IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – April 5th, 2010

by iamcadmin on April 4, 2010

In this issue

News Headlines

Opinions & Editorials

News Headlines

Gujarat Riots: Shoot – Inside The Nine-Hour Q&A
Session (Apr 12, 2010, Outlook)

What questions did the SIT have specific to Gujarat chief minister
Narendra Modi? The agency, which functions as an investigative arm of
the Supreme Court, reportedly grilled the CM on the conspiracy, criminal
negligence and state complicity angles, the main issues raised by the
widow Zakia Jafri in her petition. There were suggestions about a fixed
questionnaire but sources say this is inaccurate. A.K. Malhotra, the SIT
investigator who questioned Modi, is an experienced CBI hand. Modi’s
interrogation was also the second longest in connection with the Zakia
petition. The CM was grilled for over nine hours. Before this, the SIT
had questioned over 60 people, including officers, politicians and
witnesses to the Gulbarg Society attacks where former Congress MP Ehsan
Jafri and 69 others were brutally murdered by a mob.

Sources say
"Malhotra and Modi definitely did not exchange pleasantries". Besides
the two men, only the typist recording the statements was present. It
was a no-nonsense, tough interrogation. Modi responded to most of the
questions but SIT sources would not say whether they were satisfied with
the answers. Modi had earlier suggested that the SIT come to his office
or residence to question him. But the agency felt it would be more
appropriate for the CM to be questioned like any other witness. Once he
reached the SIT office, Modi informed the investigators that he wanted
it all done in one day. Which is why the questioning extended to nine
hours and went on way beyond midnight. It was reportedly gruelling and
exhausting for both the questioner and Modi.

Yet, it may not all
be over. The SIT investigators are now tallying Modi’s responses to the
various charges and claims and do not rule out the possibility of
calling him again before the report is finalised and submitted to the
Supreme Court. The deadline for that is April 30 and at the time of
writing the SIT seemed determined to stick to the schedule. Witnesses
are likely to be recalled after April 10. So if Modi is to be grilled
further, it would be around mid-April and would happen at short notice
and may even be an informal interaction.

There’s another little
but significant detail. The only person who has spent more time in an
interview session with the SIT (in the Zakia petition) is former DGP
R.B. Sreekumar. Sources say the cross-examination with him went on and
on because he actually subjected the SIT to a grilling on why certain
lines of inquiry were taken up or not. Sreekumar, incidentally, is the
officer who claimed that Modi had asked the police to "allow Hindus" to
vent their anger after the Godhra train incident. Sreekumar has also
submitted a CD to the SIT containing a recording in which an IAS officer
warns him that deposing against Modi would put him at risk
promotion-wise. Sreekumar was later superceded and three juniors
elevated to the DGP rank. Only after he filed a petition before the
services tribunal was he promoted to DGP with retrospective effect –
after his retirement.

At this point, there is no clarity on
whether the SIT will recommend the filing of criminal charges against
Modi. There is circumstantial and hearsay evidence against Modi. When
there’s a smoking gun, it’s up to the investigators to decide whether or
not to build a case. The SIT will detail all the evidence and
recommend a course of action to the SC. The apex court has already made
uncharitable remarks about Modi "fiddling like Nero" while Gujarat
burnt. So it’s currently touch and go for him.

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?264923

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Nanavati Commission may summon Modi (Apr 1, 2010,
Deccan Herald)

The Nanavati Commission probing the 2002 riot cases on Thursday kept
the option of questioning Chief Minister Narendra Modi open when it told
the Gujarat High Court that its decision not to summon him was ”not
final”. The Commission was clarifying its position while responding to a
poser by the High Court on March 22 that it communicate by today
whether its decision not to summon the 59-year-old BJP leader for
questioning was tentative or final. State Advocate General Kamal Trivedi
produced a letter written by secretary of Nanavati Commission in this
regard in the court which was taken on record.

Chief Justice S J
Mukhopadhaya and Justice Akil Kureshi in its order said, "The Nanavati
Commission’s letter says that its order of September 18, 2009 is not
final." "In view of the letter submitted by the Nanavati Commission the
matter has been adjourned till June 17", the court said. Modi has
already subjected himself to a 9-hour questioning by the Supreme
Court-appointed Special Investigation Team(SIT) on March 27 on a
complaint in connection with the Gulburg society riot case. The High
Court on March 22 had asked the government pleader to seek the
clarification while hearing an appeal by Jan Sangarsh Manch (JSM), an
NGO representing some of the victims of the post-Godhra riots.

JSM
advocate Mukul Sinha said the Commission informed the court that they
have not yet taken a final decision over calling Modi for questioning.
Sinha did not believe that the Commission will submit its final report
before June 17. "But it was observed by the High Court that in such
case(submission of final report) it can always have power to pass an
order," he added. The Commission in September last year had disposed of
JSM’s plea for summoning of Modi and three others saying they did not
find justification in cross-examining them at that point of time for the
purpose stated by the NGO. It had stated in the order that allegations
made in JSM’s application were vague and based upon wrong or unwarranted
assumptions.

JSM had sought quashing of the Commission’s order in
the Gujarat High Court and prayed that Modi and three others – the then
home minister Gordhan Zadafia, health minister Ashok Bhat and DCP(Zone
5) R J Savani, be called for cross-examination in connection with the
riots. A single bench of Justice K S Jhaveri dismissed its petition in
November last year saying that the Commission has not completed its
inquiry and still has power to summon Modi under Section 8(b) of
Commissions of Inquiry Act. JSM then filed an appeal before a division
bench to seek quashing of the Commission’s order and issuance of summons
to Modi and three others for cross-examination with regard to the
riots. The Commission had last month informed the High Court about the
status of its inquiry.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/61512/nanavati-commission-may-summon-modi.html

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Hyderabad cops smell conspiracy behind violence
(Apr 1, 2010, Rediff)

The special investigation team of the Hyderabad police is close to
exposing the conspiracy behind the communal violence in the city last
Saturday. According to reliable sources they have found evidence of
involvement of outsiders, from Karnataka and Maharashtra in the
violence. The police have also launched a manhunt for a Telugu Desam
corporator and a Bharatiya Janata Party corporator, M Vaikuntam, who
have emerged as prime suspects. Another suspect is Raju Singh, who was
an accused in the kidnapping and murder of two Christian pastors in
Tappa Chabutra area of the city in 2003 and is a member of of the Hindu
Vahini. The police suspect that Singh played a major role in triggering
the violence at Musa Bowli temple and helped spread it to the other
areas by sending SMSes. Interestingly while police was looking for him,
Singh appeared on a local television channel where he blamed the police
and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen for the violence.

Vaikuntam,
on the other hand is alleged to have indulged in violence in the Begum
Bazar area during the Bajrang Dal’s procession on Tuesday which led to
imposition of curfew in many areas of the city. The SIT and
intelligence sleuths were going through the phone records of Singh and
some others to establish the link between the rioters in Hyderabad and
some people in other states. "The SMS sent by some people are going to
be of key importance in this whole investigation", a senior police
official said. Reports in a section of media have quoted intelligence
agencies saying that the mining mafia could be behind the riots in a
ploy to destabilise the Rosaiah government which was taking tough
measures against the illegal mining of iron ore. Meanwhile the state BJP
president G Kishan Reddy has strongly denied that he had taken funds
from Karnataka’s minister and mine owner G Janardhan Reddy. "Even if
thousand such Janaradhan Reddys come, they can not dare to do so", he
told the reporters.

Even as peace was slowly returning to
Hyderabad, the mischief mongers seem to be trying to forment trouble in
other parts of the state. In an incident in Nalgonda, a group of
miscreants demolished the wall and gate of a mosque on Wednesday night,
sparking off tension. However the situation remained under control as
the community leaders and the police acted swiftly to get the wall
repaired. Superintendent of police, Rajesh Kumar, told the media that
the police was looking for the miscreants and they will be nabbed soon.

In
Rajindernagar, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, some miscreants armed
with sticks tried to create trouble, shouting slogans during the night.
On being alerted by the locals, police rushed to the scene and arrested
the inebriated trouble makers. In other places with a history of
communal trouble, the police were put on high alert. Adilabad district
Superintendent of police, Pramod Kumar rushed to Bhainsa where nine
people had died in communal violence two years ago. Additional police
pickets were deployed in the town. In Nizamabad, the police frisked the
people on the roads. Additional police pickets were deployed in the city
as well as other towns of the district.

http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/apr/01/hyderabad-cops-smell-conspiracy-behind-violence.htm

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1984 riots victim alleges CBI shielded Tytler (Mar
29, 2010, Hindustan Times)

A 1984 anti-Sikh riots victim today alleged before a Delhi court that
CBI had discredited the witnesses in the case in order to "shield"
former Union Minister Jagdish Tytler. "CBI failed once again. Whatever
they did, it was only to shield the accused. Instead of protecting the
witnesses, they started with the premise that they were not reliable,"
advocate Rebecca M John told Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate
Rakesh Pandit.

She was putting forth the arguments on behalf of
Lakhwinder Kaur who had filed a petition protesting the clean chit given
by CBI to the Congress leader in a case relating to murder of three
persons, including her husband Badal Singh, in the 1984 riots that
followed the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
"Instead of coming to truth, what CBI did was that it examined two sets
of witnesses. Whoever came forward against a high functionary of a
political party, they started with a pre-conceived notion that a set of
people should be in a position to negate them," she contended.

The
counsel submitted the probe agency did not make any determined effort
to examine Tytler nor did it record his statement or put him through
lie-detection test when it was directed to "further investigate" the
matter by the court in December, 2008. CBI took a plea on behalf of the
accused that he was present elsewhere at the time of offence, which is
available to him only at the stage of trial, John said, adding CBI probe
report in the matter should be consigned to its record room. CBI had
termed two witnesses – Surinder Singh (already expired) and Jasbir Singh
- as "unreliable" and their claims with regard to the alleged role of
Tytler in the riots as "false and concocted".

During her lengthy
arguments, the counsel for Kaur referred to the Supreme Court judgement
in Zahira Sheikh case of 2002 Gujarat riots where it was stated that
witnesses needed to be protected and not terrified. She also submitted
that the court had the power to reject CBI’s report and again direct the
probe agency to further investigate the matter. The advocate also
referred to a statement by a TV channnel reporter to buttress her claim
that Surinder, a priest of the Gurudwara Pulbangash, was not unreliable.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/524715.aspx

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Sohrabuddin encounter: Geeta Johri quizzed (Mar
29, 2010, Times of India)

Geeta Johri, additional director general of police and Rajkot city
police commissioner, was questioned recently by the CBI officers who are
investigating the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.

Johri was
the supervising officer of the SC-directed preliminary inquiry into a
habeas corpus petition filed by Sohrabuddin’s brother on his missing
sister-in-law Kauserbi, being conducted by CID (Crime).

Sohrabuddin
was killed in a joint operation of Gujarat and Rajasthan police on Nov
25, 2005. His wife, Kauserbi, too went missing. She too is believed to
have been killed by Gujarat police.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5736849.cms

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Bombs seized from RSS workers tomb (Apr 1, 2010,
New Kerala)

Three steel bombs were seized from a tomb at the Muzhupillangad
Panchayat crematorium, near Muzhupilangad Beach, in this district of
Kerala today. Police said the bombs were recovered from the tomb of M
Sooraj, a RSS worker who was allegedly killed by CPI(M) activists on
August seven, 2005. The explosives were noticed by a group of CPI(M)
workers, who assembled at the crematorium for paying tributes to martyr,
P Chandran, yesterday.

On information, police from Edakkad Police
Station rushed to the spot and seized a steel bomb from the tomb which
was defused by the the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) last
night. Two more bombs were seized by the BDDS, who conducted a thorough
search in the area today.

The tomb, which was demolished twice by
miscreants earlier, was reconstructed by RSS workers after the first
death anniversary of Sooraj. Meanwhile, the Squad conducted a raid at
Thalassey General Hospital today in connection with an anonymous phone
call threatening that bombs had been planted at the hospital premises.
However, no explosive material was found, police added.

http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-81650.html

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Sadhvi black magic prompts her guards to ask for a
transfer (Mar 31, 2010, Indian Express)

At least three guards posted at the Nashik Jail barracks housing
Sadhvi Pragyasingh Thakur, accused of involvement in the 2008 Malegaon
blast, have sought new postings, saying they are scared she will act on
her alleged threat of using "black magic skills" to cast a spell on
them. Fed up of her frequent tantrums, jail authorities said they
planned to move her to Yerawada Jail in Pune. "Several complaints have
been made against Sadhvi. She has been a difficult inmate who refuses to
eat at times or breaks into fights with other inmates," said Nashik
Jail Superintendent Swati Sathe. "We have tried to keep her away from
other inmates as much as possible. It is difficult to micro-manage her
when we have a thousand other inmates."

Thakur allegedly began
intimidating jail guards from the day she was transferred to Nashik Jail
from the Byculla women’s prison in Mumbai last September after a
special court lifted the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised
Crime Act (MCOCA) that had been imposed on all 11 accused in the case.
"She has been threatening the guards that she would use black magic on
them or curse them for their deeds. She has harassed quite a few of them
like this," a jail source told The Indian Express. The source said that
some guards give in to some of her demands for fear of upsetting her
and inviting her wrath.

"She wanted to meet journalists when she
was in hospital last week. When the constables declined, she started
threatening them. One of them finally allowed a reporter to enter the
prison ward and Sadhvi had a long conversation with the reporter," the
sources said. Asked about this, Sathe said she did not know how Thakur
managed to get in touch with the journalist in hospital but but
suspected that she may have once again threatened or taunted the guards
on duty.

Thakur’s lawyer Ganesh Sovani maintained his client was
being ill-treated in Byculla. He said she was forced to complain to the
court as she was not being fed on time and some times egg shells were
allegedly mixed with her food. "The harassment stopped only after she
exposed the authorities in court. She is again being ill-treated. If she
is troubling the officers, why have they not moved any application
before the court as yet for her transfer," Sovani asked.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/597950/

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Nityananda booked in US for fraud, exploitation
(Mar 31, 2010, Central Chronicle)

More trouble is in store for disgraced godman Nityananda as a case
has been filed in the US against him for allegedly sexually exploiting
devotees and duping them. As per a media report Wednesday, a case has
been filed with California State Attorney General against Nityananda by
Douglas McKellor, an American national, who claims to be Nityananda’s
ex-disciple. McKellor has accused Nityananda, who was purportedly caught
in a sleazy video footage, of sexually exploiting the devotees at the
ashram. He has also accused the godman of committing fraud and financial
irregularities.

McKeller, a resident of San Jose in California,
came in contact with Nityananda in 2007, changed his name to Swami
Nityaprabha and later became the head of the California branch of
Dhyanapeetham. McKeller, in his complaint, also accused Nityananda of
drugging him. "It was held at the Los Angeles ashram in June 2007,
where I paid Swami a fee of $400,000 for the workshop. During the
workshop, I felt abnormally lightheaded. It was like as if some strange
drug was causing me lose all my senses. Nityananda performed some fire
rituals and asked us to cut a strand of our hair. Then, he put the hair
in fire along with something that looked like marijuana seeds," he was
quoted as saying in the report. "Nityananda was fond of pretty girls,"
he added. He even went on to say that Nityananda was fond of striptease
parties with pretty girls.

Yesterday, Nityananda announced his
decision to resign as head of his Dhyanapeetam ashram – even as he
‘officially’ remains untraceable. "I have decided to live a life of
spiritual seclusion, for some indefinite time

Related posts:

  1. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – April 19th, 2010
  2. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – April 12th, 2010
  3. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – April 26th, 2010
  4. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – April 6th, 2009
  5. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – April 20th, 2009

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