2100 HRS.

09-09-2013

NEWS AT NINE.

THE HEADLINES

• Former judge of Allahabad High Court Justice Vishnu Sahai to probe Muzaffarnagar violence in Uttar Predesh.
• Prime Minister condemns violence in Muzaffarnagar; assures all assistance to the state government in tackling the situation.
• 155 militants surrender to security forces in Manipur.
• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India recommends 60 to 80 per cent cut in the floor price of mobile phone airwaves for the upcoming auction.
• Mamnoon Hussain sworn-in as the 12th President of Pakistan.
• Gold tumbles 625 rupees, to 31,100 rupees per ten grams in Delhi.
• IN SPORTS:Defending Champion India to meet Afganistan in the final of the SAFF Football Championship in Kathmandu.

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The Uttar Pradesh Government has ordered a one Man inquiry commission to look into the cause of violence in Muzaffernagar. The probe will be conducted by retired Judge of Allahabad High Court, Vishnu Sahai. It has been asked to submit its report in two months. Fresh clashes have been reported from violence hit Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts of the state. The Home Ministry has asked the Uttar Pradesh Government to deploy enough forces in rural areas in Muzaffarnagar to contain the violence and sought a report on the situation in the district every 12 hours. The death toll in the violence has gone upto 31.

Additional Director General Law and Order Arun Kumar said in Lucknow that 130 arrests have been made and cases registered against one thousand people including leaders of Bharat Kisan Union, four BJP MLAs and two former MPs.

At least 40 persons have been named in FIRs for abetting violence in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli.An intensive search operation is on for their arrest. According to Inspector General Special Task Force, 17 FIRs have been registered for abetting violence and 26 arrests have been made.

The Home Ministry has asked seven states including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir to be extra vigilant and effectively deal with petty clashes to avert any communal flare-up. Official sources said state governments were warned that such incidents may increase in coming days and are expected to take place in the run up to the 2014 general elections. They were asked to analyse the reasons for such violence and take remedial steps so that in future no petty incident takes communal colour, as witnessed in the past.

The Prime Minister has assured the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh that the Centre will extend all the required assistance to the State in tackling the situation. Dr Manmohan Singh today spoke to Akhilesh Yadav about the steps being taken to restore peace in the areas which witnessed group clashes. Dr Singh also condemned the violence and expressed grief and shock over the loss of innocent lives.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said, the Uttar Pradesh government must take action against those responsible for violence . He said the UPA government has zero tolerance towards incidents of communal violence.

The UPA government has always follows a policy of zero tolerance to alleged attempt to try and incite communal violence in any part of the country. Therefore we feel that is an incumbent upon the UPA government to ensure that the situation is brought back to normalcy as soon as possible and all those are responsible, irrespective of political affiliation are brought to book.

The Congress today accused individuals and groups with vested political interests of stoking violence. Party spokesperson Meen Afzal said those involved must be immediately arrested and strict action taken against them.

Since election is nearing, some vested interested political groups are indulging creating communal conflict, any group are individuals responsible for the ongoing communal riots needed to be arrested immediately, we demand strong action against them.

The BJP called for intervention by the Centre and dismissal of the state government. In a statement, Party President Rajnath Singh alleged that the track record of the Samajwadi Party government in containing communal violence has been dismal.

The BSP also demanded President's rule in Uttar Pradesh and dismissal of the state government in view of communal violence in Muzaffarnagar. BSP chief Mayawati said, the law and order machinery has collapsed in the state.

The atmosphere of extreme lack of law and order in Uttar Pradesh is a serious constitutional crisis which needs to be addressed immediately by dismissing the Samajwadi party government and imposing President's rule.

Demanding firm and strong action to put an end to the violence, the CPI(M) asked the state administration to involve all sections of the people to restore peace and amity. The party alleged that the state government is not showing the required vigilance to curb such incidents promptly. Our correspondent reports that the situation in the troubled areas of the state is well under control.

Many rural areas including Fugana, Shahpur, Meerapur and Dhaurakalan are still in the grip of violence and tension. The army and paramiltary forces under sector magistrates are conducting searches to nab the culprits and dig out illegal weapons in these areas. Meanwhile the state governor BL Joshi has sought report from the state government within twenty four hours in the matter. Merajuddin, AIR NEWS, Lucknow."

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155 militants belonging to four groups surrendered today in Manipur.The militants laid their arms at a ceremony at the First Manipur Rifles Complex in Imphal this after noon. They also handed over 91 weapons including AK -Rifles, Lethod Guns, IED etc.Eight cadres of Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup also surrendered with four weapons at today’s ceremony.

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In Odisha, three women Maoist cadres and six Maoist accomplices surrendered before police in Malkangiri district this morning.The surrendered Maoists said they wanted to join the mainstream as their life was always under threat.

Police said all the surrendered Maoists will be suitably rehabilitated as per the government package.

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The Supreme Court today expressed deep anguish over the Jammu and Kashmir government's policy of giving differential compensations to people from the state and outsiders who were victims of riots or other similar incidents. A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam pulled up the state government for not filing its response for justifying such a policy. It directed the state to file an affidavit bySeptember 16 explaining the rationale behind such a policy.

The state government sought two weeks time to file the affidavit but the bench directed it to do so within a week and posted the matter for hearing onSeptember 16. The court was hearing a PIL seeking a direction to the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to provide adequate security and safe passage to pilgrims stranded due to curfew in Kishtwar where group clashes had taken place on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr.

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Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the LoC in two forward areas of Jammu district and targeted Indian posts with small arms and medium machine guns this evening. Defence Spokesman S N Acharya said, there was firing by the Pakistan Army on Indian forward posts in Gigrial and Laukikan areas. He further said that Indian troops gave a calibrated response, heavy exchanges were going on when reports last came in from the area. There was no report of loss of life or injury.

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Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today recommended 60 to 80 per cent cut in the floor price of mobile phone airwaves for an upcoming auction. It has suggested a pan-India reserve price of 1,496 crore rupees per MHz in the 1800 band, down from the base price of 3,640 crore rupees in the previous auction. In the 900 MHz band, it recommended a reserve price of 288 crore rupees per MHz for Delhi, 262 crore rupees for Mumbai and 100 crore rupees for Kolkata.

In its suggestions, The TRAI said spectrum trading should be permitted and there should be no reservation of spectrum for renewal of licenses. It also said all bidders should be treated alike and no priority should be accorded to licensees seeking renewal in the bidding process.

The Telecom regulator said eligibility conditions prescribed in the recently held auctions should be retained.

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Gold tumbled 625 rupees, to 31,100 rupees per ten grams at Delhi's bullion market, today. Silver held steady at 54,300 rupees per kilo.

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In Kolkata, 8 more infants died at B.C. Roy Hospital in last 24 hours. With these 52 children have died in this hospital in last 8 days. According to official sources the Committee set up by the West Bengal Government to probe the infant’s death has submitted its report. The Minister of state for Health, Mrs. Chandrima Bhattacharjee said no medical negligence by hospital authority was found in the report.

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India-born, Mr Mamnoon Hussain was today sworn-in as the 12th President of Pakistan. He was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry at a ceremony at the Presidency. Mr Mamoon, a businessman from Karachi, is known for his loyalty to the PML-N. The President of Pakistan is elected by members of parliament and provincial assemblies, but has little political power. It is largely a ceremonial post. Yesterday, Mr Asif Ali Zardari ended his five year term in office, becoming Pakistan's first democratically-elected president to complete his tenure.

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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has threatened possible reprisal attacks if the United States attacks Syria, saying that if there are military strikes, Americans can expect every action. Mr Assad's comments came as part of a television interview with CBS conducted in Damascus in which he also denied involvement in an alleged August 21 attack involving chemical weapons. The Syrian leader also said an attack by international forces may prompt retaliation from Syria's allies.

The Syrian president denied that he was behind the chemical weapons attack on the Syrian people and said evidence was not conclusive that there had been such an attack.

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Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari today launched an online portal for the Bharat Nirman Campaign. The portal provides an interactive digital platform for the creative campaign on various schemes and programmes covered under Bharat Nirman campaign.

The digital portal is available in Hindi and English with creatives in 11 regional languages.Mr Tewari hoped the service which is subscribed by two lakh people at present will touch the five lakh figure by the end of this month.

In order to ensure that a event which take place in the North East or in North West or in other remote parts of the country, they get mainstreamed into the discord, we have decided that concurrently with what AIR does, they will also be doing it through SMS service.

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The 10 day long, Ganeshotsav celebrations began in Mumbai today amid joy and religious fervour.  

Mumbai city wears a festive look as Ganesh idols of different shapes, sizes and colours are installed in Public Pandals and households in corner of the city. Devotees brought home their beloved Lord Ganesha chanting "Ganpati Bappa Moraya" today morning and the deities were installed at the auspicious hour after performing the Pran pratishtan ceremony. The mood in the city is very festive as cheerful devotees are offering Puja and Artis to their beloved deity Lord Ganesha at regular intervals during the day. The Mumbai police have also launched a special dedicated helpline which will function round the clock for 10-days to tackle any untoward incident during the festival. In view of intelligence inuts, Mumbai Police has drawn an extensive security plan for a strict vigil at various important public spots in the city. ABHISHEK KUMAR, AIR NEWS, MUMBAI.

Functions are also organised in other parts of the country to mark the beginning of the ten-day celebrations.

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India entered the final of the SAFF Football Championship after beating Maldives 1-0 in the second semi-final match at the Dashrath Stadium in Kathmandu today. Arnab Mondal scored the match winning goal in extra time. India will now meet Afghanistan in the final to be played on Wednesday. At half time, neither of the two teams had scored any goal.

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The News Services Division of All India Radio, in its weekly Public Speak programme, will bring you a discussion tonight on National Food Security Programme.

This can be heard on FM Gold Channel and additional frequencies at 9.30 PM. Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena will be present in our Studio to answer your questions. Listeners can dial studio telephone number: 011-2331-4444.

This programme is also available on Doordarshan DTH.