Policy decision on combat role for women soon: Manohar Parrikar

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October 11, 2015

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said that his ministry was examining how a combat role can be assigned to the women in the armed forces, in line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on gender sensitivity.

“My ministry is working out (how) to assign combat role for women in the armed forces, and a policy decision will soon be made,” Parrikar said, addressing a gathering of retired army officers at Welingkar Institute of Management.

Earlier this week, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha had said the Indian Air Force had moved a proposal to induct women as fighter aircraft pilots.

“It is extremely unfortunate that our Prime Minister’s initiatives such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Selfie With Daughter are not being taken seriously by a few people, especially so-called secular minded people,” Parrikar said.

“When our PM emphasises Selfie with Daughter, it does not only address the issue of gender equality but also the disorder of gender insensitivity prevailing in the current form of society in a larger context,” he said.

Parrikar was in the city to pay tribute to late Lt Dilip Gupte on his 50th death anniversary. Gupte died at a young age of 23 in Operation Jura Bridge on October 11, 1965 during the Indo-Pak war.

Praising the people of Maharashtra for their contribution to the nation, Parrikar said, “The people who draw inspiration from the legendary Shivaji Maharaj can never be behind (in serving the country) and this is why a large number of armymen and officers hail from Kolhapur, Satara, Karad, etc. (in the state).”

On a personal note, Parrikar said even after entering politics he never thought that he, “a peace-loving person by nature”, would become the defence minister, but “like everyone, I too had no control over my destiny.”

“Every Goan is a peace-loving person. If a Goan indulges in skirmish, then there is a strong possibility that he may not be originally from Goa. But I am a true Goan and peace-loving person by nature. But my fate has brought me here as Defence Minister, which I am trying my best to deliver,’ he said.

Stop cultural ties with Pakistan

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Afternoon Voice

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October 11, 2015

The decision of political parties like Shiv Sena, MNS to protest against inviting singers and players from Pakistan and to ban them from performing in our country, is not without merit and should be welcomed. While one would agree such ban on singers, writers etc. violates their freedom of expression, the issue is relevant. Pakistan has refused to cooperate with us on terrorism and continues to be a safe haven for terrorists targeting India. There are open ceasefire violations across the border and unprovoked firing on our soldiers and civilians. The terrorists with the support of the Pakistani army have been aging a “proxy war” for decades in which our soldiers and security forces are being killed almost every day. Just a couple of days ago four jawans were killed after militants opened fire on an Army patrol in North Kashmir’s Hafruda forest.

Many are of the opinion that sports, entertainment and culture should not be mixed with politics. However, at present it is necessary to isolate Pakistan in every way (this had been stressed by none other than our Foreign Minister Mrs. Sushma Swaraj in her address at the UN Assembly a few days ago). Those wanting Pakistani singers, actors, sportsperson to perform in our nation, do not show any concern over the “mini-war” that has been thrust upon us by our neighbour. As far as sports with Pakistan is concerned, they have never played the game in true spirit. A match with them — be it hockey or cricket — is literally seen as a war, the ground being the battlefield!

Even while Ghulam Ali would entertain the organizers and others in an AC hall, killings would go unabated and there would be plans for more terror attacks on India. Can you ever enjoy the “Ghazal” or a game at the cost of the lives of our own countrymen and brave jawans who defend the borders for our safety?

Pakistani artistes, being cultural ambassadors of their country, should openly condemn state-sponsored terrorism and must use their clout with those at the helm there, to cooperate with India in dismantling terror camps. These artistes must promote “unity, harmony and peace in the world” and to begin with, ask Pakistani rulers to take earnest efforts to eliminate terrorism.

Incidentally, our government should muster the courage to isolate Pakistan as day in and day out, our jawans get killed for no reason and due to infiltration of terrorists aided by the Pakistani army. No diplomatic relations, no cultural and bilateral relations, no commerce and trade, no transport and no sports and entertainment too. Cripple Pakistan economically at least and stop the so called talks for peace forever (let us not bother what the US or the UN will say or dictate!)

In the name of “peace talks”, for decades, all we have witnessed is the visit of Pakistan PM, certain dignitaries and officials, photo-ops with Indian officials, followed by a visit to Taj Mahal. In all such meetings, the decisions taken are only to have another round of meetings and talks at a later date. And in the meanwhile, there is only large scale engineering of terrorism and ceasefire violations across the borders. High time our PM and the government at the centre showed its “true action”—to begin with, start isolating “it” in every sphere. Meanwhile, it’s time for all our leaders, countrymen and the opposition leaders to remain firmly united against terrorism.

Krishna Kumar

Kourtney Kardashian & Justin Bieber Hooking Up?

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Afternoon Voice

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October 11, 2015

Friday night fun! Kourtney Kardashian and Justin Bieber hung out together on Friday, partying at a West Hollywood club and hitting Universal Studios.

The “What Do You Mean” singer, 21, and Keeping Up With the Kardashians star, 36, partied at the Nice Guy in L.A, where they also ate dinner and were seen leaving together in the same car.

Kardashian looked casual in a tan top with white pants, while Bieber wore a camouflage jacket and a gray hat.

An eyewitness said that at one point, the singer played a pop-up performance on the piano at Nice Guy, while Kardashian laughed and smiled with her friends.

Shia LaBeouf charged with being drunk in public

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Afternoon Voice

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October 11, 2015

Shia LaBeouf, the actor famous for his starring role in The Transformers series, has been arrested and charged with being drunk in public in Texas.

The 29-year-old was taken into custody in Austin on Friday night, while out in the city’s Sixth Street entertainment district. LaBeouf was in the area for a music festival that is taking place this weekend, according to reports.

The actor, who rose to fame in the children’s TV show Even Stevens, was handcuffed and taken to the Travis county jail before being released on his own undertaking. Austin police posted a short statement that included the actor’s mugshot. LaBeouf’s publicist has not commented on the arrest.

A witness said the actor ran down the street and jaywalked in front of police and continued to do so after being told by officers to stop. Another witness said that LaBeouf, who was with a woman, had earlier been denied entry to a bar because he was too drunk.

“He was being rather difficult and combative, verbally … to the point where security guards asked him to please leave the premises and he refused. Police were called and he was detained and arrested,” an NYPD spokesman said at the time.

Biopic on me will be a flop, says Amitabh Bachchan

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Afternoon Voice

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October 11, 2015

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is celebrated his 73th birthday yesterday, said filmmakers should not attempt to make a biopic on him as it will be a ‘flop’.

With biopics becoming sort of a trend in contemporary Bollywood, Bachchan, when asked about the idea of a biopic made on his life, said, “I don’t think a film should be made on me. I am not in that trend (biopic). I don’t think I am capable of that. It will be a flop.”

Interestingly, the “Sholay” star said he would rather be okay if someone makes a biopic on his father, writer and poet, Harivanshrai Bachchan.

“If someone wants to make a documentary on him, I am okay. But I don’t think personally I would make one on him,” he added.

Bachchan who has inspired a whole generation of actors said it is unfair to name anyone when he was asked which actor today can fill his place in the industry and has the ‘jazba’ (passion) like him.

“People have their own style. They do good work and inspire people in their own way. It is not fair to say who can take my place. I take inspiration from Dilip Kumar, Waheeda Rehman.

Today, the youngsters look upto Salman, Shah Rukh, Aamir, Ranbir, Hritik Roshan,” he said.

Not Here to Become a Fashion Icon: Athiya

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Afternoon Voice

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October 11, 2015

Actress Athiya Shetty said that she does not see herself as the next fashionista of Bollywood.

Athiya made her debut in Bollywood with Salman Khan’s Hero.

The actress walked the ramp for designer duo Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna on the fourth day of the Amazon India Fashion Week Spring/Summer ’16.

“I am not here to become a fashion icon. Whatever I wear comes naturally to me. I don’t want to make a statement when it comes to fashion. I am very simple and minimalistic when it comes to dressing up in my personal life,” said Athiya.

“Walking the ramp was a part of growing up for me. I obviously wanted to be a part of this. I always liked dressing up, make-up and hair. For me it is a dream come true and I feel very excited when I have to walk the ramp. I am a big fan of Sabyasachi (Mukherjee) and I would definitely love to walk the ramp for him some day,” she said.

Athiya also said that Sonam Kapoor is the real fashion icon.

“Sonam is a fashion icon. She is amazing when it comes to experimenting with her looks, clothes, and always ends up doing an amazing job. She has created a position for her own,” said Athiya.

Why Uddhav will not attend Modi’s rally?

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Afternoon Voice

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October 9, 2015

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray is likely to skip Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Mumbai due to differences between both parties on several issues. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Chaityabhoomi in Shivaji Park (Dadar) to pay reverence to Dr B R Ambedkar. He will perform a bhoomi pujan for Ambedkar Memorial at Indu Mills, two metro lines at Bandra Kurla Complex and expansion of JNPT port. Sena has been criticising the policies of BJP through its mouthpiece Saamna. Both the parties have been at loggerheads over the seat sharing issue and had parted ways before the last year’s assembly election. Sena also ensured that the Ghulam Ali concert in Mumbai got cancelled even though Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had assured to provide protection to the show. However, Thackeray is likely to attend the bhoomipujan of the Ambedkar memorial by Modi on the same day.

The bhoomipujan of the memorial, which will come up at Indu Mills, Dadar(W), has been long pending. Sources said Modi, accompanied by select VVIPs will perform the bhoomipujan at the Indu Mill premises late in the afternoon.

The memorial issue has been pending for many years and the BJP had made it one of the main issues during the Assembly elections last year. Several factions of the Republican Party have been campaigning for the memorial and are now claiming credit. The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which were a part of the previous regime, too claim that they initiated the process during their tenure.

“Due to security reasons, selected VVIPs will get a chance to be on the dais; Thackeray may attend the bhoomipujan but may not attend the evening rally with the PM due to protocol issues,” said a senior BJP functionary.

Rahul Shewale, Sena MP who represents South-Central Mumbai, Sada Sarvankar, the MLA from Dadar (W), and mayor Snehal Ambekar can share the dais with the PM as public representatives, said an official. “As the rally would be a government function and not a party event, everything will be according to protocol where Sena MLAs, MPs and ministers or even the mayor can fit in, but not the chief of a political party. So Uddhav would prefer not to attend the rally, instead of sitting in the audience,” he said. Sena spokesperson Arvind Bhonsle refused to comment on the issue.

Uddhav will be visiting Beed to take stock of the drought situation.

“Sena is holding programmes in drought hit districts. The Beed programme was planned well in advance and Uddhavji will be attending it. Farmers’ issue is an important one. We have collected money through his [Uddhav’s] photo-exhibition and will be distributing it among the farmers,” said a senior Sena leader.

BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said that it was Sena’s problem and not his party’s. “It is a government programme and invitations will be sent in accordance with the protocol. The Sena has joined the BJP government in the State and they should decide their moves,” he said.

Cyber crimes on rise, but police officials are layman

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Vaidehi Taman

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October 9, 2015

UP police wrote a letter to Twitter Inc asking for removal of certain photographs and text uploaded on the social networking site said to be related to the Dadri incident in which Akhlaq (50) was lynched following rumours that his family had consumed and stored beef. It is an irony that Government is bothered about its reputation on social media but no preventive action has been taken yet to prevent this type of incident. Everyone is indulging in ‘Tu Tu Mein Mein’ politics over this incidence as Bihar elections are ahead. BJP had indulged in worst politics by forcing a priest of a temple to tell lies from inside the temple and then they lynched a man to death and brutally assaulted his family members. No government or political party is sensitive to take action or do the needful in the interest of the people. Our prime minister, who was known for instant reaction for everything, was dead silent for fortnight when state was under communal tensions and his lieutenants Mahesh Sharma, Sadhvi Prachi, Sangeet Som and Sakshi Maharaj are continuously spreading hatred passing provocative statements. I think Modi not only lost control over country but also on his own ministers, MPs and MLAs too. He broke his silence but choose a poll bound state. Is politicizing everything necessary? India’s secular image got a jolt in the world with this news. Every Newspaper and websites have carried this news as an important news, which is giving a blot on democracy of India. With no end to war of words over the lynching, adding more fuel to the fire, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj has said that they are ready to kill in order to protect cows from slaughter. The remarks came on a day, when Samajwadi Party’s Azam Khan is expected to visit the village. I’m surprised, when these leaders are not bothered about the cow that is eating garbage, polythene for their survival, living on roads?

Suppose if published and over hyped content is removed along with specific photographs and text uploaded by a twitter handles then how will that solve the basic issue or stigma be wiped out? Why these eye washes? They are investigating into the other aspects like the individual behind the handle that was used to upload this objectionable text and graphics as such activities whip up communal passions which can prove detrimental for the surcharged atmosphere prevailing in certain parts of the state. However, it is the fact that no one is able to control the situation on ground level. Akhilesh has directed to take stern action against elements creating disharmony and inciting hatred by circulating baseless content on social media, specially (on) Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter but he is not controlling those goons who are playing politics in his state itself. Effective action should be taken here not on social media and elements spreading rumours should be dealt with strict action by registering FIR against them. Moreover, cyber cell officers get rare chance to appear on camera, so they randomly pass statements without having any knowledge of cyber security of hacking or using fake IP. They even don’t know basic difference between using proxy and hack. As the spokesman gave comments to media that some tweets originated from a twitter handle being operated from Noida with the motive of disturbing communal harmony and spreading hatred then he said some are tweeted from an IP which is untraceable, some might be hacking international IP. It is such a shame that he does not know there are thousands of methods for using proxy IPs. Police should be trained in this regards.

These tweets were made on September 30 and an FIR has been lodged in the matter. Stern action would be taken against the person concerned after investigation. But believe me, no one would be arrested or really traced. The state administration has also asked people to inform it on 9454401002 if they come across any such cases on social networking websites and applications. The identity of the informer would be kept secret.
Let me tell you, the cyber crime is rising at alarming rate, the number of cyber crimes in India may touch a humungous figure of 3,00,000 in 2015, almost double the level of last year causing havoc in the financial space, security establishment and social fabric, an ASSOCHAM-Mahindra SSG study warned.

What is more worrying here is that the origin of these crimes is widely based abroad in countries including China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Algeria among others.

As per the study findings, during 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 years, a total number of cyber crimes registered were 13,301, 22,060 71,780 and 62,189 (till May). Currently, the cyber crimes in India is nearly around 1,49,254 and is likely to cross the 3,00,000 by 2015 growing at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 107 per cent. As per the findings, every month nearly 12,456 cases are registered in India.

Phishing attacks of online banking accounts or cloning of ATM/Debit cards are common occurrences. The increasing use of mobile/smartphones/tablets for online banking/financial transactions has also increased the vulnerabilities to a great extent. The maximum offenders came from the 18-30 age group, adds the report.

These attacks have been observed to be originating from the cyber space of a number of countries including the US, Europe, Brazil, Turkey, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria and the UAE, highlighted the ASSOCHAM-Mahindra SSG joint study. With increasing use of information technology (IT) enabled services such as e-governance, online business and electronic transactions protection of personal and sensitive data have assumed paramount importance.

Growing internet penetration and rising popularity of online banking have made India a favourite among the cybercriminals, who target online financial transactions using malware and India ranks third after Japan and US in the tally of countries most affected by online banking malware during the year of 2014, highlighted the ASSOCHAM- Mahindra SSG study.

As per the study, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra have occupied the top 3 positions when it comes to cyber crimes registered under the new IT Act in India. Interestingly, these three states together contribute more than 70 per cent to India’s revenue from IT and IT related industries.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Uttar Pradesh with 372 cases registered in 2013 is in the fourth place. It has seen a huge rise of 81.5 per cent in just one year. Kerala is in the 5th place with 349 cases registered in 2013. So far, UP government did nothing, what can they do in future? Just threatening verbally.

Man beheads wife over suspicion of illicit relationship, walks on road with head

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Afternoon Voice

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October 9, 2015

In a shocking incident, a man allegedly beheaded his wife and walked on the road with her head on Friday in Pune.

60-year-old Ramu Chavan was spotted on the street with his wife’s head and an axe.

Chavan, a security guard by profession, killed his 45-year-old wife, Sonubai, after suspecting an illicit relationship between her and their son-in-law.

Ramu was taken into custody by police after he was found casually strolling on a street holding the severed head of the victim in one hand and the axe in the other.

The dhoti-clad man, who was accosted to the police station by constables, carried his wife’s head by holding on to the hair even as shocked bystanders watched on the street.

In a chilling mobile clip, Mr. Chavan, wearing a dhoti and kurta, is seen holding the head in one hand and an axe in the other; two policemen are seen running after him as others on the road gape. The police quickly covered the head with a cloth.

The police say Mr. Chavan, who works as a watchman, killed his wife with the axe suspecting that she was having an affair with a relative.

He has been booked under IPC 302 (murder) and further investigations were underway, police added.

CBI asks Maharashtra government to preserve samples of Indrani’s body fluids

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Afternoon Voice

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October 9, 2015

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the high-profile Sheena Bora murder case, on Friday asked the Maharashtra government to preserve samples of Indrani Mukerjea’s body fluids collected during her recent hospitalisation.

Indrani Mukerjea, prime accused in the murder case, had suddenly collapsed in prison last week. Jail authorities had later ruled out drug overdose and “attempt to murder” angles in the Indrani collapse incident.

The premier investigating agency has also asked the Maharashtra government to send the inquiry

report of prison or any other authority and action taken in this regard to it.

Meanwhile, an official – privy to probe into the last Friday’s episode at Byculla Women’s Prison where Indrani fell unconscious – said the focus on altogether a different angle has led authorities to defer submission of their report by a few days. The report was to be submitted this week.

Indrani was rushed to state-run JJ Hospital here after she fell unconscious last Friday. The 43-year-old was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday last.

“Going by the information gathered till now, it seems highly unlikely that Indrani could attempt suicide. She has denied attempting suicide and anti-anxiety medicines were being given to her in presence of a jail doctor. Also, she had no place to hide medicines in her cell,” the official said.

“Attempt to murder” theory has been discarded because the food provided to her is cooked by inmates themselves, he said.

“If somebody wanted to murder her, there would have been a long chain to follow. This could not have been possible without the support of other inmates. The Investigating Officer has taken statements of people who have come in contact with Indrani in the prison. Nobody seems to have been involved in assisting a third party in trying to kill her.”

“Once these two theories are discarded, the Investigating Officer is now working on a new angle. The findings of this, coupled with evidence collected till now and the JJ Hospital report will then be scrutinised and a report will be submitted by either Monday or Tuesday,” he said.

After Indrani’s hospitalisation, conflicting reports had emerged on suspected drug overdose in prison. While one report showed she had overdosed on anti-depressant pills, the other found no such thing.

Indrani and the two other accused — her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyam Rai — were arrested in August-end on the charge of murdering her daughter Sheena and disposing the body in a forest in Raigad district, about 84 km from here, in April 2012.

The case, initially with Mumbai Police, is now being handled by CBI.