No relief for Rathore, case deferred till Tuesday

May 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Disgraced former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore, sentenced to 18-month prison term by a court in Chandigarh in Ruchika molestation case, on Monday failed to get any relief as the Punjab and Haryana High Court deferred the hearing on his revision petition seeking bail till Tuesday.

68-year-old Rathore’s lawyer wife Abha Rathore had filed the review petition on his behalf in the High Court on May 26 seeking bail, a day after he was sentenced and lodged in the high-security Burail jail here.

The single vacation bench of Justice Ajay Tewari deferred the case till tomorrow.

On May 28, High Court Judge, Justice Gurdev Singh had posted the matter for today on the plea of the CBI counsel that the investigating agency had not received copy of the review petition.

In her petition, Abha Rathore had alleged that the appellate court had on May 25 passed the order “under media pressure”.

She had pleaded that the former DGP was facing “severe health problems”.

Rathore was jailed after a sessions court had enhanced his prison term to 18 months for molesting teenager Ruchika Girhotra–who later committed suicide, 20 years back.

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French searchers say crashed plane still unfound

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The French accident investigation agency says a search in a new area of the Atlantic for the Air France plane that crashed en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris has turned up nothing.

The zone was located by analysing signals from the plane’s black boxes, which are still unrecovered.

The investigating agency said in a statement yesterday that nothing was found in the ocean depths.

The conclusion came just two days after the agency said the plane, which crashed June 1, 2009, could be found by Wednesday.

Investigators say they have decided to return to the original search zone, northwest of the last known airplane position while continuing to determine the accuracy of the black box signals, which long ago died out.

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Three convicted in Satyendra Dubey’s murder case

March 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Patna, Mar 22 (ANI): A Patna Court on Monday convicted three accused in National Highway engineer Satyendranath Dubey murder case.

Dubey was a project director at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Patna Additional Judge convicted the three accused–Mantu Kumar, Udai Kumar and Pinku Ravidas for murdering Dubey and said the sentence would be pronounced on Saturday.

On November 27, 2003, Dubey was shot dead in the early hours in front of Gaya Circuit House.

Faced with the possibility of high-level corruption within the NHAI, Dubey wrote directly to the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, detailing the financial and contractual irregularities in the project.

While the letter was not signed, he attached a separate bio-data so that the matter would be taken more seriously.

The court convicted accused Mantu Kumar under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 302 (Murder), 394 (Voluntary causing hurt in committing robbery) and 27 (A) Arms Act for possessing unlicensed weapon.

The other two accused were convicted under Section 302/34 (Murder committed in furtherance of common intention) and 394 IPC.

In December, 2003 the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took the investigation from Bihar Police and arrested four persons –Mantu Kumar, Udai Kumar, Pinku Ravidas and Sharvan Kumar, all residents of Katari village in Gaya District of Bihar.

According to CBI, on the night of 27 November 2003, the accused persons robbed Dubey of his belongings and during the ensuing scuffle, Mantu Kumar shot him dead with a .315 country-made weapon.

During the investigation the CBI recovered a briefcase containing documents belonging to Dubey including his Identity card, from an abandoned well.

The investigating agency also recovered the country-made .315 pistol, used for the robbery and murder of Dubey.

Accused Sharvan Kumar gave full and voluntary disclosure about the incident and was made an approver.

Dubey”s murder drew several protests in India and abroad, especially by the media.

Student and Alumni bodies of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)s took the lead in raising this issue.

S. K. Dubey Foundation for Fight Against Corruption was founded in the US by Dubey’s IIT Kanpur batchmates to systematically fight against corruption.

IIT Kanpur instituted an annual award in his name, Satyendra K Dubey Memorial Award, to be given to an IIT alumnus for displaying highest professional integrity in upholding human values.

Dubey was recognised posthumously by several awards, which included the Whistleblower of the year award from the London-based Index on Censorship, the Transparency International”s Annual integrity award and the Service Excellence award from the All India Management Association.(ANI)

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Buta Singh says he is ready to be questioned by CBI

September 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug. 31 (ANI): Former Bihar Governor Buta Singh on Monday informed the Delhi High Court that he was ready to be questioned by CBI in connection with the bribery case involving his son.

His willingness to testify comes following CBI’s clarification that the chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes is required to be questioned as a witness and not as an accused in the bribery case. ingh said he would be available to CBI on September 10 at 11 am at his office, and the probe agency officials can come and question him.

Justice Geeta Mittal, after recording the statement given by Singh’s counsel, disposed the matter and asked the investigating agency to question Buta Singh on the date given by him.

The High Court had on August 26 sought response from the CBI on a petition filed by Singh, who had accused the probe agency of illegally summoning him for interrogation in an alleged bribery case.

Singh had contended that he holds a post of Cabinet rank and the CBI cannot question or interrogate him without taking sanction from the Centre.

He had on August 25 approached the Delhi High Court challenging CBI’s notice to appear before it in connection with a case of alleged bribery against his son Sarobjit Singh.

Singh’s son was arrested on July 31 by CBI for allegedly demanding a bribe of one crore rupees from a Nashik- based contractor to close an atrocity case against him pending before the Scheduled Caste Commission headed by his father. (ANI)

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CBI tells SC, Chargesheet against Mayawati ready in DA case

July 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, July 11 (ANI): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has informed the Supreme Court that it has prepared a chargesheet against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati in the five-year-old disproportionate assets case.

“The competent authority has already taken a decision to file final report under section 173 of the criminal procedure code in the designated trial court,” the affidavit filed by the CBI said.

The matter, which was listed for hearing on July 13, has been adjourned for two months after Uttar Pradesh’s Additional Advocate General Shail Kumar Dwivedi told a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan that the State government would file a counter to the agency’s affidavit.

CBI counsel said there had not been any changes in its stand what it had informed to the apex court on January 12, when it had stated that there was enough evidence to prosecute Ms. Mayawati in the case.

CBI had questioned her for the declared assets of Rs. one crore in 2003 going up to Rs.50 crore in 2007. It said that there was “ample evidence” to show she had amassed wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income.

The CBI, which had lodged a DA case against the BSP chief in 2003, alleged that the assets shown by her in the Akbarpur parliamentary constituency were worth over Rs one crore whereas the assets increased to over Rs 50 crore in her declaration papers submitted during the 2007 assembly polls.

The investigating agency in July last had responded to the apex court notice stating that there was sufficient evidence to show that Mayawati amassed wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income.

The UP CM filed a petition in May 2008 seeking quashing of the criminal proceedings against her in the case alleging it was registered due to “political reasons”.

Mayawati has claimed that she had received the money through donations from party workers which included meagre sums of Rs.five and Rs.ten which they contributed on her birthday. (ANI)

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CBI gets Rs.330 crore budgetary support

July 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday gave the country’s elite investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a Rs.330 crore (Rs.3.3 billion) support in the financial budget for its modernization.
The CBI received Rs.71 crore (Rs.710 million) more than the last fiscal when it got Rs.259 crore (Rs.2.59 billion).

The CBI deals with investigation and prosecution in corruption cases against public servants, private persons, firms and other cases of heinous and serious crimes.

The support includes provision for modernization of training centre of CBI, e-governance, construction of office building, purchase of land and construction of office and residence complex for CBI.

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Addresses of absconding 26/11 accused pave way for issue of NBWs

June 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, June 21(ANI): As the addresses of the 35 absconding accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case has been obtained from the Centre, the prosecution is now all set to move to a special court for issue of non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against all the accused.

“The addresses of absconding accused have been provided to the investigating agency by the Government of India. They are expected to be filed in the court tomorrow, paving the way for issue of non-bailable warrants,” an official said.

Hafeez Muhammed Saeed, chief of Jama’at-ud-Da’wah, is one of the 35 absconders, who was recently discharged on technical grounds by a Pakistan court in connection with the Mumbai terror attacks case.

Saeed is wanted in India, as the arrested terrorist of the 26/11, Ajmal Amir Kasab, has implicated him in his confession that Saeed was an alleged mastermind.

Earlier, the court had refused to issue warrants because of incomplete names and addresses of the accused. It had asked the prosecution to provide complete addresses.

“We have complete addresses of prime absconding accused and shall provide them to the court for issue of NBWs,” said special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam. (ANI)

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Court adjourns verdict on Tytler till April 28

April 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Apr 9 (ANI): A Kakardooma Court on Thursday postponed the hearing on the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) plea for closing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against former Union Minister Jagdish Tytler.

The court will hear the arguments from both sides on April 28 and 29.

The court held that all evidence filed pertaining to the case needs to be analysed before taking a decision on the CBI’s final closure report.

During the hearing, the CBI argued that the court did not have the power to take a decision on the investigation done by the agency since the case was related to murder.

However, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rakesh Pandit overruled the CBI’s point and fixed the argument on the matter for a later date.

The court has also directed the investigating agency to hand it over the CDs containing the evidence in the case.

During the period of the court hearing, over 500 protesters from various Sikh organisations broke the barricades outside the court and climbed over gates.

The protesters, who were agitated over the CBI’s decision to give a clean chit to Tytler, demanded stringent punishment for him for his alleged role in instigating the riots pertaining to killing of three persons when a mob attacked Gurudwara Pulbangash on November 1, 1984.

They even burnt an effigy of Tytler outside the court premises.

Extra police forces were deployed at the court to maintain law and order.

The CBI, on April 2, had recommended quashing of FIR against Tytler as it did not have sufficient evidence to proceed on the matter. On March 28, the CBI filed the report in a sealed envelope before Metropolitan Magistrate Ram Lal Meena.

Tytler was among the three prominent leaders named in the reports on anti-Sikh riots. Two other leaders named were Sajjan Kumar and the late HKL Bhagat.

The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which claimed the lives of almost 3000 Sikhs, were triggered by the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards. (ANI)

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‘Sanjay has forgotten Cong’s favours’

April 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

A DAY after the actor-turned-politician Sanjay Dutt criticised the Congress, holding its “bias against him” responsible for his legal troubles, the party hit back at him and said Dutt had forgotten “the good deeds of the Congress towards him”. On the other hand, the Samajwadi Party (SP) upgraded Dutt’s political status by appointing him as general secretary.

“Dutt will campaign for the party throughout the country,” SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said. Official records support claims that the Congress helped and facilitated Dutt’s release from jail.

Angry at being denied permission to contest polls, Dutt had on Wednesday said the Congress was biased against him, and he had done a “sting operation on a senior cabinet minister which proved the bias against him”. Though Dutt and SP general secretary Amar Singh did not directly name the minister but hinted they were talking of law minister H.R. Bhardwaj.

Bhardwaj rubbished the allegations. “Dutt is in wrong company and has forgotten his relations with us,” he told HT. “He has been misled and has forgotten the good deeds of the Congress towards him.

” The minister’s claim finds support in the form of the stand taken by the CBI lawyers in the Supreme Court. The lawyers representing the investigating agency did not oppose the actor’s bail application in the apex court.

Dutt had approached the Supreme Court in November 2006, after a designated TADA (Terrorists and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act) court had sentenced him to imprisonment. This was not the only kindness shown to him.

The CBI did not file an appeal in the Supreme Court against designated court’s decision to acquit Dutt on TADA charges. He was the only accused among the five named in the case who was acquitted of TADA charges and convicted only under the Arms Act.

The other four were held guilty under the now repealed TADA also. The CBI’s decision not to appeal against Dutt being let off under TADA had evoked sharp reactions from the families of his co-accused, who maintained “his relations with powerful and mighty allowed him to escape the law”.

Dutt was found guilty and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in 2006 for illegal possession of weapons in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. He is currently out on bail granted by the Supreme Court, but was denied permission by the court earlier this week to contest the Lok Sabha elections.

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CBI clean chit to Tytler timed with polls in mind, say angry Sikhs

April 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, April 2 (IANS) Deeply upset over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) giving a clean chit to Jagdish Tytler in a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, many Sikhs here said it was timed to help Tytler, the Congress candidate from Delhi Northeast, with the Lok Sabha elections in mind.

They said their faith in the probe agency has been eroded.

‘The Congress is helping its leaders by giving them senior positions, and to make it worse the party has now given a ticket to Jagdish Tytler,’ said Surjit Singh, who heads the 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims’ welfare society.

‘What does the Congress want to convey by giving tickets to such candidates?’ he asked.

‘We want the Delhi government to take all steps for the rehabilitation of the riot victims, but it is not possible during the Congress rule. That is why we appeal to the people to punish the Congress and dethrone them,’ he said.

Amrit Singh Lovely, an anti-sikh riot victim, voicing his anger, said: ‘Despite the CBI’s move, we will continue our fight against the accused till our last breath. But now our trust in the investigating agency is shattered.’

The CBI, while giving its final report in the case in a court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rakesh Pandit, pleaded that the case against Tytler be cancelled.

According to a CBI statement, affidavits in the case by two people, Surender Singh and Jasbir Singh, were inconsistent and contradictory.

The court will now conduct the hearing on April 9.

Soon after news of Tytler being given the clean chit spread, hundreds of Sikhs started shouting slogans against the Congress, the CBI and Tytler as well as other senior Congress leaders like Sajjan Kumar for their alleged involvement in the riots.

Protests were also witnessed outside the Congress office.

Reacting strongly to the CBI’s clean chit, H.S. Phoolka, counsel for Sikh riots victims who has spearheaded one of the longest and most tortuous legal battles to gain justice for the victims, said the verdict was ‘upsetting’.

‘Ever since the case went to the CBI, the agency has been eager to give Tytler a clean chit. We will not give up our fight yet,’ said Phoolka.

‘It is sad to see that even before the seal of the final report was opened, Tytler knew that he had got a clean chit. The CBI is working hand in glove with the accused.’

Tytler was among three prominent Delhi Congress leaders accused of having incited mobs. The two other leaders named were Sajjan Kumar, who is contesting the LOk Sabha poll from South Delhi, and the late H.K.L. Bhagat.

Around 3,000 Sikhs were killed during the riots that broke out in Delhi and neighbouring areas after the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi in October 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards to avenge the army entering the Golden Temple to flush out Khalistani militants.

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26/11 probe: FBI wants to quiz Zarar, Qama

March 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Press Trust of India
Thursday, March 05, 2009 6:50 PM (New Delhi)

FBI wants to question two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists–Abdul Wajid alias ‘Zarar Shah’ and Mazhar Iqbal alias ‘Abu Al Qama’– in a bid to unravel the entire conspiracy in the execution of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack including whether they had any links with the Pakistan Government.

The two militants, whose real identity was ascertained following increased cooperation between central security agencies and the FBI, were believed to be the key to the entire 26/11 plot and their inputs would be vital to know if any official agency in Pakistan provided help, official sources said in Delhi.

This issue has been discussed between the FBI and sleuths of Central security agencies and the US investigating agency had also asked Pakistan to provide access to both of them, they said.

FBI has registered a case in the Mumbai terror strikes as six US citizens also fell prey in the attack, the sources said. The real identity of ‘Zarar Shah’ and ‘Abu Al Qama’ was found after both Indian intelligence agencies and FBI carried out a painstaking exercise including gathering voice samples and questioning Lashkar terrorists held within India and abroad.

Wajid alias ‘Zarar Shah’ and Iqbal alias ‘Abu Al Qama’ are residents of Pakistan’s Punjab province.

While Iqbal alias Abu Al Qama was a resident of Mandi Tehsil of Punjab, Wajid alias Zarar Shah hailed from Sheikhpura district of the same province, the sources said.

On the role of the two in Mumbai terror strikes, the sources said Iqbal alias Abu Al Qama had been responsible for training the terrorists who carried out the strikes in Mumbai on November 26 last year in which 183 people were killed.

Besides having other aliases like Amjad, Iqbal is wanted in other high-profile cases, including the Red Fort encounter, the attack on Akshardham temple in Gujarat and serial bombings on the eve of Diwali in 2005 in the national capital.

Iqbal is in-charge of Lashkar operations in India except Jammu and Kashmir, the sources said. Voice samples of Wajid, the investigators said, were taken from the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and played in front of other Lashkar operatives arrested by the Indian security agencies and the FBI.

Wajid was in constant touch with the terrorists carrying out the strikes in Mumbai through VoIP, payments for which were made on his behalf in Karchi and Barcelona by Lashkar operatives.

Ajmal Qasab, the lone arrested Lashkar terrorist in the 26/11 case, had named the two as having provided them with training and other facilities in Pakistan. However, he only knew their alias and could not identify their actual identity, the sources added.

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Chidambaram says India yet to receive an official response on Mumbai dossier

February 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Feb 5 (ANI): Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has agreed with Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s previous statement that India has not yet received any official response on the Indian dossier on Mumbai attacks given to Pakistan.

“There is no confusion. Both External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and I have said that we have not received any response to the dossier given to Pakistan as yet,” Chidambaram said on Thursday.

He ruled out any confusion on the issue in the government.

National Security Advisor M K Narayanan had earlier contradicted Mukherjee by claiming that Islamabad has reverted to the Indian dossier.

Narayanan had remarked that Pakistan was probing the Mumbai attacks in a manner an investigating agency should proceed by sending queries related to the dossier.

However, Mukherjee cleared that the security advisor’s remarks were his own and the fact of the matter is that India has not received any official communication from Islamabad about the investigation as yet.

India had sent a dossier of evidence on January 5 and has since been waiting to receive an official response on it. Pakistan had assured of reverting back on India’s dossier soon but has till now failed to fulfill the commitment. (ANI)

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Narayanan says that India will soon respond to Pakistan’s queries

February 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Feb 1 (ANI): National Security Adviser M K Naraynan has revealed that Pakistan has asked India a few questions on the 26/11 dossier and India will soon respond to their queries.

“As far as we are concerned, we believe that Pakistan is making an attempt to arrive at the truth,” said Naraynan.

However, the security adviser has also expressed his doubts on the viability of the probe saying that he is unsure whether after all this they would still accept the truth.

Asked if he was satisfied with the Pakistani response to the dossier, he said, “I don’t know what the word satisfied means, but certainly they appear to be taking things seriously and at least they are proceeding in a manner that one would expect an investigating agency to proceed, asking queries and not taking everything that is given at the face value that has been given.

India on Saturday had complained that Pakistan has given no official response to the dossier on Mumbai attacks, rejecting Islamabad’s claim that an update has been provided on its probe into the carnage. (ANI)

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Narayanan says that India will soon respond to Pakistan’s queries

February 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Feb 1 (ANI): National Security Adviser M K Naraynan has revealed that Pakistan has asked India a few questions on the 26/11 dossier and India will soon respond to their queries.

“As far as we are concerned, we believe that Pakistan is making an attempt to arrive at the truth,” said Naraynan.

However, the security adviser has also expressed his doubts on the viability of the probe saying that he is unsure whether after all this they would still accept the truth.

Asked if he was satisfied with the Pakistani response to the dossier, he said, “I don’t know what the word satisfied means, but certainly they appear to be taking things seriously and at least they are proceeding in a manner that one would expect an investigating agency to proceed, asking queries and not taking everything that is given at the face value that has been given.

India on Saturday had complained that Pakistan has given no official response to the dossier on Mumbai attacks, rejecting Islamabad’s claim that an update has been provided on its probe into the carnage. (ANI)

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Narayanan says that India will soon respond to Pakistan’s queries

February 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Feb 1 (ANI): National Security Adviser M K Naraynan has revealed that Pakistan has asked India a few questions on the 26/11 dossier and India will soon respond to their queries.

“As far as we are concerned, we believe that Pakistan is making an attempt to arrive at the truth,” said Naraynan.

However, the security adviser has also expressed his doubts on the viability of the probe saying that he is unsure whether after all this they would still accept the truth.

Asked if he was satisfied with the Pakistani response to the dossier, he said, “I don’t know what the word satisfied means, but certainly they appear to be taking things seriously and at least they are proceeding in a manner that one would expect an investigating agency to proceed, asking queries and not taking everything that is given at the face value that has been given.

India on Saturday had complained that Pakistan has given no official response to the dossier on Mumbai attacks, rejecting Islamabad’s claim that an update has been provided on its probe into the carnage. (ANI)

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