Live! 'BCCI has made a fool out of the common man'

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Sun, 02 June 2013

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20:52 MLA's bus attacked by stone pelters, 2 arrested

Two people were today arrested for allegedly hurling stones at a bus in which independent MLA and former minister Golma Devi was touring Rajasthan's Pratapgarh district.

Two of the MLA's supporters received mild injuries in the attack, which also damaged the windowpanes of the bus.

20:51 Shillong: Rape accused cop escapes

A police inspector, arrested and suspended for allegedly molesting and raping two minor girls, escaped from police custody today.

"The accused, Nurul Islam, managed to flee from police custody when he was being taken to Tura, a nearby district headquarters," said Deputy Commissioner Ram Singh.

20:10 'BCCI has made a fool out of the common man'

Former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad on Sunday lashed out at the the BCCI meeting at Chennai, saying the decisions taken were on expected lines and they have ''again made a fool out of the common man''.

Taking a dig at BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur and former Indian Premier League Chairman Rajeev Shukla over the fact that they were attending the meet via video conference, Azad said, "Now I think that these people will attend Parliament through video conferencing."

Tainted Rajasthan Royals cricketer Ankeet Chavan today tied the nuptial knot with fiancee Neha Sambari in a low-key ceremony.

The 27-year old, an accused in the T20 spot-fixing scandal, married IT consultant Sambari.

Former BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele today equated the happenings at the BCCI's Emergent Working Committee meeting in Chennai to match-fixing and termed the process of appointing Jagmohan Dalmiya as head of a four-member interim arrangement as "unconstitutional".

"I am absolutely disappointed at what happened today.What's the difference between this and match-fixing? First of all, the whole thing is unconstitutional as the working committee cannot appoint anyone," the outspoken Lele said.

19:29 Jagdale, Shirke refuse to return to BCCI

Former BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale and Treasurer Ajay Shirke today made it clear that they have no intention of returning to the BCCI despite being requested by the working committee members to reconsider their decision to resign.

Jagdale, along with Shirke, quit from their respective posts on Friday in the wake of the spot-fixing and betting scandal that rocked Indian cricket.

Britain's lobbying scandal got murkier today as it claimed the scalp of three peers after they were secretly filmed by reporters offering to ask parliamentary questions, lobby ministers and host events on the House of Lords terrace for money.

Labour Party suspended Lord Jack Cunningham, a former Cabinet minister, and Lord Brian Mackenzie of Framwell gate, the former police chief.

Former Arunachal Pradesh horticulture minister Tsering Gyurme has been indicted by the Special Investigation Cell, Vigilance, of the state police for siphoning off public money to the tune of Rs 2.36 crore.

The SIC in a report accused Gyurme of having embezzled the amount between 2004 and 2006 meant for implementation of a project of the Centre of Excellence at Dirang in West Kameng district under the Technology Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture.

In response to CRPF's recruitment drive in Bastar, the Communist Party of India - Maoist has put up banners in Keshkal area of Kondagaon district, warning tribal youths to stay away from the paramilitary force.

The ultras have also appealed to tribals to join them.

Naxals have put up two banners in Mundapara village in Vishrampur area, on the border of Chhattisgarh and Odisha in Kondagaon district, advertising their 'open' recruitment drive," a senior police official said.

19:10 'Nobody demanded Srinivasan's resignation'

Contrary to widespread perception that N Srinivasan could be shown the door, none of those who attended the BCCI Working Committee meeting demanded his resignation, though I S Bindra claimed he did.

A senior office-bearer of the BCCI categorically stated, "None of the members of the BCCI demanded resignation from Mr Srinivasan and he has been assured that he can resume functioning if he is cleared by the inquiry commission."

Punjab Cricket Association president I S Bindra said he would go to court to protest the outcome and results of the emergency working committee meeting of the BCCI.

Accusing BCCI vice president Arun Jaitley of wrongdoing, he said, "Most of the suggestions came from Mr Jaitley, including the appointment of Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya."

Former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi's counsel Mehmood Abdi today said N Srinivasan was behaving like the 'dictator of a banana republic'.

Srinivasan today stepped aside as the president of the BCCI till the probe into the spot-fixing scandal in the IPL-6 is completed against his son-in-law and CSK Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan, who was arrested on charges of betting.

Activist Himanshu Kumar has started an indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar in Delhi from Saturday to demand the rehabilitation of tribals whose land has been taken away by corporate industries.

Kumar, who has been championing for tribals' rights for years, has worked extensively in Dantewada area in Chhattisgarh.

He wants to highlight how the resources meant for the tribal communities are being usurped by others and how corporate industries are evicting tribal families from their own homes.

Is the BCCI's decision to allow its beleaguered chief N Srinivasan to step aside and Jagmohan Dalmiya to take over as the interim president for a short period legally valid?

This is the question experts are asking after the BCCI apparently found a way out of the imbroglio caused by the IPL spot fixing scandal.

The probe into the Ishrat Jehan encounter case has reached the doors of the Intelligence Bureau, whose special director-rank officer was questioned by the CBI on the input generated in 2004, that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba was planning to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The 1979 batch IPS officer was summoned to the CBI headquarter where he was asked about the input generated about the possible assassination attempt on Modi, an information used by the Gujarat Crime Branch.

17:03 No new bill likely on CBI autonomy

The government may not push ahead with a bill on the CBI but do some tweaking of provisions in the law relating to the agency.

Official sources said that the Group of Ministers, which has been tasked to work on measures to insulate the CBI from external influence, has had two meetings so far and is said to be not too enthusiastic over loosening the grip on the agency.

The sources said Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati, who was present in one of the meetings, was asked to prepare an affidavit to be submitted before the Supreme Court giving details of the proposed changes in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act.

17:02 Rupee unlikely to depreciate further this week

After touching an 11-month low of 56.50 per dollar, the rupee is unlikely to weaken further and may trade in 56-level this week, experts said.

"Last week, the depreciation of rupee had come in the wake up strengthening of dollar against all major currencies. Also, domestic factors like high current account deficit, GDP numbers and demand for dollars for defence buying and oil importers contributed to this," said some experts.

17:01 How NASA will save us from 'killer' asteroids

What if an asteroid were headed straight for Earth?

Well, NASA evidently has us covered.

In 2005, in a bill authorising space-programme funds, Congress asked NASA for a plan to identify, track and deflect -- yes, deflect -- all manner of PHOs (potentially harmful objects) that could pose a threat, ABC News reported.

17:00 Notorious Indian criminal nabbed in Kathmandu

Bablu Dubey, a notorious Indian gangster accused of killing 36 people in East and West Champaran districts of Bihar, has been arrested by Nepalese police in Kathmandu.

Dubey was paraded at the Narayani Zonal Police Office on Wednesday. Later, he was taken to Birgunj, a town bordering Raxaul district of Bihar, where he is accused of murdering dozens of people.

Egypt's apex court today ruled as unconstitutional the election of the Islamist-dominated upper house of Parliament and the Constituent Assembly that was tasked with drafting the country's first post-revolution Constitution.

The Supreme Constitutional Court also ruled that the Shura Council would not be dissolved until a new parliament is elected.

Ahead of the 2016 presidential elections, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been touted as much more popular than Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, according to a new poll.

The Quinnipiac University poll shows that Clinton's potential rival -- Vice President Joseph Biden -- will not even secure the requisite votes to be part of the presidential race, the Washington Times reports.

16:58 Saradha Group top official arrested

A top official of ponzi scheme Saradha Group, who had been absconding for the past two months, was arrested at Purba Jadavpur on the outskirts of Kolkata, police said today.

Arindam Das alias Bumba was arrested while trying to flee from a place at Purba Jadavpur last night, said police.

BCCI chief N Srinivasan, after a heated meeting with fellow members of the powerful cricket body in Chennai on Sunday, has agreed to step aside.

However, Srinivasan made it clear that he was merely "stepping aside", not stepping down, till the investigation into the IPL spot fixing scandal was complete.

Jagmohan Dalmiya was named the interim President of BCCI.

His name was proposed by BCCI member and BJP leader Arun Jaitley.

Dalmiya will take care of the day-to-day affairs of the BCCI.

BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale and Treasurer Ajay Shirke, who had both resigned to protest Srinivasan's refusal to quit, have been asked to withdraw their resignations.

The Enforcement Directorate has unearthed a huge nexus of illegal drug smuggling where funds worth Rs 500 crore were being laundered and routed through hawala operations in Punjab.

The agency, in its operations in the first six months in the state, has stumbled upon a regular modus operandi of the laundering of hawala money obtained through criminal activities of narcotics trade and illegal wealth generated in the real estate sector.

In a historic milestone for the Sikh community in Pakistan, Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora has become the first person from the minority community to enter the Punjab province assembly, since the country's independence in 1947.

Arora belongs to Narowal district, 80 km from Lahore, and is associated with the Pakistan Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee.

He took oath along with 340 other lawmakers during the first session of the new Punjab Assembly on Friday.

Five Chhattisgarh Armed Force jawans were today injured, one of them critically, in an accidental blast at their camp in Maoist-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh.

"The jawans were injured when a hand grenade accidentally went off inside the 15th battalion (E Company) camp of CAF in Bodli village under Nelasnar police station limits," said Bijapur Additional Superintendent of Police Vivek Shukla.

Alleged bookie Paresh Bhatia has been arrested by Mumbai police in connection with the IPL betting scandal after being released on bail in Goa, and remanded in police custody till June 6 by a local court.

Bhatia was arrested on Saturday night by the city police's crime branch soon after he was released on bail by the Goa police, which had arrested him last week for betting.

15:47 Tornadoes wreck havoc in US, 12 dead

Less than two weeks after a monster twister ripped through the city of Moore, the death toll from tornadoes that struck Oklahoma and neighbouring states this weekend has jumped to 12, authorities said today.

Twelve people were killed and 104 were injured in Friday night's tornadoes and the resultant flash floods.

The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office announced nine fatalities, while authorities in Missouri said three people died as a result of flooding there in the aftermath of the storms. More deaths due to flooding is feared.

A Rediff correspondent reports: Jagmohan Dalmiya is likely to take over as the interim president of the BCCI after N Srinivasan quits, highly-placed sources told rediff.com

Dalmiya's name was reportedly proposed by the Cricket Association of Bengal.

Srinivasan will be reinstated if the probe into the IPL spot-fixing scandal clears him, said sources.

Meanwhile, the meeting of the Emergent Working Committee of the BCCI has started in Chennai.

At the meeting, several angry BCCI members asked Srinivasan to resign immediately "for the sake of Indian cricket" according to CNN-IBN.

Tempers ran high at the meeting where some of the members even threatened to resign over the issue.

BCCI chief N Srinivasan has finally agreed to step down over the spot fixing scandal in IPL, according to unconfirmed reports.

Srinivasan has agreed to quit till the probe against his son-in-law Meiyappan, who had earlier been arrested by the Mumbai police, is completed.

A JD-U leader's relative was among two people shot dead by police in an encounter on NH-31 in Bihar's Patna district, police said today.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Raj Kishore Singh said the encounter took place on Saturday night when police, acting on a tip-off that some dacoits were fleeing, chased a vehicle and were fired upon by its passengers.

The police retaliated and shot dead the two persons, one of whom was identified as JD-U MLA Shyam Bihari Singh's relative Raju Singh.

India and Nepal have agreed to exchange information to combat terrorism and curb criminal activities like human and drug trafficking and smuggling of Indian counterfeit currency across their open border.

During the annual home secretary-level talks between Home Secretary R K Singh and his Nepalese counterpart Navin Kumar Ghimire that concluded on Saturday, both sides agreed to increase vigilance and cooperation in border areas.

13:33 UPA to discuss food security bill on Monday

The much awaited Food Security Bill is expected to be discussed during the UPA Coordination Committee meet on Monday.

The decision was taken on Saturday at the Congress Core Group meet at the prime minister's residence.

Meanwhile, the UPA government has the option to get the Food Security Bill passed either in a special session of Parliament or implemented through an ordinance or executive order.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were present during the meeting.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari wil not be contesting elections for another term after his current five-year term expires in September.

Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party was defeated during the elections in the May general elections, and hence the party is not in a position to have its candidate for the office of president elected, reports The Nation.

Three more senior executives of Kingfisher Airlines, including its chief information officer, have quit the grounded carrier even as a section of its pilots are set to revive their agitation over non-payment of salaries.

"The airlines' chief information officer Saurav Sinha, flight operations head Captain Ronald Nagar and cabin crew head Ajit Bagchi have put in their papers recently," Kingfisher Airlines sources said.

Scientists using the ALMA telescope have discovered 15 previously unidentified, extremely dark galaxies buried deeply in cosmic dust.

Researchers observed a field named 'Subaru/XMM-NewtownDeep Survey Field,' located in the direction of the constellation Cetus.

As a result, they succeeded in finding 15 extremely dark galaxies that were unidentified until now.

A reshuffle-cum-expansion of the Union Council of Ministers may be undertaken in the next fortnight.

Sources say that the rejig could happen between June 6 and June 12, which may be the last reshuffle in the UPA 2, with Lok Sabha elections less than a year away.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Friday indicated that a Cabinet reshuffle could be on the cards to fill up the vacancies.

13:29 Bedi seeks 'lock, stock and barrel' ban on IPL

Former Indian spin legend and captain Bishen Singh Bedi has said that the Indian Premier League is like a ''corrupted seed that was allowed to blossom'', and called for a ban on the tournament ''lock stock and barrel''.

The statement of Bedi, known for speaking his mind, came after the recent spot fixing scandal that has engulfed the lucrative Indian Twenty20 tournament, in which Test cricketer S.Sreesanth is one of the accused.

Close on the heels of the brutal slaying of British soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, a man has confessed to plotting Prince Harry's murder.

Ashraf Islam, 30, was charged with threats to kill the third in line for the throne, and was arrested in London.

Islam pleaded guilty after an investigation carried out by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.

Harry, an Apache pilot with the Army Air Corps, is the prime target of the Taliban as a result of his high-profile tours of Afghanistan.

12:14 FDI dips by 38 per cent to $22.4 billion

The government's efforts to promote India as an investment destination does not seem to be yielding fruits as FDI inflows registered a 38 per cent decline to $ 22.42 billion in 2012-13 compared to the previous year.

FDI inflows were worth $35.12 billion in 2011-12.

An FIR was lodged against 21 persons, including three former BJP MLAs, for allegedly staging a demonstration and burning an effigy of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav during a protest against the hike in power tariff, a senior officer said.

"Senior BJP leaders and former MLAs along with their supporters staged a demonstration and burnt an effigy of the chief minister at Indira Chowk in Civil Lines on Friday evening about which information was received from the intelligence department," said Superintendent of Police Maan Singh.

To make the much-hyped all-women bank a reality by October, the finance ministry has approached the Reserve Bank for clearance to set up the country's first such bank.

"The committee set up to prepare the blueprint for all-women bank has submitted its report to the finance minister. We have sought in-principle approval from RBI for the all-women bank," said Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Takru.

The Reserve Bank has extended the deadline for banks to complete the process of allotting a unique customer identification code to their customers to March 31, 2014.

Banks, however, will have to allot the Unique Customer Identification Code to all customers while entering into new relationships.

12:10 Facebook may boost your self-esteem!

Having a profile on social networking site Facebook may help boost your self-esteem and even affect your behaviour, a first-of-its-kind study has found.

A Facebook profile is an ideal version of self, full of photos and posts curated for the eyes of family, friends and acquaintances, researchers said.

The study shows that this version of self can provide beneficial psychological effects and influence behaviour.

Though he has so far ignored the clamour for his resignation, BCCI chief N Srinivasan may finally have to step down after a meeting of the cricket body's meet in Chennai later today.

It is not clear whether BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale and Treasurer Ajay Shirke, both of whom resigned over the spot fixing scandal and have urged Srinivasan to quit, will attend the meeting.

BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Anurag Thakur and Congress leader Rajeev Shukla, all members of the BCCI, will attend the meeting via video conferencing.

Police in the Turkish city of Istanbul have pulled out of a square which has become the focus of the largest anti-government protest in years.

Thousands of people are in Taksim Square after days of unrest sparked by plans to redevelop nearby Gezi Park.

In recent days police have fired tear gas and water cannon several times to break up the demonstrations.

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