BJP MLA and former minister in the Narendra Modi government Maya Kodnani and a Bajrang Dal leader were among 32 people convicted by a special court today in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riots case in which 97 people belonging to the minority community were killed.
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Aditional principal judge Jyotsna Yagnik held Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi guilty under sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder) of IPC in the post-Godhra riots case, while acquitting 29 others.
The quantum of sentence is likely to be announced later. The massacre had taken place a day after the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002. On February 28, 2002 when a bandh call was given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a large crowd gathered in the Naroda Patiya area and attacked people belonging to minority community that resulted in the death of 97 people while 33 others were injured in the violence. The trial began in August 2009 and charges were framed against 62 accused, one of the accused, Vijay Shetty, died during the course of trial. As many as 327 witnesses, comprising eye witnesses, victims, doctors, police personnel, government officials, forensic experts and journalists including Ashish Khetan, who conducted a TV sting operation on the accused, have been examined by the court. Initially, 46 people were arrested by the Gujarat Police, whereas 24 more people were apprehended after the probe was handed over to the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in 2008. In all, 70 people were arrested in the case. Six persons died before the charges could be framed and trial started, while two others identified as Mohan Nepali and Tejas Pathak jumped bail and are still absconding. Kodnani was arrested by the SIT when she was a minister of state for women and child development in Modi government in March 2009. She was an MLA at the time of the incident. The Naroda Patiya case was probed by eight investigating officers over the last decade with the latest being Himanshu Shukla on behalf of the Special Investigation Team (SIT). The Naroda Patiya case was one of the nine cases of Gujarat riots being probed by the SIT, including the Godhra train burning case. The other cases probed by SIT where judgements have been pronounced include the case in Ode village of Anand where 18 persons were sentenced to life imprisonment and five others to seven years in prison by a special court last month, for the killing of 23 persons on March 1, 2002. Last year, a special court had awarded death sentence to 11 and life imprisonment to 20 others in the Godhra train burning case where 59 persons were burnt alive in S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express train near Godhra railway station. Also, 31 persons were sentenced to life imprisonment by another designated court of Mehsana district in connection with Sardarpura riot case where 33 persons were killed during post-Godhra riots. On July 30, 21 accused were sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in another case of Dipda Darwaja area of Mehsana, where 11 persons were killed during 2002 riots |
Showing posts with label NEWS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NEWS. Show all posts
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
guj riot case 32 convicted29 freed
Thursday, 9 August 2012
NEWS USAIN BOLT 200M OLYMPIC LONDON
LONDON: Usain Bolt made history on Thursday when the Jamaican successfully defended his Olympic 200m crown to claim an unprecedented second successive sprint double.
In Pics: Usain Bolt wins 200m gold
Bolt, who retained his 100m title on Saturday, crossed the line in the equal fourth fastest time of all time of 19.32sec to win in front of a delirious sell-out 80,000 crowd at the Olympic Stadium.
The 25-year-old's victory meant he bettered the record of US track legend Carl Lewis, who won three golds and a silver in the sprints at the 1984 and 1988 Games.
Bolt said: "This is the one I wanted and I got it."
It was also the first time two individual track titles were successfully defended at successive Games since Finland's Lasse Viren won the 5000m and 10,000m in theMunich and Montreal Games in 1972 and 1976.
Bolt led a Jamaican clean sweep of the podium, with training partner Yohan Blaketaking silver in 19.44sec and Warren Weir claiming a shock bronze in 19.84sec.
The only thing missing from the race was a new world record for Bolt, but he revealed he had felt his back during the race.
"I could feel the strain on my back a little bit so all I did was try to keep my form, run home and when I saw where I was going I stopped running because I knew it wasn't going to be a world record."
Running in lane seven, Bolt was up on Weir outside him within five paces after an explosive start.
As he rounded the bend, Blake briefly threatened from lane four, but teeth clenched, eyes on the big screen and at full tilt, Bolt had enough to slow down a full 10 metres from the line, raising his finger to his lips as he did so.
Whether that gesture was for title contender Blake or this season's growing band of doubters, only Bolt knows, but his victory underlined his position as the greatest sprinter on the planet.
The London Games are Bolt's fourth global championship since 2008.
He has won six titles in the seven individual events in which he has competed, his one blip coming when he was disqualified from the Daegu world championship 100m final last year after a false start.
Bolt, also the world record holder in both the 100 and 200m, was not quite his usual playful self in the moments before he settled, an air of seriousness permeating a silenced stadium as he offered a regal-like wave.
Amid the tangible tension, Bolt briefly crossed himself and pointed skywards before setting himself.
The starter's gun signalled a dramatic change in mood as a determined Bolt pulled out all the stops to burn off his rivals from the off.
Apart from Bolt, eight men (Archie Hahn (1904), Ralph Craig (1912), Percy Williams (1928), Eddie Tolan (1932), Jesse Owens (1936), Bobby Morrow (1956), Valeriy Borzov (1972), Carl Lewis (1984), have won the sprint double at the same Olympics, but only Hahn and Lewis have successfully defended the short sprint.
Hahn missed out on his chance of a "double-double" when the 200m was not included in the 1906 Games and Lewis, after being upgraded to 100m champion in Seoulfollowing Ben Johnson's disqualification, lost to US teammate Joe DeLoach in the 200m
In Pics: Usain Bolt wins 200m gold
Bolt, who retained his 100m title on Saturday, crossed the line in the equal fourth fastest time of all time of 19.32sec to win in front of a delirious sell-out 80,000 crowd at the Olympic Stadium.
The 25-year-old's victory meant he bettered the record of US track legend Carl Lewis, who won three golds and a silver in the sprints at the 1984 and 1988 Games.
Bolt said: "This is the one I wanted and I got it."
It was also the first time two individual track titles were successfully defended at successive Games since Finland's Lasse Viren won the 5000m and 10,000m in theMunich and Montreal Games in 1972 and 1976.
Bolt led a Jamaican clean sweep of the podium, with training partner Yohan Blaketaking silver in 19.44sec and Warren Weir claiming a shock bronze in 19.84sec.
The only thing missing from the race was a new world record for Bolt, but he revealed he had felt his back during the race.
"I could feel the strain on my back a little bit so all I did was try to keep my form, run home and when I saw where I was going I stopped running because I knew it wasn't going to be a world record."
Running in lane seven, Bolt was up on Weir outside him within five paces after an explosive start.
As he rounded the bend, Blake briefly threatened from lane four, but teeth clenched, eyes on the big screen and at full tilt, Bolt had enough to slow down a full 10 metres from the line, raising his finger to his lips as he did so.
Whether that gesture was for title contender Blake or this season's growing band of doubters, only Bolt knows, but his victory underlined his position as the greatest sprinter on the planet.
The London Games are Bolt's fourth global championship since 2008.
He has won six titles in the seven individual events in which he has competed, his one blip coming when he was disqualified from the Daegu world championship 100m final last year after a false start.
Bolt, also the world record holder in both the 100 and 200m, was not quite his usual playful self in the moments before he settled, an air of seriousness permeating a silenced stadium as he offered a regal-like wave.
Amid the tangible tension, Bolt briefly crossed himself and pointed skywards before setting himself.
The starter's gun signalled a dramatic change in mood as a determined Bolt pulled out all the stops to burn off his rivals from the off.
Apart from Bolt, eight men (Archie Hahn (1904), Ralph Craig (1912), Percy Williams (1928), Eddie Tolan (1932), Jesse Owens (1936), Bobby Morrow (1956), Valeriy Borzov (1972), Carl Lewis (1984), have won the sprint double at the same Olympics, but only Hahn and Lewis have successfully defended the short sprint.
Hahn missed out on his chance of a "double-double" when the 200m was not included in the 1906 Games and Lewis, after being upgraded to 100m champion in Seoulfollowing Ben Johnson's disqualification, lost to US teammate Joe DeLoach in the 200m
NEWS REBUKED WATCHMAN KILLS YOUNG LAW GRADUATE
MUMBAI: In a murder that has sent shockwaves through the upscale Bhakti Park at Wadala, a watchman of a building murdered a 25-year-old legal affairs manager with an entertainment company early on Thursday morning for rebuking him a couple of days ago.
Pallavi Purkayastha, the daughter of Delhi-based senior bureaucrats, was found dead by her live-in partner Avik Sengupta in a pool of blood with her throat slit. She had multiple injuries on her face, hands and eyes, police said.
The couple-both law graduates-stayed on the 16th floor of the 20-storey Himalayan Heights. The Kashmiri watchman, 28-year-old Sajjad Pathan, was arrested after he confessed to the murder. He said he wanted to take revenge for the humiliation.
"He was upset with Pallavi after she had rebuked him a couple of days ago. He felt humiliated and wanted to take revenge. Finding her alone in the flat, Pathan molested her and also made an attempt to rape her," a crime branch officer said on condition of anonymity. Pathan was an employee of Ahmed Hamid Enterprises, a security services firm.
Police said the murder was committed around 1.45am after two electricians, who had come to restore power at Pallavi's flat 1601 that had gone off at around 12.30am, left the place.
The murder came to light when 26-year-old Avik, working with a financial services firm, returned home from work at around 5.30am and found the door to his flat left open. As he stepped inside, he saw the bloodstains and Pallavi lying in her undergarments.
He immediately informed his neighbours and they called the police. "We came to know about the murder at around 5.45am," said Nagesh Jadhav, senior inspector of Wadala police station.
Recreating the murder, police said after the power suddenly went off in their flat, Pallavi had called Avik and informed him about it. He had asked her to get in touch with the society watchman and take his help to repair it. Pallavi had called Avik at around 1.20am to inform him about the power supply being restored. Police said that was the last call recorded from Pallavi's mobile phone.
But in between, from the blood stains in the lobby and also on the calling bell of their neighbour K T Shah, it seems Pallavi had rushed out and tried to seek help. But with no one responding to her calls, she apparently went back to her flat and bled to death.
Sources said Shah told the police that he heard someone ringing the calling bell when he was in deep sleep. But when he looked through the peephole, he did not find anyone, so he didn't open the door. He also denied that he heard any commotion or screams from Pallavi and Avik's flat. Police have recorded the statement of Shah and his family.
Pallavi and Avik had taken the flat on rent from Vineet Gupta around eight months ago. Earlier, the police had detained the couple's cook Saeeda and others including Avik. All of them have been given a clean chit.
A post-mortem of Pallavi's body was carried out and her parents, who had come down from Delhi have been handed over her body, police said
YUVRAJ SINGH MAY RETURN TO TEAM INDIA FOR WORLD T20
NEW DELHI: Dashing batsman Yuvraj Singhis likely to be picked in the Indian squad for theWorld Twenty20 Championship when the selectors choose the 15-strong team in Mumbai on Friday.
Yuvraj, the man of the tournament in the 2011 World Cup, had last played for India in November 2011 before being diagnosed with a rare germ cell cancer.
The World Twenty20 Championship event will be played in Sri Lanka from September 18 to October 7. According to sources, the selectors plan to bring the swashbuckling southpaw back in the national team through the shortest format of the game.
Yuvraj will also be playing two T20 games against New Zealand at home on September 8 and 11, it was learnt.
Officially, Yuvraj's fitness report will be tabled at the selection meeting and the selectors will pick him only after an all-clear on this front. But sources said his fitness has already been assessed and he has been deemed fit.
After his treatment, Yuvraj has been working out at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore and has also played a few practice matches recently. NCA sources said he has done enough to dispel any doubts about whether he has adequate stamina.
About the rest of the squad, middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma is on a sticky wicket due to his poor form. With Manoj Tiwary all set to retain his place, it will be tough for Rohit to make the cut.
In the medium-pace department, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Ashok Dinda and Umesh Yadavare almost certain to retain their places.
The fight for the fifth slot here is between L Balaji, who had a fine IPL season earlier this year, and Vinay Kumar. This means that the squad will have only two specialist spinners.
R Ashwin is a certainty while three contenders ( Pragyan Ojha, Rahul Sharma and Piyush Chawla) are vying for the other slot.
On the batting front, Ajinkya Rahane also has a good chance of making it as the third opener. Thus, it's going to be 7-7-1 combination (seven bowlers, seven batsmen and a wicketkeeper)
GOVT HAS BADLY LOST ITS WAY HURTING ECONOMY MOODYS
NEW DELHI: The Indian government is the "single biggest factor weighing on business confidence and the economic outlook", Moody's Analytics said on Thursday while revising downwards the GDP estimate for Asia's third-largest economy to 5.5% in 2012-13.
It said the economic slowdown in India was sharper and more broad-based than anticipated and was now deeply entrenched across all sectors of the economy. "There has been little policy response from either the Reserve Bank of India or the government and with the global uncertainty dragging on, we see nothing on the horizon to lift the economy from its funk," said Glenn Levine, senior economist at Moody's Analytics, adding that the second factor was the poor monsoon which was running well below average.
The agency, which is a division of Moody's Corporation, said the slowdown was the most pronounced in the country's corporate sector.
"Confidence among Indian firms has been crushed by weak demand, elevated interest rates, high inflation and most significantly, the instability created by a weak central government that has badly lost its way," Levine said in the report titled 'India Outlook: Below Potential'. The agency lowered the growth estimate for 2013 to 6% from the previous estimate of 6.2%.
In June, global ratings agency Standard & Poor's had cautioned that India could be the first among BRIC countries at risk of losing its investment-grade rating due to slowing GDP growth and political roadblocks to reforms. S&P had said that a divided leadership at the Centre might be the biggest hurdle to reforms.
The deficient monsoon and slowdown in economic reforms have added to the gloom and led to a raft of downgrades on GDP growth for 2012-13.
Moody's Analytics said in its report that the prime minister has one final opportunity to salvage his legacy. "With two years left in office, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must turn things around quickly or risk becoming a lame duck for the remainder of his term, leaving behind a legacy of missed opportunity," Levine said.
The Congress said the government was taking all steps to enable the economy to return to a high growth path. "All the steps needed for India to return to a high growth trajectory are being taken. However, we cannot be oblivious to the fact that a sluggish global economy does impact us too. But the prediction made by Moody's seems a stretch and perhaps betrays a lack of understanding about the robust fundamentals of the Indian economy," party spokesman Manish Tewari said.
But the Moody's Analytics report gave a fresh handle to the opposition to slam the government on its reforms record. "For all practical purposes, the PM is already a lame duck. He doesn't lead either in Parliament or outside," BJP leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha said. "I must confess that I find these comments on India's PM very humiliating. But it cannot be denied that while the government may try and hide the truth from our own people, keen observers abroad are not deceived."
Levine said finance minister P Chidambaram was making all the right noises, with pledges to curb the government deficit and lift business confidence and investment but bold measures were needed to revive and restore the health of the economy.
"While we applaud the intent of the new finance minister, it all has the feel of being a quick fix, last-ditch effort to avert the economy from its downward spiral. But an economy is a complex combination of millions of different units—households, firms, government entities and so forth—that cannot be easily manipulated using tricks or quick fixes, at least not over a prolonged period," Levine said.
"We will need to see sustained pro-growth policies before we start to consider the Indian government anything but a sizeable drag on economic activity," he said. The agency expects growth to rumble along at 5-6% to mid-2013 and said that risks to the outlook remained elevated and weighed to the downside.
Times View
Moody's report: Govt should act, not sulk
This is only the latest in a long list of individuals and institutions who have been saying much the same thing - government inaction is costing the economy dearly.
It would be a mistake for the government to bristle at this suggestion, as it has more often than not done in the past, and get defensive about it.
It must come to terms with the fact that there is a widespread perception of paralysis, and one that is not entirely baseless.
The best way to react to such a perception is to seek to dispel it with action. No amount of denials or announcements of pious intentions can substitute for concrete action.
It said the economic slowdown in India was sharper and more broad-based than anticipated and was now deeply entrenched across all sectors of the economy. "There has been little policy response from either the Reserve Bank of India or the government and with the global uncertainty dragging on, we see nothing on the horizon to lift the economy from its funk," said Glenn Levine, senior economist at Moody's Analytics, adding that the second factor was the poor monsoon which was running well below average.
The agency, which is a division of Moody's Corporation, said the slowdown was the most pronounced in the country's corporate sector.
"Confidence among Indian firms has been crushed by weak demand, elevated interest rates, high inflation and most significantly, the instability created by a weak central government that has badly lost its way," Levine said in the report titled 'India Outlook: Below Potential'. The agency lowered the growth estimate for 2013 to 6% from the previous estimate of 6.2%.
In June, global ratings agency Standard & Poor's had cautioned that India could be the first among BRIC countries at risk of losing its investment-grade rating due to slowing GDP growth and political roadblocks to reforms. S&P had said that a divided leadership at the Centre might be the biggest hurdle to reforms.
The deficient monsoon and slowdown in economic reforms have added to the gloom and led to a raft of downgrades on GDP growth for 2012-13.
Moody's Analytics said in its report that the prime minister has one final opportunity to salvage his legacy. "With two years left in office, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must turn things around quickly or risk becoming a lame duck for the remainder of his term, leaving behind a legacy of missed opportunity," Levine said.
The Congress said the government was taking all steps to enable the economy to return to a high growth path. "All the steps needed for India to return to a high growth trajectory are being taken. However, we cannot be oblivious to the fact that a sluggish global economy does impact us too. But the prediction made by Moody's seems a stretch and perhaps betrays a lack of understanding about the robust fundamentals of the Indian economy," party spokesman Manish Tewari said.
But the Moody's Analytics report gave a fresh handle to the opposition to slam the government on its reforms record. "For all practical purposes, the PM is already a lame duck. He doesn't lead either in Parliament or outside," BJP leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha said. "I must confess that I find these comments on India's PM very humiliating. But it cannot be denied that while the government may try and hide the truth from our own people, keen observers abroad are not deceived."
Levine said finance minister P Chidambaram was making all the right noises, with pledges to curb the government deficit and lift business confidence and investment but bold measures were needed to revive and restore the health of the economy.
"While we applaud the intent of the new finance minister, it all has the feel of being a quick fix, last-ditch effort to avert the economy from its downward spiral. But an economy is a complex combination of millions of different units—households, firms, government entities and so forth—that cannot be easily manipulated using tricks or quick fixes, at least not over a prolonged period," Levine said.
"We will need to see sustained pro-growth policies before we start to consider the Indian government anything but a sizeable drag on economic activity," he said. The agency expects growth to rumble along at 5-6% to mid-2013 and said that risks to the outlook remained elevated and weighed to the downside.
Times View
Moody's report: Govt should act, not sulk
This is only the latest in a long list of individuals and institutions who have been saying much the same thing - government inaction is costing the economy dearly.
It would be a mistake for the government to bristle at this suggestion, as it has more often than not done in the past, and get defensive about it.
It must come to terms with the fact that there is a widespread perception of paralysis, and one that is not entirely baseless.
The best way to react to such a perception is to seek to dispel it with action. No amount of denials or announcements of pious intentions can substitute for concrete action.
news cpm coffers bulge with capitalist cash reveals data given to ec
NEW DELHI: Contrary to CPM general secretary Prakash Karat's assertions, the party of the proletariat is in the same bracket as theCongress and the BJP when it comes to accepting corporate funds.
Information compiled by Election Commissionreveal that CPM has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of corporate donations, next only to Congress, BJP and BSP. In fact, CPM managed to rake in more than the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP): two outfits often seen to be sensitive to corporate interests.
The data the party shared with the Election Commission shows that it mopped up more than Rs 335 crore between 2007-08 and 2011-12. While the Samajwadi Party made only Rs 200 crore during this period, NCP was far behind at Rs 140 crore.
Karat had recently blamed corporate donations to its bourgeois rivals for the loss of CPM's political influence.
In these five years, the top grosser was, of course, Congress with Rs 1,662 crore, followed by the BSP (Rs 1,226 crore) and the BJP (Rs 852 crore). The estimate of total income was made using the income tax returns filed by each of these parties and obtained by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an NGO working for election reforms.
An assessment of income of these political outfits shows that CPM has other traits in common with the bourgeois outfits. All of them keep the identity of almost all their donors -- from 90% in some cases to 99% in others -- a secret. In fact, CPM has been among the least transparent on that count, but better than the BSP which has put a lid on all sources of its funds. The list of donors declared by the Left party accounted for only 1% of its total income in at least two years — 2007-08 and 2008-09.
As against this, the BJP made public the identity of those who were the source of 20% and 14% of its funds in the two relevant years. Congress was less forthcoming, but with figures of 4% and 6% fared better than the CPM.
What is also interesting about the figures, which pertain to the phase when the CPM was in power in West Bengal and Kerala, is that some of the corporate donors to the party have also been contributing to Congress and the BJP.
The BSP did not declare the names of any of its donors. It claimed it was not obliged to take names because none of contributions that it received exceeded Rs 20,000- the threshold set by EC for mandatory disclosure of identity of donors
Information compiled by Election Commissionreveal that CPM has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of corporate donations, next only to Congress, BJP and BSP. In fact, CPM managed to rake in more than the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP): two outfits often seen to be sensitive to corporate interests.
The data the party shared with the Election Commission shows that it mopped up more than Rs 335 crore between 2007-08 and 2011-12. While the Samajwadi Party made only Rs 200 crore during this period, NCP was far behind at Rs 140 crore.
Karat had recently blamed corporate donations to its bourgeois rivals for the loss of CPM's political influence.
In these five years, the top grosser was, of course, Congress with Rs 1,662 crore, followed by the BSP (Rs 1,226 crore) and the BJP (Rs 852 crore). The estimate of total income was made using the income tax returns filed by each of these parties and obtained by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an NGO working for election reforms.
An assessment of income of these political outfits shows that CPM has other traits in common with the bourgeois outfits. All of them keep the identity of almost all their donors -- from 90% in some cases to 99% in others -- a secret. In fact, CPM has been among the least transparent on that count, but better than the BSP which has put a lid on all sources of its funds. The list of donors declared by the Left party accounted for only 1% of its total income in at least two years — 2007-08 and 2008-09.
As against this, the BJP made public the identity of those who were the source of 20% and 14% of its funds in the two relevant years. Congress was less forthcoming, but with figures of 4% and 6% fared better than the CPM.
What is also interesting about the figures, which pertain to the phase when the CPM was in power in West Bengal and Kerala, is that some of the corporate donors to the party have also been contributing to Congress and the BJP.
The BSP did not declare the names of any of its donors. It claimed it was not obliged to take names because none of contributions that it received exceeded Rs 20,000- the threshold set by EC for mandatory disclosure of identity of donors
news karnataka mining scam may have cost exchequer rs 50000crore
NEW DELHI: The scale of the Karnataka mining scam seems to be getting bigger with the estimates of an expert committee suggesting that the alleged robber barons who engaged in illicit mining may have cheated the state of Rs 50,000 crore in taxes and other levies.
The mining syndicate which thrived across regimes claimed that it was taking out just 50 million tonnes of iron ore every year whereas inspections showed that in reality, another 30-40 million tonnes of ore was illegally mined and siphoned off.
Considering that the recent e-auction for just 26.58 million tonnes brought in Rs 1,496 in various levies, the loss to the state exchequer works out to Rs 7,000 crore every year over the last one decade.
The Supreme Court's environment panel, Central Empowered Committee (CEC), submitted its report to a bench of Justices Aftab Alam, K S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar on Thursday and said till July 31, 26.58 million tonnes of iron ore was sold through e-auction for Rs 6,416 crore.
"In addition to the sale price, about Rs 1,496 crore has been recovered and paid by the monitoring committee to the government -- Rs 606.24 crore as royalty, Rs 594.06 crore as forest development charges, Rs 270.65 crore as VAT and Rs 25.11 crore as CST," said the report submitted to the court by CEC's member secretary M K Jiwrajika.
CEC sources said if the private lease holders had sold the iron ore for Rs 6,416 crore, then they would have paid income tax of over Rs 2,100 crore to the government. So, along with the various levies, the government would have got almost Rs 3,600 crore from the entire transaction.
Before the apex court banned mining completely, private lease holders had declared sale of 50 million tonnes of iron ore per year on an average and inspection showed that another 30-40 million tonnes of ore was illegally mined and siphoned off.
If sale of the total 80-90 million tonnes of iron ore was shown as legal by the private parties every year, then they would have earned around Rs 18,000 crore, over which income tax would have been Rs 6,000 crore. In addition, the government would have got nearly Rs 1,500 crore as royalty, FDC, VAT and CST. This means the government would have got around Rs 7,500 crore every year. But what the government actually got was only around Rs 500 crore from the private parties.
Thus, an estimated loss of Rs 7,000 crore to the exchequer per year happened for nearly a decade and CEC sources said the entire illegal extraction of iron ore and under-reporting of sale and extraction could have cost the exchequer Rs 50,000 crore.
The bench asked the Karnataka government to file its response to the CEC report after amicus curiae Shyam Divan and A D N Rao informed the court that the reclamation and rehabilitation plan for 16 mines had been prepared. But the bench insisted that it would permit resumption of mining in these mines only after the rehabilitation plan was implemented on the ground.
To make available adequate quantity of iron ore for iron and steel plants dependent on the ore extracted from Bellary-Hospet, Tumkur and Chitradurga districts, the bench sought an update from NMDC, which alone has been allowed by the court to undertake limited mining operations.
Senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for NMDC, said the PSU had the capability to extract 10 lakh tonnes of iron ore but it faced problems in transporting the extracted mineral and lack of assured long term demand.
The Karnataka Iron and Steel Manufacturers Association and Federation of Indian Mineral Industries through senior advocates C S Vaidyanathan and T S Andhyarujina said their clients were ready to lift the mineral. The bench asked representatives of industry associations, ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) and NMDC to sit with the CEC on Monday to chalk out long-term e-auction scheme and place it before the court on August 17
The mining syndicate which thrived across regimes claimed that it was taking out just 50 million tonnes of iron ore every year whereas inspections showed that in reality, another 30-40 million tonnes of ore was illegally mined and siphoned off.
Considering that the recent e-auction for just 26.58 million tonnes brought in Rs 1,496 in various levies, the loss to the state exchequer works out to Rs 7,000 crore every year over the last one decade.
The Supreme Court's environment panel, Central Empowered Committee (CEC), submitted its report to a bench of Justices Aftab Alam, K S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar on Thursday and said till July 31, 26.58 million tonnes of iron ore was sold through e-auction for Rs 6,416 crore.
"In addition to the sale price, about Rs 1,496 crore has been recovered and paid by the monitoring committee to the government -- Rs 606.24 crore as royalty, Rs 594.06 crore as forest development charges, Rs 270.65 crore as VAT and Rs 25.11 crore as CST," said the report submitted to the court by CEC's member secretary M K Jiwrajika.
CEC sources said if the private lease holders had sold the iron ore for Rs 6,416 crore, then they would have paid income tax of over Rs 2,100 crore to the government. So, along with the various levies, the government would have got almost Rs 3,600 crore from the entire transaction.
Before the apex court banned mining completely, private lease holders had declared sale of 50 million tonnes of iron ore per year on an average and inspection showed that another 30-40 million tonnes of ore was illegally mined and siphoned off.
If sale of the total 80-90 million tonnes of iron ore was shown as legal by the private parties every year, then they would have earned around Rs 18,000 crore, over which income tax would have been Rs 6,000 crore. In addition, the government would have got nearly Rs 1,500 crore as royalty, FDC, VAT and CST. This means the government would have got around Rs 7,500 crore every year. But what the government actually got was only around Rs 500 crore from the private parties.
Thus, an estimated loss of Rs 7,000 crore to the exchequer per year happened for nearly a decade and CEC sources said the entire illegal extraction of iron ore and under-reporting of sale and extraction could have cost the exchequer Rs 50,000 crore.
The bench asked the Karnataka government to file its response to the CEC report after amicus curiae Shyam Divan and A D N Rao informed the court that the reclamation and rehabilitation plan for 16 mines had been prepared. But the bench insisted that it would permit resumption of mining in these mines only after the rehabilitation plan was implemented on the ground.
To make available adequate quantity of iron ore for iron and steel plants dependent on the ore extracted from Bellary-Hospet, Tumkur and Chitradurga districts, the bench sought an update from NMDC, which alone has been allowed by the court to undertake limited mining operations.
Senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for NMDC, said the PSU had the capability to extract 10 lakh tonnes of iron ore but it faced problems in transporting the extracted mineral and lack of assured long term demand.
The Karnataka Iron and Steel Manufacturers Association and Federation of Indian Mineral Industries through senior advocates C S Vaidyanathan and T S Andhyarujina said their clients were ready to lift the mineral. The bench asked representatives of industry associations, ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) and NMDC to sit with the CEC on Monday to chalk out long-term e-auction scheme and place it before the court on August 17
usain bolt wins 200m olympic gold to seal unique sprint double
Thursday when the Jamaican successfully defended his Olympic 200m crown to claim an unprecedented second successive sprint double.
In Pics: Usain Bolt wins 200m gold
Bolt, who retained his 100m title on Saturday, crossed the line in the equal fourth fastest time of all time of 19.32sec to win in front of a delirious sell-out 80,000 crowd at the Olympic Stadium.
The 25-year-old's victory meant he bettered the record of US track legend Carl Lewis, who won three golds and a silver in the sprints at the 1984 and 1988 Games.
Bolt said: "This is the one I wanted and I got it."
It was also the first time two individual track titles were successfully defended at successive Games since Finland's Lasse Viren won the 5000m and 10,000m in theMunich and Montreal Games in 1972 and 1976.
Bolt led a Jamaican clean sweep of the podium, with training partner Yohan Blaketaking silver in 19.44sec and Warren Weir claiming a shock bronze in 19.84sec.
The only thing missing from the race was a new world record for Bolt, but he revealed he had felt his back during the race.
"I could feel the strain on my back a little bit so all I did was try to keep my form, run home and when I saw where I was going I stopped running because I knew it wasn't going to be a world record."
Running in lane seven, Bolt was up on Weir outside him within five paces after an explosive start.
As he rounded the bend, Blake briefly threatened from lane four, but teeth clenched, eyes on the big screen and at full tilt, Bolt had enough to slow down a full 10 metres from the line, raising his finger to his lips as he did so.
Whether that gesture was for title contender Blake or this season's growing band of doubters, only Bolt knows, but his victory underlined his position as the greatest sprinter on the planet.
The London Games are Bolt's fourth global championship since 2008.
He has won six titles in the seven individual events in which he has competed, his one blip coming when he was disqualified from the Daegu world championship 100m final last year after a false start.
Bolt, also the world record holder in both the 100 and 200m, was not quite his usual playful self in the moments before he settled, an air of seriousness permeating a silenced stadium as he offered a regal-like wave.
Amid the tangible tension, Bolt briefly crossed himself and pointed skywards before setting himself.
The starter's gun signalled a dramatic change in mood as a determined Bolt pulled out all the stops to burn off his rivals from the off.
Apart from Bolt, eight men (Archie Hahn (1904), Ralph Craig (1912), Percy Williams (1928), Eddie Tolan (1932), Jesse Owens (1936), Bobby Morrow (1956), Valeriy Borzov (1972), Carl Lewis (1984), have won the sprint double at the same Olympics, but only Hahn and Lewis have successfully defended the short sprint.
Hahn missed out on his chance of a "double-double" when the 200m was not included in the 1906 Games and Lewis, after being upgraded to 100m champion in Seoul following Ben Johnson's disqualification, lost to US teammate Joe DeLoach in the 200m.
In Pics: Usain Bolt wins 200m gold
Bolt, who retained his 100m title on Saturday, crossed the line in the equal fourth fastest time of all time of 19.32sec to win in front of a delirious sell-out 80,000 crowd at the Olympic Stadium.
The 25-year-old's victory meant he bettered the record of US track legend Carl Lewis, who won three golds and a silver in the sprints at the 1984 and 1988 Games.
Bolt said: "This is the one I wanted and I got it."
It was also the first time two individual track titles were successfully defended at successive Games since Finland's Lasse Viren won the 5000m and 10,000m in theMunich and Montreal Games in 1972 and 1976.
Bolt led a Jamaican clean sweep of the podium, with training partner Yohan Blaketaking silver in 19.44sec and Warren Weir claiming a shock bronze in 19.84sec.
The only thing missing from the race was a new world record for Bolt, but he revealed he had felt his back during the race.
"I could feel the strain on my back a little bit so all I did was try to keep my form, run home and when I saw where I was going I stopped running because I knew it wasn't going to be a world record."
Running in lane seven, Bolt was up on Weir outside him within five paces after an explosive start.
As he rounded the bend, Blake briefly threatened from lane four, but teeth clenched, eyes on the big screen and at full tilt, Bolt had enough to slow down a full 10 metres from the line, raising his finger to his lips as he did so.
Whether that gesture was for title contender Blake or this season's growing band of doubters, only Bolt knows, but his victory underlined his position as the greatest sprinter on the planet.
The London Games are Bolt's fourth global championship since 2008.
He has won six titles in the seven individual events in which he has competed, his one blip coming when he was disqualified from the Daegu world championship 100m final last year after a false start.
Bolt, also the world record holder in both the 100 and 200m, was not quite his usual playful self in the moments before he settled, an air of seriousness permeating a silenced stadium as he offered a regal-like wave.
Amid the tangible tension, Bolt briefly crossed himself and pointed skywards before setting himself.
The starter's gun signalled a dramatic change in mood as a determined Bolt pulled out all the stops to burn off his rivals from the off.
Apart from Bolt, eight men (Archie Hahn (1904), Ralph Craig (1912), Percy Williams (1928), Eddie Tolan (1932), Jesse Owens (1936), Bobby Morrow (1956), Valeriy Borzov (1972), Carl Lewis (1984), have won the sprint double at the same Olympics, but only Hahn and Lewis have successfully defended the short sprint.
Hahn missed out on his chance of a "double-double" when the 200m was not included in the 1906 Games and Lewis, after being upgraded to 100m champion in Seoul following Ben Johnson's disqualification, lost to US teammate Joe DeLoach in the 200m.
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
news
New Delhi: Parliament devoted most of its first day in session to Assam and the violence that has killed 70 people, and displaced another 400,000, who are now living in relief camps desperately short of basic supplies.
An adjournment motion moved by the BJP against the government's alleged failure to contain violence in Assam was defeated at the end of the day in the Lok Sabha.
The headliner, however, was Sonia Gandhi, who erupted in anger when BJP leader LK Advani questioned the legitimacy of the UPA government led by her party, the Congress. Mrs Gandhi, usually poised, was seen signalling to her MPs to retaliate.
On Assam, Mr Advani said, the clashes in the four districts that are home to the indigenous Bodo tribals are not a case of ethnic or communal violence. He said the problem lay in the relentless arrival of illegal immigrants from across the border in Bangladesh. As a result, Mr Advani said, there was insecurity among residents about losing their land to these new settlers, and living among a changing demographic.
In a calmer evening session, New Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that some of the cases of ethnic riots in and around Kohrajhar would be investigated by the CBI.
He also said that though the Army is on stand-by, it will move in only if needed. Mr Shinde said that all political parties must work together to help restore peace, and that no attempts should be made to communalise the situation
An adjournment motion moved by the BJP against the government's alleged failure to contain violence in Assam was defeated at the end of the day in the Lok Sabha.
The headliner, however, was Sonia Gandhi, who erupted in anger when BJP leader LK Advani questioned the legitimacy of the UPA government led by her party, the Congress. Mrs Gandhi, usually poised, was seen signalling to her MPs to retaliate.
Chaos followed and Mr Advani later said he withdrew his remarks, which means they will not be entered in parliamentary records. He also said that he was not questioning the validity of the general elections which returned the UPA to power; his remark, he said referenced a trust vote in 2008 that was won through unfair means - "crores of money were spent," he said.
On Assam, Mr Advani said, the clashes in the four districts that are home to the indigenous Bodo tribals are not a case of ethnic or communal violence. He said the problem lay in the relentless arrival of illegal immigrants from across the border in Bangladesh. As a result, Mr Advani said, there was insecurity among residents about losing their land to these new settlers, and living among a changing demographic.
In a calmer evening session, New Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that some of the cases of ethnic riots in and around Kohrajhar would be investigated by the CBI.
He also said that though the Army is on stand-by, it will move in only if needed. Mr Shinde said that all political parties must work together to help restore peace, and that no attempts should be made to communalise the situation
news music style is called supremacist recruiting tool
Milwaukee: The shooting rampage by an avowed white supremacist that killed six people at a suburban Sikh Temple near here came at a time of both growth and disarray in the supremacist movement.
Though data collected by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, shows that the number of ultra-right-wing militias and white power organizations has grown sharply since the election of President Obama in 2008, the movement is more decentralized and in many ways more disorganized than ever, experts and movement leaders say.
"There is plenty of frustration and defeatism in the white nationalist movement," Don Black, director of Stormfront, the largest white nationalist online discussion forum in the world, said in an interview. Calling Mr. Obama "a symptom of the multiculturalism that has undermined our country," Mr. Black added that "there is no preeminent organization today."
For more than a decade, Wade M. Page, a former soldier who the police say was the lone gunman - and who was himself killed by a police officer on Sunday - played guitar and bass with an array of heavy metal bands that trafficked in the lyrics of hate.
Even in Mr. Page's below-the-radar world, those bands - Blue Eyed Devils, Intimidation One and his own, End Apathy - provided a touchstone and a gateway to a larger cause, as they have for many others in recent years.
"It is one of the pillars of the white supremacist subculture," Mark Pitcavage, director of investigative research at the Anti-Defamation League, said of white power music. "The message can motivate people to action, cause them to be proud of themselves and their cause. It can aggravate anger levels. It can rouse resentment."
Two of Mr. Page's bands make a cameo appearance in an F.B.I. informer's report made public this year in a Florida drug investigation of people involved in white supremacist groups. The informer, who is not named, reported that the bands, Definite Hate and End Apathy, both played at a $20-per-person St. Patrick's Day gathering of the Confederate Hammerskins group last year at a bar in rural Christmas, Fla.
Arno Michaelis, the former leader of a white power band called Centurion, whose CD "14 Words" has sold 20,000 copies worldwide, recalls being swept away when he heard racist music from the British skinhead group Skrewdriver in the 1990s.
"Listening to that music was an essential part of how we rallied around the idea of racism," said Mr. Michaelis, now 41. "It made me feel I was part of something greater, that I had purpose and that my race was something very special and was something I needed to defend."
A Milwaukee resident, Mr. Michaelis distanced himself from the racist scene years ago, but was stunned to receive a call in 2005 from a German neo-Nazi who wanted him to reunite with Centurion for a European tour. The call prompted him to help form an organization, Life After Hate, that evangelizes against racism.
Though what may have set off the rampage remains a mystery to investigators, Mr. Page's life as a white power musician playing violence-inciting songs was surprisingly open. He did interviews, posted photos on MySpace pages (one shows him playing guitar with a noose in the background), performed at festivals and even spoke candidly about his beliefs with an academic researching the movement.
The academic, Peter Simi, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, said he met Mr. Page in Southern California in 2001, when Mr. Page was living with a white supremacist whom Mr. Simi had followed.
Mr. Simi said Mr. Page told him that he had first come in contact with racist skinheads in Denver as an adolescent, but became a true convert after joining the Army in 1992. Mr. Page received a general discharge in 1998 after being knocked down a rank to specialist for misconduct.
"He told me if you don't go into the military as a racist, you will certainly come out as one," Mr. Simi said in an interview. "He felt the deck was stacked against whites in the military, and that blacks got all the promotions and were not disciplined for misconduct."
After Timothy J. McVeigh, a former soldier, bombed the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, the Pentagon declared a "zero-tolerance" policy for racist activity. But in 2006, a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that recruiting shortfalls caused by the war in Iraq had allowed "large numbers of neo-Nazis and skinhead extremists" to enlist, and that neo-Nazi groups like the National Alliance were trying to recruit followers in the military in preparation for a race war.
In a statement released this week, a spokesman, George Wright, said the Army has been vigilant about racism in its ranks and did not tolerate "extremist behavior."
Racist and neo-Nazi rock began as an offshoot of British punk in the late 1970s, appropriating both its shaved-head style and so-called oi sound featuring slashing guitar chords and barked vocals. By the 1990s, the music had become heavier, louder and darker, featuring violent diatribes against blacks, Jews and, later, gays and immigrants.
In 1999, the National Alliance, founded by William Pierce, author of the 1978 white supremacist novel "The Turner Diaries," bought Resistance Records, the largest and most prominent label for white power music. The acquisition signaled the growing importance of the music to recruiting a new generation of white supremacists.
"The music became not only the No. 1 recruiting tool, but also the biggest revenue source for the movement," said Devin Burghart, who has been monitoring racist hate groups for 20 years.
But Mr. Burghart and other experts on racist ideology said the movement has grown disjointed in recent years, despite the recruiting opportunities presented by an economic recession and the election of a black president.
One reason for the disarray might be the growth of a more mainstream movement, the Tea Party, whose successful forays into electoral politics have siphoned energy and support from violent fringe groups, said Chip Berlet, a Boston-based journalist who writes about right-wing groups.
But the decentralization of the white supremacy movement may also encourage isolated actors - as Mr. Page appears to have been - to strike out, said Mark Potok, senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
"When there are not large organizations, you are more likely to see lone wolves like Wade Page," he said. "We are seeing a movement full of white-hot rage and frustration because they feel they have lost the battle to make America a white country."
Though data collected by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, shows that the number of ultra-right-wing militias and white power organizations has grown sharply since the election of President Obama in 2008, the movement is more decentralized and in many ways more disorganized than ever, experts and movement leaders say.
"There is plenty of frustration and defeatism in the white nationalist movement," Don Black, director of Stormfront, the largest white nationalist online discussion forum in the world, said in an interview. Calling Mr. Obama "a symptom of the multiculturalism that has undermined our country," Mr. Black added that "there is no preeminent organization today."
Yet the shootings also shined a light on an obscure cultural scene that is helping keep the movement energized and providing it with a powerful tool for recruiting the young and disaffected: white power music, widely known as "hatecore."
For more than a decade, Wade M. Page, a former soldier who the police say was the lone gunman - and who was himself killed by a police officer on Sunday - played guitar and bass with an array of heavy metal bands that trafficked in the lyrics of hate.
Even in Mr. Page's below-the-radar world, those bands - Blue Eyed Devils, Intimidation One and his own, End Apathy - provided a touchstone and a gateway to a larger cause, as they have for many others in recent years.
"It is one of the pillars of the white supremacist subculture," Mark Pitcavage, director of investigative research at the Anti-Defamation League, said of white power music. "The message can motivate people to action, cause them to be proud of themselves and their cause. It can aggravate anger levels. It can rouse resentment."
Two of Mr. Page's bands make a cameo appearance in an F.B.I. informer's report made public this year in a Florida drug investigation of people involved in white supremacist groups. The informer, who is not named, reported that the bands, Definite Hate and End Apathy, both played at a $20-per-person St. Patrick's Day gathering of the Confederate Hammerskins group last year at a bar in rural Christmas, Fla.
Arno Michaelis, the former leader of a white power band called Centurion, whose CD "14 Words" has sold 20,000 copies worldwide, recalls being swept away when he heard racist music from the British skinhead group Skrewdriver in the 1990s.
"Listening to that music was an essential part of how we rallied around the idea of racism," said Mr. Michaelis, now 41. "It made me feel I was part of something greater, that I had purpose and that my race was something very special and was something I needed to defend."
A Milwaukee resident, Mr. Michaelis distanced himself from the racist scene years ago, but was stunned to receive a call in 2005 from a German neo-Nazi who wanted him to reunite with Centurion for a European tour. The call prompted him to help form an organization, Life After Hate, that evangelizes against racism.
Though what may have set off the rampage remains a mystery to investigators, Mr. Page's life as a white power musician playing violence-inciting songs was surprisingly open. He did interviews, posted photos on MySpace pages (one shows him playing guitar with a noose in the background), performed at festivals and even spoke candidly about his beliefs with an academic researching the movement.
The academic, Peter Simi, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, said he met Mr. Page in Southern California in 2001, when Mr. Page was living with a white supremacist whom Mr. Simi had followed.
Mr. Simi said Mr. Page told him that he had first come in contact with racist skinheads in Denver as an adolescent, but became a true convert after joining the Army in 1992. Mr. Page received a general discharge in 1998 after being knocked down a rank to specialist for misconduct.
"He told me if you don't go into the military as a racist, you will certainly come out as one," Mr. Simi said in an interview. "He felt the deck was stacked against whites in the military, and that blacks got all the promotions and were not disciplined for misconduct."
After Timothy J. McVeigh, a former soldier, bombed the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, the Pentagon declared a "zero-tolerance" policy for racist activity. But in 2006, a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that recruiting shortfalls caused by the war in Iraq had allowed "large numbers of neo-Nazis and skinhead extremists" to enlist, and that neo-Nazi groups like the National Alliance were trying to recruit followers in the military in preparation for a race war.
In a statement released this week, a spokesman, George Wright, said the Army has been vigilant about racism in its ranks and did not tolerate "extremist behavior."
Racist and neo-Nazi rock began as an offshoot of British punk in the late 1970s, appropriating both its shaved-head style and so-called oi sound featuring slashing guitar chords and barked vocals. By the 1990s, the music had become heavier, louder and darker, featuring violent diatribes against blacks, Jews and, later, gays and immigrants.
In 1999, the National Alliance, founded by William Pierce, author of the 1978 white supremacist novel "The Turner Diaries," bought Resistance Records, the largest and most prominent label for white power music. The acquisition signaled the growing importance of the music to recruiting a new generation of white supremacists.
"The music became not only the No. 1 recruiting tool, but also the biggest revenue source for the movement," said Devin Burghart, who has been monitoring racist hate groups for 20 years.
But Mr. Burghart and other experts on racist ideology said the movement has grown disjointed in recent years, despite the recruiting opportunities presented by an economic recession and the election of a black president.
One reason for the disarray might be the growth of a more mainstream movement, the Tea Party, whose successful forays into electoral politics have siphoned energy and support from violent fringe groups, said Chip Berlet, a Boston-based journalist who writes about right-wing groups.
But the decentralization of the white supremacy movement may also encourage isolated actors - as Mr. Page appears to have been - to strike out, said Mark Potok, senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
"When there are not large organizations, you are more likely to see lone wolves like Wade Page," he said. "We are seeing a movement full of white-hot rage and frustration because they feel they have lost the battle to make America a white country."
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