Man taken captive, tortured in Malaysia

Thrashed with iron rods for 20 days, burnt with cigarettes

Ludhiana, August 11Dream of a resident of Jagirpur, who whished to settle in a foreign country, turned sour after he was taken captive and tortured at Darul Ehsan in Malaysia for 20 days. Gurcharan Singh like any other Punjabi youth was excited about starting his life afresh till July 21.
But he was hardly aware that on reaching Malaysia he would be tortured and the master of his fate would burn his skin cigarettes and thrash him with iron rods. His wounds had turned sore that maggot had started eating it.
Manmohan Maan, a native of Malaysia, got a whiff of the atrocities on Gurcharan and contacted with Gurcharan’s family in India and managed to get him deported.
Gurcharan (26) is thankful to Manmohan for saving his life. He said, “I am receiving psychiatric treatment at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). I had paid Rs 1.12 lakh to Nirmal Singh, a Raikot- based travel agent, who assured to get me a one-year working visa. His son Baljinder Singh (20) also boarded the flight with me. On landing in Malaysia, Baljinder’s sister Manjinder Kaur, who is married to Manmohan Maan, took us a nursing home of her husband in Darul Ehsan. I started working in that nursing home.”
“After a days work, Baljinder took me to a pub where a tall South- Indian youth took me to an enclosure. He handcuffed me and told Baljinder to leave the place. He told me that I would have to undergo some tests if I want to stay here. He tied my hands and hanged me in the mid-air. Then he started smashing iron rods on my legs. His friends joined after he finished. They him my private part as well. I was then loosened. I remained unconscious for nearly 30 minutes. I, somehow, managed to reach the nursing home. I don’t know why I was thrashed,” said Gurcharan.
“The next day when I sitting with Manjinder, she put something in my drink. I was in delirium. I cried in pain after she suddenly burnt a cigarette butt on my leg,” Gurcharan added.
Baljinder thrashed Gurcharan for a fortnight. He was warned against telling anyone. “My parents had arranged money with great difficulty. So I endured everything quietly,” said Gurcharan Singh, while showing his wounds.
Kamaljit Kaur, sister of Gurcharan, said, “Every time I used to contact and ask them to give phone to my brother, the used refuse. I complained to Nirmal Singh, father of Baljinder Singh, about it.” Manmohan Maan said: “I didn’t knew that my wife and her brother were running a travel agency and conning innocent youths. When I came to know about it, I established contact with Gurcharan’s family and made arrangements so that he could return. I don’t know whether Gurcharan used to take drug or whether he was drugged.”
Their father Nirmal Singh took Manjinder and Baljinder, who came along with Gurcharan from Malaysia, away. But, Gurcharan was left to fend for himself in Delhi. “Fortunately I had some Indian coins. I rang up my friend who further arranged the money for me to reach the city,” Gurcharan said and added that Nirmal Singh had sent nearly six persons on work permit.
“When he left from here he was normal. But when he returned home yesterday, I was shocked to see him. He was out his mind and was crying profusely like a little child,” said Kamaljit Kaur. The family has lodged a complaint with the Commissioner of Police.

HC directive to curb drunk driving

Drivers may end up attending AA meetings

Chandigarh, August 11 - Mixing drinks with driving may see you wind up in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. You may even lose your licence. For, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has made clear its intentions of applying brakes to the menace of drunk driving by directing the magistrates to ask sozzled drivers to attend a fixed number of meetings at the AA.

Driving home the message against drunk driving, Justice Rajive Bhalla has asserted: “A person driving under the influence of liquor endangers his life, as also the life of others, and, therefore, must be dealt with without any misplaced sense of equity or indulgence.

“The magistrates may, while exercising their discretion in matters of sentence, consider releasing offenders on strict probation and refer them to organisations like Alcoholics Anonymous for attending a fixed number of meetings. A magistrate may also pass orders for the suspension of the driver’s licence.”

Justice Bhalla also directed the removal of all encroachments on the land beneath the Zirakpur flyover. “Counsel for the National Highways Authority of India states that the concessionaire has identified two agencies to beautify the area under the flyover. The matter shall be forwarded to the ministry concerned for necessary approval. The approvals be obtained preferably within fortnight, as land beneath the flyover is being gradually encroached upon by street vendors,” Justice Bhalla added.

The hearing also brought to fore the State of Punjab’s stand against allowing new building to face the highways. “The State of Punjab has no objection if the buildings to be constructed on the land abutting the highways face away from the highways. As buildings that abut the state and national highways, particularly factories, malls, hotels, motels, colonies, group housing societies, banquet halls, etc. are granted licences by GMADA or PUDA, it will be appropriate to seek their response with respect to the decision taken by the Chief Secretary,” Justice Bhalla asserted.

Referring to an affidavit, Justice Bhalla said the work on setting up a bus stop at Zirakpur was likely to be completed by May, 2012 after commencing in September.

Asking the State of Punjab and other respondents to file an affidavit “as to how they propose to regulate the buses halting in Zirakpur till the bus stop is functional”, Justice Bhalla directed the authorities concerned to “ensure that this bus stop does not lead to the parking of rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, buses and private vehicles”. Justice Bhalla directed: “Parking shall be provided within the precincts of the bus stop”.

One booked for Immigration fraud

Mohali, August 11
The police today registered a case under Section 420 of the IPC and Section 24 of the Immigration Act against Sandeep Rai, a resident of Phase IX, Mohali, on the complaint of JK Chahal, a resident of Jind, Haryana, for duping him on the pretext of sending his son abroad.
Chahal alleged in his complaint that he had given Rs 99,000 to Rai to send his son abroad. But neither his son was sent abroad nor his money was returned, the police added.

Man sent to judicial custody for blackmailing

Mohali, August 11Devinder Singh, a resident of Sector 19, Chandigarh, was booked and arrested for clicking objectionable photographs of a Delhi-based woman and blackmailing her. The accused was produced in the court today and sent to judicial custody.
In her complaint to the police, the woman from Hari Nagar, Delhi, stated that the accused had called her to Maan hotel at Sector 51 in Chandigarh. The victim said she was accompanied with her friend to the hotel where the accused told her that he wanted to talk her in private.
She alleged that the accused took her in the room and clicked her objectionable pictures. Later, the accused started blackmailing her and asked for Rs 50,000.
The investigating officer stated that after getting the complaint from the victim, a trap was laid in Phase VII market where the accused was arrested while he had come for collecting money.

Chandigarh-Delhi AI flight timing changed

Chandigarh, August 11

In view of the ongoing construction work at the Delhi airport, the Air India flight No. 864 from Delhi will leave for the city at 3.05 pm, instead of 1.05 pm, on August 12.
Similarly, the flight will depart from the Chandigarh airport at 4.20 pm instead of 3.20 pm. 

Judge for contempt proceedings against DBA chief

Ludhiana lawyers stage a dharna outside court of Sessions JudgeLegal Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 11
Judicial Magistrate Amarinder Pal Singh has written to the High Court requesting for initiating contempt proceedings against District Bar Association (DBA) President Ashok Mittal on the charges of allegedly misbhaving and showing disrespect to the court. It's the first time that contempt proceedings have been referred against a sitting DBA president.
Sources in the judiciary stated that the Judge has written that the DBA president had shown utter disregard to the court and made an attempt to lower its dignity. The controversy erupted when the DBA president was seeking adjournment in a case titled Guru Nanak Education Trust versus Jagat Singh, which was fixed for rebuttal and arguments. Meanwhile, the DBA president accompanied by its supporters staged a dharna outside the court of Sessions Judge S P Bangarh. Several lawyers raised slogans expressing solidarity with the legal fraternity and showing annoyance over the incident. They alleged that the Judge misbehaved with their president, which was not tolerable.
Mittal said that initiating of contempt proceedings was an act of "oppression" but he will not bow under any pressure. Staging of the dharna outside the Sessions Court has divided the executive body of the DBA. The Vice President J S Miglani and Secretary Gurkirpal Singh Virk stated that in the executive body meeting held today in the morning, it was decided to observe a strike peacefully. It was also decided not to stage a dharna outside the Sessions Court. Despite this, the DBA president sat on dharna there.
Sessions Judge Bangarh said, “I have brought the entire episode in writing to the HighCourt and now it was up to the High Court to decide as to what action is required to be taken”. Former Bar Council Chairman B K Goel, Naginder Gora, Narinder Adya, Sanjiv Malhotra, Sham Sunder Ahuja, Rakesh Sharda, Rajesh Rai, G S Sekhon, Ankur Ghai adressed the lawyers sitting on dharna.

Cash-in-bag case: Nirmal Yadav did not volunteer but was asked to recuse from work by CJ

Ajay Sura, TNN | Aug 12, 2011, 06.40AM IST
CHANDIGARH: Contrary to the general perception that controversial Justice Nirmal Yadav accused in the cash-in-bag case, had volunteered to recuse herself from judicial work, it was the then chief justice, who asked her to recuse herself from her duty, following which she remained out of work for around 17 months. During that period, Justice Yadav wrote several times to the chief justice requesting him to restore judicial work to her, but her request was not heeded.

The revelations surfaced on Thursday during the resumed hearing of a petition filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, by Justice Yadav against her prosecution sanction in the corruption case. While arguing before the bench, her counsel, seniorSupreme Court lawyer, KTS Tulsi informed the bench that his client had written several times to the then CJ of the HC to restore judicial work to her.

However, Justice Permod Kohli, who was hearing the case, observed that as per his information, Justice Yadav had voluntarily recused and "recusal and withdrawal of work makes a huge difference". Responding to that, Tulsi stated that as per instructions from his client, she was asked to recuse from judicial work by the then CJ.

Following that, Justice Kohli asked that the said argument is deviation from the issue and irrelevant to the ongoing matter.

Importantly, when the name of Justice Yadav surfaced in the cash-in-bag scam, she recused from the judicial work on August 22, 2008, and remained without work for more than 17 months till she was transferred to Uttrakhand high court on February 11, 2010. She finally retired from Uttarakhand HC on March 3, 2011.

While arguing further against the prosecution sanction accorded to prosecute Justice Yadav in corruption case, senior advocate Tulsi contended that once the then Chief Justice of India (CJI), KG Balakrishanan had denied prosecution sanction, the present CJI had no power to review the earlier decision and grant a fresh sanction.

He also argued that orders of present CJI did not refer to earlier CJI`s orders and there was no application of mind on relevant facts by the present one while granting prosecution sanction. " The CJI seems to be oblivious that sanction once denied, there is no power to review or reconsideration. There must be finality in the statutory powers and no one should be at the whims and fancies of changing incumbents" Tulsi argued. 

HC summons entire record pertaining to Justice Yadav's prosecution sanction

Jul 14, 2011, 04.26PM IST
CHANDIGARH: Acting on a petition filed by controversial Justice (Retd.) Nirmal Yadav against her prosecution in cash-in-bag scam, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday directed the union ministry of law & justice, union ministry of home affairs as well as the ministry of personnel and training to produce the entire record containing all communication made by them regarding the prosecution sanction of Justice Yadav in a corruption case. The court has fixed July 28 as the next date of hearing.

The directions were passed by Justice Permod Kohliof the high court while issuing fresh notices to the union government. The directions has come in the wake of a petition filed by Justice Nirmal Yadav against the prosecution sanction given by the President on March 1.

Justice Yadav had moved a petition before the high court seeking quashing of the March 1 orders of President according sanction for her prosecution in the Solan land deal case.

Pleading her innocence in the case, Justice Yadav has asserted that the then Chief Justice of India (CJI) had given her clean chit In December 2009 but strangely the present CJI is alleged to have taken a view diametrically opposite to the earlier decision, without there being any fresh material, and recommended grant of sanction for prosecution.

The scam had rocked the entire judiciary in 2008, when a packet containing Rs 15 lakh was "wrongly delivered" at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Later it was found that money was meant for another judge of the same high court--Justice Nirmal Yadav.

On March 1, this year President accorded sanction to prosecute Justice Yadav in the scam, following which on March 4, CBI had filed chargesheet against her.

'Aarakshan' banned in UP, AP, Punjab

Aug 12, 2011, 02.49AM IST

NEW DELHI: The national dalit watchdog said makers of 'Aarakshan' had inserted reservation polemics as a marketing gimmick, backing the sentiment against the movie which received cold response from states with Punjab and Andhra Pradesh joining Uttar Pradesh in barring its screening on Friday. 

Chairman of National Commission for SCs P L Punia said the panel had asked the Censor Board to remove five objectionable dialogues which appeared deliberately put in for effect. "The theme of the movie is commercialization of education and not reservation. Quota has just been used as 'masala' for publicity," he said, adding that many dialogues in the movie could be deleted without affecting the narrative. 

While Punia said his role ended with the letter to Censor Board chairperson Leela Samson, the volatile nature of backward-dalit politics ensured all-round hostility. Uttar Pradesh banned the movie on Wednesday night after a viewing by an expert panel. The response of the strongest OBC turf seems to have had a cascading effect with Punjab and AP following suit. In Maharashtra, OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal had his say earlier. 

OBC parliamentary forum chairman Hanumantha Rao shot off a letter to I&B minister Ambika Soni, warning of possible trouble if the movie was screened without deletion of objectionable parts. 

The hype may have many hopping but it has not surprised observers who see the reaction as natural in the backdrop of debate on reservation, with society divided between strong pro- and anti-quota camps. 

Vivek Kumar, sociologist from JNU, said, "The producer has not grasped the enormity and sensitivity of reservation issue which enjoyed constitutional legitimacy for 60 years. Now, there is growing sensitivity of a literate segment among erstwhile excluded castes who are not willing to take assault on their identity like calling reservation a dole or using metaphors like 'kawwa moti khayega' for quota beneficiaries." 

The backward lobby has long seen a section of society as ranged against reservation in jobs and education for students, with memories of Mandal protests in early 1990s revived by the row over quota in central institutions in UPA-1. The recent judicial activism over quota issues, once seen as a holy cow, has further exacerbated the fears. 

OBC chieftains feel use of reservation as the theme in a movie only stokes the hostility among upper castes, more so if it shows a group as victim of reservation regime. 

There were shades of competitive politics in the OBC heartland with Mayawati's ban orders coming after her bete-noire and Congress MP P L Punia hogged the headlines by opposing the movie as anti-reservation. The dalit czarina appears to have tried to gain parity among the dalit-OBC constituency by slapping the ban. Punia, however, said, "I am happy that UP government along with Punjab and AP are supporting me."

Custody battle in Supreme Court: Muslim mother vs Hindu guardian

NEW DELHI: An unusual instance of communal harmony landed before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, which opted to take a humanitarian approach, rather than follow the dictates of law mechanically, to resolve a dispute.

Six-year-old Akbar went with his father to a roadside drinking joint in Allahabad in 2004. While the father was drunk, the child disappeared. Strangely, the parents did not lodge a missing complaint with the police.

The child surfaced in Lucknow before a tea stall in Qaiser Bagh. Its owner Aiku Lal took pity on the boy and advertised about him in TV channels hoping to contact his parents -- Mohammad Abbas and Shahnaz Begum. When he got no response, he looked after him as a son, admitted Akbar to a school without changing the child's name or religion.

Three years later, the parents came to know about Akbar living with Aiku Lal and moved theAllahabad High Court seeking his custody. They accused Aiku Lal of using the boy as bonded labour. Aiku Lal proved with school mark sheets and other documents that he had been taking care of the child like his son and that he had decided not to get married because his prospective wife could take objection to the Muslim boy.

Akbar too refused to go with his parents being fond of Aiku Lal. Justice Barkat Ali Zaidi of the HC in 2007 ruled, "We are after all a secular country and the consideration of caste and creed should not be allowed to prevail. If there can be inter-caste marriages, which is not very uncommon, there can also be an inter-caste father and son relationship and that need not raise eyebrows."

The HC said: "It would not be fair and equitable to return the minor to his parents against his will. The preference of the child must be given due weightage." The parents then moved an appeal before the Supreme Court.

An SC bench of Justices D K Jain and H L Dattu made no secret of their surprise over the mother not even lodging an FIR for years about her missing son who strayed uncared for when his father was consuming liquor.

"We know the mother is the natural guardian under the law. It is an easy dispute to solve. But, the child does not want to go back abandoning the man who brought him up," the bench said while inquiring about Shahnaz's income and liability as the boy's father has passed away in the meantime.

Her counsel told the court that she had two school going children -- an 8-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter -- and that she had two houses and also zari work business. But an inquiry by the bench elicited contradictory facts. It asked the counsel to file an affidavit from Shahnaz within a week detailing her income, liability and the school fees being paid by her.

Before asking for the affidavit, the bench wondered: "Why would we order the boy, who has now spent seven years under the good care of the person, be given back to the mother disregarding the child's wish. The man did not even change the child's name while admitting him to school. The mother did not lodge a complaint about her son missing. So, let the child attain majority and himself decide the question."

But, her counsel said there were instances of children being kidnapped and suggested a meeting of the mother, Akbar and Aiku Lal with the child welfare society, which has psychiatrists to determine the correct position.

Indians beat English at their language

Hemali Chhapia, TNN | Aug 11, 2011, 01.47AM IST
MUMBAI: It's long been known that Indian students outperform their global counterparts in science and math. But here's a stunning finding: even students whose mother tongue is an Indian language fare better in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (Toefl) than those whose native language is English. That's according to a recent analysis by Educational Testing Service, or ETS, which conducts Toefl. British students applying to American universities are required to take the test too.

True, Toefl is typically taken by middle-class and higher-income group students. Still, it shows Konkanis and Malayalis from around the world are much better at reading, speaking and writing English than native English speakers.

Linguist Peggy Mohan explained how Indians have improved at English by drawing a distinction between bilingualism and diglossia. While the former is merely a duplication of thoughts in two languages, the latter is about one language slowly gaining more power over the other. "An English-speaking Indian has native-like intuition in English, unlike a Chinese for whom English is assembled by a more academic thought process. For an Indian, English is more like an adjunct native language. We do some of our thinking in our Indian language and other things in English - that is, we have a native competence that spans two or more languages. No wonder we do so well in Toefl."

Toefl's internet-based test was launched in September 2005-06 and since then, while Gujaratis have bettered their average mean score from 78 to 84, most others have slid down the charts. Those speaking Hindi registered 96 then, Kannadigas had scored 97 and Maharashtrians bagged 97.

"Toefl provides accurate scores at the individual level; it is not appropriate for comparing countries," clarified Walt MacDonald, ETS executive vice-president and chief operating officer.

"The differences in the number of students taking the test in each country, how early English is introduced into the curriculum, how many hours per week are devoted to learning English, and the fact that those taking the test are not representative of all English speakers in each country or any defined population," Said MacDonald.

English is gaining currency in India's rural pockets and pedestrian schools, too. And picking up the grammar of what people want, some governments have been forced to introduce the Queen's lingo as the medium of instruction in public schools. "There is a huge amount of English in the country now. Everybody knows a fair amount of English. Also, Indians are intrinsically bright. When they apply themselves to a task, they do well at it," said Yasmeen Lukmani, former English HOD at theUniversity of Mumbai.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu have had English in all regional-language schools from as early as the records read. A Planning Commission member said that no agency or government would be able to provide the exact number of students learning English in India. "It's a nebulous area; there are so many schools teaching English today. Many of them are little more than small shops catering to those who are dropping out of government schools," he said

But many experts were surprised at ETS findings. Adil Jussawalla, who taught English as a foreign language to Indian students in London before he returned to Mumbai, said he was amazed at the scores ETS had come up with. "Probably these students are taking language courses or getting trained before taking Toefl. Otherwise, this does not tie up with another statistic which found Indian students who go abroad poor at English."

Numbers apart, experts believe India would have to address the rising tide of aspirations. Sunanda Sanyal, who was a member of the West Bengal Education Commission, said English's popularity was linked to its increasing utility in day-to-day life, whether it's buying medicine at the chemist or simply following the right bus route.

Contempt notice to 16 Gurdaspur lawyers

Aug 12, 2011, 06.33AM IST
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday issued show cause notice to 16 lawyers of district court Gurdaspur for causing interference in administration of justice. While issuing notice to the lawyers, Justice SK Mittal of the HC has asked them as to why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against them. These lawyers are also facing charges of raising slogans against the district and sessions judge, Gurdaspur.

Those who are in contempt loop are advocate Baltej Singh, SS Kahlon, GS Bhullar, HS Lakhanpal, SS Bhagowalia, Bahadur Singh, Sandeep Ohri, OS Sodhi, KK Puri, S S Saini, Kavi Raj Saini, JS Ahuja, Rakesh Kumar, Jagmohan Walia, Kamaljit Suri and RS Goraya.

The contempt notice has been issued by the HC after receiving a report from the district and sessions judge, Gurdaspur. Report stated that on directions of the building committee of the high court, when the temporary structures of some of the lawyers were removed, they protested, raising slogans against the district and sessions judge. The report also submitted that the functioning of the court had been paralyzed and it became virtually impossible to conduct the court proceedings and lawyer's act was totally uncalled for, which amounts to interference in the working of the court.

London riots not racial: Inderjit Singh

Aug 12, 2011, 06.36AM IST
AMRITSAR: Network of Sikh Organizations director Inderjit Singh said on Thursday that London riotswere not racial but a handiwork of looters and would not affect the Asian community.

Inderjit Singh, while talking to TOI over the phone from London, said: "Rioting is the work of thieves and looters and it has nothing to do with race."

He said though the situation was under control now and the gurdwaras were safe, the community would continue to guard Sikh temples.

Another prominent Sikh personality of Birmingham, Randhir Singh, said when the riots had started, a particular community was seen actively participating but the next day many other communities were seen attacking Asian establishments.

He said few window panes of Brock Hampton gurdwara were broken, but overall there was no damage to any other gurdwara.

"About 50-100 Sikh youth were guarding every gurdwara at night," he said. He held economic troubles of the UK responsible for the rioting.

Meanwhile, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Paramjit Singh Sarna said the Sikh body had offered prayers for the well being of the Sikhs living in London and other trouble-torn cities.

"It is matter of pride that the Sikhs of the UK had taken to streets to save their holy places," said Sarna.

President rejects mercy plea of Rajiv’s assassins

New Delhi, August 11
After a long hiatus and suspense over their fate, President Pratibha Patil has rejected the mercy petitions of the three accused involved in the conspiracy to assassinate former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
A Rashtrapati Bhawan spokesperson confirmed that the President rejected the mercy petitions of all three accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case last week.

The apex court had confirmed the death sentence of Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan while commuting Nalini's sentence to life imprisonment

The Supreme Court had confirmed the death sentence to Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, while commuting the death sentence of Nalini to life imprisonment way back in 2000. A TADA court had awarded death sentence to all four for their involvement in the conspiracy.
Their appeal was pending with the Union Home Ministry till 2005 which sent the file to the President on June 21, 2005, but later recalled it for review on February 23, 2011, and then re-submitted it to the President on March 8.
Rajiv Gandhi was killed by Sri Lankan Tamil woman Dhanu, strapping a bomb around her waist, while garlanding Rajiv at an election rally at Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991.
Significantly, Rajiv’s widow Sonia Gandhi had forgiven Nalini and wrote to get Nalini’s daughter, then in Sri Lanka, to join her mother here in Tamil Nadu.There are a couple of important death sentences hanging fire for the several years and the BJP has been politically embarrassing the government particularly over the case of Afzal Guru, accused of involvement in Parliament attack of 2001. Now, since the Home Ministry has recommended to the President to reject Afzal Guru’s petition, it may not be long before his mercy petition is also rejected.

India can weather global crisis: FM

In the face of uncertainty after US downgrade, govt says implementation of pending reforms could be fast-tracked

New Delhi, August 8
Seeking to allay fears in the wake of the economic problems in the US, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said India’s fundamentals were strong and the country was in a better position than other countries to face the situation, although there could be some impact.
Mukherjee said the country could see faster and greater FII inflows unlike after the 2008 meltdown in view of the higher returns that global investors could get in India and that implementation of pending reforms could be fast tracked.
“The recent developments in the US and the Eurozone have injected certain uncertainty in global markets. These developments could have some impact on India. But as India’s growth story is intact and its fundamentals strong, we are in a better position than many other nations to manage the challenge,” stated Mukherjee. He said there could be “some impact” on capital and trade flows “but as India’s growth story is strong we could see FIIs viewing India as an attractive investment destination even if there is any temporary outflow”.
Mukherjee asserted that India’s institutions were strong. “We are prepared to address any concern that may arise on account of the present situation.” These observations, sounding a note of optimism, came amidst a sharp fall in the stock markets apparently in view of the downgrading of the US economy by Standard and Poor.
“The government will fast track the implementation of pending reforms and keep a close eye on international developments,” Mukherjee said. He said softening of the international commodity prices, especially fuel oil, will help check inflationary pressures in the economy. “It will also help in maintaining the fiscal balance for the year 2011-12,” he said.
“The most important part of the RBI statement is that in the immediate future the Reserve Bank priority is to ensure that adequate rupee and foreign exchange liquidity are maintained in domestic markets to prevent excessive volatility in the interest rates and exchange rates,” he said, adding, “this is very much reassuring“.
The Finance Minister also spelt out views expressed by G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors.

NO BIG IMPACT

The high growth of Indian economy is largely driven by internal factors. I feel the market will stabilise in the short-run. I don't expect to see a big negative impact but we have to watch the situation.
— Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission

INFLATION TO DAMPEN

It (falling global crude prices) will have a dampening effect on inflation. We all have to watch and see how long that will take as a part of the international commodity prices has to do with the buoyancy of Indian and Chinese economies (as well).
— Kaushik Basu, Chief Economic Adviser

US RECOVERY NEEDS WATCHING

More than the downgrade, what will be impact the rest of the world will be the slow pace of recovery in the US.
— C Rangarajan, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Chairman

Sensex ends below 17,000

The mayhem in the global financial markets, triggered by downgrade of the US creditworthiness, hit the Indian stocks hard today and sent the BSE Sensex spiralling down 316 points to below the 17,000-level for the first time in 14 months. Although the Sensex partly recovered intra-day losses of nearly 550 points, it still lost 315.69 points and closed at 16,990.18 — the lowest level since June 10, 2010.

Glued to TV sets, they prayed for their kin in UK

alandhar, August 11
Those with their near and dear ones in the UK heaved a sigh of relief with the situation in the country limping to normal today after days of arson and looting.
Most of them talked of the resilience shown by Indians in general and Punjabis in particular as they closed ranks to keep the rioters at bay in London and others cities in West Midlands.
Bradford resident Surinder Singh Shinda, who is on a visit to his hometown of Phillaur, said he rang up his wife and asked her to keep their two sons indoors till the situation improved.
Jalandhar cantonment resident Devinder Dev, whose relatives live in Birmingham, remained glued to the TV, praying for the safety of his kin.
The Johals of the Civil Lines locality here saw anxious moments when they could not get through their niece Tina Sandhu in
Ealing. “The shop of one of her friends was ransacked and set afire in an adjoining locality,” he revealed.
Pardeep Sharma, a chef in a Southall restaurant, told TNS on the phone that roving gangs of rioters were intimidated by the huge presence of Punjabis as a result of which no damage was caused in the area.
“All those identified on CCTVs are being arrested and tried for rioting, arson and looting. Such strict measures have acted as a deterrent and the violence has abated,” he informed.
MLA Jassi Khangura, who represents the Kila Raipur constituency and has spent over 40 years in the UK, said Punjabi-dominated areas had remained largely untouched.
Dr Gursharan Singh, practicing medicine in London, said the media and the Opposition had been very responsible and supportive of government measures against the rioters.

London limps back to normalcy

n Over 1,300 arrested n Cameron decries violence, vows strong remedial action

London, August 11
As riot-hit cities of England limped back to normalcy, British Premier David Cameron today announced a slew of measures to bring back complete order on the streets, promising new powers to police and strong state support to help victims recover losses incurred in the mayhem.
Making a statement during an emergency recall of the parliament, the Prime Minister admitted there were “far too few” police on the streets and their tactics had initially not worked, but added this was a new and unique challenge for them.
Over 1,300 persons have been arrested so far in connection with the violence of over past five days, during which hooded youth and gangsters ran amok, ransacking stores, vandalising cars and robbing whatever came their way.
Describing the violence as not a matter of politics or protest but “theft”, Cameron said the police and the intelligence agencies were scurrying through CCTV footage to track down all those responsible for the lootings and arson.
“The government will ensure that the police has funds they need to meet the cost of any legitimate claims... The Association of British Insurers has said they expect the industry to be paying out in excess of 200 million pounds,” Cameron told lawmakers.
He said the police would now be authorised to order people to remove facemasks and their powers to impose curfew would be reviewed.
“So I can announce today that we are going to give the police the discretion to remove face coverings under any circumstances where there is reasonable suspicion that they are related to criminal activity,” he said.

Free Sarabjit, India tells Pakistan

New Delhi, August 11
India today asked Pakistan to take a humanitarian view and release Sarabjit Singh, an Indian national on death row following his conviction for alleged involvement in bomb attacks in that country in 1990.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said in the Rajya Sabha that Sarabjit Singh has been sentenced to death on September 15, 1991 on allegations that he was involved in three bomb blasts in Lahore and one in Multan.
"It is not our case that he was involved (in those blasts)," he said during Question Hour. "We don't share that (Pakistan's view of his involvement in the blasts)." India has taken up the matter with Government of Pakistan "very seriously," he said.
With Sarabjit's mercy petition pending before the Pakistan President, he said, "it is necessary for them to take a humanitarian view" of the petition. The issue was being pursued "with all diligence at our command," he added.
"The Government of India will do everything in its power to get the Indian national in Pakistan's custody released," he said.
The government has given an ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh to the next of kin of each of the persons in detention in Pakistan.
Krishna said there are 558 Indian nationals in custody in Pakistan. Out of them, 232 are civilian prisoners, 252 fishermen and 74 missing defence personnel. The missing defence personnel include 54 Prisoners of War since 1971.
"The Government of Pakistan has acknowledged the presence of only 72 Indian civilian prisoners and 237 fishermen lodged in Pakistani jails. Pakistan does not acknowledge the presence of any Missing Defence Personnel in its custody," he said.
Krishna said New Delhi has been consistently taking up with Islamabad the issue concerning all Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails.
He said Pakistan released 454 Indian fishermen and 19 Indian civilian prisoners in 2010. So far this year, Pakistan has released 103 Indian fishermen and 12 civilian prisoners. An India-Pakistan Judicial Committee on Prisoners was formed in 2008 to make recommendations to the two government on release of prisoners, he said, adding the committee has met four times so far.