Yasin Bhatkal’s perfume shop used to set up IM’s Darbhanga module: NIA

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March 2, 2014

A perfume shop of Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal in Karnataka became the hub in 2001 for establishment of the Darbhanga module which plotted a string of terror attacks in the country, the NIA has said.

According to NIA, IM’s Darbhanga module came into existence after some key IM members, including Yasin and Fasih Mahmood, developed close links in 2001 at the perfume and naturopathy medicines shop in Bhatkal in Udupi district.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), in its charge sheet filed before a Delhi court against Yasin and three others, has said that around December 2001, Yasin had opened the shop ‘Almohtasham’ near Noor Masjid.

“The perfume shop was very popular amongst the students of Anjuman Engineering College. The shop used to be frequented by students like Fasih Mahmood, Tarique Anjum…

“…The visitors included a blend of locals and boys from Darbhanga who would discuss ‘jihad’ along with local and national/global issues together, fostering a very close relationship which in future would be the basis of Darbhanga module of IM,” NIA has said in its 277-page charge sheet.

NIA has said Fasih, one of the founding members of the banned outfit, was a resident of Darbhanga in Bihar while Anjum was from Nalanda in the state.

It has said that in and around November 2002, Yasin visited Darbhanga on the request of Fasih, who was deported from Saudi Arabia in 2012, and during his stay in Bihar, Yasin developed an “acquaintance” with Gowhar Azia Khomeni, another suspected IM operative.

The probe agency also said Yasin and other key operatives of the IM had also established safe hideouts in Darbhanga.

NIA, in its charge sheet, has named Yasin Bhatkal, his close associate Asadullah Akhtar, Manzer Imam and Ujjair Ahmed as accused for allegedly waging war against India, conspiracy for terrorist acts, membership of the terror organisation, radicalisation and recruitment of youths into IM.

Imam and Ahmed were arrested by NIA on October 1 and October 30 last year respectively on the basis of revelations and investigation done after the arrest of Bhatkal and Akhtar from Indo-Nepal border on the night of August 28 last year.

Government gets application for ‘NaMo Tea Party’ trademark

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Afternoon Voice

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March 2, 2014

As BJP moves ahead with its ‘chai pe charcha’ initiative to amass support for its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, efforts are underway by some of his supporters to actually register a trademark for ‘NaMo Tea Party’.

An application for registering ‘NaMo Tea Party’ as a trademark has been submitted to the government by a grouping with the same name.

The ‘Chai pe Charcha’ (discussion over tea) campaign was first launched by BJP to counter a jibe made by a Congress leader at Narendra Modi (NaMo) for selling tea in his earlier years. The trademark application has been filed by Ahmedabad-based Shailesh Tiwari, who calls himself convenor of ‘Namo Tea Party’ movement.

When contacted, Mr. Tiwari told that the logic behind the move to get ‘NaMo Tea Party’ trademark is to ensure that the idea is not taken by anyone else. There is no commercial motive behind the application, he added.

“The sole motive is to get Narendra Modi elected as Prime Minister by propagating Gujarat development model,” he said.

Mr. Tiwari added that ‘NaMo Tea Party’ movement is a grouping of professionals and was formally started in May 2013. It is estimated to have thousands of volunteers.

The trademark application was filed on February 6 under the category of ‘personal and social services rendered to meet the needs of individuals’, according to information available with the Controller General of Patents Design & Trade Marks.

The patents office comes under the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

Mr. Tiwari said BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi is mentoring the group. As per its website, ‘NaMo (Narendra Modi) Tea Party’ is a grassroots movement for good governance.

Mr. Modi has been Chief Minister of Gujarat since 2001.

College student allegedly raped by seniors; 1 arrested

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Afternoon Voice

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March 2, 2014

A college student was allegedly raped by two of her seniors, who are twins, police said. The police have arrested one of the boys, while the other is absconding.

The girl had, in her complaint lodged on Friday, alleged that the two brothers, her seniors in college, had raped her on February 23 after taking her to their house at Thudiyalur in Coimbatore, police said.

The three were friends on Facebook and had met through a common friend. She was allegedly tricked into coming to their house where she was assaulted.

The girl has undergone medical examination. Her parents are in the Middle East, police said.

BJP in talks with Kiran Bedi, could field her against Kejriwal

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Afternoon Voice

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March 2, 2014

With hectic consultations over candidates, the Bharatiya Janata Party is reportedly in talks with former IPS officer and close aide of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi to contest on a BJP ticket.

Sources say that the BJP is trying to convince Bedi to take on former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party’s national convenor Arvind Kejriwal if he contests from Delhi.

On various occasions in the past, Bedi has voiced her opposition to Kejriwal after he formed the AAP. She had even expressed her support for BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi saying that Kejriwal is inexperienced.

“A vote for AAP is a vote for Congress. We are not sure whether Kejriwal will be able to form the government at Centre or not. Supporting Modi is a sacred call and I am in a bandwangon of India first to save the country from Congress and AAP,” she had said.

Lalu ready to talk further with Congress on Bihar seat sharing

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Afternoon Voice

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March 2, 2014

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Sunday hinted at his willingness to negotiate further with the Congress on the seat sharing in Bihar. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the RJD is trying hard to stitch an alliance with the Congress after the Lok Janshakti Party ditched them and forged an alliance with the BJP.

Lalu said, “I have offered 11 seats to Congress and one seat to Congress ally NCP. If they have any issues they should speak to me.” Bihar has 40 seats in the Lok Sabha and is considered to be one of the important states in the formation of the government at the Centre.

Lalu also appealed to Congress President Sonia Gandhi to help his party in fight against communal forces. He said, “I have no grudges against the Congress party. I appeal to Sonia Gandhi to help RJD fight communal forces.”

He added, “Secular forces are divided in this country. It’s a dangerous sign.”
Lalu had earlier given a deadline to Congress to decide on the seat share by Sunday. Putting pressure on the Congress, Lalu had asked the party to give its acceptance by Sunday before his party’s Parliamentary Board meet in Patna.

Lalu, who returned from Delhi on Friday night, said he had told Congress general secretary and in-charge of Bihar CP Joshi of the offer. “I have asked him to communicate acceptance before RJD Parliamentary Board meeting in Patna tomorrow at 3 pm,” Lalu had said.

Lalu, however, did not identify the 11 seats he has offered to Congress or the one to NCP of Sharad Pawar. He also refused to comment on reports that RJD-Congress alliance was stuck due to conflicting claims between the two parties on Madhubani and a few other seats.

While the Congress appears to be adamant about getting the Madhubani seat for its general secretary Shakeel Ahmad, RJD is in no mood to relent and claims it for its legislature party leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui.

Congress and RJD had fought separately in the 2009 polls and Siddiqui had secured second position after BJP’s Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav, while Ahmad was at third position in the seat.

Congress is reportedly asking for seats like Patliputra, Nawada and Bhagalpur which are RJD favourites. Lalu is expected to field his eldest daughter Misa Bharti from Patliputra constituency in Patna district against his friend-turned-enemy Ranjan Yadav.

Irregularities in defence deals

By

Mahendra Singh

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March 2, 2014

Five security personnel have been reportedly killed in the last Maoist ambush in Bastar region. Such incidents have been occurring on a recurring basis as politicians continue to pass the buck on each other. Both these activities co-exist. So what do we expect the result to be? Our society and polity both have become very corrupt and irresponsible and the things are not progressing in the right direction. We learnt about the mishaps involving Naval craft and the resignation of Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi and subsequent debate showing that defense procurement is not satisfactory.

We have found that there is concentration of wealth in the hands of Godmen and middlemen who receive kickbacks during defence deals. Our Defence minister banned certain companies saying, “Why are you dealing through middlemen” without realizing that the officialdom loves the middlemen. He has not taken any steps to eliminate the middlemen who are living nearby and banning foreign firms. Do you think that the officer in the ministry will accept bribe directly? No, he deals through the middleman who also doubles up as fund manager. A.K. Anthony will make a good Education Minister but not a Defence minister. Leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Manish Tewari or Kamalnath could have done better justice to the the Defence ministry.

Our officers of Central and State Civil services are not performing their work amicably and are failing to advise the political bosses effectively. There is a need for offering better training at induction stage and retraining from time to time. Fifty per cent of the Defence ministry officials should receive some training at Dehradun. It has also been observed that many officers in the Navy retire too soon in search in a quest to earn more money through other vocations. This creates a shortage of experienced officials in the forces.

Naval training offered is of high standard (including electrical training at Valsura) but there is always scope for improvement, which no one can deny. Taxes must be imposed on BCCI and Sahara for modernizing the Navy. Confiscate wealth of Asaram Bapu and Narain Sain and the money should be used for improving the Defence standards.

All these years Sahara have been progressing at a fast pace as they had built a good residential enclave at Lucknow. You never checked or cautioned them ( the step taken by you is not right) and now you want to penalize him. He also needs to be criticized for being excessively showy and trying to become a hero which often creates jealousy. You should be sincere and sound like the Tatas. The greed of corporate houses needs to be moderated which is the government’s job.

Congress making inroads into BJP’s bastion

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Afternoon Voice

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March 2, 2014

North Mumbai was regarded as the strong hold constituency of Bhartiya Janata Party but the Congress has made inroads into this area from last 10 years. Six time election winner Ram Naik use to contest from the same constituency since ten years but he was defeated twice. In the year 2005, actor Govinda defeated Naik while sitting Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam emerged victorious in the year 2009. But now Ram Naik has retired from politics. Sanjay Nirupam is all set to contest from the North Mumbai constituency in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election. Even Aam Aadmi Party has not declared its candidate to fight election from this constituency which increases the probability of Sanjay Nirupam to win.

In the year 2005, Congress fielded Govinda for contesting Lok Sabha election and he defeated BJP senior leader Ram Naik by a margin of 47,000 votes. Govinda secured 5,59,763 votes whereas Naik secured 5,11,492 votes. In the year 2009, Nirupam secured 2,55,157 votes where as Naik won 2,49,378 Votes and was defeated by a margin of 5000 votes. In the same election MNS candidate Shirish Parkar had won 1,47,502 votes which had a major impact on the BJP vote bank. Few days back, Ram Naik had declared that he will no more contest election due to old age.

The BJP has fielded Gopal Shetty to contest the Lok Sabha election. MNS chief Raj Thackeray is planning to field MLA Pravin Darekar from this constituency. The party feels that if Darekar contests elections from this constituency then he is likely to emerge victorious. Sanjay Nirupam has a strong foothold in the north Mumbai constituency.

In the north Mumbai constituency there are six assembly seats. Shiv Sena MLA Vinod Ghosalkar from Dahisar, BJP MLA Gopal Shetty from Borivali, BJP MLA Yogesh Sagar from Charkop, Congress MLA Thakur Ramesh Singh from Kandivali, MNS MLA Pravin Darekar from Magathane, Congress MLA Aslam Saikh from Malad are the members of the legislative assembly. The Congress have 2 MLAs, BJP has 2 MLAs, whereas Shiv Sena and MNS have 1-1 MLAs each. The BJP is planning to field Gopal Shetty against Sanjay Nirupam in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

2009 Election
Sanjay Nirupam- 2,55,157
Ram Naik- 2,49,378
Shirish Parkar- 1,47,502

Parvez Khan

PAC suggests SIT-CBI probe into construction irregularities

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Afternoon Voice

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February 28, 2014

Alleging that a private developer made profits of over Rs. 5000 crore at the expense of the state government, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Maharashtra Legislature has recommended a SIT probe coupled with a CBI inquiry into the construction of New Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi as well as Andheri RTO and High Mount Guest House.

The PAC report which is headed by BJP MLA Girish Bapat said the CAG has already pointed out irregularities in the construction.
“The PAC spoke to departmental secretaries, sought written explanations and inspected the work done as well. The Committee is of the opinion that rules were not followed while getting work done from the developer. Proper MOU was not done and extensions were given which resulted in losses to the government. RTO’s testing track and residential building works are still incomplete and the quality of work is not good,” Bapat said while tabling the PAC report in the Legislative Assembly.

He said tenders were not issued and the government has not benefited in any way.

“The developer seems to have made profit of more than Rs. 5000 crore. All aspects of the project should be probed by a Special Investigative team (SIT) and the report should be submitted in six months. Since the project is inter-state, the probe should be handed over to the CBI after the SIT report is obtained,” he added.

Bapat said the Committee was not happy with the quality of work of the New Maharashtra Sadan.

“The consultant and architects appointed by the government have not done their work properly. We have suggested a third party audit in the work of New Maharashtra Sadan,” he said.

Bapat pointed out that the New Maharashtra Sadan has inadequate accommodation facilities for legislators and parliamentarians and more space for bureaucrats.

“The opening ceremony at the hands of the President was done of an incomplete construction,” the Committee said.

The High Mount Guest House re-development work has not been completed for 7-8 years and the developer has not been penalised by the government, the Committee said.

As part of the BOT arrangement, besides the new Maharashtra Sadan, the developer was to develop facilities at Andheri RTO, a SRA project and a guest house.

Shiv Sena fields new faces from city

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Afternoon Voice

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February 28, 2014

While the Shiv Sena has renominated several sitting MPs as candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, it will be fielding a few new faces from Mumbai. Although the city has long been its bastion it failed to win a single seat from Mumbai in the 2009 polls, largely because the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena floated by Raj Thackeray cut into the Shiv Sena vote.

In its first list released on Friday, the party has declared 15 of its 22 candidates. The party is contesting the polls in alliance with the BJP, the Swabhimani Shetkari Paksha and the Republican Party of India.

The new faces from Mumbai are MLC Arvind Sawant who will be fielded from Mumbai South. The party’s leader in the Mumbai Municipality Rahul Shewale will also be contesting parliamentary elections for the first time from Mumbai South Central. The party has renominated senior leader Gajanan Kirtikar from Mumbai North-West.

The party has renominated several sitting MPs including Anant Gite (Raigad), Anandrao Adsul (Amravati), Bhavana Gawli (Yavatmal-Washim), Chandrakant Khaire (Aurangabad) and Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil (Shirur).

Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray said the party will leave the Hathkanangle seat in western Maharashtra to its ally Raju Shetti of the Swabhimani Shetkari Paksha and the Satara seat to its ally the Republican Party of India.

Yasin Bhatkal, aide sent to judicial remand till March 13

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Afternoon Voice

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February 28, 2014

A special MCOCA court on Friday remanded till March 13 the Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his aide Asadullah Akhtar in judicial custody in connection with the July 13, 2011 Mumbai triple blasts case.

“The court has remanded Bhatkal and Akhtar to judicial custody till March 13 after we submitted to the court that the ATS intends to conduct their identification parade in jail,” special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told in Mumbai on Friday. Accepting Mr.Nikam’s plea, designated Judge Yatin D. Shinde remanded the duo in judicial custody. Later, Mr.Nikam had also moved another application seeking not to lodge Bhatkal and Akhtar in the high security Arthur Road jail but to Thane jail. Mr. Nikam told the court that the duo should not be kept at Arthur Road jail as “certain miscreants in Arthur Road jail would endanger their lives.”

Three powerful blasts had ripped through the crowded areas in Mumbai on July 13, 2011, killing at least 21 people and injuring 141. Five accused — Naquee Ahmed, Nadeem Shaikh, Kanwar Pathrija, Haroon Naik and Mohammed Qafeel Ansari — who were held in the case, are facing trial under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other laws.
Those wanted in the case are Riyaz Bhatkal, who is also a top operative of the alleged home-grown terror outfit, Waqas Ibrahim Sad, Dubai-based Muzaffar Kolah and Tehseen Akhtar Shaikh, the police said.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested Yasin Bhatkal (30), who is wanted in over 40 terror cases and carries a reward of Rs. 35 lakh, as well as Akhtar, from the Indo-Nepal border on the night of August 28 last year. Bhatkal, who hails from Bhatkal village of Udupi district in North Karnataka, is wanted in a string of terror attacks in Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi and Hyderabad, the agency had said. Bhatkal, who was earlier associated with banned outfit SIMI, is suspected to have allegedly conspired along with others to “wage war against India.”