16-year-old raped by dad, uncle

NAGPUR: The story of a pregnant 16-year-old girl, rescued by neighbours of Vandevi slums recently from the clutches of her 35-year-old father,
brought to the fore the grotesque brutality she was made to undergo at home. She has been suffering at the hands of her uncle and then her father for years in Uttar Pradesh and later in city. Neetu (name changed), joined the ranks of the hapless girls who were not spared by the persons whom they trusted the most.

Neetu had lost her mother Chanda when she was just an infant. She desperately looked upon her father to rescue her from an uncle in Uttar Pradesh who was exploiting her repeatedly. Her father did ‘rescue’ her in 2008, but allegedly started forcing himself upon her.

The pregnant girl, sick and mentally upset, is now sheltered at government’s girls’ hostel. Yashodhara Nagar police have arrested father Gurucharan Yadav, alias Gopal, on Sunday. Yadav was nearly lynched by Vandevi Nagar residents before police saved him. He is reminiscent of Austria’s dungeon dad Josef Fritzl and Mumbai businessman Kishore Chowdhury.

The girl, whose case is similar to that of a teenager from Hingna who had indicted her father for rape recently, has named her dad and his younger brother as tormentors.

Neetu had studied till eighth standard in Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh and was keen to continue further. Though the account of her early years could not be known, it is learnt that Neetu had to strive hard to survive since her mother died and father remarried. She had to work as domestic help too.

Yadav left his daughter and migrated to city some years ago. He started earning his livelihood as an auto-rickshaw driver. Meanwhile, he had a son and a daughter from his second wife Nirmala. Neighbours claimed Nirmala, apparently left disgusted by Yadav lifestyle, left him.

“We were curious about the girl. Yadav said she was his daughter. Once I went to see what was going on inside the shanty and was aghast to find him (Yadav) in his towel. There were two pillows on the bed,” said neighbour Noorjahan Quereshi adding that she was sensing some foul play as the girl was never allowed to mingle much with others.

The matter came to fore when Farzana Banoo, another neighbour, was approached by the distraught girl who told Banoo she needed help. “Her father (Yadav) had once urged me to look after her as she was not well. I was shocked when she told me her father was having physical relations with her. I immediately urged her to stop coming to me as it was against my religious belief and there are children who come for spiritual lesson at home,” said Banoo.

They could ignore no longer when the girl started having ill-health. Yadav and three neighbours-- Quereshi, Shaikh Raju and Hamida Begum-- took Neetu to a health centre at Shanti Nagar. She was referred to another clinic at Kamal chowk. There she was discovered to be pregnant.

“We approached the girl the following day in absence of her father to know the truth,” said a neighbour adding that the girl was being sheltered at different places in city including Pension Nagar before she was brought here. “She divulged the facts,” said the neighbour.

She also told them her uncle had raped her repeatedly when his wife was away at native place for delivery. “Yadav and the girl were away from home for a day. When they returned, we challenged Yadav and contacted the police,” neighbour Raju said.

Senior inspector Rajendra Pardesi, in-charge of Yashodhara Nagar police station, said that police wanted to concentrate on the culprit (Yadav) who is in the custody. “It would be better if we decide to make a strong case out of the apprehended culprit and not make it too complicated,” said Pardeshi indicating he did not intent to pursue Yadav’s younger brother although the girl has clearly named him too.

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More Tirupati jewels pawned by chief priest recovered

TIRUPATI: More skeletons are tumbling out of the TTD cupboard. The police on Saturday recovered seven more jewels which Venkatramana Dikshitulu,
the chief priest of Sri Kodanda Ramaswamy temple in Tirupati, had pawned with a jeweller. Apart from that, TTD officials discovered that three more jewels are missing and a hunt is on to recover them.

The seven jewels including a ‘Laxmi haram’, an emerald-studded precious necklace
, some chains and hand ornaments, were recovered from pawnbrokers Kamadhenu & Co. and they weigh 1.305 kg, DSP Ganga Raju told STOI. The authorities had on Friday seized two necklaces weighing nearly a kg which the chief priest had pawned for marrying off his daughters.

Both Venkataramana and Sagarmal, the pawnbroker of Kamadhenu & Co., have been arrested. A kg of gold fetches Rs 15 lakh in the market. It is still not known as to what was the weight of the three other jewels that the priest is said to have pawned with another jeweller.

The DSP said Venkataramana had pawned all the jewels recovered so far for a sum of Rs 10.15 lakh of which he had repaid Rs 3.5 lakh last August. TTD officials are also on the lookout for Raghava Reddy, the owner of Vinayaka pawnbroker where the chief priest is said to have pawned the three other items.

The jewels and other precious items in the custody of the TTD has suddenly come under the scanner after a Nellore resident filed a petition in the high court alleging irregularities in the safekeeping of the TTD jewellery.
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Math formula says date at least 12 times to find the perfect mate!

Sydney, Aug 24 (ANI): Want to find your one and only? Well, then the best chances of finding the perfect partner
is to date at least 12 people before even thinking of marriage.


That's the calculation of a leading mathematician.


According to Clio Cresswell, singles
can increase their chances of finding true love by rejecting at least 12 potential partners before settling down.

Cresswell's theory, which is based on statistical assessment, claims the chances of divorce is generally very high unless singles date at least a dozen time before they get hitched.


"In Australia, the divorce rate is about 35 per cent for first marriages," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted her as saying.


She explained: "Now, if you were buying a DVD player and I told you it had a 35 per cent chance of breaking down, you might think twice about making that purchase.


"But we still insist on going into marriage with this belief that our partner is the one for us and we have a 100 per cent chance of success.


"According to my principle, you have to reject at least 12 people to increase your chance of finding your long-term partner. If you do that, you raise the chance of making it work to 75 per cent."


The senior lecturer in the School of Mathematics and Statistics, in the University of Sydney, has explained her theory in her new book Sex and Mathematics, apart from introducing it into her tertiary classes.


However, she has a grievance that mathematics is not liked by a lot of people.


She said: "I think it's so sad that the wider community does not embrace mathematics as much as it could. Mathematics can be fun." (ANI)

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RIL agrees to CAG audit as 'exception'

NEW DELHI: Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd has agreed to a special audit by the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of its Andhra
offshore (KG-D6) contract, but said it hopes this will be a one-off case. In a letter conveying its `no objection' to such an examination by the government's auditor, the company told the oil ministry it hopes "this is a one-time exception which does not create a precedent for the future".

Minutes of the meeting notes RIL stating that though the PSC (production sharing contract) does not allow special audit, it was willing to accept a CAG audit for the ensuing year but not 2006-07. It said it did not understand the "scope" of such an action "since audit upto 2006-07 has already been conducted by the government-appointed auditors and RIL has been supplying all information required by DGH from time to time".

The government officials responded by telling RIL that the special audit has been ordered under Section 1.9.1 of the accounting procedures in the PSC. Asked for its reaction, RIL said, "The inference that RIL has agreed for a special audit under the insistence of government is totally incorrect and unwarrated. There is no difference between the letter by RIL and the minutes as far as RIL's position under the PSC is concerned.

However, RIL has accepted the audit voluntarily, as a one-time exception without creating any precedence, for the sake of transparency and cooperation with the government. This is clearly reflected in the minutes and the decision in the meeting which was confirmed by RIL in its letter."

RIL wrote the letter on August 17 after a meeting with officials from the ministry and Directorate-General of Hydrocarbons. The meeting was called in the backdrop of CAG denying a recent posting on DGH's official website claiming the auditor has completed audit of the Andhra offshore field. CAG also said it was having problems with accessing books of oil/gas field developers, although it did not point out RIL.

The government had in November 2007 ordered a special audit of eight contracts, including RIL's, which involve substatial financial stakes for the government.

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How to endure a sex marathon

Not very often does one get the opportunity to spend extended lovemaking time with their lover, but when such rare occasion does arise one
How to endure a sex marathon
How to endure a sex marathon (Getty Images)
should make it a point to keep it enjoyable as well as enduring.

Enduring a sex marathon can take a few hours or longer if the situation demands it, and many times it could go all night.

Thus, to keep oneself in good form, even the most virile and energetic must rest and rejuvenate, reports Fox News.

Before embarking on your sex marathon, it is better to be well-fed (but not too well) with food that releases energy slowly (such as grains and low GI carbohydrates) and be well hydrated.

And here are some tips on enduring a sex marathon:

Don’t orgasm
You can do this by choosing positions that provide less stimulation - because everyone is different, only you will know what these are for you. Change positions if you feel like you’re losing the power of your drive and erection or getting too close to orgasm. Bear in mind that having an orgasm isn’t the end of the session and you can take a rest before you continue. This is a good time to experiment with positions that you may not have tried with your partner.

Pleasure her to keep the focus off of you
If you do happen to need a rest while enduring a sex marathon or you do orgasm, you can easily shift the focus off of you and onto her. This can include cuddling, fondling, massage, general touching, and kissing. A rest does not have to be totally sexual in nature, and it is just as nice to make love for hours as it is to just touch each other in nice ways - or invent new ways of loving.

Don’t drink too much
Alcohol is known to be a relaxant and can be a wonderful addition to the time you share with your lover. In saying that, after two or more drinks, alcohol lowers a man’s ability to achieve and maintain erections, and can trigger an inability to orgasm for a long time. Alcohol also has sedative effects - it could cause you to fall asleep easily. Drinking can also encourage unsafe behaviour. Drinking too much alcohol will not help enduring a sex marathon.

Get creative
While enduring a sex marathon, you can introduce sex toys like vibrators, beads or sex paraphernalia such as whips, ropes and blindfolds. Food is also a great diversion and pleasure- ice cream, chocolate sauce or whipped cream are great. Get creative - you can draw out the process for quite some time with some very lusty teasing using these objects.

Keep lube handy
One of the main problems of sex play for hours could be dryness, so keep some good quality lubricant handy, one that tastes nice and is non-greasy. A glass of water nearby is also going to be useful, not only to rehydrate but to moisten your mouth.

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Magadheera movie (south india)review

After not-so-impressive Chirutha, Ram Charan Tej returns as a valiant soldier and breathes life into the larger-than-life role
Magadheera
Similarly, Kaajal known for simple lover girl roles transforms into a determined princess and truly impresses. The big budget extravaganza establishes that discarded re-incarnation can be a money-spinning theme if it is appropriately exploited in Tollywood. Despite a few narrative lapses, the much-hyped semi-periodic epic lives up to expectations.

Agreed that director Rajamouli was inspired by Hollywood biggies like Gladiator and Troy but he makes it work by capturing a captivating romantic drama between a princess and a valiant solider in the folklore kind of a movie set 400 years ago.

However, the director doesn’t show similar passion in treating the ‘present-day period as he relies on bland comedy and repetitive scenes. Cinematographer Senthil Kumar presents a visually-exciting film, particularly in the flashback portions. But Keeravani’s musical compositions are not up to the mark, barring two catchy numbers.

The film starts with a young warrior expressing his love but his beloved slips from the mountains and the guy follows suit.

Cut to the present. The young hero is now a biking freak and earns a living out of betting. One day, he happens to meet a girl at a bus stop and connects to her instantly. The girl (Kaajal) herself plays truant with him and finally cupid strikes between the two. Meanwhile, her dreaded maternal uncle (Dev Gil) returns and resolves to marry his pretty niece.

But whenever, he tries to get closer to Kaajal a warrior-like person haunts him. He visits an aghora to discover the mystery behind the dream. He comes to know that their ‘rivalry’ is 400 years old and they are back to fight it out for the same girl. Check it out a theatre, to know how the gripping drama unfolds.

Ram Charan Tej showcases his horse-riding and dancing skills to perfection, while Kaajal showcases her histrionic skills. Actor Dev Gil is adequate as the ruthless villain. Comedian Sunil fails to evoke laughs.

Unlike his previous action-centric films, director Rajamouli dishes a heart-touching love story in a lavish canvas convincingly. Also kudos for the way he has visualised and presented the film. Seems like he has a winner on hand to keep up his winning streak.

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Traffic police go digital to catch repeat offenders

Traffic policemen are now equipped with smart card readers and digital printers to keep track of repeat offenders.

The details of offenders will now be recorded through an online system, enabling the traffic police to access this data while issuing challans.

The smart card readers, that traffic police started using on August 22, lets the policeman register and access the offender’s licence and vehicle details through an online system.

If the offender has breached a traffic rule previously, details of the offence pop on the smart card reader, facilitating the policeman to take a stern action against the offender.

Earlier, records of offenders were kept in the Road Transport Office units, making it impossible for traffic cops to identify the regular offenders.

“If details of licence holders are recorded online, then policemen issuing challans would be able to access them faster and take immediate action,” said Joint Traffic Commissioner Sanjay Barve.

If the offender holds a recently issued license fitted with a microchip, the smart card reader automatically detects the details. But in the case of the old paper licences, the traffic policeman will manually enter the offender’s details into the system.

Once the details have been entered, even offenders carrying paper licences will have their offence history recorded online on the basis of their licence numbers.

The traffic police will also send an email to the offender with the details and copy of the challan.

State Transport Commissioner Deepak Kapoor said: “The Mumbai traffic police are the first in the country to use the smart card reader system. This service will avoid excess paperwork.”

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Can win tri-series even without Zaheer, Sehwag: Harbhajan

NEW DELHI: India will miss Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan in next month's tri-series in Sri Lanka but the presence of match-winners and the
Harbhajan Singh
balance of the team still make them the tournament favourite, said Harbhajan Singh.

Talking to reporters after unveiling the Compaq Cup 2009, which will be given to the winner of the tri-series also featuring New Zealand, Harbhajan conceded it would not be easy to replace players like Sehwag and Zaheer but felt the team could still pull it off.

"Sehwag is a key player. Any team in the world would miss a player like him. But now that he would not be playing, we would have to do well without him," Harbhajan said.

He said the return of veterans Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid would offset Sehwag's loss.

"We are a strong team and it's a balanced side. Besides, we have a number of match-winning players in the ranks. We have the youngsters and then you have experienced players like Dravid, Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh. If we play to our potential, we would return with this lovely trophy," he said after unveiling world's first digital sports trophy.

Like Sehwag, Zaheer too underwent a shoulder surgery which ruled him out of the tri-series and the subsequent Champions Trophy but Harbhajan seemed to have enough trust on other pacers to pull it off.

"Zaheer is an experienced bowler and it's unfortunate that he would not be playing. We are going to miss him," Harbhajan said.

"However, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma have been doing well and they will have to step up to the plate and deliver," he said.

"Overall, we have got enough talent and we did well against New Zealand at their home and also in Sri Lanka. Over the last two years, we have beaten every side. We just need to play to our potential to win the tri-series.

"It's an important series for us because right after that, we play the ICC Champions Trophy, which is a big event for us," he said.

Both Dravid and Nehra made a comeback to the ODI fold after their One-day career seemed over. Asked if he felt it was retrograde steps to bring back players who are on the wrong side of the 30s, Harbhajan begged to differ.

"For me, age is not the criterion. I don't think you become old at 32. Great players continue to perform at 35-36. Age is not the consideration," he said.

Harbhajan's views were sought on Virender Sehwag's tussle with the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) as well but the spinner said he had no clue about it.

"To be honest, I'm not aware of the details. I have no clue what is happening between Viru and DDCA," he said

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ISRO to launch Oceansat-2 to track marine life

New Delhi: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch Oceansat-2, an exclusive satellite to track marine life and identify potential fishing zones in September.

Director of ISRO's Regional Remote Sensing Service Centre said that the integration of the satellite is designed to identify potential fishing zones, assist in forecasting marine trends, coastal zone studies and will also provide inputs for weather forecasting and climate studies.

All pre-launch tests on the functional aspects of the satellite have been successfully completed.

Oceansat-2 will take off on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

According to experts, Oceansat-2 is an improved version of the Oceansat-1, which is already in orbit.

Oceansat-2 will have two equipments produced by ISRO, while it would also carry an instrument sent by Italian Space Agency. It will be a key instrument for India to study physical and biological aspects of oceanography.

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'Aisha' a hen party: Sonam

The film is being produced by her sister Rhea under their father Anil Kapoor’s banner. And, it has current favourites Abhay Deol, Arunoday Singh and VJ Cyrus Sahukar pitching for the 22-year-old actress who, at two films, is already a celebrated name in Bollywood.

“But hello,’’ says Sonam, who is flying to New Delhi to start work on the film, “women outnumber men on this project.’’ The director is Rajshri Ojha, screenplay writer Devika Bhagat, dialogue writers Ritu Bhatia and Devika, production designer Shruti Gupte, costume designer Pernia Qureshi, my sister Rhea is the producer and I’m the lead ctress. Of course, there are a few talented men on the project — like Javed Akhtar saab (lyrics), Amit Trivedi (music) and Manu Rishi (dialogues) but, by and large, it’s going to be one big hen party.’’

What’s more, almost the entire cast and a major part of the crew are in the age group of 25-26. “I thought I was one of the youngest girls in Bollywood,’’ says Sonam. “But when I started work on Aisha I realized almost everyone on the set is my age or even younger than I am.’’

Sonam, who has been having readings for the film with Abhay, says of the actor, “He is super-talented. I can’t tell you how excited I am to work with him. He is playing Mr Knightley in Aisha and I can barely wait for shooting to begin.’’ What’s more, as soon as she wraps up Aisha, she will join Imran Khan on the sets of Karan Johar’s romantic caper I Hate Luv Stories directed by debutant Puneet Malhotra. “Both films are very different from each other,’’ says Sonam, and yes, she is fully aware that she makes a swinging pair with the light-eyed Imran too.

“I’m thrilled with the direction my career is going,’’ says the youngster unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

Understandably so. Sonam has had a couple of glitches in the initial stages. But one thing that was never in doubt is her talent. In that area, she reigns supreme.

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US stocks pause from recent gains, financials retreat

Investors
slowed their hectic buying of stocks Monday, leaving the major indexes little changed after a four-day advance.
Stocks pulled back from early highs as financials, which have been surging lately, retreated. Meanwhile, Treasury prices rallied ahead of the next round of debt auctions.
Analysts had expected a pause after stocks soared last week, lifting the Dow Jones industrials 370 points. The advance picked up momentum Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke declared that the economy is on the verge of recovery.
"I think people still believe there are signs of recovery here, but it doesn't hurt to take a little bit of profits," said Alan Villalon, senior research analyst at First American Funds.
Market experts have been warning, though, the market's upbeat mood could be tested with reports this week on consumer confidence and housing. Some signs of recovery have emerged already in housing, but consumers are still struggling. Improved consumer confidence and spending is widely seen as one of the keys that could help end the recession.
"We're lining up here in advance of the data this week," said James Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group. "This is a good time to get out."
Bank shares gave up some of their early gains and traded mixed, weighed down by losses among regional banks. Investors have been worried that smaller banks could face significant hardships in the coming months as losses among commercial real estate loans pile up.
In a research note late Sunday, Rochedale Securities
banking analyst Richard Bove predicted that 150 to 200 more U.S. banks could fail in the current banking crisis on top of the 81 banks that have already failed this year.
The Dow rose 3.32, or less than 0.1 percent, to 9,509.28, after earlier rising as much as 82 points. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.56, or 0.1 percent, to 1,025.57, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 2.92, or 0.1 percent, to 2,017.98.
Advancing issues were slightly ahead of losers on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.32 billion shares, up from Friday's 5.98 billion.
In other trading
, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies slipped 1.27, or 0.2 percent, to 580.24.
Bond prices rose as investors prepared for $197 billion in auctions this week. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.48 percent from 3.57 percent late Friday, while the yield on the three-month T-bill fell to 0.15 percent from 0.16 percent.
The markets have been choppy as investors react to mixed economic data, but managed last week to post four straight advances. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 52 percent since early March.
"We still think there is a lot of fear out there," said Ryan Detrick, chief technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "The economy has to validate what the stock market has done."
Justin Golden, strategist at Macro Risk Advisors in New York, said some of the market's gains have been magnified by short-covering, in which investors have to buy stock after having earlier sold borrowed shares in a bet they would fall.
"A lot of bear investors have thrown in the towel," he said. "That shouldn't be confused with people being ultra bullish about the market."
Investors were also anxious ahead of the Conference Board's consumer confidence index on Tuesday, and the Reuters/University of Michigan report on consumer sentiment Friday. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index on home prices for June will be released Tuesday, while the Commerce Department reports on new home sales for July on Wednesday.
Japan's Nikkei stock average surged 3.4 percent, while China's main index was up for a third straight day, gaining 1.1 percent. A slide in the index last week triggered selling around the world.
Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.9 percent, while Germany's DAX index and France's CAC-40 rose 1.0 percent.
Oil prices rose 48 cents to $74.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The dollar rose slightly against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

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US opens intelligence training centre for Af-Pak

Washington: The US Army is opening an intelligence unit that will train military officials, covert agents and analysts exclusively on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Center for Afghanistan Pakistan Excellence, reported The Washington Times, is being established by the US Central Command chief Gen David H Petraeus and would be headed by one of his most trusted analysts, retired Colonel Derek Harvey.

The decision to set up such a specialised training centre for military officials, covert agents and analysts, apparently comes in the wake of the realisation by the US Administration that they would have to be in the region for a long term and that the United States needs to have a battery of officials who specialise on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The new centre would focus on integrating all sources of information to develop strategic products for both war fighters and decision-makers in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Harvey told the Times.

"We have tended to rely too much on intelligence sources and not integrating fully what is coming from provincial reconstruction teams, civil-affairs officers, commanders and operators on the ground that are interacting with the population and who understand the population and can actually communicate what is going on in the streets," Harvey said.

"If you only rely on the intelligence reporting, you can get a skewed picture of the situation," he was quoted as saying by the paper.

Bureau Report

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1 killed, 2 injured as man opens fire at Ludhiana rly station

A suspected terrorist on Tuesday opened fire at the railway station in Ludhiana killing a vendor and injuring two GRP head constables when they tried to check his luggage, police said.

The firing took place when the two Government Railway Police constables of the Narcotics cell tried to check the bag of the suspected terrorist in Jammu-bound Jhelum Express which arrived here from Pune around 3.30 am at platform No 4 of the railway station, they said.

The suspected terrorist identified as Balbir Singh Bhootna immediately got down and hid himself under a compartment of the Jhelum Express and opened at the police which retaliated on the platform near the compartment.

"Bhootna was arrested after an exchange of fire which lasted around one hour," Ludhiana Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sukhchain Singh told PTI.

A woman, who was accompanying the suspected terrorist, has also been taken into custody, Singh said.

The vendor was killed on the spot during the exchange of fire, GRP Superintendent of Police S J P Sharma said.

The two injured head constables have been identified as Karanpal Singh and Naranjan Singh, he added.

It was believed that the suspected terrorist and the woman had arrived in the Jhelum Express from Nanded after boarding the train at Manmad in Maharashtra.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Railway Chander Shekhar told PTI on phone that Bhootna was a resident of Mauli Wala village in Ferozepur district.

Bhootna had fired from a .9mm pistol, which has been taken by the police in its custody, the ADGP said without giving details of his group affiliation saying it would hamper the investigations.

The police was also trying to ascertain the identity of the lady accompanying him and her relationship with Bhootna, he added.

Bhootna had been declared a Proclaimed Offender after in a case of recovery of arms and ammunition in Jalandhar district about three years back, police said.

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Formula One is not a sport, says sports ministry

NEW DELHI: It's a letter which is likely to create a huge debate in sports circles and rattle the
Force India
motorsports fraternity.

According to sources, the ministry of sports in January 2009 wrote to JPSK Sports, the promoters of Formula One in the country, that their request for getting approval for remittance of $36.5 million (about Rs 177 crore) to be paid to Formula One Administration (UK) for holding an F1 race in India had been rejected on the grounds that "it (the race) would have no impact on the development of sports in the country".

JPSK had first gone to the Reserve Bank of India, which asked them to get the ministry's approval.

The basic premise of the ministry is that F1 is not needed in India and the money can be spent on development of disciplines which have a wider base in the country, ministry sources said.

"F1 is not purely sports. It is entertainment and this venture by JKSP is a commercial initiative," said a ministry source. In fact, the letter states that F1 will not have an impact on Indian sports "in terms of either participation, broad-basing or promotion of excellence".

"The proposed F1 race does not satisfy conditions which focus on human endeavour for excelling in competition with others, keeping in view the whole sports movement from Olympics downwards," said the source.

Sameer Gaur, MD, JPSK confirmed to TOI that their request had been rejected by the sports ministry.

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Pak rules out Ramzan truce with militants

Pakistan has ruled out announcing a ceasefire in their operations against Taliban, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said, saying that the militants had not kept similar commitments made in the past.

Malik declared that the security forces would continue their operations against the Taliban even during the holy month of Ramzan, considered a time of peace.

His comments assumes significance as Pakistan Army is poised to strike against Taliban and al-Qaeda strongholds and is continuing operations against militants in Swat, Dir and Buner.

The minister ruled out a brief halt in the fighting even as a powerful North Waziristan-based Taliban faction led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur declared a 40-day unilateral ceasefire for Ramzan and asked its fighters to stop attacks on security forces and government facilities.

"There will not be a ceasefire during Ramzan. We are not interested in a ceasefire. They haven't kept their commitment in the past. We will continue targeted actions against the Taliban," Malik told a television channel.

The Interior Minister said the government has not accepted this ceasefire as the Taliban violated accords with the authorities in the past.

Malik also said that the father-in-law of Baithullah Mehsud and some of his relatives had been killed by the militants after being accused of providing information that led to the rebel commander's death in a US drone attack on August 5.

"I got the information from those resources which gave me the information of Baithullah's death," Malik said. The Taliban had killed Mehsud's father-in-law Malik Ikramuddin, his son, a brother and a nephew on charges of spying, he added.

Pakistani and US officials say they are certain Mehsud was killed in the drone attack though this has been denied by the Taliban.

Ikramuddin was considered a close aide of Mehsud and reports have suggested he was trying to broker a peace deal between his son-in-law and top security officials.

The military claims it has killed over 1800 militants since operations were launched against the Taliban in Swat and other parts of Malakand division in the country's northwest in May. Some 300 security personnel have also died in the fighting.

Malik also said law enforcement agencies had foiled plans by terrorists and suicide bombers to attack the parliament building, an intelligence agency and other federal institutions during the past month.

Authorities had arrested three men with suicide jackets who were plotting to carry out attacks, he said.

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Landslide win for Karzai?

LONDON: As the raw polling station data declared Hamid Karzai as Afghanistan’s re-elected president in a landslide victory, allegations of
vote-rigging have begun to surface. Early figures from campaign team observers suggest Karzai has won 72% of the vote with his closest rivalbdullah Abdullah gaining 23%, The Telegraph reports.

If confirmed, the scale of the win will provoke accusations of vote-rigging with electoral officials saying that they are already investigating dozens of complaints of fraud on a scale profound enough to sway the result. Karzai needs over 50% of the vote to avoid a second round run off against his former foreign minister.

However, it will be hotly contested after the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) said it had received 225 complaints since polls opened on Thursday for the presidential and provincial council elections.

“Thirty five have been assigned as high priority and these are ones that we had to deem to be material to the outcome of the election results,” said Grant Kippen, head of the commission.

Abdullah said his campaign team had received alarming reports of irregularity. “There might have been thousands of violations throughout the country, no doubt about it,” he said.

His allegations were dismissed by a spokesman for the Karzai campaign, who said it had also filed complaints about Abdullah’s supporters’ activities. Waheed Omer said unsuccessful campaigns would file complaints to “try to justify their loss”.

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IISc is India's No. 1 tech institute

BANGALORE: IISc has been ranked the number one engineering/technology institute among top 67 science institutes in the country. IIT-Kanpur comes
in at second place, followed by IIT-Bombay, IIT-Kharagpur and Delhi at third, fourth and fifth position respectively.

The ranking, published in the Current Science, has been done by scholars Gangan Prathap and B M Gupta of the National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources and National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies, New Delhi.

The other institutes within top 10 include Jadavpur University ranked 6, IIT-Madras 7, IIT-Roorkee 8, Anna University 9 and IIT-Guwahati ranked 10.

The ranking has been done on basis of publications and citations and research record available between 1999 and 2008 in the Scopus International multi-disciplinary, bibliographical database.

The data shows IISc leading every other science institute in the country on publications and citations.

The scholars have said the top 67 engineering institutes have done better than the university sector as a whole in the 10-year period — 75,166 papers vs 59,685 papers.

Their research has also shown that by number and performance (quality and quantity combined), IISc and IITs taken as a group lead other groups — University and Deemed University, Select Engineering Colleges, NITs/ RECs and IIITs. The IIITs are ranked last as a group for their low publications and citations.

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