Bangalore, July 3, DHNS:

In an unexpected turn of events, Lokayukta Justice Santosh Haegde on Saturday chose to withdraw his resignation which he submitted exactly ten days ago citing inability to stem bureaucratic and political corruption. 

“If Governor H R Bhardwaj gives me time, I will meet him tomorrow to withdraw my resignation,” Hegde told reporters minutes after Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, BJP national president Nitin Gadkari and State Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar emerged from his residence after nearly an hour-long closed-door meeting with him.

Coinciding with Justice Hegde’s decision to withdraw his quit letter, Yeddyurappa requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to impose curbs on iron ore export, failing which undue exploitation and illegal mining were likely to continue.

In a letter to Singh, Yeddyurappa said over-exploitation of mines and illegal mining was a major concern for all mineral-rich states.  He admitted that despite all efforts by his government, the problem continued to persist.

Despite his willingness to take back his resignation letter, Justice Hegde held out a warning that he would be prepared to put in his papers if the state government failed to fulfil his demand of empowering the office of the ombudsman.

“My option to walk out is always open. The moment I come to know the government is not  doing anything, I will resign,” he said. Justice Hegde might have to wait till Tuesday when the Governor returns to Raj Bhavan following a tour.

Immediately after submitting his resignation to Bhardwaj on June 23, Justice Hedge had repeatedly said that the decision to put in his papers was “irrevocable”. But justifying his stand to go back on his words, Justice Hegde said: You may ask why I decided to withdraw the resignation though I had repeatedly stressed my decision was irrevocable.

The reason is BJP leader Advani’s request and advice. ”The Lokayukta, who stirred a hornet’s nest by making public instances of corruption which he sought to link with the illegal transportation of iron ore and the sudden disappearance of over 5 lakh metric tonnes of the mineral from Belekeri port earlier last month, said he has “great love and respect” for Advani since his father was a close friend of the BJP leader. “Besides, he is like my father. I cannot ignore his words of advice,” he said.

Justice Hegde also appreciated the chief minister’s stand on stopping illegal transportation of iron ore and hoped Yeddyurappa would act swiftly on that front.

On his part, Yeddyurappa  assured he would take immediate steps to fulfil Justice Hegde’s demands. In this context, Justice Hegde said his demands were “minor” in nature. “Mainly, I wanted the government to empower the institution of the Lokayukta. I am now convinced the government will take positive steps,” he said.

While admitting that his government would extend full cooperation to Hegde, Yeddyurappa said: “I cannot make certain statements as the Assembly is in session. I am expected to reply in the Assembly on Monday. I will announce the government’s steps regarding strengthening of the Lokayukta institution on the floor of the house,” the CM declared.

Earlier in the day, BJP national president Nitin Gadkari met Hegde along with Law Minister Suresh Kumar and handed over a letter Advani had written to the Lokayukta. “Advani has advised the state government to fulfill all of Justice Hegde’s demands,” Gadkari said. 

It could be trouble time for suspended IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi as all charges against him have been ratified, and he may have to face both civil and criminal action.

In the Special General Meeting on Saturday, all charges against Modi, who has been accused of several financial irregularities in the IPL, were unanimously ratified by all 30 members including 29 state associations.

"The house, after deliberation and debate on the matter, resolved that the Board President has the right to start any legal proceedings, including civil and criminal proceedings, against Mr Modi," BCCI President Shashank Manohar told a press conference.

This could also be the first step towards a possible life ban. At least 3/4th vote is required to expel him from the Board.

"The civil and criminal matters would be decided after inquiry and that is for the Disciplinary Committee to decide. I can tell you that there were certain rights given to parties without there being contracts like the ticketing rights of the finals and the third-place match given to a company called 'Ticket Genie'. There was no contract to show how many tickets were printed and how many were sold," he said.

Timeline: Lalit Modi vs BCCI

In the meet that was attended by all board members, the BCCI reconstituted the Disciplinary Committee for probe against Modi.

Chirayu Amin, Arun Jaitley, Jyotiraditya Scindia form the new committee that will hear the case against Modi.

Jyotiraditya, who is also the President of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, was named the third member of the committee after BCCI President Shashank Manohar recused himself from all the proceedings against Modi.

"Jyotiraditya's inclusion in Disciplinary Committee was unanimous," Manohar said.

"Jyotiraditya is not associated with day-to-day function of the Board and that's why we chose him. Modi had accused me and Srinivasan of being biased. So we wanted someone who's not involved with everyday functioning," he added.

The Board President also said that the Disciplinary Committee will decide further action against Modi and it has six months from the date of suspension (April 26th) to complete the enquiry.

Disciplinary Committee will issue notices to Mr Modi. Now it's in the Committee's hands, Not the BCCI's. General body will take all decisions with regard to the IPL.

Asked about an estimate of the financial irregularities, Manohar said, "I can't say on that but I can say there were number of contracts of which we had no knowledge."

Manohar said Modi will have to appear before the disciplinary committee where he would get a chance to put forth his reply on accusations that include taking kickbacks from TV and internet rights.

"Modi says he was not aware about the facilitation fee of USD 80 million. Modi who has signed the contract has given us the reply that he was not aware of the fee. He will be asked to appear before the inquiry committee where he can give his additional reply," he said.

On the World Sports Group's threat to initiate legal action against the BCCI for scrapping its telecast deals, Manohar said, "If they want to go to court, it's fine."

Manohar also said that Kings XI team couldn't be sold till all enquiries were over.
 

A year after Section 377 was decriminalised, Mumbai is emerging as India's gay capital.

A comparison across four cities -- Pune, Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai -- has revealed this. By far, life's far better for gays and lesbians across India after the reading-down of section 377, and going by figures and what gay activists have to say, Mumbai is the country's gay capital. PIC FOR REPRESENTATION
 
For instance, in the last two months, there were more than 20 parties organised only in Mumbai. While Delhi hosted 15, 10 were held in Bangalore and there weren't any in Pune.

While Mumbai has nearly half a dozen active gay support groups, it's not so in Delhi, Bangalore and Pune.

While the city has a magazine for gays -- Bombay Dost, Pune has two -- PUCK and The Queer Chronicle.

By far, India's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) world is buzzing. However, going by figures and what gay activists say, Mumbai is India's gay capital.

Here are a few counts on which Mumbai overshadows Bangalore, Delhi and Pune.

Voodoos, a gay club in the city, has already made its mark. On Saturday nights, gays in Mumbai have a number of parties to choose from.

"Being a cosmopolitan city, we are more accepting than any other city," says Nitin Karani of Bombay Dost Trust. "The number of parties, conferences, film festivals are more than in other cities."

To add on to Mumbai's pride is the country's first and only LGBT shop -- Azad Bazaar.

Party-pooper Bangalore
"The number of parties in Bangalore has risen from one a month to 10," says Abhishek Aggarwal, event manager of Pink Nation, a Bangalore-based gay group. "In recent times though, we have had difficulty finding a venue."

He said hotels are not open to letting out their space to hold gay parties.  "Until recently, I was convinced Bangalore was gay-friendly," said Aggarwal. "But now, I feel otherwise."

Pune's warming up
In Pune, it's not conducive for gays to come out of the closet.

"Last year, 55 of us started off as a group. Today, we have 200 members," said Apphia K of a Pune-based LGBT group, Birds of a Feather. "We have straight friends in favour of equal human rights."

Delhi party hots up
Though there are no confirmed statistics on the rise of queer-related events in the capital, Mohnish Malhotra, an active member of queer activities, says, "Earlier, we had one party a week, but now at least four are held. Participation has also increased."

Looking down south
Girish Kumar of Humsafar Trust stresses on why Mumbai, not Delhi, is the gay capital. "Mumbai's outlook is more open than Delhi's. Bangalore is progressive, but has not yet reached the mark. So Mumbai is the the undisputed champion," says Kumar.

However, Vikram Doctor, founder of Gay Bombay, a support group for LGBT persons, feels Mumbai ranks next to Chennai in terms of facilities towards the community. "Tamil Nadu has policies for the LGBT community and has even offered houses and free medical supervision," he said.
 

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NRI, who accuses Art of Living of grabbing land owned by him, said the guru went back on promise made two years ago to settle the issue. Imran Gowhar reports

A day after the Art of Living Foundation (AOL) led by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar complained to the police about receiving extortion threats, Paul P, an NRI accused the spiritual guru of grabbing 15 acres of land owned by him on Kanakapura Road.

 
Do beegha zameen: The Art of Living ashram in the city. File pic
 
Paul, who spoke after AOl management filed a complaint alleging extortion threats, pointed out that he had approached former don-turned journalist Agni Shridhar, who runs a tabloid, to mediate with the guru after his requests to the spiritual leader went unheeded. Shridhar allegedly issued threats to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar over the phone. Interestingly, Shridhar has not been named in AOL's complaint.

"Twelve years ago, I purchased 15 acres land on the periphery of the AOL ashram from a farmer named Mohan for Rs 1.2 crore. He handed over the general power of attorney for the land to me but passed away before signing the absolute sale deed."

"Mohan's son Vijay refused to execute the sale deed. I took the matter to court but before the court could give its verdict, Mohan handed over the property over to AOL. Ravi Shankar had promised me two years ago that he would settle the case but they are now asking me to forget the land, which I purchased with my hard-earned money," said Paul P.

Agni Shridhar said he is merely trying to mediate in the case. "All I asked of AOL is to return the land to Paul.

Instead of putting an end to the issue, they are cooking up stories. They say I made extortion calls to them.

Now that they have decided to come out in the open, let them face the consequences," he said.

Inspector Babu Norohna of the Kumara Swamy Layout police confirmed that Shridhar had filed a complaint last night. "He has alleged that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and his staff cheated him by lodging a false complaint against him. We are looking into this," Norohna said.
 

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Panel boss made crores while 45 new colleges waited for permission to start admission. Registration of 42 existing institutions yet to be renewed
 
In a complaint to the Prime Minister and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, several MPs as well as many dental colleges have alleged that more than Rs five crore had been deposited in the account of DCI president Dr Anil Kohli in the last five years.

The accusation is that in the name of verification of the achievement of annual targets for renewal of Health Ministry permission of admission in BDS course, DCI demands Rs 25 lakh from each institute.

"Those colleges who agree with their demand get favourable recommendation from president of DCI, Dr Anil Kohli; otherwise an adverse report is submitted to the ministry. I have ample case studies and evidences against him," president of Bihar Minority Dental Colleges Association, SMZ Imam told MiD DAY.

"Dr Anil Kohli has amassed huge amount of unaccounted money as a senior functionary of DCI of which he held the post of Executive committee member from 2001 to 2004, and later as its president since October 2004," alleged an MP.

Sanjay Prasad, director, ministry of health and family welfare has constituted a two-member committee to inquire into various complaints against the DCI president.

"Investigation is going on. It is a fact-finding committee and we will submit the report to the health ministry. It is a generic problem and we are working on leads coming from various sources," he told MiD DAY.
MiD DAY has a copy of the account details of Dr Kohli and his family members.

"About Rs 5.68 crore had been deposited in the bank account of Dr Kohli between 2004 and 2009. In the same period his wife Sushma Kohli received about Rs 3.40 crore in her bank account. Even his elder daughter Mallika Kohli received more than Rs 1 crore and his younger daughter Sonali Kohli received Rs 60 lakh in the same tenure," said a source at DCI.

The Other Side
Dr Kohli was not available for comments despite repeated attempts.
 
"He can't be member of DCI from Delhi as Delhi is a union territory and not a state. This case is already in the Chennai High Court. The petitioner is Dr George Paul," said a DCI member on condition of anonymity.
"At the time of elections for DCI president he was a member from Delhi state, central government and Baba Farid University, which is illegal," he added.

Rs 5 crore Money deposited in Dr Anil Kohli's account in the last five years
290 Number of dental colleges in India

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A 48-hour operation by the Uttar Pradesh police ended successfully last night with the arrest of a key sharpshooter of the Chhota Rajan gang Saqib Shehnawaz Khan (25). Khan along with three other Rajan aides -- two men and a woman -- were nabbed from the Azamgarg district, where Khan hails from, according to the UP police. However, insiders claim that they were arrested from the Okhla area in Delhi, where Khan and was taking refuge.

"Khan is a key Rajan shooter, who mostly operated in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, and was involved in shootouts of builders in the satellite city. He is expected to be handed over to the Mumbai police, who were part of the operation to arrest him," said a police source.  Of the two men arrested one of them is Khan's boss, while the woman also works for the gangs.

While police claim that Khan was arrested from Beenapara village, which falls in jurisdiction of Saraimeer police station of Azamgarg district, villagers deny that any such arrests were made. "Khan has been living in Delhi, while his father is based in Saudi Arabia. Nobody from the family resides here any longer," said a villager.

Meanwhile, Additional Commissioner of Police (crime) Deven Bharti denied that the Crime Branch was involved in any such operation to arrest Khan and other Rajan aides.
 

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Police suspect tutor, who allegedly raped 13-yr-old student, also sexually abused his other pupils, including children of an actor and director 

 The arrest of Ramchandra Nadar (50), a private tutor, accused of raping his 13-year-old Khar student with learning disabilities, has opened a can of worms. Hours after Nadar's arrest last night, investigators have learnt that he also tutored children of some Bollywood biggies, including the daughter of a action hero and the son of a filmmaker, charging a whopping fee of Rs 12,000 per hour, inform police sources.

"Some of B-town's well-known actors and directors hired Nadar's services after reading his ads on the Internet. We suspect more victims could approach us after learning about his ill doings," said an official from the Khar police station, who arrested the tutor yesterday, after he was absconding for a month.     

Career in films
Nadar also tried to dabble in Bollywood and proposed scripts to some of his high-profile clients in the film industry, according to sources.

He told the police during interrogation last night that he had degrees in BSc, MA and Masters in Teaching. His son and daughters are studying overseas and one of them is currently pursuing her masters in management at Russia.

Nadar came under the scanner of the police on May 30 after the parents of the Khar student registered a complaint of rape against him at the Khar police station.

The matter came to light after the victim's relative spotted the teacher in an objectionable position with her at their residence and informed her parents about it.
 

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Shri Justice S.H.Kapadia, Chief Justice of India released the Shree Ramayana Mahanveshanam, the great quest of Ramayana authored by Dr. M.Veerappa Moily, Minister of Law and Justice here today. The stories from the Ramayana have been passed on across generations; the values attached to it are very intricately connected to our culture. Dr.M.Veerappa Moily’s shree Ramayana Mahaveshanam is a highly laudable work which, though rooted in the contemporary Indian context, addresses universal concerns and presents a unique vision of the past, present and future, Shri Kapadia said.

In his address Dr. Veerappa Moily said that the book rightly explores the Ramatattva or the true principles of the Rama-story, from a secular and modern perspective. He said that despite being the ruler of a huge kingdom, Ravana couldn’t rule over his inner world. As opposed to him, in the beginning, Rama couldn’t become the king of even a small province like Ayodhya; but he was able to rule over his inner self. He informed the gathering that the quest for the principles governing a Ramarajya that he has undertaken in this work may be a mere dream of him. But, what was only a spark in the beginning grew to the stature of the glory of the sun’s radiance, and his work was a witness to the way a dream could grow to envelop both the sky above and the earth below. He said that he has placed his dream before the gathering and requested them to look at it through the eyes of his heart; and may their response to it be an honest one. If, one day, his dream becomes the dream of our country and the goal of our national consciousness, he will feel truly blessed, Shri Moily said.

Dr. Moily stressed what is direly needed today is for all the world leaders to come together and discuss various means of getting rid of wars and conflicts, for the sake of establishing peace in the whole world. The only alternative for wars is the quest for that kind of freedom which liberates one’s mind from fear. He remembered the great persons like Buddha, Mahavira,Gandhi and Martin Luther King who achieved victory through the path of non-violence. Shri Rama, Buddha, Gandhi and such others do not belong to any one race, religion or region; they are eternal symbols of those principles that guide us in the evolutionary path, he said.

Dr.Moily thanked many scholars and friends who helped him in many different ways during the course of research and composition of this work especially his wife Malati and Guru Dr.K.Anatharamu. 

A maulana and some employees of a madarassa were allegedly thrashed by a group of women for endorsing a 'one-sided' talaq, police said here on Wednesday.

Enraged by the 'one-sided' talaq given by Ali Imran to his wife Mumtaz Fatima alias Heena, the group of women, including Heena, Nishat Fatima and Arshi thrashed maulana Asgar Ali and two others of Sulatannual Madaris here on Tuesday. The

Maulana later lodged a complaint in this regard at Wazirganj police station against the women, police said. Both Heena and Arshi alleged that the Maulana was sanctioning divorces without verifying the facts and consent of both the parties.

While, the authorities of Sulatannual Madaris claimed that the act of women was an attempt to tarnish image of the institution.
 

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Amidst tense situation due to the curfew imposed in the Valley, the annual Amarnath Yatra on Wednesday began under tight security cover with the first batch of 1,272 pilgrims leaving Jammu base camp for the cave shrine, located at 3,338 metre altitude, in south Kashmir Himalayas.

A cavalcade of 53 vehicles carrying the devotees under tight security was flagged off by Tourism and Culture Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora from Amarnath base camp at Bagwatinagar Yatri Niwas around 0500 hours. Security is being provided by CRPF, ITBT and Jammu and Kashmir police.

Despite the tense situation and curfew in the Kashmir valley, authorities allowed the convoy to leave for the cave shrine in Anantnag district of south Kashmir. The batch, comprising of 566 male, 230 females, 32 children and 444 sadhus, left for Pahalgam and Baltal base camps in Kashmir valley.

"Adequate security arrangements have been made all along from Jammu to the cave shrine of Amarnath in Kashmir for safety and security of the pilgrims. Yatra has begun today and all is going on well," Jora told reporters here.

The yatra has crossed Udhampur as the Highway has been sanitised, and army and paramilitary forces were deployed along the highway for smooth passage. "There is no threat to yatra as we have not received any specific input with regard to targeting Amarnath yatra," DIG (Jammu-Kathua range) Farooq Khan said.

All security agencies were well coordinated and a four-tier security set up has been established along the Indo-Pak border to prevent any terrorist strike on the yatra during its passage on the highway close to the border, he said.

Road Opening Parties, Quick Reaction Teams and Mobile Rescue Teams have been positioned at several places to deal with exigency situation, he said. The yatra, which will leave for the cave shrine of Lord Shiva from its base camps - Baltal and Pahalgam tomorrow, will conclude on August 25.

Over 2.50 lakh pilgrims have been registered for the pilgrimage at 121 designated branches of Jammu and Kashmir Bank across the country. Registration of pilgrims for annual Amarnath yatra which commenced from June 5 will continue till August 20.
 

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