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Bengal Scientist Thrashed, Daughter Molested

Days after a Jadavpur University professor was beaten for circulating 'defamatory' cartoons of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a retired scientist and his daughter Tuesday alleged they were assaulted and molestated. Police said they were investigating. The duo also accused police of colluding with the assailants. Aparesh Bhattacharya, 60, and his daughter, residents of Baruipur in South 24 Parganas - 40 km from Kolkata, alleged that on Sunday afternoon, about 30 youth from a nearby club broke into their rented apartment, thrashed them and allegedly stripped her naked. "They broke open the door and started beating me and my father. They caught hold of us by the hair, dragged and threw us on the road. They stripped me naked and would have raped me if not our maid who took me to a distance and gave a skirt and a top to wear," said the daughter. "At 3 p.m. when police came we were sitting on the road in a bleeding condition without any medical attention, money or security. They neither took a complaint nor they took us to a hospital," she added. She also alleged that the police did not pay heed to her frantic telephone calls she made during the assault. "We have a report that Bhattacharya and his daughter have been attacked but no FIR or complaint has been lodged by them," an officer of Baruipur police station said. Asked about the incident, South 24 Parganas Superintendent of Police, Praveen Tripathi said: "The Bhattacharya's came to me and I have instructed the sub-divisional police office to look into the matter."

6.5 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Central Chile

A strong earthquake of 6.5 magnitude has rocked the central chile at midnight yesterday. The authorities have ordered a precautionary evacuation in the area. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake's epicentre was 50 km northeast of Valparaiso, Chile, and it had a depth of 25 km. It struck at just before midnight local time (9.20 a.m. Tuesday IST). Locals say the quake was felt for almost a minute. Authorities say the evacuation was ordered from the city of Constitucion to Tongoy. However, Chile's oceanography service ruled out the possibility of a tsunami.   

AP by polls 2012: TRS to Contest Parakala

AP by polls 2012: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti on Monday decided to contest the Parakala assembly constituency in Telangana region where the bypolls will be held soon. A committee headed by senior leader Naini Narasimha Reddy was appointed to select the candidate for the bypoll, TRS MLA T Harish Rao told reporters here after a meeting of the party politburo. Parakala is the only assembly constituency among the 18 seats in Telangana region where the bypolls, the notification for which has not been issued as yet, will be held.   The bypolls for 16 seats have become necessary due to the disqualification of sitting Congress MLAs who switched loyalty to Kadapa MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and voted against the Congress government during a floor test in December, while the sitting member quit in support of Jagan in another seat. Meanwhile, the TRS formation day celebration will be held this month end at Vikarabad in Ranga Reddy district neighbouring Hyderabad, Harish Rao said.

Municipal Corporation of Delhi Polls: BJP Leading in Early Trends

The counting of votes for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls that took place a couple of days ago, is in progress. The counting for 272 wards is taking place in 33 centres across the city. The BJP is ahead in all the three municipal corporations of Delhi. The trends showed that BJP is ahead in 59 wards in the North while Congress is leading in 24 and others in 14 seats for which trends are available. Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta's wife Shobha is leading in Rohini Central ward by a margin of over 2,000 votes against her Congress rival Dr Monica Puri. Delhi Mayor Rajni Abbi (BJP) is also leading in Mukherjee Nagar. In South Delhi Corporation, BJP is ahead in 47 seats while Congress is ahead in 22 wards while in East, BJP is surging in 28 seays and Congress 16. Stakes are high for both the national parties in the municipal polls, considered as a semifinal ahead of the assembly elections next year. There are 104 each wards in South and North Corporations and 64 in the East, of which 138 seats are reserved for women. South has the highest number of 904 candidates followed by North (885) and East (634). Complete poll results are expected to be out by this afternoon.  

Delhi Beat Mumbai by 7 wkts

IPL 5 2012: A star-studded Mumbai Indians batting line-up collapsed before some brilliant bowling from Delhi Daredevils as the latter defeated the hosts by 7 wickets at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Monday.The match which was predicted to be a ‘Clash of the Titans’ ended up being a totally one-sided affair as Mumbai Indians were bundled for just 92 runs in front of their home crowd.   Apart from Nadeem, Umesh Yadav and Morne Morkel displayed one of the finest spells of seam bowling we have seen in this year’s IPL. Yadav matched with Morkel’s pace as they made Mumbai batsmen look ordinary on a track which had a lot for the bowlers. They hit the deck hard and were rewarded with two wickets each. Harbhajan (33) was the highest scorer for his team. Apart from him, none of his team-mates looked comfortable at the crease. Rohit Sharma though managed to score 29 runs from 27 balls, but most of his runs came from leading edges. Mumbai skipper was the ninth wicket to fall, as Mumbai ended up scoring 92 runs, which is also the lowest score by any team, so far in IPL 2012. Naman Ojha and Sehwag shared a 34-run opening stand making sure that they did not lose early wickets to panic. Delhi Daredevils successfully chased the total in 14.5 overs. Sehwag, who scored 32, was dropped by Levi at third-man and also escaped a run out chance. In the absence of Lasith Malinga, Mumbai bowling attack didn’t look potent enough to put up a fight against the Daredevils. And to the surprise of many, Harbhajan Singh did not come to bowl a single over as his boys failed to pick up wickets at regular intervals. It was the same track where Nadeem got enough spin that put Mumbai under pressure. Thus Bhajji’s decision of not bowling in a low-scoring game, remains to be a mystery.

Speaker Nadendla Manohar Mother Passed Away

AP Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar's mother Smt. Lalitha Passed away today at New Delhi. She was 72 and was suffering with heart ailment and was undergoing treatment at New Delhi. She had also undergone a surgery recently and breathed her last in the early morning today. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, AP chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and many other senior leaders condoled the death of smt. Lalitha to her husband and former chief minister of AP Mr. Nadendla Bhaskar Rao and their son Nadendla Manohar. At Hyderabad, many Congress leaders Sabita Indra Reddy, Chiranjeevi, JC Divakar Reddy, kotagiri Viyadhar Rao, C ramachandraiah, Vatti Vasanth Kumar, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, former speaker R Suresh Reddy, cine actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao and many prominent people visited Nadendla House at Hyderabad, where Smt. Lalitha's body was brought, to pay their last respects. Smt Lalitha will be cremated at Panjagutta crematorium on Monday.      

NT Ramarao Still Alive For Them

Well if the heading is confusing to you, then you definitely need to know about a village in East Godavari District. People in the village Gurthedu believe that NTR is still alive and assume that he is the chief minister of AP. One of the villagers said that they knew only NTR as the chief minister and argued that NTR is still alive and no one had told them about his death, including the village head, who also didn't knew about it. Another villager explained why NTR is still in their hearts. He told that the credit would go to one of the NTR's popular scheme “TELUGU MAAGANI GRAMEENA SAMARADHANA”, through which the tribals received 2-5 acres of land in the interior forest areas to grow cashew and mango. After 7 years, the tribals got triple benefit and for the first time they have seen such a huge amount of money in their hands. Incidents like this always make us remind of the pride of the Telugu’s DR. NANDAMURI TARAKA RAMA RAO and he will remain in the hearts of Telugu people forever.

HC Objects to ACB JD Srinivas Reddy Transfer

The Andhra Pradesh High Court today objected today the transfer of Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) Joint Director K Srinivas Reddy, who was heading a special investigation team into liquor syndicates in the state. The high court today said that he should npot have been transferred with the court's permission as he was heading a Special Investigation Team. The court said that the government must review the transfer of K Srinivas Reddy. The High Court also questioned how the white ration card holders obtained liquor shop licences woth lakhs and crores of rupees unnoticed by the Income Tax department. The court directed the ACB to take IT department's help in this issue, if necessary. The court also appreciated ACB for its straight forwardedness in probing and exposing the liquor syndicates in the state. The High Court today asked the state government to revert on the transfer by April 27. Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Bureau today submitted its report on the liquor syndicates case in a sealed cover to the court. The court then said that the Anti-Corruption Bureau can approach the court for any directions and that the government must support an independent probe by honest, upright officers in public interest. "Investigation should not be hampered because politicians, ministers, MLAs, relatives are involved," the court observed. Earlier, notices in the case had been issued to the chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, fellow Congressman Botsa Satyanarayana, excise minister Mopidevi Venkatramana and the leader of the opposition Telugu Desam Party, Chandrababu Naidu.      

CBI Seeks Cancellation of Vijay Sai Reddy Bail

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a petition in the High Court seeking cancelletion of Vijay Sai Reddy's bail granted by the CBI court on Friday. However, Chief Justice Madan B Lokur on Sunday refused to entertain the house motion petition filed by the CBI. Vijay Sai Reddy was granted bail by the CBI court 103 days after he was arrested in Kadapa MP and YSR Congress president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's disproportionate assets case. While granting the bail, the court had found fault with approach of the investing agency. The CBI is challenging this bail order and urging the high court to cancel it. The CJ apparently asked the agency to move the issue again later.

Terror Attack in Kabul: All Attackers killed

Kabul Terror Attack News : The Synchronised terror attack launched by the Taliban in Kabul is over and all attackers have been killed following an overnight operation that saw a string of explosions Monday morning, authorities said. Taliban militants have been brought under control and all the attackers have been killed after hours of fierce offensive, Kabul police said in a statement released here Monday. There was still no official estimate of how many people were killed.   The attacks, which included suicide bombings and heavy gunfire, began at 1.35 p.m. Sunday and was over at 7.30 a.m. Monday, sources reported. On Sunday, the Taliban launched a brazen assault in Kabul and elsewhere in the country, targeting the embassies of the US and Germany, the Afghanistan parliament, the NATO headquarters and an airbase used by the American troops. "The last of militants were overrun in Darul Aman area (of Kabul) at 7.30 a.m. today (Monday) and all the attackers have been killed," the police statement said. The statement, however, did not reveal the exact number of the attackers who were killed. It simply said all the attackers have been killed. Though there was no clarity about how many people were killed in Kabul, the interior ministry said Afghan security forces backed by NATO-led troops have killed 47 Taliban militants and injured 31 over the past 24 hours.

Andaman Jarawa Tribals Want to Join Mainstream

The Jarawa tribes in the Andaman Nicobar islands have been living in obscurity far from civilized society for ages. Now they too want to join the mainstream. The local MP Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray told the media that the members of Jarawa community too are willing to come out of the woods and lead normal civilized life along with other inhabitants of the islands. The Jarawa are one of the indigenous people of Andaman Islands. Their present numbers are estimated at between 250-400 individuals. The MP said, "It would not be appropriate to suppress the voice of the community and leave them in total isolation. A parliamentary standing committee has already recommended review of policy for the primitive tribe of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to facilitate a 'slow and smooth' transition. But this would have to be done with minimum damage to the members of the tribe and their cultural heritage," he said.   

Ambedkar Statue Destroyed in Vanasthalipuram

In a shocking incident, unidentified miscreants have destroed a statue of Dr. BR Ambedkar in Vanisthalipuram area of Hyderabad. People are shocked that this drastic incident took place here today, while Ambedkar's birthday is being celebrated at other places. The statue's left hand has been completely broken. The police took up the investigation to catch the culprits, but no clues have been found so far. Ironically, three months ago also the statue was destroyed here but the police couldn't arrest the culprits. Now the replaced statue has also been desecrated and police doesn't have any clue, who done it. The locals have expressed their anguish over the ghastly incident taking place again at the same place and blame the police inaction for this. They say, if the police had succeeded in catching the offenders last time, the incident wouldn't have been repeated today.

Earthquakes in Gujarat, Maharashtra

Mild earthquakes hit parts of Gujarat and Maharashtra today. A 4.0 magnitude quake struck Rann of Kutch in Gujarat at 9 am, a 4.9-magnitude quake shook parts of Maharashtra including Mumbai, Pune and Satara two hours later. The Gujarat earthquake had its epicentre at Vamka taluka in Kutch, which is an active fault line, scientists at Institute of Seismological Research said. The shocks were also felt in Sangli, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri districts of Maharashtra, sources in the Meteorological department said. Tremors were also felt in parts of Karnataka bordering Maharashtra, including Belgaum and Gulbarga. No damage to life and property has been reported so far. "These are too minor earthquakes. Small earthquakes occur in Indian subcontinents. There are various sources and mechanism of earthquakes. Scientific investigations needs to be still investigated," said RS Dattatreya, Director, Seismology Division, Meteorological Department.  

Jagan Case: CBI Questioned Minister Dharmana

The Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing the disproportionate assets case of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, has questioned minister Dharmana Prasada Rao for a marathon 9 hours on Friday. Dharmana was questioned about the GOs issued during late YS Rajasekhar Reddy's tenure as chief minister, when Dharmana happened to be the Revenue Minister. Later, speaking to media, Dharmana Prasad Rao said that he had appeared before the CBI in connection with the GOs issued during the stint of former chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. He said that the CBI had asked him 28 questions about the controversial GOs, and about the allotment of land to Vanpic. The minister said that he had answered all the questions as a responsible citizen, and that he had provided adequate information to the probing agency. He said he was ready to cooperate with the CBI over the investigations, and that he would provide all the information needed about the 9 GOs issued while he was the Revenue minister during YSR's stint. Dharmana said that he has explained to the CBI the purpose of issuing those GOs. The CBI also along with Dharmana questioned IAS officer Samuel, who was the Revenue Secretary and Land Administration Commissioner during YSR's stint. According to sources, the CBI questioned them to know whether the GOs issued during YSR's stint had favoured YSR Congress president Jaganmohan Reddy to accumulate illegal wealth through the fictitious companies floated by the latter.  

Vijay Sai Reddy Gets Bail

Nearly 100 days after the arrest, V Vijay Sai Reddy was finally released on bail on Friday evening. CBI special court at Nampally granted conditional bail to Sai Reddy, stating that he should not leave Hyderabad and surrender his passport to the court. He had to submit two personal sureties worth Rs 25,000 each.   Sai Reddy, the No. 2 accused in the alleged disproportionate case of Jaganmohan Reddy, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on January 2. The CBI charged Sai Reddy to be the kingpin in the entire case and the the brain behind the formation of several “shell” companies through which money was allegedly routed into Jagathi publications as investments. He was associated with the family of late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy for the last three decades as his personal auditor and was even rewarded with the post of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust board member during the YSR regime. The CBI authorities strongly opposed the bail to Vijay Sai Reddy stating that he would manipulate the evidences and threaten the witnesses. It submitted a memo in the court stating seeking that the bail be stalled till Monday.

Minister Danam Nagender Sensational Comments

Speaking to media at the Secretariat, minister Danam Nagender made some unusal and sensational comments. He said that it is true that he had signed in favour of separate Telangana during the tenure of late YS Rajasekhar Reddy, but now the situation is different. Hyderabad's fate hasn't been decided yet. Danam said, "Wether to keep the state combined or give out a separate Telangana state, only Congress party in Sonia Gandhi's leadership can do it. No other person or regional parties can bring in a separate state. People should think it over and vote for the Congress party keeping in view the development of the state, whether combined or divided. We should all strengthen the Congress party and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi for the overall development of the state." He also told that the CM Kiran Kumar Reddy has asked the partymen not to criticise late YSR. Jagan has nothing to do with YSR (YSR's congress legacy). Danam's these comments at this juncture gain significance for two reasons. At a time when Congress bigwigs are thinking of wiping out YSR memorabilia from the party, Danam's statement that chief minister has instructed not to criticise YSR gives credence to the feeling that the party is not ready to disown YSR and wants to delink Jagan from YSR by saying that YSR is different Jagan is different. Another thing is that Danam has recently been to Delhi to hold talks with the high command. His comment that no decision has been taken yet about to which region Hyderabad belongs, if the state is to be divided. It gives a screened hint that the Congress may yeild to the separate state demand, keeping Hyderabad issue in pending.      

AP Bypolls For 18 Seats by The End of May

The Election Commission of India (EC) has decided to hold bypolls in 18 constituencies of AP by the end of May, 2012. The election schedule for the bypolls will be announced in the last week of April or in the first week of May. This decision by the EC has been taken in view of the presidential elections scheduled in July this year. For this EC has to release the electoral college by first week of June. It would be pertinent for the EC to conduct AP bypolls by end of May, so as to earmark the electoral college that will elect the new president. According to sources, EC officials held meetings with AP chief electoral officer (CEO) Bhanwarlal in New Delhi to finalise the dates for the bypolls. After the meetings, Bhanwarlal flew to Nellore to review preparations for the bypoll to the Lok Sabha seat necessitated due by the resignation of Congress MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy after he switched over to YSR Congress. The EC zeroed in on the last week of May for the bypolls after coordinating with the education department on the schedule of the annual examinations.  

I Don't Know Tara Chowdary: Kanna

Minister Kanna Lakshmi Narayana has denied that he ever knew actress Tara Choudary who was arrested for running a sex racket. Talking to the media here on Friday, the minister said that he had full faith on police investigation into Tara Choudary’s episode and asserted that facts would automatically come out in the probe. It may be mentioned here that Tara Choudary reportedly told police that Congress MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao has offered her Rs. 50 lakhs to 1 crore, for making a false allegation that his bête noir in district politics Kanna Lakshmi Narayana has kidnapped her. The CD of the MP’s conversation with Tara has some how reached all media offices which started repeatedly flashing the sensational story. Rayapati has already denied that he made any such offer to Tara and demanded a CBI enquiry into her allegation.  

Ministers Reluctant to Campaign For The Bypolls

The state Congress Party is gearing up for campaign in 18 assembly constituencies where bypolls are going to take place shortly. For this, the chief minister, deputy chief minister, PCC chief and several ministers held a meeting at CM's camp office last Saturday. In this meeting, co-ordination committees were formed for all the 18 constituencies, in which ministers were also included. According to sources, Telangana region ministers - DK Aruna for Raiilway Kodur, Sabita Indra Reddy for Raichoti, Danam Nagender for Nellore Lok Sabha constituency, Sridhar babu for Tirupathi and Uttam Kumar Reddy have been nominated as incharges and were asked to start campaigning from 9 April. It has come to light that the ministers are reluctant to go on campaign duty for various reasons. The ministers are said to be dissatisfied with the responsibilities entrusted to them. So far Sridhar Babu and Uttam Kumar Reddy, though unwillingly, went to their respective constituencies, others are trying to avoid going on one pretext or the other. Other ministers in the state are also not so keen to take up the campaign responsibility, say the sources. On the other hand, Jagan Mohan Reddy and Chandrababu Naidu are already ahead in campaingning for the bypolls. Observers say, "Given the ministers' reluctance to campaign for the bypolls, it is doubtful whether Congress bypoll campaign will get the expected results."