Near-death experiences are a reality

Near-death experiences are a reality Brain Patterns Of Clinically Dead Rats Same As In Hyper-Alert State: Study Washington: Light at the end of the tunnel! Near-death experiences may not be just a figment of imagination, a new study suggests.     For the first time, scientists have observed brain activity in dying rats that may shed light on the mystery of human near-death experiences. The “near-death experience” reported by cardiac arrest survivors worldwide may be grounded in science, according to research at the University of Michigan.     The study shows shortly after clinical death, in which the heart stops beating and blood stops flowing to the brain, rats display brain activity patterns characteristic of conscious perception. They said the brain patterns were associated with “a hyper-alerted state”. “This study is the first dealing with what happens to the neurophysiological state of the dying brain,” said lead study author Jimo Borjigin. “It will form the foundation for future human studies,” she said.     Approximately 20% of cardiac arrest survivors report having had a near-death experience during clinical death. These visions and perceptions have been called “realer than real,” researchers said.     “We reasoned that if neardeath experience stems from brain activity, neural correlates of consciousness should be identifiable in humans or animals even after the cessation of cerebral blood flow,” she said. Researchers analyzed the recordings of brain activity called electroencephalograms (EEGs) from nine anaesthetized rats undergoing experimentally induced cardiac arrest.     Within the first 30 seconds after cardiac arrest, all of the rats displayed a widespread, transient surge of highly synchronized brain activity that had features associated with a highly aroused brain. “But, we were surprised by the high levels of activity,” adds study senior author anaesthesiologist George Mashour.     The brain is assumed to be inactive during cardiac arrest. However the neurophysiological state of the brain immediately following cardiac arrest had not been systemically investigated until now. PTI

Army hailed for curbing J&K violence

Army hailed for curbing J&K violence M Saleem Pandit TNN  Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday praised the army for controlling Friday’s violence in Kishtwar “within hours” and admitted that the local police and the CRPF were not in a position to bring the situation under control.     “Within hours despite many odds, the army conducted flag march in Kishtwar town and the situation was controlled before nightfall,” the CM said.     Omar said some political parties tried to fuel tensions in other parts of Jammu, prompting the administration to call in the army to assist in restoring order. He said the government would take all measures to foil the designs of vested interests to fan violence. “We have called the army help to keep the situation under control and ensure that no untoward incident takes place...” he said.     Omar also said that no leader of any political party would be allowed to visit Kishtwar or any other troubled areas because this would flare up communal tensions.     The intelligence agencies, however, blamed the state government for “slackness’. “We have been informing the executive authorities about the likelihood of the communal clashes for past several weeks but there was no response to the situation,” said a senior intelligence officer.

Girl on cellphone falls to death in UoH

Girl on cellphone falls to death in UoH TIMES NEWS NETWORK  Hyderabad: A 19-year-old student of University of Hyderabad had a fatal fall when she was talking over the cellphone while walking on the terrace of an under-construction building on the university campus on Sunday. The victim was identified as Mohini Mishra, II year student of Integrated Master of Arts (Linguistics) course at the University of Hyderabad. Mohini was the daughter of Vijay Kumar Mishra from Lucknow.     At 2.30 am, Mohini along with seven of her friends, including three girls and four boys, all students of the university, were having a party on the fourth floor of the under-construction hostel building on the south campus of the University of Hyderabad.     According to Chandanagar police, Mohini used to stay at Ladies Hostel VIII and  she along with other girl students came to south campus to join in a class get together to discuss about the arrangements for the upcoming fresher’s party. Cops rule out foul play in UoH girl’s death  Hyderabad: The eight-member group had gone to an under-construction building nearby to discuss the arrangements which had to be made. There were snacks and some group members had consumed liquor, but Mohini did not, Chandanagar sub-inspector B James Babu said.     While the students were having fun, Mohini excused herself from the group to attend a phone call. While talking over the phone, Mohini went to the edge of the terrace and accidentally fell from there, the SI said. Mohini suffered multiple injuries and with the assistance of university administration, her friends immediately rushed her to a corporate hospital in Jubilee Hills. Mohini succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment at 3.45pm.      After recording the statements of all the students, who were with Mohini when the incident happened, police ruled out a conspiracy angle. “All her friends, who were at the spot, said that it was an accident. We have sent the body to mortuary and informed her family members,” Chandanagar inspector N Venkateshwarlu said. A case was registered under Section 174 (suspicious death) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).     Some student leaders protested on Sunday morning demanding that the administration guard the under-construction buildings on the campu

Vadra used fake papers to make crores: Khemka

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

New Delhi: Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka’s inquiry report into the land deal between a company owned by Robert Vadra and real estate major DLF in Gurgaon has accused Vadra’s firm of forgery, falsification, and sham transactions. The offences, punishable under section 82 of the Registration Act, 1908, can attract “imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with both”, the report says.
    In his report to the Haryana government, Khemka has charged Vadra, son-inlaw of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, DLF, and others also with violations of the Indian Penal Code. He has estimates that the land licensing scam of Haryana could be as big as Rs 3.5 lakh crore in the last eight years. To reach this figure, Khemka has quoted
the premium of Rs 15.78/acre earned by Vadra, 
and used this figure for all 21,366 acres of land given under colony licences by the state.
    On February 12, 2008, Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality bought 3.53 acres of land in Shikohpur, in sector 83, Gurgaon, from Onkareshwar Properties for Rs 7.5 crore, then obtained permission to build a commercial colony there. Haryana govt lost crores of stamp duty, says Khemka 
New Delhi: Over the next few months, Vadra transferred the land and permission for the colony to DLF and made a minimum profit of Rs 42.61 crore, according to Khemka.
    “The series of sham transactions, starting from the registration of a deed on 12.02.2008, came to an end with the execution of a sale deed No. 1435 dated 18.09.2012 for Rs 58 crore in favour of DLF Universal Ltd. The land, along with the commercial colony licence, was sold for Rs 58 crore. Such transfers act as the perfect ruse or opportunity for middlemen to milk the market premium arising out of the grant of colony licence,” Khemka points out in his report. 
    Khemka, a 1991 batch IAS officer, was the director general of land records and consolidation of land holdings and inspector general of registration, Haryana, when he ordered cancellation of the mutation of the land deal between Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality and DLF. Khemka was transferred by the state government, which later set up a three-member committee last October to look into his actions on the Skylight-DLF deal. Khemka’s report has now emerged in public through the detailed representation submitted by him to the state’s chief secretary in response to the inquiry ordered against him.
    In his report, Khemka says the capacity of Skylight Hospitality to develop a commercial colony “was nothing else other than Mr. Robert Vadra. The man became the measure of everything and the entire statutory apparatus a castle of sand.” When the company was given the permission to develop a colony, its paid up capital was just Rs 100,000 with two shareholders — Vadra and his mother Maureen.
    Khemka has also accused Vadra and promoters of Onkareshwar Properties, which sold the 3.53-acre plot in Shikohpur, of “wilfully committing” serious offences. Khemka’s report has also alleged that Haryana “lost crores of revenues in the form of stamp duty due to non-registration kof the collaboration agreement”.

Was Ishrat a terrorist? CBI, IB await NIA reply

Was Ishrat a terrorist? CBI, IB await NIA reply IB Claims Headley Marked Ishrat As An Ultra Neeraj Chauhan & Deeptiman Tiwary TNN  New Delhi: On the back foot with CBI claiming to have enough evidence against its officer in the Ishrat Jahan “fake encounter” case, Intelligence Bureau (IB) has recently written to the agency claiming that Pakistani-American jihadi DavidColeman Headley’stestimony established Ishrat as a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)terrorist.     IB said that according to information received by from the US’FBI, Headley’s interrogation confirmed Ishrat’s affiliation as a member of LeT. According to the letter, 26/11 mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi – under detention in Pakistan – had told Headley that top jihadi Muzammil Bhat had claimed to have recruited a female suicide bomber named Ishrat Jahan and had plans to attack several religious places in Gujarat. Sourcesin thehome ministry supportedIB’sclaim.     To verify the IB’s claim CBI has approachedtheNationalInvestigation Agency (NIA), which interrogated Headley in the US. It has, however, not received any cooperation from NIA,saysCBI. “We are yetto get any reply from NIA in this regard,” said a top official.     NIA claims it has not received any communication from the CBI on Headley. A senior NIAofficialsaid, “Noletter or official communication has been sent to us. Even if it is, there are legal complications and the statement of Headley cannotbeshared.”     CBI officials see this as a roadblock in their probe against IB special director Rajinder Kumar, who has been summoned for questioning as an accused in the alleged fake encounter.     Interestingly,IB’sclaims are not part of NIA’s interrogation reporton Headley.In April2011, theGujaratHChadsoughtclarification from NIA on media reports and in its submission before the court through a letter, NIAsaid, “(assertions) made regarding Headley making statement on Ishrat is purely in the nature of hearsay, it does not have any evidentiary value”. CBI sources, however, say these details are inconsequential to its investigation. “Focus of the agency's probe has never been theintelligenceinputwhichled to the controversial encounter. We are probing whether intelligence officers were active participants in the conspiracy which led to the killing of 19-year-old Ishrat Jahan in the incident,” said a senior CBI official.  CBI counting on Guj cops’ testimony New Delhi: A statement of senior Gujarat cops before a magistrate naming IB special director Rajinder Kumar in the Ishrat Jahan “fake encounter” case is a crucial evidence that the CBI has against the official. The statement under section 164 CrPC naming Kumar has been filed by a few Gujarat cops, who were part of the crime branch during the encounter in 2004, and are now witnesses against the official. CBI is likely to arrest Kumar soon. TNN