Details of who allegedly offered Rs 14-crore bribe to Army chief

New Delhi:  The Defence Minister has reportedly ordered a CBI inquiry into the Rs 14-crore bribe that the Army chief says he was offered in exchange for clearing the purchase of 600 sub-standard vehicles. General VK Singh said that in 2010, six months into his tenure, a retired Army officer offered him the money, and that he shared the information immediately with the Defence Minister AK Antony.
General Singh disclosed the details of the bribe in an interview with The Hindu newspaper.  The allegations have been seized by the Opposition to attack the government in Parliament. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned. The government is expected to make a statement later today on the controversy. The BJP, while seeking details from the government, also pointed out that the Army chief should have filed a case against the man who offered him the kickback. (Watch: Bribe charge - Army chief tells all)

Sources tell NDTV that the alleged bribe was offered by Tejinder Singh, who retired as a Lieutenant General and had served as a chief of the Defence Intelligence Agency.  He has also been allotted a flat in the Adarsh Society, a high-rise building in Mumbai whose apartments were intended for war veterans and widows, but were instead given to politicians, bureaucrats and defence officers.  Earlier this month, a press release by the army named him for offering bribes on behalf a company called Tatra Vetra. The retired officer has, according to some reports, denied the allegations and threatened a lawsuit.

The army chief was allegedly asked to sanction the army's purchase of a new consignment of vehicles from Tatra Vetra. The offer of the bribe was made to him in his office, say sources.

The government and the chief will now have to answer whether the company was blacklisted once the bribe was offered, and why it has taken so long to commission a formal inquiry.

The Congress today suggested that the Army chief's own actions were wanting. "If someone offered him a bribe, as a government servant, he should have filed a case against the person under the Prevention of Corruption Act," said the Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari.

The Congress-led coalition at the Centre has been entangled in a maze of financial scandals, with the opposition accusing it of serving as a "government of scams" and of creating an environment that lends itself to graft as the Standard Operating Procedure.

"He was offering a bribe to me, to the Army Chief. He told me that people had taken money before me and they will take money after me," the General said to the newspaper about the lobbyist.

In January, General Singh became the first serving military chief to take the government to court. He wanted the Defence Ministry to accept that he was born in 1951 and not 1950 - records with the army list both years. The Defence Ministry had refused the General's claim, stating that he had accepted many promotions on the basis of his seniority as established by the documents that showed he was born in 1950. The chief withdrew his petition in the Supreme Court after the judges through their remarks indicated they would not side with his claim. He is scheduled to retire at the end of May.

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J&K minister's son, allegedly drunk, thrashes shopkeeper

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Samajwadi Party worker allegedly kills cab driver over Rs 300; violent clashes in Kanpur

Kanpur:  More trouble for the Akhilesh Yadav-government in Uttar Pradesh which has made law-and-order its top priority.

In the Pankhi area of Kanpur, a taxi driver, Ankit Yadav, was allegedly beaten to death today by a local Samajwadi Party (SP) worker Prashant Tiwari after he refused to pay Rs 300.

The two had an argument over Mr Yadav parking his cab too close to the Mr Tiwari's hotel and then subsequently refusing to pay a parking fee, that Mr Tiwari demanded. In the altercation that followed, Mr Yadav was allegedly beaten with a stick by Mr Tiwari. He was rushed to  hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Ankit Yadav's death triggered angry reactions from his relatives who torched not just Mr Tiwari's hotel but even shops adjacent to it.

The police had to be called in and had to resort to lathicharge to control the violent mob.

A case of murder has been registered against Mr Tiwari who is missing.

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Raja Bhaiyya, controversial minister, allegedly lied about his age

Lucknow:  The decision to make Raja Bhaiyya a minister in the new government in Uttar Pradesh has generated new controversy - he has apparently lied about his age. The MLA from Kunda in the Pratapgarh district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh has serious cases pending against him including charges of murder and dacoity. The new chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav, made him the minister for prisons and five other ministries including food and civil supplies and consumer affairs.
In the documents submitted to the Election Commission before he contested the election, Raja Bhaiyya, whose real name is Raghuraj Pratap Singh, said he is 38 years old. This means he would have been 19 when he won his first election in 1993. That's impossible because any candidate for an election has to be at least 25 years old.
Akhilesh's father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, has defended the minister. "Who knows it might be the handiwork of some members of opposition parties...it's a conspiracy against the party," he said.

Sources in the Election Commission say that Raja Bhaiyya cannot be disqualified for lying about his age. At most, he could face six months in prison or be charged a fine.

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Documents allegedly link Farooq Abdullah to J&K cricket scam

Srinagar:  Amidst allegations of his complicity in what is being called as the Jammu & Kashmir cricket scam, Union Minister and senior National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah today denied that there was "any embezzlement of funds." NDTV has, in its possession, documents that purportedly show that Mr Abdullah, who also heads the J&K Cricket Association (JKCA), recommended a loan of almost Rs. 2 crore in favour of his close aide Ehsan Mirza, who has been sacked on charges of embezzlement.

The documents comprise copies of bank account statements and a letter purportedly signed by Mr Abdullah recommending that Mr Mirza, a former treasurer of the state's cricket association, be given a loan of Rs. 1.90 crore against deposits of the cricket association at the Khanyar Branch of J&K Bank. The account in this branch is allegedly one of the many bogus accounts being operated from four banks by Mr Mirza. Most of the money, which had been sent by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the promotion of the sport in the state, was landing in the 'shadow' accounts of the cricket association.

Addressing a press conference, Mr Abdullah clarified that Mr Mirza had extended an interest-free loan to the cricket association during the time its accounts had been sealed by the courts. It was this amount, to the tune of Rs. 1.91 crore, which was cleared by the association through a resolution to pay back Mr Mirza. "I have never taken a penny from the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association in any form," he said.

Mr Mirza is accused of defrauding the association of over Rs. 30 crore after allegedly opening bogus bank accounts on its behalf. The money was meant for promoting cricket in the state. Mr Mirza has since been sacked and an FIR has been registered against him and another office-bearer of the association.

Mr Abdullah's clarification comes after the main opposition party in the state, PDP, today demanded an FIR against Mr Abdullah and a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the scam. Raising the issue in the state Assembly today, PDP leader Mehooba Mufti said, "Every young man in the state wants to play cricket, wants to be Sachin Tendulkar. We have several crores available in the JKCA, which is headed by Farooq Abdullah. Money from the association is being embezzled."

In response, Mr Abdullah said, "I'm too clean for Mehbooba Mufti to rub dirt on me," adding that the "law will take its own course". But despite his clarifications, questions are being  raised as to how he could recommend the loan against the JKCA deposits in a bank running a 'shadow' account.

It was Mr Abdullah's political advisor, Mohd Aslam Gone, who had recently told reporters about the alleged embezzlement and had accused Mr Mirza of executing the scam. Farooq Abdullah's National Conference rules Jammu and Kashmir and his son Omar Abdullah is the chief minister of the state.

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Indian fishermen attacked, allegedly by Sri Lankan navy

Chennai:  Five Indian fishermen were attacked in the seas allegedly by Lankan navy  in the Indian water last night.
The Lankan naval personnel yesterday attacked the fishermen with wooden logs, stones and bottles, resulting in bone fracture of a 25-year-old youth and serious injuries to others, they said.
One of the injured fishermen has been admitted to in a hospital in Ramanathapuram. Several other fishermen, whose back were swollen with weals and bruises, were being treated at private hospitals, police said.
The youth said it was a "brutal" attack by the Lankan navalmen who surrounded 25 boats of the fishermen. "They damaged the boats, snapped the fishing nets and lashed out at us with logs and pelted stones," he said.
The Ministry of External Affairs has asked Colombo to take up reports  of attack on Indian fishermen with the concerned Sri Lankan authorities.
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Russian woman assaulted, robbed at gunpoint allegedly by BSP legislator's son

New Delhi:  The son of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator from Uttar Pradesh has been accused of assaulting and threatening his Russian female friend in her south Delhi house and escaping with her passport, cellphone and debit card.
Vivek Singh, son of BSP legislator Chandraveer Singh, was in an inebriated state when the incident took place on Wednesday morning in the 24-year-old victim's home in Mehrauli, police said. The woman hails from Moscow and works as an intern with an architect in Gurgaon.
"The victim had met Vivek around a year back and became friends. Few months later they broke off their ties," said a police official, adding that the woman had returned to the capital early Wednesday morning from Moscow.
According to the police, Vivek was left red-faced when the woman took a cab to her home despite knowing that Singh had come to receive her at the airport.
Vivek then followed her to her home and abused her. He even threatened her with a revolver and finally left the place with her passport, mobile phone and her debit card, said police.
Vivek was earlier arrested in 2009 for opening fire inside Mocha Bar in Nehru Place, south Delhi, and was sent to Tihar Jail.

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Doctor arrested for allegedly raping differently-abled teen

Kolkata:  A junior doctor who allegedly raped a differently-abled teenager at a government hospital in West Bengal's Bankura district, about 150 kms from Kolkata, has been arrested.

The girl, who is hearing and speech impaired, was found naked and unconscious in the Bankura Sammilani Medical College by her mother. She was admitted there on Monday night for chest pains. Yesterday, she was sent to Kolkata for medical tests.

"They asked me to wait outside and they took her inside. For two hours, they were inside. Then I went inside and saw that her clothes were not on her and she was crying. Then I shouted at the doctor, asked him is this how you do treatment?" the victim's mother said. She added that her daughter later told her everything using sign language.

Hospital officials insist that the family has mistakenly accused the doctor in question of rape. They say he was examining the victim.  The hospital has also formed a three-member committee to investigate the complaint.

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Doctor arrested for allegedly raping differently-abled teen

Kolkata:  A junior doctor who allegedly raped a differently-abled teenager at a government hospital in West Bengal's Bankura district, about 150 kms from Kolkata, has been arrested.

The girl, who is hearing and speech impaired, was found naked and unconscious in the Bankura Sammilani Medical College by her mother. She was admitted there on Monday night for chest pains. Yesterday, she was sent to Kolkata for medical tests.

"They asked me to wait outside and they took her inside. For two hours, they were inside. Then I went inside and saw that her clothes were not on her and she was crying. Then I shouted at the doctor, asked him is this how you do treatment?" the victim's mother said. She added that her daughter later told her everything using sign language.

Hospital officials insist that the family has mistakenly accused the doctor in question of rape. They say he was examining the victim.  The hospital has also formed a three-member committee to investigate the complaint.

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Rajasthan police arrest paraplegic woman they allegedly tortured earlier

Jaipur:  In a case that has sent shockwaves through Rajasthan and made national headlines, police in Jaipur have arrested a paraplegic woman. The 22-year-old girl is charged with abetting the abduction and sexual abuse of another woman.

But the arrested woman was herself allegedly a victim of sexual abuse by policemen in January last year. She was allegedly thrashed and molested by three police men in Jaipur. She then tried to commit suicide; an attempt that left her without the use of both her legs and 80 per cent paralysed.

Women's group say yesterday's arrest is an attempt to save those policemen, who are now in jail. "She has been arrested only to weaken the case against the policemen, demoralize her and break the witnesses in her case. This arrest is really shameful," said Kavita Srivastav, General Secretary of People's Union of Civil Liberties, Rajasthan.

Her mother says she is completely bed ridden and needs constant care. She says the police forced the other victim to name her daughter in the case in an attempt to save their colleagues. "The police has been pressurising us to compromise in this case. They have also been threatening us. In the exploitation of the other girl, my daughter had no role at all.  

But the police refute the charges and say the arrest was made on the basis of a complaint. The complainant had alleged that the 22-year-old paraplegic had conspired in her abduction and repeated sexual exploitation by six men last year. "The Court had constituted a Medical Board to examine her condition. The Medical Board found that she is mentally fit though physically disabled. On that basis we questioned her and after that as she is an accused in that case we had to arrest her," said Deputy Commissioner of Jaipur Police, Mahendra Singh.

A lower court has rejected her bail plea. She is being kept in the Sawai Man Singh hospital in Jaipur.

The Rajasthan High court will now decide whether to give her bail. If she's sent to jail, this victim of sexual abuse will face the trauma of staying on the same premises where the policemen who tormented her are already lodged.

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