Pastor held for sexual assault-ToI-14.2.12

Hyderabad: Police arrested a pastor, Paul Raj, 33, for allegedly misbehaving with a housewife at her house at Alwal. 
    According to police, Paul Raj, who is a pastor in a local church, entered the woman’s house when she was alone on February 11 morning and tried to sexually abuse her. “However, the victim resisted his attempts and raised an alarm. The neighbours, who heard her screams, rushed to her aid but the pastor had by then taken to his heels,” police said. Based on the complaint lodged by the victim, police booked a case under section 354 (outraging modesty of a woman) of the IPC against Paul Raj and arrested him on Sunday night.

Israeli diplomat’s car bombed in Delhi-ToI-14.2.12

Jewish State’s PM Blames Iran As Deadly Feud Explodes In India

New Delhi: The battle over Iran’s nuclear weapons programme seemed to reach India on Monday as an Israeli diplomat’s car was hit by a terror strike barely 200 metres from the official residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. 
    The first open attack on an Israeli target in India coincided with an aborted strike against Israeli diplomats in Tbilisi, Georgia, pointing to a possible marked escalation of hostilities between the Shiite theocracy in Iran, which is defiant about pursuing its nuclear programme, and Israel, the US as well as the Sunni Arab world who are equally determined to stop it. While Israel categorically blamed Iran, the Iranian government denied any involvement in the attack. 
    On Monday afternoon, a motorcycleborne youth tailed an Israeli embassy vehicle on Aurangzeb Road in the high security zone in New Delhi, close to the PM’s residence, and allegedly placed “something” on the rear of the car when it stopped at a traffic signal at the intersection of Aurangzeb Road and Safdarjung Road in the Capital’s high-security zone.
    Seconds later, there was an explosion and the Toyota Innova car, bearing registration number 109 CD 35, went up in flames. Three persons including the Israeli defence attache’s wife Tal-yehoshua Korene, who was going to pick up her children from the American Embassy School, were injured. 
    Investigators later got a crucial clue to the assailant in the footage from two CCTV cameras installed at industrialist Analjit Singh’s 15, Aurangzeb Road residence. The bomber, in brown jacket on a motorcycle, is seen tailing the embassy car at 3.10 pm at a distance of 2-3 seconds. The cameras could not capture the registration number of the bike. 
Blast comes a day after 4th death anniversary of Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyah, who died in a car explosion. Hezbollah blames Israel 
Police neutralize bomb under Israel embassy staffer’s car in Georgian capital, Tbilisi SHADOWY CONFLICT 
In past 2 years, 4 Iranian scientists have been murdered. Head of Iran’s atomic energy organization survived car bomb attack in Nov 2010 
In Nov 2011, Maj-Gen Hassan Moghaddam, believed to be head of Iran’s missile programme, died in a blast 
WHAT HAPPENED 
3.12pm | Israeli diplomat Talyehoshua, 42, leaves embassy at Aurangzeb Road for American Embassy School to pick up her children 3.15 | Her Innova car, 109 CD 35, stops at red light at Safdurjang Rd crossing. Man on red bike wearing a brown jacket stops right behind Innova 3.16 | As Innova begins to move, driver hears a knock at the back. Witnesses see biker speeding away after sticking a diary-sized object on the car’s rear3.16 | Seconds later there’s a blast and car goes up in flames.

Tainted IAS couple in MP may be first to lose wealth-ToI-12.2.12

Bhopal: Armed with sweeping powersunder its new anticorruption law, one of the first actions the BJP governmentin MadhyaPradesh may consider under the MP Special Courts Act is to seize the alleged “ill-gotten wealth” of the tainted IAS couple, ArvindJoshi andTinuJoshi. 
    Sources said their property, reportedly worthhundreds of crores, may be used for a high-visibility public cause, so as to send around the message that the government meansbusiness. 
    “Yes, attaching the wealth of IAS couple could be the first test case under the new Act, since confiscation of property involves a legal procedure. There is a perception within the government that such a strong first step, that too against two top babus, under the new anti-graft Act could signal a genuine determination to fight corruption,” sources close to the state’s political leadership said. In February 2010, the IT departmenthad raidedtheofficial residence of then Principal Secretary (Jails) Arvind Joshi and his wife Tinu, who too was Principal Secretary (Women and child welfare). The raids on the two 1979 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre officers had yielded over Rs 3 crore in cash, documents showing that the Joshis owned no less than 25 residential flats and 400 acres of land, besidesstakesin many business ventures apart from investments in the stock exchange worth crores. Subsequently, the IT department asked the IAS couple to cough up Rs 135 crore astax. 
    As the departmental inquiry against the suspended IAS coupleisstilldragging on with a former retired Chief Secretary, Mrs Nirmala Buch, heading the probe, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has been drawing flak from many quarters, including the opposition parties, for catching only the smallfry. 
New anti-graft courts to start from Feb 15 
    The government has begun the motions for setting up the first four special anti-graft courts at Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur—under the provisions of new anti-corruption law—by February 15 for expeditious trial of corruption cases. The decision was taken at a meeting held at chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s residence on Saturday morning, a day after the state notified the MP Special Courts Act following Presidential assent to the relevant bill on Wednesday. 

MHA asks Red-hit dists to follow Balaghat model-ToI-12.2.12

New Delhi: Union home ministry has written to district magistrates of naxal-affected districts, which are covered under the Integration Action Plan (IAP) for development activities, to replicate Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat model. The Balaghat model uses ‘soft’ power to make people aware of the local goings on and instill a sense of pride for something that they have created. 
    Tribal-dominated Balaghat has recently brought out a newsletter – ‘Jai Johar’ (welcome or mamaste) – that aims to involve locals in creative activities under the “Redeem Self Esteem” programme. The authorities are now toying with the idea of setting up women and youth clubs to integrate the locals with the mainstream. 
    The newsletter, brought out by the district administration, has carried write-ups of tribal school students about their customs, songs, art and rituals in local Baiga dialect. The exercise aims to give the local community an identity. 
    It is believed that such activities will help them absorb the benefits of development initiatives which may, otherwise, bring many unintended consequences like accrued income fuelling alcoholism, outsiders cornering the major share of economic upsurge or rise in inequitable social practices particularly against women. 
    “Sensing the importance of such an initiative, the home ministry has written to all DMs of naxal-affected districts to replicate this model. We, along with development works, need to do a lot of other things simultaneously which may bring a sense of belonging among the locals,” said a home ministry official. 
    Brainchild of Balaghat DM Vivek Porwal, the newsletter has struck a chord with the tribals, who were earlier exposed to only pamphlets brought out by Maoists, and inclined to believe them as gospel truth — whatever Red Ultras disseminated through their vitriolic writings against the state machinery. 
    Porwal said, “Discovering that self-esteem is a critical determinant of ability to withstand change, we have convinced local communities that their creativity is good enough to be shared with others. We are also going to use this newsletter as spring board for our next level of ‘regenerating self esteem’ programmes like women and youth clubs under IAP.” 
    The IAP is being implemented in 60 naxal-affected districts with 100% block grant from the Centre. The allocated funds (Rs 25 crore and Rs 30 crore per district during 2010-11 and 2011-12, respectively) were placed at the disposal of a district-level committee — comprising DM, SP and district forest officer – that identifies and implements the basic development and infrastructure projects. The scheme will be implemented in 18 more districts from the next fiscal (2012-13).

Jr doctors’ stir leaves 24 dead-ToI-12.2.12

However, Authorities Term The Deaths As ‘Routine’

Hyderabad: The 50-day junior doctors’ strike has claimed a heavy price, with as many as 24 deaths that occurred between Friday night and Saturday morning acrossthestate,being attributed to the paralysed emergency services at staterun hospitals. Seventeen deaths were reported from three tertiary care hospitals in Hyderabad__six each from Gandhi and Osmania General Hospital (OGH) and of five new-born babies at Niloufer Hospital. Five deaths were reportedin Kurnool.Visakhapatnam and Bhadrachalam accounted for one each. However, state health authorities, as expected, termed the deaths as routine’ and said they were no way related to doctors’ boycott of emergency duties. 
    There were heart-rending scenes of patients suffering in front of emergency wards at government hospitals as doctors stayed away from emergency duties even as patients, most of them poor, were being turned away to private facilities. Chaotic scenes were witnessed at the casualty wards andintensivecareunitsofvarious departments at the hospitals in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Kakinada, Tirupati, Anantapur, Kurnool and Warangal. Vital casualty wards, intensive care units of various departments, in-patient and outpatient wards at all the teaching hospitals werebadly hit due to the strike. Victims of accidents and burns were the worst hit with no doctor available in the emergency wing. 
    Pavan Singh, a Dhoolpet resident was at OGH trying to find a doctor for his relative. “We were referred from the Chest Hospital. My brother-inlaw developed severe swelling on his left leg and had other complications. He was unable to walk. We brought him in an ambulance to the hospital but were told that doctors had left for theday.” 
    Also at OGH was a 12-member group that had met with an accident near Mahbubnagar while returning from Tirupati. Thevictimswithbleedinginjurieswere rushedtoOGHon Saturday afternoon. Of the 12, an old couple, Narsamma and Narsi Reddy, were lying on stretchersoutsidethecasualty. Pvt hospitals making most of medicos’ strike 
    A7-year-old boy in the group had suffered internal injuries and was crying in pain even as his mother said that they were directed to the orthopaedic department from the emergency but found no doctor there. “Now, we have no choice but to go to a private hospital,” she said. 
    Boycotting the emergency services since Friday evening are 2,800 junior doctors across 10 teaching hospitals in the state who constitute 95 per cent of the workforce in the emergency medical care. Their demand: a 40 percent hike in stipend and reduction in the compulsory service in rural areas from three years to one year, upgradation of emergency care infrastructure and deployment of special protection force at the teaching hospitals. 
    Earlier, the state government had formed a cabinet subcommittee comprising health minister K Murali Mohan, primary education minister S Shailajanath, finance minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy and industries minister J Geeta Reddy to look into their demands and find a solution. During the 50-day period, the medicos were called for talks at least four times, but they failed on all occasions. In fact, soon after the doctors started boycotting emergencies on Friday evening, they were invited for talks but the impasse continued. 
    The private sector is predictably benefiting from the standoff. According to sources, there has been a 15-20 per cent rise in the number of patients rushing to small hospitals and nursing homes. “Patients are looking for an alternative. Whenever there is a strike, they are diverted to the private sector but the problem is they are poor patients. With the strike stretching for such a long time where will these patients go? They have come back to us,” said the managing director of a nursing home. 
    Hospital authorities said they were using the services of non-clinical specialty staff, but it proved inadequate in tackling the flow of patients. OGH superintendent Dr K Ramdas said that daily, 10-12 deaths are reported at the 1400-bedded hospital. This is routine and there has been no additional casualties due to the strike, he said. Similarly, Dr S Mahaboob, superintendent, Gandhi Hospital, said that out of the six deaths, one was ‘brought dead’ to the hospital. Dr D Ranganadh of Niloufer Hospital stated that all the five babies were just born and underweight. 
    At King George Hospital in Vizag, all medical services were hit due to the strike by junior doctors, who account for 350 of the total 500 doctors working there. On Saturday, from the average 90 operations that the doctors perform everyday, only about 25 were performed and that too only the very serious cases were being taken up. 
    The marathon strike, that was started in Vizag by medicos who had failed to get their stipend for several months, subsequently spread across the state and led to a complete breakdown of healthcare services in the public sector.