MONTH THAT WAS

Death for bribe

A 60-year-old former political adviser in a Chinese province was sentenced to death for taking around $2 million in bribes and sanctioning projects in return. This was the second death sentence for taking bribes in the country announced in a week.

Song Chenguang, former senior political advisor of eastern Jiangxi province, was sentenced to death with two years of probation by a people’s court in Tai’an city of Shandong province, Xinhua reported.

Song, the former vice chairman of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), was convicted of taking over 12 million Yuan (around $ 2 million) in bribes from 1998 to 2010.

In exchange, he favoured 18 companies and individuals in getting projects, gaining sales permission and getting promotions, the court said.

Given the amount of money he accepted as bribe, Song must receive severe punishment, the court said. But the two-year probation was granted because he confessed to his crimes.

Song was expelled from the Communist Party of China and removed from the office in July last year.

SC appoints bureaucrat to monitor PDS
inated a secretary-level officer in the Centre to monitor the effective implementation of government’s food programme for the poor as a report suggested that computerization of the entire Public Distribution System to stop pilferage and corruption has not made “substantial” progress, reports PTI. The apex court appointed Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, to coordinate with states and union territories for distribution of foodgrains under the targeted PDS which is a massive operation undertaken by the government to provide food to poor in the country. A bench comprising justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak misra said the report of the justice D P Wadhwa committee, which has been examining the working of PDS, has categorically said “no substantial work” on digitalisation and computerisation of PDS has taken place and bogus ration cards are being made.
 
Bannu Central Jail in Peshawar stormed

Islamabad: Close to 400 prisoners – including some “very dangerous” insurgents – managed to escape a prison in the north-western province of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa after heavily-armed Pakistani Taliban terrorists stormed the premises in a pre-dawn attack.


According to the police, “militants,” armed with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades, attacked the Bannu Central Jail in the early hours.

They broke through the main gate and engaged prison guards in a two-hour-long gun battle that reportedly ended when the latter ran out of ammunition.

Though it was not clear whether the terrorists had come to release anyone specific, the prisoners made good the opportunity and fled the premises after the locks of their cells were broken.

One of the prisoners who escaped was apparently Adnan Rashid, would-be assassin of the former President, Pervez Musharraf.

Unanswered questions
Daring as the attack was, it has also left a number of unanswered questions. The police claim that the prison guards and security personnel manning the outer limits of the jail were grossly out-numbered has raised the question as to how so many terrorists had managed to group near the premises without being noticed. This was particularly since security was tight in Bannu as it borders North Waziristan.

Focusing on the damage done to the prison premises by the attackers, television channels were questioning the absence of blood in view of the claim that the two sides were engaged in a gun battle for nearly two hours.

The primary question was whether the attackers had inside help; both within the jail and outside in view of the ease with which they seem to have staged the attack.

Cop held for youth’s murder

Mumbai: Five men, including a constable, Prakash Sawade, attached to the MRA Marg police station, were arrested by the Cuffe Parade police for their role in the murder of a 25-year-old man. Two others are not traceable, the police said.

The deceased, Aamir Shaikh, worked as part-time photographer and guide at the Gateway of India and lived in Gita Nagar colony in Cuffe Parade. The police said that he was murdered by his neighbours, the Sawades, with whom his family had a long-standing dispute. The police are facing accusations from the victim’s family for ignoring a complaint they filed against the accused hours before Shaikh was murdered.

The incident took place early when Aamir was accosted by seven members of the Sawade family near a bathroom. He was stabbed several times and his uncle was also attacked. The murder was preceded by a violent fight between the two parties the night before.

Aamir got into an argument with the accused which ended in a brawl. Assistant commissioner of police, Iqbal Shaikh (Colaba division) said that Aamir along with three others from his family assaulted one person from the Sawade family. “He had to get stitches on his head. We registered a case of assault against the deceased but could not arrest him since he had fled the scene. The murder would not have taken place had he turned himself in at that point,” said Shaikh.

“We felt that Sawade would come back to attack us, which is why we decided to spend the night in my brother’s house. However, at about 3 am, we were told that they had broken into our house,” said Bashir Shaikh. Bashir said they went home to discover their house had been ransacked and looted.

“When we went to file a complaint with the police, they threatened to put us in the lock-up and refused to file an FIR,” he said. Iqbal Shaikh denied the charges, saying the police were trying to resolve the matter all night and had shown complete impartiality. “These two families have had problems with each other for many years. The fight broke out that night over a small issue and ended in this. We have arrested two people and are looking for two others,” he said.

Former Karnataka speaker asked to return land
Bangalore: The National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR) has urged the former Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly K.R. Ramesh Kumar to return 61 acres of land allegedly encroached upon by him in the Jangalagunte forest area in Rayalpadu hobli of Srinivasapura taluk.


Founder president of NCPNR S.R. Hiremath told presspersons here that the Conservator of Forests, Bangalore Circle, in his March 31, 2012 order, had directed Mr. Kumar to evacuate the land encroached upon by him. “We urge Mr. Kumar to hand over the land and set a precedent for others to follow”, Mr Hiremath said.

The land is part of the nearly 2,400 acres of gomala (community grazing land) land in the border village of Rayalpadu that was notified as forest land in 1937.

In 2007, U.V. Singh, the then Conservator of Forests, inspected the land following complaints, and an order was passed asking Mr. Kumar to vacate it in a month.

According to records, a forest offence case was registered against Mr. Kumar for encroaching upon an area of 61 acres in 2006.

The Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) of the then Chintamani sub-division had issued eviction order against Mr. Kumar on March 13, 2007. Mr. Kumar appealed to the Conservator of Forests, Bangalore Circle on April 11, 2007 against the orders of the ACF.

The Task Force for Protection of Government Land headed by the former Additional Chief Secretary to the government V. Balasubrahamanian inspected the encroached forest area and conducted primary enquiry. The Conservator of Forests, Bangalore Circle issued orders after conducting elaborate proceedings as per the provisions of the Karnataka Forests Act.

The Deputy Conservator of Forests, Kolar Division, issued a fresh notice on September 29, 2010 and Mr. Kumar filed a writ petition questioning the notice of the DCF. The High Court ordered a fresh joint survey and the DCF Kolar passed orders on June 24, 2011 summarily evicting the appellant from 64.24 acres of land.

Mr. Ramesh Kumar filed an appeal with the Conservator of Forests, Bangalore Circle on July 23, 2011 against the DCF’s orders.

Disposing of the appeal, the Conservator of Forests, Bangalore Circle, in the order dated March 31, 2012, ordered Mr. Kumar to evict the encroached land.

‘Stalled many times’

V. Balasubrahamanian told presspersons that Mr Kumar had stalled the proceedings several times.

The joint survey was stalled twice though he himself had requested it.