Shinde asks Maha HM to take action in techie murder case

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January 24, 2014

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Friday asked the Maharashtra government to take “swift action” and nab those involved in the murder of a woman software engineer in Mumbai after her father met him seeking justice.

In a letter to Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil, Shinde said father of 23-year-old Esther Anuhya, whose burnt body was found on the outskirts of Mumbai, met him and requested for a thorough enquiry into the matter and stringent action against the guilty.

“I shall be grateful if swift action is taken in the matter and persons involved in this heinous crime are brought to book at the earliest,” Shinde said in his letter to Patil.

After meeting the Home Minister, Anuhya’s father Jonathan Surendra Prasad said no parent should have to face the trauma he faced while searching for his daughter.

“I have apprised the Home Minister about the unfortunate incident. Police did not help us at all. We ourselves looked for my daughter after she went missing. And finally, after ten days, her body was recovered. No parent should face the kind of trauma that I have faced,” he told reporters here.

The software engineer, who was working for a reputed IT firm in Mumbai, went missing after her arrival at Lokmanya Tilak terminus in the city from her native home of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh on January 5.

Her mutilated, burnt and decomposed body was found off the Mumbai-Thane highway on January 16.

“The Home Minister gave us a patient hearing. He told us that he will help us. He will talk to the Maharashtra government,” Prasad said.

Anuhya had boarded the Vishakapatnam-LTT Express train from Vijayawada on January 4 for Mumbai. She was returning to Mumbai after her Christmas holidays but she did not reach her hostel in suburban Andheri.

Mahavitaran says viability at stake if tariffs not hiked

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Afternoon Voice

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January 24, 2014

Close on the heels of Maharashtra government announcing a 20 per cent cut in power tariffs across the state but Mumbai, state utility Mahavitaran has said it will push its applications seeking hike in charges, which are pending with the regulator, citing its worsening financials.

Mahavitaran warned that it will not be able to meet its expenses from next fiscal if MREC does not clear its pending 10 per cent tariff hike proposal.

“We need a tariff hike to meet our capital and operational expenses. If the tariff revision proposals are not cleared, it will adversely impact our operations,” a Mahavitran official said.

The utility, which is yet to hear from the MERC on its tariff proposals submitted seeking 10 per cent hike each in FY14 and FY15, today warned it may have to resubmit proposals. Mahavitaran has over 21 lakh consumers.

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Merc) had allowed the utility a 20 per cent increase in tariff for six months, from September 1 last, with a view to recover Rs. 5,500 crore from consumers in monthly tranches so that it could pay the generation and transmission companies.

The official said that Monday’s cabinet decision has lowered the tariff to the rate which was prevalent prior to September last year.

Following the move, the government will have to pay a subsidy of Rs. 606 crore a month and another Rs. 100 crore will have to be contributed by Mahatransco and Mahagenco.

Currently, Mahavitaran’s average power purchase cost is Rs. 3.62 per unit against the supply cost of Rs. 6.21 per unit.

According to the Merc’s order, from March 1 this year, the tariffs will come to the levels of pre-September rate.

Therefore, in case the tariff petition is not cleared, the state utility will not require the subsidy as the purpose of providing the subsidy was to lower the burden on Mahavitaran to pay its dues, the official explained.

If MERC allows the 20 per cent reduction, the tariffs for residential consumers using up to 100 units and 300 units will come down to Rs. 3.36 per unit from the existing Rs. 4.16 per unit and to Rs. 6.05 from Rs. 7.42, respectively.

According to the government’s decision, the 20 per cent tariff cut relief would not be applicable to residential consumers using energy above 300 units.

For the high tension industrial consumers (express feeders) the tariff has been lowered to Rs. 7.01 per unit from Rs. 8.61 per unit and for high tension (non-express feeders) it will come down to Rs. 6.33 from Rs. 7.83 per unit.

Two get life imprisonment for raping minor girl, making MMS

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Afternoon Voice

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January 24, 2014

A sessions court on Thursday convicted two youths for raping a 16-year-old girl in 2011 and making video clip of the incident, and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

Out of the five accused in the case, three are minors who are facing the separate trial before a juvenile court.

The accused Rajesh Jaiswal and Suraj Nepali- both 21–were convicted under section 376 of IPC for rape.

According to prosecution, the incident happened on May 10, 2011 when the girl was returning home from the famous Siddhivinayak temple along with her five friends (the accused).

Police said the group decided to spend some time in the hillocks of Kurar village in Mumbai before returning home.

The prosecution said the accused drugged the girl after reaching the spot and took turns to sexually assault her.

The accused filmed the act and made an MMS clip to threaten the girl against disclosing the matter. However, the incident came to light in July 2011 after the clipping was leaked.

The prosecution examined seven witnesses in the case, however, what nailed the accused was the testimony given by the survivor.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Majid Memon, Rajkumar Dhoot files RS poll papers

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Afternoon Voice

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January 24, 2014

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who has ruled himself out of electoral politics, has filed his nomination for the biennial Rajya Sabha election from Madha constituency on Friday.

The Election Commission has recently announced the election schedule for the Upper House of Parliament. There are seven seats of Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra whose term expires on April 2.

NCP has two retiring members YP Trivedi and Janardhan Waghmare.

NCP sources said the two members may be replaced by new faces, which includes Sharad Pawar himself.

Early this month, Pawar declared that he will not seek re-election to the Lok Sabha from Maadha constituency and instead would be in the Rajya Sabha as biennial elections are scheduled soon.

The notification for the polls were issued on January 21. Last date of filing of nomination is January 28. The scrutiny of papers will be done on January 29 and the last date of withdrawal of papers is January 31. The date of poll and counting is scheduled for February 7.

Congress has yet to decide on whether it would renominate sitting MPs Hussain Dalwai and Murli Deora. The other retiring members include BJP spokesman Prakash Javdekar and Shiv Sena’s Bharat Kumar Raut and Rajkumar Dhoot.

RPI’s Ramdas Athavale, who is an ally of the Sena-BJP, has claimed that he has been assured a Rajya Sabha seat from the saffron quota. Shiv Sena is yet to take a decision on the issue.
Meanwhile, Pawar has declared assets worth Rs. 32.13 crore. The 73-year old NCP chief has Rs. 5.06 crore movable assets while his wife Pratibha has Rs. 13.37 crore in her name.
Similarly, they have Rs. 2.03 crore as part of the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF). Pawar has a 958 sq.ft flat at Sansad Vihar in New Delhi. He does not own a vehicle. He purchased the Delhi flat in April 2004.
The cost at the time of purchase was Rs. 16.29 lakh and the current market value is approximately Rs. 1.34 crore. His self accquired immovable assets are valued at Rs. 4.22 crore. Pratibha Pawar’s inherited assets are valued at Rs. 92 lakh. While immovable assets under HUF are Rs. 4.77 crore.
The second NCP candidate Memon has declared assets worth Rs. 13.98 crore. While Shiv Sena candidate Rajkumar Shoot has assets worth Rs. 18.27 crore.

Defence arsenal to be highlight of Republic Day

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Afternoon Voice

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January 24, 2014

The armed forces will showcase their talent and treasure of the arsenal while participating along with the Indian Coast Guard in the 64th Republic Day Parade at Marine Drive in south Mumbai on Sunday.

The Army would be represented by troops under Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa Area Headquarters. A marching contingent from the Dogra Regiment will lead the parade along with the band playing the marching tune.

“Army will also showcase different types of artillery guns, a multi-barrel rocket launcher, air defence weapon system, mortars and armoured fighting vehicles in its inventory,” said a defence release.

The Indian Navy will be represented by two armed marching contingents comprising 77 personnel followed by the Naval Band, it said.

“In addition to personnel on ground, the Indian Navy will display a model of Delhi Class ship, Mobile Missile Coastal Batteries (MMCB) and Fast Interceptor Craft (FIC),” it said.

The Indian Air Force Chetak helicopter will also participate in the ceremony and fly past during the unfurling of the national flag.

In addition, there will be a marching contingent of Indian Coast Guard during the event.

Customs seize gold worth over Rs. 48 lakh at airport

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Afternoon Voice

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January 24, 2014

Three passengers were today held by customs officials at the international airport in Mumbai for trying to smuggle in gold worth over Rs. 48 lakhs.

“We intercepted three passengers, all Indian nationals coming from Dubai, and recovered 1905 grams of gold valued at Rs. 48,22,583,” said an Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) source.

In the first case, Ubaid Nelliyadukkam was intercepted with six gold bars weighing 700 grams and valued at around Rs. 17 lakhs. The bars were concealed in three boxes containing carbon powder.

The other two passengers – Assai Usman and Mohammad Jameer – had concealed gold wires in their trolley bags.

Customs officials seized gold wires worth over Rs. 30 lakh from the duo.

Rahul meets Panchayat members for manifesto suggestions

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Afternoon Voice

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January 24, 2014

Days after meeting women to take suggestions on preparing the Congress manifesto, party Vice President Rahul Gandhi met Panchayat members in Wardha in Maharashtra on Friday. Rahul took suggestions from Panchayat members on what needs to be included in the manifesto with respect to rural areas.
Addressing people ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Rahul referred to democracy as the most powerful and important weapon. He also said that the Congress will decide its candidates for the 15 Lok Sabha seats in the state based on the inputs from leaders of local bodies.
The villagers offered various suggestions to Rahul for Congress’s poll manifesto. While some asked for more power to Panchayat chair persons to reduce corruption, the others stressed on the need to centralise all Panchayat related work at one office.
Education, eradication of corruption and more power for women were the three important issues raised by most of the people at the meet.
The meet saw people coming in from various walks of life and various parts of India. A Congress worker from North East praised the party but blamed the government officials for not implementing many of its welfare schemes. A young woman Panchayat member from a village near Pakistan border in Rajasthan also suggested that educated people should run Panchayats.
Rahul is touring India to seek suggestions from people from all walks of life for the party manifesto. Earlier this week, he took part in a meeting of women’s representatives from various sections to be organised by All-India Mahila Congress in Bhopal. The meeting took place as a part of preparation of party’s manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
A number of prominent women and representatives of self-help groups also took part in the meeting. Rahul took the issue of gender inequality and promised to take up womens reservation. He said, “If women are empowered, she can bring the change. Every women is an asset in this country. We do not want to be a super power if we are not able to empower our women.”
Rahul said that the manifesto of the Congress party will have the suggestions of people. He said, “We will ask all sections of the society to give their suggestions for Congress manifesto. The sensible suggestions shall be incorporated and will be implemented when we form the government.”

Senior officer’s hand in Daya’s transfer?

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Afternoon Voice

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January 24, 2014

Eminent former encounter specialist police sub-inspectorDayaNayak who was reinstated in year 2012 after serving six year suspension for corruption charges was transferred to Nagpur. Nayak was transferred due to pressure imposed by senior officials as his relationship was strained with them.

A letter was sent in the month of December, 2013 from the Police Commissioner’s officeurging the higher officials and government to transfer DayaNayak out of the city along with the reason citedfor his transfer.Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh confirmed the news about Nayak’s transfer.

A senior level IPS officer on the condition of anonymity said,“Many cases wereregistered againstDayaNayak and several inquires are pending against him. Senior officials of Mumbai police had sent a letter to DGP and government for transferring Nayak out of Mumbai and they also had provided the reasons for the same.Later he was transferred to Nagpur.”

“The alleged nexus between Cable Mafia and other corruption charges were framed against him.Since Nayak’s relationship with his seniors was strained hence he has been transferred to Nagpur”theofficial added further.

The state Home Department issued transfer orders on Thursday, moving Nayak to the Nagpur under whose jurisdiction fall the Naxal-affected districts of Bhandara and Gondia. Hailing fromYennehole village in Udupi district of Karnataka, Nayak relocated to Mumbai in 1979.

He worked for some time at an Udupi restaurant, and was encouraged to complete his education by its owner. Nayakjoined the police force in 1995 at Juhu Police Station, and, while he was posted at the Crime Intelligence Unit.

Nayak has to his credit the elimination of around 80 gangsters of the Mumbai Underworld, such as VinodMatkar, RafikDabba, SadikKalia and three Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives, as a member of the encounter specialist squad.He joined the Mumbai crime branch early in his career after completing his training in 1995. Nayakremained in the limelight for the crime branch’s activities until he was booked by the Anti- Corruption Bureau in a corruption case.

Allegations of graft disproportionate income waslevelled against Nayak and he was others who allegedly helped his two friends who lent their names to the transfer of his wealth were also arrested by the anti-corruption bureau of Maharashtra.

Rakhi Sawant possess better wisdom than Uddhav Thackeray

By

Vaidehi Taman

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January 24, 2014

Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray seems to have joined the anti-Aam Aadmi Party chorus labelling Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal as “item girl, madari and joker”. This was least expected from the leaders like Uddhav Thackeray. Senior Thackeray Balasaheb used to mock and mimic many politicians but he always chose proper words and expressions. Uddhav is a failed leader and whatever position he has today that is because of dynasty. He has not earned that position but received it and he never fought for it. This was the main reason why Raj Thackeray walked away from Shiv Sena. Today, Shiv Sena is in a dilapidated condition. It doesn’t have much existence. Uddhav should realize, Rakhi Sawant has managed to build her name and career without any base. She has not earned her name and fame because of dynasty. She has earned it by struggling and slogging in this odd world.

Leaders like Uddhav should have basic respect for woman and her dignity. Moreover, the comparison was not wrong. Even Kejriwal too earned this reputation and position just in 13 months on his own struggle, his father was not his fate maker as a politician. In spite of having strong support from Balasaheb, Uddhav failed to establish himself as a leader. As it suits to his personality, he and his party remained only in Municipal Corporation of some cities. Neither Kejriwal nor Rakhi Sawant can be compared with Uddhav, as both have struggled for what they have today. We feel proud to say that ARVIND KEJRIWAL belongs to our country as he is cleaning 60 years of ‘bad governance’ through his revolution. This is a volcano which would remove those who does not understand people’s power and a small hope will be fully synergies to be the next power center. We would love to see those politicians going who are rampantly looting Mumbai without any fear of people’s power. Uddhav’s contribution for Mumbai or Maharashtra is zero. The sources say, in Uddhav’s political darbar, the decisions are taken from his wives kitchen.

In “Saamana”, Thackeray said over the years, Indian politics has witnessed many “jokers”; starting with Raj Narain, later the antics of Lalu Prasad Yadav, and many others. However, he has forgotten those ‘joker’ had their own existence and wisdom. They were not made or blessed by their dad to remain in power or position. What is Uddhav’s caliber and contribution? His only identity is that of Balasaheb’s son. He said Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti carried out illegal raids in the city and gave unauthorised orders to the police which started the entire fracas in the national capital earlier this week. While Uddhav is accusing AAP and Somnath Bharati for the raid, why he kept quiet when girls were raped, why he did not show his aggressiveness at that time? This is hypocrisy, Mr. Uddhav. If the police had done its job correctly, then AAP would not have intervened in the matter. I am not an ardent supporter of the AAP, but I do not like when somebody attacks them without any reason. Uddhav can never be Kejriwal and Shiv Sena will not come in power like AAP made it. I know, Uddhav must be sulking as AAP is making its presence in Mumbai, and they may damage Uddhav’s thin future.

Low esteem towards women is a menace in the society. In our country, it is deep rooted. We need a holistic approach to this problem to wipe out forever, not just band-aids. A better education which emphasizes on the moral spiritual wellbeing of the humanity is essential. A good sex education is also important taking the matter into the fact that 90 per cent of the rapes or sexual misdemeanor happens inside the family. Before accusing AAP’s law minister, Uddhav should understand the ground reality. By comparing Rakhi Sawant to politicians, he has shown his mental ability and thinking level.

When one reads or listens to the media, it seems that the only grievous issue in the land is the road side sit-in strike done by the AAP ministers cum supporters in Delhi. Another, equally important news is that an AAP minister’s visit to an insalubrious area of Delhi where he was invited by the residents to witness the illegal activities happening there at night. The accusation is that Bharti insulted femininity of the entire female population of the world as if such a thing has never happened before and it is the first time in India! A village elder who ordered his men to gang rape a 20 year old woman is not a serious crime as was the body search of Devyani Khobragarde in the US. The entire parliament of India took it up as if in India every Indian woman gets respectable treatment here. The political parties who ruled India since 1947 did not and/or could not do anything to emancipate its female population from atrocities committed day in and day out by India’s wise men throughout its history. I know, what I wrote in the preceding sentence is offensive and anti-state but I cannot stop saying it. If this type of callous and egregious acts is taking place in almost every village in India even today that is in the second decade of the 21st century.

Sometimes, when I see the verbal diarrhea of a politician like this, then I feel that Rakhi Sawant is having much wisdom than they possess, because she knows that what she is talking about and why. Please, spare the lady to her own world.

Ruckus at DCW office after Somanth Bharti fails to appear

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Afternoon Voice

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January 24, 2014

Chaos prevailed at Delhi Commission for Women’s office when Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti failed to appear before the panel and instead sent his lawyers to explain the charges against him.

His lawyers were then had a public spat with panel head Barkha Singh after she refused to entertain them.

Bharti had been summoned by the DCW following allegations that he led a group of AAP workers who misbehaved with a number of African women on the pretext of a raid on an alleged drug and prostitution ring in South Delhi last week.

His lawyers said that the Law Minister could not come due to “some urgencies”.

However, Barkha Singh refused to accept explanation offered by Bharti’s lawyers. The commission has now decided to report the matter to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung.

One of Bharti’s lawyers Rishikesh Kumar said Singh did not allow them to put across his point on the issue.
“I have been asked by Somnath Bharti to represent him in today’s proceeding. I came here at 3 PM and as I entered inside I saw many camerapersons were already present there. So I said that it’s already 3 o’clock and we have been sent by Bharti to represent him,” he said.

“We were told lawyers cannot represent. I said I have got the instructions. I have got the authorisation and can you please let me speak? Then she said no, you are a lawyer. But I kept saying that we have a humble submission. I told her that because of some urgencies Bharti might not be able to attend today’s hearing,” Kumar said.

However, Singh told: “We wanted to talk to Bharti and if he was not appearing before us, then he should have informed us. We will inform the LG about the matter.”

Trouble is brewing for the controversial Law Minister, who has been in the eye of the storm for his controversial action against an alleged “sex and drugs ring” that involved African women.

On January 16, Bharti, along with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) volunteers, had raided some homes of African nationals in south Delhi for allegedly running “sex and drug racket”. The minister said he took the action following representations made by the resident welfare association.

Notwithstanding calls demanding Bharti’s resignation, Kejriwal defended the Law Minister and also held a sit-in in the heart of Delhi for over 30 hours demanding action against those policemen, who did not heed his minister. Kejriwal ended his protest after Jung appealed to him and also sent the two policemen on leave.