Daily News (In Short)-15-July-2015

#* 1 killed as SUV flies, crashes into auto in Gurgaon gang shooting

Unidentified men fired at an alleged gangster’s sports utility vehicle (SUV) on MG Road in Gurgaon on Wednesday morning, sparking chaos as the SUV’s driver jumped a divider and hit several vehicles, killing an auto-rickshaw driver.
 
The SUV’s driver was said to be in a stable condition after being admitted to hospital with bullet injuries. The auto-rickshaw was crushed by the SUV and its driver succumbed to his injuries. 
 
Three men travelling in another car shot at the Hyundai Santa Fe SUV carrying Rakesh Kumar, an alleged gangster of Hayatpur village, at around 9 am. Police described the shooting as an incident of gang rivalry and said the shooters had been arrested.
 
The Hyundai’s driver jumped the road divider to escape the gunmen and crashed into the auto-rickshaw on the other side of the road near the Central Mall. The auto-rickshaw was virtually flattened by the large vehicle.Photographs posted on Twitter after the incident showed at least another car that flipped over.
 
The incident caused a huge traffic snarl on MG Road during the morning rush hour. Dozens of vehicles were held up for almost an hour.
 
The gunmen were in a Hyundai Santro with an Uttar Pradesh registration plate, police said.“We have arrested the accused and an investigation is on. This seems to be a case of gang-war,” said Ramesh Pal, assistant commissioner of police (crime).
 
Rakesh Kumar was on his way to Gurgaon district court for the hearing of a case against him. He left the SUV and hid inside a nearby building, according to a witness.
 
Kumar was taken out of the building by police officials.“We heard gunfire and suddenly saw a car flying after breaking the divider and landing on an auto-rickshaw. The drivers of both vehicles were rushed to hospital,” said an eyewitness.The SUV’s driver was pulled out of the vehicle after people broke one of its windows. The driver of the auto-rickshaw was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. 
 
On Tuesday, police arrested a man named Kapil for keeping guns at his home. Kapil alleged he kept arms because he had received a threat from Kumar.

#* Champions League T20 discontinued a day after IPL verdict

The Champions League Twenty20 tournament, run since 2009 by the BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa, has been discontinued with immediate effect because of lack of interest.
 
The 2015 edition, which would have been the seventh and was scheduled for September and October, has been cancelled because of the tournament's "limited public following", organisers said in a news release on Wednesday.

"It was a fantastic platform for players from around the world to showcase their talent and the participating teams thoroughly enjoyed the experience over the last six seasons," Anurag Thakur, honorary secretary of the BCCI, said.

"Unfortunately, off the field, Champions League T20 wasn't sustaining the interest of the fans as we had hoped.

“This has been a difficult decision as the Champions League T20 provided added context to a number of domestic Twenty 20 competitions around the world such as the IPL in India, Big Bash League in Australia and South Africa’s Ram Slam T20.

"This decision was made, after consultation with all our commercial partners and meeting the contractual obligations of all parties involved."

Launched by the three cricket boards in 2008, the competition offered a highly lucrative prize pool of $6 million with $2.5 million going to the winners.

It brought together teams from the India Premier League, Australia's Big Bash League, South Africa's Ram Slam T20 Challenge and Caribbean Premier League along with other qualifiers.

The inaugural event was cancelled after the death of 164 people in coordinated attacks on Mumbai in November 2008, however, and the tournament failed to gain any real traction thereafter.

The Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings were the most successful teams in the competition after they both won it twice with the Super Kings securing what will be the final title in Bangalore last year.

#* 1993 Mumbai blasts: Lone death row convict Yakub Memon could be hanged on 30 July

The only convict sentenced to death for his alleged involvement in the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai, Yakub Memon, is reportedly set to be hanged on 30 July subject to the apex court hearing his plea for mercy days earlier.
According to a DNA report, the 53-year-old convict could be hanged as the result of a Tada (Terrorism and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act)  court issued a warrant to carry out the sentence as per which he is scheduled to be executed on 30 July at 7 am in the Nagpur Central Jail.
Ibnlive imageIbnlive image
The report said that Memon has moved a petition in the Supreme Court hoping to stay the execution, but for now, the state government has given its sanction for the execution and in keeping with procedure his family has also been informed of the impending hanging.
On 10 April, the Supreme Court had rejected a petition filed by Memon seeking to stay the death sentence. Memon, a former chartered accountant, is the brother of the prime accused in the case Tiger Memon. Earlier on March 21, 2013, the apex court had upheld the death sentence of Memon.
The multiple blasts had claimed 257 lives and left 713 injured. CBI, which probed the blasts, had alleged that the conspiracy was hatched by Dawood Ibrahim and other absconding persons, including Yakub's brother Tiger Memon, who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan.
The court had commuted the death penalty awarded by a special TADA court to 10 others, who had planted RDX explosives-laden vehicles at various places in Mumbai, to life term by distinguishing their roles from that of Memon.
Yakub, who owned an export firm allegedly handled his brother, gangster Tiger Memon’s, funds. He was accused of having funded the training of 15 youths who were sent to Pakistan for training in the use of arms and ammunition and funding the escape of the family following the blasts. The Memon family, including Yakub, had fled Mumbai before the blasts.
After reportedly meeting with a family lawyer in Kathmandu in July 1994, Yakub was set to return to Karachi after being told that he was unlikely to get much mercy if he did surrender to Indian authorities.
But his being caught with multiple passports at the Kathmandu airport set off a chain of events that resulted in all the other members of the Memon family also being brought to India.
His arrest remains controversial. Officially Yakub was arrested on the morning of 5 August 1994, inexplicably from the New Delhi railway station, far away from Pakistan or Dubai where the Memon family was said to be in hiding.
The mercy plea of Memon had earlier been rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee on 21 May, 2014. The decision had been taken by the President following recommendations of the Maharashtra government and the Home Ministry that the mercy petition of Memon be rejected.

#* Iran nuclear deal: should we give peace a chance?

The Iran nuclear deal has historical value because it depicts a crystal-clear image of current global affairs. The United States and Europe, for different reasons, wanted to close a bitter chapter of their past, while China and Russia are carefully designing a future geopolitical strategy in proximity to each other. Iran has exploited these motives to its advantage and it has managed to shed the tough sanctions regime, which has choked its economy, while promising to downgrade but not end its nuclear enrichment programme.
The political meaning of this settlement goes far beyond the nuclear domain. This is about how the United States intends to carry out its foreign policy in the region and what role Iran will have as a regional power. Whatever the consequences of this deal, politics in the Middle East will be different from now on.There is an inherent asymmetry in the outcome of this negotiation. Mr Obama and Kerry look for a political legacy while a more realist Iran sees this as a first step to becoming an indispensable regional power.
• Iran nuclear deal: agreement reached in Vienna – as it happened 
• Benjamin Netanyahu: Iran nuclear deal is a 'mistake of historic proportions'
During his presidency, Barack Obama has toughened sanctions to unprecedented levels, which brought – alongside Hassan Rouhani’s election as president – Iran to the negotiating table. Undoubtedly, the resolve and strength of the American administration have coerced Iran to seek a diplomatic solution after years of antagonism and an anti-western agenda.
However, the content of the deal seems not to capitalise on the political effect that tougher sanctions had created. Iran’s downgrading of its nuclear programme does not seem to exclude the possibility of a future development of nuclear warfare capabilities. The P5+1, consisting of the Security Council’s five permanent members plus Germany, may not be able to rapidly “snap back” sanctions in case of non-compliance, allowing Iran to pursue – even with great struggle – whatever goal it may have. Iran may suddenly denounce interference by “foreign powers” and disengage from the deal.

#* Micromax launches BOLT D303 with Firstouch Regional Mobile Operating System

Powered by a 1.3GHz dual core processor, the smartphone comes with a 4-inch WVGA (480*800) display and runs on Android KitKat 4.4. The smartphone will be easily upgradeable through FOTA soon, offering users a number of features including voice search, Google Drive, Hangouts for video calls, smart contact prioritization etc. 

The phone holds a 3.2 MP AF rear camera and also a front camera. With 3G connectivity the users can stream live videos, movies and download music instantly the 32GB expandable memory. 

Priced at Rs 3499, the device will be available at all leading retail stores across the country in one colour i.e. Blue.

The BOLT D303 comes pre-loaded with 10 regional languages  powered by Firstouch. The all new Messaging Service with patented ‘Swipe’ feature of Firstouch, which enables you to translate and transliterate messages from English to Indian languages & vice - versa just with a simple swipe.  

You can write in your regional language and convert the message to English before sending,  one can also  type, chat or change the menu of their phone in their preferred language. It helps the users to type faster in their regional language using the patented Brahmic Keyboard of Firstouch with Matra and Word prediction with over 2 lakh words for each language. 

The device also comes with Firstouch  App bazaar in regional languages which enables the users to download more than 10,000 applications in their regional languages and an intuitive Menu in regional languages with sound assistance and more.

Key Specifications:

4–inch WVGA (480*800) display
3.2 MP FF rear camera and 0.3 MP FF front camera
1.3 GHz dual-core processor;512MB RAM
4GB ROM
1300 mAh battery, up to 245 hours of backup on standby and 4.5 hours of talk time
32 GB expandable memory
Bluetooth 4.0/USB/Wi-Fi

#* Madras HC raps railways for denying job to diabetic woman, says she is eligible

Chennai: Making it clear that a diabetic is eligible for appointment in government posts as there is no scientific proof to show such a person would not be able to discharge his duties, the Madras High Court has directed Southern Railways to appoint an applicant within eight weeks.
A division bench comprising justices V Ramasubramanian and T Mathivanan gave the direction while dismissing a petition by Chief Personal Officer of Southern Railway, denying appointment to a woman on the ground that she was a diabetic."In the absence of any scientific evidence to show that a diabetic will not be able to discharge the duties of office, it is not possible to accept the stand taken by the authorities," the judges said.
The bench said this was especially in view of the fact that India has become the world's diabetic capital, "probably due to the concerted efforts taken in the past five decades by the food, fertiliser, pharmaceutical and beverage industries."
The court pointed out that a global report by the Indian Diabetes Research Foundation had stated that 40.9 million Indians are diabetic. "Therefore, it is not possible to accept that they are unemployable or that if employed, they would become a liability on the employer."
Railways had challenged the order Central Administrative Tribunal, Madras Bench, directing it to appoint a woman candidate Pushpam to a suitable Grade D post in 12 weeks.
On November 24, 2007, the Deputy Chief Personnel Officer had issued a notification to fill up 3698 Group 'D' posts in SR and in Integral Coach Factory, Chennai. Pushpam was one among 58 candidates declared medically unfit. She then filed an appeal for a medical re-examination, which was done. But Railways in a July 2 2012 certificate opined that she was unfit for employment in A2 category. She then moved the CAT, which allowed her application following a decision by the High Court in 2013. The Railways then filed a petition against the HC order.
The bench, while dismissing Railways' petition, reminded it of the earlier order where mention had been made of India being the diabetic capital of the world and that diabetes was more of a disorder than a disease.
Rejecting the view that diabetes may be the cause of future complications, it said Railways has nowhere contended that complications had arisen as a result of her diabetes, but only that her condition was likely to give rise to problems. The bench dealt with WHO reports on diabetics and rejected the contention that Pushpam was not eligible for appointment and directed Railways to issue appointment to her in eight weeks.

#* In Bihar, no caste safety net for politicians: Nitish and Lalu need to rework their strategies

Treating caste groupings as stable electoral blocks has been core to the social engineering strategy in Bihar for decades. The more caste groups a party brings under its umbrella the bigger the chance of its victory – this has been the conventional wisdom in the state. It made all political parties launch into a mad rush to woo castes prior to any election. The big leaders flaunted their caste identity and commanded the unflinching support of their caste members. All this appears to have changed. In a few months from now once the elections begin, Bihar is set to witness a voting pattern where traditional caste equations stand topsy-turvy.
A spate of recent political developments in the state indicates that any party or leader cannot rely on any caste as they used to be earlier. Yadavs stood firmly with Lalu Prasad, Kurmis with Nitish Kumar, Dusadhs (Paswans) with Ram Vilas Paswan but now they no longer get blindly swayed by the calls of their chieftains. In some cases there’s competition for leadership for the latter from within too.
In a RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav with Ram Vilas Paswan who is now a Union minister in Modi government. In a RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav with Ram Vilas Paswan who is now a Union minister in Modi government.
Take for example the case of Lalu. He emerged as the most powerful leader of the Yadavs in the late 1980s and in quick time became the chief minister of Bihar in 1990. For the next 15 years, he remained the unchallenged hero of his community. Even in the last Lok Sabha polls, Yadavs rallied round him as the RJD polled over 20 percent votes—some five percent more than the JD(U). However, post his alliance with Nitish, it is an entirely different story.
There are clear indications that the Yadavs do not trust him much. This became evident when his emotional appeal to his caste men to support the JD(U) in the elections to 24 seats of Bihar Legislative Council was rejected with disdain. The result was that the grand secular candidates lost in places even in the strongholds of the RJD. The defeated JD(U) candidates now openly accuse Yadavs of not “supporting” them in the elections.
Nitish's situation is similar as he has lost much of his credibility after frequently seeking support of Lalu to keep himself afloat. Of the five seats his party won, it posted a convincing victory only in Muzaffarpur. In Nawada, his candidate scraped through. Although much before he joined hands with Lalu, Nitish had already lost much of his sheen when he dumped its long-standing ally, the BJP. His caste men did not understand why would Nitish break alliance with the party which gave him political asylum of sorts when he was battling for survival.
The result was that Nitish wo n two seats in the last Lok Sabha polls despite his aggressive campaigning. Even the council poll victories can’t be called his own. While he won the Purnia seat with the help of a “borrowed” candidate, his other candidate somehow managed to win from Nalanada, the home district of Nitish.
Paswan, too, has lost his credibility due to his frequent flip-flops. At one point of time, he was the one of the most reliable face of Dalits (after BSP leaders Kanshi Ram and Mayawati). Such was his hold over his community that his party had emerged the ‘King Maker’ in February-March 2005 assembly elections, bagging 29 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly. The frequent change in his political stand, with him focussing on power in any governments irrespective of their policies and ideologies, has now given him the reputation of being unreliable even among his core supporters.

#* Bodies of four police officials found in Chhattisgarh two days after Naxal abduction

Raipur: The bodies of four police officials, who were abducted on Monday by Naxals, were found on Wednesday in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district.
"Bodies of the four assistant constables have been found on a road near Gudma village under Kutru Police Station limits near the spot from where they were kidnapped by Naxals on Monday," Bijapur Additional Superintendent of Police Indira Kalyan Elesela, told PTI.
Representational image. ReutersRepresentational image. Reuters
As per a senior police official, the rebels had killed all the four jawans by holding the so-called 'Jan Adalat' (peoples' court), near Gudma village last night.
The personnel were identified as Jaidev Yadav, Mangal Sodhi and Raju Tela, all posted at Kutru Police Station, while Rama Majji was attached to Bedre Police Station in the region. Soon after getting information of the bodies lying abandoned on the road that passes thorough a dense forested patch, security forces were rushed to the spot.
"The cause behind the death will be ascertained after the bodies will be taken to a nearby hospital," he said. Security forces have been directed to take necessary precautionary measures to ensure the Maoists do not get a chance to target them while retrieving the bodies, he said.
On 13 July, rebels had conducted a check of passenger buses and other vehicles en route to Kutru from Bijapur. Two of the jawans were travelling in a bus, while the other two were on a motorcycle from Bijapur town to Kutru when they were intercepted near Saknapalli village. Upon identifying them as police personnel, Naxals abducted them, the ASP said.
Later, reports of abduction of two 'Gopniya Sainiks' (secret informers), also of assistant constable rank, travelling in the same region were also received. However, they were reported to be safe, the officer added.
Bijapur's Kutru region is considered as one of the strongest bastions of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in Bastar region.
During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, armed rebels had ambushed a polling party on April 12 near Ketulnar village and had killed six persons.

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