Jharkhand files chargesheet against Koda

RANCHI: The Jharkhand vigilance bureau Friday filed a chargesheet against former chief minister Madhu Koda and ex-minister Kamlesh Singh and accused them of possessing assets four times more than their known sources of income.

"We have filed chargesheet against Koda and Singh in a disproportionate assets case," Jharkhand vigilance bureau Inspector General of Police M.V. Rao told IANS.

"This is the first chargesheet against Koda and Singh. They have been charged with amassing assets of Rs.1.40 crore and Rs.1.75 crore respectively beyond their known income. The vigilance department has evidence of the charges," an official in the vigilance department said.

The official said Koda's assets were 400 percent more than his known sources of income and Kamlesh's assets were 130 percent more. The chargesheet was filed in vigilance court of Ranchi.

The vigilance bureau had lodged cases against Koda and Singh along two other ex-ministers Bhnau Pratap Sahi and Bandhu Tirkey July 2 last year. The vigilance department raided the houses of Koda and the three other former ministers July 24. Koda and Singh were arrested Nov 30.

"The investigation is going on against Koda and the other ex-ministers. The preliminary chargesheet has been filed so that they do not get bail on the ground of failure of filing of chargesheet within 90 days," said another official in the vigilance bureau.

The official said the probe in the Koda case will take three to six months to complete. "There are many aspects and his assets are spread over in many Indian and foreign cities."

Koda is also facing probes by the income tax authorities and the Enforcement Directorate. The directorate had lodged a case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Koda, three more former ministers as well as his associates Vinod Sinha and Sanjay Chaudhary Oct 9 last year.

Indian economy will grow 7.5 percent: RBI

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Friday projected an impressive 7.5 percent growth for the Indian economy in the current fiscal even as it hiked the outlook for annual inflation rate to 8.5 percent by end-March.

The central bank had earlier pegged the growth rate at 6 percent and inflation at 6.5 percent.

"Assuming a near-zero growth in agricultural production and continued recovery in industrial production and services sector, the baseline projection for gross domestic product growth for 2009-10 is now raised to 7.5 percent," the central bank said.

"Keeping in view the global trend in commodity prices and the domestic demand-supply balance, the baseline projection for wholesale price inflation for end-March 2010 is now raised to 8.5 percent."

RBI Governor D. Subbarao, while presenting the third quarterly update of the monetary policy before chief executives of commercial banks, said he also expected the country's growth rate of 7.5 percent to be sustained in the next fiscal.

"As with growth, we shall formally announce our inflation projection for 2010-11 in our monetary policy in April. But on the assumption of normal monsoon and global oil prices remaining around the current level, it is expected inflation will moderate from July."

• No difference with Centre on fighting with Naxals: Soren

New Delhi, Jan 28 (PTI) Amidst reports that Jharkhand had stopped operations against Naxals, Chief Minister Shibu Soren today ruled out any difference with the Centre on the issue of controlling Maoist violence and expressed his resolve in checking the menace.

Soren, who held an hour-long meeting with Home Minister P Chidambaram, the first after he took over the reins of the state last month, told reporters that his government was not opposed to any offensive against Maoists.

"There is no difference between us and the Centre. We are working with each other.

"We discussed developmental issues and the problem of Naxalism. We have been trying to control the menace (Naxalism) and will continue to do so," Soren said.

Asked about the presence of central security forces to take on Naxalites in Jharkhand, he said, "There has been a decision from the Central government on sending forces for operation 'Green Hunt'

LeT is most potent of Pak-based terror groups: Expert

AgenciesTags : Lashkar e Toiba, India, terror groups, al Qaeda
Washington:

Outlawed Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), which has been responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, is the most potent Pakistan-based terror groups, chief of an eminent American think-tank has said.

Unlike the other Pakistan-based terrorist outfits, LeT has been successful in recruiting professionals and highly educated individuals from urban centres in Pakistan, Steve Coll, president of the New America Foundation told US lawmakers at a Congressional hearing on Wednesday.

"Perhaps the most potent of these groups in the Pakistan-Afghan region is Lashkar-e-Toiba. It's an India-focused group, but along with splinters like Jaish-e-Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and various cells that spin off from those, they've been able to recruit very talented operatives from educated classes in urban centres.

"I think this makes them distinctive in comparison to the Afghan Taliban for example," Coll said in his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.

4 Indian  attacked in Australia

Melbourne, Jan 28 (PTI) In fresh incidents of violence against Indians in Australia, four community youths, including three cabbies, were attacked in two separate incidents in Brisbane, a media report said today. "Four more attacks on Indians in Brisbane, Queensland, took place," Sky news reported without giving out any more information about the victims

Urdu journalist and writer Mehmood Ayubi passes away

Noted Urdu journalist and writer Mehmood Ayubi passed away here due to a heart attack in the wee hours today, his family said.

He was 70 and is survived by wife, a son and a daughter.

Ayubi, who was the executive editor of 'Urdu Blitz' till 1996, has written scores of short stories in Urdu and Hindi.

Short stories `Doosri Makhlooq' and `Parikatha' won him several awards, including honours from the Urdu Academies in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Bihar.

Originally hailing from Munger district in Bihar, he was staying in Mumbai for nearly five decades.

Ayubi was a regular contributor on current political affairs in Hindi weekly `Jan Samachaar', D K Joshi, editor of the publication, told PTI.

Joshi said he met Ayubi yesterday and collected his article for the weekly and tomorrow he was to address a felicitation function.

Gill criticises IPL fiasco, hopes to see Pak players in Indi

New Delhi: None of the 11 Pakistani players in the fray was picked by any of the eight Indian Premier League franchisees in the January 19 auction in Mumbai and entire Pakistan cried foul after the snub

Zaheer sizzles as India win series against Bangladesh

Mirpur (Bangladesh): Zaheer Khan produced a devastating spell of swing bowling to decimate Bangladesh with a career-best seven for 87 as India crushed the hosts by 10 wickets in the 2nd Test and clinch the 2-match series 2-0 today. After putting up stiff resistance yesterday, Bangladesh succumbed to a spectacular batting collapse today

Rajapaksa wins Lankan presidential polls


COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa won a resounding re-election victory Wednesday, beating back a challenge from his former army chief to lead this nation as it tries to rebuild from a devastating civil war, state television reported.
With nearly all votes counted, Rajapaksa had a 58 percent to 40 percent lead over Sarath Fonseka, state television reported.
Both men were considered war heroes by the Sinhalese majority for their successful offensive to destroy the Tamil Tiger separatists after 25 years of conflict.
But Rajapaksa's powerful political machine — and his alleged use of state resources, especially state media in his campaign — apparently overwhelmed Fonseka's opposition bid to unseat him in the election Tuesday.
Fonseka was also hoping for strong support from ethnic Tamils, who bore the brunt of the government's final offensive against the rebels, but turnout among the minority was dismal.
With overall turnout about 70 percent, state TV said Rajapaksa had secured 5.5 million votes to Fonseka's 3.9 million, with only a few hundred thousand votes outstanding.
There was no immediate reaction from either candidate.
In the hours before the announcement, hundreds of troops surrounded Fonseka's hotel, reflecting the tensions surrounding the race.
Just eight months ago, the men declared victory in the war against the rebels. But a bitter falling out pushed Fonseka to quit, join the opposition and challenge the president.
Throughout the campaign, the opposition accused Rajapaksa of plotting to rig the vote and steal the election. Fonseka himself was unable to vote Tuesday because he was not registered. It was unclear if he had failed to register or if he tried and was left off the voter rolls.
As results were being announced, troops surrounded the Cinnamon Lake Hotel after about 400 people, including alleged army deserters, gathered inside with Fonseka, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.
"We don't know what's their motive, and as a protective measure we have deployed troops around the hotel, and people who go in and come out are being checked," Nanayakkara told The Associated Press. He said there were no plans to arrest Fonseka.
Speaking to reporters at the hotel, opposition lawmaker Rauf Hakeem denied deserters were there and called for the government to allow Fonseka freedom of movement.
He said Fonseka had not tried to leave, but that the troop deployment signaled "his leaving the hotel will be quite dangerous."
Jehan Perera, a political analyst in Colombo, called the military presence at the hotel "absolutely unprecedented."
"It reflects the suspicion and the level of mistrust," Perera said.
Attempts to reach Fonseka were not immediately successful.
Fonseka remains popular with the troops he led to victory against the Tamil Tigers, and the government is worried that he might claim electoral fraud and then try to rally his former soldiers, Perera said.
The race has been acrimonious from the start, with the general accusing his former boss of entrenched corruption and the president branding Fonseka a dictator-in-waiting.
No major violence was reported during Tuesday's polling.
While voting among the Sinhalese majority appeared to be strong, turnout was sparse in some northern Tamil areas, where the most intense fighting drove hundreds of thousands from their homes. The minority community had been expected to support Fonseka and play a possibly pivotal role in the results.
Rajapaksa campaigned on his war record and promises to bring development to the nation. Fonseka pledged to trim the powers of the presidency and empower parliament.