before even exploring an option of 'plebiscite'.

The chapter says that the UN resolution talked about ceasefire, withdrawal of Pakistan from PoK and plebiscite. It says though Pakistan accepted 'ceasefire' and has been supporting separatists for 'plebiscite', it has not moved a bit on handing over the administration of the area occupied by it to India.

This particular chapter also points out that Pakistan has virtually changed the demographic profile of PoK over the years, but such things have not happened in the Indian side due to existing laws like Article 370 which prohibit people from other Indian states to buy property and settle there.

The report has also taken note of the areas which have been handed over to China by Pakistan. It asked a question whether the neighbouring country had not violated the UN resolution by doing so.

Interestingly, the report, submitted by the interlocutors - Dileep Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar and M M Ansari -- to Union home minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday, has not used even once `popular' words that are being used in the political discourse of Jammu and Kashmir.

Be it 'autonomy' (being used by the National Conference) or 'self-rule' (used by People's Democratic Party) or the separatists' choice of 'azadi' and 'right to self-determination', the single volume report having a number of annexures has preferred to give them a miss without ignoring the 'intent'.

Sources privy to the details said that more powers to the people of three different regions of the state - Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh -- was the key but the report did not use such words and phrases, possibly to shun controversy for a bigger cause of fulfilling the aspirations of the people.

The annexure has, however, mentioned all the documents including the 'autonomy report' of the NC, 'self-rule framework' of the PDP and even various public remarks made by separatists from time to time. The main section of the report is mainly focused on recommendations for the economic well-being of the people of the state, their socio-cultural aspirations and various confidence building measures not only for the Kashmir Valley but also for the people of Jammu and Ladakh.

The report -- divided in various chapters dealing with issues like devolution of powers, economic development, bringing people into the national mainstream, specific issues concerning women and children and others - will soon be shared with all (political) party delegations before being made public.

The panel was formed after last year's stone-pelting crisis in which nearly 120 people died. The team of interlocutors visited all 22 districts of the state and interacted with over 700 delegations in the past one year before coming out with its final document..............http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTEvMTAvMTUjQXIwMjEwMQ==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

ULFA: A twist in the tale .... will it affect the ceasefire?

Chetia backs anti-talks faction

Vishwa Mohan \ TNN

New Delhi: A key jailed Ulfa leader, Anup Chetia, who had expressed his desire to join the ongoing peace process, has sprung a surprise.

Chetia has taken the side of the anti-talks faction — led by the outfit’s elusive commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah — and decided not to withdraw his ‘political asylum’ plea from a Bangladesh court that is mandatory for his deportation.

Chetia’s move is being seen here as a setback to India’s effort to get him deported and make him part of the peace process. He was arrested in Bangladesh in 1997 for forging travel documents.

Though the Ulfa leader had served his jail sentence for the offence long ago, he had been under detention there pending his plea for ‘political asylum’ in a Bangladesh court. His deportation — according to law in the neighbouring country — is not possible unless he withdraws his plea.

Government sources said though efforts were being made at different levels, including involving Bangladeshi authorities, for Chetia’s deportation, the Ulfa leader’s change of mind had, of late, hindered the process. He was supposed to withdraw his plea for ‘political

asylum’ even before the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Dhaka early last month, but he had kept on delaying it to thwart his deportation, they added.

“Pro-talk faction led by Ulfa chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa had even sent missives to him several times for joining the peace process in India. But Chetia is now learnt to be more inclined to Baruah, who has not only been against the talks but also against any kind of cease fire with security forces in Assam,” said an official.

He, however, said efforts were still on to get Chetia back to India, despite these setbacks.......http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAxMS8xMC8xMSNBcjAxMjAy&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Radiological accidents: Mayapuri incident triggered the need to take such measures .. setting up MRDS is an important move of the NDMA

SURVEILLANCE VEHICLES FOR PORTS, AIRPORTS


Chennai among cities to be equipped with mobile radiation detection system

Vishwa Mohan \ TNN

New Delhi:Fifty cities across the country will soon have Mobile Radiation Detection Systems (MRDS) as part of efforts to handle radiological emergencies like the one that hit the Mayapuri area in the capital last year in which one person died.

The Union home ministry recently sanctioned setting up nearly 1,000 MRDS in these 50 cities and asked the states concerned to identify the police stations which are to be equipped with the sophisticated device meant for detecting radiation.

The cities which have been identified for this purpose include Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Lucknow, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Patna, Ranchi, Bhopal, Agra, Kanpur, Indore, Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh. Some sea-ports, airports and border check posts will also be equipped with radiation surveillance vehicles.

The states have also been asked to identify staff who will handle the equipment. Ten persons per police station are required to be trained in handling the system. Confirming the government’s move, M Shashidhar Reddy, vice-chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), told TOI: “The system can create confidence in the minds of people and also act as a deterrent to anyone who thinks of using radioactive material in acts of terrorism and disruption.”

Highlighting its importance, Reddy said, “Radiation cannot be seen, heard or smelt which makes it difficult for the regular law enforcement agency to detect it. Empowering them with MRDS is, therefore, extremely important.”

The NDMA has been entrusted with the task of coordinating with the states in consultation with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to set up the system and train the required staff.

Under the system, it is proposed to equip police vehicles in the selected police stations in major cities with simple radiation monitoring Go/No-Go type survey instruments. It will help the staff in locating the presence of radioactive material in the surrounding area.

The panel had noted that out of 150 deaths due to radiological and nuclear accidents worldwide, only 33 were because of nuclear accidents at Chernobyl (31) and Tokoimara in Japan (2) while the rest were because of radiological accidents.................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JQ0gvMjAxMS8xMC8wNyNBcjAwMTAz&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Gujarat : Who is scared of whom? Bhatt vs. Pant will go a long way in settling political scores ... People certainly need to know the truth ... hopes hing around judiciary

Give security to Bhatt, Centre tells Guj govt

Vishwa Mohan \TNN, Oct 5, 2011, 12.52AM IST

NEW DELHI: The confrontation between the Centre and Narendra Modi further intensified on Tuesday, with the Union home ministry asking the Gujarat government to provide "adequate" security to suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt and his family members.

While the home ministry asked the state government to strengthen security for the Bhatts based on "local" threat perception, Union home secretary R K Singh said the Centre would carry out its own independent assessment as well.

The Centre's intervention follows a letter Bhatt's wife Shweta wrote to Union home minister P Chidambaram expressing the fear that her IPS husband, locked in a bitter feud with the Gujarat government, faced "danger to his life" from a "vindictive administration".

Acting swiftly on her letter, home secretary Singh on Tuesday convened a meeting and took stock of her complaint. Inputs from the state unit of the Intelligence Bureau were also discussed in the meeting. Singh is learnt to have told the IB to keep the state police in the loop while sharing information.

"The home ministry has written to the Gujarat government to ensure adequate security to Bhatt and his family as per local threat perception. We are also independently carrying out threat assessment at our level," a home ministry spokesperson said.

Bhatt was arrested last Friday in connection with an FIR filed against him by state police constable K D Pant in June for allegedly threatening him and making him sign a false affidavit regarding a meeting purportedly called by chief minister Narendra Modi after the Godhra train incident on February 27, 2002.

Shweta said in her letter, "My husband has been victimised and arrested merely because a few politicians apprehended serious action against them because of the evidence Sanjiv is likely to give in the pending criminal cases."

In his bail application, Bhatt claimed that Pant appeared to be acting following "diktats" from political members of the state government. He had alleged that his arrest was aimed at getting hold of the evidence he had against the chief minister in connection with the 2002 riots, and destroying them.......http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JQS8yMDExLzEwLzA1I0FyMDAxMDE=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Mystery behind the RTI activist Shehla Masood deepens ... Did her complaints turn fatal for her?

CBI to quiz IPS officer for ‘harassing’ slain RTI activist

Vishwa Mohan \TNN \ Oct 5, 2011, 01.30AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has been probing RTI activist Shehla Masood murder case, will question a Madhya Pradesh IPS officer soon and confront him with a compact disc that the deceased had provided to the state police as an evidence of being threatened by him.

Masood, who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in front of her residence in Bhopal in August, had on January 19 last year wrote to the state police chief, alleging that she was being threatened by IPS officer Pawan Shirvastava.

She wrote: "...I would like to bring to your notice that I fear for my life from Pawan Shrivastava...I fear that he being a powerful officer can implicate me in a false case".

The RTI activist had mentioned about the "evidence" she had provided to the state police, expressing her anguish that nothing had been done against the erring cop whom she called "a criminal minded officer". Shrivastava was allegedly harassing her since 2008.

Sources in the CBI said the officials had taken note of the complaint against Shrivastava and asked the state police about the action taken, if any.

"A day after receiving her letter, the then Bhopal inspector general of police had forwarded it to the department concerned asking for the probe and legal or departmental action. We have also been probing the fate of the IG's note," said an official.

A copy of the letter, written by Masood to the state DGP, was also sent to the Union home minister and Madhya Pradesh chief minister. The letter had an attachment of the formal complaint made by the RTI activist against Shrivastava.

Acting on her letter, the then IGP (Bhopal) had written on January 20 last year, "Please look into this application and a CD, which is in her possession. Legal action or departmental action may be taken as deemed fit as per the contents of the CD and the application".

"Besides Shrivastava, other persons would also be questioned to verify the veracity of the deceased's allegation against him," said an official.

Masood in her letter to the DGP had said: "One and a half year ago, I had filed a complaint against IPS officer Pawan Shrivastava for making threatening calls to me while he was on deputation as director, cultural department...I had provided the evidence, but till now nothing has been done.".......http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAxMS8xMC8wNSNBcjAxMjAz&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom