The Hindu – Possession of fake currency not an act of terror: HC

Accused under detention for over three years gets bail

Staff Reporter

Mumbai, 30 October 2012.  The Bombay High Court on Monday noted that mere possession and circulation of fake currency cannot be termed an act of terror under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The court, therefore, granted bail to Ravi Dhiren Ghosh, arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in 2009 for alleged possession of counterfeit notes. The case was later taken up by the National Investigation Agency.

Referring to the UAPA, Justice A.M. Thipsay remarked, “Circulation of counterfeit currency, even if it is printed in a foreign country can’t be considered, by definition, as a terrorist act. Prima facie, the act being attributed to the applicant, Ghosh, cannot be termed a terrorist act, and the provisions of UAPA cannot be invoked.”

The court also noted that there was no material to suggest that Ghosh was part of a “larger conspiracy,” where notes were printed in a foreign land and sent to India “to ruin the Indian economy.”

According to the ATS, Ghosh was arrested in May 2009, and found to be in possession of 200 notes of Rs. 1,000 denomination.

Justice Thipsay considered Ghosh’s continuing detention for the past three and a half years, with no sign of the trial beginning soon. Moreover, there was no material on record in terms of an FIR or case diary to show that the ATS had received some “secret information” upon which they acted against Ghosh.

The court granted him bail on a surety of Rs. 75,000.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/possession-of-fake-currency-not-an-act-of-terror-hc/article4044723.ece

09 August 2012 – NMBS and De Lijn : Sint-Truiden – Brussel – De Panne – Oostende – Leuven – Sint-Truiden

The Belgian Kusttram (coastal tram) which runs along the Belgian Northsea coast from near the French border till near the Dutch border

De Panne – NMBS Station

De Panne Centrum – De kusttram

De Panne Centrum

Tram stop De Panne Centrum

De Panne – sandy beach, no dogs allowed !

To see more Belgium and Netherlands public transport pictures :

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Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Hindu – Trinamool to move resolution against FDI

Shiv Sahay Singh & Gargi Parsai

Kolkata/New Delhi, September 22, 2012. The Trinamool Congress will move a resolution in the next session of Parliament opposing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, senior party leaders said here on Saturday.

The matter was discussed at a meeting the leaders had with party chairperson Mamata Banerjee at the State Secretariat in Kolkata on Saturday.

Speaking to journalists in New Delhi, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav remained non-committal on whether his party would support the Trinamool resolution. “We are against FDI in retail and we will decide our parliamentary strategy against FDI and other recent government decisions only ahead of the winter session.”

Earlier, Mr. Yadav told a news channel that his party itself might bring such a resolution. Asked about his “flip-flop” on the issue, he shot back: “I stick to whatever I say.”

In Kolkata, senior Trinamool leader and former Union Minister Saugata Roy told The Hindu that the party’s stand “opposing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail has been very consistent and it has raised the issue in Parliament several times.” The party opposed the issue in its election manifesto before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and the 2011 Assembly elections, he said.

The party also decided to organise protests in the State and in New Delhi.

Ever since the Trinamool announced its decision to withdraw support to the United Progressive Alliance government, Ms. Banerjee has been campaigning on the issue by posting comments on her Facebook page.

On Thursday, she posted the statement made by the then Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, in the Lok Sabha on December 7, 2011 that a final decision on allowing FDI in multi-brand retail would be taken only after consensus was reached.

Later, she questioned the notification by the UPA government on entry of FDI in retail. “Is it ethical, moral and democratic for a minority government to issue [a] government order forcefully and hurriedly when massive protest against it is taking place across the country?”

Mulayam meets Badal

Mr. Yadav declined to divulge details of his meeting earlier in the day with Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal saying he was the son of his old friend, Prakash Singh Badal. The meeting should not be seen as a move towards formation of a Third Front, he added.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/trinamool-to-move-resolution-against-fdi/article3926510.ece

Den Haag, HTM, Tram 17 from Jacob Catsstraat to Gravenstraat, 29 June 2012

I walked the full length of the route of Tram 17 from Station Holland Spoor to the Statenkwartier, but went about it in a funny way. On 28 June I walked from Waldeck Pyrmontkade/Laan van Meerdervoort to Gravenstraat. The next day I walked from Jacob Catsstraat via Holland Spoor and Centraal Station to Gravenstraat, then took the tram to Waldeck Pyrmontkade and from there walked to Statenkwartier.

Tram 17 from Weteringkade to Weteringplein

Tram 17, Weteringkade tracks to Station Holland Spoor

Tram 17, Weteringplein, to Statenkwartier via Centraal Station

Tram 17, Weteringplein

Merwedestraat, Tram 17 from Centraal Station to Wateringen via Station Holland Spoor

To see more Belgium and Netherlands public transport pictures :

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Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Heroin seizure from Pakistan train cargo has state traders worried

Perneet Singh, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 17. With yet another recovery of contraband from a cement cargo from Pakistan coming to the fore, Indian importers have sought stringent measures to curb the trend that is posing a threat to the future of the cement import business.

A delegation of the All-India Cement Importers Association today met the Commissioner, Customs. Association president MPS Chatha said since wagons were loaded and sealed by the Pakistani customs authorities, Indian officials should take up the matter with them to ensure a strict inspection at the time of loading of the consignment.

“We have also requested the Indian authorities to have stringent measures in place like scanners and sniffer dogs for carrying out checks on the consignment from Pakistan.” He said these measures would deter such activities which caused unnecessary harassment to the importers. He said if the trend was not curbed effectively, it might threaten cement import from Pakistan.

Chatha said they had also shot off missives to the Prime Minister, Union Finance Minister and the Union Commerce Minister in this regard.

CII National Council on Public Policy member Gunbir Singh said these instances had reaffirmed the demand of the traders that instead of carrying out random checks, scanners should be installed to scan the entire consignment. He said the contraband could be put into anybody’s consignment which might lead to harassment of innocent importers.

He also reiterated his demand for bringing the rail link with Pakistan under the ambit of the ICP which was 300-400 m away from the rail route. “At present, there are open warehouses which are vulnerable to vagaries of weather, besides being open to any mischief. If these come under the ICP, which is a bonded area, nobody will dare to mess with these,” he averred.

A spokesperson for the Confederation of International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CICCI) said anti-national forces across the border wished to derail and create hurdles in the peaceful business relationships between India and Pakistan. He said the government should find an early solution to the problem so that genuine traders should not suffer.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120718/punjab.htm#5

The Hindu – Trinamool Congress ‘Will continue to oppose anti-people policies of UPA’

Shiv Sahay Singh

Kolkata, 18 July 2012. Though she has extended her support to Pranab Mukherjee, nominee of the United Progressive Alliance for President, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee said here on Tuesday that her party would continue to oppose the “anti-people” policies of the Alliance.

“We will not support anti-people policies such as increase in the prices of essential commodities, rise in petrol price, foreign direct investment in retail and insurance, setting up special economic zones (SEZ) and forcible land acquisition,” she said.

As a constituent of the UPA, the Trinamool Congress had opposed the Centre on issues that the party had spoken out against in its election manifesto. “We have not deviated from our commitment even on a single issue and will not do so in future.”

Ms. Banerjee expressed her disappointment over not being consulted on major policy issues by the UPA government.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3650322.ece 

The Tribune – Omar’s bold poser to separatists on what Pakistan has done to PoK [Azad Kashmir]

Arun Joshi, Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 12. On Wednesday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah posed a question to separatists which none of his predecessors have ever dared to ask. “Have you (separatist leaders, particularly hardline Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Shah Geelani) ever asked Pakistan what it has done to Kashmir under its occupation?” Omar thundered at a rally organised to commemorate the 12th death anniversary of his grandmother Begum Akbar Jehan in Srinagar yesterday.

This question has the potential to change the entire nature of the India-Pakistan dialogue and also invoke local sentiment on the issue. “Pakistan has gifted a big chunk of land to China and settled Pakistanis in the part of Kashmir under its control,” Omar said. Omar’s statement was directed at Geelani, who at a recent press conference had alleged that non-state subjects (non-permanent residents of Jammu of Kashmir) were to be settled in the garb of Kashmiri Pandits in the special colonies being set up in the Valley.

It’s because of the special status of the state under Article 370, which Omar insisted would stay for ever, only state subjects can vote in the Assembly elections, get jobs and admission into professional institutions and own immovable property. Non-state subjects are not granted citizenship rights in Jammu and Kashmir. “We may be having hundreds of issues with India, but the country deserves our unqualified appreciation that it has not tampered with even a single inch of land of our state,” Omar said.

While it seemed that Omar was responding to Geelani, but there is something more than what meets the eye. Omar, who champions the cause of restoration of greater autonomy, also declared that India-Pak istan dialogue was must for the solution of the Kashmir crisis. “India cannot solve it on its own”. Separatists, moderate or hardliners, had never been challenged on this issue ever before.

Omar’s father and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah who was thrice Chief Minister of the state and a perennial critic of separatists, never asked this question, nor did Mufti Mohammad Sayeed or Ghulam Nabi Azad. They also never spoke of the Chinese army’s presence in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The separatists make an issue of the military presence in the state and call for strikes on one issue after another, especially on the alleged human rights violations. But they have never raised any such question. Now it is to be seen that how would separatists respond to this poser.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120713/j&k.htm#3

The Tribune – Sikh clergy to meet tomorrow

Perneet Singh, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 10. The five Sikh high priests will meet here on Thursday. On the agenda is a discussion on the problem of wild bears entering Gurdwara Hemkund Sahib in Uttarakhand and also the implementation of the Akal Takht edict against building gurdwaras on caste lines.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said they had sought a clarification from the Hemkund Sahib gurdwara management regarding reports of wild bears entering the shrine during winters. Located at a height of 15,200 ft, the shrine remains cut off from the rest of the country for five to six months every year because of heavy snowfall.

The Akal Takht has asked the gurdwara management to explain if the bears had caused any damage to the Guru Granth Sahib installed in the shrine.

The Jathedar said measures would be initiated to ensure that such incidents did not recur at Hemkund Sahib.

Another key issue that will figure at the meeting is the implementation of the Akal Takht edict, banning gurdwaras on caste lines. The Jathedar said the Sikh community stood as one and the “doors of gurdwaras are open to one and all without bias.” He said in villages that had more than two gurdwaras, these should be utilised for community works.

The violent clash between DSGMC supporters and SAD workers at Gurdwara Bala Sahib in New Delhi on March 2 will also feature at the meeting. The recent stand-off between followers of a dera and activists of Panthic groups over the demolition of a gurdwara at Waraich village near Amritsar will also be discussed by the Sikh clergy.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120711/punjab.htm#11

Vilvoorde Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan, 20 May 2012

Vilvoorde, Gurdwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji
Panj Piaré

Vilvoorde, Gurdwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji
The Nagar Kirtan on its way to Heldenplein

Vilvoorde, Gurdwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji

Vilvoorde, Gurdwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji
Following the Palki Sahib

Vilvoorde, Gurdwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji

Gurdwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji
14 Lange Molen Straat
B-1800 Vilvoorde (Vlaams-Brabant)
Vilvoorde is just north of Brussel and near to Brussel Airport

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Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Improving ties rekindle hope for more routes; Kartarpur Sahib corridor a long pending demand

Perneet Singh, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 14. With Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal renewing the demand before India and Pakistan governments, the issue of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor connecting Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur with historic Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan is back in the limelight.

The historic Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara holds great significance for Sikhs as first Sikh master Guru Nanak Dev spent the last 18 years of his life there. The distance between Dera Baba Nanak and Kartarpur Sahib is a mere 3 km and Sikhs have for long been demanding unrestricted access to the historic shrine through a visa-free corridor connecting the two places. The corridor, when constructed, would be an important channel of hassle-free pilgrimage for the devotees as compared to the long, strenuous journey through circuitous route via Wagah, Lahore and Narowal.

Most of the devotees who are unable to visit Pakistan are left with no option but to bow their head in reverence towards the shrine while standing at the “darshan sthal” (viewing facility) constructed by the BSF along the Indo-Pak border at Dera Baba Nanak from where they can catch a glimpse of the shrine. The BSF also provides them with binoculars so that they can have a clear and closer view of the shrine.

On June 28, 2008, the then Union Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee had visited Dera Baba Nanak and said a group of Indian experts would conduct feasibility study for the construction of barbed corridor, but no forward movement was made after it.

SGPC secretary Dalmegh Singh said, “Now that the Chief Minister has renewed the demand, the SGPC will definitely follow it up.” The DSGMC chief, Paramjit Singh Sarna, claimed the Pakistan government was almost ready for the construction of the corridor in 2003, but the then NDA government didn’t agree to it.

Senior SAD leader Kuldeep Singh Wadala, who has also been pursuing the matter, said they have been performing ‘ardaas’ at the “darshan sthal” on a particular day every month since April 13, 2001, praying before the Almighty to facilitate the corridor for the devotees.

Significance of the corridor

- Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara holds great significance for the Sikhs as first master Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years there

- The distance between Dera Baba Nanak and Kartarpur Sahib is a mere 3 km and the Sikhs have been demanding unrestricted access to the shrine through a visa-free corridor

- At present, devotees have to undertake a strenuous journey through circuitous route via Wagah, Lahore and Narowal

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120415/punjab.htm#4