Broke Abhishek Verma, wife can’t pay for bail

NEW DELHI: Abhishek Verma is accused by many of fixing multi-million dollar deals, and some purported emails show him transacting millions of dollars across continents. These emails also show his numerous global contacts, friends and acquaintances.

However, the colourful middleman, accused of taking out official secret documents from the ministry of defence (MoD) and accepting half a million dollars from a Swiss company for clearing its name from MoD's blacklist, doesn't seem to have enough money to furnish a few lakh rupees to obtain bail for himself and his Romanian wife, Anca Maria Neacsu.

Lawyers are refusing to appear for him, alleging that he has failed to pay them their legal fees. Worse, none, except his ailing mother, seems to be ready to stand surety for him.

"I appeared for him for almost a decade — from 1999 to 2008 — but he hasn't yet cleared my dues. He has a habit of getting you to do the legal work and then refuses to pay up. I have appeared in cases where he is accused of misusing official phones, and dues to government of around Rs 200 crore. He would hire cars and keep them without paying the bills. Now, I can appreciate if his lawyers are refusing to appear in courts for him," says advocate Virender Singh Rawat.

Advocate Gautam Khaitan, one of the suspects named in the VVIP helicopter scandal by the CBI and who has had legal dealings with Verma, told the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently that about Rs 5.5 lakh worth of cheques issued by Verma for his legal fees have bounced. Khaitan revealed this in response to ED's query if he was holding several thousands of dollars belonging to Verma in an escrow account as claimed by the middleman. Khaitan has accused Verma of forging his letterhead to fabricate the lie.

A CBI officer, who was involved in investigating Verma, calls him a "typical conman". The officer said the only thing they were able to confirm was the payment of $500,000 by Rheinmetall to Verma for clearing its name from MoD's blacklist. "He creates the impression that he is dealing in huge contracts, and moving hundreds of millions of dollars around the world. That is his way of marketing himself. But the fact is those are mostly forgeries created by Verma himself," he said.

For the past few months Verma and Neacsu have been filing a string of applications in a Delhi court. These range from pleas to reduce bail and surety bond amounts to waiver from arranging sureties, as well as for release of his 16 confiscated wrist watches.

In one of the cases lodged under the Information Technology Act, Verma was granted bail by a CBI court last October where it set the personal bond amount as Rs 5 lakh with a direction he produce two separate sureties of the like amount. Earlier, His wife was granted bail on a bond of Rs 10 lakh with two sureties of the like amount.

Both pleaded helplessness in arranging the money and preferred to remain in jail, with the court having no option but to remand them to Tihar.

Later, Verma and his wife moved an application in the special CBI court saying "applicant is not able to arrange two sureties for such a heavy amount" and unable to furnish personal/surety bond. The court took a sympathetic view and halved the amount to Rs 2.5 lakh for Verma and Rs 4 lakh for Neacsu.

In January, Verma again approached court, seeking exemption from even arranging the two securities. Saying it was "impossible" for him to arrange two sureties, Verma informed the court that his mother — the only one willing to stand surety for him — is ailing and immobile.

Given his penchant for such outlandish tales, Verma's name has cropped up in most defence scandals in India in recent years. The CBI and other investigation agencies have failed to find any evidence of his involvement in scandals such as the Scorpene submarine deal, VVIP helicopter deal etc. Even in arms bazaar gossips, Verma doesn't seem to be a player of any significance.

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Shinde names Bhandara rape-murder victims in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: In what could be a case of violation of law by its custodian, Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Friday committed a gaffe when he named the victims (three minor sisters) of the Bhandara rape incident in the Rajya Sabha while making statement during live televised proceeding of the Upper House.

Although names of the victims were later expunged from the House records in the wake of intervention of the leader of the opposition Arun Jaitley, Shinde's office had by then disclosed the minors' names also to people outside Parliament by emailing his unedited statement to media organizations, including international news agencies.

Within hours Shinde came in for severe flak for his insensitivity. BJP leader Smriti Irani said the home minister's statement was silent on many issues and sought to know why the police was so inept in Bhandara. "If his excuse is ignorance, then he has no right to continue," Irani said.

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury termed the statement as "very unfortunate and very shocking". He said that the "gravity" of sexual crime was not "reflected" in the statement and the government was not paying deserving respect to victims of such crimes. Former Rajya Sabha member Brinda Karat demanded that the minister express public regret. "Who can be held accountable when the central home minister sets an example of such insensitivity? And it not as if the names were mentioned inadvertently, it is not a blunder. No home ministry official or the minister himself thought there was anything wrong in the written statement. He must express regret but the damage has already been done," she said.

Jaitley pointed out the blunder as soon as Shinde had mentioned the victims' names. The Leader of Opposition pointed out that as per law the victims or rape that too minors are not identified or named and their identity should be kept a secret as per Supreme Court guidelines.

"I am sure it is an oversight...Three minor children are being named in the statement of the home minister. What should not have been done, has been done. Victims named should not have been named. Their names have come out and their identity disclosed," Jaitley said suggesting that the home minister should withdraw his statement and a fresh one be made in the House.

Shinde, who was reading out from a written statement on the rape and killing of three minors in Maharashtra, took time to appreciate Jaitley's point. He realized his mistake only when PJ Kurien, deputy chairperson who was in the Chair, told Shinde that Jaitley has raised an important issue. Jaitley then explained the sensitivity of the matter in detail.

Shinde thanked Jaitley for pointing out the "inadvertent" error and sought to withdraw the names. Kurien, immediately, directed media also not to name the victims as listed out in the home minister's statement, saying if it is done it will be taken as a matter of privilege. The Rajya Sabha Secretariat later put out a notice providing the orders of the Chair expunging the remarks made in Shinde's statement.

The Chair's direction was, however, missed out by the home ministry spokesperson's office. It immediately emailed Shinde's statement, carrying names of the minors, to correspondents. Though the North Block - office of the home ministry — later sent another message saying the earlier email stands withdrawn, it did so only after the serious lapse was highlighted by media.

Embarrassed Shinde later ordered a probe into how the names of minor rape victims figured in the statement he made on the Bhandara incident. However, implied in the show of toughness was the admission that he did not go through the statement before reading it out in the House.

"We withdrew the names and deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha expunged it. I have told the (home) secretary to conduct a probe into the matter," he told reporters outside Parliament House reacting to questions on his slip in the Upper House.

Shinde's gaffes

* During the winter session of Parliament last year, he had addressed Pakistani terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba chief and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Hafiz Saeed as 'Shri' while making a statement

* In August last year, his taunt against actor-turned-politician Jaya Bachchan ( Samajwadi Party) during a debate on Assam violence that it was not a subject matter of film had evoked strong condemnation from opposition members. After an uproar in the House, Shinde was forced to eat his words and apologize to Bachchan saying she is his sister

* Came under sharp attack from BJP over his recent 'Hindu terror' remark made at the Congress 'chintan shivir' at Jaipur and was forced to make a clarification and express regret just ahead of the budget session of Parliament

* Stoked controversy during the protests over the Delhi gang rape when he appeared to compare the protestors with Maoists

* Remarked recently that the controversy over the coal block allotment will be 'forgotten' in the days to come, just like the Bofors and petrol pump distribution scams, saying public memory was short

* Gave a month's deadline to make some announcement on Telangana in December last year, but later backed out saying there was no deadline as the matter was still being discussed.

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6 Bihar cops get 3-year jail term for assaulting judge

BHAGALPUR: A Bhagalpur court on Thursday awarded three years' imprisonment to six police officers for assaulting an additional district judge (ADJ) inside the court premises more than 15 years ago.

The incident took place on November 18, 1997 when a group of policemen went on the rampage after ADJ D N Barai ordered inspector Joku Ram to be sent in judicial custody. A non-bailable warrant of arrest had been pending against Ram for long after he did not turn up to depose as a witness in a case.

Furious policemen ransacked the court premises and assaulted the ADJ as well as some lawyers. A judicial probe was ordered into the incident and cases were filed by the then registrar of the court as well as the ADJ.

Prosecution counsel Mukti Prasad Singh said the court, while pronouncing the sentence, granted bail to the policemen so that they could appeal against the verdict.

The convicted policemen are - police inspector K D Choudhary, SI Shashi Lata Singh, SI P K Singh, ASI Chakradhar Jha, SI K N Singh and Ranjit Pandey, the then sergeant major of Bhagalpur.

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Varun Gandhi acquitted in hate speech case

LUCKNOW: Bringing some relief to Varun Gandhi, a Pilibhit court on Wednesday acquitted the BJP MP in one of the two 'hate speech' cases registered against him in the run-up to 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP leader faced charges under IPC and Representation of People Act for promoting enmity among people and supporting acts prejudicial to communal harmony while making allegedly inflammatory speeches.

The first FIR against Varun was lodged on March 17, 2009 at Barkhera police station and the second one a day later in Dal Chand for allegedly making speeches with communal overtones. A third FIR was lodged on March 28, 2009 when Varun's supporters attacked police after the court remanded him in judicial custody.

On Wednesday, the court acquitted the Pilibhit MP in the second case on the basis of eyewitness accounts and a report of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Chandigarh, which concluded that video CD of the alleged 'hate speech' had been 'doctored'. The court said 51 of the 53 eye-witnesses testified in favour of the BJP leader.

Varun had maintained that the cases were filed to malign his image. Defending his campaign statements, the BJP MP had argued that in one of the speeches, he had referred to 'bad elements' while the tapes of the second speech were 'doctored'.

The then Mayawati government had slapped the National Security Act (NSA) against Varun who was finally released on bail by the Supreme Court which directed the state government to drop the NSA charges.

In September, Varun had urged the Samajwadi Party (SP) government to withdraw the "politically motivated" cases against him. Following his request, the government had asked the Pilibhit administration whether it was possible to drop the charges.

Welcoming the verdict, Varun said in a statement: "I have always reposed my faith in the judiciary and I welcome the decision of the honourable court that upholds my commitment to a strong and united India. I would like to thank all the people who have stood by me and believed in me through this difficult time."

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Rail Budget 2013: Coach PM gets Bansal to keep it on track

NEW DELHI: Pawan Bansal's induction in the railway ministry last year was ascribed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Fed up with hemorrhaging of railway finances under successive regional chieftains who lorded over the crucial infrastructure ministry, the PM was keen on bringing in someone more in league with his own reformist instincts.

Tuesday's rail budget, marked by a focus on restoring fiscal discipline after years of runaway profligacy, shows that Bansal has lived up to expectations. Although understated, some proposals are so significant that the discerning can be excused if they think these were written by the PM himself.

It signals the Congress leadership's acquiescence to the harsh economic reality which has cramped the room for sops, to the extent that the PM and the finance minister today are on the same page. It provides a foretaste of what could be in store on Thursday when P Chidambaram presents his budget.

The austere presentation contrasts sharply with the populist grandstanding under Bansal's predecessors, Mamata Banerjee and Lalu Prasad, focusing more on consolidation. Bansal said right at the outset that the public transporter was unable to improve users' amenities, safety and efficiency because his predecessors were not concerned about financial sustainability. There is a reference to social responsibility but only as part of the larger argument to ensure the organization's financial stability.

Barring projects conceived from the point of view of national security, Bansal forthrightly said that funding would be available only to those projects that will be commercially viable. Put simply, it puts a question mark on the fate of schemes launched for political reasons and were justified on the ground of social obligations. "The thin spread of scarce resources can be overcome only in this manner,'' the minister said.

He refrained from hiking passenger fares but that did not take away from the budget's reformist thrust. Having raised fares only recently, Bansal had headroom to showcase his concern for commuters. But, he proposed to mop up a considerable amount increasing charges on services. More importantly, he made a pitch for an annual increase of 5-6% in fares. Read along with the bold advocacy to align fares with fuel prices, this is a far cry from the days when asking passengers to pay more was an anathema.

While the inspiration may have come from the PM, Bansal was helped by the fact that he, being the representative of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, was not handicapped by the need to cater to a large constituency. As a result, while there were expected protests against non-fulfillment of demands, there was no jealousy towards the region that Bihar and Bengal evoked under Lalu and Mamata.

Bansal stressed that the railways will close the current fiscal with a surplus, and that operating ratio is expected to improve to 87.88%. The proposals seemed designed to help achieve the objective to restore financial viability of railways and, if implemented, can mark an important step towards the paradigm shift that the budget talks about.
Budget 2013 > Rail Budget 2013 > Economic Survey 2013

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Punjab and Haryana high court quashes policy depriving judges of leave travel concession benefits

CHANDIGARH: In a respite to over 400 judicial officers working in various subordinate courts of Haryana, the Punjab and Haryana high court has quashed the instructions issued by the state government depriving the officers of leave travel concession (LTC) benefits. Directing the state to consider the judges of subordinate courts at par with the other employees of the state government in the matter of grant of benefits, HC has held the action of the Haryana government as "discriminatory, arbitrary" and violative of the equality in the matter of benefits to the state employees. HC also held that the state cannot create a class within the employees of the state for depriving them of such benefits.

The government had denied the LTC benefits to the judges on the ground that the judges constitute a separate class, thus not entitled for such monetary benefits. A division bench comprising Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Ritu Bahri has passed the order while allowing a petition filed by the Haryana Judges Association.

In its petition, the Judges Association had challenged the Haryana government's instructions issued on December 28, 2010, whereby the judicial officers working in the state were denied benefit of cash payment in lieu of LTC in a block of four years in a discriminatory manner, as the said benefit has been granted to other employees of the state.

Haryana had framed LTC scheme in February 2009 for all state employees, which includes for members of the Haryana Civil Service (Executive) Branch Officers as well but not the officers of state judicial services. As per the said scheme, one-month salary is admissible to the state government employees, who do not avail LTC facility in the block of four years.

The petitioners had argued that the judicial officers are employees of the state of Haryana and entitled to be treated at par with other employees and cannot be treated as separate class so as to deny the benefit of cash payment in lieu of the scheme applicable to all employees.

However, contesting the petition, Haryana had taken the stand that the pay-scale and other benefits to the judicial officers are in terms of the judgment of the Supreme Court in All India Judges Association versus Union of India, and the orders passed from time to time. "Such benefit of LTC is not contemplated either in the report of Shetty Commission or by the Supreme Court regarding the pay and perks of the judicial officers, which constitutes a separate class," argued the state.

However, bench quashed the state's policy.

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Sunil Joshi murder accused possessed a foreign pistol: NIA

BHOPAL: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had seized a 7.65mm automatic pistol, a Webley & Scott Ltd. London & Birmingham make, from the possession of an accused arrested in connection with the murder of RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi. This was revealed after the federal agency handed over the list of seized articles to defence counsel before a special court on Saturday.

"We have got the list after a long wait. We would examine it," said Pramod Saxena, lawyer for Pragya Thakur—the key accused in Joshi murder case. Defence had moved an application before the special NIA court seeking list of seized articles during the last hearing.

NIA informed that the pistol inscribed 'Webley & Scott Ltd. London & Birmingham' was seized from the residence of Dilip Jagtap at Suman Colony in Indore. Other seizures included one magazine of the pistol, four live cartridges of 7.65mm inscribed "KF 7.65", one 12-bore double barrel country made rifle, five 12 bore cartridges, pass books and other documents.

The NIA however failed to mention the actual owner of the foreign weapon, said sources. In January the NIA had recovered one of the weapons, which they claimed was used to kill Joshi from Balbir Singh, his alleged accomplice who was arrested recently from Mandalwada in Indore district.

NIA also claimed that two of the accused Lokendra Sharma and Rajendra Chaudhary, the accused in the case, had stayed at Balbir Singh's house after Joshi's murder on December 29, 2007.

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'Dabas is not the only rotten apple'

NEW DELHI: The illegal attempt to procure the call details of BJP leader Arun Jaitley has brought to fore the unholy nexus among police, detectives and city's bigwigs, including politicians and industrialists.

The subversion of official procedure to procure Jaitely's CDR (call details records) has attracted an angry response from the BJP, and led many to marvel at conspirators' audacity to target an A-list politician. The scam has also reinforced fears of invasion of privacy. But sources in the police say that obtaining a person's CDR was never a big deal and that the arrested policeman Arvind Dabas is probably just one of the many in the department who do this for making a fast buck. It is only that they had so far managed to remain under the radar.

They say sneaking in that one extra number into a bundle of numbers being sent officially will never be a difficult task for the policemen and will go undetected even by the designated officer of the rank of ACP sending the official request. The list has only numbers, and no names are mentioned. In the current instance, the alleged conspirators were not caught until they put Jaitley's name against his number: a mistake that alerted the nodal officer of the cellphone service provider and resulted in the unraveling of the crime.

What helps such snooping is the unstated liaison of police personnel with private detectives like Anurag Singh, who is emerging as the key protagonist in Jaitley CDR saga. Sources confirmed that Delhi Police and central intelligence agencies had in the past engaged services of Singh, a trained doctor who graduated from a reputed medical college in the city but never practiced medicine because of his fascination for technology. It is recognized that the association, which started more than a decade ago because Delhi Police had lacked sophisticated know-how to track information technology-savvy criminals at the time, may have helped the detective familiarize himself with the loopholes in the official procedures, besides providing him the opportunity to befriend officers.

Sources say that the serious risk of assault on privacy of unsuspecting citizen is aggravated by the trend among some intelligence officials to outsource the dirty part of the job, including illicit surveillance on political opponents of the government and others, to private detectives whose inventory of espionage equipment, sourced from Israel and other places, can match official capabilities.

This is why there is skepticism that the Jaitley CDR scam will put an end the menace. Sources say that the adverse publicity may at best lead to a break until the police 'complete' their probe. After that it will be business as usual though possibly with one big difference: the private players and their collaborators in police may hike their rates citing heightened risk. "A job which could be done for Rs 2,000-Rs 5,000 could escalate to Rs 20,000? It can fluctuate depending on how stringent the process is made. But if they are saying they will put an end to this, they must be kidding. If they make the process difficult, it's their probe which will get hampered," says a source.

Officially, private detectives cannot access call records of any person. It's only the owner of a number who can access the call details of his number by asking the service provider. Otherwise, police are the only authority who can do so, that too for the limited purpose of an ongoing investigation..

However, the reality is different. Call details, being an important tool for investigation, used as much by police as private detectives. In fact, the first thing that a private detective does after landing a case is, just like a policeman, is to seek CDR. These are in great demand also among businessmen who either hire private detectives or rely on 'contacts' among police to track their rivals.

And the process is simple. That one number that the client is interested in is sneaked in amid various numbers which are officially sent to the mobile company from the e-mail id of the nodal officer, an officer of the rank of ACP. The ACP, however, seldom uses the email-himself, leaving the job for head constables and juniors like, as Jaitley case showed, Dabas.

The CDR of a number is an elaborate list divided into several columns like, the calling number, the called number, time of call, duration of call, location at the time of call, the instrument used to make the call and etc.

However, there are no names. Even the investigators probing a particular case are not aware about who owns the number. And that's the catch. "We get the CDR and then begin investigations. Each number is analyzed and a person is assigned to go through each and every number on the CDR list and call up the suspicious. Sometimes all the numbers on the list may get called up. They speak to the person; ask him about his identity and other questions. Those who emerge as "persons of interest" are summoned for detailed questioning. The CDR of those who may evoke more suspicions are obtained and that yields investigators further leads," a source says.

An officer says that the fact that identity of persons whose CDR are sought remains unknown until the first stage, leaves a big gap in the procedure to be exploited by the nexus of resourceful private detectives and cops, greedy, compromised as well as regime-loyalists. For example, on November 20, two offices — the Special Staff (November 20) and Vasant Vihar police Station (November 29) — sought call details of Jaitley's number's during the Ponty Chadha case as his number had figured in Hardeep's call records. Neither knew that the number belonged to the BJP leader: On December 3, even the crime branch asked for the number's details. The CDR were scrapped as soon as the identity was ascertained.

Private detectives argue it's not all about money making, but it comes along with it. "If a businessman approaches me to find out the details/activities and friend circle about a man who is going to get married to his daughter, we will use his CDR to check his antecedents. It is crucial for us. And since we don't have access to it, , it s obvious we will need to seek help from our friends in the police. And why not? After all, they seek our help too. What do you think Anurag, who has been arrested by the special cell, did in the past? He has helped the sleuths in the cell so much and so many times but he is paying for it now," says a south Delhi-based detective.

The private players also remain confident that the illegal practice will continue. "Do you really think the cops can end this? Everybody will be back in business in a couple of months. The ACP will have jobs other than asking his men about explanation and requirement of each and every number whose call details are being procured," says a source.

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UK, Canada, Australia issue travel advisories

NEW DELHI: The UK, Canada and Australia have issued travel advisories asking their citizens to exercise caution within hours of the twin blasts in Hyderabad. The Australian advisory is significant as it comes a week before the second Test match between India and Australia scheduled to be played in Hyderabad on March 2. Though officials have said that the match will be held as scheduled, tour operators apprehend cancellations by spectators.

In its advisories, the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth office said, ``On 21st February two bombs exploded in Hyderabad in the busy Dilsukhnagar area of the city killing 14 people and injuring 80. You should avoid the area.''

Australian advisory asked its citizens to monitor the situation through media and follow the advice of local authorities. ``We advice you to exercise a degree of caution in India at this time because of the risk of terrorism...''

The Canadian government clarified ``There is no nationwide advisory in effect for India. However, you should exercise a high degree of caution due to a continuing threat of terrorist attacks throughout the country at all times.''

Travel industry executives said that while one advisory would not have had such an impact, there had been a series of bad news in the last few months. ``It first started with the Delhi gang-rape, then swine flu and now the blasts such incidents send out the message that India is not a safe place to travel and hurts our global image,'' Subhash Goyal, president of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IOTA), said.

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Rajnath condemns Hyderabad blast, condoles deaths

NEW DELHI: BJP president Rajnath Singh on Thursday condoled the loss of lives in Hyderabad blasts and demanded that the government conduct a thorough probe into the incident.

"I express my condolences to the family members of those killed in the blast. This is a condemnable incident. I hope the government will take appropriate action to provide immediate and adequate relief to those injured in the blast," Singh told reporters.

Twelve people were killed and more than 80 injured late on Thursday evening when two powerful serial blasts rocked a busy commercial hub of Hyderabad close to a crowded bus stand at Dilsukhnagar.

Singh demanded a thorough probe into the attack and asked the government to take steps to prevent such incidents in future. The blasts took place during the peak hour outside a roadside eatery near Konark cinema in the locality resulting in a stampede-like situation with people trying to run for safety.

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Abhilash Tomy hits Indian Ocean on his solo voyage around the world

NEW DELHI: Lt-Commander Abhilash Tomy, the naval officer who embarked on a solo "non-stop" circumnavigation of the globe on a sail boat last November, is now back in the Indian Ocean after sailing around the Cape of Good Hope on Tuesday.

"It's an amazing story... the last time he had any human contact was when he was flagged off from Mumbai on November 1. He manages to sleep only a couple of hours at a stretch. While around 5,000 people have climbed Mt Everest, only around 80 have successfully done the solo non-stop circumnavigation of the globe," a Navy officer said.

Tomy, who earlier crossed Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn in the arduous voyage during which he often faced winds of up to 45-50 knots, is expected to reach Mumbai towards March-end on his naval sailing ship Mhadei. By then, he would have covered a distance of over 22,000 nautical miles (around 40,000 km), crossing the equator twice in the process.

In his latest email sent to the Navy HQ, Tomy said, "It has been a fantastic voyage so far! The boat is in much better shape than what I had expected her to be. Initially, I was very conservative but after rounding Cape Horn, I have been pushing the boat and she is sailing much faster. It does not feel as if I have spent more than 100 days at sea alone."

After Commander Dilip Donde became the first Indian ever to undertake solo circumnavigation of the world in Mhadei in 2009-2010, Tomy - a maritime reconnaissance Dornier pilot by specialization - then came forward to do one better by undertaking a "solo, unassisted, non-stop" endeavour in the 'Sagar Parikrama-II' mission.

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Meghalaya 'fastest growing state', Sonia parrots PM

JOWAI: A stunning bit of 'news', which the people of this remote and impoverished northeastern state were hitherto unaware of, has been broken twice by the Congress leaders. First it was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who at an election rally in Shillong Friday last said Meghalaya was one of the "fastest growing" states in the country, followed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi parroting the same here on Tuesday.

"Meghalaya bears the proud distinction of being one of the fastest growing states not just in the northeast. This is a success, not just in social or financial terms but also in administrative terms. We have ushered in an era of peace, prosperity and stability that is unique in the history of Meghalaya," Sonia said while canvassing for her party for the February 23 assembly election.

She said the Congress led-UPA and Meghalaya government have worked "diligently and in earnest" to provide solid foundations of administration on which the people can build their lives. "Under the current government, Meghalaya has witnessed a very productive and peaceful period. In many ways, it has grown far more rapidly than most other states in the country," she iterated.

Sonia spoke on chief minister Mukul Sangma's pet project - the Integrated Basin Development and Livelihood Promotion Programme - as did PM Singh. Claiming that the state has seen a "major inflow" of investment, particularly in the fields of education and healthcare, Sonia said, "We have endeavoured to be a government that works for the uplift of the poor while simultaneously encouraging enterprise," she added.

Touching on the sensitive issue of illegal migration from across the border, she said, "We are aware that much still needs to be done, including on issues such as those related to immigration. We are at present engaging with the Bangladesh government to stem out illegal immigration that is of concern to you."

Not forgetting the burning issue of mining in Meghalaya, Sonia said she was aware that illegal mining is a threat to the environment of the state and added Congress has taken some measures in this direction.

"The people of Meghalaya have always reposed their trust in us and we have and will not ever breach that trust. That is why, I am here to ask you to give us the opportunity to continue in our efforts to give voice to your aspirations and dreams," the Congress president campaigned.

Addressing an election rally in Tura, Sonia showered praises on the Congress-led government in the state and sought a renewed mandate for the party.

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Govt moves to block 55 Facebook pages on Afzal Guru

NEW DELHI: The government has asked internet service providers to block 55 Facebook pages related to Afzal Guru. The notice by the Department of Telecom was issued a day before internet services were restored in Kashmir Valley after remaining suspended for a week following Afzal's hanging. It was on the same day, February 14, that the notice ordering ISPs to block 73 web pages with content relating to a private management college, Indian Institute of Planning and Management, was issued.

Afzal Guru was convicted for his role in the December 2001 Parliament attack and hanged earlier this month. His hanging set off a spate of protests in Kashmir despite a week-long curfew in the Valley.

The list of 55 Facebook pages includes several support groups and fan pages for Afzal Guru in addition to a profile page of a Bahraini journalist and the Facebook page of a Kashmiri news portal.

The DoT spokesperson could not say who had requested for these pages to be blocked. Group coordinator on cyber laws, Gulshan Rai, who is authorized to send out block notices to ISPs could not be reached for comment.

The notice was not made public by the DoT. The IT Rules introduced in 2009 prohibit disclosure about processes involved in blocking of internet sites.

Delhi-based lawyer Apar Gupta said the move seemed to be "calculated" since it came just before restoration of internet services in the Valley. "Legally speaking, some of the pages for which the block has been called speak of avenging Guru's death. However, the notice does not specify the reasons why the block has been ordered. It gives an impression that the government has something to hide," said Gupta. "The government seems to be growing reliant on blocking as a mode of governance, which is worrying, said cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal.

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Cops may not oppose assitant director's bail application

MUMBAI: The Jogeshwari police are unlikely to oppose the bail plea of Bollywood assistant director Mark Samuel, who was remanded to seven days' police custody on charges of rash and drunk driving and not possessing a driving licence.

Samuel, an assistant director for the Salman Khan starrer Dabangg 2, will move the Bombay High Court on Monday, along with his friend, Vidushi Sood, for bail. The duo was also charged with abusing and assaulting policemen on duty who stopped them after a 15-minute chase last Friday in Jogeshwari.

Police officials said they had almost completed custodial interrogation of the couple and may not oppose their bail. "We will take a final decision on Monday," said senior inspector V R Damugade, Jogeshwari police station.

The police may also revoke Samuel's passport.

Several legal eagles had questioned the remand plea and subsequent need for seven-day police custody.

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Bring class III, IV employees under Lokpal: Hazare

PUNE: Social crusader Anna Hazare has expressed concern over the Union government's move to exclude corporate sector and class III and class IV government employees from the purview of Lokpal.

In a letter sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ahead of Parliament's budget session, Hazare has reminded Singh of the promises made by the government about enacting a law incorporating citizens charter, appointing Lokayuktas on the lines of Lokpal in all states and including all government employees in the ambit of Lokpal.

Hazare has said that he has learnt that a Cabinet meeting has decided to exclude class III and class IV employees from the purview of Lokpal. "I am surprised by the development. The letter that you gave me on August 27, 2011, regarding Parliament's resolution clearly stated that the demand regarding inclusion of all government employees under the purview of Lokpal was accepted. How can the Cabinet reject what Parliament has accepted, especially as Parliament is supreme?" he asked in the letter sent on February 15.

Hazare pointed out that it was imperative to include class III and class IV employees under the Lokpal ambit because corruption by low rank officials, like gram sevaks and circle officers, affects common people the most. He said if the Cabinet was allowed to change Parliament's decision without having any authority to do so, it would put a question mark on the supremacy of Parliament. "As the head of the government, you have to decide whether the country is run by Parliament or the Cabinet," he said.

Hazare also expressed displeasure over the government's stand of leaving appointing of Lokayuktas to state governments. "There should be a uniform law for all states regarding Lokayuktas. We should not have a situation where justice will differ from state to state," he said.

Hazare also expressed concern about corporates being excluded from the purview of Lokpal. "It is unfortunate that barring the Left parties, all political parties are in favour of excluding the corporate sector when we have serious issues concerning exploitation of water, land and forest resources," he said.

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Abhishek Verma owes Aeromatrix Gautam Khaitan Rs 5.32L as legal fees: ED

NEW DELHI: Contrary to reports that former director with Aeromatrix Gautam Khaitan held $145,000 of Abhishek Verma's money for disposal, documents available with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) show that it is Verma who owes Khaitan money.

In a reply filed with the ED, which has been investigating Verma's dealings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Khaitan has said that the war room leak case accused still owes him Rs 5.32 lakh for legal services his firm provided to Verma in a case he had fought against BSNL in 2004.

Quoting from Italian investigations into the alleged kickbacks paid to middlemen to push through Finmeccanica's VVIP chopper deal in India, media reports cited a letter allegedly written by Delhi-based lawyer Khaitan on behalf of his law firm, O P Khaitan & Co, to Atlas Interactive Ltd (AIL) in Mauritius, a Verma-owned firm. The letter said that Khaitan told AIL that his company was holding accounts of $145,000 each on behalf of AIL and that he would "dispose" of these funds as per instructions once he returned to Delhi.

While the authenticity of this letter is still being probed, ED documents show that while Verma has had links with Khaitan, he has failed to clear the latter's dues. ED had summoned Khaitan last September to quiz him on his links with Verma and the payments he had received from him.

Khaitan had replied last October that his firm had represented AIL in Delhi High Court and Arbitral Tribunal in a dispute that had arisen between Atlas Interactive (India) Pvt Ltd and BSNL over a 2004 Franchisee Agreement for providing broadband services to BSNL's landline users in Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Gurgaon.

In 2006, a reply furnished to the CBI following a similar query had said, "The matter was attended by us on behalf of Atlas before Arbitral Tribunal only on five occasions... The matter, thereafter, was not attended by us as we were proving too expensive for Atlas. In fact, our bills to the tune of Rs 5.75 lakh are still pending besides issuance of TDS certificate."

The outstanding was, however, revised to Rs 5.32 lakh in Khaitan's reply to the ED last year.

The reply says that after 2004, Verma got in touch with the firm only in August-September, 2010 for a meeting with Myfairlady Pvt Ltd with which he wanted to enter into a joint venture to start sports betting in India. However, Khaitan asked for an advance payment which Verma did not provide following which the lawyer pulled out of the deal.

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Abhishek Verma’s firm acted as brokers for AgustaWestland

NEW DELHI: Controversial arms dealer AbhishekVerma is back in the headlines. On a day when a Delhi court denied Verma and his wife interim bail in a case involving alleged violations of the Official Secrets Act, television channel Times Now cited documents to suggest that his firms had acted as deal-brokers for AgustaWestland, though not in the VVIP helicopter deal.

Times Now said that Swiss lobbying firm NJT Sarl had sent an email to the office of the CEO of AgustaWestland and its parent Italian firm Finmeccanica, Giuseppe Orsi, in June 2009 offering its services in helping the Italian arms manufacturer secure business in India.

The mail, dated June 19, 2009, sent by one Christian Curato said NJT Sarl was acting on behalf of Atlas Defence Systems, a Mauritius-based firm that was part of Verma's Atlas group. It boasted of how its "allies" had closed defence deals worth $5.5 billion in the previous four years. Promising to "provide political exposure in India at the highest level" and asserting that it had strong allies in government, media and "corridors of power", NJT sought a meeting with Orsi.

A series of emails exchanged between Orsi's office and NJT culminated in the legal head of AgustaWestland, Alaimo Vincenzo, suggesting to the Swiss lobbying firm that a formal commission contract be draw up and signed. The contract, the report said, was finally signed in August 2009, not with the Swiss firm but with another alleged Verma front company, Ganton Ltd, based in New York. The president of Ganton Ltd, US, C Edmonds Allen, signed the contract.

The contract specified that Ganton would be paid an 8% commission on the sale of helicopters to the Delhi Police and 15% on the price of all spare parts that would be provided under the contract. As it happened, the helicopter deal with the Delhi Police finally did not go through.

The Times Now report also cited a letter allegedly written by lawyer Gautam Khaitan on behalf of his law firm O P Khaitan & Co to Atlas Interactive Ltd (AIL) in Mauritius, another Verma-owned firm. It said that Khaitan in this letter told AIL that his company was holding accounts of $145,000 each on behalf of AIL and that he would "dispose" of these funds as per instructions once he returned to Delhi.

This, the Times Now report said, not only proved that Khaitan was very much linked to arms dealers but also raised questions about what the $290,000 was meant for and how it was "disposed" of.

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Italian investigators name ex-IAF chief Shashi Tyagi

NEW DELHI: Former IAF chief Shashi P Tyagi on Wednesday categorically denied receiving bribes or indeed playing any role in the acquisition of AW-101 choppers, as alleged by an ongoing Italian probe.

In a preliminary 64-page report filed in the tribunal of Busto Arsizio city, after Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi, AgustaWestland head Bruno Spagnolini and two others were arrested, Italian investigators said the money was routed through alleged middlemen — Guido Haschke, Carlo Gerosa and Christian Michel — to India. "They promised and managed to pay, through brothers (Sanjeev) Julie Tyagi, Dosca Tyagi and Sandeep Tyagi, a certain amount of money, not yet quantified, to ACM Shashi Tyagi," said the report. The trio named are Air Chief Marshal Tyagi's cousins.

"I am innocent. These allegations are totally baseless. I deny them categorically," Tyagi told TOI. The technical parameters for the VVIP choppers were "frozen" in 2003-04, much before he became the IAF chief. Moreover, he retired well before the field trials in the project were held in 2008 and the final deal was inked in 2010.

He did admit to meeting Carlo at the residence of his cousin brothers a few times.

Reacting on kickback allegations against him in the VVIP chopper deal, former IAF chief Shashi P Tyagi on Wednesday said, "I am not aware that my cousins are arms dealers...what I know is that they deal with European companies that want to invest in the power sector in India."

Defence minister A K Antony said the "strongest" possible action would be taken against any individual, Indian or foreign, and the company concerned if the allegations against them were proved. "Nobody will be spared whatever may be the consequences," he said. The government also threatened to cancel the deal and blacklist the company if any wrongdoing was established in the case.

The CBI had been told to submit a preliminary report in the case as soon as possible. The agency is likely to lodge the FIR in the case within 24 hours, although its preliminary report may take a couple of months.

The ongoing Italian probe has alleged Italian aerospace and defence giant Finmeccanica bribed ACM (retd) Tyagi, who was the IAF chief from January 2005 to December 2007, to ensure the contract for the 12 three-engine AW-101 helicopters went to its UK-based subsidiary, AgustaWestland. The Italian report alleges that Haschke and Gerosa, through the Tyagi brothers, got the technical specifications in the Indian tender tweaked to ensure AW-101 choppers could qualify in the competition.

For instance, the "operational ceiling", or the altitude at which the helicopters could operate, was reduced from 18,000 to 15,000 feet. "Then they managed to introduce a comparative flight trial with a non-functional engine for the benefit of the AW-101 helicopters, which were the only ones with three engines," it said.

Antony, on being asked about the names of ACM Tyagi and the then Special Protection Group (SPG) chief and now Goa governor B V Wanchoo surfacing in the case, said he was not in a position to say anything at the moment. "Let the CBI inquire into the matter. I don't want to say who is right, who is wrong. I am not a judge, nor the investigating officer," he said.

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Guru's family sends letter, Tihar says 'come through proper channels'

NEW DELHI: Afzal Guru's family has sent a second letter to the Tihar director general, asking jail authorities to keep his belongings in a safe place and make arrangements for taking Afzal's body back to Kashmir.

In the letter on Tuesday, a copy of which is with TOI, the family has made a list of requests through their lawyers ND Pancholi and Nandita Haksar. However, Tihar authorities are not treating the letter as representative of the family's wishes.

"We have not received any request from his wife Tabassum. The family can approach us anytime as per jail rules through proper channels," said Sunil Gupta, Tihar law officer and spokesperson.

As per jail rules, Tihar officials will only consider a 'proper request' from the family only if Afzal's wife sends a letter signed by her, along with a 'probate form' attached to prove her relationship to Afzal, officials told TOI.

"We would like you to give us a list of his belongings including his personal effects such as his spectacles, clothes etc," says the letter. It also asks the prison authorities to "initiate the procedures on thir behalf for taking his body back to Kashmir."

The letter was received by the DG's office on the same day. The lawyers have expressed their shock in the letter that "the prison authorities have leaked to the media about the belongings of Afzal instead of telling his lawyers."

"We had conveyed to you a simple request from the family members of Afzal Guru... for permission to say prayers at Afzal's grave. We are disturbed there has been no response from your side. The family members want some assurance from the jail authorities before coming to Delhi," Pancholi and Haksar have written in the same letter. "They had hoped to come immediately to Delhi but because of the strict curfew and severe restrictions imposed on movement they have not been able to come so far."

Tihar sources said that they were not treating the letters from the lawyers as representative of the family's wishes. "How do we know if the family has made these requests? These were Afzal's lawyers, who has now died. They don't represent the family. Where is the proof that they are actually voicing the family's demands?" said a senior Tihar official.

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Old Aadhaar applicants may have to reapply

NEW DELHI: Applied for an Aadhaar card before April 1, 2012, but haven't got it yet? You may have to apply all over again. A lot of data related to applicants who enrolled for the Aadhaar unique identification number in the first phase has apparently been either lost or rendered unusable due to "encrypting errors".

UID Authority of India on Monday told the Delhi government that applicants whose status on the e-aadhaar website reads "can't be processed due to technical reasons" will need to re-enroll - unless they have given their biometrics for the National Population Registry card.

Delhi government data shows 1.36 crore citizens, out of a population of 1.67 crore, have enrolled for Aadhaar. Delhi has made Aadhaar card mandatory for more than 20 services, including property and marriage registrations.

Many enrolled in 2011 but no Aadhaar card yet

The government now says it has no readily available data on how many people had enrolled for the card before April 1, 2012.

"UIDAI has clarified that applicants will have to re-enroll under three conditions. One, if their status on the e-aadhaar website says 'rejected'. Two, if it shows 'not found' and, three, if enrolments were done prior to April 1, 2012 and the status shows 'cannot be processed due to technical reasons'," Dharampal, Delhi's revenue secretary & divisional commissioner, told TOI. The revenue department is the coordinator for Aadhaar regis8trations in the city.

Dharampal had sought UIDAI's clarification on the status of Aadhaar enrolments done six or more months ago. Sources said the Aadhaar website may also show an applicant's status as 'rejected' if the person had made multiple registrations. The government is seeking a clarification on this.

As the state government prepares to put up helpdesks at the offices of the deputy commissioners in 11 districts now that the surge of crowds has overwhelmed the counters, TOI found many hassled Delhiites who had enrolled as early as 2011 but are yet to get their Aadhaar cards.

One such couple, Hemchand Jain and his wife Santosh, were seen doing the rounds of the east district deputy commissioner's office. Jain, a resident of Kailash Nagar in East Delhi, said he had enrolled for the UID number way back in October 2011 but is yet to get the number.

Jain was frustrated and anxious because he would now have to apply for the card afresh. "I am 66 years old. They should have a system to give us information at the counters itself. Everyone does not have access to internet," he said.

Similarly, Pooja Verma, a mother of two, had applied for the card in August 2011. While her husband has received his Aadhaar number, she still awaits it. She had come to an Aadhaar enrolment camp to inquire about her status but could get no information there.

Dilip Kumar Vaidya, a music teacher from Laxmi Nagar in east Delhi, said the entire Aadhaar enrolment process was marked by chaos. "I enrolled in 2011 and got my Aadhar card in early 2012. Suddenly, there was a buzz in our colony that all cards have been cancelled and everyone would have to enroll afresh. I enrolled a second time in June last year but am still awaiting my number. I don't know if the old number stands," he said.

Overwhelmed by the sheer number of the people landing up at Aadhar counters, the personnel there often have little information about the peoples' queries.

The queues at Aadhaar counters have grown by the day, ever since the city government decided to make the UID number mandatory for 20 critical services from January 1 this year. These include property and marriage registrations and all certificates such as domicile, income and caste.

The revenue department has taken the lead in making Aadhaar necessary for availing 20 services rendered by it. Other departments will follow gradually. The state's cash transfer schemes and cash for food scheme under Anshree Yojna have also been linked to Aadhaar ID.

Those enrolled under the ongoing National Population Register by the Union home ministry need not apply separately for Aadhaar.

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