Saeed appeals in Lahore High Court against action under U.S. pressure

Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed has moved the High Court here, asking it to stop Pakistani authorities from taking any “adverse action” against him under pressure from the U.S. and provide security to him as his life was “not safe” and any “mishap” could happen.

Acting on the petition of Saeed for whom the U.S. has offered a 10 million-dollar bounty, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh on Wednesday issued notices to the federal government, the Interior Ministry and the Punjab Home Ministry to file their replies by April 25.

Saeed filed the petition along with his brother-in-law Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki, for whom the U.S. has announced a $2 million bounty under its Rewards for Justice programme.

Saeed and Makki contended in the petition that under Articles 4 and 9 of the Pakistani Constitution, they are free citizens, and the federal and provincial governments should be stopped from taking any “adverse action” against them under pressure from the U.S.

They asked the court to direct the government to provide them security as their “lives were not safe” and any “mishap” could happen.

Saeed and Makki further requested the court to direct the federal government to ask the U.S. to withdraw the bounty.

Saeed’s lawyer A. K. Dogar said the Pakistan government should ask the U.S. to provide evidence against Saeed, the JuD chief, before acting against him.

“Arresting anyone without evidence is an open violation of the law,” Mr. Dogar said.

News Source: THE HINDU

Tatra scam: CBI searches homes of two ex army officers

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday conducted search operations at the homes of two former army officers in Delhi and Noida and recovered key documents related to its probe into alleged irregularities in the procurement of Tatratrucks, sources said.

CBI sources said searches were also being conducted at the residence of an official of the Britain-based Vectra group that supplies the all-terrain heavy duty Tatra trucks to the Indian Army through defence public sector undertaking Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML).

The sources said raids were conducted at the homes of Brig (retd) P.C. Das in Delhi and Col (retd) Anil Datta in Noida. Searches were also conducted at the home of Vectra employee Anil Mansaramani.

The sources said three teams of CBI sleuths conducted the searches that began early on Wednesday morning. Some crucial documents expected to help in investigating the scam-tainted truck deal have been found, the sources claimed.

The CBI search operations come a day after the agency questioned three people, including former BEML director V Mohan, the company's present chief V R S Natarajan and Vectra group chief Ravinder Rishi, in connection with alleged lapses in the supply of Tatra trucks.

Tatra is a Czech manufacturer and owned by Britain's Vectra that supplies truck parts to BEML.

BEML assembles the trucks and sells them off to the army. Some 7,000 Tatra trucks have been bought by the army since 1986.

Army chief Gen V K Singh blew the lid off the alleged scam after he alleged in March that he'd been offered a Rs 14 crore bribe to clear a deal for supplying sub-standard Tatra trucks.

The army in a March 5 press release took the names of Tatra and BEML, alleging that Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh had offered a bribe on behalf of Tatra and Vectra.

The agency was probing why BEML decided to procure Tatra parts from Tatra Sipox (Britain), a private company, from 1997 when it was doing so through Omnipol (a state-owned unit inCzech Republic) since 1986.

The sources said CBI was trying to find out why BEML officials signed an agreement with Tatra Sipox (Britain) in a hurried manner June 14, 1997 in Bangalore, three days after they had a meeting with the firm and its associate companies' officials in Slovakia.

One more company, Venus Projects Ltd., in which Rishi allegedly has some stakes, was under the CBI scanner as he allegedly used it for purchasing spare parts for Tatra trucks, they said.

News Source:HindustanTimes

Retired scientist’s daughter stripped, thrashed in Bengal

BARUIPUR ( WEST BENGAL): A 30-year-old woman lay bleeding in front of her home for two hours after allegedly being molested and beaten up by rowdies on Sunday while police looked the other way. She says she was stripped and assaulted in front of her father, a retired scientist, by their landlord and members of a local club.

Police took their time responding to her SOS. The two policemen who finally arrived did not bother to take a complaint, or help her and her father, Aparesh Bhattacharya, get to a hospital. They left them bleeding on the road. They picked themselves up and went to SSKM to get their wounds treated and could file a complaint at Baruipur police station only on Tuesday. 


The main accused, Goutam Pal, denies the charges. On Tuesday, Pal's wife filed a counter complaint, accusing the elderly scientist of molesting her. Locals are too scared to talk about the incident, saying that those accused in the assault are members of both Trinamool Congress and CPM. 

The woman, a law graduate, and her father rented Pal's first-floor apartment in Mullickpur, South 24-Parganas, in February this year after Bhattacharya retired from the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology. Soon after moving in, he proposed to buy the flat from Pal but the two parties got into a legal wrangle over the purchase agreement. Pal started asking Bhattacharya to vacate the flat in March. 

According to the Bhattacharyas, a gang of around 20 men barged into the house around 1.30pm on Sunday and attacked them. The goons stripped the woman, molested her and dragged the father-daughter out on to the street where the assault continued. Someone informed Baruipur police station but the goons had left well before the cops arrived. 

"We were shaken, scared and helpless. Around 3pm, when two policemen came, we felt relieved but they refused to help us. Leave alone taking a complaint, they would not help us get to hospital," said Bhattacharya. 

"I get a chill down my spine whenever I think about the incident. They tore my clothes, molested me and assaulted me and my father. There were so many of them. We were just two. I want the guilty to be punished," she told TOI on Tuesday. The homeless duo went to Baruipur police station on Tuesday along with a lawyer and lodged a police complaint. 

"I do not know the names of the club members who raided our house because we are new in the locality. But I know at least four of them by face. One of them is secretary of the club. They must have some political clout or else how would they dare commit such rowdism in broad daylight," said Bhattacharya. 

Police have registered a case of attempt to rape, molestation and grievous injury against Pal and others. On Tuesday Pal's wife also lodged a complaint accusing the Bhattacharyas of attacking her. 

"The Bhattacharyas wanted to buy the flat for 40 lakh and gave Rs 2 lakh as advance. When they defaulted on paying the rest, we asked them to vacate the house. How can they forcefully occupy it? When I went to my house, the retired scientist misbehaved with me and their pet dogs pounced on me and my relative. On hearing our screams, the club members came to our rescue," she said. 

Neighbours who witnessed the incident are too scared to speak. "I saw a group of men entering the house and heard the father-daughter pleading. But since Pal is very influential and the club members are affiliated to both Trinamool and CPM, none of us dared to protest. Whatever happened was very unfortunate but we could not help the Bhattacharyas," said a neighbour. 

Trinamool MLA Biman Banerjee denied the club was involved. "The dispute is between the landlord and the tenant. Some club members must have gone there on hearing of the incident but they had no direct role. Let the law take its course," said Banerjee, the assembly speaker. 

CPM district secretary Sujan Chabraborty said: "I do not want to get into the dispute on the possession of the house as it will be decided by court. But I strongly protest the atrocity on the woman." 

"Both the parties have been fighting a legal case regarding the purchase of the flat for sometime now. On Tuesday we received complaint from both sides. We are investigating them," said additional SP (rural) South 24-Parganas Kankar Prasad Barui.


News Source:HindustanTimes

Pakistan needs 'substantial' evidence against Saeed: Gilani

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has acknowledged that the case of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed was an "issue" between Pakistan and India but said Islamabad needs "substantial" evidence against him to try him in a court of law. "We are serious on the issue of Saeed but thequestion is how to proceed against him without evidence. Courts here are independent and we need substantial evidence against him," Gilani said while interacting with a group of reporters at his residence Lahore.

Gilani further said it had been agreed that the Interior and Home Secretaries of the two countries would discuss the issue when they meet on April 16.

He said that former premier Nawaz Sharif too had asked him about the government's stance on the issue of Saeed.

Saeed, the founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, has been in focus after the US offered a USD 10 million bounty for him last week.

Gilani has said in parliament that the case of Saeed is an "internal issue" of Pakistan and any evidence against him should be provided to Islamabad so that it could be examined by the courts.

Responding to a question about groups like JuD fanning extremism in Pakistan, Gilani said: "I have ordered action against all proscribed organisations".

He said there should be peace between India and Pakistan and it was in the interest of both countries as well as the region.

"(Indian Prime Minister) Manmohan Singh and I are committed to bringing stability to the region. We will take every possible step towards peace and stability," he said hours after President Asif Ali Zardari met Singh in New Delhi.

Asked about trade with India, Gilani said: "Trade relations are beneficials for each other. Even China had asked us to have trade with India as it is good for both countries".

He said the Pakistan People's Party-led government had the mandate of the opposition and the people to forge good relations with India.

"The army should be with us on this matter," he added.

He said President Zardari daylong private tour of India would help improve relations between the two countries.

Responding to another question, he said: "All issues, including Kashmir, can be resolved through dialogue".

News Source:HindustanTimes