At least 44 people have been killed and over 300 injured in flash floods triggered by a massive cloudburst in Leh town of Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh region, police said Friday.

A massive cloudburst struck the town around midnight Thursday, triggering flash floods and mud slides, Inspector General of Police (Kashmir zone) Farooq Ahmed told IANS.

A polytechnic college, headquarters of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) camp, many government offices and houses have been damaged. The Leh airport has been inundated.

As many as 4,000 army men, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and police personnel have launched a massive relief and rescue operation.

Over 160 injured people have been admitted to the army hospital.

All communication in the town has been disrupted and authorities are finding it very difficult to reach administration officials there
 

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As many as 13 people, including a GRP jawan, were injured when armed robbers opened fire and beat the passengers of an express train with rifle butts near Bhalui halt here early today.

The robbers also looted cash and other valuables, worth Rs 2 lakh, from the passengers travelling on the Sealdah-New Delhi Lal Quila Express, Railway officials said.

The condition of the jawan, who received a bullet injury, is said to be critical. Passengers were hurt when they tried to resist the looters who opened fire and beat them up with rifle butts.

"Around 15 robbers boarded the train at Jhajha and went on a looting spree in one AC and sleeper coaches before they alighted from the train after pulling the chain at Bhalui (Sundernagar) halt in Jhajha-Quel section of the East Central Railway," officials said.

The injured were admitted to a nearby hospitals for treatment, they added. An FIR has been registered with the Government Railway Police.

Most of the injured, included 'Kanwarias' (Shiva devotees), who were returning to their native places after offering prayers at the famous Lord Shiva temple in Deoghar, Jharkhand
 

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The Delhi police's control room receives several crank calls daily, some of them about blasts and terrorist attacks. All these calls, however, have to be taken seriously as the cops cannot leave anything to chance. But July 13 turned out to be a slightly unusual day for the men in khaki.

Delhi police received a PCR call about imminent blasts in the Capital. Immediately security was tightened in the city, barricades were put up in sensitive areas, frisking of people began. After long hours of search and investigations the cops found nothing suspicious.

Then the Indraprastha (IP) estate police station began tracing the mobile number that was used to make the call. The address was found to be that of a bookbinding shop in Mukherjee Nagar area of north Delhi. The cops found the owner of the number Amit Tiwari, an employee of the store. The cops detained Amit and started investigations.

"Amit confessed that the number belonged to him but denied making the call. He said that on the day the call was made he had left his mobile at home. Then we interrogated his father Vijay Tiwari and his mother Chandrasan Devi but they too had no ideas about the incident," said a police officer.

The cops began to suspect that either Amit's mobile had been cloned or the family was lying. Then 7-year-old boy Sonu (name changed), Amit's younger brother, stood up and claimed responsibility for the situation.

"We were shocked when we saw the culprit. Amit had left his cell phone at home and his younger brother took the handset and started playing with it. Unintentionally he pressed '1' on the mobile and an emergency call was connected to the PCR. When the police official on the other side asked him about the problem he made up this story about blasts in Delhi. We can't register a case as the culprit is a child," said a police official.

The whole drama ended with the kid's confession, and the cops went back to work with wry smiles on their faces. 
 

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Kolkata-based filmmaker claims CWG Organising Committee chief wanted money from her for arranging a movie festival during the Games

With barely 60 days to go before the Commonwealth Games, skeletons continue to tumble out of the closet. Kolkata-based filmmaker and academician Shyamali Banerjee has alleged that Organising Committee (OC) chief Suresh Kalmadi asked her for a bribe for holding a film festival with the Games as the theme.  

Banerjee, who is also founder director of the India International Film Festival, told MiD DAY that she had gone to the OC with the proposal last year. "I met Kalmadi's secretary and asked him what about an update on the situation. He told me: 'Our chairperson wanted me to ask you how much money you can spend to get this proposal approved.' I was shocked," she claimed.

Banerjee says she had discussed the idea with Mani Shankar Aiyar when he was the sports minister. Aiyar suggested she meet Rahul Srivastava, Joint Director, Ministry of Sports. "From there, the proposal was submitted to Shovana Narayan, ADG, CWG organising committee and then it was forwarded to Uday Sahai, Joint Director, CWG," she added.

All of them were impressed with the idea, Banerjee says. But they said that the ultimate go-ahead ahead has to come from Suresh Kalmadi.

The film director said that her team did not ask for any funding to hold this festival as they wanted to be a part the event. "The film selection process and coordination with film producing countries of the Commonwealth Nations was to be carried out by us," Banerjee added. The filmmaker had selected 20 countries for the festival. And the short films event was to be organised during the Games.

She said that she came up with the idea in June 2009. She also approached the CWG headquarters at UK but they asked her to go to the OC.
"One day in July 2009 I spoke to Kalmadi; he was in Pune and told me that the moment he comes back to Delhi he would look into the proposal," she said.

But in the meantime she started work on the project as all others in the OC were very positive about the idea. They had also received a few entries from certain nations. "Later, in the month of September, we spoke to Kalmadi's secretary to get an update on the status; he then conveyed to us Kalmadi's conditions for approval, which was a hefty bribe" she added.

"The project which was my brainchild was given to a lady very close to Kalmadi - Pratibha Prahlad. She was given the charge of hosting the same film festival," Banerjee alleged.

She also claims she had written to the ministries of home affairs and external affairs and also to the Commonwealth Games Federation. But she allegedly did not get a reply from any of the bodies except the CGF who just felt sorry her but did not do anything.
 

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35-year-old woman says her husband is missing; his father wants to have sex with her

Jyoti Jaiswal wants to pursue LLB to teach her father-in-law a lesson. Jyoti, who says her husband is missing since February this year, claims his father has been trying to force into an illicit relationship with him, threatening her of dire consequences.

"I have complained to Palam Colony police station and to National Commission for Women (NCW) but nothing has been done so far. He (her father-in-law) is still forcing me to develop a relationship with him. He has threatened me that if I don't spend a night with him he will kill my two daughters and me.

As police and NCW have not responded to my pleas I want to teach him a lesson on my own. I am pursuing an LLB course from a Noida-based institute. Unfortunately I don't have money to deposit the fees for my final year," said Jyoti.

Jyoti lives in Palam Colony along with her two daughters.

"My father-in-law has tried several times to force me into having sex with him. I objected and told my husband about his behavior but he did not listen. After that I approached the police and the NCW without any success," she said.

Jyoti married Aseem Kumar Badal in 2003. She claims that since the very beginning her husband and his father had been harassing her over dowry issues. The situation took a turn for the worse after she gave birth to her two daughters. Jyoti claims that after this her father-in-law began badgering her to sleep with him, threatening her of severe repercussions if she refused.

"Once he (her father-in-law) dragged me inside his bedroom saying that he would have sex with me, with or without my consent. I managed to flee from his clutches and locked myself into another room and called the police," said Jyoti.

Now she intends to fight her own battle by studying the law. It's money that's the problem.

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After MiD DAY report on a lady cop's allegations of sexual exploitation against a Delhi Metro employee, the ex-boyfriend wants to make peace with the victim
 
The tables have turned. After MiD DAY reported the allegations of sexual harassment levelled by a lady cop against her ex-boyfriend, a Delhi Metro train operator, the accused is begging the victim to take her complaint back. Not only that, the 'repentant' man is pleading with the woman constable to marry him.

"After the news was published, Lalit started calling me again and again. He even threatened me that he would commit suicide if I do not withdraw my complaint. I told him to stay away from me and disconnected the call.

But after an hour I saw him outside the compound where I am posted. He called me on my mobile and when I didn't pick up he parked his car their and kept waiting for me. He was there for about an hour or two, and when my duty was over and I was on my way back home he started chasing me and kept requesting me to take my complaint back. Even after my warnings he didn't go back.

Then I told him that I am going to call the PCR and pulled out my mobile phone. After that he just ran away from there. Later, he called me in the night and said that he will marry me one way or the other," said Preeti
Singh (name changed), the constable.

Meanwhile Delhi Metro officials say they are waiting for the law to take its own course before they initiate action against the accused.

"It is a personal matter. If he is convicted in a court, we will take action against him as per our rules. As of now, we have neither received a complaint nor do we any information about this," said a top operations department official of Delhi Metro.

The lady cop filed a complaint on Saturday against Metro operator Lalit Kumar about sexual harassment for two years with the promise of marriage, which he later turned his back on.
 

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26-yr-old allegedly used nude pics to blackmail girl into having sex with him for two years; when parents fixed their marriage, he fled

He allegedly raped her over two years. Finally, when the 20-year-old victim, a Borivli resident, who worked for a call centre, informed her parents, their families decided to get them married.
 
Now, to avoid tying the knot, the accused Pradip Chandani (26), also a Borivli resident who works for a bank in Chembur, has fled home.

"He had shot nude pictures of me, and so I had to give in to his wrongdoing," the victim told MiD DAY.

Spiked soft drink
According to the victim's statement to the police, she met Chandani and made friends with him in 2008 at his father's saree shop in Charkop in Kandivli (west).

"One day on the pretext of showing her some sarees, Chandani took the girl to his aunt's flat in Borivli," said a police officer. "There, he offered her a spiked soft drink. After she passed out, Chandani clicked her pictures in the nude, and used the photos to blackmail her into having sex with him."

The police also said that the girl was in love with the boy. "The two had exchanged letters and greeting cards," said a police officer.

"On August 2, Chandani forcibly took the girl to a lodge in Santacruz and raped her," the police said. "This time, she informed her parents."

"We spoke to the Chandani family who agreed to the marriage," said the girl's father. "But now, he has refused to marry her."

By the time the girl's parents lodged a police complaint, Chandani had gone missing from home.

The police are on the lookout for Chandani.  "We have alerted all police stations and enquired at his workplace," said Police Inspector Annasaheb Rajmane. "His family is not around and we are waiting to interrogate them."

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Sankaranarayanan features on website of Kerala firm that has aphrodisiac-like herbal product

Has Governor K Sankaranarayanan become brand ambassador for an aphrodisiac-like product called Musli Power Xtra?

HE'S THE MAN: State Governor K Sankaranarayanan at the inaugural function of Kunnath Pharmaceuticals at Muvattupuzha in Kerala, when he was the governor of Nagaland, on September 8, 2008
 
Sankaranarayanan features on the website of the Kochi-based Ayurvedic company, Kunnath Pharmaceuticals, as the person who inaugurated its factory complex in 2008 when he was posted as the governor of Nagaland.
Although the company claimed to have other ayurvedic formulations, its main product seems to be Musli Power Xtra, a herbal formulation for impotence and infertility.

The company was recently in the news when the Drug Department of Kerala raided its plant and confiscated samples of Musli Power Xtra for testing. The seized drugs were tested for presence of synthetic chemicals -- like sidenafil nitrate, an active ingredient of Viagra. However, after the Drug Department tested it, it was revealed that the ayurvedic drugs were found to be devoid of any synthetic chemical.

Although the company's plant was inaugurated in 2008, Sankaranarayanan continues to be featured in the photo album of the company's website. However, it is still to be known how Sankaranarayanan came to be associated with the aphrodisiac company.

When MiD DAY tried to contact the Governor's office, his spokesperson could not be reached. When MiD DAY called up the helpline number mentioned on the website, the person who answered the call said, "Please call up our company's managing director."

However, the number given by the person was incorrect. There was no response from the company's helpline, when MiD DAY tried to contact the helpline number again.
 

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As monsoon ailments take a toll on the city, hotels scan guests for fever, check air quality to ensure that their lobbies remain free from infection 

The past month, Mumbai has been under the weather and you can blame it on the monsoon. With even wheezing and sneezes triggering panic, five-star hotels have jumped into the safety mode. They are doing all they can to keep their swanky lobbies and rooms germ-free.

Hotel lobbies have doubled as screening zones where guests line up before checking in, to get their body temperatures tested. At some five-stars, even the air quality is monitored, and all this just to ensure that monsoon maladies are kept at bay.  

Three such luxury hotels in the city -- the J W Marriott in Juhu, Renaissance Hotel in Powai and Courtyard Hotel in Andheri -- have made it mandatory to check all guests who walk in, for fever.

"Having a fever is a problem only if a guest checks in for a stay, not if he is visiting our restaurant," said a staffer from Renaissance Hotel. However, their counterparts at  J W Marriott said that the checking was routine and guests running a temperature need not stay away.

While officials from these hotels did confirm that guests were being scanned for monsoon ailments, they did not divulge details on how they dealt with guests with high temperatures.

Clearing the air    
Meanwhile, the ITC group of hotels has roped in a microbiologist to test the air quality and ensure it is not infected.

"We have a microbiologist checking the quality of air for germs and pollution even in the lobby. There's a daily report submitted now and we take very serious care to maintain hygiene; all this only so that our guests do not face any discomfort," said an ITC spokesperson.

"The quality of the food and water supplied to the rooms is also checked by members of our labs to ensure that guests do not fall ill," he added.

But not all hotels are being overcautious. At the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, no scans are taking place just yet. "Our security is following state health directives and until they receive instructions, we are not screening guests. Foreign guests, however, already go through a screening at the airport," said a hotel spokesperson.
 

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Having pioneered the art of acquiring illegal FSI, Yusuf Patel catapulted to success in the Mumbai underworld

One of the shrewdest real estate dons in the Mumbai underworld, Yusuf Patel had mastered the art of creating construction space out of thin air. While slumlords extended their empire horizontally, Patel has the dubious distinction of pioneering the acquisition of illegal Floor Space Index (FSI), to send his buildings skyrocketing into space.

By the 1980s, the underworld was settling into the city's landscape, modifying it in subtle ways.

Gangs began to feed on the growth of slums, using them to find new recruits, new proving grounds and to wriggle their way into politics. The explosive growth of slums coincided with the alarming rise of organised syndicates. Gangs were offered Rs 3,000 per hut -- money which was shared by the underworld, police and civic authorities.

Shrewd operator
Patel's contemporary Vardharajan Mudaliar alias Vardhabhai collected around Rs 2 crore from the slumlords in and around Dharavi and Sion-Koliwada. Most of the collector's land along the creek was encroached upon by the don's henchmen.

 While most of the gangs were providing protection to the slumlords, Patel went one step ahead and performed the feat of grabbing additional FSI illegally. The art has, since, been perfected by other dons and even builders.

Patel's FSI scam was perpetrated so subtly that it took the civic authorities 16 long years to find out that the don had tampered with land records.

Amnesty
Born Abdul Majid Abdul Patel, a Memon Muslim, he got involved in smuggling textiles and silver with Haji Mastan around 1963. However, the alliance did not last long because of financial disputes with the syndicate.

In 1977, Janta Dal leader Jai Prakash Narayan offered amnesty to all smugglers. Patel jumped on to the bandwagon and everybody in the underworld thought he had shunned the life of a criminal, that the docks and the goons were things of the past for him.

While others forgot his dubious past, Patel launched his own construction company and began operating from Pydhonie.

And, while the other dons were still dealing with the police, Patel began grabbing additional FSI, fetching himself multi-crore deals. A few buildings, including a hotel near Nagpada junction, were part of his deals in South Mumbai.

Tampering
Everything seemed normal on the surface until an upright BMC official discovered that a large number of land records from several ward offices had been tampered with Prima facie, investigating officials discovered that Patel had manipulated the deals of two buildings in Tardeo and three in Byculla.

They would soon discover that there were 50 other cases of gross manipulation of land records, which were carried out in connivance with civic officials.

Blessing in disguise
By the mid-80s, Dawood Ibrahim had also learnt the art of FSI grabbing. He brought in a team of 'white collar' associates to specialise in tampering with land records and corner the lion's share of income from real estate in South Mumbai.

Patel's keeping away from the docks and goons proved to be a blessing in disguise because when things started to get ugly in the Mumbai underworld, he managed to avoid direct confrontation with Karim Lala's nephew Samad and gangsters owing allegiance to Dawood.
 

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