Timeline Refresh
Kashmiri separatists have been invited to meet Pakistan's Sartaj Aziz on Sunday. They were placed under house arrest today, but were released hours later.
Aziz will arrive on Sunday in New Delhi for talks on terror with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The invite to separatists to a reception for Aziz has left New Delhi fuming.
In what could stir more trouble, the Pakistan foreign office spokesperson said Aziz would "raise all issues including Kashmir", reports NDTV.
The pair were seen in security camera footage shortly before Monday's blast at the Erawan Shrine, reports BBC.
The men, in red and white T-shirts, rose from a bench shortly before the main suspect, in yellow, sat down and left behind his backpack.
The attack at the shrine killed 20 people and injured dozens.Officers are now questioning the pair.
India had threatened to boycott the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference to be held in Islamabad from September 30 to October 8 after it refused to invite Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta for the event.
The conference was to bring together speakers of Commonwealth nations in Islamabad. "We have clarified to the London secretariat of the Commonwealth that Kashmir is a disputed territory and now it is impossible for the Commonwealth Conference to be held in Pakistan," National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq told reporters.
He said the event will now be held in New York. "A detailed letter will be written to the CPA countries over the Kashmir dispute and the Kashmir issue will be raised on every forum of the Commonwealth," Sadiq said.
Mukesh, Akshay, Pawan and Vinay have been lodged in Tihar. Mukesh shares a cell with Akshay Thakur in jail 5. The two others, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma, have been lodged in jail 7, originally meant for adolescent convicts.
Jails 5 and 7 are high security jails and the men are not allowed to engage in any regular jail work other than cleaning their wards for security reasons.
The fast-track court, which began trial proceedings in the case on January 17, 2013, took just eight months to hand out death sentences to all the accused. For its part, the Delhi High Court heard the convicts' appeals and confirmed capital punishment for them, all of it within six months.
But the case is stuck ever since the convicts moved the apex court on March 15, 2014, two days after their sentence was upheld by the high court. The top court needs to further confirm their sentences after hearing their appeals.
"This meeting is for talks on terror and the need to prevent it," Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. He was asked to respond to Pakistan High Commission's invite to separatist leaders ahead of the National Security Adviser-level talks in New Delhi on Sunday.
"I would just like to remind that the agenda of the meeting was settled at the Ufa meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif. The first was the meeting between NSAs to talk on terror, including the exchange of voice samples of 26/11 (Mumbai terror attacks).
"Therefore, this meeting is for talks on terror and the need to prevent it," he said. The minister said that a structured briefing will come from the Ministry of External Affairs on the issue.
Sinha, when he was CBI director, had allegedly met people accused in the 2G and coal scandals at his official residence without the presence of investigating officers.
The probe is now being headed by former Special Director of CBI ML Sharma. The PMO feels that Sharma will now need more authorisation to head the probe. The Department of Personnel has moved a file to get the CVC's opinion and will then approach the Supreme Court to modify the order. In all probability Sharma is unlikely to continue with the probe.
The powerful blast rocked the popular Shubra el-Kheima neighbourhood in northern Shubra district in the middle of the night. Most of the injured suffered minor injuries, a doctor told the state news agency. The explosion was caused by a car bomb and was heard by many people from different areas in Cairo and Giza.
Bhatt reacted to the termination of his service order saying, "It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. And all the more dangerous when the government is diabolically devious as well."
The Gujarat-cadre officer claimed that he was removed "after conducting a sham, ex-parte inquiry on completely fabricated charges of unauthorised absence from duty." Down but not out, the IPS officer claimed that he has enjoyed every moment of his journey in the service.
On August 17, the Gujarat government issued Bhatt a show-cause notice over a video purportedly showing him with a woman. It sought his explanation for allegedly having extra-marital relationship; Bhatt denied that the man in the video was him and tweeted, :The only way to deal with a vindictive government is to become so absolutely unafraid that your very existence becomes an act of rebellion."
Then, yesterday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) dismissed the suspended IPS officer for "remaining defiant and flagrantly flouting the rules with complete disregard" as all the 11 charges levelled against him by the Gujarat government were proved in an ex-parte inquiry conducted by the Gujarat government.
Bhatt posted this message on his Facebook page, in response to the sacking order:
"Many friends have been asking me for my reaction on my removal from the Indian Police Service. All I have to say is that, at the age of 24, with a passion and fire that still continues to rage in me, I chose the Indian Police Service because I saw it as a career that would add action and purpose to my life. And I have not been disappointed one bit. In fact, I have enjoyed every moment of the last 27 years in the IPS.
"The Government of the day has decided to remove me from service after conducting a sham, ex parte inquiry on completely fabricated charges of 'unauthorised absence from duty'.
"Mind you, this so-called 'unauthorised absence from duty' pertains to the period when I was deposing before the SIT (investigating into the Zakia Jafri complaint) and the Nanavati Commission (inquiring into the Gujarat riots). Be that as it may, the bottom-line is that if the Government of the day does not require my services...so be it.
"I pray to God that He may continue to kindle and stoke the passion and fire that has possessed me all these years. May He continue to lead me in my just pursuits."
In a four-page termination order dated August 13, the MHA has noted: "Shri Sanjiv Bhatt had remained defiant and flagrantly flouted the rules with complete disregard to the discipline which should otherwise have been the hallmark of an officer of the uniformed force."
Bhatt has been under suspension since 2011, soon after he took on the Gujarat state government and then Chief Minister Narendra Modi over the 2002 riots in the state. But his claims were rejected by the Special Investigation Team appointed by the Supreme Court to probe nine riots related cases.
He also tweeted: Finally removed from service today after serving 27 years in the Indian Police Service. Once again eligible for employment. :) Any takers?
Necessary provisions for the schemes will be included in the budgets in the coming years, highly placed sources said, contradicting claims that no source of funding has been identified nor budgetary provisions made in the package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Prices of onion in the retail market shot up to nearly Rs 80 in few areas of Delhi, despite the city governments attempt to control its prices by selling it at Rs 30 from its Fair Price Shops.
The government on Tuesday asked state-run trading company MMTC to import 10,000 tonnes of onion. It has also directed cooperative Nafed to cancel its tender. NAFED had re-invited bids for import of 10,000 tonnes of onions from countries like Pakistan, China and Egypt after it failed to attract any supplier in the previous tender. The bids required to be submitted before August 27.
Onion prices are on rise due to mismatch in supply and demand. A similar trend prevails in other parts of the country.
Traders said prices are under pressure due to production fall and sluggish supply of stored onions meant for meeting the demand during the lean period of July-September. Anticipating further rise in prices, farmers and traders are also withholding stocks in Maharashtra, the country's top onion producing state and are releasing limited quantities for sale in the wholesale market, they added.
As of now, less than 30 lakh tonnes of stored onion is left in the domestic market to cater the demand till September.
The total onion production is estimated to be at 189 lakh tonnes in 2014-15 crop year (July-June), slightly lower than 194 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.
Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are the top three onion producing states in the country.
Onion prices were regarded as the decisive factor in the 1998 state elections in Delhi and Rajasthan, and were responsible for bringing down the central government in 1980. India is the second largest onion producer in the world, after China.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rs 1.25 lakh crore largesse was an attempt to woo the electorate by repackaging previously promised projects denied to the state over 15 months.
I ask where is the budgetary provision for the special package? There is no clarity on when and how it would take off. A supplementary budget can be brought but not before November. So, what does it all mean? Kumar questioned.
He said the package was just skilful jugglery and likened it to the BJPs previous promise of depositing Rs 15-20 lakh in each Indians bank account by bringing back black money from abroad.
I say check again. Your facts are awry. Was it not central agencies
that withheld funds for Bihar, making for their tardy implementation?
Kumar questioned, replying to the PMs charge of underutilisation of
funds by Bihar.
"We support peaceful engagement (between India and Pakistan) to resolve any kind of issues - territorial issues or other issues. We look forward to hopefully a very successful round of talks and an ongoing political dialogue between India and Pakistan," Peter R Lavoy, Special Assistant to the president and Senior Director for South Asian Affairs at the National Security Council of the White House, told PTI.
Lavoy, who is the top White House official on South Asian issues, said the US has concerns when countries start addressing their disputes through violence as opposed to peaceful discussions.
Read the The New York Times editorial here
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Finance minister Arun Jaitley, Sonia Gandhi, senior BJP leader LK Advani and former PM Dr Manmohan Singh also paid tribute. Rajiv Gandhi would have been 71 today.
"The security agencies have collaborated with intelligence agencies from a lot of countries and have come to the same preliminary conclusion that the incident is unlikely to be linked to international terrorism," Thai junta spokesman Col. Winthai Suvaree said.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack at the Erawan Brahma temple, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bangkok, that killed 20 people, including five Chinese, and injured more than 100 others on Monday night.
"Prime Minister should visit FTII to resolve the issues. All students in the country are feeling threatened by the government's insensitivity towards the problems being faced by them. The students should strike hard and strong if this continues", representative of the FTII Students' Association (FSA) Vikas Urs said.
Five students, including Urs, were arrested on charges of rioting after the institute's director Prashant Pathrabe was was confined to his chamber, following which the government formed a team of senior I&B department officials to resolve the impasse.
The students were released on bail by a Pune court yesterday. A striking student said, "We are very curious to see with what agenda they (the officials) are coming with. We are clueless. The students' body has not been told that the delegation is coming...We are hearing everything from the media. We are still expecting a good dialogue."
The J&K police has released separatist leader Yasin Malik, the Chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the Chairman of the Awami Action Committee and hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. While Malik was detained at a Srinagar police station, Mirwaiz and Geelani were placed under house arrest.
The move comes a day after Pakistan invited them to a 'reception party' at the Pakistani embassy in Delhi with Sartaj Aziz, the neighbouring country's national security adviser. Aziz was invited to New Delhi for the NSA-level talks as decided at Ufa.
The Hurriyat leaders had accepted the invitation and said they would meet Aziz to discuss their issues. Following their release from detention, the separatists are likely to meet the Pakistani NSA on Sunday.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah criticised the government move in this tweet: "I've never seen an Indo-Pak dialogue where both sides are so keen to sabotage it. India & Pak competing to give reasons to call off talks."
Pic: A police van blocks the entrance of Syed Ali Shah Geelani this morning. The hardline separatist leader was released after being put under house arrest for two hours. Photo: Umar Ganie
Top government sources privy to India's approach at the talks say New Delhi has decided to go ahead with the commitment to have talks on terror despite grave Pakistani provocations. Read more
Sending out a strong message to Islamabad, India has placed Kashmiri separatists who had been invited for talks with Pakistan's National Security Advisor Sartaz Aziz, under house arrest. The Separatists were to meet the Pakistani NSA ahead of talks with the Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on Sunday.
The police detained Separatist Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik and have lodged him in the Kothibagh police station in uptown Srinagar.
Mirwaiz Farooq was put under house arrest, while hardline separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani was interred at his uptown Hyderpora residence.
All the three leaders had been invited to New Delhi by the Pakistan high commissioner, Abdul Basit.
Early this morning, policemen in larger numbers were moved to the residences of the Separatists to prevent their movement outside their homes.
Sources said police also raided the residence of Dukhtarani Milat chief, Asiya Andrabi this morning. However, she was in her house at the time of the police raid.
Mukhtar Ahmad/Rediff.com in Srinagar.
Pic: Yasin Malik, chairman JKLF, being taken to the police station.
Kashmiri separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq have already been put under house arrest today. The move comes a day after Pakistan invited them to a 'reception party' at the Pakistani embassy in Delhi with Sartaj Aziz, the neighbouring country's national security adviser.
The Hurriyat leaders had accepted the invitation and said they would meet Aziz to discuss their issues.
Mirwaiz Umar has said the Separatists have no intention of disrupting talks and it is in the interest of Kashmir that the talks go on.
Yesterday, real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal escaped being jailed in the 18-year-old Uphaar Cinema fire tragedy in which 59 people died with the Supreme Court asking them to pay a fine of Rs 30 crore each and restricting their jail term to the period already undergone by them.
Overturning the pleas of the CBI and the victims' association, a three-judge bench of Justices A R Dave, Kurian Joseph and Adarsh Kumar Goel asked them to pay the total fine of Rs 60 crore in three months and deposit it with the Delhi government, which in turn will spend the money on welfare schemes.
While Sushil, 76, had spent over five months in prison, 67-year-old Gopal was in jail for over four months immediately after the tragedy.
The bench rejected the submissions of senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for CBI, that the convicts be sent to jail to serve the remaining jail term.
Uphaar fire: Ansal brothers fined Rs 60 crore, escape jail term
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