A belligerent Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi said he was ready to go to jail if he was found to be involved in the 2002 riots in the state and accused Congress of hatching a conspiracy to put him behind bars.
In his first public response to the Supreme Court order directing the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe his alleged role and also of his administration in aiding and abetting the riots, Modi said he was not afraid of going behind bars for the people of the land.
"After three months I might be in jail. But people of Gujarat should remember one thing, that Modi will live for Gujarat and die for Gujarat," he said at a poll rally here.
The Apex court had ordered the SIT probe "within three months" into a fresh complaint regarding the post-Godhra riots.
"If people ask me if you want to go to jail or gallows, then I will say I want to be hanged so that I can be reborn again to serve my Gujarat," Modi said, adding, "there are conspiracies against me to send me to jail."
Modi said "Union minister Kapil Sibal had given a threat that if I did not stop talking against Congress I would end up in jail."
"Just after 15 days the order has come from the Supreme Court. What does this mean?. This is a Congress conspiracy to send me behind bars," Modi said.
"On the one hand a foreign relative of Sonia (Gandhi), Quattrocchi has been given a clean chit by CBI. Everybody knows who controls CBI. On the other hand conspiracy is formed to sent me, who is the son of Bharat Mata, to jail," he added.
CBI letting off Quattrocchi challenged in SC
NEW DELHI: An application was moved in the Supreme Court on Tuesday challenging the CBI's decision to take off the name of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, a Bofors pay off case accused, from the list of most wanted persons.
The urgent application filed by advocate Ajay Agrawal sought the direction of the apex court
to stay the operation of any withdrawal of red corner notice against Quattrocchi who has not submitted himself to Indian court in connection with the Bofors case.
Agrawal, who had earlier moved the apex court in January 2006 against the defreezing of Quattrocchi's bank account in London, sought issuance of red corner notice again.
Agrwal said the Interpol should be informed immediately so that Quattrocchi could be nabbed and produced before Indian court.
Following a communication from the CBI, the Interpol has taken Quattrocchi's name off the red corner notice.
CBI had approached Attorney General Milon K Banerji last year for an opinion as to whether to continue with the red corner notice issued by Interpol against Quattrocchi as the notice has to be renewed every five years.
The Attorney General cited inability of CBI to seek Quattrocchi's extradition on two occasions - first in Malaysia in 2003 and then in Argentina in 2007 - and opined that the judgements in both the cases indicated that there was no good ground for extradition.
"....The warrant cannot remain in force forever. Therefore, the warrant of February 1997 would lose its validity, particularly in view CBI's successive failed attempts to get the accused extradited from Malaysia and recently from Argentina," Banerji said.
The advocate had alleged CBI has not placed before the court all the documents relating to Quattrocchi's extradition from Argentina. He had alleged the government had "deliberately" not tried hard to get the Italian businessman extradited.
The advocate had sought disclosure of confidential material, including opinions of CBI and law officers of the Centre, which allegedly facilitated the rejection of India's request for Quattrocchi's extradition.
He had claimed the Indian authorities had concealed from the Argentine court that the Supreme Court here has already admitted a petition challenging the Delhi High Court's verdict quashing charges against other accused in the case.
Agrawal had filed the appeal against the May 31, 2005, judgement of the High Court after CBI had failed to approach the apex court within the mandatory 90-day period.
The High Court had quashed the charges after Additional Solictor General Bhagwan Dutta had conceded that CBI was unable to get either the authenticated or originals of Swiss documents on the basis of which the investigating agency had proceeded against the accused.
CBI has not filed any appeal against the High Court verdict. Agrawal has also filed a contempt petition against former CBI Director Vijay Shanker for allegedly misleading the court over the extradition proceedings initiated against the Italian businessman.
Pakistan jets bomb Taliban hideouts in Buner
PESHAWAR(Pakistan): Fighter jets began bombing Taliban hideouts in a district near the Pakistani capital on Tuesday, a military spokesman said,Pak offensive against Taliban.
Pakistani troops with heavy artillery at their post on the outskirts of Timargarh, Lower Dir, where security forces launched a major offensive against Taliban.( AP Photo)
signalling an expansion of an offensive against militants seemingly emboldened by a controversial peace deal.
Ground troops also are preparing to enter Buner district, said Maj. Nasir Khan, adding there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Taliban from the neighbouring Swat Valley alarmed the world this month when they entered Buner by the hundreds and began setting up checkpoints, patrolling streets and warning locals to abide by strict interpretations of Islam.
Buner lies about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Islamabad, and the Taliban's foray prompted major concern from the US., which urged Pakistani officials to tackle the threat head-on.
Though they denied they were responding to outside pressure, Pakistani officials in recent days issued stern warnings against the Buner infiltrators, while launching a separate offensive against militants in Lower Dir, another district covered by the peace deal.
The deal imposes Islamic law in those areas in exchange for peace with militants who have waged a violent two-year campaign in the Swat Valley. It apparently emboldened the Swat militants to go beyond the valley's borders, at least under the guise of enforcing Islamic law.
Many of the Taliban were reported to have left Buner starting on Friday. But Interior Minister Rehman Malik said earlier on Tuesday that around 450 militants remained there and he warned them to get out or the government would take action.
Kasab is an adult, doctors tell court
MUMBAI: Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive after the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai, is over 20, according to a medical report submitted here on Tuesday before the special court hearing the terror attacks trial.
Special judge M L Tahilyani, who had ordered the medical test last Friday to determine Kasab's age, will give his ruling on the matter on Wednesday, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told reporters after Tuesday's hearing.
The order to carry out the medical test had come after Kasab claimed in court that he was below 18 and should be tried in a court meant for juveniles.
In case medical tests had proven Kasab was a juvenile, his case would have been referred to a juvenile court for trial under the Juvenile Justice Act which provides for maximum punishment of three years.
The medical report submitted in court Tuesday is based on two separate tests conducted at Mumbai's Sir J.J. Hospital. Kasab underwent a dental and ossification (bone test) to determine his age.
The tests have revealed that Kasab was not a minor - as claimed earlier through his lawyer S G Abbas Kazmi - at the time of the Nov 26, 2008 attacks.
Apart from the medical test, two witnesses testified in court in the matter Tuesday. Swati Sathe, superintendent of the Arthur Roadd central jail where Kasab is being kept, told the judge that at the time of his admission, Kasab had told her he was 21 years old.
The doctor at Mumbai's Nair hospital who had treated Kasab on Nov 27 last year also told the court that at that time, Kasab had said he was 21 years old. The doctor was identified only as Raghavan.
In view of the confusion created by Kasab's claims, the special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had moved an application last week seeking directions from judge Tahilyani to medically verify the age of the accused.
Accepting the application, Tahilyani had ordered that the medical reports should be submitted on Tuesday.
Nikam had told the court Kasab had given his age as 21 on three different occasions - once to the police and jail authorities, once to the doctor who examined him and again to the magistrate before whom he recorded his confession statement.
Moreover, Nikam said that the prosecution had other evidences to prove that Kasab was not a minor.
Terming the matter as a 'delay tactic', he had sought the court's directions on settling Kasab's age issue finally since the prosecution wanted to frame the charges against Kasab.
Indian Business News:
Man who noticed Ambani chopper 'sabotage' found dead in Mumbai
Mumbai: The man who discovered an alleged attempt to sabotage industrialist Anil Ambani's helicopter last week, has been found dead under mysterious circumstances.
Bharat Borge's body was found near a railway track in Mumbai.
Police discovered Borge's body between Vile Parle and Andheri railway tracks on Wednesday morning.
Police suspect Borge either committed suicide or met with an accident. Borge, a technician with Airworks India Engineering Pvt Ltd, was one of the four people who had access to Ambani’s chopper.
The alleged sabotage and a possible threat to Ambani's life was unearthed last week, when pebbles and mud were found in the gear box of his helicopter, hours before he was to take off.
The debris inside the gear box fuel tank could have led to a major disaster if undetected and the chopper had taken flight.
On April 24, Ambani filed a complaint alleging his Bell 412 seven-seater helicopter had been sabotaged.
He filed the complaint with the Sahar Police Station, near the airport, in the evening.
Two persons were arrested after mud and pebbles were found in the gearbox of the helicopter.
The Mumbai police crime branch started investigations on Saturday. "We have got the relevant case papers this morning. We are studying it and our own investigations have begun," Joint Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria told reported.
He added there are no further detentions or suspects in addition to the preliminary investigations carried out by the Santa Cruz police Station.
"We shall examine all aspects of the case and act accordingly," Maria said.
The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) had on Friday evening shot off a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Home Minister Jayant Patil and other top bureaucrats and police officials, speaking of "a conspiracy to kill its chairman Mr. Anil Ambani".
Following the strongly-worded letter, the state government decided to hand the matter to the Crime Branch, which has taken over the case from the Stanta Cruz police.
ADAG's angry reaction was prompted by the fact that Ambani and a team of nine top officials of Reliance Infocomm were scheduled to fly in the chopper the next day from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai, a 20-minute flight.
Stunned by the ADAG charges of the possible involvement of its staffers, Air Works Engineering India Pvt Ltd on Saturday enhanced security and personnel procedures at its Santa Cruz facility, according to a statement here Saturday.
Wipro BPO to hire 1200
HYDERABAD: Despite the economic slowdown, Wipro BPO, the business process outsourcing division of IT giant Wipro Technologies, is hiring personn
el and expanding its operations globally, a top official said.
"For the last six months, we have been hearing depressing news about people losing jobs and companies resorting to cost-cutting measures but we are still looking for people," Wipro BPO head Ashutosh Vaidya said.
The company plans to expand its BPO facility in Hyderabad by recruiting 1,000 to 1,200 people over the next six to eight months, he said. At present, 3,150 people are working at the Hyderabad facility.
Wipro, which has its operations in 14 locations in India and abroad, currently employs 22,600. On an average, it is adding 8,000 to 10,000 employees a year, Vaidya added.
Wipro BPO aims to tap the talent pool in Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The selected candidates undergo 90 days of training, with focus on communication, technical and process-specific training.
Wipro, which got into the BPO business in 2001-02 with five clients, now has 51 clients. The revenues increased from $11 million in 2001-02 to $290 million in 2007-08.
Vaidya said while the recession had some impact on the BPO industry, it would not be there for long as companies were choosing outsourcing as the best way of cutting costs.
Nokia to cut 400 more jobs
MONACO: Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, said on Tuesday it would reduce investment in creating new services, helping it to cu
t further 450 jobs.
Nokia, which made its first ever quarterly pretax loss in January-March, is cutting annual costs at its key handset unit alone by more than 700 million euros ($911 million) to counter plunging demand.
To cope with slowing phone demand Nokia is building a new business from mobile Internet services -- like games or maps -- but has scaled back investment plans due to the slowdown.
Nokia said it will “focus investments on fewer initiatives and increase the use of common enablers across certain services.” “We are moving into Ovi, into a platform strategy," Tero Ojanpera, head of the entertainment and communities operations at Nokia said.
Nokia said the 450 job cuts would also involve internal IT unit and industry collaboration activities. It has so far slashed 3,000 jobs across the organisation. The overall mobile phone market is expected to shrink 10 per cent this year, as consumers rein in spending and handset sellers try to clear out unsold phones.
Indian sports and IPL News
WC 2011: India gets 29 matches
Mumbai, April 28: Soon after stripping Pakistan of the hosting rights of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, the game’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday finalised venues and dates for the mega event of the gentleman’s game.
The 10th edition of the World Cup was initially to be co-hosted by India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. However, recent bomb blasts and terror attacks in Pakistan raised security concerns in the cricketing fraternity and the ICC had taken a decision to shift matches from there.
ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat specified that the decision was taken in the wake of the March 2009 terror attack on Sri Lankan cricket players in Lahore. They finally decided that India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be the co-hosts of the jumbo championship. The ICC also decided today to shift the secretariat from Lahore in Pakistan to Mumbai (India).
Addressing a press conference here, Lorgat said that India will host 29 matches in eight venues, Sri Lanka would host 12 matches in three venues and Bangladesh would host eight matches in two venues, including the opener on February 19, 2011. He added that in all, 49 matches would be played at 13 venues in three countries.
The inaugural ceremony too is scheduled to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on February 18.
India and Sri Lanka have been chosen to host a semi-final each, with India getting the ultimate honour to host the grand finale.
Delhi Dare Devils VS Royal Challengers
NEW DELHI: Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag won the toss and chose to bat first against Rajasthan Royals in the 18th match of the second
edition of the Indian Premier League at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Tuesday.
The manner in which Sehwag's side has been marching ahead, there's little doubt now that they are among the firm favourites to win this edition of the IPL.
Shane Warne's defending champions are somewhat off the boil in this edition as the team didn't click with the ball or the bat in Sunday's clash with Kings XI Punjab. The loss was another setback to what is already a poor start.
While Warne may have that unique ability to keep pulling his side out from all the mess they get into, drubbing Team Delhi won't be any easy task.
For a team that has Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir as openers but has not relied on the duo so far, there is a belligerent middle-order in place taking care of the affairs. Warne's worry here is that if the openers click - and there's no reason why they shouldn't - things could just turn far more messy.
In the first match, Daniel Vettori claimed three wickets while Sehwag took care of the batting department in a truncated outing. In the second game, AB de Villiers struck form with the tournament's first century, and in their third victory, Tillakaratne Dilshan led the side to an enthralling win.
For the skipper, it can hardly get better than having his premier overseas cricketers giving their best.
And Warne has more than a problem at his hands. Graeme Smith is yet to get into his own, Shane Watson and Sohail Tanvir are missing and his T20 experts Rob Quiney and Dmitri Mascarenhas haven't exactly struck form as yet.
The only cricketer Jaipur's batting have been riding on is Yusuf Pathan and knowing Sehwag, he's the one Delhi will be targeting.
Teams:
Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag (Capt.), Gautam Gambhir, Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB de Villiers, Dinesh Karthik, Mithun Manhas, Daniel Vettori, Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan, Ashish Nehra, Dirk Nannes.
Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (Capt.), Graeme Smith, Swapnil Asnodkar, Rob Quiney, Yusuf Pathan, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Ravindra Jadeja, Paul Valthaty, Mahesh Rawat, Munaf Patel, Kamran Khan.
