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Choutala also demand Child marriages in Haryana

  Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala also backed demands for new laws that will allow marriage of teenagers saying it would help end the surge in sexual crimes reported from across the State in recent weeks. Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury defended Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda against charges that he had failed to act against the wave of attacks, in many of which the victims were dalit women and the perpetrators, upper-caste men. Ms. Chowdhury said the State government was working discreetly to reassure the families that they will be safe and they will not have to worry about the social support they need. It is not a very simple black and white law and order issue only. CPI MP Brinda Karat criticised Ms. Chowdhury’s argument, noting that in several of these cases the perpetrators videotaped and circulated their crime, while in others the victim had been murdered.Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, however, appeared to be more critical of the State government, saying he was constantly monitoring the situation. Both Mr. Shinde and Ms. Chowdhury condemned Mr. Chautala's remarks. Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited the State to meet with the family of a 15-year-old Dalit girl who committed suicide by immolating herself after she was gang-raped on October 6 at Sacha Khera village in Jind district. The wave of sexual assaults began on September 9 when a Dalit girl was gang-raped in Hisar town. Multimedia clips of the assault were circulated by the accused on mobile phones. The incident came to light on September 18 when the father of the girl committed suicide on learning about them. Following this, a newly-married 19-year-old woman was abducted and raped by four men in Gohana town near Sonepat; a 30-year-old married woman from a backward community was gang-raped at gunpoint by three men in Jind district while her family members were held hostage and the crime was videotaped; and a teenaged girl was gang-raped in a moving car by three young men in Bhiwani. Both major parties in Haryana have been reluctant to challenge the Khap panchayats frontally on the rape issue, fearing losing electoral capital.

Chandrababu Padayatra Century

  Telugu Desam Party president Chandra babu Naidu on Sunday completed 100 kilometres of his 'Vastunna Mee Kosam' padyatra. Babu launched his padyatra on October 2nd from Hindupur constituency of Anantapur district. In the last six days, Naidu has interacted with different communities and promised to take steps for their welfare if TDP returns to power in next elections. He also slammed the Congress Government for its failure to address the problems being faced by the people, especially farmers. Addressing a corner meeting at Kotagudem, Naidu said that Andhra Pradesh has been converted into "Andhera Pradesh" due to the wrong policies of the Congress Government. He also listed out the hikes affected by the UPA and State Governments on different commodities and services during their rule. TDP chief got overwhelming response in Rapthadu assembly constituency, represented by Paritala Sunita W/o former minister Paritala Ravindra. Chandra babu’s speeches in the constituency were directed towards accusing the Congress party for the murder of Paratila Ravindra. He was accompanied by Paritala's son Sreeram.

Asha Bhosle's Daughter Varsha Commits Suicide

Varsha Bhosle Suicide, Varsha Bhosle dead: legendary singer Asha Bhosle’s daughter Varsha committed suicide on Monday. She shot herself in the head, police said. The incident occurred around 12.30 p.m.     Police have arrived on the spot and are investigating. No suicide note has been found from the spot yet. According to police, Varsha pumped two rounds into herself. The entire area has been cordoned off and people are being restricted from going near the place. A flat in the building is also occupied by Asha's elder sister and singing legend Lata Mangeshkar. Varsha had attempted suicide in September 2008 by consuming a dangerously high dose of sleeping pills. She was a journalist and a freelance writer working with a well-known publishing house in Mumbai. Varsha, 56 years old, stayed by herself in a locality same as her mothers’. The second of Asha’s three children, Varsha, had worked as a columnist for The Sunday Observer and Rediff. The Bhosle family had kept mum on the reason behind the suicide attempt then. But it is being believed that a private problem had been troubling Varsha for long. Asha, who was attending a function in Singapore is reportedly on her way back to India.

West Indies are World Champions Again

West Indies T20 World Cup: West Indies were crowned the World Twenty20 champions after beating hosts Sri Lanka by 36 runs in a bowler dominated final at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.   Sri Lanka restricted West Indies to 137 for six wickets to boost their chances of winning their maiden World Twenty20 title but the dream did not materialise as they were shot out for 101 runs in 18.4 overs. Chasing a seemingly modest victory target, Sri Lanka were going steadily at 48 for one before their batting order caved in, partially because of their anxiousness to stay ahead of the par score in case of a rain interruption which seemed so imminent. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene (33) and former captain Kumar Sangakkara (22) got the starts but could not carry on and only one more Sri Lankan - Nuwan Kulasekara (26) - managed double figure in an otherwise abject batting capitulation. Spinner Sunil Narine was the pick of the West Indies bowlers, claiming three for nine runs to cap his excellent run in the tournament. West Indies captain Darren Sammy won the toss but was left to rue his decision to bat first as the Sri Lankan bowlers stifled his batsmen, restricting a side teeming with big-hitters to 32 for two wickets in 10 overs. Spinner Ajantha Mendis (4-12) broke West Indies' back but Marlon Samuels hit a 56-ball 78 to prove that the hosts were not really unplayable as West Indies recovered somewhat to post 137 for six on the board. Down the order, Sammy chipped in with an unbeaten 26 off 15 balls to give some respectability to the team total. For Sri Lanka, Angelo Mathews (1-11) set the tone, starting with a maiden over in which he dismissed the scoreless Johnson Charles before Mendis wrecked the West Indies batting order

DSC 2012 Results Released

DSC 2012 Results: Minster Partha Sarathi released DSC 2012 written exam results on sunday at Secretariat. The results of these would be available at http://apdsc.cgg.gov.in.   DSC 2012 was conducted on 26th, 27th and 28th August, 2012. There are 21,243 vacancies and more than 2,50,000 candidates have appeared for the DSC 2012 exam.  Total  posts 21,343  nearly 423111 candidates apply for the dsc 2012. School assistant 6007 posts, Language pandits 2144 post, Secondary Grade teachers ( SGT)  12772 posts and PET 409 posts.  

Girl Molested on Board Rajdhani Express

A pantry car staffer was arrested on Friday afternoon for molesting a young girl on board Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express. Mohd Sheikh, 24, attempted to outrage the modesty of the girl late Thursday night near Chandauli. The girl raised an alarm and fellow passengers came to her rescue. The man was handed over to the Government Railway Police at Mughalsarai.Police said the man was drunk and does not have any past criminal record. The girl, who is a resident of Gaya and studies in Delhi, told police that a few other pantry staffers were loitering around the wash room and were drunk. A case has been registered and a probe is underway.This is the third incident of molestation on trains in Uttar Pradesh in less than a week.

Supreme Shocks Jagan, No Bail

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a bail petition filed by YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy in an alleged disproportionate assets case. According to media reports, the court said that it can't grant bail to Jaganmohan at this juncture. Jagan, who was named as the key accused in the case, was arrested on May 27 and is under judicial remand at Chanchalguda jail.   On Thursday, the enforcement directorate had issued attachment orders on properties worth Rs 51 crore in its money laundering probe against Jaganmohan and his associates.   The agency, which has questioned Jagan extensively in the past few months, had attached more than 13 acres of land of Ms Janani Infrastructure Private Limited and fixed deposits worth Rs 14.50 crore of Ms Jagati Publication Limited as "kickbacks allegedly received in lieu of granting favours" to private entities.Both the companies are owned by Jagan.

ED Attaches Jagan's Assets Worth 51cr

The Enforcement Directorate today issued attachment orders on properties worth Rs 51 crore in its money laundering probe against YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy and his associates.     The agency, which has questioned Jagan extensively in the past few months, has attached more than 13 acres of land of Ms Janani Infrastructure Private Limited and fixed deposits worth Rs 14.50 crore of Ms Jagati Publication Limited as "kickbacks allegedly received in lieu of granting favours" to private entities. Both the companies are owned by Jagan. The other properties attached by the agency are 35 acres of land and fixed deposit of Rs 3 crore of Ms Hetero Drugs Limited, 96 acres of land of Ms APL Research Centre Limited, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Ms Aurobindo Pharma Limited, and fixed deposit of Rs 3 crore of Aurobindo Pharma. The properties of these firms have been attached as the agency alleges that these companies received illegal favours from the then Andhra Pradesh government. The ED attachment ensures that these properties cannot be used by the accused and he is devoid of any benefits from these assets, and such an order can be challenged by the accused at the adjudicating authority of the PMLA.

Mayawati's Minister Arrested in Multi Crore Scam

Badshah Singh Arrested: The Special Investigation Branch (SIB) of the UP Police co-operative cell on Wednesday arrested former minister Badshah Singh in the multi-crore scam in the UP Labour and Construction Co-operative Federation (LACCFED). Singh, who was labour minister in the Mayawati government, is alleged to have taken Rs5 crore commission as bribe for getting construction contracts for LACCFED. The LACCFED scam is estimated to be of the order of over Rs500 crore.   SIB Inspector SP Singh told reporters that Singh had been arrested after several LACCFED engineers recorded their statements saying that Singh had indeed taken the bribe for awarding contracts to LACCFED but had failed to do so. The engineers told SIB officials that the minister had unleashed his hunting dogs upon them when they had gone to his house to ask for refund of the bribe. However, the ex-minister has denied all charges. “This is a political conspiracy against me,” he said a tad predictably. He said he never awarded any contracts to LACCFED. A committee headed by a principal secretary-level IAS officer supervised this work, he asserted. “I swear if I am guilty of bungling even a rupee, my entire family may be destroyed,” he added.

Police Arrest Three Girls from Chris Gayle's Hotel Party

Chris Gayle's Hotel Party: Sri Lankan police arrested three British women who were found socialising in the hotel rooms of West Indies players, including star batsman Chris Gayle, early yesterday. Gayle and teammates Andre Russell, Fidel Edwards and Dwayne Smith attracted the attention of police bodyguards as they let their hair down at the luxury Cinnamon Grand hotel in Colombo.   Three British female guests who were partying in the players’ rooms were removed by officers and briefly arrested. The West Indies are progressing well through the Twenty20 event, with a victory over New Zealand on Monday earning them a semi-final slot against Australia on Saturday. “Ministerial Security Division (MSD) guards assigned to protect the players carried out the arrest and the three women were handed over to the Kollupitiya police station. The women, who were not charged, were later released on bail.

Gujarat Polls on Dec 13 and 17, Himachal on Nov 4

The Election Commission on Wednesday announced a two-phase schedule for Gujarat Assembly Elections, while Himachal Pradesh will go to polls in a single phase.   Addressing a press conference here, Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath said that Gujarat will have two-phase polls on December 13 and 17. According to the CEC, Himachal Pradesh will have single-phase polling on November 04. Counting of votes in both the states will be held on December 20. With the announcement of poll dates, the model code of conduct has come into effect in both the states. Detailed poll schedule: Gujarat: First Phase: Issue of Notification: November 17 Last date for filing nominations: November 24 Scrutiny of nomination: November 26 Last date for withdrawal of nomination: November 28 Date of polling: December 13 Date of counting: December 20 Second Phase: Issue of Notification: November 23 Last date for filing nominations: November 30 Scrutiny of nomination: December 01 Last date for withdrawal of nomination: December 03 Date of polling: December 17 Date of counting: December 20 Himachal Pradesh: Issue of Notification: October 10 Last date for filing nominations: October 17 Scrutiny of nomination: October 18 Last date for withdrawal of nomination: October 20 Date of polling: November 04 Date of counting: December 20

Kingfisher Airhostess killed in Chennai Amusement Park

Kingfisher Airhostess: Three people have been arrested in connection with the death of a 20-year-old air hostess at an amusement park. The cause of death was being probed, police said. Three people, including the amusement park's facility manager and operator of the ride, have been arrested.   On Tuesday, Afia Magh, an air hostess working for a Kingfisher airline, was killed in a freak accident during an adventure ride at EVP World theme park on the outskirts of Chennai. The victim, a native of Nagaland, suffered head injuries when she was thrown off while taking a ride on the 'Giant Wheel', police said. She was pronounced dead at a nearby private hospital where she was rushed.

Pakistan set 150-run Target for Australia

Nasir Jamshed hit 55 off 46 balls to steer Pakistan to 149-6 against Australia in a key group two Super Eights match of the World Twenty20 in Colombo on Tuesday. The left-hander smashed four boundaries and two sixes after Pakistan, who were sent in to bat on a slow pitch at the Premadasa stadium, had lost the openers by the sixth over.   Jamshed put on 79 off 55 balls for the third wicket with Kamran Akmal, who made 32 before both batsmen were dismissed in the space of three deliveries. Abdul Razzaq marked his return to the side in place of Yasir Arafat to make 22 from 17 balls.Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc claimed 3-20 for Australia, who will advance to the semi-finals with their third successive win. The second semi-finalist from the group will be decided only after the India-South Africa game later on Tuesday.  

Salman Khan's Driver Beaten By Locals

Salman Khan's driver was thrashed by few locals while the actor was on a break during the outdoor shooting of his upcoming flick Dabangg 2. Luckily, the actor wasn't in the vehicle at the time of incident, or else it would have been a bigger news than this!   According to the sources, Salman who was accompanied by his driver and bodyguard, went out for sightseeing in his Innova vehicle. On their way back to the shooting spot, the star felt like riding a bike. So, immediately a bike which he was using for the film was brought from shooting spot. Both the driver and bodyguard landed in trouble while they were returning to the sets. Salman's driver had been riding slow as the route was not good enough and he didn't give a chance for the jeep which is trying to overtake his vehicle. A heated argument took place between both the parties, following that jeep occupants beaten up the actor's driver and bodyguard. Few minutes after this incident, both the groups reached the police station to lodge complaint against each other. Dabangg 2 makers have increased the security at the shooting spot after this incident.  

36 killed in Hong Kong ferry collision

36 people died after a boat carrying families to see fireworks to celebrate China’s National Day collided with a ferry near one of Hong Kong’s islands. The collision happened when the vessel carrying around 120 people hit a passenger ferry en route to the islands. The impact flung most of the passengers, including children, into choppy waters and caused the vessel to sink within minutes leaving only its upturned bow visible above the water. A government statement said of the 123 people pulled from the sea by rescuers, 28 were confirmed dead at the scene and a further eight were certified dead on arrival at hospital. About 100 survivors were sent to hospital, many suffering from hypothermia. Nine were in a serious or critical condition. The collision occurred near Lamma Island, a 25-minute ferry ride from Hong Kong island. Following the accident, the other vessel, a ferry owned by Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry company, continued to Lamma where a few passengers were treated for minor injuries. Hong Kong Electric’s director of operations Yuen Sui-see said the captain was experienced sailor and blamed the other vessel for the tragedy.

Deve Gowda discussed Cauvery issue with PM

Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal Secular president H.D. Deve Gowda met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed the vexatious Cauvery issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The meeting assumes significance as an all party meeting held in Bangalore a few days ago asked the Karnataka government to approach the Supreme Court to file a review petition challenging the apex court’s direction asking the State to release 9000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu as per the order issued by Prime Minister and Cauvery River Authority Chairman Manmohan Singh on September 19th. Earlier, the Karnataka government sent a letter to Dr. Singh asking him to review his decision, saying the State was facing drought due to poor monsoon and sufficient water was unavailable even for supply of drinking water.

Assassination attempt on Lt. Gen. K.S.Brar

Lt. Gen. K.S. Brar was assaulted by four people in central London on Sunday night, is convinced that it was an attempt to assassinate him by pro-Khalistan elements for his role in the 1984 Operation Blue Star. Brar kicked and fought three of the four assailants, suffered a knife wound in the neck and is recovering after receiving medical treatment at a London hospital soon after the attack near the busy Marble Arch area. He is comming to India on Tuesday. Lt. Gen. Brar said it was obvious that the assailants were Khalistan sympathisers, who, he added, wanted to kill him since Operation Blue Star. Describing the incident, the 78 year old Brar said he fought with the assailants spontaneously and one of them stabbed the Braar suddenly. One of the four assailants separated his wife from him, while the other three attacked on him. His wife fell down when one of the assailants pushed her against the wall. Detectives are keen to speak to anyone who was in the area at the time or who may have information about the incident. In particular they want to speak to those people who assisted the wife and the victim at the scene following the attack.

Court notice to Centre on transgender issue

The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre and Chief Secretaries of all States on a petition from the National Legal Services Authority, asking for a direction to include the category of transgender people as a third category in providing various opportunities and facilities such as the voter ID card, passport, driving licence, ration card and admission to educational institutions. The NALSA petition said Article 21 of the Constitution provided fundamental right to life and personal liberty that could not be denied to transgender people. Right to life includes right to live with human dignity and transgenders are entitled to bare necessities in life such as food, nutrition, clothes, shelter, medical facilities, right to education and to adopt children, and marry.

Students police clash at Osmania University

Pro Telangana students clashed with police which used teargas shell to quell the protestors at Osmania University campus in Hyderabad.  Bandh called by different groups favouring separate statehood had little impact in the state capital and Telangana districts. A group of activists under the banner of Telangana students and OU JAC held protests in front of the OU Police Station located on the varsity campus and later pelted stones on the police station and cops. Police retaliated by firing teargas shells to disperse the protesting students, he said. Telangana student unions including Osmania University Students Joint Action Committee gave a bandh call on Monday, protesting the alleged high-handedness of police during the Telangana March in support of the separate statehood demand on Sunday. The bandh evoked a very little response in Hyderabad as business establishments and offices functioned normally, though some schools and colleges run by private educational institutions remained closed. RTC buses were plying as usual while private vehicles also moved normally.