BBC News – Death penalty for India Pune bakery blast man

Friday 19 April 2013. A court in India has sentenced a man to death for plotting a bomb blast at a German bakery in the western city of Pune in 2010.

The blast targeted the bakery when it was full of tourists and students, killing 17 people and wounding 64.

Five foreigners were among the dead.

Mirza Himayat Baig, who belonged to a banned militant group, was found guilty of murder and conspiracy on Thursday.

Five other suspects are still at large, police say.

The prosecution said the blast was planned at a meeting in Colombo where Baig, a resident of Maharashtra state, was given bomb-making training.

The defence had maintained that Baig was not in Pune when the explosion happened on 13 February 2010.

He was arrested the following September after investigators found a cache of explosives at his home in Latur in Maharashtra.

The German Bakery is located near the Osho Ashram, a mystic centre popular with visitors to Pune.

Reports said an unattended package exploded when a waiter in the restaurant attempted to open it.

The bombing was the first major strike of its kind in India since the deadly Mumbai attacks of 2008.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-22212001

The Asian Age – Rioting in Maharashtra, 2 die in police firing

Jayprakash S. Naidu, Asian Age Correspondent

Azadnagar, 7 January 2013. Curfew has been imposed in Azadnagar and nearby areas of Maharashtra’s Dhule district after a small fight between two men from different communities, over a trivial issue, ended up with hundreds of people from the two communities rioting in the streets for hours on Sunday.

The police had to open fire, leading to the death of two persons. Over 100 locals and over 70 policemen were injured in the rioting. No women were hurt, the police claimed.

The Azadnagar police said the riots erupted around 3 pm after two persons eating lunch at a hotel on the Chaini road fought. The two got more men from their respective communities and the numbers escalated.

“The riots were seen in many areas of Machibazaar and Pala Bazaar. The communities burnt vehicles, threw fireballs on houses, hurled stones and glass bottles at each other and at the police. We used teargas, water cannon and rubber bullets, but when the situation could not be controlled, we opened fire. Around six persons were injured in the firing, including two who succumbed to their injuries,” said a police source.

“The riots were finally brought under control around 7 pm,” said Azadnagar senior police inspector Deepak Koli.

http://www.asianage.com/india/rioting-maha-2-die-police-firing-677

The Tribune – Ratan Tata: The titan takes a bow

Mumbai, December 28. Corporate icon Ratan Tata today retired as chairman of the Tata Group after a 50-year run, predicting that India’s growth will re-establish after the “passing phase” of a difficult environment that would most likely continue in 2013.

Turning 75 today, he kept away from the Bombay House headquarters of the $100 billion group, but instead spent time with employees in the manufacturing facilities of Tata Motors in Pune.

“At the request of the union, I spent the day — my last day prior to retirement – at the Tata Motors’ various manufacturing facilities at Pune to say farewell to my shop floor colleagues. We have been together in good times and bad and have gained closeness based on mutual trust,” he tweeted.

He said in his Twitter message that going to the plants and receiving greetings from so many colleagues was a great emotional experience. “I have been deeply moved by the sincerity and spontaneity of their greetings. I will always carry memories of this day with me through the rest of my life,” Tata said. In a farewell letter to all employees, he asked them to live by the value systems and ethical standards the group had followed all along.

Cyrus Mistry, the 44-year-old chairman-designate who is likely to take over as Tata Group chairman tomorrow, visited the office today. He was groomed for the assignment by Tata for a year. He chose group company Tata Motors’ sedan Indigo Manza to travel to work on a day that marked the end of an era.

The narrow lane leading to Bombay House, one of the oldest buildings in the heritage Fort area of south Mumbai, had heavy media presence since morning in anticipation of Tata visiting Bombay House. (PTI)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121229/main2.htm

The Tribune – Government issues new norms to prevent IT Act misuse

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 29. Facing public uproar over arrests made under Section 66 (A) of the IT Act in Maharashtra recently, the government today said that it would be focusing more on the Section and has also issued guidelines for its appropriate use. Section 66 (A) provides for a jail term of up to three years.

Government officials here said that it has already issued guidelines where approval would have to be taken from an officer of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) level at rural areas and Inspector General (IG) level in metros before registering complaints under the controversial Section.

In two incidents in Palghar in Maharashtra few days after the death of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, two girls and a youth were arrested for their Facebook comments. While the girls were arrested for a post criticising the bandh-like situation in Mumbai following Thackeray’s death, the boy was arrested yesterday for posting “vulgar” comments against MNS chief Raj Thackeray and the people of Maharashtra on the social networking site.

Senior government officials here said that the new guidelines would make the misuse of the controversial Section difficult. “The concerned police officer or police station may not register any complaint unless he has obtained prior approval at the level of an officer not below the DCP rank in urban and rural areas and IG level in metros,” officials said.

Facebook effect

November 2012: 21-year-old girl, her friend arrested for questioning and ‘liking’ Facebook post criticising the Mumbai shutdown after Bal Thackeray’s death

October 2012: Businessman Ravi Srinivasan held in Puducherry for making an allegation on Twitter against P Chidambaram’s son

May 2012: Two AI employees held in Mumbai for posting contents on Facebook and Orkut against a trade union leader and some politicians

April 2012: Chemistry professor of Jadavpur University, Bengal, Bengal, held for posting Mamata Banerjee’s cartoon on social sites

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121130/main7.htm

The Asian Age – Will the Sena be able to retain its political grip ?

Asian Age Correspondent

Mumbai, 18 November 2012. For over 40 years, Shiv Sena chief Bal Keshav Thackeray occupied a significant space in Maharashtra’s politics. His death not only creates a vacuum in the state’s politics but also puts a question mark on the party’s ability to continue influencing state politics.

Impediments are not new for the Sena, but it was Bal Thackeray who resurrected the party each time.

Though the Sena does not have any other leader who commands the respect and adulation, or inspires the fear that Bal Thackeray did, it is unlikely that the party’s Marathi vote bank will face any immediate dwindling. “Balasaheb has paved the way for bringing Raj and Uddhav together. It will be difficult for Raj to go his own way in the near future.

Therefore, the threat of the MNS to the Shiv Sena will not be as big as it was in 2009. By 2014, a realignment is likely in Maharashtra politics with MNS joining hands with the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance,” said a political observer.

However, in the longer run, the MNS could emerge to occupy the space of the Shiv Sena. In fact, some Sena leaders could choose to follow Raj, who, while in the Shiv Sena, was seen as Bal Thackeray’s heir-apparent.

The other party that would benefit would be the NCP. “There are many who will join the NCP as it is a growing party, and since the party wants to come to power on its own in 2014 it will give tickets to a number of leaders with mass base. So, for many Sena leaders, that would be the right choice. A very small percentage of cadre would go to the Congress,” said a political analyst who did not want to be identified.

The bigger question is who will fill the vacuum created by Bal Thackeray’s death.

http://www.asianage.com/india/will-sena-be-able-retain-its-political-grip-472

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

The Tribune – Nanded on Green Pilgrimage Network

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 15. The city of Takht Shri Hazur Sahib, Nanded, has joined the Green Pilgrimage Network, a global initiative promoting environment conservation in major pilgrimage centres of different religions across the world.

D P Singh Chawla, CEO/superintendent of Takht Shri Hazur Sahib Committee, said: “It is an honour for the historical city. We will work harder to provide best sustainable resources to the pilgrims visiting Hazur Sahib. We will focus on promoting environment conservation as per the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev.”

“The joining of Nanded on the Green Pilgrimage Network will create enormous compassion for nature among the Sikh community. We will initiate eco-projects in collaboration with Shri Hazur Sahib Committee,” said EcoSikh India manager Ravneet Singh.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121016/punjab.htm#12

BBC News – India landless begin long march to Delhi

Wednesday, 3 October 2012. Tens of thousands of landless poor have begun a march to the Indian capital, Delhi, demanding their right to land.

The march began on Wednesday morning in Gwalior city in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, organisers said.

The protesters would cover the distance of about 350km (217 miles) to reach Delhi by the end of October, they said.

On Tuesday, the government sent two ministers in an attempt to persuade the protesters to call off their march but they were unsuccessful.

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and Commerce Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia met the organisers – a non-governmental organisation called Ekta Parishad – to accept the government’s promise that a draft national land reform policy would be prepared in six months, The Hindu newspaper reported.

“Discussion is always a better option than agitation… Go home, we will find the middle path,” the paper quoted Mr Ramesh as telling the protesters.

But the protesters, mostly tribespeople and landless labourers, insist that each of them must be given a piece of land.

The participants in the Jan Satyagraha [people's movement] march say welfare programmes like the rural jobs for work scheme are no solution to poverty.

They say only land and sustainable livelihood generation can achieve real poverty reduction and lift tens of millions out of poverty.

The protesters say they plan to hand over a memorandum to the government to highlight the problems of landless poor.

Land has become a huge political issue in India where the government needs land for industry or infrastructure projects, but farmers and tribals say that cannot happen at their expense.

Last year, there were violent clashes between farmers and police in the Bhatta-Parsaul villages of northern Uttar Pradesh state over the acquisition of farmland for road and industry.

And in 2009, the Tata group was forced to abandon plans to set up a factory at Singur in West Bengal to build the Nano – the world’s cheapest car – after protests by farmers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-19810686

The Asian Age – Exodus thins in Karnataka, but on in Tamul Nadu, Maharashtra

Asian Age Correspondent

Saturday, 19 August 2012. The panic-stricken people of Northeast are continuing to leave cities like Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra and Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts in Chennai, fearing backlash.

Despite the Maharashtra government app-ealing them not to leave, scores of people of the Northeast, mostly the labour class, are making a beeline towards the railway stations.

Meanwhile, the exodus of people from Karnataka to their home states subsided on Saturday. In Beng-aluru, railway officials said the number of those wanting to leave the city had dwindled.

http://www.asianage.com/india/exodus-thins-k-taka-tn-maha-015

The Hindu – Two killed as protest in Mumbai against Assam riots turns violent

Mumbai, 11 August 2012. At least two persons were killed and more than 50 injured as a protest at the Azad Maidan here on Saturday against the recent Assam riots and genocidal acts against Muslims in Myanmar turned violent. A state of high alert was issued throughout Mumbai.

Tension and paranoia gripped the city as the three o’clock agitation, organised by the Raza Academy — a city-based organisation claiming to promote Islamic culture — suddenly erupted into violence with the protesters targeting police and mediapersons, setting vehicles afire, smashing cameras and chanting provocative slogans. The police resorted to lathi charge, lobbed tear gas shells and fired in the air to disperse the truculent crowd.

According to police reports, Mohammad Umar (17) and Altaf Sheikh, both of Mumbai, lost their lives in the violence.

In all, 11 vehicles, including three OB vans, were gutted, while 45 policemen and some photographers, including The Hindu’s Vivek Bendre, were injured and their cameras smashed in the melee.

“For a while, there were fears of a relapse of the situation [seen] during the 1992 riots. We have escaped by a hair’s breadth … The situation could have turned lethal. But things are under control in other parts of the city,” said Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik, refusing to answer questions whether the violence was spontaneous or pre-planned.

Around 30 police personnel were seriously injured while three civilians sustained bullet injuries.

The injured were rushed to the city’s Saint George’s Hospital and G.T. Hospital.

Train and bus services were hit hard. The miscreants damaged at least 31 BEST buses at the CST Depot, where glass pieces were lying strewn all over. Buses running towards south Mumbai were terminated en route.

“The protesters also shouted slogans on railway platforms,” A K Singh, Public Relations Officer, Central Railway, told The Hindu. There were stray incidents of violence but no local train was damaged.

Businesses in the vicinity remained closed.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who rushed to the Maharashtra capital from Yavatmal, assured the people that things were under control. Home Minister R.R. Patil urged citizens to desist from rumour-mongering.

Muslim organisations such as the Markazul Ma’arif Education and Research Centre have condemned the unruly behaviour of the protesters and called for peace.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article3754170.ece?homepage=true