nandu kulkarni
MUMBAI, 5 JUNE: Dalal Street is rife with speculations that many traders and high net-worth investors booked heavy profits over the weekend through buying and selling of Infosys Technologies’ shares as they had an inkling about the return of Mr NR Narayan Murthy as executive chairman of the company.
Analysts have seen a spurt in purchase of Infosys shares in the final hour of trade on last Friday. The demand and some big deals in Infosys shares during the late afternoon trade, it is confirmed, helped the share price go up by more than 2.5 per cent, while the benchmark Sensex was down 2.25 per cent on the last day of the previous week.
Now it is being claimed by a section of brokerage that some traders did know about Mr Murthy’s comeback to put Infosys Technologies back on progress-track.
Jump in daily average volumes on both the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange during the period is now being cited to substantiate this point.
A quick calculation by a stock firm suggests if an investor had bought 1,000 Infosys shares at that day’s (Friday) lowest price of Rs 2,383 and sold them on Monday this week amid rising demand for the stock ~ after the announcement of the change at the helm ~ at a top price of Rs 2,625 on the BSE, the putative investor could have booked a net profit of nearly Rs 2.5 lakh.
“But this is how stock market operates and thrives as it happens quite often in some share or the other,” said a stock broker.
Some traders, however, have come up with a different set of reasons to explain why Infosys shares were bought and sold so heavily between Friday and Monday. According to them, fast declining rupee against the American dollar brightened the profit prospects of the country’s information technology companies as it would bolster their businesses.
Investors bought Infosys shares to create fresh positions after previous day’s (Thursday) expiry of May derivatives series. This, they say, explains demand for this IT share, which analysts say appears quite logical.
But the question remains why the spurt in Infosys buying at the end of May series only? It never happened earlier.
The traders say the deals and subsequent profit earning by “fortunate” traders cannot be termed as insider trading since the buying and selling was based on sheer common sense displayed by business-minded investors. It was their way of welcoming Mr NR Narayan Murthy.
Analysts have seen a spurt in purchase of Infosys shares in the final hour of trade on last Friday. The demand and some big deals in Infosys during the late afternoon trade, it is confirmed, helped the share price go up by more than 2.5 per cent, while the benchmark Sensex was down 2.25 per cent during the day
 

Relevance Of Traditional Rituals And Conservation Methods

WORLD Environment Day (‘WED’) is celebrated every year on 5 June to raise global awareness of the need to take positive environmental action. When we were in school ages ago, there was a favourite topic for essay-writing ~ Science: Blessing or Curse? Science aims at knowledge only, and technology is not necessarily an offshoot of modern science. It has been present since time immemorial to solve the problems of perpetuation of life. The leap from traditional mores to modernity, in the last fifty years or even less, has dramatically changed the nature of technology.
In traditional societies, conservation processes were perpetuated by various social mores and prohibitive measures incurred by both religious sanctions and the law of the land. The glare of modern science and technology has robbed us of that simple mode by its victory over nature in various ways. Undoubtedly modern life is indebted to science and especially modern technology in various fields especially medicine, medical and information technologies for making it much easier and care-free. But the big question is: At what price?
That brings us to a further issue namely, that of development vis-a-vis conservation. Indeed, the tremendous speed at which modern technology is developing cannot be compared with any progress made in the past. No doubt we have gained a lot from its progress. But after the initial euphoria, we have now realised that the cost is much too dear. People are drawing lessons from climate changes all over our planet ~ too many earthquakes, floods, cyclones, recent dust storms in China and disappearance of various flora and fauna or at best, changes in their features are all indicators of excessive interference with the ways of nature.  Frequent floods, soil erosion, global warming and change in weather patterns, erratic rainfall, even eruption of volcanoes are some of the recent indicators of serious natural calamities. In this overall phenomenon, the human being is the main actor with modern technological activities geared to fulfil the needs of modern life.
In an effort to contain the denudation of nature, environmental laws are being enacted. As with many other issues, the poorer countries are victimised more than the rich ‘developed’ countries although the latter are more responsible for exploitation of nature for development projects. Traditional societies use nature for minimum sustenance, while developed countries exploit it for massive development schemes. The annual meeting on pollution control has become an expensive fiasco.
As an old civilization, we can attempt a historical evaluation. Both Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore respected nature and tried to restrict its use to the minimum in accord with our ancient ethos. The protection of the environment is part of the dharma (duty) of the king.  Ashoka, Akbar and Shivaji planted trees, dug water-bodies and groves. The rights and duties of the people were mentioned in Dharmashastra and Arthashastra. For example, the destruction of plants and trees is generally prohibited, but for certain diseases and death, certain varieties of fruit, leaves or branches can be plucked. Even animal sacrifice is sometimes justified for the greater cause of nutrition and the need to maintain a balance in the natural world.
The Arthasastra also deals with protection of the people from natural calamities. But there can be a conflict of interest. For example, in relation to mining, the duty of the king to acquire wealth for his kingdom can clash with his duty to protect the earth. For good governance, detailed prescriptions and proscriptions are found in the texts. Subsequently, however, the political and social power structure became far more complicated, and is today extremely complex.
Given the long history of Indian civilization, many scholars believe that the survival rate of natural species is reasonable compared to many other civilizations where several natural species of animals were extinct after the invasion by foreign powers. Even the survival rate of people is much higher in India than in many Western countries where the natives were totally exterminated or at best reduced to a marginalized minority by the colonial powers. In many countries, excessive cultivation or misuse of land turned it into a desert and in some cases, changed the course of rivers.
Various rituals,  indigenous rites and beliefs have historically helped conservation in a natural way. Many of these beliefs are not scientifically backed or proved, but nevertheless they have helped in saving the earth from too much exploitation. At another remove, ‘scientifically’ backed ideas overused the natural capacity of the earth, resulting in barrenness. Scholars, who work on the problem of sustainability and development, have observed that many rites or traditions that include the non-human part of nature have helped conservation and sustenance as well. For example, the tradition of not plucking fruits and flowers at night when the trees are supposed to ‘sleep’ or not to milk a cow for some months after a calf is born, or not to plough land for a certain period after a crop. Scientific farming has denuded the tradition of natural sustenance.
More importantly, modern technology/science does not consider its method as one possible option. It is, on the contrary, touted as the best method. The inclusion of “non-human nature” into our daily lives is considered as a dated concept and, therefore, ‘un-scientific’. My western friends are surprised when I tell them that the Sun and the Moon are witnesses in our traditional wedding ritual. Both Gandhi and Rabindranath respected this traditional ~ more of a symbiotic ~ relationship between man and nature, including other living species. Tagore revived several traditional festivals like Halakarshan (the beginning of tilling the agricultural land), Varsha Mangaland Basanta Utsav etc., to commemorate the onset of different seasons and connect people with nature.
Traditions and various rituals are non-modern methods of conservation and sustenance, but can nevertheless address modern requirements.
Since 1972, a raft of environmental laws have been enacted, the violation of which is punishable. But the precautions are not working. The natural calamities are rooted in the constant interference with the ways of nature. The victims are invariably the poorer and less powerful people. Ironically, it is this segment that lives closer to nature, with minimal exploitation. Rights have of late been granted  to forest dwellers who have for generations used its resources for sustenance.
The Constitution&’s Directive Principles of State Policy, in particular the 42nd amendment, have tried to clarify the duty of the State towards its citizens as well as environment. It also ensures that the environment is protected and improved. Since the days of  Arthasastra, the law provides that protection of nature can improve the quality of life. But in this day and age, enforcement of the law can ensure development projects at the cost of the majority who do not enjoy its benefits and can suffer dislocation of their lives. Attempts are being made to demonstrate that development projects are attractive. But considering the poverty of a vast swathe of the populace, dislocation and loss of traditional mores cannot be compensated by trickle-down effects.
Indeed, we cannot go back to traditional methods, but can still reduce and modify our needs to help conservation. Nature-friendly technology cannot alone resolve the problem. On Earth Day, power consumption is stopped for one hour to save precious fossil-fuel. This economy in terms of usage was not unknown to us. In ancient India, many festivals were organised on the night of the full-moon. Subsequently, many places in the country volunteered to be without electricity to save power as well as to enjoy the light of the full-moon. Minimizing the use of motorized vehicles or paper (to save trees) are some other measures. Similar moves can be initiated to stop the mindless desecration of nature (which may backfire on us any day) in the name of development. Ironically, such perceived development benefits  a fraction of the populace who live far away from nature and is still inaccessible to those nearest to it.

Various rituals, indigenous rites and beliefs have historically helped conservation in a natural way. Many of these beliefs are not scientifically backed or proved, but nevertheless they have helped in saving the earth from too much exploitation

Woman ends life after killing baby; mother-in-law held
Jalgaon (Maha), 9 June: A 20-year-old woman allegedly killed her seven-month-old daughter by banging her against an electric pole before she committed suicide by jumping before a speeding train here. Locals yesterday saw the woman, Latabai Narayan Gawli, banging her infant daughter against an electric pole near a railway track on the outskirts of the Jalgaon railway station. Seeing the people rushing towards her, Latabai threw the injured baby aside and jumped on the railway track where a train was speeding towards Bhusawal. While the baby died on the spot, the woman was declared dead after she was rushed to the civil hospital. Later, the deceased’s husband, a resident of Shanipeth in Jalgaon, told police that she was mentally ill and so had been sent to her parents’ home a few months ago. Latabai’s brother later filed a police complaint against her 52-year-old mother-in-law of mentally and physically torturing his sister, based on which she was detained. pti
2 more held for UK couple&’s abduction
CHENNAI, 9 JUNE: Two persons, including a key accused wanted for the abduction of a British couple here recently were arrested today, taking the number of persons arrested in this case to 11.Satya alias Sakthivel was arrested from Neyveli bus stand in Cuddalore district and on his information, one more person, Kaliamurthy, was also picked up, police said here. They were wanted in connection with the abduction of British nationals Thavaraja (59) and his wife Salaja (55), who were kidnapped for ransom here on 29 May when they landed at the airport. The couple were originally from Sri Lanka and had settled in the UK and obtained citizenship. The couple had arrived here to proceed to Tiruchirapalli, where they planned to join a tour operator and visit temples in Tamil Nadu for nine days. Police recovered Thavaraja’s two credit cards, his wife’s jewels and a knife from them, it said. pti
Punjab docs on two-day strike today
Chandigarh, 9 June: The Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMS), a body representing a large number of government doctors in the state, have decided to proceed on a two-day strike across the state tomorrow to protest the recent transfers of doctors. The decision taken at a state body meeting of the Association held at Ludhiana is likely to hit the health services, mainly atprimary health centres and the civil hospitals, which are run by the health department. The PCMS is protesting the recent decision of the Punjab Government to transfer 523 specialist doctors across the state. pti

The political war in Chhattisgarh after the recent Naxal attack has taken a strange turn. A Congress-versus-BJP battle has become a Congress-versus-Congress internecine feud. The party has turned on itself following reports that the National Investigation Agency&’s preliminary inquiries point to a Congress hand in the Naxal ambush that led to the death of 27 persons, including top state leaders.
The NIA&’s needle of suspicion seems to be pointing at the faction led by former chief minister Ajit Jogi who, along with son Amit, was mysteriously absent when the convoy was ambushed by Naxals on 25 May.
The revelations have sent tempers soaring and Congress workers are now venting their wrath on Jogi loyalists in different parts of the state. They’ve hunted them down, locked them into rooms, beaten them mercilessly with shoes and iron rods, leaving several badly injured.
The fight followed Jogi loyalist and one of the two survivors of the attack, Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma, to the corridors of the swanky Gurgaon hospital in which V C Shukla is being treated for the four gunshot wounds he sustained. Lakhma turned up to inquire about his condition and there, right outside the ICU where Shukla was lying, a Congress group led by union minister Charan Das Mahant, now the new state chief, waylaid him and beat him with shoes. There was complete pandemonium in what is supposed to be a silent zone, but the hospital staff did not dare intervene as the two Congress factions tried to settle scores. Later, a bleeding Lakhma was handed over to the police, who were instructed to dump him somewhere near Karnal.
Furious Sonia
Those who accompanied Congress president Sonia Gandhi to Chhattisgarh after the Naxal attack on a Congress convoy were stunned by the depth of her fury. Sonia is known as a composed, polite person. But in Raipur, she lost her cool with everyone, from chief minister Raman Singh to the chief secretary Sunil Kumar and other senior officials to her own party workers. “You are lying,” she is believed to have shouted at Sunil Kumar at one point. And as Raman Singh fumbled with weak explanations for the security lapse that led to the killings, she told him angrily that the Centre had the power to dismiss him “in one minute”, according to someone familiar with the discussions.
She didn’t calm down even at the Congress headquarters in Raipur, where she met surviving state leaders in small groups. Those waiting outside could hear her raised voice through the closed door as she gave vent to her agitation and distress. Perhaps, the killings were a sharp reminder of past tragedies in her life and cut too close to the bone for her to handle with equanimity.
‘Thankless’ media
There were many red faces in the official delegation that went with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Japan when a Hyderabad-based television channel telecast footage of senior babus having a night-out in Tokyo with the media contingent. As is tradition, the external publicity division of the ministry of external affairs arranged a dinner cruise for the media, to which officials accompanying the PM were also invited.
It would have gone down as just another XP dinner, except that the hosts had also arranged for live entertainment in the form of a Bollywood dance performance. The dancer, an Indian girl born and brought up in Japan, was full of oomph and her dance was provocative. At one point, she almost had a wardrobe malfunction too, after which the entertainment programme was called off.
When the delegation returned to the hotel, panicky aides informed them that footage of the evening had been telecast in Hyderabad, with the TV camera focusing closely on the dancer and the officials watching her. There was a huge furore that night. PMO officials breathed fire at the ministry of external affairs, which in turn came down heavily on the media group. The representative of the TV channel was taken to task and XP
officials vowed to stop all hospitality
for accompanying media persons on future trips.
The threat was put into action almost immediately. When the delegation landed at Bangkok on the way back from Tokyo, media persons were left to fend for themselves, without the cocktails and dinner usually showered on them.

agence france-presse
ISTANBUL, 5 JUNE: Thousands of striking workers took to the streets of Turkey’s cities today, loudly joining calls for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step down as mass protests against his rule intensified.
Bellowing to the din of drums and wailing Turkish pipes, teachers, doctors, bank staff and others marched in a sea of red and yellow labour union flags in the capital Ankara and in Istanbul, where they converged on Taksim Square, the cradle of nearly a week of violent clashes.
“Taksim, resist, the workers are coming!” they chanted, demanding the resignation of Mr Erdogan, who has dismissed the protesters as “extremists” and “looters” as he faces down the biggest challenge to his decade in power.
Two people have been killed in the six days of unrest, doctors and officials say, and hundreds have been arrested.
Fresh clashes erupted overnight, with police firing teargas and water cannon on protesters in major cities including Istanbul and reportedly arresting 25 people in Izmir for “misleading and libellous” Twitter posts.
“Erdogan needs to apologise, resign and go to court for the things he has done, for the excessive force,” said Tansu Tahincioglu, a 26-year-old web entrepreneur in Istanbul.
“Before, people were afraid to express their fear publicly. Even tweets are a problem. But now they are not afraid,” he said.
The violent police response to the protests has hardened the movement, drawing in the labour unions that represent hundreds of thousands of Turks. Two major trade union federations, KESK and DISK, launched two-day strikes from yesterday in solidarity with the street protesters.
“The ordinary workers and the educated are all together to defend a better Turkey, where there is equality and freedom,” said Arhan, a 45-year-old doctor, dressed like other demonstrators in a white shirt and cap.
Marching with his wife to Taksim Square, he said he did not believe Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc when he apologised yesterday to people injured at the start of the protests. Turkey’s state-run news agency says police have detained 25 people for “spreading untrue information” on social media and provoking protests.
The Anadolu Agency says today people were detained in the city of Izmir for allegedly “inciting the people to enmity and hate.” It said police were still looking for 13 others.

press trust of india
New Delhi, 9 June: Slamming BJP for politicising the power tariff issue, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said consumers are receiving higher electricity bills due to round the clock power supply in the city.
Justifying the current tariff structure, she said the cost of power production has increased significantly in the last few years due to which electricity tariff in the city has also gone up.
“The BJP is politicising the issue because of the ensuing elections which is very unfortunate. The people are receiving higher bills mainly because we are ensuring round the clock supply of electricity. If you get 24X7 power supply, then it will be reflected in the bills,” Mrs Dikshit said addressing a rally in Bindapur area of West Delhi.
She also wondered why BJP did not protest the steep power tariff hike effected recently in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
“The electricity rates have been increased significantly in Uttar Pradesh few days back, but no one protested. The power tariff in Delhi is much lower compared to other metropolitan cities,” Mrs Dikshit said.
BJP and Aam Aadmi Party have been targeting the Delhi government for rising cost of power ion the city. Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel even promised to cut the rates by 30 per cent if his party comes to power in Delhi in assembly polls scheduled to be held in November.
The power tariff was hiked by 22 per cent in 2011, followed by five per cent hike in February last year. It was raised by upto two per cent in May last year and again by 26 per cent for domestic consumers in July.
The tariff was increased by up to three per cent in February and it was again hiked earlier in May by 1.5 per cent to adjust the power purchase cost of the distribution companies. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission is currently considering a further raising the tariff as all the private power distribution companies have demanded a steep hike in the rates to help them overcome fund crunch.
Mrs Dikshit had recently indicated that power tariff may go up again. Addressing the rally, she  promised to set up mono rail network in the area to connect it with central Delhi. Government has already decided to set up monorail network in congested area of east Delhi.
Mrs Dikshit said the introduction of Delhi metro and AC buses in the city has made passengers’ journey comfortable and it was time to improve mode of public transport in congested localities.
“The Government has decided to introduce Mono Rail for this purpose with an aim to supplement the services of Delhi metro to introduce mono rail from Bindapur,” she said.
The chief minister said that Bindapur would be included in the ongoing survey for introduction of mono rail in Mohan Garden localities since it was easy and less expensive to lay mono rail lines in congested localities.
The chief minister stated that her government would widen the roads from Dwarka to Bindapur and construct a DTC terminal in the area.

agence france-presse
Seattle, 5 June: A US soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers is expected to plead guilty in return for escaping the death penalty, when he appears before a military tribunal.
Sergeant Robert Bales faces charges including 16 counts of murder, six of attempted murder and seven of assault over the massacre in southern Afghanistan in March last year.
The 39-year-old will appear at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state to enter his plea over the killings, which further strained already tense US-Afghan ties.
Seventeen of the 22 victims were women or children and almost all were shot in the head. Prosecutors called in November for him to face the death penalty, setting a provisional date for court-martial in September.
His lawyer John Browne announced last week that he had reached “an agreement with the military to take the death penalty off the table if (Bales) he will plead” guilty.
Asked if Bales was sorry, Mr Browne said: “Absolutely. And I think that will become clear as the process goes forward. He’s very relieved that the death penalty is not on the table.”
“And then he’ll have a sentencing trial in September to determine whether he can get life with parole or whether he will get life without parole,” Browne said in video interview.
The plea bargain deal is likely to anger families of the victims who originally wanted him to face justice, and potentially a death penalty, in Afghanistan.
Bales allegedly left his base in the Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar province on the night of 11 March 2012, to commit the killings, which included nine children. Bales allegedly set several of their bodies on fire.
At a pre-trial hearing in November, Bales’s family insisted he was innocent until proven guilty, calling him “courageous and honorable,” while his lawyer raised questions about the role of alcohol, drugs and stress in the tragedy.
But prosecutors lashed the “heinous and despicable” alleged massacre during an eight-day hearing, details of which were given at the military base south of Seattle.
Prosecutors at the so-called Article 32 pre-trial hearing alleged that Bales left the base twice to carry out the killings, returning in between and even telling a colleague what he had done.
The hearing included three evening sessions ~ daytime in Afghanistan ~ to hear testimony by video conference from Afghan victims and relatives of those who died.
In a statement read out by the soldier’s sister Stephanie Tandberg after last year’s hearing, the family said it had yet to learn the how, why and what of the incident.

statesman news service
NEW DELHI, 9 JUNE: The much talked-about NCTC seems to have got a quiet burial with the government making it clear that there were no plans to bring any law to set up the anti-terror body in the wake of strong opposition from non-Congress chief ministers during the recent CMs’ meet.
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said his ministry was not exploring the option of bringing a Bill in Parliament for a wider debate on the feasibility of the anti-terror body as suggested by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.
“No, we have no such proposal,” Mr Shinde told PTI when asked about the possibility of bringing a law for setting up the National Counter Terrorism Centre.
Asked whether the government was planning to issue an executive order for the NCTC, the home minister said, “We are not doing anything now. We brought a proposal before the chief ministers. But some of them opposed it. So, there is no further movement now”.

statesman news service
KOLKATA, 5 JUNE: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation today deployed a fleet of battery-operated vehicles (in sns photo) to remove garbage replacing old hand carts.
Ten such vehicles will ply in the morning and in the evening on Sarat Bose Road. The vehicles have a capacity to carry 250 kg of garbage.
The vehicles have a recorded message in Bengali, Hindi and English that urges people to put their garbage in the vehicle.
The vehicles also have the capacity to sprinkle water on trees and plants. Sunglow, an NGO, has imported the vehicles from China spending Rs 18 lakh for the fleet.  The KMC’s solid waste management department will bear the maintenance cost of the vehicles. The civic body will bring in more vehicles from China and the hand carts will be gradually phased out, said Mr Debasish Kumar, member, mayor-in-council, parks, gardens and markets.  The garbage will not spill over from the vehicles which will be covered. They will be able to carry five times more garbage than the existing vehicles or hand carts and these will also minimise the number of vehicles that carry garbage to the dumping ground. Mr Kumar said hand carts are a civic nuisance and a health hazard and have long been a cause for concern among the citizens.  The vehicles for the past two months have been plying on an experimental basis to collect garbage on Sarat Bose Road.
The state pollution control board today observed World Environment Day at Rabindra Sadan. Mr Partha Chatterjee, minister for commerce and industries, Mr Rabiranjan Chattopadhyay, minister for science and technology, attended. A rally was organised from Harish Park to Minto Park to mark the occasion.

statesman news service  
KOLKATA, 5 JUNE: Urban planners need to choose which heritage buildings to save and which to sacrifice, American urban planning expert Robert Brosnan said today at a roundtable on “green building” at the American Center. 
“I wouldn’t necessarily advocate for preserving everything and I think, you know, cities need to regenerate themselves. Especially, older cities,” said Mr Brosnan, who is in the city on a two-day trip to share his experiences regenerating Arlington district near Washington DC.  
“I think that’s what planning is about. The planning is about looking at where it makes sense to preserve character, and where does it make sense to tear down and maybe replace with new (buildings), and where does it make sense to expand,” he said.  It can be hard to adapt older buildings to make them energy efficient suggesting the focus should be on making sure new constructions, like those coming up at Rajarhat, are eco-friendly, said Mr Brosnan.
“It’s hard to retrofit the old city, in terms of green buildings, their infrastructure should be changed from time to time and so that in itself makes it more efficient, but it’s hard to make it very very efficient,” he said. 
Mr Brosnan said in his experience there are two elements that make up a “green building”: the energy efficiency of the structure, and the proximity to transit.  It’s the first time Mr Brosnan has been to India and he said he’s found Kolkata a lot “more orderly” than Dhaka, where he visited before coming to the city.  While here, he’s given talks to students at Bengal Engineering and Science University, in Howrah, architects at the city-based NGO, the Centre for Built Environment and businessmen from the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII’s) Young Indians group.  
The planning is about looking at where it makes sense to preserve character, and where does it make sense to tear down and maybe replace with new (buildings), and where does it make sense to expand
 

statesman news service  
KOLKATA, 3 JUNE: A woman in her mid-fifties sustained serious injuries after she was attacked by alleged Trinamul Congress workers for casting her vote in favour of the opposition candidate in the by-poll for the Howrah Lok Sabha seat held yesterday. 
Hamida Biwi, a class IV employee of SSKM hospital and resident of Lichubagan in Nazirganj at Howrah’s Sankrail, sustained severe injuries on her thumb as she tried to save her pregnant daughter-in-law from being attacked by the hoodlums.  
Sources said alleged Trinamul workers had come looking for her son Sayeed and attacked the family members after they didn’t find him at home.  
A profusely-bleeding Hamida was rushed to the South Howrah State General Hospital. She accused  local Trinamul leader Guddu of assaulting her.  
“He had been threatening us to cast our vote in favour of the Trinamul candidate or face dire consequences for the past few days. We were attacked as we did not pay heed to their demand,”  the woman said, while speaking to media persons at the hospital.  
Senior Trinamul leader Mr Arup Rai, however, refused to link the incident with post-poll violence and said it was the fallout of the enmity the victim’s family had with a particular group. 

SHIMLA, 4 JUNE: The Tibetan government- in- exile based at Dharamshala has issued an advisory to all its departments, high officials and different organisations linked to it “to be very alert and watchful for Chinese spies and under-cover agents” infiltrating its ranks “on a large scale”. The office of the spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has been cautioned in particular, to be “more vigilant” about the new escapees to India from Tibet. The fears follow the recent arrest of the Tibetan origin man Penpa Tsering, whom the exiles reported to the local police as a “suspected Chinese spy”. According to the officials of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Chinese intelligence agencies have been “keeping a close watch” on its organisations campaigning for freedom in their homeland.
These agencies have reportedly stepped up their activity in the wake of the self-immolations that have lead to more than 100 deaths in Tibet so far. Fearing “terror attempts” by China, the exile government has also asked its officials to be cautious about “meeting unknown people and eating food with them”. CCTV cameras will also be installed in different departments.
Meanwhile, Tibetan officials have claimed the suspected spy Tsering is fully trained in intelligence matters, handling weapons, and physical combat and was a member of China&’s People&’s Liberation Army. According to them, he was sent to poison two particular Tibetan youth involved in their freedom struggle,  especially to terrorise the Tibetan community in India.
However, police and Intelligence officials are still interrogating and trying to ascertain the truth about Tsering. An Indian voter identity card and an Adhaar card with the same photograph but different names were recovered from him. Tsering has told the officials that he was “disturbed over the brutality to which Tibetans were subjected in Tibet by the Chinese government and quit the Army to escape to India”. sns

statesman news service
KOLKATA, 5 JUNE: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today told reporters at Writers’ Buildings that the Union home ministry has communicated its inability to send any Central forces for the panchayat elections, but said the state government would provide as many armed personnel for the polls as is possible. State Election Commission joint secretary Sabyasachi Ghosh, said that they would react on this only after getting a formal communication from the state.
Miss Banerjee (sns photo) told reporters that the Union home ministry wrote to state chief secretary Sanjay Mitra yesterday stating that they would not be able to send any security forces for deployment during the panchayat polls. The state government had sought 300 companies of Central security forces.
Miss Banerjee however said that she has spoke to the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Punjab urging them to act on the request for sending some armed personnel to Bengal for the rural polls. “I personally called up the chief ministers for forces and they have promised to look into the request,” she said, adding that in this backdrop, the state government would provide force for the rural polls according to its capacity and availability. “I think the Centre is not in a position to send 800 companies of force (as was originally sought by the SEC) even in normal situations and moreover, now the Centre has deployed a large number of troops in Chhattisgarh. But we are aware that law and order is a state subject and we will provide our entire force for the panchayat elections,” she said.
She added that the government was facing problem in running the day-to-day administration as a large number of IAS and WBCS officers have been deputed as panchayat poll observers. SEC secretary Tapas Ray said that the government originally gave it a list of 487 observers but later withdrew around 100 of them citing administrative reasons. Thus in effect the commission has around 387 observers and today it wrote to the government asking for another 40.
Meanwhile, the Left Front has failed to file nominations in at least 1,531 gram panchayat (GP) and 370 panchayat samiti (PS) seats for the first phase of the rural polls to be held on 2 July, the nomination deadline for which closed today. The LF, however, has put up candidates in all the zilla parishad seats that are going to polls in the first phase.
The ruling Trinamul Congress appears to have filed nominations in all seats, be it gram panchayat, panchayat samiti or the zilla parishad. The number of GP, PS and ZP seats going to the polls in the first phase in nine districts is 29,700; 5,792 and 514, respectively. According to the SEC, the LF, comprising the CPI, CPI-M, RSP and Forward Bloc, has filed 28,169 nominations for GP; 5,422 nominations for PS and 716 nominations for the ZP.
The number of nominations does not necessarily represent the actual number of candidates in the fray as one candidate might have filed multiple nominations; the SEC allows a maximum of four nominations by a single person for the same seat.
The Trinamul has filed 33,539 nominations for GP; 6,580 for PS and 661 for ZP. The Congress has submitted 8,735; 1,994 and 397 nominations for the three tiers, respectively. The BJP has filed 4,167 nominations for GP; 921 for PS and 271 for the ZP seats. The actual number of candidates in the fray will be known on 10 June, the last day for withdrawal of nominations for the first phase polls. The filing of nominations for the second phase polls that began on 3 June will continue till 10 June and filing of nominations for the third phase, that began today, will run till 12 June.

statesman news service
KOLKATA, 5 JUNE:  Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today said Trinamul Congress’ victory in the Howrah bypoll today has opened up a new alliance – “an alliance of the people.” "We have fought against the CPI-M, the Congress, the BJP, some Central government agencies and scandalous campaign against us,’’ she said.
Left Front chairman Biman Bose, however, said the bypoll results, especially the LF’s getting more votes than the Trinamul in two of the seven Assembly segments in just two years of Trinamul rule, clearly indicated the people “do  not any longer repose their trust in the new government”. “If the Trinamul hadn’t resorted to a terror campaign and threatened many people with dire consequences if they voted for the LF candidate, we would have won the seat,” Mr Bose said.
The AICC general secretary in charge of Bengal, Mr Shakeel Ahmed, said the Trinamul’s victory was “nothing but a BJP gift to it”, since the BJP had decided not to join the fray even after announcing its candidate so as to help the Trinamul.
Miss Banerjee said after the results were declared : “You will have to realise that a new chapter, a new calculation has started in Bengal election.  This election result has given us a message ~ we have to fight alone. We will form people’s grand alliance against all immoral alliances.”
The Trinamul chief said her party didn’t require Congress help in fighting any election in the state, but the Congress needed the Trinamul’s help.
The Trinamul would perform well in the panchayat poll, she predicted. “The Left will be left out. It cannot survive by hobnobbing sometime with Congress and sometime with BJP," she said. 
Soon after the results were announced, violence erupted in Mallapada area of Sankrail where the LF candidate was ahead of his Trinamul rival.
The CPI-M accused Trinamul supporters of hurling bombs to avenge their defeat in the two constituencies of South Howrah and Sankrail. Rapid Action Force (RAF) was deployed to bring the situation under control. Four people were detained in this connection
On the other hand, Trinamul supporters broke into joyous celebrations even before the final results were declared. They began to gather in large numbers outside the Dumurjula indoor stadium, where
counting was held, since early in the morning and the
numbers increased as the day progressed.
They cheered every time the party candidate gained lead over its rivals and raised slogans in support of the party supremo Ms Mamata Banerjee.
Cops had a tough time controlling the frenzied mob who tried to break the barricades to enter the stadium.  
Earlier during the day, the CPI-M candidate Sridip Bhattacharya accused  Trinamul supporters of throwing green aabir at him.  The incident occurred a few metres from the Dumurjula stadium.
However, state agriculture minister Arup Roy, who is also the party Howrah district president, admitted the by-poll results were not satisfactory. “We have to do some repair work in Sankrail and Howrah (South) to regain the seats,” he said. 
State panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee said : “It was an acid test for Mamata Banerjee and this victory will have a great influence on the panchayat poll.”

Hong Kong, 4 June: Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers braved thunder and a torrential downpour to attend a candlelight vigil today marking the 24th anniversary of China’s bloody Tiananmen crackdown, as Beijing blocked commemoration attempts. A massive turnout filled the former British colony’s Victoria Park in an annual act of remembrance for the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people killed in the 3-4 June onslaught in Beijing in 1989.
In Beijing, police blocked the gate of a cemetery housing victims of the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators as part of a sweeping annual effort to bar commemorations. In a narrow street near Beijing’s Forbidden City, security personnel patrolled outside the former house of Zhao Ziyang, the former communist party secretary who was purged and held under house arrest for perceived sympathy with the protesters. Hong Kong and Macau, which reverted to Beijing’s rule in the late 1990s but have semi-autonomous status, are the only places in China where the brutal military intervention is openly marked. pti

press trust of india
BANGALORE, 5 JUNE: CBI probing the alleged multi-crore iron ore scam today arrested former Commerce and Industries Principal Secretary Viswanathan and three others for their reported role in it. The other two arrested are the CEO of Deccan Mining Syndicate Private Limited, its Managing Director and former Sandur Circle Inspector, a Delhi-based CBI official told PTI.
All of them would be produced before the CBI Special Court tomorrow, the official said. The official, however, refused to give further details.
On May 27, former Karnataka Minister and mining baron G Janardhan Reddy and six others were chargesheeted by CBI in a court in connection with alleged illegal mining of iron ore from  Bellary district and surrounding areas in 2009-10, which caused ‘wrongful loss’ of Rs 198 crore to the exchequer. CBI had booked Reddy, his personal assistant M Ali Khan, the then Deputy Conservator of Forest, Bellary, S Muthiah, among others, for alleged criminal conspiracy. CBI has taken up the investigation on the directives of the Supreme Court.

ranjeet singh jamwal
CHANDIGARH, 5 JUNE: Supporters of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda feel the Congress leader is not being given due appreciation for the progress and development he has brought about in the state.
While the chief minister believes "Haryana is miles ahead" of Gujarat, whose chief minister, Mr Narendra Modi, hogs the limelight all the time for the progress the western state has made, Mr Hooda&’s supporters rue the fact that he has not been given due appreciation for the rapid-fire progress and for making the northern state "number one".
A section of Congress leaders in Haryana feel the party&’s Central leadership has not projected the achievements of Haryana under Mr Hooda’s leadership while BJP leaders keep praising Mr Modi. Veteran BJP leader L K Advani has further triggered debate on "chief minister number one" by praising Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan vis-a-vis his Gujarat counterpart even as Mr Hooda’s supporters believe he deserves the "number one" tag.
No surprise that Mr Modi&’s state being "way behind Haryana" regularly finds mention in Mr Hooda&’s speeches as he quotes facts and figures to support his claim. "The progress of any state can be assessed by four parameters ~ per capita income, per capita investment, per capita plan budget and resource mobilisation. Haryana is ahead in all these while Gujarat is way behind Haryana," Mr Hooda said on Tuesday.
He said according to the Planning Commission’s report, Haryana has achieved resource mobilisation of 192 per cent during the 11th Five Year Plan as compared to 95 per cent at national level and 96.5 per cent in Gujarat. Per capita milk production in Gujarat is as low as 400 grams whereas it is 750 grams in Haryana, Mr Hooda said.
The Congress leaders in Haryana feel Gujarat is getting more attention than Haryana due to Mr Modi&’s aggressive marketing of his achievements. To counter this, the Hooda government has been highlighting its model of development to prove their point that Gujarat, which is showcased as the ideal state and destination for big bucks investment, is actually behind Haryana.
"People talk about development in Gujarat but, in fact, Haryana is ahead of Gujarat in 50 areas of development and is the second largest contributor of food grains to the Central pool. Gujarat is at number six in per capita income, whereas Haryana is ahead of several big states," Mr Hooda said recently.
As Mr Modi has strong presence on social media, Mr Hooda also wants to take on the tech-savvy Gujarat CM and has ventured into cyberspace by launching a website to share his ideas, vision, policies and achievements.
The Opposition, however, has drawn attention to the fact that big industrial houses, including automobile giant Maruti-Suzuki which has had its base in Haryana&’s Gurgaon for nearly three decades, are going for multimillion dollars investments in Gujarat. They blame Mr Hooda&’s policy for big investors’ increasing preference for Gujarat over Haryana.