Raiganj, 5 August: The officials of the district administration started a magisterial inquiry over the death of a prisoner, Gabinda Barman (23) in a cell of Raiganj district correctional home of North Dinajpur district. A magistrate of North Dinajpur district administration started the inquiry. Reportedly, it was being inquired to check for any violation of human rights behind the death of the under-trial prisoner.
It was reported that in the evening yesterday Gabinda Barman was found hanging in a cell of Raiganj correctional home. He hanged himself with a towel. He was a resident of  Tilna village in the Hemtabad police station area of North Dinajpur district.
He was arrested on 5 February 2013 on charges of killing a youth, Kailash
Barman.     sns

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Siliguri, 5 August
Although the Trinamul Congress failed to bag a majority number of zilla parishad seats in Alipurduar sub-division, party leaders, following instructions from AITC general secretary Mr Mukul Roy, started strengthening its organisation to snatch Alipurduar civic body from the Congress&’s clutch.
The Alipurduar municipality was under the control of the Congress with the help of an Independent, the BJP and a Trinamul councillor since 2008.
At present the SDO is functioning as an administrator of the civic body. The Congress was controlling over the Alipurduar municipality since 2003.
The Alipurduar municipal election would be held on 21 September.
The Trinamul state committee member, Mr Mridul Goswami, said: “Party leaders started working ward-wise to oust the Congress from power in Alipurduar municipality and we are confident of winning the civic body this time.”
“Party leader Mukul Roy came to review the situation and asked party leaders to start campaigning for the municipal elections in Alipurduar,” Mr Goswami said.
“Mr Dipak De, the Congress leader and former chairman of the civic body, joined the Trinamul yesterday, who keeps control over ward no. 1,” Mr Goswami also added.
“Besides other Congress leaders like Dulal Ghosh from ward no. 7, Anup Chakraborty and Kanauj Gowami joined the Trinamul along with their followers,” he said.
“Some other Congress leaders and workers from Left parties like RSP would join shortly ahead of the civic body election from ward no. 9,” he added.
Notably, the Congress had won eight seats out of a 20-member Alipurduar Municipality board in 2008. The Left Front had won eight seats.
The Congress captured the board with the help three others, including the Trinamul, BJP and Independent candidate.
Senior Congress leader Mr Biswaranjan Sarkar, said: “The Trinamul Congress will not be able to win majority seats in Alipurduar municipal area if the state government does not declare a separate Alipurduar district soon.”
People will reply in ballot against the delay in declaring a separate Alipurduar if the Trinamul begs votes showcasing the proposal for a separate district,” Mr Sarkar also said.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Siliguri, 5 August
The Siliguri Metropolitan Police examined the Siliguri MLA and former Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) chairman Dr Rudranath Bhattacharya and the Jalpaiguri district Trinamul Congress president and the SJDA board member Mr Chandan Bhowmik for the alleged misappropriation of SJDA funds, today.
Dr Bhattacharya was made the chairman of the SJDA after the Trinamul Congress came to power but he was removed as the SJDA chairman following the controversy over the SJDA corruption in March. Police arrested 10 persons, including three engineers and owners of some construction companies, for alleged siphoning off of more than Rs 50 crore SJDA funds for setting up of three electric crematoriums in Bagdogra, Malbazar and Mainaguri, two sewerage treatment plants at the Mahananda river and installation of CCTV cameras in Siliguri. Police also earlier interrogated the former SJDA chairman and Malda district magistrate Mr G Kirankumar. The controversy has started snowballing into a political crisis. The Siliguri Metropolitan Police commissioner, Mr K Jayaraman, examined them at the chamber of the assistant commissioner of police of the detective department for several hours.

TMC on the way to form the SDZP board, crushing Left Front stranglehold
Statesman News Service
Balurghat, 5 August
As the post of the South Dinajpur zilla parishad (SDZP) sabhadhipati is reserved for the tribal woman so the battle would have to be conducted among the three winning tribal women candidates from the ruling Trinamul Congress in the district. There were three contesting women candidates of the ruling party while all of them won in the rural poll results published on 29 July.
Among the three winning candidates for the post of SDZP sabhadhipati, Ms Lalita Tigga won from the Gangarampur no. 4 reserved seat (SC-Woman), Ms Kalpana Murmu won from the Balurghat no. 10 reserved seat (SC-Woman) while Ms Chintamoni Biha elected from the Tapan no. 12 reserved seat (SC-Woman) by securing ticket from the ruling party. Notably, the ruling party won 13 out of total 18 ZP seats. The Left Front managed four while there was no election for one seat due to litigation. The TMC is now on the way to form the SDZP board, crushing the Left Front stranglehold that continued almost unscathed since 1977.
The tentative notification for the board formation of SDZP from the concerned district panchayat and rural department would have to be announced by 10 August on the basis of the direction of State Election Commission (SEC). Sources said the message from the SEC regarding the matter was reportedly delivered to the administrative officials of the concerned department of the district. It is learnt that the sabhadhipati for the concerned SDZP would have to be nominated by the majority of the elected representatives sharply on or before 31 August.
The result was unexpected that went in favour of the ruling party in the ZP level having seen after the publication of the poll results on 29 July. “Ten seats were enough to form the SDZP but we won 13. That means the people were fed up with the Left having institutionalised corruption and made nepotism as a part of running that SDZP,” said the district president of South Dinajpur Trinamul Congress, Mr Biplab Mitra.
Answering a question whether their party was already selected sabhadhipati for SDZP, Mr Mitra said their party would discuss the matter by sitting among the elected party candidates while the decision would have to be taken as per consent of the majority of the members. Mr Mitra thanked the rural people of the district for the landslide in favour of Miss Mamata Banerjee.
“Though overjoyed, we can not allow ourselves
to be swept off our feet.
The responsibility the thumping victory has invested us with is enormous. Ours being a party
committed to the welfare of Maa-Mati-Manush, we
will work for the poor.
The result wills, we are sure, herald all-round development with focus to
 be trained on the underprivileged,” he said.

Statesman News Service
Raiganj, 5 August
Nine students were hurt when SFI and TMCP members armed with stones and lethal weapons involved in a clash in the premises of Surendranath Mahavidya-laya of Raiganj in North Dinajpur district this afternoon. The injured received first aid from Raiganj district hospital. After the incident, both groups of students blocked National Highway 34 at Siliguri more for hours. A huge traffic congestion occurred as a result.
The Secretary of North Dinajpur SFI committee, Mr Pranesh Sarkar, said: "Some outsiders who were intoxicated suddenly entered the college and started to damage motorbikes and bicycles. The SFI members and other students forced them to leave the college. After few minutes, a group of TMCP members and a section of outsiders armed with stones and lethal weapons attacked our members in the premises of the college. Five of our members were injured in this attack. With a demand for the immediate arrest of the attackers, we blocked NH-34 for an hour. Later, with the assurance of police we withdrew the blockade."
The President of North Dinajpur TMCP committee, Mr Ajay Sarkar, said: "The SFI members attacked some of our members in the college this afternoon.
 They also kept them confined in a room. When we entered the college to save our members, the SFI members attacked us. Four of our members were injured. We only tried to prevent their attack. Demanding immediate arrest of the SFI members we blocked NH-34 for hours."
The IC, Raiganj police station, Mr Dinesh Pramanik, said: "Around nine members of both groups of students were hurt but they were not seriously injured. We did not receive any complaint from them. However, we have started an
investigation."

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Balurghat, 5 August
Arbind Singh Chauhan and Manoj Nagel, the other two prime accused in the Saradha default case, have turned up at Balurghat Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court today, as per the order issued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ms Dipali Shribastava Sinha. "The Chief Judicial Magistrate remanded them in 14-day police custody," said the government pleader, Mr Debasish Mazumder.
Earlier it had been decided that the duo would be presented at Balurghat CJM Court on 26 June, the day when the prime accused Mr Sudipto Sen along with Ms Debjani Mukherjee had turned up at Balurghat CJM Court but due to security reasons, police reportedly failed to present both Chauhan and Nagel before the CJM Court on that day.
Both the accused were presented at Balurghat CJM Court on the basis of four cases filed by the agents and depositors. Meanwhile, several cases are reported to have been lodged against the four accused ~ Mr Sudipto Sen and Ms Debjani Mukherjee aside from the duo produced today ~ at Balurghat CJM Court by the agents and depositors of the Saradha Group of Companies, demanding money they have collected and invested in several money mobilising schemes to be paid back.
Around 300 allegations are reported to have been filed by the agents and depositors at Balurghat police station. Agents and depositors of the Saradha Group staged an agitation at Balurghat this afternoon. Adequate police forces were deployed in areas adjoining Balurghat Court and the district administrative building to avoid any untoward incident.
Earlier, the deputy-magistrate of Balurghat, Mr Koushik Sinha, reportedly sealed the Saradha office at Balurghat following a stir by the investors and agents after the company had collapsed. Most of the agitators belonged to the lower and medium income groups of the district.

Mumbai, 5 August: In a setback to Mr Nitesh Rane, the son of Maharashtra Minister Narayan Rane, a local court has rejected the closure report filed by the CBI in a case where he is accused of shooting at a man and directed a detailed probe.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate B Y Kale said that the CBI probe was not as per the information given by Chintu Shaikh, the complainant, nor was it in conformity with the observations of the Bombay High Court, which had asked the CBI to take over the probe from the Mumbai crime branch.
Shaikh had challenged the CBI’s closure report, giving a clean chit to Nitesh, who heads the local NGO ‘Swabhiman Sanghatana’.
The court said there was doubt about the manner in which the probe had taken off soon after the incident and it has become necessary to provide credibility and instill confidence in the investigation of this case, which involves the son of the sitting Cabinet minister of the state and brother of a Member of Parliament.
“Considering the nature of the crime, the involvement of all the accused and other persons related to the crime and in the interest of justice, I find it necessary to direct further investigation in detail,” the Magistrate said.     SNS

New Delhi, 5 August: The Lok Sabha is apparently ‘leaderless’, at least for the time being, with Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde out of action, reportedly for about ten days, following surgery for a lung ailment in Mumbai yesterday.
 Mr Shinde, 72, has been leader of the Lok Sabha since July  2012 replacing Mr Pranab Mukherjee after the latter was chosen as the UPA candidate for the presidential election.
 There was no immediate word from the government about who would be fulfilling the function of leader of the House in Mr Shinde’s absence.
The senior-most minister from the Congress in the Cabinet is Mr AK Antonty but he is a member of the Rajya Sabha. The senior-most cabinet minister from the Congress and a member of the Lok Sabha is finance minister P Chidambaram.
 With the monsoon session in progress amid turmoil over several divisive issues, the leader of the House is quite likely to be called upon to give the views of the government on any given issue.
Sources said the function can be performed by either parliamentary affairs minister Kamal  Nath or Chidambaram according to their availability in the House.     SNS

1 out of 2 indian employees face unequal opportunities
press trust of india
London, 21 May
Corporate India is yet to adopt the concept of equal opportunity in its true sense, as 1 in every 2 employee said they experienced one or the other kind of discrimination during the process of recruitment and at work, says a survey.
According to a study by TeamLease Services, the Indian workplace is largely accommodating but discrimination still exists on various grounds, especially while hiring.
The survey was conducted in the top eight cities of India ~ New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad ~ and found that 5 out of 10 employees have experienced one or the other kind of discrimination.
The situation, however, is not all gloomy because the discrimination on the basis of caste and religion has declined substantially.
However, prejudices based on qualification, gender and age seem to be the most commonly practiced biases, it added.
“While community and caste have ceased to be common occurrences, India Inc still has a long way to go before the work environment becomes truly bias free,” TeamLease Services senior vice-president Surabhi Mathur Gandhi said. He added, “The underlying preferential treatment is still witnessed in varying circumstances, debilitating the growth of the work force, especially women. It is very important for companies to have a clear policy on discrimination with proper enforcement; else productivity will be adversely affected.”
An interesting revelation was that as one grows older, the less discrimination he/she is likely to face.

Home Ministry working on comprehesive note: Chidambaram
press trust of india
New Delhi, 5 August
The first day of Monsoon session of Parliament today was marred by uproarious scenes over the decision to form Telangana even as the government said substantive and procedural issues related to the new state would be dealt with in a Cabinet note being prepared.
There were also demands for creation of new states, including Bodoland out of Assam. Two members from Bodo areas also staged a protest outside Parliament building to press the demand in the wake of the Telangana decision. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha could not function normally as they witnessed slogan-shouting by members from Andhra against the proposal to form Telangana and demanding justice to the people of the Seemandhra region. Due to the uproar, both the Houses were adjourned repeatedly without substantial business being transacted. The Lok Sabha was then adjourned for the day at 3 p.m. and the Rajya Sabha just 15 minutes later.
In the RS, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the Home Ministry will “bring a comprehensive note for the Cabinet containing both substantive and procedural issues for the decision of the Cabinet.”
In the RS, soon after the House paid obituary references, two TDP members entered the Well opposing creation of a separate Telangana state.
Mr Biswajit Daimary (Bodoland People’s Front) too entered the Well carrying a placard. While TPD members raised banners against the division of Andhra Pradesh, Mr Daimary held a banner that read: “If Telangana, Why Not Bodoland?”
Upset with members not listening to his appeal, Mr Ansari adjourned the House for 10 minutes.
When the House reassembled, similar scenes were witnessed. However, the members kept shouting slogans in the Well.
Amid slogan shouting, the Chairman adjourned the House till noon. With uproar being witnessed again, the House was again adjourned till 2 p.m.
The House then took up discussion on the recent devastation caused by floods in Uttarakhand. It was repeatedly disrupted by slogan-shouting on Telangana and Bodoland.

statesman news service
Guwahati, 5 August
The Assam government has warned agitators, who are holding demonstrations for separate states against violent activities, saying ‘violence will not solve any problems, rather it will compound matters’.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, in a statement issued to the media, also asserted that the government would not tolerate protests in any manner and no one can be allowed to take the law unto their hands.
Mr Gogoi, who had already stated that he was not in favour of further division of Assam, however expressed his interest to talk with the agitators if they shun the path of violence.
All problems can be resolved amicably, through non-violent, democratic and peaceful means across the table.
The doors for negotiations are always open for those who abjure violence, added Mr Gogoi.
His reaction came yesterday following unabated violence that erupted in the Karbi Anglong district and many parts of west Assam in the past few days while demanding four separate states namely Bodoland, Kamatapur, Karbiland and Dimaraji in the line of Telengana.
Earlier, Mr Gogoi had appealed to ‘one and all to exercise great restraint to help in restoring normalcy’ in Karbi Anglong and Bodo dominated areas of west Assam.

press trust of india
Hyderabad, 5 August
A series of protests continued in the Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh for the sixth consecutive day today against the Congress and UPA’s decision to bifurcate the state for creation of Telangana.
Samaikyandhra supporters and members of various organisations held protests across coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema districts demanding a united Andhra Pradesh, though, the situation was under control, police said.
The Samaikyandhra supporters, including students, also held road-blockades, dharnas, formed human chains in Visakhapatnam, Chittoor, Kurnool districts, besides Vijayawada and Tirupati cities. They also resorted to tonsuring their heads, washing clothes and cooking food on the roads at some places.
Protesters took out huge rallies and held demonstrations in Anantapur.
However, the situation is under control and peaceful, DIG (Anantapur range), Mr B Balakrishna said, adding that they have taken some protesters into preventive custody.
A report from Visakhapatnam said agitation for united Andhra Pradesh continued there with rallies, demonstrations and forming human chains by various organisations and Samaikyandhra joint action committee (JAC) students.
RTC employees staged a dharna in front of the Maddilapalem bus depot demanding the Centre not to bifurcate the state.
The relay hunger strike of JAC of lawyers of various bar associations, who boycotted courts till 8 August, entered the second day today.
At a Polytechnic College, students squatted on the road disrupting the traffic on NH-5 forcing the police to disperse them. Gajuwaka MLA Chintalapudi Venkatramaiah along with activists staged a dharna near Gajuwaka main junction disrupting movement of vehicles between steel plant road and Visakhapatnam.
In Anakapalli town, students took out a huge rally.

Press Trust of India
Islamabad, 5 August
Pakistan has taken unprecedented security measures to fend off a looming threat by Taliban militants to launch the “biggest attack” on some unspecified important installation, officials said today.
Joint teams of commandos from the army, navy and air force went into action yesterday and took control of important facilities like the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Rawalpindi and several key sensitive security buildings in Islamabad. Elite police units were deployed at prisons, the parliament building, diplomatic enclave, five-star hotels and other key places in the capital frequented by VVIPs. “It is the highest level of security in the country, Islamabad Police chief Sikandar Hayat said. Security was ratcheted up after credible reports that Taliban militants were planning to storm some key building and take people hostage.
An Intelligence official said militants emboldened by last week’s attack on Dera Ismail Khan jail ~ during which 252 prisoners escaped ~ wanted to created an even bigger impact with a high-profile attack.
“The secret communication revealed that, apart from other potential targets, the militants want to storm some airport, occupy passenger lounges and even destroy aircraft,” the official said. Army and police personnel have been combing the thickly forested Margalla Hills overlooking Islamabad since yesterday.

Agencies
Istanbul/Ankara, 5 August
Turkey’s former armed forces chief has been jailed for life for plotting to overthrow the government, after five years of trials involving officers, lawyers, writers and journalists.
General Ilker Basbug was among dozens of people convicted of involvement in the so-called Ergenekon plot.
Critics of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have accused him of staging show trials to eliminate his enemies.His supporters said the trials have pushed the military out of politics.
Twenty one people have been acquitted and some 40 convicted so far, including at least one journalist and a police chief.
Gen. Basbug, who led the military between 2008 and 2010, had rejected all the charges against him.
The plot allegedly aimed to topple the government led by Mr Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The defendants faced charges ranging from membership of Ergenekon, an alleged underground terrorist network, to illegally possessing weapons and instigating an armed uprising against the AKP. Prosecutors had demanded life imprisonment for Gen Basbug and 63 others, including nine other generals.
The court is sitting at the high-security Silivri prison complex, west of Istanbul, where the general is being held. Hundreds of riot police fired tear gas to disperse some 1,000 protesters who were marching outside the court. The case is being seen as a key test in Mr Erdogan’s showdown with secularist and military opponents.
Since he came to power in 2002, hundreds of military officers – serving or retired – have been arrested.

Peshawar, 5 August: In a bizarre statement, a senior Pakistani police official today compared the relationship between the
Taliban and police as one between a bowler and a batsman involved in a test match.
Inspector General Police (IGP) Ihsan Ghani of Khyber- Paktunkhwa made the statement while speaking to the media.
“We’re the batsmen as they keep bowling. Sometimes we score a six, other times we lose a wicket. This is a test match, not a T-20 so this is on-going with them,” he was quoted by The Express Tribune as saying.
Work is underway to combat the threats the police is receiving and a similar incident like the Dera Ismail Khan jailbreak would not happen in the future, the IG said.
In the jailbreak last week over 250 prisoners, including many terrorists, escaped the prison.     PTI

Agence France-Presse
Damascus, 5 August
Syria’s crisis will only be solved by stamping out “terror”, President Bashar al-Assad has said, in reference to rebels fighting his regime.
In a rare speech on Syrian state television yesterday, Mr Assad also dismissed the political opposition to his regime as a “failure” that could play no role in solving the country’s brutal war.
“No solution can be reached with terror except by striking it with an iron fist,” said Mr Assad. “I don’t think that any sane human being would think that terrorism can be dealt with via politics,” he added. “There may be a role for politics in dealing with terrorism pre-emptively,” said Mr Assad, adding that as soon as “terrorism” has arisen, it can only be struck out.
In March 2011, a widespread protest movement calling for political change in Syria broke out.
In response, the regime unleashed a brutal crackdown against dissent, while systematically labelling dissidents and rebels as “terrorists” and refusing to recognise the existence of a popular revolt. The movement later morphed into an increasingly radical insurgency and more than 1,00,000 people have since been killed, the UN says. The war has also forced millions to flee their homes, while plunging Syria into an unprecedented economic crisis.
In his latest speech, Mr Assad also said Syria’s economic woes “are linked to the security situation, and they can only be solved by striking terror”.
He meanwhile stressed the need for the army to fight on against the rebellion.
“It is true that there is a battle being fought in the media and on (the Internet), but the crisis will only be solved on the battlefield,” said Mr Assad in his 45-minute address.
He also said that any efforts towards a political solution should be combined with continued military operations. “There cannot be any political efforts or political progress if terror is striking everywhere. Therefore terror must be struck in order to get the political process moving on the right track,” Mr Assad said. “That does not mean that there cannot be parallel tracks. There is no reason why we shouldn’t strike terror while at the same time working politically,” he added.
Mr Assad’s comments come amid faltering efforts to push forward a US-Russian proposal for peace talks dubbed Geneva 2, which would see regime representatives and the opposition gathering for negotiations.
In his speech, Mr Assad lashed out against the main opposition National Coalition, describing it as a “failure”.

Associated Press
Beirut/Brussels, 5 August
Iran’s new president has expressed his country’s support to Syria’s embattled leader Bashar Assad’s regime, saying no force in the world will be able to shake their decades-old alliance.
Hassan Rouhani’s comments came as Syrian troops and rebels fought some of the fiercest battles in the mountains of the coastal province of Latakia, an Assad stronghold.  Mr Rouhani made the comments during a meeting in Teheran yesterday with Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi, Syria’s state news agency SANA said.
Syria has been Tehran’s strongest ally in the Arab world since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran has been one of Mr Assad’s staunchest backers since Syria’s crisis began. Teheran is believed to have supplied Mr Assad’s government with billions of dollars since the country’s crisis began in March 2011.
Iran-supported Hezbollah also has sent fighters into Syria to bolster an offensive by Assad forces. “The Islamic Republic of Iran aims to strengthen its relations with Syria and will stand by it in facing all challenges,” SANA quoted Mr Rouhani as saying in a report from Teheran.
“The deep, strategic and historic relations between the people of Syria and Iran ~ will not be shaken by any force in the world.”
Mr Rouhani was elected in June and was endorsed by the country’s supreme leader on Saturday, allowing him to begin acting as president. He was sworn in Sunday.
EU calls for rapid progress:
The European Union urged Iran’s new president today to make “rapid progress” towards resolving concerns over the country’s disputed nuclear programme after he struck an apparently more conciliatory stance.
The West is hoping that President Hassan Rowhani will take a more constructive approach in the long-running talks on Teheran’s nuclear drive, which despite Iranian denials is suspected by world powers of having military objectives.
Yesterday, he repeated his campaign promise to help Iranians who are struggling under the weight of US and EU economic sanctions and called for “mutual respect” with the West, striking a sharply different tone from his predecessor. US and EU sanctions have crippled Iran’s once lucrative oil sector, cut its access to global banking and contributed to soaring inflation and a shrinking economy.