Spend some time on pooled news about India. These may help in your vocation planning. News from newspapers and Tv channels of India about latest developments in remote Indian states and mountain regions.
The Chandigarh police today arrested two suspects, including Pankaj, the son of Haryana police personnel, posted at Ambala, in connection with the alleged kidnapping and sexual assault on a German tourist. Three others, who are presently absconding, have been identified as Sukhi, Jolly and Soma. The sixth suspect is yet to be identified, but he hails from Daroli village.
The police said Shoba Singh and Pankaj of Jhandli village in Ambala had been arrested, while Sukhi and Soma of Bitta Village and Jolly of Samalkha are at large. The Black Mahindra Scorpio belonged to Sukhi’s relative and Jolly had a criminal past and said to be involved in several cases. Giving details at the Sector 17 police station, Chandigarh, ASP Madur Verma said Pankaj along with another suspect had dropped the victim in Sector 20 on Sunday in his white Maruti car.
The ASP said the police got the lead from the description of the car and the some numbers given by some of the passerby. The registration numbers were of Yamuna Nagar, Panipat and Ambala. The police got the information that a Maruti car with similar description had been traced and a police team was dispatched to Ambala with the victim to identify the vehicle. The victim identified the car, which led to the arrest of the suspect.
The ASP further added that he had given details about his accomplices following which the raids were being conducted to nab the accused. Answering a query, he said the victim’s family had agreed to make her available to assist in the investigation.
Police sources said the victim was kept in a farmhouse in Ambala district and the police would take her there for the identification of the crime spot. The police initially refused to divulge the name of the accused until they were arrested.
The police has also seized the car (HR01-8794) in which the victim was brought back to Hardeep’s Sector 20 residence. She had come here to attend the marriage ceremony.
Five reported killed and 38 rescued from Kalindikhal trek by ITBP personals in low visibility, heavy snowfall in mountains of Uttarakhand.
ITBP came to know about trapped trekkers when three porters managed to reach Ghastoli picket and reported the matter- this 6 hrs of rescue operation led by ITBP saved lives of 38 trekkers among them 7-8 are foreigners.
4 Bodies and trekkers had been brought to Mana post as route of ghastoli had been closed due to heavy landslides.
Among the team was famous Indian historian Shekhar Pathak.
Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh are on the target list of Indian Mujahideen (IM). The email sent by the organisation yesterday to various newspapers and TV channels says “It is not at all difficult for us to attack you (India) in states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh”.
Under the e-mail ID of al_arbi_delhi@yahoo.com, it claims it has the prowess to strike at other places too. Investigating agencies believe the author of the mail could be one Abdul Subhan Usman Qureshi, the mastermind of the Ahmedabad blasts in July this year.The police has been hunting for this man, codenamed ‘Kasim’.
The northern region has as several key defence installations and manufacturing plants of leading industrial houses.
Security agencies said any major strike in the northern districts of Punjab could have an impact on adjoining Jammu and Kashmir already reeling under multi-pronged crisis.
“Never assume that we have forgotten the demolition of Babri Masjid.It is that grave mistake of yours which will make you taste humiliation for generations to come,” the mail reads.
Sources said the mail speaks of the media’s “biased reporting” on the recent anti- Christian violence in Orissa.
“Also, about four weeks ago, two Bajrang Dal activists were killed while they were making a bomb and the mainstream national media virtually missed it. The word terrorist is never used by the media when it refers to the Bajrang Dal,” complains the mail.
It says the RSS is against “Muslims, Dalits and Christians”. It is unsparing of the Congress too, saying the Congress government pretends to be a well-wisher of Muslims. It was the Congress that allowed the demolition of Babri Masjid.
Sep 14: A french trekker died while trekking at Nun peak in Kargil district of Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said today. They said Veyrat Jerome died while climbing the peak on August 31, a delayed report said here. The cause of his death was not known. His body was recovered by a team of expedition ' yesterday. The body is being taken to French Embassy, Delhi.
For passengers traveling on the Air India passenger jet from Kashmir to New Delhi the day before, the journey came close to becoming a harrowing experience from hell, when the plane crew discovered that one of the co-passengers was a poisonous cobra. No, it wasn’t some human fellow passenger tuning into a cobra (as frequently seen on India’s TV soaps). It was a real cobra, an authentic snake, a no-nonsense reptile from the animal kingdom.
Air India tried to take the bite off the news, contending that the snake was not a cobra, but just another snake. The airline confessed that a snake was indeed found on the plane, but maintained that it was found not in-flight, but found coiled up under the seat when the plane was parked at the New Delhi airport for maintenance after it had landed (meaning the snake was most probably on the flight and not detected until later).
Efforts to corner the snake proved futile, however. The cabin crew and maintenance workers removed fuselage panels, fumigated the plane and short of inviting expert snake charmers to charm it out of the plane, they did everything they could.
Strangely, Air India denied reports that the plane’s next flight from Delhi to Mumbai was delayed. In the same breath that the spokesperson denied the delay reports, he also confessed that Air India had no idea where the snake was.
This is popular India style and if there is cobra onboard - I do not think it is a negative or something which will force some director to quit....it is famous Indian mascot...COBRA.
No no...no shame for airline...they are doing their best to bring a COBRA onboard. Good job !!
The situation in Orissa’s riot-hit Kandhamal district continues to be volatile today with at least 80 houses being torched in fresh violence as the government accelerated relief and rehabilitation efforts for which Rs 2 crore have been sanctioned.
At least 80 houses were torched in fresh arson in several villages of Tikabali and Sarangada areas since yesterday noon despite considerable improvement in situation that prompted authorities to suspend day curfew, the sources said.
Describing force scarcity as a big handicap in containing arson, IGP (Intelligence) R.P. Singh said only 2,500 personnel from various forces, including the CRPF, were available to combat violence in villages across the district.
“As the arson continues to trouble rural pockets, there is only one jawan to tackle the situation in every village,” a senior police officer pointed out.
However, the situation was now effectively under control and fast returning to normal, said another official.
As many as 19,000 riot-affected people were sheltered in relief centres set up in 10 out of 12 blocks in the district, Sahu said, adding such camps were set up in all areas except Kotagada and Khajuripada.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Maj-Gen B.C. Khanduri (retd) has assured that minorities and their places of worship are safe in the state. His government is committed to protect all residents irrespective of their religion, caste and creed, he said.
Khanduri gave the assurance to a delegation of Catholic Christians led by Meerut Archbishop Patrick Nayar, Clementown Church Father Anthony and Father Bernard of St. Francis Church here. Karen Hilton, a nominated legislator of the ruling BJP, accompanied these Christian leaders.
Secular India has given further evidence of its “tolerance” and “secularism” by conducting a planned and well-organized massacre of its Christian community. In a repeat of the 2002 Gujarat carnage, when more than 3,000 Muslims, also a minority at risk in India, fell victim to the violence of Hindu extremists, this time, the Christian society of Orissa has been targeted.
The recent bloodbath unfolded in the wake of the assassination of radical Hindu leader Swami Laxanananda on August 23, 2008. Extremist Hindu radicals blamed the Christian community for the murder, although the Christian leaders denied the charge. However, on the evening of August 23, shortly after news came of the Hindu leader’s death, the first attack took place. Two Catholic nuns were stopped by assailants who set fire to their vehicle. Simultaneously, another vehicle in which nuns were traveling in Sambalpur was torched with the nuns inside. On Sunday, August 24, attacks began on various churches, which were already sparsely attended out of the fear of assault. Violence escalated throughout the day, while by 5:30 pm the Catholic social center of Cuttack Bhubaneswar was attacked and a mob burned vehicles and documents. Soon afterwards, the mob burned another Catholic pastoral center in Divya, and then attacked the priests’ residence in Baliguda, which witnessed anti-Christian rioting over Christmas 2007. Rioters damaged both a Convent and an adjacent welcome centre.
Similar attacks took place that evening on four Catholic churches in the Kanjamedi area. A nun doing social work in Kandhamal was gang raped, while a dozen shops owned by Christian Dalits “untouchables” were burned. On August 25, Hindu fanatics attacked and caused serious damage to a Catholic church in Phulbani and the Bishop’s residence and offices at Bhubaneswar were also attacked. Police protection was not available to prevent damage. Later that day, Jamai Pariccha, the director of a Catholic social assistance agency Gramya Pragati, was attacked. His wife, a Hindu, begged for mercy even as the radical Hindu mob shouted “He is a Christian, and we will kill him!” Pariccha was hospitalized in an undisclosed location. An hour later the home of Puren Nayak, a Catholic teacher in Bhudansahi, was set alight. It is said that Hindus identified Christian homes to the mob and offered them kerosene as fuel for the flames.
A foreign tourist along with her guide was detained by troops of 15 Rashtriya Rifles (R.R) while the duo was coming out of famous Sufi Shrine of Baba Shukurudin at Watlab in Bandipore district Thursday. Troops after questioning the tourist and her guide handed them over to police station Sopore from where they were later on released. Eyewitness said that troops of 15 RR picked up an American tourist, 53 year old Kathleen Maria along with her guide Thursday afternoon outside the Shrine situated atop Kohe Musa, overlooking Wular lake. Police sources said Maria hailing from the state of Michigan along with her local guide Ghulam Rasool Beigh were picked up by the soldiers of 15 RR and were then handed over to police station Spore, where from they were set free. Army officials said that the tourist was picked up by troops of 15 R.R for questioning in order to verify the proper documents as the troopers got suspicious to see foreigner in the area. However Kathleen Maria said, "I approached the district Administration about my visit and showed all the documents to the concerned officers. They allowed me to visit but Army detained me and my guide unnecessarily for hours and then we were taken to Police station for inquiry" "I was not on a routine visit like other tourist; I was completing few elements of my mystic journey and a visit to Baba-Shakurudin shrine was last spot in northern side of Kashmir. The attitude of the army however was not too friendly," she added. "To harass a foreign tourist in this manner is not good for our tourist industry. It takes months long to motivate a foreigner to visit these palaces but unfortunately army is damaging our business", said the tourist guide Ghulam Rasool. When contacted Station House officer Sopore Shafique Ahmed said, "A woman tourist lady along with her guide was picked up by troopers of 15 RR from the Watlab shrine and the duo was handed over to Police station where we checked their documents. Both of them were later released after verification". "We released both the tourist and her guide free with honour and respect" "Army complained that tourist was not having an original passport therefore they (troops) brought her to police station", the SHO added. Meanwhile Brigadier 5th sector RR S.K.Sindhu said, "It was nothing but proper investigation of documents carried by lady tourist. As soldiers of 15 R.R asked for documents from the duo, they got suspicious so to check the documents they took the tourist along her guide to police station Sopore for verification of the documents and were later released after clearance."
A tracker from Bangalore died during trekking in Ladakh region of Kashmir, official sources said today. They said Ganesh Ram Chandran son of S R Ram Chandran resident of Bangalore died while trekking at Tsomoriri Nyoma Leh. They said Chandran collapsed while climbing the mountain. However, before other climbers could do anything he died.
A rare Indian python, measuring about 11 feet, was killed by residents of Dharamsala Mahanta village near Chintpurni. Sources said the python attacked a dog in the village and the terrified villagers killed it.
Some of the villagers tried to save the python. However, they failed to stop the terrified villagers from killing it. The villagers, when contacted, said they did not have any knowledge regarding the phone number or address of wildlife authorities in the area. They also did not have any knowledge that the snake they had killed was protected under Schedule 1 of the Wild Life Act and killing it could land them in trouble.
The villagers kept the dead snake in a drum for curious onlookers.
Indian python is an endangered species classified as near threatened on the IUCN red list.
The pythons are generally killed by poachers for their valuable skins. However, in inhabited areas near forests, people kill them out of fear. Pythons are non-poisonous and there has been no authentic case in which they have been reported as harming humans. They only come near human habitations in search of prey or in case of loss of habitat.
The forest and wildlife authorities need to educate the villagers regarding the rare species of animals to protect them.
The Uttarakhand government will promote Adi Kailash Yatra, as a 26-day trekking route within the Indian territory. The Kumoan Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), which managed the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, will now focus on the Adi Kailash Yatra, after the curtailment of the Kailash Mansarover Yatra to Tibet by the Chinese government. The Adi Kailash Yatra will be undertaken from May to October and will cost Rs 15,000 per person, which includes meals and other necessary items. This year, more than 450 pilgrims have registered for the Adi Kailash Yatra.
Elaborating on the Adi Kailash Yatra, Amit Negi, Managing Director, Kumoan Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), Nainital said, “The Adi Kailash Yatra is very much like the Kailash Mansarover Yatra, but costs much less. A single pilgrim taking the Kailash Mansarover Yatra had to cough up Rs 60,000 but the Adi Kailash Yatra costs around Rs 15,000. Pilgrims of the Adi Kailash Yatra can have a glimpse of the ‘Adi Kailash’ and ‘Om Parvat’ mountains. The Yatra takes the Pathoragarh route and then moves to Bundi, Gungi, Nabhi, Kuti, Jolingkong and Adi Kailash. After China restricted batches to Kailash Mansarover from 16 to 10, KMVN has decided to promote the Adi Kailash Yatra aggressively.
The Chamoli district administration today said all members of a trekking team which went missing on the Chenab valley-Khiri valley Badrinath trek had been located.
“We have succeeded in locating the remaining four members of a eight-member trekking team, which is in the Punabans area of the district. We are trying to take them to the Joshimath area by helicopter,” District Magistrate D S Garbyal said.
Food packets and medicines have been sent to the team as some of its members are reportedly unwell, he said.
The district administration came to know about the missing team only yesterday when Guman Singh, the guide of the team, returned alone and told the officials that seven other members have lost their way somewhere around Thaing area near Chenab valley.
The administration sent a 17-member team to the area which succeeded in locating three team members, including one from New Delhi and one from Mumbai and brought them to Joshimath.
Garbyal said the four remaining members, all belonging to Uttarakhand, have also been located and they would soon be brought to Joshimath. The team embarked on the trek nearly a week ago, he said.
Two persons, including a woman, were burnt to death, a pastor critically injured and at least 12 churches were torched during a 12-hour bandh called today in Orissa by the saffron brigade in protest against the killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati.
The woman was burnt to death when unidentified persons torched an orphanage run by a Christian organisation at Phutpali in Bargarh district, official sources said. Twenty children, who were at the orphanage, managed to escape, but a pastor suffered serious burn injuries in the attack, the sources said.
Another person, identified as Rasananda Pradhan, was burnt to death when his house was set ablaze at Rupa village in Kandhamal district where the VHP leader was gunned down along with four others on Saturday night.
Churches were attacked in Khurda, Bargarh, Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Koraput, Boudh, Mayurbhanj, Jagatsinghpur and Kandhamal districts as also in the state capital, police sources said, adding that 40 houses were set ablaze in Phulbani town.
As the body of Saraswati reached Chakapada in Kandhamal district for the last rites, nine shops and two vehicles were torched at Raikia while two jeeps were burnt by miscreants at Udaygiri.
Home secretary Tarunkanti Mishra told reporters that he had information about the two casualties. Mishra said the bandh called by the Sangh Parivar was “total and by and large peaceful”
Dolphins in the wetland on the confluence of the Beas and the Sutlej here are safe as floods have not affected the habitat of this rare species, which is found in fresh waters.
Early this week, a Class IV employee of the wildlife wing of the Forest Department, had seen a dolphin about 1 km upstream in the Beas, said Dheera, a chowkidar posted on the entrance of the wildlife sanctuary.
Range officer Sukhbir Singh Bath told The Tribune that dolphins and most of the fish species did not move with the current of water. Therefore, there was no danger of the dolphins flowing along with the water current through the gates of the Harike barrage towards Hussainiwala, and further into Pakistan.
He said with the opening of the gates at Hussainiwala barrage, there was a possibility of few more Indus breed of dolphins entering the Indian side as they tend to move against the current of the water.
There are many Indus dolphins (Platanista gangetica minor) safely kept by the Pakistani authorities in the Sulemani reservoir, built on the Sutlej, about 25 km from the border.
Originally, Indus dolphins were found in the Indus and its tributaries in Pakistan, which were once linked with the river systems of Punjab.
Last sighted in Punjab in the 1930s, the Indus dolphin had been believed to have become extinct until recently when it was again spotted at Harike.
The polluted water in the Harike reservoir had been discharged and now the water available here is good for the health of aquatic species.
More than 300 million litres of domestic and industrial effluent flows into the Sutlej and the Beas in the state every day.
A famous state-level Manimahesh pilgrimage officially commenced from historic ‘chourasi temple’ complex of Bharmour today on occasion of Janmashtami under the aegis of newly constituted the ‘Manimahesh Trust’ reciting hymns of Lord Shiva by devotees.
The pilgrimage would conclude on September 8 when pilgrims and devotees will take holy dip (bath) in icy waters of the Manimahesh lake at an altitude of 4170 m.
Nearly 1 lakh pilgrims, who included 1426 devotees from Bhaderwah area of Jammu and Kashmir, took bath in the Manimahesh lake, additional district magistrate of Bharmour N. K. Lath informed.
The ADM, Bharmour, told that a sum of Rs 5 crore sanctioned by the Tourism Department was being spent for building infrastructure.
Government officials had been directed to make all possible arrangements such as regulation of traffic, parking lots, medicines, fuel, water and electricity for facility of devotees on their way to Manimahesh.
The ADM informed that langars had been allowed to 15 voluntary organisations on roadsides at different points for the facility of pilgrims. To keep the Manimahesh lake clean, no “langar” had been permitted to function in the precincts of the sacred lake.
Law enforcing agencies are now armed with more software tools to fight cyber crimes with a premier centre claiming to have developed them.
Emailtracer, cybercheck, siman and calltrack are some of the softwares developed indigenously by the Resource Centre for Cyber Forensic (RCCF) here.
The RCCF, under the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), has emerged as the premier national centre for development of investigative tools through authentic analysis of cyber crimes and using well-established methods and techniques, C-DAC chief administrative officer P.G. Gopinath said.
Emailtracer, a cyber forensic analysis tool, incorporates graphical features to help investigators easily track sender’s identity in cases of anonymous and threatening emails. It can also be used to retrieve information from mailbox files with extensions. The device can trace any email received by anyone, he said.
This tool analyses the e-mail header and gives complete details of the sender, including IP address, the key point in finding the culprit, he said. It gives the geographical location of the sender, he said.
The cybercheck is a windows-based application, which allows law enforcement agencies to analyse hard disk content, including deleted files.
Siman is a device to read and analyse GSM SIM cards, while calltrack enables an investigating agency to access data of calls from any network provider and formats it in a standard way for easy analysis, Gopinath said.
Another tool, the cyberinvestigator, helps analysts find out different types of virus attacks on computers and also criminal activities using internet, he said.
The C-DAC official said the RCCF, an associate member of the national white collar crime Center-NW3C, had assisted law enforcement agencies in analysis of over 175 cyber crimes during the last two years.
Another important tool developed by the centre is the network session analyser (NESA) for analysing network packets.
The importance of network forensics tools is increasing as cyber crimes related to computer networks are on the rise at a rapid rate, Gopinath said.
The major thrust was given to development of tools and technologies and providing training in cyber forensics to personnel of law enforcing agencies.
Our mission is to attain self-reliance in key technologies in information security and cyber forensics to help the law enforcement, defence and other government and corporate agencies in the country through development of forensic tools and provide training on information security and cyber forensics, he said.
The centre aspires to scale greater heights and help create a clean, secure and reliable cyber space and environment, conducive to growth and advancement, he added.
The next time you travel by train, don't be surprised if a woman smilingly approaches you to serve food as the Railways are planning to introduce hostesses in select routes to compete with the airlines.
According to the plan being finalised by the Railways ministry, refurbished AC coaches will have hostesses to serve meals and snacks to travellers.
Designated as lady train hostesses, they will be soon serving on selected trains plying between Howrah-Mumbai, Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Guwahati, Delhi-Sealdah, Delhi-Howrah, Sealdah-Coochbehar and Sealdah-Alipur Dooar, if the plan has its way.
Launched under public-private partnership model, the scheme has been branded as luxury service, which is to be executed by the KBS Tour and Travel, a Kolkata-based tour operator, said a senior Railways ministry official.
Apart from train hostess, the renovated AC coaches are being equipped with imported carpets, music system and STD and internet facility.
Passengers travelling on some of the non-prime trains will now be able purchase tickets through an online auction, which may actually lead to cheaper tickets being available as has been the case with the airlines.
Railway Ministry officials here said they were planning to launch the auctioning of train tickets online. They said the modalities were being worked out where only sleeper and AC class tickets would be available for auction. Referred to as "instant ticketing on discounted rate", the online bidding for train tickets is expected to bring down its prices as had been the case with the airlines tickets where passengers used to and could get tickets even at just Rs 1 above the reserve price.
According to the proposal, the base or the reserve price for the AC first class ticket will be kept at a price equal to AC second class fare of that particular train. Similarly, the reserve price for second AC ticket will be equal to the AC three-tier fare and sleeper class rate will be applicable for third AC fare.
To begin with, only 10 to 20 per cent seats on selected trains are likely to be offered for bidding on the Internet. The auction is expected to open 48 hours before the departure time and closed two hours before the scheduled departure. Officials however, said the scheme would not be applicable to 514 pairs of trains categorised as popular trains.
All Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains except Ajmer Shatabdi and Chennai-Bangalore Shatabdi Express are also exempted from the scheme.
Trains with less than 60 per cent occupancy rate are considered unpopular and only those train tickets will be available for the auction. Officials are of the opinion that occupancy in some of its unpopular trains will go up through this auction system.
"We are launching a commercial portal and passenger interface and the auctioning facility will be a part of it," officials said. The portal, to be maintained by the Centre for the Railway Information Systems (CRIS) will also have all customer-related information, including train position, timing, availability and fares.
Road and rail traffic were today disrupted in parts of Delhi and across several states as VHP and BJP activists launched a nationwide ‘chakka jam’ agitation over the Amarnath land issue.
Commuters had a tough time as traffic on certain major intersections and roads in the National Capital Region (NCR) and train movement along the Delhi-Jaipur route was halted by the activists this morning.
Reports of disruption of road and rail traffic have come in from Punjab, Gujarat, Orissa, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar, ruled by the BJP and its allies, and Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Assam. The protests were largely peaceful and there were no reports of any major untoward incident.
Dehra Dun: VHP-backed two-hour long ‘chakka jaam’ proved symbolic in Dehra Dun. Traffic continued to flow with normalcy in most parts of the city. However, the administration, as precautionary measure, had ordered for closure of schools a day earlier.
There were, however, some minor skirmishes at Dilaram Bazar and few areas of the city when VHP supporters tried to obstruct the movement of vehicles.
he BJP has welcomed the approval given by the Centre for the Mandi-Leh rail line. In a statement issued here today, convener of the state BJP media cell Ashok Kapatia said the decision was not only important from the national security point of view, but also for ensuring economic progress of the state.
He said it was a decision that would help Himachal in promoting tourism, horticulture and agriculture. Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal had vociferously pleaded for the Bilaspur-Mandi-Leh rail line in the national interest, he said.
The people of Himachal were grateful to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for granting approval to the project, he said.
Six houses were damaged and crops washed in a vast area following a cloudburst in the remote Sechu panchayat of Pangi tribal subdivision in Chamba district yesterday.
Resident commissioner of Pangi G. R. Bharti said, as per initial reports, the loss was estimated to be over Rs 1 crore. Revenue officials had been directed to visit the affected area to carry out relief and rescue operations and to assess the exact loss, he added.
He said the cloudburst damaged houses and crops in Shechu, Shoon, Udeen and Leu villages. Water flowed down the hill and damaged many houses. Belongings of villagers were also washed away in the gushing water. Residents had to spend the night in the open.
Bharti said he had directed the SDM and the tehsildar of Pangi to supervise the rehabilitation work. An immediate relief of Rs 55,000 was distributed among the affected families so that they could arrange for their daily needs.
Due to heavy and continuous rain in the district for the past three days most roads connecting rural areas with main road were closed for traffic as heavy rains triggered landslides.
Residents were facing tough time as their cash crops like tomato and other vegetables were rotting in fields in the absence of a transport system.
The Paonta-Shillai road was closed for the traffic as illegal mining on roadside have created havoc in the area. This time the road has closed at Hevna where debris of the illegal mining have blocked the traffic. Last month also the traffic was repeatedly interrupted, including once for a week and for three days between Sataun and Kamrou village, due to the mining which have caused heavy damage to the road.
The Nahan-Renuka road remained closed for more than eight hours as the landslides blocked the road near Badolia bridge. The road could be opened for the traffic in the evening.
More than 12 buses of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation were stranded in the rural areas, a spokesperson said.
At least 50 pilgrims were feared killed and over 20 persons were injured in a stampede at the Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district.
However, authorities have said that five people were confirmed killed.
"Five devotees were killed in the stampede which took place after a railing on the way to the temple collapsed," Inspector General of Police, Law and Order, S R Mardi told reporters.
Over two dozen people were injured after nearly 100 devotees fell down in the melee at the temple, about 160 kms from here, he said.
A large number of pilgrims had gathered at the temple to offer prayer on the occasion of Navratra and the railing on way to the temple collapsed due to heavy rush resulting in stampede, official sources said.
Superintendent of Police K K Indoria and other senior district officers have rushed to the temple about 60 km from the Bilaspur district headquarters.
A low-cost laptop being developed by the Indian government in tandem with two leading Indian education and research institutions will cost US$100 when available, and not $10 as was earlier stated by the government.
A spokesman for Minister of State for Higher Education, D. Purandeswari, said on Wednesday that the price of the laptop would in fact be US$100 rather than $10.
In a transcript of the speech delivered by Purandeswari at a conference in Delhi on Tuesday, which was provided by the government's press bureau to reporters, the Minister was quoted as saying that the government aims to provide $10 laptops to students.
The transcript has been updated subsequently to reflect the new price of the laptop.
Research on the low-cost laptop is being already carried out at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras. The government did not however provide information on the specifications of the laptop, or whether the price would include a subsidy from the government.
A Punjab Police constable, Sukhwinder Singh, allegedly molested a dancer of the Love Orchestra group in a marriage function at Malhotra Palace last night for refusing to dance with him.
The cop, posted with highway patrol staff, his son and five accomplices, later allegedly chased the orchestra team on the Ludhiana-Jalandhar highway after the function ended. He forcibly stopped them near Hardy's World and smashed their car while opening fire at the girl, who escaped miraculously.
SHO Beant Juneja said according to the complainant girl, the constable, reacted in this manner when she refused to dance with him.
The police was also investigating if there was some old enmity between the constable and the orchestra group. The owner of the group, Deepa, was brother of a youth, Bau of Chowni Mohallah. Bau, who headed a gang of local criminals, was murdered in late 2000 by rival members of the Nagaar gang.
A district magistrate has banned carrying weapons, firearms inside marriage palaces for such functions. While reports said the cop opened fire inside the palace, the police claimed the argument took place inside but the alleged violent incident happened later.
Juneja said raids were on to nab the accused, son and other accomplices. All of them, riding in a Tata Safari car, had chased the Indica car of the orchestra group and damaged it.
Mandi and Kullu districts have, of late, witnessed a surge in the cases of drug trafficking, which indicates that more youths are taking to drugs in the area.
Rampant poverty among farmers, loopholes in the laws, absence of coordination among the police, revenue and forest departments and protection for poor farmers for growing opium and cannabis plants have emerged as major factors contributing to this rise. Besides, local residents are also to be blamed for not informing the police about drug peddlers.
All these factors came to light at the seminar-cum-rally organised here on the occasion of the international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking by the Gunjan Organisation for Community Development.
Over 2,000 students from Dalhousie, members of several NGOs, chemists and schoolteachers participated in the rally.
Adviser of the organisation O.P. Sharma, who has been engaged in several anti-drug campaigns in Kullu and Mandi districts since 2003, when he was superintendent, Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB), presented his study on drug situation in the state. The study was based on his field surveys in 3,553 villages in 592 panchayats in the drug-producing areas under illegal cultivation of the cannabis and poppy. Sharma said the production of poppy and cannabis was on the rise, despite the campaigns launched by the NCB, customs and the police departments in both districts.
Recently, people in the areas like Ani-Banjar-Kataula-Balichowki, Tosh and Manikaran valleys have also started cultivation of poppy and cannabis, he observed.
He said area under opium cultivation had increased from 2,000 bigha in 2007 to 3,000 bigha in 2008. The cannabis cultivation had increased to 12,000 bigha in 2008 as per field reports, he added.
He observed that new vulnerable sections like school and college students, school dropouts, taxi drivers and other frustrated youth are being targeted by the drug peddlers. Even psychotropic substances are being smuggled into the state.
Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MP from the Balia Lok Sabha seat Suraj Singh, alias Surajbhan, was today awarded life imprisonment in connection with a murder case.
Pronouncing the quantum of punishment, the fast-track court-IV of Justice R.P. Dubey sentenced the MP and two others - Jayjay Ram Singh and Radhe Singh - to life imprisonment for murdering one Rami Singh at Madhurapur village under Teghra police station in the district on Januray 16, 1992.
The court also slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 against each convict. The LJP MP, along with two other accused, were finally convicted by the court yesterday in the murder case after 16 years.
The LJP MP and the other two accused were produced in the court amid tight security arrangements.
After conviction in the case, the accused, along with the LJP MP, were sent to the divisional jail of Begusarai under judicial custody by the order of the court.
After pronouncement of the quantum of punishment, the convicts were sent to the jail. The court had convicted the accused under Sections 302 and 149 of the IPC and the Arms Act.
Meanwhile, the counsel of the MP said he would appeal in the higher courts against the judgment of the fast-track court.
Expressing her faith in the judiciary, Shakuntala Devi, the widow of Rami Singh said it was her struggle for justice, which she finally achieved.
Over 300 tourists bounded for New Delhi from Manali today tasted a bitter journey when the Kullu RTO impounded four private buses (one Volvo and three sleeper) in which they were travelling in the HRTC workshop, Kullu, stranding them on the roadsides till the filing of this report.
Talking to The Tribune on phone, narrating their bitter journey, the tourists rued that the buses they were travelling in were impounded with reasons best known to the transport authority.
The tourists said they would never visit the state again as the state government had harassed them, upsetting their further schedule of railways and air journey to their destination.
“Nobody will come to state if this is how the state transport authority torture their guests,” they added.
The operators of private buses said it was with the government policy that they bought Volvo and sleeper buses. And the transport authority did not give us notice to not to ply them.
“When the HRTC can run the sleeper buses then why the government should not allow us as we have spent lakhs of rupees on them and pay the tax to the government,” they contended.
Kullu DC M. Sudha Devi said, “She was not aware whether or not Volvo buses could be run or not. I will find out and the tourists will be send through the HRTC buses if the RTO have impounded the private buses.”
Director state transport authority, Rajinder Thakur, said he was not aware as he was not been able to speak to the RTO as his mobile phone was switched off.
The sleeper buses cannot ply in the hill state as per the provision of the Motor Vehicle Act.
Even if the HRTC buses have sleepers they would be impounded, he claimed. He said he had asked the CGM HRTC to provide tourists with buses to desired destinations.
Six pilgrims on way to Hemkund Sahib shrine in Garhwal Himalayas were killed and a dozen others injured when a glacier moved from its place and fell on them near Hemkund Sahib this evening.
According to Chamoli district magistrate, the incident occurred due to heavy rains in the entire state for the past few days. Earlier, two scooter-borne Sikh pilgrims were also killed when boulders fell on them in Rudraprayag district of Garhwal three days ago.
“There could be many more pilgrims who may be buried under the snow and efforts are on to rescue them,” the DM said.
The police and civil authorities have rushed to the spot that is believed to be near the Hemkund shrine.
The injured have been shifted to Ganghria base hospital.
"I am falling ill in this bus. There are elderly people, women and children. It is getting dark and we are insecure in the middle of this jungle. My cellphone battery is running out. Soon I will lose all contact. Please help us," Maya Roy (53) tells The Indian Express over her cellphone. A resident of Entally and a patient of hypertension, she is undergoing a nightmare since Saturday night. Without food and water, huddled inside a private bus, she is stuck up near the Lodhasuli forests in West Midnapore on the Orissa-Bengal border.
She is among over 1,000 tourists on their way back from Puri to West Bengal. Packed in 20 private buses, they are stuck on a forest road, as flood waters have inundated East Midnapore which they were supposed to pass by.
"Please give us some water. My son is falling ill. Besides these 20 private buses, there is a long queue of private vehicles. The police are not allowing our vehicles to move. We asked them for some food, but they didn't listen," another passenger, Arindom Mondol, tells The Indian Express over phone. He is with his wife Chua and their 3-year-old son Archisman.
Raj Kanojia, IG (Law and Order), said, "We are trying to help the tourists. I have given my personal phone number and the number of the police control room to the tourists." The passengers allege that the police have not provided them any security.
Flames coming out of the areas near Pong dam lake have turned out to be biogenic gases. Sources here said ONGC officials, who had taken the sample of gases, informed the state Mining Department authorities that the gases coming out in the area were not commercially exploitable and were just biogenic.
Locals made a lot of hue and cry after villagers near the lake witnessed flames coming out of the earth in certain areas. Department of Industries officials also witnessed that in certain areas gases coming out of the earth caught fire if flamed. The ONGC scientists from Dehra Dun collected gas samples from the area.
The sources said the theory given by the ONGC officials is that the gases seemed to be formed due to deposition of organic waste in the area. The general biogenic gas formed in such areas is methane that catches fire instantly if flamed.
Seven police personnel, including an ASI and three havildars, were suspended today on a charge of consuming liquor while on duty at a function held on Sunday. The personnel against whom action was taken had allegedly taken liquor while on duty at Dara Studio in Phase VI where Punjab minister Manpreet Singh Badal had come for the function.The policemen suspended were ASI Amarjit Singh, havildar Jaspal Singh, havildar Karamjit Singh, havildar Matu Ram, Surmukh Singh, constable Som Nath and constable Bahadur Singh.SOURCE:
This is common feature of policing in India and can not be called as once-in-a-while act. Be it any state or any region, drinking in duty and misbehaviour is somehting common with policing in India.Just couple of days back- we saw full 6-7 Police offers taking bribe for making some false cases, torchuring people , framing caes etc. in Uttarpradesh. Sting operations shows money being accepted for this 'great service' and all we could see was SUSPENSION which certainly is not a big penality in India.
A scientist of Indian origin from the University of Florida in the US has conceptualized the design for a plasma-propelled flying saucer.
The scientist in question is Subrata Roy, University of Florida mechanical and aerospace engineering associate professor.
Roy has submitted a patent application for a circular, spinning aircraft design reminiscent of the spaceships seen in countless Hollywood films. He calls his design a “wingless electromagnetic air vehicle,” or WEAV.
The proposed prototype is small — the aircraft will measure less than six inches across — and will be efficient enough to be powered by on-board batteries. The propulsion system for Roy's saucer sprouts from his extensive US air force-funded plasma actuator research.
According to Roy, the design can be scaled up and theoretically should work in a much larger form. Even in miniature, though, the design has many uses.
“The most obvious functions would be surveillance and navigation. The aircraft could be designed to carry a camera and light and be controlled remotely at great distances,” he said.
Ajay is 16 and studies in Class X. But let him loose in cyberspace and he's a millionnaire, leaving hundreds of credit card holders broke across the globe.
Ajay was picked up from Mumbai on Thursday and detained by the Gujarat police in a hacking case that left them baffled with its global spread.
This St Ann's student from Mulund has mastered the ability to hack online shopping websites and channel the money paid by cyber buyers into his own account.
The racket surfaced when Ahmedabad crime branch sleuths were investigating a case of hacking of a popular online shopping site and arrested three boys in the city. They turned out to be part of Ajay’s gang.
Probe has revealed that his network spreads across Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. His mentors live in the US, Vietnam and other countries.
Ajay, the son of an employee of a textile firm, would give instructions to Wahid Khan, a resident of Kalupur, and Shahid Khan and Haadi Ghoghai of Juhapura, both in Ahmedabad, until they were arrested on Thursday. Ajay had taught them to create fake accounts and crack into others’ credit card accounts to make big bucks.
His prowess in hacking high-security and government websites let Ajay into a hacking community, which gave him access to a huge database of credit card Customer Verification Value (CVV) numbers of prominent banks across the globe.
Ajay’s tools included his laptop, a communicator and a cellphone. But, police say, Ajay’s PC has no data and he has covered his tracks.
All the evidence available is from Shahid Khan’s laptop which has folders and files that hide cracked passwords and the IP addresses of internet domains that were hacked into for fraudulent financial transactions.
Ajay got in touch with online fraudsters during gaming and was hooked fast. He has told the police that after connecting with international hackers in the US, Vietnam, and other countries, he spent over 15 hours a day on the computer trying to figure out how it worked.
“He has a database of over 4,000 international credit cardholders, their CVV numbers and expiry dates,’ said a senior crime branch of
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Haryana policeman's son arrested- german tourist rape case
The Chandigarh police today arrested two suspects, including Pankaj, the son of Haryana police personnel, posted at Ambala, in connection with the alleged kidnapping and sexual assault on a German tourist. Three others, who are presently absconding, have been identified as Sukhi, Jolly and Soma. The sixth suspect is yet to be identified, but he hails from Daroli village.
The police said Shoba Singh and Pankaj of Jhandli village in Ambala had been arrested, while Sukhi and Soma of Bitta Village and Jolly of Samalkha are at large. The Black Mahindra Scorpio belonged to Sukhi’s relative and Jolly had a criminal past and said to be involved in several cases. Giving details at the Sector 17 police station, Chandigarh, ASP Madur Verma said Pankaj along with another suspect had dropped the victim in Sector 20 on Sunday in his white Maruti car.
The ASP said the police got the lead from the description of the car and the some numbers given by some of the passerby. The registration numbers were of Yamuna Nagar, Panipat and Ambala. The police got the information that a Maruti car with similar description had been traced and a police team was dispatched to Ambala with the victim to identify the vehicle. The victim identified the car, which led to the arrest of the suspect.
The ASP further added that he had given details about his accomplices following which the raids were being conducted to nab the accused. Answering a query, he said the victim’s family had agreed to make her available to assist in the investigation.
Police sources said the victim was kept in a farmhouse in Ambala district and the police would take her there for the identification of the crime spot. The police initially refused to divulge the name of the accused until they were arrested.
The police has also seized the car (HR01-8794) in which the victim was brought back to Hardeep’s Sector 20 residence. She had come here to attend the marriage ceremony.
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Five killed- 38 rescued in worse weather disaster on trek
Five reported killed and 38 rescued from Kalindikhal trek by ITBP personals in low visibility, heavy snowfall in mountains of Uttarakhand.
ITBP came to know about trapped trekkers when three porters managed to reach Ghastoli picket and reported the matter- this 6 hrs of rescue operation led by ITBP saved lives of 38 trekkers among them 7-8 are foreigners.
4 Bodies and trekkers had been brought to Mana post as route of ghastoli had been closed due to heavy landslides.
Among the team was famous Indian historian Shekhar Pathak.
Terror warning for Punjab, Himachal Pradesh
Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh are on the target list of Indian Mujahideen (IM). The email sent by the organisation yesterday to various newspapers and TV channels says “It is not at all difficult for us to attack you (India) in states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh”.
Under the e-mail ID of al_arbi_delhi@yahoo.com, it claims it has the prowess to strike at other places too. Investigating agencies believe the author of the mail could be one Abdul Subhan Usman Qureshi, the mastermind of the Ahmedabad blasts in July this year.The police has been hunting for this man, codenamed ‘Kasim’.
The northern region has as several key defence installations and manufacturing plants of leading industrial houses.
Security agencies said any major strike in the northern districts of Punjab could have an impact on adjoining Jammu and Kashmir already reeling under multi-pronged crisis.
“Never assume that we have forgotten the demolition of Babri Masjid.It is that grave mistake of yours which will make you taste humiliation for generations to come,” the mail reads.
Sources said the mail speaks of the media’s “biased reporting” on the recent anti- Christian violence in Orissa.
“Also, about four weeks ago, two Bajrang Dal activists were killed while they were making a bomb and the mainstream national media virtually missed it. The word terrorist is never used by the media when it refers to the Bajrang Dal,” complains
the mail.
It says the RSS is against “Muslims, Dalits and Christians”. It is unsparing of the Congress too, saying the Congress government pretends to be a well-wisher of Muslims. It was the Congress that allowed the demolition of Babri Masjid.
SOURCE
Frenchman dies in Leh
Sep 14: A french trekker died while trekking at Nun peak in Kargil district of Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said today.
They said Veyrat Jerome died while climbing the peak on August 31, a delayed report said here. The cause of his death was not known.
His body was recovered by a team of expedition ' yesterday.
The body is being taken to French Embassy, Delhi.
SOURCE
Cobra on board Air India flight
For passengers traveling on the Air India passenger jet from Kashmir to New Delhi the day before, the journey came close to becoming a harrowing experience from hell, when the plane crew discovered that one of the co-passengers was a poisonous cobra. No, it wasn’t some human fellow passenger tuning into a cobra (as frequently seen on India’s TV soaps). It was a real cobra, an authentic snake, a no-nonsense reptile from the animal kingdom.
Air India tried to take the bite off the news, contending that the snake was not a cobra, but just another snake. The airline confessed that a snake was indeed found on the plane, but maintained that it was found not in-flight, but found coiled up under the seat when the plane was parked at the New Delhi airport for maintenance after it had landed (meaning the snake was most probably on the flight and not detected until later).
Efforts to corner the snake proved futile, however. The cabin crew and maintenance workers removed fuselage panels, fumigated the plane and short of inviting expert snake charmers to charm it out of the plane, they did everything they could.
Strangely, Air India denied reports that the plane’s next flight from Delhi to Mumbai was delayed. In the same breath that the spokesperson denied the delay reports, he also confessed that Air India had no idea where the snake was.
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Wow- thats great- India style
This is popular India style and if there is cobra onboard - I do not think it is a negative or something which will force some director to quit....it is famous Indian mascot...COBRA.
No no...no shame for airline...they are doing their best to bring a COBRA onboard. Good job !!
More than 80 Christian houses tourched.
The situation in Orissa’s riot-hit Kandhamal district continues to be volatile today with at least 80 houses being torched in fresh violence as the government accelerated relief and rehabilitation efforts for which Rs 2 crore have been sanctioned.
At least 80 houses were torched in fresh arson in several villages of Tikabali and Sarangada areas since yesterday noon despite considerable improvement in situation that prompted authorities to suspend day curfew, the sources said.
Describing force scarcity as a big handicap in containing arson, IGP (Intelligence) R.P. Singh said only 2,500 personnel from various forces, including the CRPF, were available to combat violence in villages across the district.
“As the arson continues to trouble rural pockets, there is only one jawan to tackle the situation in every village,” a senior police officer pointed out.
However, the situation was now effectively under control and fast returning to normal, said another official.
As many as 19,000 riot-affected people were sheltered in relief centres set up in 10 out of 12 blocks in the district, Sahu said, adding such camps were set up in all areas except Kotagada and Khajuripada.
Assured safety in Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Maj-Gen B.C. Khanduri (retd) has assured that minorities and their places of worship are safe in the state. His government is committed to protect all residents irrespective of their religion, caste and creed, he said.
Khanduri gave the assurance to a delegation of Catholic Christians led by Meerut Archbishop Patrick Nayar, Clementown Church Father Anthony and Father Bernard of St. Francis Church here. Karen Hilton, a nominated legislator of the ruling BJP, accompanied these Christian leaders.
Massacre of Christians by Hindu fanatics
Secular India has given further evidence of its “tolerance” and “secularism” by conducting a planned and well-organized massacre of its Christian community. In a repeat of the 2002 Gujarat carnage, when more than 3,000 Muslims, also a minority at risk in India, fell victim to the violence of Hindu extremists, this time, the Christian society of Orissa has been targeted.
The recent bloodbath unfolded in the wake of the assassination of radical Hindu leader Swami Laxanananda on August 23, 2008. Extremist Hindu radicals blamed the Christian community for the murder, although the Christian leaders denied the charge. However, on the evening of August 23, shortly after news came of the Hindu leader’s death, the first attack took place. Two Catholic nuns were stopped by assailants who set fire to their vehicle. Simultaneously, another vehicle in which nuns were traveling in Sambalpur was torched with the nuns inside. On Sunday, August 24, attacks began on various churches, which were already sparsely attended out of the fear of assault. Violence escalated throughout the day, while by 5:30 pm the Catholic social center of Cuttack Bhubaneswar was attacked and a mob burned vehicles and documents. Soon afterwards, the mob burned another Catholic pastoral center in Divya, and then attacked the priests’ residence in Baliguda, which witnessed anti-Christian rioting over Christmas 2007. Rioters damaged both a Convent and an adjacent welcome centre.
Similar attacks took place that evening on four Catholic churches in the Kanjamedi area. A nun doing social work in Kandhamal was gang raped, while a dozen shops owned by Christian Dalits “untouchables” were burned. On August 25, Hindu fanatics attacked and caused serious damage to a Catholic church in Phulbani and the Bishop’s residence and offices at Bhubaneswar were also attacked. Police protection was not available to prevent damage. Later that day, Jamai Pariccha, the director of a Catholic social assistance agency Gramya Pragati, was attacked. His wife, a Hindu, begged for mercy even as the radical Hindu mob shouted “He is a Christian, and we will kill him!” Pariccha was hospitalized in an undisclosed location. An hour later the home of Puren Nayak, a Catholic teacher in Bhudansahi, was set alight. It is said that Hindus identified Christian homes to the mob and offered them kerosene as fuel for the flames.
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American tourist, guide detained
A foreign tourist along with her guide was detained by troops of 15 Rashtriya Rifles (R.R) while the duo was coming out of famous Sufi Shrine of Baba Shukurudin at Watlab in Bandipore district Thursday.
Troops after questioning the tourist and her guide handed them over to police station Sopore from where they were later on released.
Eyewitness said that troops of 15 RR picked up an American tourist, 53 year old Kathleen Maria along with her guide Thursday afternoon outside the Shrine situated atop Kohe Musa, overlooking Wular lake.
Police sources said Maria hailing from the state of Michigan along with her local guide Ghulam Rasool Beigh were picked up by the soldiers of 15 RR and were then handed over to police station Spore, where from they were set free.
Army officials said that the tourist was picked up by troops of 15 R.R for questioning in order to verify the proper documents as the troopers got suspicious to see foreigner in the area.
However Kathleen Maria said, "I approached the district Administration about my visit and showed all the documents to the concerned officers. They allowed me to visit but Army detained me and my guide unnecessarily for hours and then we were taken to Police station for inquiry"
"I was not on a routine visit like other tourist; I was completing few elements of my mystic journey and a visit to Baba-Shakurudin shrine was last spot in northern side of Kashmir. The attitude of the army however was not too friendly," she added.
"To harass a foreign tourist in this manner is not good for our tourist industry. It takes months long to motivate a foreigner to visit these palaces but unfortunately army is damaging our business", said the tourist guide Ghulam Rasool.
When contacted Station House officer Sopore Shafique Ahmed said, "A woman tourist lady along with her guide was picked up by troopers of 15 RR from the Watlab shrine and the duo was handed over to Police station where we checked their documents. Both of them were later released after verification".
"We released both the tourist and her guide free with honour and respect"
"Army complained that tourist was not having an original passport therefore they (troops) brought her to police station", the SHO added.
Meanwhile Brigadier 5th sector RR S.K.Sindhu said, "It was nothing but proper investigation of documents carried by lady tourist. As soldiers of 15 R.R asked for documents from the duo, they got suspicious so to check the documents they took the tourist along her guide to police station Sopore for verification of the documents and were later released after clearance."
Bangalore Trekker Killed in Ladakh
A tracker from Bangalore died during trekking in Ladakh region of Kashmir, official sources said today.
They said Ganesh Ram Chandran son of S R Ram Chandran resident of Bangalore died while trekking at Tsomoriri Nyoma Leh.
They said Chandran collapsed while climbing the mountain.
However, before other climbers could do anything he died.
Rare species of python killed
A rare Indian python, measuring about 11 feet, was killed by residents of Dharamsala Mahanta village near Chintpurni. Sources said the python attacked a dog in the village and the terrified villagers killed it.
Some of the villagers tried to save the python. However, they failed to stop the terrified villagers from killing it. The villagers, when contacted, said they did not have any knowledge regarding the phone number or address of wildlife authorities in the area. They also did not have any knowledge that the snake they had killed was protected under Schedule 1 of the Wild Life Act and killing it could land them in trouble.
The villagers kept the dead snake in a drum for curious onlookers.
Indian python is an endangered species classified as near threatened on the IUCN red list.
The pythons are generally killed by poachers for their valuable skins. However, in inhabited areas near forests, people kill them out of fear. Pythons are non-poisonous and there has been no authentic case in which they have been reported as harming humans. They only come near human habitations in search of prey or in case of loss of habitat.
The forest and wildlife authorities need to educate the villagers regarding the rare species of animals to protect them.
SOURCE: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080831/himachal.htm#4
Uttarakhand to promote Adi Kailash Yatra
The Uttarakhand government will promote Adi Kailash Yatra, as a 26-day trekking route within the Indian territory. The Kumoan Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), which managed the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, will now focus on the Adi Kailash Yatra, after the curtailment of the Kailash Mansarover Yatra to Tibet by the Chinese government. The Adi Kailash Yatra will be undertaken from May to October and will cost Rs 15,000 per person, which includes meals and other necessary items. This year, more than 450 pilgrims have registered for the Adi Kailash Yatra.
Elaborating on the Adi Kailash Yatra, Amit Negi, Managing Director, Kumoan Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), Nainital said, “The Adi Kailash Yatra is very much like the Kailash Mansarover Yatra, but costs much less. A single pilgrim taking the Kailash Mansarover Yatra had to cough up Rs 60,000 but the Adi Kailash Yatra costs around Rs 15,000. Pilgrims of the Adi Kailash Yatra can have a glimpse of the ‘Adi Kailash’ and ‘Om Parvat’ mountains. The Yatra takes the Pathoragarh route and then moves to Bundi, Gungi, Nabhi, Kuti, Jolingkong and Adi Kailash. After China restricted batches to Kailash Mansarover from 16 to 10, KMVN has decided to promote the Adi Kailash Yatra aggressively.
SOURCE:
Lost trekkers rescued in Garhwal
The Chamoli district administration today said all members of a trekking team which went missing on the Chenab valley-Khiri valley Badrinath trek had been located.
“We have succeeded in locating the remaining four members of a eight-member trekking team, which is in the Punabans area of the district. We are trying to take them to the Joshimath area by helicopter,” District Magistrate D S Garbyal said.
Food packets and medicines have been sent to the team as some of its members are reportedly unwell, he said.
The district administration came to know about the missing team only yesterday when Guman Singh, the guide of the team, returned alone and told the officials that seven other members have lost their way somewhere around Thaing area near Chenab valley.
The administration sent a 17-member team to the area which succeeded in locating three team members, including one from New Delhi and one from Mumbai and brought them to Joshimath.
Garbyal said the four remaining members, all belonging to Uttarakhand, have also been located and they would soon be brought to Joshimath. The team embarked on the trek nearly a week ago, he said.
SOURCE:
Churches torch, Christains burned alive- Govt. claims peace.
Two persons, including a woman, were burnt to death, a pastor critically injured and at least 12 churches were torched during a 12-hour bandh called today in Orissa by the saffron brigade in protest against the killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati.
The woman was burnt to death when unidentified persons torched an orphanage run by a Christian organisation at Phutpali in Bargarh district, official sources said. Twenty children, who were at the orphanage, managed to escape, but a pastor suffered serious burn injuries in the attack, the sources said.
Another person, identified as Rasananda Pradhan, was burnt to death when his house was set ablaze at Rupa village in Kandhamal district where the VHP leader was gunned down along with four others on Saturday night.
Churches were attacked in Khurda, Bargarh, Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Koraput, Boudh, Mayurbhanj, Jagatsinghpur and Kandhamal districts as also in the state capital, police sources said, adding that 40 houses were set ablaze in Phulbani town.
As the body of Saraswati reached Chakapada in Kandhamal district for the last rites, nine shops and two vehicles were torched at Raikia while two jeeps were burnt by miscreants at Udaygiri.
Home secretary Tarunkanti Mishra told reporters that he had information about the two casualties. Mishra said the bandh called by the Sangh Parivar was “total and by and large peaceful”
SOURCE
Harike Pattan dolphins safe
Dolphins in the wetland on the confluence of the Beas and the Sutlej here are safe as floods have not affected the habitat of this rare species, which is found in fresh waters.
Early this week, a Class IV employee of the wildlife wing of the Forest Department, had seen a dolphin about 1 km upstream in the Beas, said Dheera, a chowkidar posted on the entrance of the wildlife sanctuary.
Range officer Sukhbir Singh Bath told The Tribune that dolphins and most of the fish species did not move with the current of water. Therefore, there was no danger of the dolphins flowing along with the water current through the gates of the Harike barrage towards Hussainiwala, and further into Pakistan.
He said with the opening of the gates at Hussainiwala barrage, there was a possibility of few more Indus breed of dolphins entering the Indian side as they tend to move against the current of the water.
There are many Indus dolphins (Platanista gangetica minor) safely kept by the Pakistani authorities in the Sulemani reservoir, built on the Sutlej, about 25 km from the border.
Originally, Indus dolphins were found in the Indus and its tributaries in Pakistan, which were once linked with the river systems of Punjab.
Last sighted in Punjab in the 1930s, the Indus dolphin had been believed to have become extinct until recently when it was again spotted at Harike.
The polluted water in the Harike reservoir had been discharged and now the water available here is good for the health of aquatic species.
More than 300 million litres of domestic and industrial effluent flows into the Sutlej and the Beas in the state every day.
SOURCE
Manimahesh yatra begins
A famous state-level Manimahesh pilgrimage officially commenced from historic ‘chourasi temple’ complex of Bharmour today on occasion of Janmashtami under the aegis of newly constituted the ‘Manimahesh Trust’ reciting hymns of Lord Shiva by devotees.
The pilgrimage would conclude on September 8 when pilgrims and devotees will take holy dip (bath) in icy waters of the Manimahesh lake at an altitude of 4170 m.
Nearly 1 lakh pilgrims, who included 1426 devotees from Bhaderwah area of Jammu and Kashmir, took bath in the Manimahesh lake, additional district magistrate of Bharmour N. K. Lath informed.
The ADM, Bharmour, told that a sum of Rs 5 crore sanctioned by the Tourism Department was being spent for building infrastructure.
Government officials had been directed to make all possible arrangements such as regulation of traffic, parking lots, medicines, fuel, water and electricity for facility of devotees on their way to Manimahesh.
The ADM informed that langars had been allowed to 15 voluntary organisations on roadsides at different points for the facility of pilgrims. To keep the Manimahesh lake clean, no “langar” had been permitted to function in the precincts of the sacred lake.
SOURCE
More tools developed to crack cyber crimes
More tools developed to crack cyber crimes
Law enforcing agencies are now armed with more software tools to fight cyber crimes with a premier centre claiming to have developed them.
Emailtracer, cybercheck, siman and calltrack are some of the softwares developed indigenously by the Resource Centre for Cyber Forensic (RCCF) here.
The RCCF, under the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), has emerged as the premier national centre for development of investigative tools through authentic analysis of cyber crimes and using well-established methods and techniques, C-DAC chief administrative officer P.G. Gopinath said.
Emailtracer, a cyber forensic analysis tool, incorporates graphical features to help investigators easily track sender’s identity in cases of anonymous and threatening emails. It can also be used to retrieve information from mailbox files with extensions. The device can trace any email received by anyone, he said.
This tool analyses the e-mail header and gives complete details of the sender, including IP address, the key point in finding the culprit, he said. It gives the geographical location of the sender, he said.
The cybercheck is a windows-based application, which allows law enforcement agencies to analyse hard disk content, including deleted files.
Siman is a device to read and analyse GSM SIM cards, while calltrack enables an investigating agency to access data of calls from any network provider and formats it in a standard way for easy analysis, Gopinath said.
Another tool, the cyberinvestigator, helps analysts find out different types of virus attacks on computers and also criminal activities using internet, he said.
The C-DAC official said the RCCF, an associate member of the national white collar crime Center-NW3C, had assisted law enforcement agencies in analysis of over 175 cyber crimes during the last two years.
Another important tool developed by the centre is the network session analyser (NESA) for analysing network packets.
The importance of network forensics tools is increasing as cyber crimes related to computer networks are on the rise at a rapid rate, Gopinath said.
The major thrust was given to development of tools and technologies and providing training in cyber forensics to personnel of law enforcing agencies.
Our mission is to attain self-reliance in key technologies in information security and cyber forensics to help the law enforcement, defence and other government and corporate agencies in the country through development of forensic tools and provide training on information security and cyber forensics, he said.
The centre aspires to scale greater heights and help create a clean, secure and reliable cyber space and environment, conducive to growth and advancement, he added.
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Hostesses to serve train passengers
The next time you travel by train, don't be surprised if a woman smilingly approaches you to serve food as the Railways are planning to introduce hostesses in select routes to compete with the airlines.
According to the plan being finalised by the Railways ministry, refurbished AC coaches will have hostesses to serve meals and snacks to travellers.
Designated as lady train hostesses, they will be soon serving on selected trains plying between Howrah-Mumbai, Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Guwahati, Delhi-Sealdah, Delhi-Howrah, Sealdah-Coochbehar and Sealdah-Alipur Dooar, if the plan has its way.
Launched under public-private partnership model, the scheme has been branded as luxury service, which is to be executed by the KBS Tour and Travel, a Kolkata-based tour operator, said a senior Railways ministry official.
Apart from train hostess, the renovated AC coaches are being equipped with imported carpets, music system and STD and internet facility.
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Train tickets to be auctioned online
Passengers travelling on some of the non-prime trains will now be able purchase tickets through an online auction, which may actually lead to cheaper tickets being available as has been the case with the airlines.
Railway Ministry officials here said they were planning to launch the auctioning of train tickets online. They said the modalities were being worked out where only sleeper and AC class tickets would be available for auction. Referred to as "instant ticketing on discounted rate", the online bidding for train tickets is expected to bring down its prices as had been the case with the airlines tickets where passengers used to and could get tickets even at just Rs 1 above the reserve price.
According to the proposal, the base or the reserve price for the AC first class ticket will be kept at a price equal to AC second class fare of that particular train. Similarly, the reserve price for second AC ticket will be equal to the AC three-tier fare and sleeper class rate will be applicable for third AC fare.
To begin with, only 10 to 20 per cent seats on selected trains are likely to be offered for bidding on the Internet. The auction is expected to open 48 hours before the departure time and closed two hours before the scheduled departure. Officials however, said the scheme would not be applicable to 514 pairs of trains categorised as popular trains.
All Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains except Ajmer Shatabdi and Chennai-Bangalore Shatabdi Express are also exempted from the scheme.
Trains with less than 60 per cent occupancy rate are considered unpopular and only those train tickets will be available for the auction. Officials are of the opinion that occupancy in some of its unpopular trains will go up through this auction system.
"We are launching a commercial portal and passenger interface and the auctioning facility will be a part of it," officials said. The portal, to be maintained by the Centre for the Railway Information Systems (CRIS) will also have all customer-related information, including train position, timing, availability and fares.
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Saffron ‘chakka jam’ hits life
Road and rail traffic were today disrupted in parts of Delhi and across several states as VHP and BJP activists launched a nationwide ‘chakka jam’ agitation over the Amarnath land issue.
Commuters had a tough time as traffic on certain major intersections and roads in the National Capital Region (NCR) and train movement along the Delhi-Jaipur route was halted by the activists this morning.
Reports of disruption of road and rail traffic have come in from Punjab, Gujarat, Orissa, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar, ruled by the BJP and its allies, and Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Assam. The protests were largely peaceful and there were no reports of any major untoward incident.
Dehra Dun: VHP-backed two-hour long ‘chakka jaam’ proved symbolic in Dehra Dun. Traffic continued to flow with normalcy in most parts of the city. However, the administration, as precautionary measure, had ordered for closure of schools a day earlier.
There were, however, some minor skirmishes at Dilaram Bazar and few areas of the city when VHP supporters tried to obstruct the movement of vehicles.
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Rail link to Leh from Mandi in Himachal.
he BJP has welcomed the approval given by the Centre for the Mandi-Leh rail line. In a statement issued here today, convener of the state BJP media cell Ashok Kapatia said the decision was not only important from the national security point of view, but also for ensuring economic progress of the state.
He said it was a decision that would help Himachal in promoting tourism, horticulture and agriculture. Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal had vociferously pleaded for the Bilaspur-Mandi-Leh rail line in the national interest, he said.
The people of Himachal were grateful to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for granting approval to the project, he said.
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Cloudburst damages houses, crops
Six houses were damaged and crops washed in a vast area following a cloudburst in the remote Sechu panchayat of Pangi tribal subdivision in Chamba district yesterday.
Resident commissioner of Pangi G. R. Bharti said, as per initial reports, the loss was estimated to be over Rs 1 crore. Revenue officials had been directed to visit the affected area to carry out relief and rescue operations and to assess the exact loss, he added.
He said the cloudburst damaged houses and crops in Shechu, Shoon, Udeen and Leu villages. Water flowed down the hill and damaged many houses. Belongings of villagers were also washed away in the gushing water. Residents had to spend the night in the open.
Bharti said he had directed the SDM and the tehsildar of Pangi to supervise the rehabilitation work. An immediate relief of Rs 55,000 was distributed among the affected families so that they could arrange for their daily needs.
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Roads blocked due to rain
Due to heavy and continuous rain in the district for the past three days most roads connecting rural areas with main road were closed for traffic as heavy rains triggered landslides.
Residents were facing tough time as their cash crops like tomato and other vegetables were rotting in fields in the absence of a transport system.
The Paonta-Shillai road was closed for the traffic as illegal mining on roadside have created havoc in the area. This time the road has closed at Hevna where debris of the illegal mining have blocked the traffic. Last month also the traffic was repeatedly interrupted, including once for a week and for three days between Sataun and Kamrou village, due to the mining which have caused heavy damage to the road.
The Nahan-Renuka road remained closed for more than eight hours as the landslides blocked the road near Badolia bridge. The road could be opened for the traffic in the evening.
More than 12 buses of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation were stranded in the rural areas, a spokesperson said.
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More than 50 dead in Naina Devi- Himachal Pradesh
At least 50 pilgrims were feared killed and over 20 persons were injured in a stampede at the Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district.
However, authorities have said that five people were confirmed killed.
"Five devotees were killed in the stampede which took place after a railing on the way to the temple collapsed," Inspector General of Police, Law and Order, S R Mardi told reporters.
Over two dozen people were injured after nearly 100 devotees fell down in the melee at the temple, about 160 kms from here, he said.
A large number of pilgrims had gathered at the temple to offer prayer on the occasion of Navratra and the railing on way to the temple collapsed due to heavy rush resulting in stampede, official sources said.
Superintendent of Police K K Indoria and other senior district officers have rushed to the temple about 60 km from the Bilaspur district headquarters.
Death toll above 150 , more than 200 injured
Death toll of NAINA DEVI TEMPLE had crossed above 150 with more than 200 injured in one of the worst accident in Himachal Pradesh temples.
India's '$10 Laptop' to Cost US$100 After All
A low-cost laptop being developed by the Indian government in tandem with two leading Indian education and research institutions will cost US$100 when available, and not $10 as was earlier stated by the government.
A spokesman for Minister of State for Higher Education, D. Purandeswari, said on Wednesday that the price of the laptop would in fact be US$100 rather than $10.
In a transcript of the speech delivered by Purandeswari at a conference in Delhi on Tuesday, which was provided by the government's press bureau to reporters, the Minister was quoted as saying that the government aims to provide $10 laptops to students.
The transcript has been updated subsequently to reflect the new price of the laptop.
Research on the low-cost laptop is being already carried out at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras. The government did not however provide information on the specifications of the laptop, or whether the price would include a subsidy from the government.
SOURCE: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/149131/indias_10_laptop_to_cost_us100_after_all.html
Refused, cop opens fire at dancer
A Punjab Police constable, Sukhwinder Singh, allegedly molested a dancer of the Love Orchestra group in a marriage function at Malhotra Palace last night for refusing to dance with him.
The cop, posted with highway patrol staff, his son and five accomplices, later allegedly chased the orchestra team on the Ludhiana-Jalandhar highway after the function ended. He forcibly stopped them near Hardy's World and smashed their car while opening fire at the girl, who escaped miraculously.
SHO Beant Juneja said according to the complainant girl, the constable, reacted in this manner when she refused to dance with him.
The police was also investigating if there was some old enmity between the constable and the orchestra group. The owner of the group, Deepa, was brother of a youth, Bau of Chowni Mohallah. Bau, who headed a gang of local criminals, was murdered in late 2000 by rival members of the Nagaar gang.
A district magistrate has banned carrying weapons, firearms inside marriage palaces for such functions. While reports said the cop opened fire inside the palace, the police claimed the argument took place inside but the alleged violent incident happened later.
Juneja said raids were on to nab the accused, son and other accomplices. All of them, riding in a Tata Safari car, had chased the Indica car of the orchestra group and damaged it.
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Drug peddling on the rise in Mandi, Kullu
Mandi and Kullu districts have, of late, witnessed a surge in the cases of drug trafficking, which indicates that more youths are taking to drugs in the area.
Rampant poverty among farmers, loopholes in the laws, absence of coordination among the police, revenue and forest departments and protection for poor farmers for growing opium and cannabis plants have emerged as major factors contributing to this rise. Besides, local residents are also to be blamed for not informing the police about drug peddlers.
All these factors came to light at the seminar-cum-rally organised here on the occasion of the international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking by the Gunjan Organisation for Community Development.
Over 2,000 students from Dalhousie, members of several NGOs, chemists and schoolteachers participated in the rally.
Adviser of the organisation O.P. Sharma, who has been engaged in several anti-drug campaigns in Kullu and Mandi districts since 2003, when he was superintendent, Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB), presented his study on drug situation in the state. The study was based on his field surveys in 3,553 villages in 592 panchayats in the drug-producing areas under illegal cultivation of the cannabis and poppy. Sharma said the production of poppy and cannabis was on the rise, despite the campaigns launched by the NCB, customs and the police departments in both districts.
Recently, people in the areas like Ani-Banjar-Kataula-Balichowki, Tosh and Manikaran valleys have also started cultivation of poppy and cannabis, he observed.
He said area under opium cultivation had increased from 2,000 bigha in 2007 to 3,000 bigha in 2008. The cannabis cultivation had increased to 12,000 bigha in 2008 as per field reports, he added.
He observed that new vulnerable sections like school and college students, school dropouts, taxi drivers and other frustrated youth are being targeted by the drug peddlers. Even psychotropic substances are being smuggled into the state.
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Life term for member of parliament of India
Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MP from the Balia Lok Sabha seat Suraj Singh, alias Surajbhan, was today awarded life imprisonment in connection with a murder case.
Pronouncing the quantum of punishment, the fast-track court-IV of Justice R.P. Dubey sentenced the MP and two others - Jayjay Ram Singh and Radhe Singh - to life imprisonment for murdering one Rami Singh at Madhurapur village under Teghra police station in the district on Januray 16, 1992.
The court also slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 against each convict. The LJP MP, along with two other accused, were finally convicted by the court yesterday in the murder case after 16 years.
The LJP MP and the other two accused were produced in the court amid tight security arrangements.
After conviction in the case, the accused, along with the LJP MP, were sent to the divisional jail of Begusarai under judicial custody by the order of the court.
After pronouncement of the quantum of punishment, the convicts were sent to the jail. The court had convicted the accused under Sections 302 and 149 of the IPC and the Arms Act.
Meanwhile, the counsel of the MP said he would appeal in the higher courts against the judgment of the fast-track court.
Expressing her faith in the judiciary, Shakuntala Devi, the widow of Rami Singh said it was her struggle for justice, which she finally achieved.
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Delhi - Manali, Illegal plying of buses
Over 300 tourists bounded for New Delhi from Manali today tasted a bitter journey when the Kullu RTO impounded four private buses (one Volvo and three sleeper) in which they were travelling in the HRTC workshop, Kullu, stranding them on the roadsides till the filing of this report.
Talking to The Tribune on phone, narrating their bitter journey, the tourists rued that the buses they were travelling in were impounded with reasons best known to the transport authority.
The tourists said they would never visit the state again as the state government had harassed them, upsetting their further schedule of railways and air journey to their destination.
“Nobody will come to state if this is how the state transport authority torture their guests,” they added.
The operators of private buses said it was with the government policy that they bought Volvo and sleeper buses. And the transport authority did not give us notice to not to ply them.
“When the HRTC can run the sleeper buses then why the government should not allow us as we have spent lakhs of rupees on them and pay the tax to the government,” they contended.
Kullu DC M. Sudha Devi said, “She was not aware whether or not Volvo buses could be run or not. I will find out and the tourists will be send through the HRTC buses if the RTO have impounded the private buses.”
Director state transport authority, Rajinder Thakur, said he was not aware as he was not been able to speak to the RTO as his mobile phone was switched off.
The sleeper buses cannot ply in the hill state as per the provision of the Motor Vehicle Act.
Even if the HRTC buses have sleepers they would be impounded, he claimed. He said he had asked the CGM HRTC to provide tourists with buses to desired destinations.
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6 Hemkund pilgrims buried under glacier
Six pilgrims on way to Hemkund Sahib shrine in Garhwal Himalayas were killed and a dozen others injured when a glacier moved from its place and fell on them near Hemkund Sahib this evening.
According to Chamoli district magistrate, the incident occurred due to heavy rains in the entire state for the past few days. Earlier, two scooter-borne Sikh pilgrims were also killed when boulders fell on them in Rudraprayag district of Garhwal three days ago.
“There could be many more pilgrims who may be buried under the snow and efforts are on to rescue them,” the DM said.
The police and civil authorities have rushed to the spot that is believed to be near the Hemkund shrine.
The injured have been shifted to Ganghria base hospital.
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NO RESCUE- 1,000 tourists stranded on Bengal-Orissa border
"I am falling ill in this bus. There are elderly people, women and children. It is getting dark and we are insecure in the middle of this jungle. My cellphone battery is running out. Soon I will lose all contact. Please help us," Maya Roy (53) tells The Indian Express over her cellphone. A resident of Entally and a patient of hypertension, she is undergoing a nightmare since Saturday night. Without food and water, huddled inside a private bus, she is stuck up near the Lodhasuli forests in West Midnapore on the Orissa-Bengal border.
She is among over 1,000 tourists on their way back from Puri to West Bengal. Packed in 20 private buses, they are stuck on a forest road, as flood waters have inundated East Midnapore which they were supposed to pass by.
"Please give us some water. My son is falling ill. Besides these 20 private buses, there is a long queue of private vehicles. The police are not allowing our vehicles to move. We asked them for some food, but they didn't listen," another passenger, Arindom Mondol, tells The Indian Express over phone. He is with his wife Chua and their 3-year-old son Archisman.
Raj Kanojia, IG (Law and Order), said, "We are trying to help the tourists. I have given my personal phone number and the number of the police control room to the tourists." The passengers allege that the police have not provided them any security.
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Flames out of earth- near Pong Dam
Flames coming out of the areas near Pong dam lake have turned out to be biogenic gases. Sources here said ONGC officials, who had taken the sample of gases, informed the state Mining Department authorities that the gases coming out in the area were not commercially exploitable and were just biogenic.
Locals made a lot of hue and cry after villagers near the lake witnessed flames coming out of the earth in certain areas. Department of Industries officials also witnessed that in certain areas gases coming out of the earth caught fire if flamed. The ONGC scientists from Dehra Dun collected gas samples from the area.
The sources said the theory given by the ONGC officials is that the gases seemed to be formed due to deposition of organic waste in the area. The general biogenic gas formed in such areas is methane that catches fire instantly if flamed.
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7 cops suspended for taking liquor on duty
Seven police personnel, including an ASI and three havildars, were suspended today on a charge of consuming liquor while on duty at a function held on Sunday. The personnel against whom action was taken had allegedly taken liquor while on duty at Dara Studio in Phase VI where Punjab minister Manpreet Singh Badal had come for the function.The policemen suspended were ASI Amarjit Singh, havildar Jaspal Singh, havildar Karamjit Singh, havildar Matu Ram, Surmukh Singh, constable Som Nath and constable Bahadur Singh.SOURCE:
This is common in Indian policing !
This is common feature of policing in India and can not be called as once-in-a-while act. Be it any state or any region, drinking in duty and misbehaviour is somehting common with policing in India.Just couple of days back- we saw full 6-7 Police offers taking bribe for making some false cases, torchuring people , framing caes etc. in Uttarpradesh. Sting operations shows money being accepted for this 'great service' and all we could see was SUSPENSION which certainly is not a big penality in India.
Indian designs a 'flying saucer'
A scientist of Indian origin from the University of Florida in the US has conceptualized the design for a plasma-propelled flying saucer.
The scientist in question is Subrata Roy, University of Florida mechanical and aerospace engineering associate professor.
Roy has submitted a patent application for a circular, spinning aircraft design reminiscent of the spaceships seen in countless Hollywood films. He calls his design a “wingless electromagnetic air vehicle,” or WEAV.
The proposed prototype is small — the aircraft will measure less than six inches across — and will be efficient enough to be powered by on-board batteries. The propulsion system for Roy's saucer sprouts from his extensive US air force-funded plasma actuator research.
According to Roy, the design can be scaled up and theoretically should work in a much larger form. Even in miniature, though, the design has many uses.
“The most obvious functions would be surveillance and navigation. The aircraft could be designed to carry a camera and light and be controlled remotely at great distances,” he said.
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India - 16-year-old ruled cyber fraud gang
Ajay is 16 and studies in Class X. But let him loose in cyberspace and he's a millionnaire, leaving hundreds of credit card holders broke across the globe.
Ajay was picked up from Mumbai on Thursday and detained by the Gujarat police in a hacking case that left them baffled with its global spread.
This St Ann's student from Mulund has mastered the ability to hack online shopping websites and channel the money paid by cyber buyers into his own account.
The racket surfaced when Ahmedabad crime branch sleuths were investigating a case of hacking of a popular online shopping site and arrested three boys in the city. They turned out to be part of Ajay’s gang.
Probe has revealed that his network spreads across Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. His mentors live in the US, Vietnam and other countries.
Ajay, the son of an employee of a textile firm, would give instructions to Wahid Khan, a resident of Kalupur, and Shahid Khan and Haadi Ghoghai of Juhapura, both in Ahmedabad, until they were arrested on Thursday. Ajay had taught them to create fake accounts and crack into others’ credit card accounts to make big bucks.
His prowess in hacking high-security and government websites let Ajay into a hacking community, which gave him access to a huge database of credit card Customer Verification Value (CVV) numbers of prominent banks across the globe.
Ajay’s tools included his laptop, a communicator and a cellphone. But, police say, Ajay’s PC has no data and he has covered his tracks.
All the evidence available is from Shahid Khan’s laptop which has folders and files that hide cracked passwords and the IP addresses of internet domains that were hacked into for fraudulent financial transactions.
Ajay got in touch with online fraudsters during gaming and was hooked fast. He has told the police that after connecting with international hackers in the US, Vietnam, and other countries, he spent over 15 hours a day on the computer trying to figure out how it worked.
“He has a database of over 4,000 international credit cardholders, their CVV numbers and expiry dates,’ said a senior crime branch of