RANCHI: Three top officials in Jharkhand have been removed from their posts following widespread Naxal violence in Latehar district disrupting
the first phase polling on April 16, official sources said on Friday.
Those given the marching orders are Latehar's deputy commissioner Sarvendu Tathagat, deputy inspector general of police Nandu Prasad and superintendent of police Hemant Toppo.
While Tathagat has been asked to join the personnel department, both Prasad and Toppo have been asked to report to the state police headquarters, the sources said.
The action of the authorities in the state, comes a fortnight after widespread Naxal violence shook Latehar district, including the Naxal seizure of a passenger train near Hehegarha in that area.
SC fast-tracks trial of Gujarat riot cases
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday lifted the stay on the trial of Gujarat riot cases and ordered the setting up of fast-track courts in five districts for holding day-to-day trial.
The Supreme Court ordered the filing of additional chargesheets against new accused named by the Special Investigating Team (SIT) appointed by it.
Blog: Divisive Modi
The SC ordered the setting up of designated courts for riot cases in Ahmedabad, Gulbarga, Sabarkanta, Mehsana and Anand districts. The Gujarat High Court Chief Justice would appoint judges for these courts.
The court, however, rejected a plea that the cases be shifted outside Gujarat as demanded by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
The apex court also said that seasoned lawyers would be appointed public prosecutors in consultation with the SIT. The court also added that witnesses would be given protection by the central forces and they could be relocated in other states if they faced threat to their life.
The bench said it would be open for the chairman of the SIT to seek change of public prosecutors if any deficiency was found during the trial, PTI reported.
The SIT and its chairman will keep track of the trial and file quarterly report to the apex court.
The apex court also gave liberty to the SIT to recommend the cancellation of bail if it is considered necessary.
Expressing "happiness" over the court's order, Raghavan said, "I think it is going to facilitate the work of the SIT in Gujarat. I look forward to further work in that direction."
He said, "It is very humbling to know that the apex court has so much trust in me" and added that the court wanted him to ensure that witnesses were given due protection.
The SIT, which has investigated 10 cases including the Godhra train burning and subsequent riots cases, had submitted its report before the apex court in March.
The apex court had on March 26, 2008, constituted SIT which besides Raghavan as its head, has former DG of UP Police C D Satpathy and three IPS officers from Gujarat- Geeta Johri, Shivanand Jha and Ashish Bhatia as its members.
SIT was asked to "inquire and investigate" cases relating to Godhra carnage in which 59 people were killed and subsequent riots in places like Godhra, Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad, Naroda Gaon, Naroda Patiya and Sardarpura.
On April 27, the Supreme Court ordered the Special Investigation Team to investigate the role of top Gujarat BJP politicians, including chief minister Narendra Modi, as well as Sangh Parivar honchos, including Praveen Togadia and Babu Bajrangi. The SIT has been asked to give in its report to the apex court within three months.
This sweeping probe into Modi and 62 others was triggered on the basis of a complaint of Jakia Nasim Ahesan Hussain Jafri, widow of ex-Congress MP Ahesan Jafri who was killed by a mob at Gulbarg Society. The investigation order was issued by a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and A K Ganguly.
SC extends Varun Gandhi's parole till May 14
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday extended the parole of BJP leader Varun Gandhi till May 14.
The order was passed by a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan before which the Uttar Pradesh government accused Varun of violating the undertaking furnished by him for securing the interim bail, PTI reported.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for state government alleged that Varun did not furnish his whereabouts to Pilibhit district magistrate on two occasions that is on April 16 to 20 and April 23 to 25.
He alleged that during this period, the BJP leader was in Uttar Pradesh, but did not inform the authorities in Pilibhit.
However, Varun's counsel and senior advocate Mukul Rohtagi denied the allegations and said he would respond to them.
Salve said that Varun had made a representation before the Central government against invocation of the National Security Act which was rejected.
Rohtagi alleged that both the Central and State governments have one agenda to keep Varun in jail.
On April 16, the Supreme Court had released Varun Gandhi on interim parole for a period of two weeks after extracting the promise of impeccable behaviour and not to give any speech against any community.
Gandhi was booked under the National Security Act (NSA) by the Mayawati government for an alleged hate speech delivered in his parliamentary constituency of Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh last month.
UP police on March 17 had registered a FIR against Varun Gandhi under section 153A for allegedly making inflammatory remarks with communal overtones during a rally held on March 6 in Pilibhit.
Court ruling on Kasab age on Saturday
MUMBAI: The direction of trial of Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the prime accused in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, may be decided on Saturday
when the court is expected to give its findings on the claim made by him that he is a minor.
On a prosecution plea, judge M L Tahaliyani had ordered an inquiry to determine Kasab's age. .
The inquiry concluded on Wednesday with Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam submitting forensic and substantive evidence to show that Kasab was not a minor.
The testimony of five witnesses, Ossification (bone) test and dental check has revealed that he was above 20 years.
The witnesses --- jail superintendent and the doctor who treated Kasab for bullet injuries sustained in a police encounter on the day of terror --- have deposed saying the accused had himself told them that he was 21.
The duo even showed the court the registers wherein they had recorded Kasab's age as 21 years.
However, Kasab has denied telling the jail superintendent and the doctor that he was 21. His lawyer Abbas Kazmi has also questioned forensic tests saying that these cannot be regarded as authentic and accurate.
Flu watch: NRI test result in 2 days
NEW DELHI: India is keeping its fingers crossed after the test on the 27-year-old NRI in Hyderabad for swine flu, hoping it shows negative, as it awaited the report on his throat swab and nasal samples from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases on Thursday. The institute director Dr Shiv Lal said the report was expected in the next 24-36 hours.
On its part, both the Union health ministry and WHO sought to play down panic saying the NRI from Texas, the US state which recorded a swine flu death, had not betrayed symptoms of the disease. As the H1N1 strain of virus, which causes swine flu, is extremely infectious, official here were fervently hoping the NRI has, indeed, not contracted the disease.
What was also giving them hope was that none of his family members in Hyderabad were showing any signs of fever or throat infection — the very first symptoms of swine flu. The NRI had flown to Hyderabad from Texas on April 28 and developed symptoms of cold, triggering panic among health officials.
Vineet Chawdhry, joint secretary in health ministry, said, ‘‘The man was medically examined by experts both from the state and the Centre. He did not manifest any flu-like symptoms. However, to be doubly sure, we have sent his samples to NICD for confirmation. At present, we have no suspected cases of H1N1 swine flu infection in India.’’
Meanwhile, the health ministry has identified 50,000 tourists who entered India from flu-affected countries like New Zealand, Mexico, the US, Canada, Spain, France and Britain over the past six days. The ministry now plans to shortlist those within this group who came from Mexico alone. Doctors will then visit their local addresses and screen them for swine flu symptoms.
Indian Business News
New York:Internet search engine giant Google has emerged as the world's number one brand and is also the first one to touch the USD 100 billion value mark, despite the tough economic environment.
According to the fourth annual BrandZ top 100 most valuable global brands ranking, Google is the number one brand with a value of USD 100 billion and is way ahead of Microsoft which is at the second rank with a value of USD 76.2 billion.
Coca-Cola has entered the top three league for the first time with a value of USD 67.6 billion.
The study further said in a year of global financial turmoil, when every key financial indicator plummeted, the value of brands remained strong.
Total value of the top 100 most valuable global brands has increased by 2 per cent to USD 1.95 trillion and among the top 100 brands, 85 remain from last year¿s listing, the report published by research firm Millward Brown Optimor said.
Commenting on the findings Millward Brown Optimor CEO Joanna Seddon said: "In the current environment, where the value of many businesses has fallen, brand has become even more important because it can help to sustain companies in tough times".
Seddon further said "those who continue to invest in their brand will be better positioned for business growth as the economic situation starts to improve than those who have cut spend".
Nilekani, Rahman on Time's '100 most influential' list
Two Indians -- Nandan Nilekani and A R Rahman -- along with US President Barack Obama and Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim figure in the list of world's most influential people compiled by American magazine Time.
The 2009 Time 100 list of 'the World's Most Influential People' names political leaders, celebrities and academicians among others. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and media celebrity Oprah Winfrey also find a place in the list.
The list recognises IT major Infosys' co-founder Nandan Nilekani and music maestro A R Rahman, who recently bagged two Oscars for his music in the film 'Slumdog Millionaire'.About Nilekani, the author of the novel 'Q&A' Vikas Swarup said his new avatar is that of civic-minded intellectual keen to shape public policy.
"In his book Imagining India (which won him highest-ever advance for a non-fiction book in India), he offers a "safety net of ideas" on issues ranging from urbanisation to environment to take India into a second phase of dramatic, technology-driven growth," Swarup noted.
Swarup, the author of Q&A, which was made into the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, said Nilekani is both a corporate icon and India's brand ambassador.
On April 27, the magazine came up with a list of 100 most influential people.
"As the new India, fueled by its robust democracy and favourable demographics, seeks to make the transition from a developing nation to a developed one, it will need the vision and talent of people like Nandan Nilekani," Swarup said.
About Rahman, author and actress Padma Lakshmi said the 43-year-old composer dominates the music industry so totally "that he has supplied the sound track for a whole generation".
"He enjoys the godlike devotion of India's youth, but everyone from the street child who sweeps train platforms to the middle-aged doctor in Mumbai's posh Malabar Hill hums his tunes," the report noted.
Pointing out that he is a shy and quiet man, Lakshmi wrote that his music has emotional force.
"Renowned for his immense range, he'll do a traditional score for a conventional film, then blend exotic vocals with Japanese music and Western classical arrangements in his next project. A veritable Pied Piper, he has no competition, yet he makes it a priority to discover new talent and promote it. He has shaped modern India's music for more than a decade," it added.
Besides, writing about the first black President of US, Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon said the 47-year old has already proved that once inaccessible pinnacles can be reached.
`Wipro sacks more on non-performance’
BANGALORE: India's third-largest IT services company, Wipro, reportedly saw another round of layoffs recently. According to website Siliconindia, the Bangalore-based company laid off an indefinite number of employees last week on non-performance grounds.
The news report quotes an employee, who has been laid off, saying that around 300 employees were laid off on a single day. The employee said that many had to wait for a long time to get back their documents, after being told about the company's decision.
Recently, Girish Paranjpe, joint CEO of Wipro's IT business, said that the performance criteria has become tougher now, because of the slowing economy.
In just-announced Q$ results, Wipro outperformed its larger rivals Infosys and TCS both in terms of profit and revenue growth. The company announced a 25% growth in total annual revenues in 2008-09 at Rs 25,544 crore and a 19% rise in net profit at Rs 3,899 crore. Its fourth quarter brought in a net profit of Rs 1,010 crore (growth of 15% over the corresponding quarter a year ago) and revenues of Rs 6,452 crore (13% growth). IT services brought in most of that, at Rs 4,932 crore.
In September last year, Wipro had put about 4-5% of its workforce, about 2,400-3,000 employees, under the scanner for non-performance. The company said that while some would be given counselling to improve their performance, others would be asked to leave.
IPL News:
Super Kings drub Rajasthan Royals
Thursday, April 30, 2009 (Centurion):Suresh Raina struck a dazzling 55-ball 98 to fashion Chennai Super Kings' impressive 38-run win over defending champions Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League match on Thursday.
Riding on Raina's blistering knock, Chennai got their campaign in the T20 event back on track as they had just one win from five matches before coming to this clash.
The victory was also a sweet revenge for Chennai, who had lost all their matches, including final to Rajasthan in the inaugural edition of the event last year in India.
Raina single-handedly shaped the Chennai innings, taking them to a decent 164 for five after sent in to bat at the SuperSport Park.
They then restricted the defending champions to 126 for nine in 19.3 overs to register their win as Kamran Khan did not come out to bat because of injury.
The defending champions, heavily relying on Yusuf Pathan's performance, failed to build partnerships and paid the price.
Only Ravinder Jadeja (37) put up some resistance and once Pathan (20) was dismissed their fate was sealed.
Laxmipati Balaji was most successful bowler for Chennai with his impressive 3.3-0-21-4 figures. Albie Morkel (2/21) and Jacob Oram (2/27) took two wickets apiece.
Rajasthan's chase was far from ideal as not only they failed to score some quick runs but also lost wickets at regular intervals. South African skipper Greame Smith's poor form continued as the left-hander slashed a wide delivery off paceman Albie Morkel only to find S Badrinath at backward point.
Swapnil Asnodkar (10) became the second victim of Morkel when he smashed his own stumps while attempting a pull.
Australian Rob Quiney (28) and Rajasthan's batting hero Yusuf Pathan (20) sizzled for a while and could not build on the good starts.
Failing to put up partnerships, the defending champions were tottering at 55 for three just near the half-way mark.
Pathan was his usual destructive self, hitting Raina, who had just trapped Quiney, for a mid-wicket four. But he could not bail out his team this time and became one of the victims of Balaji.
Earlier, in the Chennai innings, only Raina and S Badrinath (29) batted with resolve as other batsmen failed miserably.
Raina was dismissed in the last over of the innings while attempting to get his well-deserved first IPL century.
He shared two crucial partnerships -- 67 with Badrinath for third wicket and 71 with his skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (22 not out) for the fifth wicket -- before perishing in the third-man region off Munaf Patel.
But by that time he had lifted his side to a competitive total with his incredible innings, bejewelled with 10 fours and five sixes. Raina revived Chennai innings after its run-rate had suffered severely after the strategic break.
From a solid 81 for two after 10 overs, Chennai batsmen could score just 39 in the next seven overs. Raina held the one together and played some amazing shots to provide his side a platform to fight.
Yusuf Pathan (2/17) did a nice job with the ball for Rajasthan. He sent back both the Chennai openers -- Matthew Hayden (0) and Parthiv Patel (3) -- in his first two overs.
But Raina and Badrinath batted superbly to neutralise the double blow as they did not let it affect their run-rate and kept the scoreboard ticking.
Raina hoicked Dimitri Marcarenhas for a massive six over the mid-wicket and then lofted Pathan for a six over mid-off.
Badrinath, playing his part in the recovery process, put on display some fluent shots -- the cover drives and cuts.
However, two early blows immediately after the strategic break pegged Chennai a bit back.
Skipper Shane Warne broke the partnership when he had Badrinath stumped, beating him in the air in the second over after the break.
Warne gave away just 12 runs from his last three overs, playing a big part in slowing Chennai's progress and it was not until the 18th over that Chennai broke the shackles, fetching 24 runs from that.
Shah Rukh dismisses KKR-for-sale reports
April 30, 2009 (Mumbai):Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan on Thursday dismissed reports that the beleaguered Indian Premier League franchisee is up for sale.
Shah Rukh said he had made a lot of emotional investment in building the side and was not selling it.
"The amount of love I have invested in it, nobody in this world can afford to buy it," Shah Rukh said after casting his vote on Thursday.
News reports earlier claimed the actor wanted to wash his hands of KKR, which has been struggling in the second IPL in South Africa.
According to reports, Shah Rukh was in touch with Nokia, Sahara and the Anil Ambani Group to sell the side he had bought last year for Rs 300 crore.
KKR has been plagued by a slew of controversies which went on to affect its performance on the field as the side managed just one win so far in the second IPL.
Coach John Buchanan's multiple-captain theory, stripping Sourav Ganguly of captaincy and handing it over to Brendon McCullum, sending Aakash Chopra and Sanjay Bangar back home midway through the tournament and reports of a possible players' revolt against the coach -- all affected the side's morale.
McCullum himself is going through a bad patch and has decided to step down if the side fails to reach the semifinals. Shah Rukh was with the team in South Africa before returning home to cast his vote and he plans not to rejoin team unless it starts winning again.
"If my team continues to lose like this, I am not going back to South Africa. I will go only when they play well and win," Shah Rukh said.
Devils stop Chargers' dream run, win by 6 wickets
Table toppers Deccan Chargers' winning streak was on Thursday brought to an end by Delhi Daredevils who cantered to a comfortable six-wicket victory in an Indian Premier League match.
Put into bat, Deccan Chargers recovered from a disastrous start to score 148 for 9 riding on Dwayne Smith's fighting 28-ball 48 balls but the total was not enough as Delhi romped home with eight balls to spare at the SuperSport Park.
Dinesh Karthik (35 off 40) and Tillakaratne Dilshan who remained unbeaten on 52 off 46 balls, added 79 runs in the fourth wicket partnership which was the cornerstone of Delhi's victory.
With 17 runs required off 12 balls, Dilshan cracked two boundaries off paceman Fidel Edwards in the 18th over and wrapped up the game with a six.
Delhi started on an attacking note as Gautam Gambhir clobbered the third delivery of the innings off Edwards to the fence, followed by Virender Sehwag's two consecutive fours off RP Singh in the next over.
But the Delhi openers again failed to give their side a solid start as both Sehwag (20) and Gambhir (17) departed cheaply.
Sehwag, who smashed four boundaries during his 11-ball stay, was the first to return after falling prey to Deccan pacer RP Singh in fourth over, before Shoaib Ahmed dismissed South African AB de Villiers (5) in the next over.
Things only got complicated for Delhi when Gambhir who was middling the balls quite comfortably, also had to head back after Ahmed's wicket-bound delivery found his leg.
However, Dinesh Karthik and Tillakaratne Dilshan put up a creditable show to pull out the Delhi team from the slump as they added 79 runs on the board, before Karthik was given LBW off spinner Pragyan Ojha.
Earlier, Chargers got off to a disastrous start with their two in-form batsmen Adam Gilchrist (8) and Herchelle Gibbs (0) perishing quickly, but Dwayne Smith's 28-ball 48 helped the team to put up a competitive total.
The West Indian first paired up with T Suman and then Venugopal Rao to help the Deccans survive some mid-innings slump that made their life difficult before the strategy break.
Smith was particularly severe on Daniel Vettori hitting him for three consecutive boundaries in the 12th over as the Deccans accelerated the pace of scoring after the strategy break.
Azhar Bilakhia (22) and debutant T Suman (23) were the other notable contributors for the Deccans who have left Delhi Daredevils to score at an asking rate of 7.50 to win the game.
Dutch-born Australian paceman Dirk Nannes inflicted the Hyderabad team two vital blow in initial overs by sending back skipper Gilchrist in the third delivery of the match, followed by another cheap dismissal of Deccan's South African import Gibbs.
Gilchrist failed to middle a rising delivery off Nannes in the very first over as wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik pouched an easy catch.
The left-arm pacer, who was sharing the new ball with India discard Ashish Nehra, hit success again in his second over when Gibbs decided to go after a good-length delivery but his ambitious shot found AB de Villiers at mid-off.
With the team seemingly in trouble, Azhar Bilakhia paired up with birthday boy Rohit Sharma in the middle to stitch up a 33-run partnership.
When both the batsmen got their eye in and started ticking the scoreboard by rotating the strike, Amit Mishra broke the partnership when Rohit Sharma who made 17 off 20 balls, fell prey to the leg spinner in the ninth over.
Deccans suffered another blow in the very next over when experienced New Zealander Daniel Vettori sent Bilakhia packing on 22, leaving the Hyderabad side at 55 for 4 after 10 overs.
Smith found good support from young T Suman, who scored 23 off just 14 balls, and added 65 run to the Deccans' total in fifth-wicket partnership, before the latter was dismissed by Delhi Ranji pacer Pradeep Sangwan.
Knight Riders looking for some luck against Mumbai Indians
CENTURION: What could be in store for a team that has managed just a single win out of its six matches at the IPL and that too because of the
rain, is flooded with rumours that its franchise has been put up for sale, is still struggling to find its perfect eleven and is scheduled to play Mumbai Indians once again?
Blog: Why KKR coach must go
Incidentally, MI is the side that has given them their biggest drubbing in the tournament so far.
The Knight Riders’ long list of misery continues as they now head for East London. Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai, smarting from the last-over defeat against Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday, will be there to receive them and of course, look forward to hand over another thumping defeat as they did the last time.
Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of Knight Riders, has said that he won’t return to South Africa until his team wins a few matches.
There’s little hope left for them to reach the semi-finals. Knight Riders desperately need to put aside all differences whatsoever and pick themselves up because they definitely seem to have a bit of talent needed to do so.
Starting with Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle to Sourav Ganguly, Moises Henriques, Brad Hodge and Laxmi Ratan Shukla, they can at least give another decent shot to what’s left out here.
Against Mumbai once again, it won’t be easy though. Tendulkar and Jayasuriya were both dismissed cheaply against Kings XI Punjab and they’ll be looking to make up for it.
JP Duminy seems to have his head on his shoulders given his composed half-century on Wednesday and there are also the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Abhishek Nayar to lift their spirits.
There are chances that Ganguly will finally be promoted up the order, as McCullum suggested the other day. Inside the camp, there are also rumours that the skipper asked Ganguly if he’d be interested in taking up the captaincy once again, but the latter refused. However, the fact remains that the side is definitely considering giving Ganguly a lot more say than what has been the case so far.
Why the sudden change though, one might ask? Simply because every other strategy they’ve come up with so far has failed.
If Ganguly’s given any kind of freedom, expect Bangladesh all-rounder Mashrafe Mortaza to play his first game at the cost of Hodge or Henriques. Even Shukla will get to play up the order.
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