Helicopter Jailbreak: 3 Inmates Escape Orsainville Detention Centre in Quebec

MONTREAL -The search has widened for three Quebec inmates who used a helicopter to escape from jail on Saturday evening.

Quebec provincial police say they have alerted authorities across the province and elsewhere.

Sgt. Ann Mathieu says police are reluctant to provide many details about their investigation for fear the escapees could be monitoring media reports.

Audrey-Anne Bilodeau, another police spokeswoman, said Saturday police were working with surrounding airports and Quebec’s Valcartier military base to help track down the chopper.

The men fled from the Orsainville Detention Centre in suburban Quebec City shortly before 8 p.m. with the help of a green-coloured helicopter,  Quebec provincial police said.

For the second time in just over a year, inmates used a helicopter to make a brazen escape from jail in Quebec.

Audrey-Anne Bilodeau, a police spokeswoman, said the helicopter flew west from the provincial detention centre, perhaps toward Trois-Rivieres or Montreal.

"We (are working with) a few partners like the airports of Quebec City and surrounding areas, the military bases and, of course, there's a ground search in the event that the helicopter is located," Bilodeau said late Saturday.

Provincial police Sergeant Ann Mathieu said the chopper put down in a courtyard of the detention centre then quickly took off again heading west.

Mathieu, however, said police were reluctant to reveal much else about their investigation for fear the escapees could be monitoring media reports.

The escapees were identified as Yves Denis, 35, Denis Lefebvre, 53, and Serge Pomerleau, 49.

The three men were being held at the detention centre waiting to stand trial, it was not immediately clear what charges they were facing.

Police released photos of the three men on social media and appealed to the public for help, but warned anyone who spotted them not to approach and immediately contact police.

The Orsainville Detention Centre, about 10 kilometres from the centre of Quebec City, can hold up to 710 offenders.

In 2010, it was the scene of a fire and a violent skirmish that ended with two inmates dead and another six rushed to hospital.

It was also the scene of a riot in February 2008, which was apparently triggered by a smoking ban at the facility.

Saturday's helicopter escape had similarities to another bold jailbreak last year.

Two inmates made a similar jailbreak from a St-Jerome, Que. prison in March 2013.

A helicopter pilot was forced at gunpoint to fly to the prison on a Sunday afternoon.

Two inmates at the facility, which is about 60 kilometres from Montreal, climbed a rope ladder into the hovering helicopter and fled.

The two escapees and the two men accused of hijacking the chopper were picked up by police in Mont-Tremblant, about 85 kilometres away, within a few hours of the escape.

Sikh hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal pleads guilty to U.S. campaign contribution scheme

New York, June 3 - Indo-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal, who has pleaded guilty to illegally donating thousands of dollars to American political campaigns, has requested a US court to adjourn the sentencing date to October from July to prepare necessary legal brief.

In a submission before US District Judge I Leo Glasser, lawyer Jonathan Sack yesterday requested an "adjournment of the sentencing" from July 31 to around October 23, citing the need for more time to gather relevant information for Chatwal's pre-sentence report and sentencing submissions on his behalf.

Sack said Chatwal has lived in India, Ethiopia as well as the US and "gathering information about his background and substantial activities at those locations has proved time-consuming." Sack said the alternative date in October was agreeable to federal prosecutors.

Chatwal, 70, a Padma Bhushan awardee and major fund raiser for former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to violate the Federal Election Campaign Act by making more than $180,000 in federal campaign donations to three candidates through straw donors who were reimbursed and to witness tampering.

Chatwal is free on a $750,000 bail and has surrendered his passport.

Prosecutors also said Chatwal tampered with a witness in June 2012, more than two years after a grand jury investigation had been launched.

"Mr. Chatwal deeply regrets his actions and accepts full responsibility for the consequences," said Lesley Bogdanow, a spokeswoman for Chatwal. "He looks forward to resolving this personal matter."

Bogdanow and Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch declined to identify the candidates who received the improper donations.

Chatwal was released on $750,000 bail. Glasser scheduled the sentencing for July 31.

The case is U.S. v. Chatwal, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 14-cr-00143.

India’s 29th state Telangana is born, KCR to be sworn in as first CM

HYDERABAD: Today is a new dawn in the history of the Indian Union. For the first time — outside the Hindi- and Bengali-speaking areas — two states speaking the same language have been created. Both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the two successor states to Andhra Pradesh, that come into existence on Monday, swear by Telugu.

This knocks down the basis on which the internal map of the Indian Union was redrawn in the first decade after Independence. With the linguistic basis of states — language being assumed as the indicator of a homogeneous culture — being challenged, there is scope for another exercise to redraw the internal map of India. Whether this will happen or not is a moot point but the question is why did this "Telugu state" break down. And what are the lessons for the future?

Although there was a demand for a composite Telugu state from before Independence, the Nehru-led government created Andhra Pradesh due to Congress's political interests. History has thus come full circle. In Andhra state (which was carved out of the Telugu speaking areas of then Madras state in 1953), the Congress was facing a tough electoral contest from the Communists.

So it was decided to merge Andhra with the Telugu speaking areas of the dominion of the deposed Nizam of Hyderabad. This would create a larger entity where the communists could be defeated.


(People celebrating the birth of Telangana as India's 29th state near the Charminar in Hyderabad)

The exercise created a monopoly In the 1977 post-Emergency elections, the Congress was soundly thrashed nationally but won 41 of the 42 seats in AP! The following year, Indira Gandhi romped home to the Lok Sabha from Medak.


(Preparations are under way at the official Telangnana Formation Day celebration venue at Parade Grounds in Hyderabad)

The second unstated reason was that the Nehru government, chastened by the experience of the integration of Kashmir, did not want to leave the territories of the Nizam as they were. Therefore, while the Telugu-speaking areas went to Andhra Pradesh, the Marathi and Kannada speaking areas went to Bombay and Mysore provinces.



But the Congress chief ministers did little to promote rural empowerment or land reforms. The only chief minister who tried — Narasimha Rao — faced opposition from vested interests and was axed. Growing rural angst led to Maoism striking deep roots.

The Congress was replaced in 1983 by the Telugu Desam Party, whose founder NT Rama Rao gave a clarion call to "Telugu pride" His son-in-law Chandrababu Naidu became the first chief minister anywhere in India to latch on to economic reforms. Soon capital Hyderabad became swanky with Microsoft and others setting shop. But the countryside was neglected and farmers' suicides increased. In Telangana region, which had been bearing the burden of the Nizam's feudal rule earlier, the situation was worse.

(A view of the illuminated gate of the public garden near the assembly on the eve of the Telangana Formation Day celebrations in Hyderabad)

Soon a separate state movement caught on: the people of Telangana believed that they would be better off as a separate state. Naidu lost power and was replaced by Congressman YS Rajasekhara Reddy in 2004 who started a regime of "free-ships" (free power, fee reimbursements to students, free houses, free medical treatment et al).

These moves taxed the exchequer but translated into heavy electoral gains for Congress, enabling it to form a government in New Delhi in 2009. After the sudden death of YSR, the Congress was in a tizzy even as the separate state movement gathered steam.

Then on the eve of the 2014, to beat the nationwide anti-incumbency and cash in on perceived political gain, Congress bosses passed a bill to divide the state. Unfortunately for the Congress, the move failed to reap it political dividends and it was soundly rejected in both regions.

As K Chandrasekhar Rao of Telangana Rashtra Samiti and N Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP take the reins of office today, they would do well to remember that instead of indulging in gimmckry, the best way to ensure they have a bright future is to provide it to the people of their states — both in rural and urban areas.

Prime Minister Modi takes charge as 15th PM

 45-member team takes oath  Cabinet berth for Rajnath, Sushma, Jaitley, Gadkari, Harsimrat 

New Delhi, May 26 - Ushering in the new government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Pranab Mukherjee today administered oath of office and secrecy to the 45-member Council of Ministers, marking the completion of a transition to a new order mandated by the people and witnessed by a galaxy of leaders of South Asian region and India.

As the evening shadows lengthened across the sprawling forecourt, the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan formed an impressive backdrop to the special stage set up to conduct the ceremony witnessed by over 3,000 special invitees and millions through television and live streaming on the web.

Ministers of State (Independent Charge): Gen VK Singh (retd) | Rao Inderjit Singh | Santosh Gangwar | Shripad Naik | Dharmedra Pradhan | Sarbnanda Sonawal  Prakash Javadekar | Piyush Goyal | Dr Jitendra Singh | Nirmala Seetharaman Ministers of State: GM Siddeswara | Manoj Sinha | Nihal Chand | Upendra Kuswaha Pon Radhakrishnan | Kiren Rijiju | Krishan Pal | Dr Sanjeev Kumar Baliyaan | Mansukh Bhai Vasava | Rao Saheb Dadarao Danve | Vishnu Dev Sai | Sudarshan Bhagat

Having propelled the BJP to victory with absolute majority in three decades, the 63-year-old Modi took oath in Hindi shortly after 6.00 pm. Earlier, on his arrival, slogans of Bharat Mata-ki-Jai' and `Vande Matram' reverberated in the air.

Promising to usher in a transparent era of governance matched with delivery, the Modi government was fastest-off-the-block with the official website launched almost simultaneously as Modi signed the register.

In his first message to the people, he said: “On 16th May 2014, the people of India gave their verdict. They delivered a mandate for development, good governance and stability. As we devote ourselves to take India’s development journey to newer heights, we seek your support, blessings and active participation. Together we will script a glorious future for India. Let us together dream of a strong, developed and inclusive India that actively engages with the global community to strengthen the cause of world peace and development.”

Responding to Modi's major diplomatic initiative, leaders of SAARC countries, including Nawaz Sharif (Pakistan), Hamid Karzai (Afghanistan), Mahinda Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka) graced the occasion. Vice President Hamid Ansari, outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Governors, including NN Vohra, Lieutenant Governor Virendra Kataria, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, allies of NDA, members of the diplomatic core, and personalities from the field of sports, films and industry also witnessed the 90-minute grand ceremony.

The new Prime Minister, who advocates a lean government, inducted 24 ministers in the Cabinet, 10 Ministers of State with Independent Charge and 12 Ministers of State seeking to strike a balance with a blend of experience and new.

The biggest beneficiary among the allies was SAD’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal. She was rewarded with a Cabinet rank even without any previous experience unlike Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP) Ashok Gajapathi Raju (TDP) and Ananth Geete (Shiv Sena), all of whom have had a stint as ministers either in the state or Centre. Bagging a Cabinet berth, television-star-turned-politician Smriti Irani was another big gainer.

Star-studded show

SAARC heads: Nawaz Sharif (Pakistan), Hamid Karzai (Afghanistan), Mahinda Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka), Tshering Tobgay (Bhutan), Sushil Koirala (Nepal) , Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom (Maldives), Navinchandra Ramgoolam (Mauritius), Shirin Chaudhury (Bangladesh Speaker)
Bollywood: Salman Khan, Anupam Kher, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Hema Malini
Industry: Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani, Anil Ambani, Gautam Adani, Ashok Hinduja, Sunil Mittal

Other VVIPs: Hamid Ansari, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, APJ Abdul Kalam

Gunmen attack Indian consulate in Afghanistan

All four terrorists killed  Modi talks to Karzai, vows to continue help

New Delhi, May 23

Gunmen armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades attacked the Indian Consulate at Herat in Afghanistan early this morning, barely three days before the BJP-led NDA government formally assumes office in Delhi.

The Indian diplomatic staff escaped unharmed, while all four attackers were killed. The attack is believed to be the handiwork of elements operating from Pakistan.

Gunmen opened fire around 3.15 am on the consulate from a nearby home, Herat provincial police chief Abdul Sami Qatra was quoted as saying. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack that was repulsed by India's Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel and Afghan security forces.

One attacker was killed while climbing the wall to enter the premises of the consulate that also houses the residence of the Consul General, said Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Amar Sinha.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin was guarded in his response to questions from the media on the attack. “We strongly condemn this cowardly attack. It again underscores that the main threat to Afghanistan and its peace, stability and security stems from terrorism beyond its borders,” he said.

Asked if India apprehended Pakistan’s involvement in the incident, Akbaruddin said New Delhi was assessing the entire incident in coordination with the Afghan authorities. “I won’t like to jump to any conclusion at this stage.”

Herat lies near Afghanistan's border with Iran and is considered one of the safer cities in the country. The Indian Consulate there focuses on some development projects, including the Salma Dam hydropower project.

Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi spoke to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Amar Sinha to discuss the situation arising from the attack. During the 10-minute conversation with Karzai, he told the Afghan leader attacks of this nature would not dilute India’s commitment to assist the people of Afghanistan.

On his part, Karzai promised Modi he would do everything to protect Indian missions in his country. “India salutes the efforts of India’s security personnel and Afghan security forces for their valiant efforts to fight terrorists in Herat,” Modi tweeted later.

This is not the first time that terrorists have attacked an Indian mission in the war-ravaged nation, where India has invested more than $2 billion in development works, including roads and power projects.

Last August, an assault on the Indian consulate in the eastern city of Jalalabad killed at least nine persons. Earlier this year, a suicide bomber was gunned down near the consulate in the southern city of Kandahar. In 2008, suicide bombers attacked the Indian Embassy in the capital, Kabul, killing about 50 persons and wounding scores. There was another attack on the Indian Embassy in 2009.