Prosecution demands death penalty for Kasab
Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam on Tuesday argued the maximum possible sentence Kasab attracts for the offence of waging war against India, murder of many and acts of terror.
Nikam formally demanded the death penalty by hanging for Kasab in court today. Court-appointed defence lawyer for Kasab, K P Pawar, is now expected to seek leniency for his client.
Seeking death for the Pakistani terrorist, Nikam called Kasab a killing machine manufactured in Pakistan. The prosecution cited eight aggravating circumstances against Kasab.
On Monday, Pawar tried to ask the court for a few days to prepare himself for the sentencing arguments, but special Judge M L Tahaliyani refused. The judge told Kasab that the hearing for the quantum of sentence would take place on Tuesday as he asked the police escorts to take him back barefoot to his cell at the end of the two-and-half hour long conviction ruling. Kasab who displayed no emotion, allowed himself to be escorted away in silence.
After the hearing on the quantum, however, the court may not immediately pronounce the sentence on Tuesday itself. Once the sentence is delivered — be it the capital punishment which a proven terror act and waging of war will well attract or anything lesser — the action will then move to the Bombay high court for confirmation or appeal.
A death sentence given by a trial court must be confirmed by a high court before it can be effected under the law. And then from there it could go into appeal. Hence, if death is what Kasab's fate will be in a couple of days, the legal fight can be expected to continue all the way to the Supreme Court and then to the President.
But, if Kasab gets on the death row in India, he will be in a long queue of 52 convicts who face the noose and who have sought a pardon from the President. The prosecutor, victorious with Kasab's conviction, claimed immediately that the acquittal of the other two Indian co-accused would be challenged. But the state government, say sources, doesn't appear too keen on that.
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Motormen's agitation paralyses Mumbai
MUMBAI: Over seven million commuters, including office-goers and students, were severely hit on Tuesday, the second day of the ongoing agitation by motormen manning Mumbai's crucial suburban trains.
The agitation by over 600 motormen on the Western Railway (WR) and Central Railway (CR) compelled the railways to issue a rare advisory Tuesday morning.
"People may undertake (train) journey only if it's very important," said a bulk SMS with a helpline No. 10721 to assist stranded commuters.
At least 170 of the striking motormen were taken into custody at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) on charges of unlawful assembly and obstructing rail employees from reporting for work, Government Railway Police Commissioner Tukaram Chavan said.
Earlier, 20 motormen, 10 each from Central and Western railways, were dismissed from service for refusing to join duty, railway officials said here.
Railway authorities today said only 20 per cent suburban trains were operating as a result of the hunger strike by motormen demanding hike in pay scales and allowances.
The motormen have been on a hunger strike since 6am on Monday and are demanding a pay hike among other things. Their strike led to complete chaos in the city during the evening peak hour traffic on Monday.
Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan has called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation arising out of the motormen's strike. Police, railway and transport officials will attend the meeting, official sources said.
Chavan had on Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and requested his intervention to end the strike, the sources said.
The chief minister also spoke to railway minister Mamata Banerjee and requested her to take stringent action against the striking motormen, they said.
While hundreds of commuters managed to reach their homes late Monday, the situation was worse on Tuesday morning with the railways announcing the cancellation of nearly 80 percent of the total 2,000 daily services.
The railways resorted to desperate - but insufficient - measures like permitting people to travel in long-distance trains and making them halt at all suburban stations.
The railways are also making alternative arrangements to grapple with the agitation, considered the worst in Mumbai since 1974.
The BEST and MSRTC chipped in to help the stranded commuters by deploying additional services in the city and elsewhere.
Mumbai University announced that any student who was delayed for the 40-odd final examinations need not panic, they would be permitted extra time to write their papers.
The motormen's agitation has had a cascading effect on Mumbai roads and highways which have been plagued by ugly traffic snarls since Monday night - and the situation was repeated Tuesday morning.
In fact, the railway agitation managed to overshadow the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case, in which the verdict pronouncing Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Amir alias Kasab guilty was delivered on Monday.
Pakistani in custody in New York car bomb attempt: Officials
NEW YORK: A US citizen has been arrested in connection with the failed car bombing in New York's Times Square last weekend but investigators continue to pursue leads, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Tuesday.
The suspect -- identified by Holder as Faisal Shahzad -- is of Pakistani origin, a law enforcement official told said.
The New York Times said the man lives in neighboring Connecticut and recently returned from a trip to Pakistan.
Holder said the suspect was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as he tried to take a flight to Dubai. Authorities in New York said he would appear in Manhattan Federal Court later on Tuesday.
"It's clear that the intent behind this terrorist act was to kill Americans," Holder said at a news conference. "We continue to gather leads in this investigation, and it's important that the American people remain vigilant."
Sources said the arrested man is believed to be the buyer of the 1993 Nissan sport utility vehicle used to carry the crude bomb made of fuel and fireworks into Times Square as it was packed with people on a warm Saturday evening.
For New Yorkers who bore the brunt of the Sept. 11 attacks by al-Qaida militants in 2001, the scare was a reminder that their city of 8 million people is under constant threat.
"Investigators who were tracking the man were also exploring whether he or others who might have been involved in the attempted bombing had been in contact with people or groups overseas," the Times said, citing unnamed federal officials.
Law enforcement sources told Reuters that Saturday's attempted attack may have involved more than one person and could have international ties. The hunt for the suspects has now been taken over by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, led by the Justice Department, as investigators pore over surveillance camera footage, the Pathfinder and the bomb parts for clues.
Pakistan is a key ally to the United States and other NATO countries fighting the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan but is also seen as a training ground for Islamist militants.
'INTENDED TO TERRORIZE'
Street vendors selling T-shirts and handbags alerted police to the smoking and sparking Nissan Pathfinder that was parked awkwardly with its engine running and hazard lights on near a Broadway theater where Disney's "The Lion King" is performed.
The Pathfinder, with a license plate taken from a car now in a repair shop in Connecticut, was rigged with propane gas cylinders, gasoline cans, fertilizer, fireworks and timing devices when it was found in Times Square.
"I would say that that was intended to terrorize," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Monday. "And I would say that whoever did that would be categorized as a terrorist."
The Taliban in Pakistan said on Sunday it planted the bomb to avenge the killing in April of al-Qaida's two top leaders in Iraq. New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Bloomberg have said there was "no evidence" to support that claim.
But former CIA analyst Bruce Riedel, who oversaw an Obama administration strategy review on Afghanistan and Pakistan last year, cautioned against dismissing a possible role of the Pakistani Taliban in the failed car bomb.
140 al-Qaida men have sneaked into India: Intel
NEW DELHI: An uncorroborated intelligence input from Assam about groups of al- Qaida terrorists slipping into India was one of the reasons behind the high alert sounded over the weekend.
Police forces have been asked to look out for groups of terrorists from the al-Qaida trying to sneak into the country from the western coast. Though the input was not corroborated, authorities did not want to leave anything to chance at a time when the Lashkar and other Pakistan-based terrorist groups sound determined to launch huge attacks on India.
At least a couple of inputs from Assam over the past two weeks said about 140 alleged al-Qaida members may have sneaked into India from the western coast, using Sri Lankan fishing boats. Navy sources brushed aside the "alarmist" input, saying it was impossible for such a large number of people to reach Indian shores in foreign fishing vessels.
But the Assam police not just repeated their warning, they also gave more details on the al-Qaida plot, insisting that the terrorists had landed along the Gujarat-Maharashtra coast and dispersed to various parts of India. Some 30 of them were said to have gone to Rajasthan and 14 to Uttar Pradesh. About 15-20 may have gone to Hyderabad and 12 to Maharashtra. Of the remaining, 40 went to southern states and five to the Delhi/Haryana area. A few of them may have been killed in J&K in encounters in recent days, the Assam police input said. Sources within the security establishment, however, are doubtful of the claims. There was no corroboration from any other sources, they said.
However, the home ministry had issued detailed alerts last Friday to the affected states, not wanting to take any chances. This is the second time in the past two weeks when the Centre has issued serious terror warnings to several states.
On the previous occasion, an intercepted conversation between an alleged terrorist based in Nepal and his contact in Pakistan about their plan to target Delhi and other cities forced the Centre to issue terror alerts in mid-April. The two alerts led to heightened police presence and surveillance in cities over the weekend, sources said.
India acquires Russian oil co: Govt
India has acquired a Russian oil company and bought equity stake in an oil field project in Venezuela through consortium route, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada said during Question Hour, "we have recently acquired a Russian oil company named Imperial Energy through ONGC Videsh. Apart from this we have acquired 18 per cent equity share in a Venezuelan field project through consortium mode."
Prasada said Oil India Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation and OVL are the shareholders in the 18 per cent stake.
The minister said the recent discovery of an oil reserve in Barmer by the government would help in meeting 25 per cent of the nation's current oil production.
Ambani money laundering case drags
The government today informed the Rajya Sabha that it was not possible to provide a time-frame for completion of investigations into allegations of money laundering against Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG).
Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam said in a written answer that the Directorate of Enforcement had received complaints against some companies of ADAG, alleging money laundering in connivance with Mauritius-based fund Pluri Emerging Companies and UBS Bank, London.
The Directorate is looking into the allegations for appropriate action, he said, adding, "It may, however, not be possible to indicate a time-frame for conclusion of inquiries/investigations as the same also depends on various factors including ...cooperation by other agencies both within and outside India."
Stock exchanges saved from RTI scrutiny
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday stayed its order of bringing stock exchanges within the ambit of the Right to Information Act.
A division bench headed by acting Chief Justice Madan B Lokur stayed the operation of a single bench order which had on April 15 held that stock exchanges are "quasi" governmental bodies which are bound to disclose information to the public under the transparency law.
The court passed the order on an appeal filed by National Stock Exchange (NSE) which contended that it cannot be forced to reveal information under the RTI Act as it is a company and the government has no control over it.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for NSE, contended that the single judge bench had erred in bringing it within the ambit of the RTI Act as it's neither a government body nor financed by the government.
"I (NSE) am not financed by the government at all. There is no question of any substantial finance by the government. There is zero financial control of government over its functioning," Singhvi said.
Allowing public scrutiny of the functioning of stock exchanges, the single judge bench of the High Court had dismissed the plea of NSE and Jaipur Stock Exchange which submitted that they cannot be forced to reveal information to the public under the RTI Act as they are autonomous bodies incorporated under the Company Act and not controlled by the government.
Justice Sanjeev Khanna had dismissed the petition of the stock exchanges and upheld the decision of the Central Information Commission which had declared stock exchange as a public authority.
"A stock exchange being a quasi governmental body working under the statute and exercising statutory powers has to be held to be a public authority under the Act," the Commission had said while directing the NSE to put in place a mechanism for the purpose.
Angry Collingwood demands revised D-L for T20
Angry and frustrated after the Duckworth-Lewis system cost them a win over West Indies in the Twenty20 World Cup here, England captain Paul Collingwood has demanded that rain rules be revised for the shortest format of the game.
"There's a major problem with Duckworth-Lewis in this form of the game," Collingwood said after the eight-wicket loss to the hosts.
England had set a mammoth 192-run target for Chris Gayle's men but a rain disruption, that washed out over an hour of the match, led to the target being revised to 60 in six overs which the hosts chased down easily.
"I've got no problem with it in one-dayers, and I know it's made me very frustrated because I've come off the losing captain, but it's certainly got to be revised in this form," Collingwood said.
"Ninety-five per cent of the time when you get 191 runs on the board you are going to win the game. Unfortunately Duckworth-Lewis seems to have other ideas and brings the equation completely the other way and makes it very difficult," he fumed.
The man who benefited from the system too agreed with Collingwood. West Indies captain Chris Gayle said one team cannot be disadvantaged the way England were last night due to rain.
"I think it's something they're going to have to look into," he said.
I would support what Collingwood just said. I could have been in the same position as well. It's something that can be addressed so it can be even stevens for both teams in the future. I'm happy but it's just unfortunate for England," he added.
But that was hardly a consolation for Collingwood for whom the result is yet to sink in.
"I'm trying to take the emotion out of that defeat to be honest with you," he said.
"It's the second time it's happened to us against West Indies so it's very frustrating for the boys because we've played a near-perfect game and still lost," he added.
Collingwood said he has no clue how the system can be adjusted to Twenty20 but it has to at the earliest or else teams would continue to suffer.
"I'm not a mathematician, I don't really know what the equation should be, but your backs are certainly against the wall when it's like that."
All parties sought tenure limitations: Gill
Sports Minister MS Gill on Tuesday said the new regulation that seeks to limit the tenure of sports administrators has the backing of all political parties and is in fact a softer version of the original 1975 guideline.
Gill was rather taken aback by the reaction of the chiefs of various National Sports Federations (NSF) who vehemently opposed the regulation, questioning its timing since it came barely five months before the Commonwealth Games in the capital.
The Sports Minister said he was requested by all political parties to limit the tenure of sports administrators.
"On April 22, there was a full debate on my ministry in the Rajya Sabha and all parties, barring none, urged me to have the regulation to limit terms (of the sports administrators), this being the demand of the sports people and the public for long," Gill said.
"I studied the issue with my officers and gave a considered order which should be read and re-read for total understanding," he said.
Gill said all he did was to bring back an old regulation and in fact relaxed the norm to allow NSF presidents to continue for 12 years, instead of eight suggested by the original 1975 guideline.
"I have only restored the regulation of the Indira Gandhi government. For the sake of the federation office-bearers, I have in fact softened the regulation and it's milder than the 1975 direction," he said.
The new regulation suggests NSF presidents, which includes long-standing Indian Olympic Association chief Suresh Kalmadi, cannot occupy the post for more than 12 years, with or without break, while secretaries and treasurers can serve eight years at a stretch and can seek a re-election only after a four-year gap.
"We studied the International Olympic Council (IOC) regulation and they require their president to have a 12-year term in total, no more, and to retire at 70.
"Therefore, our NSF presidents can continue for 12 years even continuous. What more could we do?" he asked.
"I guess the current protest is frankly because my friends (in NSFs) want unlimited tenures which don't exist even in IOC and most major sports federations in the world," Gill said.
The Minister also pointed out that the regulation doesn't mean the NSF office-bearers who have overstayed have to vacate the positions right now.
"We have also made it clear in the order that no one is to be disturbed right now. Elected office-bearers can carry on with their term. The regulation will apply from future elections, as and when they occur," he said.
Apart from IOA President Suresh Kalmadi, the regulation seeks to end the more than a decade-old reign of VK Malhotra (archery), Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (cycling), VK Verma (badminton), Captain Satish K Sharma (aero club) and B S Adityan (volleyball).
According to the regulation, Kalmadi, who has been at the IOA helm since 1996, can continue till the 2012 when the next election of the association takes place.
'My defeats make more news than wins'
His feat of becoming a three-time Asian billiards champion going virtually unnoticed amid the IPL hype, ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani rued that his failures make more news than his triumphs.
"It's ironical that my losing makes more news than my winning nowdays. When I win it's like praises coming from all over places, but when I lose, it's like Oh! How come it happened. How did you lose? Very strange. You see very shocking reactions," Pankaj said.
"I don't know what to do in that situation. Whether to feel happy that people expect so much from me or to feel disappointed that my being so low profile has been taken for granted. To get noticed, you have to be in the news for the wrong reasons. I can't do that, and so my win is taken for granted," the world champion said.
A miffed Pankaj went on to criticise the IPL, saying that more then sports, it is a mix of business and entertainment.
"It's all about entertainment. Entertainment factor first than cricket. And people love all this," he said.
Pankaj, the youngest Asian to have won the IBSF titles for record a six times, said all the sports federations including Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) should take a leaf out of BCCI's book on how to successfully promote and market their sports.
"Not on the similar lines like IPL, but something like that. It's a general comment that all the federations including BSFI should follow the example of BCCI and learn ways to promote and market their sports," he said.
"It's my personal view. To make cue sports more spectator friendly and increase its base, you need to get more and more people involved in this game. Like exhibition matches in shopping malls.
Basically, it's an indoor game, so organise a tournament in an open arena. You need to come out with something out of the box thinking, some radical ideas. And that's where federation must come in and think over it."
"Players' job is to perform. Do the country proud. People who governs the sport, they need to be more pro-active in marketing the game," said Pankaj, the only cueist to have won twin titles (point and time formats) at the IBSF World Billiards championships not once but twice.
Pankaj feels that it's high time the country starts appreciating heroes from other sports.
"In India, when you talk about sports, most of the parents are of the view that it's a waste of academic future.
This shows there lack of passion for sports.
"You have great sportspersons in every field where they have achieved everything they want. Huge bunch of achievers we have in India and that's inspirational," he said.
Expectations have always sat heavy on this young player's slim shoulders, but he's learnt to deal with them.
"I have reached a stage in my career where I don't have to prove anything to anyone. After winning seven world titles and five Asian titles, I really don't need to prove anything.
If last five years results are to go by, I think I have done my bit and achieved everything," he said.
"My next aim is to become India's best sportsperson. To achieve everything that a sportsperson wants to achieve in his career. I am the best in cue sports and I have no qualms admitting that and there is no suspicion about that."
On upcoming tournaments, Pankaj said, "I will be participating in Asian Snooker championship in May in Thailand, World billiards and snooker championship in August, September and then Asian Games in November in China."
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